Windows XP Follows Gates into Semi-Retirement

Perhaps Bill Gates should have pushed his semi-retirement back a few days, so it could coincide with Windows XP's. As of today, XP says good-bye, for the most part.

Stores aren't going to pull inventory, however; if they have copies they will sell them out. Also, you can still get Windows XP on nettops and netbooks (e.g., Asus Eee PC). Additionally, at least through the end of next January, you can get XP using the "Downgrade Rights" available to purchasers of Vista Ultimate and Vista Business. Some OEMs, such as HP and Dell, will even pre-downgrade your PC to XP for you.

Microsoft hasn't been listening to end users who have said that Windows XP is just fine for them. In fact, the SaveXP.com site has had over 210K signatures for its petition to save XP, but no go.

Since Microsoft says Windows 7 will debut in 2010, and that they will support Windows XP until 2014, many businesses will stick with XP as long as possible. Those with Volume License Agreements (VLAs) can pretty much do as they please. Even Intel has foregone Vista, though it has deployed it to a few departments.

Microsoft shot itself in the foot with Vista, with things such initial hardware incompabilities, and difficulties finding drivers (that worked). That gave Vista a bad reputation from the start, and arguments and lawsuits over "Vista-ready," and just how much Microsoft knew, haven't helped.

Will consumers, who don't have as many of the choices move to Linux or Mac OS? Doubtful that you'll see a huge move to those OSes, but you might see some defections. After all, part of the reason some posit for a backlash against Vista is the familiarity many have with XP. You can make Vista look and act like XP (except for incompatibilities, of course), but it's not easy for John Q. Public to do so.

And that's part of it. Why should an end user struggle to get what he wants, when it's already there in a package for him?

Canadians Petition Against Rogers iPhone Rates

In the U.S., despite the fact that the price for the iPhone 3G is less than the price for the iPhone, you will end up paying more when you take into account the higher price for the data plan and the no-longer-included SMS plan. That's bad enough, but compare it to the O2 plan, and they get a free iPhone 3G despite paying less for a comparable service plan. Jealous much? Yet, Rogers users in Canada, after waiting over a year for any iPhone, are in worse shape.

On Friday Rogers revealed specifics for the services plans for the upcoming iPhone 3G. One look at them and Canadians became quite angry. The fact of the matter is, I would think Apple would look askance at it as well. Why? Take a look at the differences:

A mandatory three-year contract. O2 offers an 18-month contract and throws in the iPhone for free. The U.S. (AT&T) has a two-year contract.

In the U.S., AT&T offers 450 minutes of voice, unlimited data and 200 SMS messages. But for Rogers ...

• $60: 150 minutes of calls, with unlimited evenings and weekends; 400 MB of data; 75 sent SMS messages, with unlimited incoming text messages and visual voicemail messages.
• $75: 300 minutes of calls, 750 MB data and 100 sent SMS messages.
• $100: 600 minutes of calls with 1 GB of data and 200 sent SMS messages.
• $115: 800 minutes of calls, 2 GB of data and 300 sent SMS messages.

No plan offers unlimited data, and that's the biggest complaint. Despite what people say about AT&T prices (including me), these prices have created a megastorm of reactions, including a petition at RuinediPhone.com.

The site intends to send a petition to Rogers on July 11th, the day the iPhone 3G is available, and also to send a letter to Steve Jobs. The letter to Jobs is already written, and says:

Dear Steve,

My name is James and I would like to thank you for creating the wonderful iPhone device. We really think that you will change the world with it, just as you changed the world with the iPod. We were so happy to learn that on July 11th, we would finally be able to buy the iPhone and legally use it in Canada.

To our great disappointment, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced VERY unfair rates in comparison to AT&T in the United States and to other authorized wireless service providers around the world. As a result, a consumer movement was born yesterday (June 27th) in protest against these rates.

Nearly 6,000 people have signed an online petition to help make a difference and the list is growing rapidly. In the last 48 hours, the website has had 40,000 unique visitors from around the world supporting Canadian consumers. There are a vast number of Canadians that would take the opportunity to buy an iPhone at $199CAD but these new plans have put it out of reach for many.

I would like to invite you to take a look at all these disappointed people at www.ruinediphone.com.

I was going to buy an iPhone for me, my girlfriend and my family.

Now, sadly, I cannot afford the plan.

I hope you can do something Steve; we are loyal customers and trust that you will. We don't want to lose faith in Apple.

Thank you,
James Hallen
Representing nearly 6,000 Canadian consumers.

He needs to rewrite that last sentence: the site has over 14,000 signatories at the time of this writing. Any Canadian readers out there: has this pricing info changed your mind about the iPhone? I'll tell you, if I heard this type of pricing info for AT&T, I'd stay away as well.

StarCraft 2 Probably Won't "Be Home for Christmas"

Somewhat overshadowed by the Diablo III announcement, was the hoped-for StarCraft 2 release date announcement. You know, the one that didn't happen.

It had been rumored that since several retailers had posted release dates on their sites, we'd be getting a confirmation at the 2008 WorldWide Invitational (WWI). But while Blizzard Executive Vice President Rob Pardo did speak about the Evolving Design of StarCraft II, he seemingly quashed those hopes.

According to Internode Games Network, Pardo:

explained that they were "about a third of the way through" the campaign, and were concentrating on story structure and cinematics at this point - commenting that by the end of the year, Blizzard should have something very impressive to show off.

Now, one could hope that what he meant by "something very impressive" he might have meant the release of the game, but with them only 1/3 of the way through the campaign, that seems unlikely.

This also casts a pall over Diablo III, because if they won't be done with StarCraft II by Christmas (which would be about 1 1/2 years after announcing StarCraft II), when will they be done with Diablo III?

Microsoft Finally Delivers XP SP3 Update Fix

Three weeks after Symantec offered a tool to repair the registry corruption caused after upgrading to Windows XP SP3 with certain features of its security tools enabled, Microsoft has delivered its own fix.

SymProtect, if running when the SP installs were done, would prevent a utility called Fixccs.exe from being able to delete registry entries created during the installations, thus causing the corruption problems. At first Symantec blamed Microsoft, then admitted to the XP SP3 problems, and finally to the additional, rarer, Vista SP1 problems.

Microsoft's KB article agrees, saying:

This problem occurs when the Fixccs.exe process is called during the Windows XP SP3 installation. This process creates some intermediate registry subkeys, and it later deletes these subkeys. In some cases, some antivirus applications may not let the Fixccs.exe process delete these intermediate registry subkeys.

When this problem occurs, certain applications, such as Device Manager and Network Connections, may be unable to enumerate the device or the connection instances. These applications will report a blank status even though devices and connections still function as expected.

Symantec has always contended that other security products with similar registry protection features "should" have this same issue, and Microsoft seemed to at least allude to that, with the reference "some antivirus applications" above.

The fix provides a new fixccs.exe file, but it's interesting that Microsoft fix only addresses XP SP3, not Vista SP1, which Symantec's tool also fixes - and thus seems to have the same issue.

While Microsoft has not taken such steps, we know from previous incidents that it could block the delivery of the update packages uinder certain conditions. A smart move might be to prevent downloading XP SP3 if Windows Update detects SymProtect enabled on the system.

It's True: Diablo III Unveiled at WWI

As expected, Saturday at the 2008 WorldWide Invitational (WWI), Blizzard announced a sequel to another of its huge franchises: Diablo III.

Blizzard had been teasing gamers with screenshots at its website, and anticipation had been high since it acquired the Diablo3.com domain name earlier this year.

That's the good news. Typical of Blizzard, there's no release date announced yet. However, based on how long they've been developing Starcraft 2, with an anticipated (leaked?) release date of December, it looks like we'll be waiting about 18 months or so.

Blizzard's already opened up an official site, with tons of stuff on it, including:

• The cinematic teaser trailer shown at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational
• A 20-minute gameplay demo video
• More than 60 screenshots and pieces of concept art
• Deckard Cain's journal, narrated by Deckard Cain himself
• And much, much more

From Blizzard's press release:

Diablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen. The first two characters classes -- the barbarian and the witch doctor -- were shown as part of the announcement at the event today in Paris.

Diablo III will feature a custom 3D-graphics engine to render lush indoor and outdoor areas of Sanctuary with a high level of detail and vivid special effects. The game's physics-enhanced environments will be interactive and destructible, offering traps and obstacles that create added danger for players and monsters alike. These elements, along with a new quest system and random scripted events, will be integrated into the game's random-level generator, giving Diablo III the ultimate combination of dynamic gameplay and replayability. Cooperative and competitive play will be available online through an upgraded version of Blizzard Entertainment's renowned online gaming service, Battle.net®.

First and foremost, Diablo III will stick to its cooperative gameplay roots, one of the things I loved most about prior releases. Friends and I could travel together and defeat Baal, with the only competition being over who could pick up the dropped treasure first.

Watch the official trailer below. This is the one unveiled today; other sites have been showing the February trailer.



Check out their gameplay footage here:

Part 1:


Part 2:

LifeLock Sued By Competitor Over Search Ad ID Theft

LifeLock, which I wrote about earlier, and not in a positive manner, has been sued again, this time by a competitor.

On Wednesday NAMESAFE sued LifeLock over search ads that it said were purchased by LifeLock, which used the NAMESAFE trademark yet directed users to LifeLock's web site.

According to a press release issued by NameSafe on Friday,

"We have discovered that LifeLock has been sponsoring advertisements on most major search engines including (among others) Google, Yahoo, Lycos, MSN, Dogpile, and AOL, that deceptively led consumers to Lifelock.com. Specifically, when you searched 'Namesafe.com' in any major search engine, you found an advertisement that said 'Namesafe.com' but when you clicked on it, you were not directed to the official site for NAMESAFE (www.namesafe.com), but rather to our competitor, LifeLock.com," said NAMESAFE founder and CEO David Ridings. "It is one of the most bizarre attempts to steal a company brand and its costumers that I have personally seen. Ironically enough, we consider it a form of 'corporate identity theft' from a company that is in the business of protecting identities, and we really could not tolerate it. Having said that, we expect it will stop today."

An exhibit in the lawsuit purports to show a search for NAMESAFE that shows NAMESAFE's name as the top sponsored result. However, the link is to LifeLock's Web site. You can see the exhibit by clicking the above NAMESAFE logo.

In a sense, this is ironic, since both firms are in the business of protecting consumers against ID theft and this is sort of corporate ID theft.

However, I tried searching for NAMESAFE myself, in several search engines, and didn't get a result as above. It's quite possible that NAMESAFE got what it expected: LifeLock dropping the ads.

I wouldn't expect the suit to be dropped, however, at least until some restitution is made.

Woman Auctions Bridesmaid Spot on eBay, Gets Big Surprise

23-year-old Kelly Gray was just hoping to defray some of the costs of her wedding when she decided to auction off a bridesmaid spot in her wedding on eBay. But she got far more than she bargained for.

By the time the auction ended at 7:27 PM Wednesday, 23 bids had been placed and the winning bid was $5,700, by a "drpeppersnapple." She called the winner’s phone number and found out "drpeppersnapple" was a representative for Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and they won't just be honoring the $5,700 bid; they'll up the ante to $10,000 and supply all the beverages.

Additionally, Dr. Pepper Snapple told Gray it would launch a Web site to find her a bridesmaid. If not, it would provide a surprise guest to fill the spot. Let's see, what which woman appears in Dr. Pepper commercials?

Why would Dr. Pepper do this? Good PR, but maybe they are also thinking "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" in terms of soda sales. At any rate, makes you wonder if you should do your own crazy eBay auctions, eh? Let's hope we don't see a spate of them.

Mozilla Targets First Firefox 3.1 Alpha for July

Firefox 3 has just barely gotten out the door and Mozilla is already readying the alpha release of the next version, 3.1. Of course, as a point-release, it will be a much less ambitious project than the leap from 2 -> 3.

In Firefox 3.1 status meeting notes from 6/24, the ship date is now estimated to be Q4 of this year or Q1 09. First alpha is in July, while first beta is in August. The release date is close to what had previously been stated by Mozilla. They had earlier said, however, that it would be date-driven, and it looks like a little flexibility has been added to that.

Earlier Mozilla had also said the features in FF 3.1 would consist of those that had missed FF 3 but were nearly complete. Additionally the notes indicate more changes to better meet the Acid 3 test (currently FF 3 scores 71 / 100) and changes to the Location Bar (which, depending on who you ask, is either the best or worst feature of FF3).

According to Mozilla's count, there have been 23.4 million downloads of FF3 at the time of this writing.

As Gates Logs Off, Says Yahoo! Deal Unlikely

As nearly everyone in the world knows, Bill Gates last full-time day at Microsoft is Friday, June 27th. Gates will continue to serve as Microsoft's Chairman, but most of his time will be spent working at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As everyone in the world is likely writing about this day, I wanted to find a different angle. How about Gates' statements about Yahoo!, given in one of his last interviews, one with Tom Brokaw?

But first ...

No matter what you think of Microsoft, it can arguably be said that Microsoft (and IBM; let's face it, the IBM PC started the real PC revolution) were instrumental in getting us to the point we are at now: one billion PCs in use worldwide, according to Gartner.

A small amount of "credit" should be given to Digital Research, who blew their chance to get their DOS on the first IBM PC, and gave Microsoft the opening it needed.

Whild MS- and PC-DOS were the first stepping stones to Microsoft's near-monopoly, it was Windows that really revolutionized things, with a consistent user interface across applications. Not to say that Windows 1.0 was a wonder: it sucked. But that was a combination of a lack of horsepower CPU-wise and immature software.

Despite Linux and Apple's inroads, and they've made plenty, Windows is still the dominant OS in the world. Whether we curse Microsoft, or thank them, Bill Gates and his company have had a major impact on computing. And he will be missed.

As far as any potential deal with Yahoo!, Gates was honest, at least. As repored by CNBC, when asked by Brokaw about any deal, he said "I don't think that one is likely." He added that, however, that he believes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will find "plenty of other opportunities."

Perhaps, but compare Microsoft's performance with Gates at the helm vs. Ballmer's time at the top, and you'll see a huge difference, and not in a positive way. Microsoft's not going anywhere, but we'll see how things shake out now.

Microsoft closed down 0.12 (0.43%) at $27.63 on Friday.

Blizzard to Intro Hardware WoW Authenticator

It's clear that games are big business, and from the sheer number of password-stealing trojans trolling for your WoW info, it's also a big attraction for malware. At this weekend's Worldwide Invitational (WWI), Blizzard is going to introduce a piece of hardware to make yoru account information just a little more secure.

The Blizzard Authenticator has a FAQ on Blizzard's site, but no picture and no way to buy it - yet. It's not a USB dongle; it's a device that produces a code you have to enter every time you login. There are similar devices to login to some financial sites or corporate VPNs. The price is already listed as a pretty reasonable $6.50.

It's definitely not the "big surprise" (we're still hoping for Diablo 3), but it's definitely a nice extra level of security for concerned WoW players.

Here's their FAQ:

What is the Blizzard Authenticator?

The Blizzard Authenticator is an optional tool that offers World of Warcraft players an additional layer of security to help prevent unauthorized account access. The Authenticator itself is a physical "token" device that fits easily on a keyring.

Where do I get a Blizzard Authenticator?

The Blizzard Authenticator will be able to be purchased directly from the Blizzard Store for $6.50

How does the Blizzard Authenticator work?

You must first associate the Blizzard Authenticator to the World of Warcraft account you play. Once the account has been linked, the Authenticator token will be required to log in to Account Management or to the game; when logging in, you will be prompted to supply a digital code generated by the Authenticator.

How do I associate a Blizzard Authenticator with an account?

You can associate your Blizzard Authenticator to the World of Warcraft account you play by logging into Account Management. Click the “Add Blizzard Authenticator” button and then enter the serial number on the back of your Blizzard Authenticator.

What is a digital code and where do I see it?

The digital code is a six-digit numeric code that is produced when you press the button on the front of your Blizzard Authenticator. Each code is unique and is valid only once.

Where do I enter the digital code when I log in to World of Warcraft or to Account Management?

After you enter the account name and password, you’ll be prompted to provide the digital code from your Blizzard Authenticator. You must press the button on your Authenticator and enter the code it displays to complete your login.

Can I apply my Blizzard Authenticator to more than one account?

Yes! You’re welcome to associate a single Blizzard Authenticator to as many accounts as you like. Please remember that you must have that Authenticator with you to log in to any of these accounts afterwards.

What happens if I lose my Blizzard Authenticator? Do I lose the account it’s linked to?

If you lose your Blizzard Authenticator, you will need to contact Blizzard’s billing and account services team for assistance. Our representatives will be able to assist you with regaining account access by verifying certain secure information with you.

Will my Blizzard Authenticator work while I am traveling? Will it work in other countries?

Yes, the Blizzard Authenticator will work anywhere you can log in to World of Warcraft.

Will this have any effect on Parental Controls?

No, the Parental Control service will not change in any way. However, the parent/guardian will need the Blizzard Authenticator to log in to Account Management and make changes or updates.

Can I turn the extra security of the Blizzard Authenticator on and off as I wish?

While you can add the Blizzard Authenticator as you wish, removing it will require a call to billing and account services.

Does the Blizzard Authenticator replace my password and secret question?

No, the Blizzard Authenticator is only there as an optional measure to augment account security. It does not replace standard security measures. You will still be asked to enter the account name and password when logging into the game or Account Management, and should not share that or your secret question information with others.

Will a Blizzard representative ever ask for my Blizzard Authenticator information?

Yes. Blizzard may ask for the serial number on your Blizzard Authenticator, typically to help you associate it to an account or to verify your ownership of that Authenticator.

What if my Blizzard Authenticator stops working or has a technical problem?

Blizzard will have several support options available to assist you and ensure that the impact on your play experience is minimized in the event of a problem with your Authenticator. Please contact our billing and account services team for assistance if you have questions.

ICANN Approves Internet Domain Name Overhaul

Thursday in Paris, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) completed its 32nd International Public Meeting. The biggest decision made at the meeting was increasing the flexibility of top-level domain names, and this could be a huge change for users of the Web.

Most people are aware of top-level domains, though they may not realize it. Suffixes like .com, .net, .biz and so forth are called generic top-level domains (gTLDs), and there are 21 of them at this point. Suffixes such as .uk are country-code TLDs, BTW.

In a press release, Dr. Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN said:

"The Board today accepted a recommendation from its global stakeholders that it is possible to implement many new names to the Internet, paving the way for an expansion of domain name choice and opportunity. The potential here is huge. It represents a whole new way for people to express themselves on the Net. It's a massive increase in the 'real estate' of the Internet."

The approval means that companies could turn brands names into domains, while individuals could use their own names.

An implementation plan still needs approval, but following such approval ICANN could begin taking applications, perhaps in Q2 of 2009.

Don't expect John Smith to be applying, however. The cost of setting up such a domain name is expected to be in the low six-figures.

ICANN also posted a FAQ on the new process.

Frequently asked questions on the process

1. Are you selling these new names?

ICANN is not "selling" new top level domain names. There will be a limited application period where any established entity from anywhere in the world can submit an application that will go through an evaluation process. It is anticipated that there will be additional rounds relatively soon after the close of the first application round.

2. What's to stop others registering my brand name?

Trademarks will not be automatically reserved. But there will be an objection-based mechanism for trademark owners where their arguments for protection will be considered.

3. How did this proposal get developed?

ICANN has a multi-stakeholder policy development process that served as the foundation for the process design. It involved consultation with domain name industry, trade mark attorneys, the business sector, users, governments and technicians.

4. How will offensive names be prevented?

Offensive names will be subject to an objection-based process based on public morality and order. This process will be conducted by an international arbitration body utilizing criteria drawing on provisions in a number of international treaties. ICANN will not be the decision maker on these objections.

5. When will all this happen?

ICANN is working towards accepting the first applications in the second quarter of 2009.

While many will cheer this move, I did hear the following complaint from an acquaintance: "Great. I used to be able to try .com, .net, .org if I wasn't sure of the domain name, and get a hit most of the time. Now I'll have an infinite number of choices."

Besides this initiative, the following other resolutions were passed by ICANN:

• The adoption of two measures to eliminate "domain tasting" (the practice of using the add grace period to register domain names in bulk to test their profitability)

• The adoption of ICANN’s Operating Plan and Budget for fiscal year 2008-2009.

• Begin public input on a report on the "fast track" for Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) for country codes and have staff work with the community on how to implement IDNs.

• Implementation of measures to improve the Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO), and a timeline for agreement on how different groups are represented on it.

• Selection of Mexico City as the site of ICANN’s first meeting in 2009.

NVIDIA Releases Beta PhysX Drivers

You'll recall last week NVIDIA announced that its 177.39 drivers would provide PhysX support on the GeForce 9800 GTX, 9800 GTX+, and GTX 260/280 cards. You'll also probably recall the big dust-up over whether or not NVIDIA was cheating in terms of optimizations for various benchmarks.

Whether or not you believe that, and likely AMD / ATI will, and NVIDIA won't (and doesn't), for end users, the real question is: "where are the drivers? I want to try them."

NVIDIA has posted beta versions of 177.39 on its site. Just remember, they're beta, so the normal warnings apply.

Windows Vista 32-bit
Windows Vista 64-bit
Windows XP 32-bit
Windows XP 64-bit

Microsoft's BFF, Intel, to Skip Windows Vista

Earlier I speculated that some companies may choose to skip Windows Vista in favor of Windows 7, given Microsoft's statement regarding a January 2010 launch of Windows 7 and continued support for Windows XP until 2014.

And it seems like Intel, Microsoft's BFF, is making that choice. But don't worry, Microsoft, Intel isn't looking to choose the OS from its other (and new) BFF, Apple.

A small comfort for Microsoft is that according to a person with direct knowledge of Intel's plans, who spoke to the New York Times, Intel is choosing to skip Windows Vista not because of its purported incompatibilities and reputation as a bloated OS, but rather lack of a compelling reason to upgrade.

"This isn’t a matter of dissing Microsoft, but Intel information technology staff just found no compelling case for adopting Vista."

Meanwhile, while research firm Gartner said that typically 30% of companies skip a Windows version, in the case of Vista, the percentage will be higher. Much as with Intel, there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for companies to upgrade.

After all, unlike me, they don't need DirectX 10. And perhaps they heard about Microsoft's latest reliability update for Vista SP1.

Of course, Microsoft won't be hurting too badly: they still have all those XP licenses to look forward to.

Microsoft Posts Reliability Update for Windows Vista SP1

Comforting to know Windows Vista SP1 still isn't reliable, eh? On Tuesday Microsoft posted a reliability / performance update. You'll recall that prior to the release of SP1, Microsoft also released reliability updates. Guess it's still not reliable enough.

The list is rather large, but one of the key fixes is one in which "large applications" (like Office apps) "cannot run after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time." According to the KB article, in such an instance you may be told the app is "not a valid Win32 application."

That bug was posted on the TechNet support forums way back in April. Obviously it's a nasty bug, and it wasn't until April 21st that Microsoft Employee John Gray chimed in saying:

Microsoft is aware of this issue and is working on a fix. As several people have observed, this is konwn (sic) to affect Excel 2007, Access 2007, Snipping Tool, and Windows Media Player on Vista SP1. The fix is to either exit as many apps as possible that you are running (e.g. Outlook), and then load the app (and then you can reload the apps you had running), or a logoff/logon will clear it up for a while (days/weeks). The error messages are confusing, but the problem is neither an invalid application file nor insufficient system resources. It only affects certain applications, and typically only after the user has been logged in for an extended period of time.

Pretty bad when you advertise how reliable the OS is, and how it can run for days, right? Now we see why this is a "reliability fix."

At any rate, yesterday, in the same thread, Gray announced the fix had been rolled into this reliability patch, to obvious cheers.

The full list of fixes is below. You can download the patch from the above KB article, and it will be available via Windows Update in July.

This update improves the performance, responsiveness, and reliability of Windows Vista in various scenarios.

This update includes the following improvements on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer:

• This update improves the stability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by addressing some crashes that may occur when you try to check e-mail by using a POP3 e-mail client such as Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. The crashes may occur on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer in the following scenario:
• Incoming POP3 and outgoing SMTP traffic monitoring is enabled.
• Both a third-party antivirus application and an antispyware application are installed, such as the following applications:
• ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
• SpySweeper by Webroot Software, Inc.

• This update improves the reliability of the Windows Vista SP1 based-computers by addressing some problems that occur when you delete user accounts by using the User Accounts item in Control Panel. When this problem occurs, the system may stop responding (hang).

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers that experience issues in which large applications cannot run after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time. For example, when you try to start Excel 2007 after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time, a user may receive an error message that resembles the following:
  
  EXCEL.EXE is not a valid Win32 application
  

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing the number of crashes that may be caused by the Apple QuickTime thumbnail preview in Windows Live Photo Gallery.

• This update improves the performance of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing audio and video (AV) stuttering. Such AV stuttering may occur when the audio or video component is streaming high definition content from a Windows Vista SP1-based computer that has a NVIDIA network adapter nForce driver version 67.5.4.0 that is installed to a Windows Media Center Extender device.

Diablo III Announcement at WWI?

In May Blizzard acquired the domain name Diablo3.com, which sparked speculation about a possible upcoming Diablo III release. In my mind this would be bigger than Starcraft 2, mostly because I love Diablo more than Starcraft (heresy, I know).

With Blizzard's 2008 WorldWide Invitational (WWI) to be held this week, and with Blizzard teasing splash screens on their website (unless you've been asleep - or don't care - you know about them; click the above to enlarge) rampant speculation has arisen again. Blizzard generally teases splash screens when they have a new game announcement, so ...

DiabloII.net has been tracking all the "clues" at the Blizzard site, including the splash screens and more. And on Wednesday they said they had some inside info about the game:

With this week's speculation over the Blizzard teasers, more and more reports in the media, and numerous tips coming direct us at IncGamers from reliable inside industry sources in the past 24 hours, we now have confirmation from inside sources to say that Diablo 3 WILL be announced on Saturday at WWI Paris 2008.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean we will be meeting Baal again anytime soon. Based on how long Starcraft 2 has been in development since it was announced. And in fact, based on the retailers who have posted dates for Starcraft 2, it might be the release date of that game that's being teased at Blizzard's site.

Or maybe we'll get lucky and it will be both. We'll find out Saturday.

Acrobat 9 Final Now Available

On Wednesday, Adobe said that Acrobat 9, which it had unveiled earlier in the month, had shipped. As we previously wrote, this is the first version of Acrobat with Flash support, so we can now look forward to PDFs with YouTube videos embedded in them.

Earlier this month, at the same time they announced Acrobat 9, Adobe opened a beta of Acrobat.com, which is basically another online document / collaboration site. It includes a Web-based word processor, conferencing and remote access, PDF creation, and 5 gigabytes of file storage.

More info on Acrobat 9 can be found on Adobe's site. And no, there's no Reader version yet. Sorry!

Windows 7 Slated for Jan. 2010: Microsoft

Here's something I completely missed the first time I read Microsoft's "Dear John" letter to XP. Buried in the letter (.PDF) which Bill Veghte, senior vice president of the Online Services & Windows Business group sent to Windows customers earlier this week, besides re-affirming that XP is pretty much gone after June 30th (with a few exceptions, more later), was a note that indicated that customers wanted a "more regular, predictable Windows release schedule."

Based on that, he said the following:

Some of you may have heard about "Windows 7", which is the working name for the next release of Microsoft Windows. We have learned a great deal through the feedback you have shared with us about Windows Vista and that feedback is playing an important role in our work on Windows 7. You have told us you want a more regular, predictable Windows release schedule. To this end, our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately 3 years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista.

You've also let us know you don't want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista. As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward.

Some of this is the same message which has been stated previously by Microsoft: since Windows 7 will build on Vista, you shouldn't wait for Vista. Basically they're saying, "if you're going to have problems, you might as well get them out of the way now as Windows 7 will have the same issues."

However, based on the fact that the same email outlined that Windows XP support for security and critical updates will continue until 2014, and that there are ways to still get XP, will businesses choose to skip Vista entirely?

Obviously corporations aren't going to be buying nettops or netbooks, which will still ship with XP, but volume license agreements (VLAs) mean that those businesses can continue to install XP.

Additionally, for consumers and those without VLAs, the "downgrade rights" program will allow Vista Ultimate and Business users to get XP shipped with their computer - and at least in the case of Dell and HP, even get XP pre-installed (pre-downgraded, so to speak). Of course, "downgrade rights" expire on Jan. 31, 2009, but that won't affect corporations.

So, did we finally get the go-ahead from Microsoft that Vista is "skippable?"

Hospital RFID Tags Interfere with Medical Devices: Study

This probably shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone who's experienced interference of one type or another from a wireless device of some kind. After all, we have all these signals filling the air around us. You would think someone would have tested this before.

But it took a team of Dutch researchers, the same group whose study last year indicated that cell phones could interfere with critical care equipment such as ventilators and external pacemakers, to come up with a similar result regarding RFID tags.

RFID tags are used to track various items, including - in hospitals - items like medicines and surgical tools. However, the study, to be published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that RFID tags can interfere with equipment such as respirators, external pacemakers and kidney dialysis machines.

The researchers tested medical equipment within meters of an RFID reader broadcasting a signal to nearby RFID tag. In 123 tests of 41 different pieces of equipment, the equipment malfunctioned 34 times (28%), with 22 of the problems serious enough to affect patients.

Erik Jan van Lieshout, a critical care physician at the University of Amsterdam led the study, as well as the prior cell phone study. He urged caution in reacting to the study. "Don't put on a frenetic ban on RFID systems. That would be as stupid as instituting systems without testing them."

Virtually none of the equipment had no interference at all, but older equipment seemed to be less susceptible to interference.

Last year the FDA issued a set of draft guidelines that identified RFID technology as a potential safety concern.

In fact, their guidelines said:

In general, a wired connection is more reliable than a wireless connection. FDA believes the more critical the medical device function and information passed via RF technology, the more important it is the wireless connection be robust. We recognize there are several concerns about the potential effects of RF wireless technology in and around medical devices related to the ability of the devices to function properly and the resultant safety of patients and operators, including:

• RF wireless emissions from one product or device can affect the function of another
• electromagnetic environments where medical devices are used may contain many sources of RF energy
• the use of RF wireless technology in and around medical devices is increasing.

Despite this, there hasn't been much attention paid to RF interference and possible issues with regards to patient safety. Despite the fact that the FDA has no injury reports due to RFID interference with a medical device, this study shows that more attention needs to be paid to this subject, as increased RFID tag use could mean that such a safety record won't stand up over time.

Gridlock Comes to Your Cell Phone

Los Angeles has a love affair with car chases on TV. But delivering traffic cam footage to your cell phone? That's the idea behind FreeTrafficCams.com, which has rolled out its product in a few cities across the country. From the list of their upcoming cities, they're definitely in "expansion" mode.

Currently live in Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City (MO), Knoxville, Los Angeles, and New York, they plan to expand soon into Albany, Buffalo, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Rochester, and Syracuse.

The supported device list is full of Windows Mobile and Palm OS phones, some Blackberrys, and a few Razrs as well as Nokia cell phones. But don't look for it yet: no iPhone. That version is coming later this summer.

Pretty simple to use: you go to your city, type in your cell phone number, and they send you a text message that allows you to download the application to your phone. In L.A., for example, you can access 270+ traffic cameras (which means, in L.A., a lot of gridlock images).

Some of the cameras will show rapidly updated still images while some will show live video.

It should be noted that a large message on the FreeTrafficCams site says "Warning: Do not Use While Driving," which one would think would reduce the utility of this application, but considering how much distraction comes from just talking on a cell phone, it's good advice.

New iPhone Cheaper Despite 3G: iSuppli

iSuppli just loves to tear electronics apart so we can know exactly what's inside them - and how much they cost. Their latest teardown analysis, unveiled Tuesday: the new iPhone 3G.

The original 8 GB iPhone set Apple back about $226. The new 3G model costs Apple $173 to build. The savings of $53 equates to 23%, a sizable reduction.

New parts in the 3G model are the Infineon 3G chipset and Broadcom subsidiary Global Locate's GPS unit. However, the Samsung processor, flash memory, and many other components are carried over from the original iPhone, and lower costs there offset the new parts, despite the additional overhead of the necessary $45 in royalties for a 3G license that Apple must pay to Qualcomm et. al.

As Business Week quotes iSuppli analyst Jagdish Rebello, from the analysis:

"They have done a good job in using what worked well with the first one and making improvements where it mattered."

Well, I always figured the iPhone 3G would be evolutionary, as opposed to revolutionary (the iPhone was already that). But as they open up the device (more or less) with their SDK, we should see the revolution on the iPhone come in software, rather than hardware.

For those looking at the new prices for the 8 GB and 16 GB iPhone 3G ($199 and $299, respectively) and saying: hey: $173 is only a $23 profit for Apple, don't worry. Apple gets a sizable subsidy from AT&T, and is making out quite well, despite the dropping of the revenue-sharing provision they used to have with the carrier.

The iPhone 3G is scheduled to arrive on July 11th.

Nokia Acquires the Rest of Symbian; Embraces Open Source

Conspicuous by its absence in the list of Google's Android partners has been Nokia, the biggest name in mobile phones. And while Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that Google is finding it more difficult to "change the cell phone industry" than it might have originally thought, on Tuesday Nokia delivered what could be another blow: it purchased the remaining 52% of Symbian, the company behind the software on its handsets, as well as making the software open source.

In terms of the Symbian purchase, according to a press release, Nokia has received favorable responses from all the major stakeholders, except Samsung, but expects Samsung to agree as well. It already has 91% of the remaining shares accounted for.

Meanwhile, the company announced the Symbian Foundation, which is expected to start operating during the first half of 2009. Membership of the foundation will be open to all, though not free: there's an annual membership fee of $1,500.

In the press release announcing the foundation, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia said:

"Establishing the Foundation is one of the biggest contributions to an open community ever made. Nokia is a strong supporter of open platforms and technologies as they give the freedom to build, maintain and evolve applications and services across device segments and offer by far the largest ecosystem, enabling rapid innovation. Today's announcement is a major milestone in our devices software strategy."

Sony Ericsson and Motorola have agreed to contribute technology from UIQ and DOCOMO has also agreed to contribute its MOAP(S) assets to the foundation.

So, is this really a strike at Android? Well, the Foundation does say on their home page that the idea is

to create an unparalleled open software platform for converged mobile devices, enabling the whole mobile ecosystem to accelerate innovation.

Hmmm. Sounds vaguely Android-ish. At the same time however, bringing the software in-house makes the device more iPhone-ish, with Nokia controlling both sides of the device - though you'd never see Apple go open source.

New Microsoft / Yahoo! Deal? Yes, No, Maybe?

Depending upon who you are listening to today, Microsoft either still has no intention of dealing with Yahoo!, is back to discussing a buyout of Yahoo!'s search engine technology, or is back to discussing a total buyout.

According to News.com, Microsoft is looking at sweetening the deal for Yahoo!'s search technology, according to a "major investor who has been in contact with both parties."

It was just about 1 1/2 weeks ago that Microsoft said any such deal over Yahoo!'s search technology was off for good, however. At the same time, Yahoo! announced its ad team-up with Google.

The blog TechCrunch said a deal for the full company is back on the table, citing "multiple sources at both Yahoo and Microsoft."

And finally, CNBC says "There is no deal for the whole company, and nothing has changed as of today," according to a source close to Microsoft.

Yahoo! shares were up as much to as much as $23.71 (from yesterday's $20.60 close) but then dropped back down, presumably after the CNBC story, and currently sits up about 1.5% at $21.77.

Personally, it's hard to figure out exactly what's going on. It is clear that both Google and Yahoo! put several clauses into their ad agreement which cover such possible deals, so it seems like everyone involved feels there's still some chance of a deal happening. What's unclear is the probability - and how Carl Icahn will react.

Retailers Post Starcraft II Release Date

Starcraft II was announced in May 2007, and Korea went wild. While it may just be coincidence that a number of etailers have posted ship dates for Starcraft II, and that they all picked the same date, is it also a coincidence that Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational Event takes place in Paris on June 28 and 29 this week? Perhaps that could be the day when the date is officially confirmed by Blizzard (and Korea could really go wild).

GameStop, Circuit City, EBGames and Best Buy all list the game with a release date of 12/3/2008. Of course, if you want the best price, don't go to Best Buy: it lists the game with a price of $59.99 while the other three list a price of $49.99.

Of course, if you want to get your hopes up for an earlier release, hmv.com lists it as releasing in the U.K. on 11/14/2008.

Nah, we've got a 4 - 1 skewing toward 12/3.

However, let me just say: hey, Blizzard, I'm still waiting to hear about Diablo 3. Oh, and a confirmation of these dates could set Asia on fire!

Microsoft Sends a "Dear John" Letter to XP

It's not over yet - not completely - but it might as well be. On Monday Microsoft sent out a letter to its customers dashing any hopes of a stay of execution for Windows XP.

The letter (.PDF), from Bill Veghte, senior vice president of the Online Services & Windows Business group, re-affirms that after June 30th Microsoft will suspend OEM distribution of Windows XP.

Of course, we know that low-cost desktops and laptops (nettops and netbooks) will continue to be shipped with Windows XP. We also know that buyers of Windows Vista Ultimate and Business will continue to get "downgrade rights," which gives them a copy of XP that they can downgrade their PCs to.

We also know that some OEMs, such as HP and Dell, will allow customers to exercise those rights prior to acquiring the computer. Veghte's letter even outlined those programs (though I'm sure Microsoft wishes they would go away):

In addition, some of our OEM partners are planning to offer services designed to help business customers that buy these versions of Windows Vista on new PCs to exercise their downgrade rights. This is a great value because it lets you use Windows XP on new PCs today if you need it and then make the move to take advantage of the additional capabilities of Windows Vista when you are ready, without having to pay for an upgrade.

Naturally, many businesses have custom images for their PCs and laptops anyway, and re-image any they purchase, so you can expect corporations to keep rolling out XP computers for some time to come - perhaps until Windows 7.

The letter also outlines one of the biggest issues with Windows Vista: compatibility - in two different places.

... some small business customers may have applications that aren’t compatible with Windows Vista. In most cases, your software vendor should have an updated version of these applications. In the case that you still need Windows XP Professional as noted above, you can purchase Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate on a new PC and then use downgrade rights until you are ready to upgrade to Windows Vista.

and

The architectural changes that improved security and resilience in Windows Vista led to compatibility issues with existing hardware and applications. Many hardware drivers and applications needed to be updated, and while the majority worked well when we launched Windows Vista, some key applications and drivers were not yet available. Since then, Microsoft and its industry partners have been hard at work to address compatibility issues and now the situation is fundamentally different.

If you say so, yeah.

One week to go until the XP era comes to an end (more or less).

Psystar Unveils Xserve Clone

Psystar, which people initially looked askance at when it first unveiled its Mac clones, has since provided review copies and actually shipped copies of their computers.

Obviously, the legal issue still lies in the background, which is that since Psystar is hacking the Mac OS to get it to run on non-Apple hardware, it's actually violating the end-user licensing agreement for Mac OS X - a lawsuit just waiting to happen.

Psystar has unveiled a pair of OpenServ computers, squarely aimed at Apple's Xserve systems. Their servers are offered in 1U (OpenServ 1100) or 2U (OpenServ 2400) rack-mount versions.

Specifications for the OpenServ 1100 ($1,599) are:

• Intel Xeon E5420 Harpertown 2.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 4GB of fully-buffered DDR2 667 RAM
• one 750GB 7200RPM SATA drive
• Dual Gigabit LAN
• Integrated Graphics

For the OpenServ 2400 ($1,999):

• Intel Xeon E5420 Harpertown 2.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 4GB of fully-buffered DDR2 667 RAM
• one 750GB 7200RPM SATA drive
• Dual Gigabit LAN
• Integrated Graphics
• Is compatible with low-profile expansion cards

Apple's entry-level Xserve starts at $2,999, so there's a definite price advantage, which is what Psystar has always trumpeted. However, that price advantage is sliced into a great deal by the fact that you have to add the Leopard Server software to the price. For an unlimited-client version, you have to spend $1,025, which cuts the price advantage for the 1100 (vs. the entry-level Xserve) to a mere $375.

And, while the OpenServ has double the RAM (4 GB vs. 2GB), it comes with a slower CPU.

Despite all this, Psystar has won some fans. And while it's never going to grab the following Apple has, at least until Apple lays down the "law" (literally), quite a few reviewers would be willing to state that its offerings, although somewhat boring and dowdy, do work, and offer an affordable alternative.

NBC Announces "Olympics on the Go"

This year's Summer Olympics is in Beijing, which is 12 hours ahead of EDT. Yep, that means many events will take place while Americans are sleeping. Of course, this isn't a new problem; it's happened many times before when the Olympics was held in locales with such a time differential.

On Monday NBC announced a workaround for many. No, they're not changing the time of events to suit Americans, but they and Wavexpress announced "Olympics on the Go," a free service that will allow you to select the sports you're interested in. The content is automatically downloaded once the coverage is available. Users can then watch the events without being online.

The bad news for XP users: it's only available on Windows Vista (bleh).

In a press release, Perkins Miller, Senior Vice President, Digital Media, NBC Sports and Olympics, and Michael Sprague, President of Wavexpress announced the initiative.

"This service will provide a fantastic viewing experience for Olympic fans with Windows Vista Media Center," said Sprague. "They can choose their favorite sports, from diving to water polo to gymnastics, and extended coverage is automatically synchronized to their PC in the middle of the night. With a laptop, they will get a high-quality video experience to view on the train, the plane, or in the college quad."

"As we prepare to broadcast the Beijing Olympic Games, we are committed to reaching as many viewers as possible," said Miller. "Our partnership with Wavexpress will enable us to reach viewers seeking high-quality in-depth coverage of the wide range of sports that make up the Olympics. The service will especially appeal to fast-paced fans who want to catch up on their favorite sports offline."

The service will be free. The Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be run from August 8, 2008, to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony beginning on August 8th at 08:08:08 pm CST (12:08:08 UTC).

Russert Scoop on Wikipedia Earns Punishment for Updater

In the super-fast world of the Internet, if a story breaks, you can expect the Wikipedia entry for that subject to be updated faster than you can blink. In the case of Tim Russert's sad death on June 13th, NBC contacted other networks and media outlets in an attempt to hold back the news long enough to notify his family vacationing in Italy. Before they knew it, however, it was already updated on Wikipedia.

Russert collapsed from a heart attack in NBC’s Washington newsroom around 1:40 PM EDT; he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a hospital at 2:23. The network announced the news at 3:39.

The first edits into Wikipedia, however, went in at 3:01 PM EDT. Several other edits went in, which changed things into "past tense" as well as adding his date of death. The IP address revealed that the changes came from Internet Broadcasting (IB). IB is a company based in St. Paul, Minn., that provides Web services to a variety of companies - including NBC, according to their client list.

If you look at the Wikipedia records still further, you can see that the edits were rolled back to a pre-obituary state about 11 minutes after the first edits. Those edits also came from IB.

According to the New York Times, a spokeswoman for IB said on Friday that

"a junior-level employee made updates to the Wikipedia page upon learning of Mr. Russert’s passing, thinking it was public record." She added that the company had "taken the necessary measures with the employee and apologized to NBC." NBC News said it was told the employee was fired.

However, other reports are that the employee was merely suspended.

If the employee learned of Russert's death via a confidential NBC communication, then indeed, perhaps suspension or firing may have been warranted. It could also be said that he probably should have been working instead of updating Wikipedia.

On the other hand, should mainstream media just admit to itself that the ability to delay news is simply gone in this day and age of instant updates, Twitter and Wikipedia? What do you readers think?

Microsoft May Have Saved Your WoW Password

I'm certainly I'm no fan of Microsoft security products, which continue to play catch-up and have seem to quite a few problems (and not just false positives). In this case, Microsoft's last release of its Malicious Software Removal Tool - offered every month on Patch Tuesday - targeted quite a few password-stealing trojans which were focusing on gamers.

In a blog post on Friday, in fact, Matt McCormack of Microsoft indicated that Win32/Taterf, just one example of many such malware which targets passwords for online games, had been removed from 700,000 PCs - in just the first day of the distribution of June's MSRT alone.

An analysis of the first week's data showed the following:

Online game PWS family	Disinfected files	Distinct machines
Win32/Taterf	2,342,399	1,269,098
Win32/Frethog	1,374,911	652,625
Win32/Tilcun	379,306	270,712
Win32/Ceekat	355,400	249,717
Win32/Corripio	72,628	58,560
Win32/Lolyda	49,783	27,367
WinNT/Zuten	33,344	21,669
Win32/Zuten	24,565	17,643

The numbers are actually staggering, and since the majority of malware these days is targeted at making a profit, it also shows just how big a business gaming has become.

McCormack went on to speculate that the high infection rate was due to some gamers not wanting to degrade the performance of their machines with AV software. While there are some CPU hogs out there among AV software (Symantec comes to mind), there are also quite a few that don't impact your system performance much at all (NOD32, for example).

BTW, if you don't know, the MSRT, when downloaded on Patch Tuesday, just runs and then disappears from your system; if it doesn't find anything, you won't see any indication it's even run. It's worth it to make sure it runs on Patch Tuesday, and also to keep some sort of AV product on yours system, even a free one.

Optical Disc-Based Media to Succumb to Digital Delivery: Sony

When Toshiba finally gave up on HD-DVD in February, I indicated that although Blu-ray had won the battle, optical media would eventually lose out to video downloads and video streaming. Of course, I felt it would take quite some time for that to happen (though the apparent upcoming imposition of tier-based broadband plans may slow things down even further).

Sony apparently agrees about the upcoming demise of optical media, at least in terms of the delivery of gaming software.

While giving the keynote at the Devstation conference in London, David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) said:

"The key to the future is the PlayStation Network, Games put straight onto PSN are the big opportunity. We do believe that the disc-based delivery system will fall as the power of the network base rises. At the same time, the overall industry growth will continue to go upwards as we push out into emerging markets."

Of course, while Reeves is speaking specifically about console games, it's clear that delivery systems such as Steam have gained popularity for PCs as well. And while this is still about software, streaming of movies from such companies as Disney and Netflix continues to pick up.

Will optical media for movies and other entertainment content also die out?

Well, without limitations placed on such distribution by tiered plans and throttling, it likely will. However, that will take some time, as I indicated previously.

One question I have for Reeves: how will the PS3's hard drive handle downloading the equivalent of a Blu-ray game (and still have room for say, a second game and more)? Video streaming is one thing, but storage of the entire game? That's a question Reeves didn't answer at the conference.

MPAA: We Don't Need No Stinking Evidence!

You get some positive news, such as the Amicus brief filed by the EFF and others in the Jammie Thomas case, which could net her a new trial.

But also on Friday, the MPAA filed its own brief, one which basically says it feels evidence isn't necessary in the case of one of its copyright infringement trials.

The MPAA's brief (.PDF) is

in support of Jury Instruction No. 15 that "the act of making copyrighted sound recordings available for electronic distribution on a peer-to-peer network, without license from the copyright owners, violates the copyright owners' exclusive right of distribution, regardless of whether actual distribution has been shown."

Further, it states the following:

It is often very difficult, and in some cases impossible, to provide such direct proof when confronting modem forms of copyright infringement, whether over P2P networks or otherwise; understandably, copyright infringers typically do not keep records of infringement. Mandating that proof could thus have the pernicious effect of depriving copyright owners of a practical remedy against massive copyright infringement in many instances.

In other words, it's hard to provide proof in copyright infringement cases, and if we have to provide such evidence, it'll make it difficult for them to convict people. Hmmm ... since I was just on a jury trial, I'd like to point this one thing out to the MPAA: reasonable doubt. If you can't come up with the evidence, why should anyone come up with a guilty verdict?

The MPAA and RIAA have both argued that keeping files in a “shared folder” is the same as distribution. At the same time, of course, the EFF's own Amicus brief (I think) has a good chance of winning a new trial for Jammie Thomas. Time will tell.

Update: it was pointed out to me that naturally this is a civil case, therefore what is needed is a "preponderance of evidence" rather than "evidence beyond a resonable doubt." Of course, without evidence, neither standard is met. You still need evidence, right?

"Street View Hookers" Spice Up the Web

Since its unveiling in May of 2007, Google's Street View has hit a few bumps in the road, including being told to "keep out" of an entire town, to being sued over privacy by a Pennsylvania couple, to being told to stay out of military bases. This particular incident is more humorous than anything else.

Take a gander at 3186 San Pablo Ave in Emeryville, CA (close to Berkeley), and you'll see what appears to be, ahem, some businesswomen on a street corner. I would assume they were trolling for employers.

There's no indication if the Street View cameramen partook of any of their wares, but probably not, as they have deadlines to meet.

Jammie Thomas, RIAA to Square Off Again?

You might remember Jammie Thomas, the Minnesota woman who lost a court case over music sharing and was ordered to pay the recording industry $222,000 for copyright violations related to sharing songs. She was convicted of sharing the songs from her PC, despite the fact that they never proved that anyone had in fact downloaded anything from her PC.

And that is somewhat the crux of the Amicus brief filed on Friday by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), U.S. Internet Industry Association (USIIA) and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA). The organizations are asking for a new trial, saying that the judge's instructions to the jury were erroneous, to be kind.

The brief (.PDF), says the following:

The jury was instructed that:

The act of making copyrighted sound recordings available for electronic distribution on a peer-to-peer network, without license from the copyright owners, violates the copyright owners’ exclusive right of distribution, regardless of whether actual distribution has been shown.

This instruction was erroneous as a matter of law. The plain language of the Copyright Act and applicable precedents mandate that an infringement of the distribution right requires the unauthorized, actual dissemination of copies of a copyrighted work - a completed act of transfer. To permit a finding of distribution liability based on anything less would be to transform section 106(3) into an unbounded form of civil attempt liability, even where no copies had ever been distributed and thus no harm had ever been inflicted on the copyright owner.

What are they saying? Well, they're saying that if infringement requires the "work" to be distributed; if they can't prove that anyone downloaded songs from Thomas' computer, there's no infringement.

In a press release, Ed Black, President & CEO of CCIA said:

"If this outcome were allowed to stand, it would set a dangerous precedent for copyright law. Before you hold someone responsible for an offense, in this case distributing protected songs, it’s probably a good idea to prove they actually committed the offense."

EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry, in their own press release, said:

"The Copyright Act simply does not allow suing someone for attempted copyright infringement. If the RIAA wants to continue with its mass litigation campaign, it's going to have to invest the time and resources to actually prove those cases -- if it can -- by showing that infringement actually occurred."

Even the judge in the trial, Michael Davis, seems to have admitted he might have made a mistake. On May 15, 2008 he requested briefing on whether Thomas should receive a new trial. Davis was concerned that he might have made a mistake by in his jury instructions.

A hearing will be held in August, at which time hopefully a decision will be made granting Thomas a new trial.

The Smithsonian Joins Flickr's "The Commons"

You'll recall that in February, Flickr and the Library of Congress announced "The Commons," a public photo collection which they hoped would

... firstly, increase exposure to the amazing content currently held in the public collections of civic institutions around the world, and secondly, to facilitate the collection of general knowledge about these collections ...

Part of the idea was to have Flickr users annotate and add comments to the photos to enhance their historical value. As with an well-intentioned project, you sometimes end up with things like the "Daddy?" annotation from JPhilipson shown below on an Albert Einstein photo.

That photo sits on The Commons' front page, as one of the sample photos, unforunately.

Since the unveiling of The Commons in January, the Powerhouse Museum and the Brooklyn Museum have joined the project. In a press release, the Smithsonian Museum announced this week that it was joining the project as well.

The Smithsonian has collaborated with Flickr—a leading photo-sharing community—Monday, June 16, by adding more than 800 images to The Commons on Flickr from seven of its museums, research centers and archives. The images in this initial Smithsonian posting came from the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian, National Postal Museum, Anacostia Community Museum, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Smithsonian Institution Libraries.

Richard Kurin, Acting Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture, said:

"Our goals in participating in The Commons on Flickr are to expose new, larger, broader and younger audiences to our photographic collections and help them discover more of the Smithsonian educational resources. We also hope to learn how Web site visitors use our digital collections so that we can better serve the public."

The Smithsonian also said that it will add an additional 1,200 photos to Flickr in the next several months. Hopefully more institutions will continue to join the project.

DIY Yahoo! Resignation Letter Generator

Lending a little humor to the semi-frenzied executive departures at Yahoo! is this Yahoo! resignation letter generator. After all, since last week the following have announced their departures:

Jeff Weiner, Executive VP of the network group, and Usama Fayyad, Executive VP of research and computing infrastructure; Qi Lu, Executive VP in charge of search and monetization, Brad Garlinghouse, Senior VP of communication and communities, and Vish Makhijani, Senior VP of search.

To make matters easier for more Yahoo! executives, Mathew Honan from 123 Fake St (ha, ha) in SF registered the domain yahoorezinr.com, and placed a ready-made Yahoo! resignation letter generator there - and just on Friday, no less.

And yep, that's the same Mathew Honan who's a contributing editor at Wired. The resignation letter generator is also on a page linked from his own site.

In a Mad Libs-type format, the resignation letter allows you to create your own custom resignation letter to Jerry Yang, or to "whomever is running things today."

A few tidbits from the generator:

It is with great sadness glee self-interest that I ask you to accept this letter as my official resignation from Yahoo!

As you know, for some time now I have been desiring more time with my familya more challenging positionyou guys quit destroying all my net worth and thus I feel the time has finally arrived for me to move ontake a new directiontell you to go f*** yourself.

I have come to realize that management does not seem to fully understand social mediahow to make a profitsearchhow to run a taco truck, much less a $30 billion business.

Yeah, well, it's not 100% clean. Anyway, have fun with it, and if you're working at Yahoo!, this will make your life easier if you decide you need a change of scenery.

Microsoft Re-Releases Bluetooth Security Patch for XP

You can't always get it right. And Microsoft didn't get it right with one of the patches it issued last week on June's Patch Tuesday.

MS08-030 was listed as "critical" on June 10th, one of seven security updates patching ten vulnerabilities in Windows / other software. MS08-030 was supposed to fix a security vulnerability in Windows' Bluetooth implementation.

In a blog post announcing the re-release of MS08-030, Microsoft said:

After we released MS08-030 we learned that the security updates for Windows XP SP2 and SP3 might not have been fully protecting against the issues discussed in that bulletin. As soon as we learned of that possibility, we mobilized our Software Security Incident Response Process (SSIRP) to investigate the issue.

Our investigation found that while the other security updates were providing protections for the issues discussed in the bulletin, the Windows XP SP2 and SP3 updates were not.

Yep, that means what it sounds like: patches for other OSes were just fine, but not XP.

According to Microsoft, human error, at least two instances of it, seem to have been the root cause, though the investigation is still ongoing.

Our focus has been on delivering new versions of these updates to protect customers as quickly as possible. Now that that’s done, as part of our standard process, we’re beginning an investigation into how this happened. We’re just starting this investigation, but early on, it appears that there may have been two separate human issues involved. When we’re done with our investigation, we’ll take steps to better prevent it in the future.

Facebook Widens Worldwide Lead Over MySpace

As I indicated earlier, Facebook first surpassed MySpace in terms of worldwide visitors in April, according to research firm comScore. While that was a very narrow "victory," it widened the separation between the two social networking sites in May.

According to comScore, Facebook had 123.9 million unique visitors in the month of May, while MySpace had 114.6 million. Meanwhile Facebook had 50.6 billion page views compared to MySpace's 45.4 billion.

As in April, however, MySpace maintained its huge lead over Facebook in the U.S., with 73.7 million unique visitors vs. Facebook's 35.6 million.

However, the trend is that Facebook is growing by large amounts overseas, and that's visible in the comScore graph above, which shows MySpace pretty much have little to no growth over the entire period of the graph.

Will MySpace's recent side redesign draw people back to the site? We won't know until mid-July, but it's doubtful it will create a steep increase in visitors, at least in the short-term.

One in Three IT Professionals Snoops

Are you friends with the IT staff at your company? You probably should be. According to a study released Thursday by U.S. information security company Cyber-Ark, a survey of 300 senior IT professionals showed that one-third of them admitted to abusing their administrative rights and snooping where they shouldn't.

At the same time, 47% said they had accessed information that was not relevant to their role. So, I guess these felt it wasn't abuse, but it wasn't something they absolutely needed to do.

The survey was part of Cyber-Ark's annual study titled “Trust, Security and Passwords."

Of course, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Absolute power corrupt absolutely, and all that. I think this would be an excellent question for Fox's Moment of Truth show, if they ever get an IT staffer on an episode.

Anyway, in a statement released with the study, Mark Fullbrook, Cyber-Ark's UK director, said:

"All you need is access to the right passwords or privileged accounts and you're privy to everything that's going on within your company. For most people, administrative passwords are a seemingly innocuous tool used by the IT department to update or amend systems. To those 'in the know' they are the keys to the kingdom."

Well, yeah. Duh.

Worse, the study said privileged passwords are changed far less frequently than user passwords. 30% are changed every quarter; 9% are never changed at all. So that IT staffer you just fired: he may still have access.

My question is: of the two-thirds of IT staffers who said they didn't abuse their access, how many of them would still be able to say that if hooked up to a Moment of Truth lie detector?

The MPG Myth

As gas and oil prices skyrocket, despite the fact that I see very little change in the San Francisco Bay Area in terms of the types of cars driven or the way people drive - more on that later - people are moving away from gas-guzzlers to more fuel efficient cars, out of necessity.

Still, the math ... or rather the myth ... of MPG may be making them making incorrect choices in terms of cars.

A research paper in the journal Science (subscription required) outlines just how misled we may be. When one uses a modicum of "common sense," it's pretty easy to see the results, even without a subscription to access the full article. I was intrigued when I heard a short blurb on this on the radio and did the math myself, as we are considering replacing my wife's Toyota Echo with a Toyota Prius.

The problem is that most people think an increase of 10 MPG trumps an increase of 5 MPG, no matter what. Let's say you have two cars, and were considering replacing an SUV that gets 15 MPG with one that gets 20 MPG. Or you could replace your mid-size that gets 28 with a subcompact that gets 38. And let's assume you drive the same number of miles in each car. The 10 MPG difference should be better, right? Wrong.

In fact, that 15 MPG uses 6.67 gallons every 100 miles. Meanwhile that 20 MPG SUV uses 5 gallons every 100 miles. Assuming $4 / gallon gasoline you will save $6.67 per 100 miles.

At the same time, the 28 MPG car vs. the 38 MPG car results in a savings of $3.76 over 100 miles. Surprising at first glance, but really, it just requires some math (a good spreadsheet helps!).

Obviously if the miles driven between the two cars is skewed the equation becomes more complex. Where's the breakeven point? In this case it would be calculated by dividing the difference the SUV's savings by the car savings: the SUV "change" saves 1.773 times as much fuel as the car "change."

Breakeven, then, would be when the car drives 1.773 x as many miles as the SUV. So, if the SUV drives 10,000 miles a year, and the car 17,730, that's about (accounting for rounding) when the savings would be equal.

I've uploaded a very simple spreadsheet here that will help you determine your best options, if you are considering replacing one of your cars.

Now, as far as my earlier comment about "how people drive," I still see people typically drive 80 - 85 MPH on Bay Area freeways - and that's with a 65 MPH speed limit. I hope most people have enough common sense to realize slowing down saves gasoline.

In fact, while the actual calculation would differ for each car based on a variety of variables, for most cars the "sweet spot" is in the range of 40-60 MPH. So why do we continue to have a 65 MPH maximum speed limit?

It's true, in fact, that truckers and even airlines are slowing down, on their own. But the public: they just don't get it. And let's face it, if your neighbor is using more gas, it's taking away from your and your descendents.

Oh, and BTW, for all those states with budget problems: a little strict enforcement (none of those "warnings" I see given on the TruTV show Speeders) might really help your bottom line. And don't get me started about how many non-carpoolers are in the carpool lane.

End of rant.

NVIDIA Adds the 9800 GTX+ and PhysX

On Thursday, the same day that AMD unveiled - early - its 4800 series of cards (because some etailers were already selling the card), NVIDIA decided it just had to unveil its own new card, as well as some other good news.

NVIDIA's new card is the GeForce 9800 GTX+ GPU, an overclocked 9800 GTX, but really the 55nm refresh of the G92. NVIDIA increased default clock/shader speeds: from 675MHz to 738MHz and from 1688MHz to 1836MHz respectively. Memory speeds for this card will be dropped slightly to 1GHz (the GeForce 9800 GTX's memory speed is 1100MHz ). The MSRP will be $229, and it will hit store shelves in mid-July.

At the same time the 9800 GTX's price will be dropped to $199, matching AMD's 4850 MSRP.

The really good news: PhysX for the GeForce 9800 GTX, 9800 GTX+, and GTX 260/280 cards will be enabled by the ForceWare 177.39 driver, timed to launch with the GTX+. And NVIDIA says it will gradually roll out PhysX support to the full GeForce 8/9 line.

Carl Icahn's Blog Finally Goes Live

On Thursday Carl Icahn launched his long-delayed blog, which was first announced in February. The Icahn Report, despite debuting on Thursday, already had seven entries, including one dated as early as June 12th.

Guess Icahn wanted to make sure we had plenty of content the first day.

His first posts were:

• Corporate Democracy is a Myth
• Absurdity of Corporate Board Elections
• About CEOs – Anti Darwinian Metaphor – Survival of the Unfittest
• Absurdity of the Staggered Board
• Comments on Sandy Weill's Statements Concerning Citigroup
• Absurdity of The Poison Pill
• Thanks for the Support

Well, I definitely see some in there that are probably targeted at Yahoo!

I searched his site, however, and didn't see any comment on Thursday's defeat at Biogen, where Icahn lost his proxy fight.

Will he continue his proxy fight with Yahoo!? Will he vent on his blog? More to come, obviously.

Microsoft Backtracks on Music Store DRM Server Shutdown

You'll recall earlier I wrote about Microsoft's decision to save some electricity and turn off the licensing servers for their defunct Music Store. Doing so, would have eliminated the ability for users to continue to transfer and play songs between computers.

The decision was announced in April, with a drop-dead date for the servers of August 31st, 2008. As you may know, the original store was closed when Zune Marketplace opened.

Well, Microsoft's decided that wasn't such a hot idea, after tons of criticism. In an email, Microsoft said:

"After careful consideration, Microsoft has decided to continue to support the authorization of new computers and devices, and delivery of new license keys for MSN Music customers through at least the end of 2011. This means you will continue to be able to listen to your purchased music and transfer your music to new PCs and devices beyond the previously announced August 31, 2008 date."

They probably started to wonder, since it's hard enough to sell music for the Zune as it is, what people would think about Zune Marketplace if they took this step. So, while this is a nice PR move, it's still not forever. I'm thinking they assume people will forget all about this by 2011, or perhaps Microsoft will remove the DRM at that time, once and for all.

Mark 2011 in your calendar as the next time we discuss this.

iTunes Store Passes Five Billion Songs Sold

McDonald's has nothing to worry about - yet - but Apple still has reason to crow. Thursday it announced that the iTunes store has sold over 5 billion songs.

At the same time Apple announced that iTunes is renting over 50,000 movies a day, making it, according to Apple, the most popular online video rental retailer.

Finally, Apple cited NPD data, showing it to be the number one music retailer in the US (based on January and February NPD MusicWatch surveys).

Great for Apple, but bad for consumers, as most of what Apple sells has DRM (copy protection); with all its market power it obviously feels no need to join Amazon MP3 and others with an all-DRM-free catalog.

Naturally, the fact that iTunes on the desktop is used for all the synching and transfer to the device makes the iTunes Store the easy and obvious choice for consumers. Still, I point everyone I know to Amazon MP3 - the less DRM, IMHO, the better.

Will Ymail Lure You to Yahoo! Mail?

For that matter, will Rocketmail? Starting later today, Yahoo! will be opening up ymail.com and rocketmail.com email domains for users. Why?

It's obvious that if you wanted to get the email address john@yahoo.com, you couldn't. Saturation has meant that if you want to get an email address at Yahoo!, or for that matter, Gmail, you frequently have to resort to adding numbers or other such differentiating characters. What a pain, right?

With two new domains, you could possibly get john@ymail.com or john@rocketmail.com, if you're fast.

Those with long memories will even remember the old rocketmail.com domain name from waaaaay back in 1997, when Yahoo! bought Four11 and its RocketMail product. I even recall having a RocketMail account back then.

Hopefully when this goes live, Yahoo!'s servers will be able to handle the rush of people trying to get their favorite email addresses. Naturally Yahoo! hopes to see a rush akin to the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1893.

Users with the new domains will still get the same UI and "everything" that Yahoo! Mail has. Yahoo!, according to comScore, has approximately 266 million users, with Microsoft close behind with 264 million users and Gmail's 102 million.

Me? I'll sign up, but mostly so I have a better Yahoo! IM account ID. Email? I'll stick with Gmail.

Update: It's gone live as you can see from the updated image above. However, the servers are overloaded and when I tried to register I kept "URL does not exist errors." It finally worked, however. Hurry, hurry!

Security Vulnerability Already Found in Firefox 3

Firefox 3 was only released on Tuesday, and a security vulnerability has already been found. In fact, the vulnerability was found within the first five hours of its release at 10 AM PDT.

The vulnerability first showed up on Zero Day Initiative's Upcoming Advisories page where a vulnerability was reported for Mozilla (ZDI-CAN-349). According to Tipping Point's Digital Vaccine (DV) Labs, the vulnerability affects both Firefox 2.0.x and Firefox 3.

We verified the vulnerability in our lab, acquired it from the researcher, then promptly reported the vulnerability to the Mozilla security team shortly after. Successful exploitation of the vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code. Not unlike most browser based vulnerabilities that we see these days, user interaction is required such as clicking on a link in email or visiting a malicious web page.

Zero Day Initiative won't reveal anything about the vulnerability until Mozilla has a fix, as is their policy. Once a patch is available, Zero Day will publish details here.

Mozilla is reportedly working on a fix.

While they're at it, I hope they fix some of the other issues I've already found, like new pages opening in a "new window" despite being set to open in a "new tab" and the Alt-S workaround for forum posting no longer working.

Microsoft Searches for Some Yahoos

Can't buy the company? Can't buy the search technology? Well, how about buying the talent? Wednesday Microsoft placed a full-page ad for "search jobs" in (gasp!) an honest-to-goodness hard copy paper, The San Jose Mercury-News. Despite the ubiquity of the San Francisco Chronicle, for Silicon Valley, the Merc is the paper.

Microsoft wants to make sure any Silicon Valley search programmers know that it has search jobs in the Valley. Now which company might it be looking at for talent? The first line of the ad says:

"There are now very few companies that remain truly committed to defining the future of search and online advertising. Microsoft is one of them."

Methinks they would have been better served using a site ad instead of a newspaper ad, but hey, old-school.

The ad goes on to say that Microsoft is a company with the:

"resources, engineering expertise, R&D, partnerships and competitive spirit to make it happen."

While it's possible they could be targeting others besides Yang's Yahoos, it would make sense if they were targeting Yahoo employees. After all, Glassdoor seems to indicate morale isn't so great at Yahoo!

You can see the ad below; click to enlarge.

Verizon to Expand 50/20 Mbps Service to Entire FiOS Coverage Area

Statements and trials by ISPs like AT&T and Time-Warner Cable about tiered pricing definitely make me worry, but here's something that brightens my day: on Wednesday Verizon announced it would be expanding its 50 (dl) / 20 (ul) Mbps FiOS service to its entire FiOS "footprint." Previously it had only offered the 50 / 20 Mbps and 20 / 20 Mbps services in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.

This would expand connections of 50/20, 20/20, 20/5 and 10/2 Mbps across all of Verizon's FiOS service area in 16 states.

Of course, it's still not in my area.

In a press release including remarks delivered Wednesday at the NXTcomm conference in Las Vegas, Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl said:

"The Verizon network is delivering broadband speeds that are unmatched by any competitor. As our customers shoot and send their own photos and movies, work at home more often, and expand their home networks, they love the faster speeds FiOS delivers."

Sample pricing:

• 50/20 Mbps: New York and Virginia - $89.95; elsewhere - $139.95 a month (with an annual service plan)
• 20/20 Mbps: all FiOS markets - $64.99 a month (with an annual service plan)

I'd like to get an explanation of why New York and Virginia get a price break, but it's all moot anyway, as my area doesn't have FiOS available. Too bad, as Comcast's 6 / 1 plan costs $67.95 without Comcast TV service and $52.95 with TV service, making the 20/20 plan a bargain for me (since I have satellite).

I've said it before, to no avail: So, dang it Verizon, when are you expanding into my area?

California Gives Home DNA Testing the Boot

I've written before about home DNA testing kits, specifically about the Google-backed startup, 23andMe. Of course, there's a good reason for the connection: 23andMe's co-founder Anne Wojcicki is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued cease-and-desist orders to 13 direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies. The companies involved included both 23andMe and Navigenics Inc., two of the most high-profile companies, and followed an investigation of 12 public complaints.

According to CDPH, the letters, sent on June 9th, gave companies 14 days from the day of sending to develop a plan for compliance with state law.

It therefore comes down to the criteria that CPHD has previously laid out for such genetic testing companies.

Accordiing to Portfolio, the criteria are:

1. Is there a California licensed physician involved?
2. Are tests being authorized by a California licensed physician?
3. Does testing include pre- and post-test counseling?
4. Are tests being conducted at CLIA Certified [federally approved] labs?
5. Are the tests validated?

Navigenics has already issued a statement saying they believe they are in compliance.

This isn't a good trend for these DNA testing startups; in late April New York state sent letters to DNA testing firms - including Navigenics and 23andMe - telling them they face fines and jail time if they don't have appropriate permits.

At least DNA Direct, the home DNA storage company, doesn't seem to have to worry: they just store your DNA for those hard-to-imagine emergencies, as opposed to actual testing.

"Download Day" Brings Firefox Servers to Their Knees

As I previously wrote, Mozilla is trying to set a record on "Download Day," for most downloads in 24 hours as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Ah, the best laid plans ...

While Firefox 3 seems well on its way to a record (it should be noted that there is no previous record for most downloads in 24 hours), the surge of downloads brought the Mozilla servers to their knees.

After the official launch of 10 AM PDT, Mozilla servers were overloaded and users had trouble downloading, delaying the official start of "Download Day." Mozilla even acknowledged the issues in a blog post:

The outpouring of interest and enthusiasm around Firefox 3 has been overwhelming (literally!). Our servers are currently feeling the burn and should be back to normal shortly. Download day will officially commence once the site goes live. The 24 hours period will be clocked from that moment.

You have until 10 AM PDT tomorrow to download and add to the record. Of course, don't download multiple times as that would (technically) be cheating. I've downloaded my copy!

At the time of this writing, the current number of downloads is over 2.34 million ... keep the downloads coming!

AP's Already-Existing Posting Guidelines

As the blow-up over the Associated Press' DMCA takedown demands of The Drudge Retort gains still more steam, AP has said it was planning to publish guidelines for posting of excerpts of their articles in blogs and other sites.

It turns out they already have a policy for excerpting their stories. While it still, in my opinion and that of many others, it doesn't seem to recognize "fair use," it does have a "free" method of posting stories from AP.

If you view an AP story and see a reuse options link (above), click through and you'll see the full list of current AP options for reuse. Let's be clear here: these are not new! Some sites have implied this is a new policy; it is not. I've looked at this stuff before and it's been there even before the recent blow-up.

One of them is "Post on Your Website or Intranet." Click-through again and you'll see what they currently consider OK for web sites and blogs.

I'm certainly not defending AP here, but there is a free option, as I said.


Of course, that option only works for one month. Yep, you can:

Post this article on your website, blog, social networking page, or intranet for a limited time, free of charge, with ads. Includes the AP logo, copyright notice, and links. You can link to the article or display it using inline frames.

If you accept their requirements, you can click through and either get a link or HTML to embed the full story.

Limited time, according to the site, is one month. Most blogs and sites aren't going to want to have to remove a link or story after one month - and this still doesn't satisfy the "fair use" definition most use: a few lines + a link - for free, non-expiring.

Or you can click through the " Excerpt for Web Use" link. This requires you to pay by the word:

• 5-25 - $ 12.50
• 26-50 - $ 17.50
• 51-100 - $ 25.00
• 101-250 - $ 50.00
• 251 and up - $ 100.00

How generous! They do have slightly better non-profit and educational pricing, however.

So, most blogs / sites still use the "fair use" policy. If AP, troubled as it is, wants additional revenue ... well, this sort of policy is just going to drive people away from linking their stories, and end up being a negative for AP in the long run.

Still waiting for that redefined policy, AP.

Firefox 3 Available Early, But Don't Do It! Don't Download Early!

Typical of Firefox releases, a number of sites have begun leaking downloads to Firefox 3 (final). Naturally people will rush to these downloads and start downloading, as most of us are impatient. I say: don't do it! Why not, you may ask?

Well, don't you want to see Mozilla set a Guinness Book of World Records record? Mozilla is running "Download Day" as we wrote about earlier. All right, honestly there is no prior record for the largest number of software downloads in 24 hours, so they're going to set it anyway (as long as they have all the documentation they need).

However, if they want to keep that record, at least until Firefox 4, they will need as many downloads from their servers as necessary. As they say:

We will internally host 10% of the downloads, retaining all of the logs for these downloads, and will use this as our sample set to extrapolate the actual download number and percentage of completed downloads.

So, the more from their internal servers rather than mirrors, the better. It's also unclear if downloads before 10 AM PDT, the official launch time, will be accepted. Currently SpreadFirefox says they have over 1.7 million "pledges" to download Firefox 3 today.

That said, I do have a link to a Mozilla FTP site that is hosting the builds, if you really, really have to have it now.

But if you do that, make sure you download a second copy from Mozilla's servers after the official launch. Thanks, and let's set that record.

Lori Drew Pleads Not Guilty in MySpace Suicide Case

You probably remember the Megan Meier case, in which a teenage girl committed suicide after a MySpace romance went bad. The romance itself and the boy involved were in fact fictional, perpetrated as a vindictive prank by the mother of a former friend who lived down the street.

That mother, Lori Drew, was indicted in May on one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization. The charges each carry a maximum of 5 years in prison.

On Monday Drew pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The story captured the attention of the nation and the blogosphere when it first broke. The suicide occurred in October of 2006, though her parents did not find out the truth until months later. In November of 2007, Megan's home town, Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, unable to find an applicable law to charge anyone with, created one which bans Internet harassment.

The difference between this and such cases that have occurred, including the Bebo cyberbullying case I wrote about recently, is the presence of an adult in the incident. Someone like Drew should know better than to "pull" such a "prank."

It's also true however, that the charges are a bit of a stretch. The computer-related charges are based on MySpace's terms of service, which includes not promoting information users know to be false or misleading, or soliciting personal information from anyone under the age of 18 or using information gathered from the Web site to "harass, abuse or harm other people."

The trial will begin on July 26.

United Airlines to Connect Your iPod, iPhone

Possibly hoping to make up for its $15 fee for your first checked bag (yes, I know, they are not the only airline doing this), United Airlines announced Monday it is the first U.S. airline to offer iPod / iPhone connectivity to its in-flight entertainment system. The first "iPod flight," United 936, took off at 5:40 PM EDT on Monday, from Washington, D.C. to Zurich, Switzerland.

In a press release, Graham Atkinson, United Airlines – executive vice president and Chief Customer Officer said:

Our guests may now watch or listen to what they want, when they want with programming they choose. United will continue to provide services and technology that makes our customers’ travel experiences more relaxed and enjoyable.

Of course, only the upper crust will "watch or listen to what they want." According to the press release, it seems they are only rolling this out to business- and first-class passengers.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod & iPhone Product Marketing, said:

The iPod and iPhone have become essential for millions of travelers around the world. We think United customers are going to love being able to listen or watch personal music and video content on their iPod or iPhone via the in-flight entertainment system, and we can't wait for United to roll this out to their fleet.

The connectivity technology has been manufactured by Panasonic Avionics. According to United, it will take two years for a complete roll-out.

Track the Progress of the Firefox 3 Release

Chomping at the bit for the release of Firefox 3? Mozilla's aware how fans like us will go to their FTP site and check ... and check ... and check for updates. Right now if you go to their site, all you'll see is a "We're not quite ready yet!" message.

You will, however, get redirected to the Mozilla Wiki, where you can track the release as it progresses.

At the time of this writing, however, they've only completed Step 4, "QA tests web changes on authstage." At 12:01 PM PDT, they're going to start seeding mirrors. Based on the behavior of some mirrors, they'll probably leak the build before the 10:00 AM PDT launch time listed on the web page. Get ready to grab it!

iPhone Subsidized Price Eligibility Detailed

I've caved in and been looking into an iPhone 3G. When I called AT&T, I found out that I wouldn't be eligible for an iPhone 3G at the subsidized price, unless I could convince a representative to let me skate because I will only be 1 month away from an upgrade when July 11th rolls around.

AT&T is going to treat the iPhone as any other subsidized phone. This means that you will have to meet certain requirements in order to buy it at the reduced price. It also means there will be an unsubsidized price, but that hasn't been revealed by AT&T yet.

Here are the requirements for a phone upgrade from AT&T (courtesy of Wirefly).

Not all Cingular/AT&T customers may qualify for a cell phone upgrade. At this time, AT&T Mobility allows these customers to upgrade with no upgrade fee when they commit to a new 2-year contract:

• AT&T customers who have had 24 months of cell phone service since activation of their cell phone or since their last phone upgrade.

Certain AT&T customers may be eligible for a cell phone upgrade even if they have been in their current plan for less than two years (24 months), if they commit to a new 2-year contract and meet these eligibility requirements:

• Customer has had a standard calling plan plus data services costing at least $68.99 a month but no more than $98.99 a month, and who has been in contract (and not had a phone upgrade) for 21 months or more,
  or
• Customer has had a standard calling plan plus data services costing $99 a month or more, and who has been in contract (and not upgraded) in the last 12 months.

A customer with a calling plan and data services of less than $69 who is 21 to 23 months into contract may upgrade for a fee and a commitment of an additional two-year service contract extension. No upgrade fee is assessed for any customers who are on a month-to-month agreement.

Note that AT&T upgrade eligibility may be further limited based on customer’s usage history, payment record, previous phone replacement, etc. Upgrade eligibility is solely determined by AT&T Mobility at its discretion.

I hope the "discretion" part will enable me to score an iPhone 3G ... though it really doesn't matter on July 11th because I am not going near a store and the inevitable lines. Still, I'd rather not wait the full month to get an iPhone 3G - we'll see what happens.

Google Docs Gets PDF Support

Microsoft Word is great, but an even more ubiquitous format is Adobe's PDF format. And one of the big complaints about Google Docs was its lack of PDF support. Now that hole has been plugged, at least in part.

Google has announced PDF support for Google Docs. You can upload a PDF document, view it and copy & paste from it. But you can't edit yet. If you could, you could imagine the bottom line hit to Adobe, eh?

Also, I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to zoom. That's a big missing piece, as zooming is pretty important in PDFs.

Still, it's a great add. Thanks, Google!

AP to Define Guidelines for Blog Use of Articles; Continues Hardline Stance

You'll recall my earlier post about the DMCA takedown notices issued to the Drudge Retort, a site which seems guilty of nothing more than a bad pun - and of "fair use" of brief excerpts. The AP seems to still have not "gotten" blogging, and although it pulled back a little - it still plans to place restrictions on bloggers that make me want to say "Hello, Reuters!"

The AP has backed off slightly, but not entirely, after rampant criticism from the blogosphere. On Friday, AP issued a statement defending its actions. In an email, AP said:

We get concerned, however, when we feel the use is more reproduction than reference, or when others are encouraged to cut and paste. That’s not good for original content creators; nor is it consistent with the link-based culture of the Internet that bloggers have cultivated so well.

In this particular case, we have had direct and helpful communication with the site in question, focusing only on these issues.

The seven items AP requested be removed? They contained excerpts from AP articles only a few sentences in length, maximum.

On Saturday, Jim Kennedy, vice president and strategy director of AP, told the New York Times that AP's letter to the Drudge Retort was "heavy-handed" and that the news organization would rethink its policies.

“We don’t want to cast a pall over the blogosphere by being heavy-handed, so we have to figure out a better and more positive way to do this,” Mr. Kennedy said.

Mr. Kennedy said the company was going to meet with representatives of the Media Bloggers Association, a trade group, and others. He said he hopes that these discussions can all occur this week so that guidelines can be released soon.

Guidelines? Essentially, AP will "attempt to define clear standards as to how much of its articles and broadcasts bloggers and Web sites can excerpt without infringing on The A.P.’s copyright."

Wow. "Fair use" has always been loosely defined, so now AP wants to firmly define it by itself? While AP says it's backing off its original stance, and it has, somewhat, this is still pretty hardline.

Reaction has been swift: TechCrunch, for example, has banned any linking to AP stories on its site.

AP has been struggling of late. Looking at some other companies that are struggling, such as Motorola, or even newspapers in general, much of that struggle has involved a slowness to embrace new technologies and ideas. AP: get a clue.

The blogosphere is here to stay. These sorts of restrictions will just push people to other news bureaus: not good for you, and not good for your members. Try to embrace Web 2.0, not fight it.

Update:

Check out Bloggasm's conversation about The Drudge Retort's run-in with AP.

“It’s possible that they’re just becoming more regressive in this area,” he replied. “If they’re up there selling a service that’s just headlines, titles and ledes, they can see what happens on blogs as a threat to that business. It’s hard to say though because for me they’re not communicating with me on any of this. There’s not really a dialog where they say ‘it’s OK for you to do this as long as you don’t do this.’ They’re saying everything is illegal…This is a social news site. I have to communicate to my users what’s permissible and what isn’t, but they make that difficult because they don’t tell anyone what’s allowed.”

Huh, reminds me of what people say about Comcast's foggy usage limits. Tell us, why don't you? Then we can get even more angry.

iPhone 3G Only 1 Euro from T-Mobile Germany

One Euro? yep, it will be possible to get an iPhone for one measly Euro from T-Mobile in Germany, if you buy its highest monthly service plan, that. You pay now, or you pay later.

Philipp Humm, Managing Director T-Mobile Germany. said in Welt Online (German language) that T-Mobile is going to offer the iPhone 3G starting at 1 Euro in Germany. Of course, to get that price you have to choose the service plan which costs 89 Euros ($136). That plan does include 300 SMS messages and 1,000 minutes, along with an unlimited data plan.

Recently O2 (U.K.) announced a deal whereby you can get an iPhone free if you get either the £45 ($88 - 1,200 minutes, 300 SMS, unlimited data) or £75 ($147 - 3,000 minutes, 500 SMS, unlimited data) service plans. Considering the starting U.S. voice plan is $39.99 for 450 minutes, $30 for unlimited data and $5 for 200 SMS messages, U.S. users are feeling a little left out.

To get 900 minutes, in fact, on AT&T with the iPhone 3G would raise the cost $20. This would put the monthly U.S. plan at $95 - higher than the O2 plan, yet we aren't getting free iPhone 3Gs are we? Jealous much?

The Internet Makes a Big Election Impact: Pew Research

This Presidential election is different than previous ones: when you have candidates announcing their campaigns on the web, and viral videos like Obama Girl taking the Internet by storm, it's already obvious that the web is having a major impact. But a Pew Internet and American Life Project survey released on Sunday put some numbers to that assumption.

The study (.PDF) showed that 46% of Americans have used the internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign, as online information took a bigger role for voters.

It was also clear that Obama supporters were far more tuned into the Internet than other candidates' supporters. It's been said, after all, that Obama has energized young and new voters, and that's clear in the statistics.

Among Democrats, Obama’s supporters are more likely than Clinton’s supporters to be internet users—82% vs. 71%. And even among the internet users in both camps, Obama’s supporters are more actively engaged online than Clinton’s supporters—three-quarters of online Obama’s supporters (74%) have gotten political news and information online, compared with 57% of online Clinton’s supporters.

Only 56% of McCain supporters received information online.

A summary of the information detailed in the report is as follows:

• Fully 46% of all Americans have used the internet, email, or phone texting to get news about the campaigns, share their views, and mobilize others.

• More Americans have gone online to get political news and campaign information so far than during all of 2004.

• Two new internet activities have stormed the political stage: 35% of Americans have watched online videos related to the campaign, and 10% have used social networking sites to engage in political activity.

• Nearly one in ten internet users has donated money to a candidate online at this point in the race.

• Young voters tilt toward Obama specifically and toward Democrats generally, and that gives the Democrats some online advantages.

• 39% of online Americans have used the internet to gain access to primary political documents and observe campaign events.

• Despite the increased salience of online sources in the political arena, wired Americans have mixed views about the overall impact of the internet on politics.

Interestingly, this election is drawing so much attention and involvement among voters, the study also noted 74% of users said they would be just as involved in the campaign without using the Internet.

The questionnaire is available here (.PDF).

The report was based on the findings of a daily tracking survey conducted by Princeton Survey
Research Associates between April 8 and May 11, 2008, among a sample of 2,251 adults, aged 18 and older. It has a margin of sampling error of +/- 2%.

Bebo Cyberbullying Blamed for Teen's Death

Many have heard of Megan Meier, the teenager who committed suicide over a MySpace romance gone bad - one which turned out to be a hoax. Here we have another death linked to social networking. A teenager said to have been bullied on the social networking site Bebo was found after he hung himself in his bedroom.

Bebo has nowhere near the popularity of MySpace or Facebook, but it was recently acquired by AOL and is number 3 in the United States.

13-year-old Sam Leeson of Tredworth, Gloucestershire, was found hanging in his bedroom by his mother, 45-year-old Sally Cope, and a sister, Katie, 12, after they returned from a shopping trip.

It was after they checked his Bebo page following his death that the family discovered the extent of the cyberbullying he had endured. Leeson was a fan of alternative rock bands such as the Foo Fighters and Slipknot, as well as the so-called Emo music and lifestyle.

There are quite a few YouTube memorials to Leeson, but disturbingly, quite a few pieces mocking his death as well. I hope YouTube gets on the ball and takes the mocking videos down.

At any rate, Bebo in and of itself, as well as other social networking sites, should not be blamed as the perpetrators in these incidents. Rather, it's the bullies who need to take a look at themselves in the mirror, and see if they like what they see.

The Citizen has started a "Cyber Watch - for Sam's Sake' Campaign, as well.

In the case of Megan Meier, an adult, Lori Drew was involved. People need to take responsibility for their own actions, so I sincerely hope she gets the book thrown at her. In Leeson's case, likely these were just teens, and little if anything will be done. I hope they feel some remorse, at least, for their actions.

AOL's Leak of Search Data Makes for Fine Theatrical Material

I'm sure you'll recall AOL's 2006 leak of search user data, which actually was more like a flood than a leak. AOL published the search logs of 650,000 subscribers, which eventually resulted in some heads rolling, after the smoke cleared.

Why not take a tack from Law and Order and rip a story from the headlines, eh? And that's what director Michael Alltop decided to do.

User 927 is based on that actual user's search queries. While User 4417749 was ID'ed by the New York Times, User 927 is still unknown, but has drawn somewhat of a following since 927's search queries were published by The Consumerist way back in '06.

Based on the number of porn- and sex-related queries, I'd have to say this was a guy, but I could be wrong. And strangely, the list of searches starts with queries about mold apparently growing on humans.

The play is described as:

Leah Letts has moved to Indiana with her 14-year-old daughter Deena to escape the rat race of New York City. Osterville is a safe haven, a place where people put down roots, where everyone knows everyone. Leah is determined to start over so Deena can grow up in a less threatening environment. She’s found the perfect place. And just for the summer, Leah lays down the law: no computer, no email, no Internet. Just 2 months to enjoy life lived offline.

But Deena has other plans.

USER 927 is a thriller about cyberstalking, search engines, and the way information is obtained, manipulated, and released in our wired world. This world premiere play is based on numerous trends pertaining to digital technology and the Internet, as well as the data leak of over 3 million AOL search queries by 650,000 of its users, first broken on sites like The Consumerist.

USER 927 takes a provocative look at the slick and seductive nature of computer and Internet technology—the come-ons and dangers that seem to spring from every click of the mouse. We have seemingly limitless information at our fingertips, and yet what do we really know? USER 927 integrates digital technology, video and flash animation to examine our simultaneous attraction to, and dread of, modern technology while offering audiences the chance to see an important public debate take a thrilling new direction.

The play is a mystery, but one thing is made clear by Alltop: at least some of the actual queries of User 927 are used in the play.

Interested in not just User 927, but other users from AOL's snafu? Check out the searchable database of queries at AOL Stalker; you didn't really think no one mirrored that data, did you?

User 927 runs through June 22nd at the Studio at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia.

Google Developing "Net Neutrality" Detector

Companies like Comcast and Sympatico have been accused of - or even admitted - throttling of P2P applications. It even earned Comcast Congressional scrutiny and an FCC hearing. To make matters worse, ATT and Time-Warner Cable are experimenting with metered usage, and Comcast is trying out throttling all traffic - not just P2P - to high-usage customers. What's a user to do if he suspects throttling? Google is working on an answer.

During a panel discussion Thursday morning at the Innovation 08 Net Neutrality event at Santa Clara University, Richard Whitt said (as quoted by the Register):

"We're trying to develop tools, software tools...that allow people to detect what's happening with their broadband connections, so they can let [ISPs] know that they're not happy with what they're getting - that they think certain services are being tampered with."

It should be noted this the first such tool ever developed. Earlier I wrote about the Max Planck Institute's tool. Problem is, the throttling test servers are always busy, and when I first wrote about the tool, the second test, a "broadband link characteristics" tool, it popped up a NSFW site that turned me off to the tool. Trying it again upon writing this new post, it seems they have eliminated that, so I can now now remove my earlier warning about that tool.

Whitt continued:

"The forces aligned against us are real. They've been there for decades. Their pockets are deep. Their connections are strong with those in Washington. Maybe we can turn this into an arms race on the application software side rather a political game."

As that's true - a lot of this is about what is best for the corporations and frighteningly, a lot of the legislators involved don't even understand the Internet (Ted Stevens, anyone?) - why is Google doing this? After all, a non-neutral Internet wouldn't affect them, would it now?

According to Google,

"One position was that in the environment, Google would do quite well.

"This side of the argument said: We were pretty well known on the internet. We were pretty popular. We had some funds available. We could essentially buy prioritization that would ensure we would be the search engine used by everybody. We would come out fine – a non-neutral world would be a good world for us."

"The other side said: We were a company that was born and raised on innovation. We were born from the internet here in Silicon Valley. We were able to take for granted the fact that we could innovate on the network without permission from anybody - any broadband company, any potential gatekeeper of the network trying to tell us what to do. We could bring innovation directly to the users and let them sort out exactly what they wanted and what they didn’t want. Why would we muck with that? Why would we create haves and have nots on the internet?"

OK, so it's a lot of "Don't be evil"-ish spin. Is that all there is to it? After all, a for-profit corporation sees the bottom line as the bottom line.

Richard Bennett and George Ou don't necessarily see it that way, and I wouldn't be so quick to judge Google's move as totally altruistic, either.

Still, a tool such as this (that worked, re: the Max Planck tool referenced above) would still be a great thing, wouldn't it - despite what may or may not be behind it. What do you readers think?

AT&T Considers Tiered Broadband Pricing

As Time-Warner Cable begins its metered-use trial in Beaumont, TX, word comes that another broadband company is considering a similar plan: AT&T.

While DSL pricing has always been lower than cable broadband services, and while AT&T has said it will not block or throttle P2P services, two different AT&T officials indicated this week that tiered pricing was coming.

AT&T's new chief technical officer, John Donovan told Wired that AT&T will begin testing usage-based pricing this fall. Donovan said:

"It's almost a taxation issue. Traffic on our backbone is growing 60 percent per year, but our revenue is not."

Meanwhile, AT&T spokesman Michael Coe told TheStreet a form of usage-based pricing for those customers who have abnormally high usage patterns is "inevitable."

"Usage-based pricing is one way to deal fairly with Internet usage, which is very uneven among broadband users. Broadband use is surging. Based on current trends, total bandwidth in the AT&T network will increase by four times over the next three years."

As well, both of them a small percentage of users hog most of the bandwidth: the top 5% of consumer DSL subscribers use 46% of the total bandwidth, while the top 1% of subscribers are using 21% of bandwidth.

However, what do the broadband companies expect? With companies like HBO and Netflix pushing streaming movies and video on us, broadband use is bound to increase, even without P2P to throttle.

So as these companies work to get us to use more bandwidth, ISPs tell us we are using too much. Heavy sigh.

Microsoft Email Reveals Details of Yahoo! Deal

You can't trust anyone nowadays. No sooner did Kevin Johnson, president of the Platforms and Services Division of Microsoft send an email to the "troops" explaining the Yahoo! situation, it was leaked.

Here's the gist of the email:

• Much of the deal involved Yahoo!'s search assets (as was assumed). Microsoft would have purchased then for $1 billion, assumed the operations and R&D expense but at the same time returning data back to Yahoo! for use in their advertising business
  

• At the same time, Microsoft would have invested $8 billion in Yahoo! at $35/share, amounting to a purchase of about 16% of Yahoo!'s outstanding shares.

• Microsoft would have guaranteed higher monetization than Yahoo!'s Panama paid search system currently provides, for three years.

Johnson also estimated the offer would have added $1 billion to Yahoo’s operating profits. Contrast that to estimates that the deal Yahoo! has with Google will add $800 million in revenues, and naturally less than that in operating profits.

Of course these are all estimates, and everyone has an opinion. The rest of the email was mostly rah-rah stuff.

Have we heard the last of this? Carl Icahn, what do you think? I thought so. Somehow, I think this is not over.

The full text of the email (at least Johnson uses caps, unlike Jerry Yang):

From: Kevin Johnson
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 2:20 PM
To: Platforms & Services Division; APSP FTE - Adv & Pub Solutions Platform; Employees.all.corpXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cc: Executive Staff and Direct Reports

Subject: Update on our Yahoo! discussions

I wanted to take an opportunity to provide my thoughts and perspective on the conclusion of our discussions with Yahoo!, and its announcement of a commercial agreement with Google.

As I shared in my mail on May 18 (see attached), we have better options than a full combination with Yahoo! at the price it suggested, and we have moved forward on our strategy to grow our online business.

Let me share a little background with you. When we made our original proposal on February 1st to combine with Yahoo!, we offered a 62% premium that was based on a desire to reach an agreement in short order. The faster we could reach an agreement, the sooner we could begin the regulatory process and create value through this combination.

In a March 10th meeting in Palo Alto, we explained to Yahoo! management the importance of reaching an agreement by the end of April in order to have an opportunity to complete the regulatory process by the end of this calendar year. Because we could not come to an agreement on price by the end of April and given our concerns about Yahoo!'s business performance, we elected to withdraw our bid and pursue better options for Microsoft.

During the last few weeks, we spent a considerable amount of time with Yahoo! discussing an alternative proposal around search. Specifically, this search proposal had three components:

• Microsoft would have invested $8 billion in Yahoo! at $35/share;
  

• Microsoft would have purchased Yahoo!'s search assets for $1 billion, and assumed the operations and R&D expense while returning data back to Yahoo! for use in their advertising business; and
  

• Microsoft and Yahoo! would have entered into a long-term search partnership, where Microsoft would have provided favorable economics to Yahoo! search, including a three-year guarantee of higher monetization than Yahoo!'s Panama paid search system currently provides.
  

This partnership would have created a stronger competitor to Google, providing greater choice and innovation for advertisers, publishers and consumers. This approach could have been implemented quickly and would have simplified the integration process for both parties. It would have also established the basis for a long-term Internet partnership between Yahoo! and Microsoft.

We believe this proposal would have created compelling value for Yahoo! and its shareholders in at least three ways:

• New Transfer of Cash to Yahoo! Shareholders. This proposal would have transferred $9 billion from Microsoft to Yahoo!, which could have been used by Yahoo! to reward their shareholders.
  

• A More Profitable Ongoing Business. This proposal would have resulted in higher operating income on an annual basis for Yahoo!, with our projections more than doubling Yahoo!'s operating income in the first year of operation, and increasing it by more than $1 billion above its current operating income level.
  

• A More Compelling Search Offering. The combination of the search platforms would have unlocked new R&D innovation, eliminated redundant engineering efforts and allowed for greater scale in serving our customers.
  

Taken together, we believe that our proposal would have created total value for Yahoo!'s shareholders in excess of $33 per share.

Unfortunately Yahoo! has chosen a different course, and yesterday announced an agreement that would start to consolidate over 90% of the paid search advertising market in Google's hands. This will make the market far less competitive. There are many experts who suggest that a host of legal and regulatory problems lie ahead for Google and Yahoo!.

Regardless of Yahoo!'s decision, we will continue to move forward on our strategy in online services and advertising.

Since my mail on May 18, we have been making great progress. At our advance08 conference, we announced Live Search cashback and Live Search Farecast, and the initial response to these user experience and business model innovations in search has been very positive. On June 2nd, we also announced a distribution deal with HP, the world's largest PC manufacturer, to install a Live Search-enabled toolbar on all HP consumer PCs planned to ship in the United States and Canada, beginning in January 2009.

We look forward to sharing more milestones and details on our plans as we head to MGX and our Financial Analyst Meeting in July.

I remain confident in our assets, plans and people to succeed in building our online business. Thanks again for your commitment and focus.

Regards,

Kevin Johnson
President Microsoft Platforms & Services Division

Google Gets an Escape Clause

As you probably know, Yahoo! and Google entered a partnership, whereby Yahoo will be able to run ads supplied by Google alongside Yahoo!'s search results and on some of its web properties in the United States and Canada.

The agreement is set for four years and Yahoo! has option to extend the agreement for up to two additional periods of three years each.

But Google gave itself an out as well. In a filing with the SEC, the escape clause was detailed in paragraph 4 of Item 1.01:

Either party may terminate the Services Agreement upon notice to the other party (i) in the event of an uncured material breach of the Services Agreement by the other party, subject to dispute resolution procedures and certain limitations; (ii) in the event of a Change in Control (as defined below) involving either party; (iii) 120 days after the Effective Date in order to avoid or end a lawsuit or similar action filed on competition law grounds if the terminating party has taken all actions required under the Services Agreement with respect to regulatory matters and defending such action is not commercially reasonable for that party (taking all factors into account); or (iv) if a court of competent jurisdiction has entered an order enjoining the implementation of the Services Agreement. In addition, Google may terminate the Services Agreement if, after ten months after the Services are first launched, and each month thereafter, the gross revenues recognized by Google under the Services Agreement are less than $83,333,333 for the four prior calendar months.

What does all this mean? Google is guaranteed gross revenue of $83 million for each four month period or it can bail. And the four month window keeps rolling forward as time goes on.

If the agreement is terminated by a "Change in Control" within the first 24 months - except in the case of Microsoft (is Yahoo! still hoping for a deal?) - Yahoo! will owe Google $250,000,000, minus one-half the net revenue received by Google during the time period.

Still more complications (these provisions are all really complex). Google can escape the deal unless:

Yahoo! controls at least 50% of the company's voting power. In any transaction between Yahoo! and Microsoft, Time Warner or News Corp., Yahoo must retain at least 65% of voting power.

In the case of a "beneficial" ownership change, where a party does not own title but controls certain rights, the filing states Yahoo! must retain 35% of voting control if the deal involves Time-Warner or News Corp. or 15% if Microsoft is involved.

Looks like Google has every angle covered. Merrill Lynch feels that Google will net $0.15 a share extra due to this deal, and Google's stock rose $18.65, or 3.4%, to $571.51 on Friday.

Linking, Short Excerpts Draw AP DMCA Takedown Notices

Most sites love it when someone links to their story. As long as you only clip a short portion of the story, all you'll be doing, essentially, is driving traffic to the linked site.

You would think that "most" would include The Associated Press (AP), but apparently not.

The Drudge Retort (which not only plays off the Drudge Report's name, but also its look) has been given 7, count 'em, 7 DMCA takedown notices by AP. Besides just linking to news on the front page, the site also has a blog where users (not the site owner) post links and a short excerpt from the article. Sounds Digg-ish, right?

And in fact, this type of posting, using only a few lines of a story with link / attribution has generally been thought of as "fair use." But AP's lawyers apparently disagree, as they told the Drudge Report:

... you purport that the Drudge Retort's users reproduce and display AP headlines and leads under a fair use defense. Please note that contrary to your assertion, AP considers that the Drudge Retort users' use of AP content does not fall within the parameters of fair use. The use is not fair use simply because the work copied happened to be a news article and that the use is of the headline and the first few sentences only. This is a misunderstanding of the doctrine of "fair use." AP considers taking the headline and lede of a story without a proper license to be an infringement of its copyrights, and additionally constitutes "hot news" misappropriation.

As I said, most sites would love to be linked, but of course, AP stories are posted on all manner of third-party sites, and perhaps that's the difference. It's not like Reuters which has its own site as well as having media sites carry its stories. Therefore, a link to an AP story doesn't really give AP itself traffic.

Still, that doesn't make up for the fact that this is most obviously a prime example of "fair use." If something like this sort of takedown notice succeeds, and continues, you'll see Digg, Propeller, and other sites - as well as blogs - suddenly stop linking to AP stories, which is bound to reduce traffic to those sites which carry AP stories. Reduced traffic would eventually lead to less reason to carry AP stories, and less income for AP.

So, AP, get a clue. You're really shooting yourself in the foot.

Facebook Passes MySpace Worldwide

Don't worry, Rupert (Murdoch); MySpace still outdraws Facebook in terms of unique U.S. visitors. But in terms of worldwide visitors: second place.

The latest figures from research firm comScore showed that Facebook had 116.4 million worldwide unique visitors in the month of April, compared to 115.7 million at MySpace. That's not the most disturbing trend, however. If you look at the numbers from April 2007 and compare it to this year, MySpace has grown 10%, while Facebook has grown 200%. So while the difference is narrow in April, based on the trends ...

Meanwhile, in terms of U.S. visitors, MySpace is still far ahead, with 72 million monthly unique visitors in April while Facebook had 36 million. MySpace grew by 5 million U.S. uniques during the 12 month period, while Facebook grew by 13 million.

How much of this is due to dissatisfaction with MySpace's UI? Possibly quite a bit. Complaints and defections have occurred because of what's perceived as a lot of clutter. A major site redesign is slated for next week, in fact. The homepage, navigation tools, profile editor, search features, and the MySpaceTV player are being revamped, and the changes are scheduled to show up next Wednesday.

Still, trends are hard to stop, much like a snowball rolling downhill. We'll see if the redesign turns things around.

Comcast Boosts Upload Speeds, But Not Prices

In December of last year, Comcast stated it would start rolling out 100 Mbps service this year with 20% of homes DOCSIS 3.0-capable by the end of 2008. Earlier this year, it also started to offer a new "extreme high-speed" 50 Mbps tier in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

That's all great, but when people think of broadband, frequently they only think about download speeds, but upload speeds are just as important. Despite its better download performance, Comcast has always trailed AT&T in my area, offering 384 kbps upload vs. AT&T's 512 kbps.

In their press release, Mitch Bowling, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Comcast High-Speed Internet, Comcast Cable said:

"As the Internet and its functionality evolves, so will our services and offerings. We’ve made a number of complimentary speed increases over the last few years and we focused this latest increase on upstream speeds so our customers can take even better advantage of the ever-expanding amount of interactive applications the Internet has to offer."

Comcast will nearly triple the upload speed of its 6 Mbps / 384 Kbps Performance tier to 6 Mbps / 1 Mbps and more than double the upload speed of its 8 Mbps / 768 Kbps Performance Plus tier to 8 Mbps / 2 Mbps.

And without asking for more cash, either. Pretty good, but about that DOCSIS 3.0 rollout ... how about the SF Bay Area, Comcast?

Yahoo! and Google Team Up as Microsoft Deal is Off for Good

As I write this, I was wondering if I should say "for good" and add a question mark to it, since we know Carl Icahn may not take the hint. But today Yahoo! said any potential deal was off, and Yahoo! announced a non-exclusive ad deal with Google, which should increase Yahoo!'s revenue.

Yahoo!'s announcement said:

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today announced that discussions with Microsoft regarding a potential transaction -- whether for an acquisition of all of Yahoo! or a partial acquisition -- have concluded. The conclusion of discussions follows numerous meetings and conversations with Microsoft regarding a number of transaction alternatives, including a meeting between Yahoo! and Microsoft on June 8th in which Chairman Roy Bostock and other independent Board members from Yahoo! participated. At that meeting, Microsoft representatives stated unequivocally that Microsoft is not interested in pursuing an acquisition of all of Yahoo!, even at the price range it had previously suggested.

With respect to an acquisition of Yahoo!'s search business alone that Microsoft had proposed, Yahoo!'s Board of Directors has determined, after careful evaluation, that such a transaction would not be consistent with the company's view of the converging search and display marketplaces, would leave the company without an independent search business that it views as critical to its strategic future and would not be in the best interests of Yahoo! stockholders.

As we know, Microsoft had been interested in an "alternative" transaction and that would be the above-mentioned search business acquisition.

Microsoft issued a terse press release. All it said was:

“In the weeks since Microsoft withdrew its offer to acquire Yahoo!, the two companies have continued to discuss an alternative transaction that Microsoft believes would have delivered in excess of $33 per share to the Yahoo! shareholders. This partnership would ensure healthy competition in the marketplace, providing greater choice and innovation for advertisers, publishers and consumers.

“As stated on May 3rd and reiterated on May 18th Microsoft was not interested in rebidding for all of Yahoo!. Our alternative transaction remains available for discussion.”

The day of press releases ended with Yahoo! announcing a non-exclusive ad deal with Google.

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, announced today that it has reached an agreement with Google Inc. that will enhance its ability to compete in the converging search and display marketplace, advancing the company's open strategy. The agreement enables Yahoo! to run ads supplied by Google alongside Yahoo!'s search results and on some of its web properties in the United States and Canada. The agreement is non-exclusive, giving Yahoo! the ability to display paid search results from Google, other third parties, and Yahoo!'s own Panama marketplace.

Under the terms of the agreement, Yahoo! will select the search term queries for which - and the pages on which - Yahoo! may offer Google paid search results. Yahoo! will define its users' experience and will determine the number and placement of the results provided by Google and the mix of paid results provided by Panama, Google or other providers. The agreement applies to paid search and content match and does not apply to algorithmic search. The agreement also applies to current partners in Yahoo's publisher network.

As you may recall, a prior test had favorable results, and Global Markets analyst Mark Mahaney has previously stated that such a deal could increase Yahoo!'s cash flow by more than $1 billion a year, because Google generates much more revenue for each query than Yahoo!'s does.

After the announcement re: Microsoft, Yahoo!'s stock finished down 10%. The announcement about Google, made after market close, has had little / no effect on after-hours trading. Microsoft stock finished up 4% today.

And - to be honest - I don't feel Icahn will stand still for this.

AMD, Havok to Team Up for Gaming Physics

Since NVIDIA acquired AGEIA in February, people have wondered what AMD was going to do in response. After all, with Intel acquiring Havok last year, what was there left? Perhaps AMD would come up with their own physics solution. After all its RV770 launch materials mentioned physics processing capability.

Nope. On Thursday AMD announced a partnership with Havok. In the press release, Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD said:

As the complexity and visual fidelity of video games increases, AMD wants to take advantage of opportunities to improve the game experience. By working with the clear market leader in physics software, AMD can optimize our platforms to consistently deliver the best possible visual experience to the gamer.

And, David O’Meara, managing director of Havok said:

The success of Havok as a cross platform software company is predicated on our willingness to listen to the needs of our customers. The feedback that we consistently receive from leading game developers is that core game play simulation should be performed on CPU cores. The clear priority of game developers is performance and scalability on of the CPU. Beyond core simulation, however, the capabilities of massively parallel products offer technical possibilities for computing certain types of simulation. We look forward to working with AMD to explore these possibilities.

There was no product announcement involved, and this release doesn't indicate exclusivity, so AMD could choose to support AGEIA as well, if it wanted. That would likely be a smart move.

The Intel angle makes this interesting, so we'll keep tracking it.

Havok recently released a "free for non-commercial use" version of their product.

Firefox 3 "Download Day" Pledges Pass 1M; Release Gets Dated

You'll recall that the Mozilla Foundation is trying to set a Guinness World Record: the most downloads of software in the first 24 hours of its release. But we had no release date and we received an RC3 on Wednesday.

Well, relax, Firefox fans. Despite the release of an Mac-only RC3 because of a Mac bug, release of the newest version of the browser - and the first major release since October of 2006 - now has a release date scheduled: June 17th, a Tuesday.

Speaking as one in the industry, Tuesday is frequently picked as a release date because it gives tech support enough time to react in case of a major fiasco (Patch Tuesday, anyone?).

At the same time, the Download Day site trumpets that the Mozilla foundation has received over 1 million pledges to download the software on the day of its release (including my pledge). The U.S leads the way with 179,844.

Remember, it's Tuesday. Let's try to help them set that record.

Judge: Promo CD Sales Don't Infringe on Copyrights

Earlier I wrote about Universal Music Group's (UMG) suit against Troy Augusto (aka Roast Beast Music Collectibles, eBay handle roastbeastmusic), who buys collectible promo CDs at used record stores around Los Angeles and resells them on eBay. A brief UMG filed contended that that selling or even giving away a promotional CD is piracy.

UMG contends that the "promotional use only" labels on the CDs mean they do not fall under the First Sale doctrine in copyright law which:

allows purchasers of copyrighted material to sell that which they have purchased without violating the copyright laws. The theory here is similar to that of the exhaustion doctrine in patent law. The copyright owner must derive all revenue from the so-called first sale, and cannot control the future disposition of the article originally sold.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero ruled against UMG. He ruled that the promotional CDs are gifts distributed by UMG, as they are mailed free and unsolicited to thousands of people without any expectation or intention of their return. Thus, they are covered by the First Sale Doctrine.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which had been defending Augusto, issued a press release. EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry said:

"This is a very important ruling for consumers, and not just those who buy or sell used CDs. The right of first sale also protects libraries, used bookstores, and businesses that rent movies and videogames. This ruling affirms and protects the traditional balance between the rights of copyright owners and the rights of the public."

In the same press release, Joseph C. Gratz, attorney with Keker & Van Nest said:

"It was clear to the court that these CDs were the property of Mr. Augusto, and therefore he had the right to resell them. Copyright holders can't strip consumers of their first sale rights just by sticking a 'Not for Sale' label on a CD."

So rest easy, readers. If you have a promo CD, you can now throw it away if you want; UMG's original brief said that was piracy as well.

Starbucks, AT&T Reach Settlement with T-Mobile

As I said when I first wrote about this lawsuit, it was obviously something that T-Mobile would be willing to settle out of court for. And on Wednesday, AT&T and Starbucks reached a settlement with T-Mobile, which had claimed that the other companies had secretly colluded with each other to offer free Wi-Fi Internet access despite the exclusive contract Starbucks had with T-Mobile.

To make things more complex, T-Mobile's service is being phased out, but the lawsuit claimed T-Mobile had the exclusive right to "sell, market and promote its services" in Starbucks stores until those stores were fully converted to the AT&T system.

In an emailed statement, Starbucks spokeswoman Stacey Krum said:

"T-Mobile, AT&T and Starbucks have entered into a memorandum of understanding to resolve their disputes and are committed to providing a high quality Wi-Fi experience for customers."

T-Mobile's point, and it was a good one, was that AT&T and Starbucks were profiting from the infrastructure in place, which was T-Mobile's. To date, according to the lawsuit, only two markets -- the San Antonio, Texas, and Bakersfield, California, markets -- have been transitioned from T-Mobile to AT&T.

None of the companies specified the settlement details.

Glassdoor Opens Up: Makes Salaries, Company Culture Transparent

Of course you'd love to know what that Google engineer makes. But the idea behind Glassdoor, a startup which launched in public beta on Wednesday at 12:01 AM EDT, is more than just that. In addition, the site wants you to review your company, and let people know just what you really think about your CEO, your workplace atmosphere, its politics - and your salary. Anonymously, and free, of course.

The site works on "give-get" model: you give a review or salary report and you get access to their all their data. There's some teaser info on the front page to draw you in, naturally. For example, right now, without signing up, you can see that Yahoo! has 56 reviews, and Jerry Yang has a 58% approval rating. Whoops, Jerry, you'd better work on that. The "sneak peek" companies are: Cisco; Google; Microsoft; and Yahoo!.

Sign up and you can run the gamut of companies, which - quite naturally - is heavily tilted toward technology companies as the beta opens.

Here are the details from their press release:

Once a visitor completes a company review and/or salary survey, they are granted anonymous and unrestricted access to the equivalent data for all other companies within the Glassdoor dynamic community that includes:

• Detailed company reviews. Glassdoor encourages balanced feedback in its company reviews and asks respondents to provide “pros” and “cons,” along with “advice to senior management”. These unedited accounts provide insight into what employees on the inside really think, showing the good, the bad, and a lot more in between.
  

• Employee ratings on workplace and leadership, including CEO approval ratings. Through a series of questions, users are asked to rate the company and a range of workplace culture factors, including areas like work-life balance, fairness and respect, employee morale, and senior leadership. Glassdoor also features CEO approval ratings, providing a real-time pulse of how employees think the person in the top job is doing.

• Compensation information by company and position. Unlike most salary services that only report aggregated data by generic position type and industry, Glassdoor provides details of salary, bonuses, and other compensation for actual positions and titles at specific companies. For example, users can see exactly what a software engineer at Google makes, along with bonuses and types of equity grants, in comparison to a software development engineer at Microsoft.

Registered members may also anonymously comment on any review and elect to “watch an employer” to be alerted when there are new reviews or salaries posted for a specific company. Details for more than 40,000 companies are already pre-loaded in the system and if an employer is not in the community database, anyone can add it at any time with the contribution of a review or salary survey.

Salary info isn't the draw here; that's available at a number of other places. For potential employees, however, the insight into company culture is a real boon.

It's interesting though, once you enter a review, you are granted access, as I indicated, but only for a year. Not sure what happens after that, as it's unspecified. You also only "get" what you give. If you want to get access to both review and salary info, you have to submit both.

Firefox 3 to Get a Mac-Only RC3

First there wasn't supposed to an RC2 build, then there wasn't going to an RC3 build. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men. Mozilla is set to release another Release Candidate, RC3, but it's Mac-only.

Right now the Mozilla site has no updates, but some sites have leaked the build. The new RC is to address bug 436575.

From Tuesday night's status page, they said:

OSX-only RC3

• Currently rebuilding OSX due to bug 436575 which inconsistently causes stability issues in VerifiedDownloadPlugin.plugin (introduced by OSX 10.5.3)
• QA will redo tests on OSX builds only
• Windows and Linux RC2 builds will be copied over into RC3 folders
• plan is for updates to be live tomorrow

So don't even bother downloading RC3 if you have Windows or Linux. As they said above, they'll just be copying the binaries over. It's unclear if this will affect their release schedule.

The Devil is in the iPhone 3G Details

As more details about the iPhone 3G service plan emerges, the less attractive the darn thing becomes. And that's without even taking into account the new activation process that must take place in the store, which eliminates buying online and probably puts a major crimp into unlocking.

For example, as I indicated yesterday, the combination voice + data - and I've found out since Monday that you have a data plan, despite them listing the plan separately -is $10 more monthly than previously. Thus, you save $200 on the phone upfront, but pay $240 extra for the plan. I suppose someone smarter than me could take inflation into account to figure things out even more precisely.

And that's for a consumer data plan. An Enterprise data plan will result in a user paying $25 more per month for the service.

Oh, and let's not forget: there's no SMS bundle anymore. The old plan had 200 messages; you have to pay $5 for 200 SMS messages now. So even more cash is sucked out of us users. With the above difference in the service plan pricing and SMS plan, you're talking about an additional $160 over the original iPhone, even taking the $200 subsidy into account. Ouch!

That's the obvious. Leaked AT&T policy documents seem to indicate even more devilish details.

Upgrade Eligibility and Qualified Upgrade Pricing

Upgrade eligibility will be determined based on standard upgrade eligibility rules. Customers must be upgrade eligible to receive the qualified upgrade pricing. However, not all customers will be qualified upgrades. AT&T has not determined the price of the 3G device for non-qualified upgrades.

That usually means you have to be out of contract, or at least darn close enough to get them to waive it so you can get a new phone. Seems silly for them to restrict purchases; you'd think just getting people to sign onto a 2-year contract extension would be enough.

However, based on this text:

However, all postpaid 2G iPhone customers in good standing are upgrade eligible, so these customers will qualify to upgrade to a 3G iPhone when it is available.

What this means is even if you are in the middle of a contract with your 2G iPhone, you'll still get the discounted upgrade pricing ($199 for 8 GB, $299 for 16 GB).

Also revealed in the leaked memo: preparations for logistics, including security:

Security will be provided for locations requesting armed police or unarmed, uniformed guards.

Yeah, well since users can't buy online, anyone who wants these things are going to have to line up. As I said previously, I'm not willing to wait in line for any electronic device, no matter how tempting. Besides, all the prior information about the new pricing has me rethinking buying an iPhone 3G.

Here's a copy of the leaked document (.PDF). Plenty of interesting info; take a peek.

Disney.com to Stream Full-Length Movies

I swear, these companies must be colluding with each other. Time-Warner Cable is trying out a tiered metered-use system; AT&T has said it's considering the same, and meanwhile companies like HBO, Netflix and now Disney are offering us more goodies to download or stream online.

Guys, you can't have it both ways. Well, maybe you can, if you drain our wallets.

On Tuesday Disney.com announced a new program, which will stream movies from The Wonderful World of Disney (OK, so we're not talking about Spider-Man or Iron Man) the week following broadcast on ABC.

From the press release:

The films will first air on ABC as part of the network’s weekly Wonderful World of Disney presentation on Saturday nights throughout summer 2008. The full-length films will then be available for free streaming on Disney.com for the week following the network presentation (Monday – Friday).

Wonderful World of Disney television and online schedule:

• “Finding Nemo” – currently available online through June 13
• “Monsters Inc.” – airs on ABC Saturday, June 14 at 8pm; available on Disney.com June 16-20
• “Haunted Mansion” – airs on ABC Saturday, June 28 at 8pm; available on Disney.com June 30-July 4
• “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” – airs on ABC Saturday, July 5 at 8pm; available on Disney.com July 7-11
• “Princess Diaries 2” – airs on ABC Saturday, July 12 at 8pm; available on Disney.com July 14-18
• “Freaky Friday” – airs on ABC Saturday, July 19 at 8pm; available on Disney.com July 21-25
• “Peter Pan” – airs on ABC Saturday, Aug. 2 at 8pm; available on Disney.com Aug. 4-8

Additionally, Disney.com will stream the Disney Channel Original Movie “Camp Rock” on Monday, June 23, following its television premiere on June 20 and additional airings on ABC on June 21, and ABC Family on June 22. The Disney.com “Camp Rock” online event will include unique interactive content so fans can chat and play games while watching. Fans can also watch in a full screen experience featuring “Camp Rock” trivia and an interactive map of the camp.

It does say "throughout summer" so it's unclear if this will become a permanent fixture or not.

HP Unveils MBA Competitor: the Voodoo Envy 133

HP hasn't really done all that much with VoodooPC since acquiring it in 2006; it's Blackbird gaming systems have had "VoodooPC DNA," but that's about it. But on Tuesday HP announced a "Voodoo Portfolio," with both a new laptop and a desktop, but it's the laptop that's more interesting, and which deviates from Voodoo's old uber-gaming style.

The Voodoo Envy 133 is clearly aimed squarely at the MacBook Air (MBA). It's also definitely not a gaming laptop, per se. Size and weight-wise (from the press release), we're talking about
.7" thick, 3.4 lbs., 13.3" LCD screen, Core2 Duo CPU (SP7500 / SP7700) - all MBA-range. It's starts at a little higher than the entry-level MBA, at $2,099, but it's got some interesting pluses.

• Carbon fibre case, fused composite glass covering the display
  

• Voodoo Aura PowerConnect - Establishes a one-to-one wireless connection between the Envy 133 notebook and an Ethernet connector located on the power supply, allowing users to roam free from the wired connection. Of course, this makes the brick even more expensive, if you need a spare.
  

• Voodoo Instant-On Solution (IOS) - This uses DeviceVM, booting the notebook can to a Linux screen within seconds, allowing the user to begin using Firefox, Skype, instant messenger software, or other software while Vista loads (slowly) in the background.
  

• HDMI
  

• Two USB Ports
  

• Removable Battery (one of the first complaints about the MBA)

Don't get your hopes up: no internal optical drive.

According to VoodooPC's website, it's coming June 20th.

Google Adds "Skip Intro" to Search Results

When writing my earlier story on the Voodoo Envy 133, I was pretty annoyed by the Flash intro to the revamped VoodooPC site. That's precisely the reason for a feature such as this. Search for a site, and - if the site has a Skip Intro link on it - results will have a "Skip intro," which enables users to skip the Flash intro, directly from the search results.

Of course, this doesn't help on the VoodooPC site, as there's no "Skip Intro" option on their site. Possibly because the intro is pretty short, but when I was writing my earlier post, it was still irritating.

This is precisely the type of small, some-would-think inconsequential feature which is just the type of thing that draws people to one search engine over another. A little feature that is really nice.

On the other hand, since I had to think hard (and actually had to search for a site) to find a site with a Flash intro, it's obviously not a deal-breaker. Just nice.

Hulu Lands Colbert Report, The Daily Show

In somewhat of a coup for them, Hulu, the joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., has landed a few more shows for their burgeoning video vault, including both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show from Comedy Central.

This was announced via a release and not on The Colbert Report, so I was more likely to believe and, and indeed, they are featured on the front page and have their own dedicated pages.

This doesn't mean you can't go to Comedy Central's own site for their videos; those shows are still there as well. It's interesting because parent company Viacom hasn't signed on with Hulu. On the other hand, MTV Networks, the Viacom division which Comedy Central is a part of, has been more open to distribution deals, so there you go.

For more public television or PBS-inclined fans, Hulu's going to add some shows from PBS' content, including Nova, Scientific American Frontiers, and others. This will begin later in June.

Snow Leopard Details Leak, Then Release

On Monday, a press release went out from Apple Canada just a tad bit early, and was pulled at some point after it went live. The press release detailed Mac OS 10.6, or "Snow Leopard." Apple had to be a little red-faced, as careful as it usually is. Later in the day Apple re-released the press release - when it should have been released.

Rather than focusing on features, Snow Leopard will focus on performance. As the press release says (now that they made up their mind to post it):

Snow Leopard delivers unrivaled support for multi-core processors with a new technology code-named “Grand Central,” making it easy for developers to create programs that take full advantage of the power of multi-core Macs. Snow Leopard further extends support for modern hardware with Open Computing Language (OpenCL), which lets any application tap into the vast gigaflops of GPU computing power previously available only to graphics applications. OpenCL is based on the C programming language and has been proposed as an open standard. Furthering OS X’s lead in 64-bit technology, Snow Leopard raises the software limit on system memory up to a theoretical 16TB of RAM.

Much of this was already rumored. The use of the GPU for "any application" is pretty interesting, however.

Snow Leopard also includes a new, faster QuickTime, out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 and a faster Safari. It's scheduled to ship in about a year.

Teens Don't Hang Up Despite Cell Phone Usage Bans

Those looking forward to the July 1st introduction of a teenage cell phone ban in California should start looking elsewhere for comfort. An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study released on Monday, which took a look at the results of a 2006 North Carolina ban for drivers younger than age 18, showed that teenagers were just as likely to chat on the phone after the ban went into effect as before.

The study had two parts: observation, and a phone survey.

The results of the observation portion showed that just 1-2 months prior to the ban's Dec. 1, 2006, start, 11% of teenage drivers were observed using cellphones (including text messaging) as they left school in the afternoon. About 5 months after the ban took effect, almost 12% of teenage drivers were observed using phones. So usage actually went up!

Meanwhile, in the control site of South Carolina, where there are no restrictions, teenage cel phone use was observed at 13%, and unchanged.

The telephone survey showed that, amazingly, more teens knew about the ban than parents (pay attention, will you?). Only 39% were aware of the cellphone law, while 64% of teens knew about it.

Naturally, support for the ban was greater among parents (95%) than teens (74%). It's surprising that the teen support was that high, and makes one wonder if the teens were just saying what they thought surveyors wanted to hear.

On the other hand, about half of the teenagers surveyed after the ban took effect admitted they had used their phones while driving on the day prior to the interview.

Anne McCartt, Institute senior vice president for research and an author of the study, said in a press release:

"Most young drivers comply with graduated licensing restrictions such as limits on nighttime driving and passengers, even when enforcement is low. The hope in North Carolina was that the same would hold true for cellphone use, but this wasn't the case. Teen drivers' cellphone use actually increased a little. Parents play a big role in compliance with graduated licensing rules. Limiting phone use may be tougher for them since many want their teens to carry phones."

Apple Introduces the iPhone 3G, "MobileMe"

Apple's WWDC isn't usually the turf of Steve Jobs. It is, after all, the WorldWide Developer's Conference, not a consumer event. This year, however, things are different, with speculation over a new 3G iPhone. And, of course, the Apple Store went down Monday morning, meaning something was "up."

Side-note: nice to see Al Gore in attendance. Yes, that Oscar- and Nobel Prize winner, and it's rumored he's on Apple's Board of Directors. No, he didn't autograph any books.

Surprisingly, Jobs started his keynote with the iPhone 2.0 (though he did mention Snow Leopard --- Mac OS 10.6 --- so now the name is official). He also emphasized that Apple is really a three-part company now: Mac, music / video (the iPod and iTunes), finally the iPhone.

Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller came out to talk about the iPhone, but of this portion was just a rehash of the March announcement of the SDK and Enterprise support, but it was a useful refresher. After all, this is a Developer's confererence, right?

Lots and lots of demos, to the point that I was starting to wonder if they were doing it to see who could stay awake until the end of them. Unfortunate news is that the iPhone 2.0 software has been delayed until early July, and iPod Touch owners will pay $9.95.

The also announced "MobileMe." As we expected, forget about .Mac; this is the replacement. Push email, contacts, calendars -- works with native apps on the Mac and PC. $99 / year, 20GB of online storage and a 60-day free trial when iPhone 2.0 launches in early July. It’s like “Exchange for the rest of us,” said Apple's Phil Schiller.

Of course, what consumers really want to know is where is that 3G iPhone? And how much? And when?

First, Jobs came back and identified what Apple considered the big challenges for the 3G iPhone:

• 3G
• Enterprise support
• third-party applications
• more countries
• affordability

And then - finally - he started to address the 3G iPhone and how it met these challenges (though ticks 2 and 3 above are covered by the SDK, natch).

First, the cosmetics were addressed: thinner at the edges, black plastic back (I'm supposed to like that?), flush headset jack, same display, camera, but 3G. They then compared it to the Nokia N95 and Treo 750 and showed a 36% improvement in download speed.

What about battery life? You don't need to be a battery expert to know 3G is going to sap the battery more quickly. According to Apple, you get improved battery life from the original phone: "up to" (insert those words everywhere) 300 hours of standby time, 10 hours (from 8 hours) for 2G talk time; 3G talk time of 5 hours whereas other phones have 3 - 3 1/2 hours. Apple says web browsing of 5 - 6 hours, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio.

What else? The heavily rumored GPS is there, as well. Countries? Apple wants to hit 70 countries by the end of the year.

In this time of economic downturn, what about the all-important price? Just as rumored, although it wasn't announced if it was due to a carrier subsidy or not, the price has been reduced.

16 GB = $299, instead of $499.
8 GB = $199, rather than $399.

When: July 11th in 22 countries.

That tax stimulus check just got a target.

Update: The Apple Store is back up. They can't seem to make up their mind if it's the iPhone3G (no space) or iPhone 3G (space). The press release does use iPhone 3G.

Update: Based on AT&T's press release, it seems as though they are finally separating the voice and data plans. Lowest priced voice plan is $39.99, and an unlimited data plan is $30. What this means, however, is they lowered the price, but get the $200 back from you in the plans - as this is $10 / month more than previously, if you get both voice and data, and you have a two-year contract.

Interestingly, AT&T also says that the revenue sharing model between them and Apple is now gone!

Worst news: no more buying online. You'll have to go into an Apple or AT&T store to get the device, and activate it there. This means, for me, no iPhone 3G for quite some time, as I'm not going to stand in line for a piece of electronics.

Coin-Operated Hotspot Brings Back Memories

Here's an idea that brings back memories of coin-operated kiosks of one sort of another that you used to see in booths in restaurants - and still do in retro-style ones - a coin-operated wi-fi kiosk. The product is by Handlink, which says it:

mainly designs, develops and manufactures highly secure and reliable wired/wireless LAN products that integrate seamlessly into Public Area Networks known as "Hot Spot".

The 802.11b/g KS-852 kiosk (which measures 290 x 420 x 250 mm, and is patented in Taiwan and China) prints out a slip with logon instructions once you enter the proper number of coins. The slip will include:

• Account username and password
• Account purchase date and time
• Account expiry date and time
• Access duration
• Wi-Fi ESSID

Once your time is up, the account is deleted and your connection terminated. You then have to pop in some more coins. It's unclear from their brochure (.PDF) if you can put in more coins in the middle of a session to extend it. And you'd think since it's connected to the Internet you could PayPal more funds to it, but apparently not ... feature request, anyone?

OCZ's Do-It-Yourself Gaming Notebook Now Available

You'll recall when OCZ unveiled their Do-It-Yourself Gaming Notebook, they left out an important thing: when. But you can buy the bare-bones version of the laptop now (at least, if you hurry), courtesy of Buy.com.

The idea of the DIY notebook was OCZ gives you the base model, and you supply components such as the CPU, hard drive, etc., etc. Naturally this assumes you can get a better price for them than a system builder can, which isn't always the case.

Anyway, at least at the time of this writing (Buy.com says they are almost out-of-stock) you can get the bare-bones version for $669 (after $50 mail-in-rebate); shipping is free.

• 15.4" WXGA Display w/ Glossy Finish
• Intel PM965 Chipset + ICH8M
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB DDR2 Video Memory
• PCI-Express 16X
• 8X DVDR/RW + 4x Dual Layer Combo drive
• Built-in HD Audio Codec
• 3D Surround sound
• Integrated Touchpad
• A4 Sized Keyboard
• 1 Lithium-Ion Battery (9 Cell)

That means you need to supply:

• CPU
• Hard drive
• RAM
• OS

As I said when this was introduced, I'm not that impressed. For a gaming notebook, the GPU is rather - oh, let's call it - sedate, and I'm still not convinced the pricing will turn out that good once you price out the remaining parts.

On the other hand, it's not necessarily the case that you need the most uber-powerful GPU for a gaming system. The 8600M GT will be just fine for many. So, if you want to get your hands on this and DIY, hurry: as I said Buy.com is low on inventory, and the rebate only lasts until 6/11.

Symantec's Tool Fixes XP SP3, Vista SP1 Registry Corruption

You'll recall that Symantec admitted that the SymProtect feature of its security products was at least partially to blame for registry corruption which occurred during both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista SP1 upgrades. It promised a standalone utility to remove the corrupted entries, and it's finally delivered on that promise.

SymProtect, if running when the SP installs were done, would prevent a utility called Fixccs.exe from being able to delete registry entries created during the installations, thus causing the corruption problems. At first Symantec blamed Microsoft, then admitted to the XP SP3 problems, and finally to the additional Vista SP1 problems.

The tool, which can be found on Symantec's website, removes the erroneous entries from the registry.

SymProtect is advertised as technology designed to protect Symantec's security software from being hacked by malware, and this is why Fixccs.exe was unable to delete the aforementioned registry entries. Because of that, you can see that it's quite possible that other security products might have the same effect on Fixccs.exe.

Of course, Symantec's position as the market leader among security products makes it far more vulnerable to this type of error.

My guess is Microsoft was testing the upgrades only on systems running Windows Live OneCare, its own security product.

AT&T Sells Out of iPhones Online

As though we needed more clues to point to an upcoming 3G iPhone announcement, AT&T no longer has any iPhones available online. You can see from the image above, as well as checking at their site, that yes: they are out-of-stock.

Not only that, it was reported that the stock at AT&T stores is it: store management has told employees that they are the only game in town in terms of iPhones.

“Just an FYI that as of today, the only iPhones left to sell are those in your inventory rooms in store. There will no longer be any availability online or via direct fulfillment from either Att.com or Apple.com as I understand.

That means that you should leverage this and sell those you have ASAP as you are the ONLY place someone can buy an iPhone at right now!”

Store employees I contacted said they still had stock, and had no comment on the above statement. Shortages such as AT&T's online lack of stock, as well as Apple's - and other shortages in Europe - have been used by analysts as fodder for speculation over the 3G iPhone.

Let's be honest: it's coming; it's almost certain to be announced Monday, and the only questions remaining are when and how much?

T-Mobile Sues Starbucks Over Wi-Fi Deal

Yes, T-Mobile has sued Starbucks, and it's over wi-fi, but it's not over the fact that Starbucks is dropping T-Mobile in favor of AT&T. It's over their new "free wi-fi" plan that was just unveiled this week.

In fact, it's only been a few days since Starbucks and AT&T outlined their new plan that allows customers using Starbucks Card Rewards program - if they use the card at least once every 30 days - to get two hours of free wi-fi access daily. While I have to say two hours of wi-fi ain't all that much to someone like me, for many it would be plenty.

However, T-Mobile says that Starbucks jumped the gun. According to a complaint filed late Thursday in New York state court, T-Mobile had the exclusive right to "sell, market and promote its services" in Starbucks stores until those stores were fully converted to the AT&T system.

The plan had been for the AT&T switchover to complete by the end of this year.

The lawsuit further said:

"T-Mobile had made a very significant investment in the technology and equipment necessary to provide Wi-Fi service in the many thousands of Starbucks stores in the United States.

Starbucks and AT&T secretly developed a promotional plan under which they would offer 'free' AT&T/Starbucks Wi-Fi even in stores that were still reliant on T-Mobile's infrastructure.

To date, only two markets -- the San Antonio, Texas, and Bakersfield, California, markets -- have been transitioned from T-Mobile to AT&T."

So what's being debated here is that T-Mobile's hardware and resources are still being used - at least until the switchover is complete - and AT&T and Starbucks are making some money off it. Obviously, a settlement of some sort will most likely derail this before it gets to a judge.

Meanwhile, me - I'll stick to local coffee shops with unlimited free wi-fi, thank you very much. I like their coffee better, anyway.

Yahoo!, Icahn Trade More Barbs

Friday Yahoo! and Carl Icahn traded barbs back and forth. First Icahn responded to Yahoo! chairman Roy Bostock's response to a June 4 letter raising concerns about a Yahoo employee compensation plan. Yahoo responded to Icahn’s letter by saying that he “has no credible plan to operate Yahoo.”

Icahn's letter to Bostock on Friday actually laid out a plan - a five-point plan.

• First, I would work to have the board replace your "poison pill" severance plan with an acceptable alternative.
  

• Second, I intend to ask our new board to hire a talented and experienced CEO (attempting to replicate Google's success with Eric Schmidt) to replace Jerry Yang and return Jerry to his role as "Chief Yahoo". Indeed, it was much speculated that Jerry would serve in the CEO role temporarily until a permanent CEO was hired after the board asked Terry Semel to resign.
  

• Third, I intend to ask our new board to inform Microsoft that unless any alternative transaction can insure a $33 or higher stock price (of which I am skeptical) all talks of alternative transactions are over.
  

• Fourth, I will ask our new board to offer publicly to sell Yahoo! to Microsoft in a friendly and cooperative transaction.
  

• Fifth, to the extent Microsoft does not want to make a proposal, I will ask our new board do a deal on search with Google, but only if it contains termination provisions that would in no way impede a subsequent acquisition by Microsoft.

I'm sure Jerry Yang appreciated the "hire a talented and experienced CEO" part.

Icahn then said he was going to ask Bostock a couple of questions, and asked him three instead. He's rich but can't count.

• Why don't you, now that you have the opportunity, remove the "poison pill" severance plan that I find to be ridiculous and thereby remove a major obstacle to a Microsoft acquisition?
  

• In my opinion, Microsoft does not believe you will ever sell the entire company on a friendly basis. So why don't you stop dancing around the subject and publicly offer to sell the company to Microsoft for $34.375 per share and promise to cooperate completely?
  

• Why are you still giving hope to Microsoft that there is a possible "alternative deal"? As long as there is the possibility of an "alternative deal", isn't it obvious that Microsoft will not make a bid for the whole company?
  

So, to Icahn, $34.375 is a fair offer. One thing, though: how does he know Microsoft is still interested. Some of the moves they've made lately seem to indicate they've moved on.

Yahoo! wasn't impressed. In a very short press release, they said:

Leaving aside Mr. Icahn's inaccurate interpretation of our retention plan, we again note that he has no credible plan to operate Yahoo!. We believe that Mr. Icahn's suggestion that we cancel our retention plan would have a destabilizing impact on Yahoo! and would clearly not be in the best interests of our shareholders. Furthermore, his suggestion that we put out a price publicly to see if Microsoft will alter its stated position is ill-advised. As we have stated numerous times publicly and privately, we are open to any transaction including a sale to Microsoft if it is in the best interests of shareholders.

Once again, Yahoo! said it's about the "best interests" of the shareholders. We'll see how this turns out, but it seems the barbs are getting sharper.

FTC Opens Formal Antitrust Investigation of Intel

The FTC has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Intel's business practices, as revealed by an Intel press release issued Friday in response to a subpoena. Not just Intel, but rival AMD and several PC makers have begun to receive subpoenas from the commission. AMD, which has long complained about Intel's business practices, has not issued a statement yet.

You'll recall that earlier this week South Korea fined Intel $25.4 million over antitrust issues.

Intel's press release said the following:

On June 4 the U.S. FTC served a subpoena related to Intel's business practices with respect to competition in the microprocessor market. Since 2006 Intel has been working closely with the FTC on an informal inquiry into competition in the microprocessor market and has provided the commission staff with a considerable amount of information and thousands of documents. By proceeding to a subpoena, the Commission will be able to obtain not only information that Intel has already committed to provide but also information from other parties. Consistent with its standard practice Intel will work cooperatively with the FTC staff to comply with the subpoena and continue providing information.

The company believes its business practices are well within U.S. law. The evidence that this industry is fiercely competitive and working is compelling. For example, prices for microprocessors declined by 42.4 percent from 2000 to end of 2007. When competitors perform and execute the market rewards them. When they falter and under-perform the market responds accordingly.

I see a dig at AMD in that last sentence.

The investigation was authorized by William E. Kovacic, the new chairman of the FTC and has the support of the agency’s other commissioners. This was a reversal of a prior decision by Kovacic's predecessor, Deborah P. Majoras.

It should be noted, however, that FTC Chairmen are appointed directly by the President. Coming at the end of Bush's term, this definitely won't be resolved before the elections, sho who knows where the investigation will eventually end up.

Both AMD and Intel were down over 2% in Friday afternoon trading; however, this could be attributed to the poor jobs data released on Friday as well as oil news.

Gmail Begins Experimenting on Us

Last night, Google unveiled something called "Gmail Labs." It can be found under your Settings tab in Gmail, as pictured above (click to see more detail). Of course, typically, this will roll out gradually to users, so you may not see it, though it went live at 6 PM PDT Thursday night, so most should have it by now.

As Google describes it in their announcement:

Gmail Labs is a way for us to take lots of the ideas we wouldn't normally pick and let you all (who use Gmail) decide whether they're good or not. When you sign in, you'll see a new page in Settings called Labs. It has a list of experimental new features, and you can enable or disable each one. Some of the popular ones will become core parts of the product, and we'll eventually retire the ones that don't get much use. We've put feedback links in there, too, so you can discuss a feature with other users and the engineer(s) who wrote it.

They give users an escape hatch just in case something's broken; always a nice thing to have.

There are currently 13 "features" in the Lab list.

Quick Links

Adds a box to the left column that gives you 1-click access to any bookmarkable URL in Gmail. You can use it for saving frequent searches, important individual messages, and more.

Superstars

Adds additional star icons. After enabling this feature, you can choose which icons you wish to use in the "General" Settings page.

Pictures in chat

See your friends' profile pictures when you chat with them.

Fixed width font

Adds an option to the reply dropdown menu that lets you view a message in fixed width font.

Custom keyboard shortcuts

Lets you customize keyboard shortcut mappings. Adds a new Settings tab from which you can remap keys to various actions.

Mouse gestures

Use your mouse to navigate with gestures. Hold right-click and move the mouse left to go to a previous conversation, move it right to go to the next conversation, and move up to go back to the inbox view. Works best on Windows.

Signature tweaks

Places your signature before the quoted text in a reply, and removes the "--" line that appears before signatures. Can't use this and the "Random signature" Labs feature at the same time.

Random signature

Rotates among random quotations for your email signature. Can't use this and the "Signature tweaks" Labs feature at the same time.

Custom date formats

Adds options to the general settings page allowing the date and time format to be changed independent of language. For example, you can use a 24-hour clock (14:57) or show dates with the day first (31/12/07).

Muzzle

Conserves screen real estate by hiding your friends' status messages.

Old Snakey

Kick it old school with Old Snakey! Enable keyboard shortcuts and hit '&' from the main page to play a game of snake.

Email Addict

Lets you take a break from email and chat by blocking the screen for fifteen minutes and making you invisible in chat.

Hide Unread Counts

Hides the unread counts for inbox, labels, etc.

Some of them are cute, but in terms of usefulness, they aren't all that exciting. Still, play around with them and let both Google and me know what you think.

Microsoft Applies for "Device Manners Policy" Patent; What an Idea!

Finally, finally! One of the most annoying things when seeing a movie in the theater is when some dimwit not only fails to turn off his cell phone, he answers it! While there are some chains such as Regal that are taking some steps, no theater, in this country at least, has instituting cell phone jamming.

Microsoft has applied for a patent for what they call a "device manners policy" (DMP). This wireless zone-enforced protocol. It would that allow someone to turn certain device features off or on based on a specified policy.

After all, if you can't give people good manners, give it to their electronics.

Besides the obvious application for shutting down phones at theaters, such a policy could be used to enforce no audio or video recording rules at concerts, etc., etc.

The patent application says:

The present invention includes methods and technologies for defining and administering device manners policy ("DMP"), propagating DMP, reception and recognition of, and compliance with DMP. Such policy may be used to communicate to various mobile and other devices the "manners" with which compliance is expected or required. Similar to some of the social manners honored among people, such as with "no smoking" or "employees only" zones, "no swimming" or "no flash photography" areas, and scenarios for "please wash your hands" or "no talking out loud", devices may recognize and comply with analogous "device manners" policy.

I would hope that, except perhaps for people who don't care about being polite to others at theaters, this would be seen as a universally great idea. Naturally all OEMs would have to embrace the technology (and thus, license it from Microsoft), but still, I have to really, really applaud this idea.

Post-Rapture Website Lets You Email Your "Left Behind" Friends, Relatives

If Christians disappear off the face of the Earth because of "The Rapture," there's a site that has recently launched that will let you say "I told you so" via email to your "left behind" friends and relatives.

You've Been Left Behind says that it "gives you one last opportunity to reach your lost family and friends For Christ."

Here's how it works: six days after "The Rapture," the system is triggered. The "switch is thrown" when when 3 of their 5 team members fail to log in over a 3 day period. The extra 3 days are for a fail-safe. The members are also scattered across the U.S. to prevent, say, a natural disaster from accidentally triggering this. 3 out of 5? I guess this is just in case some of them are "backslidden."

Once that happens your emails start flying, assuming you've paid the $40 annual fee (the site says this fee will be reduced as more subscribe) .

Service-wise, you receive two "boxes."

In Box #1, you get 150 MB of encrypted storage that can be sent to 12 possible email addresses. This, according to the site, is for your "personal private letters to your closest lost friends and relatives."

Box #2 has 100 MB of unencrypted storage. This box can have up to 50 email recipients. According to the site, Box #2 is for "more generic documents to lost family & friends."

Of course, if you really want to encrypt stuff and don't want anyone and run out of space or email addresses in the encrypted section, you could always encrypt the document in a .ZIP file or encrypt a Word document. In fact, that might be a good idea since although the sites privacy policy says "We won't give any information to anyone, period!" that's all it says; nothing about not reading your documents.

BTW, If you don't want to write your own documents, you can use some of the site's pre-written documents.

According to the site, it's "Programmed and Run by Christians, for Christians." The $40 fee says it's not totally altruistic, but they do need to run the site.

In their "Why" section, they say:

We all have family and friends who have failed to receive the Good News of the Gospel.

The unsaved will be 'left behind' on earth to go through the "tribulation period" after the "Rapture". You remember how, for a short time, after (9/11/01) people were open to spiritual things and answers. (We are still singing "God Bless America" at baseballs' seventh inning stretch.) Imagine how taken back they will be by the millions of missing Christians and devastation at the rapture. They will know it was true and that they have blown it. There will be a small window of time where they might be reached for the Kingdom of God. We have made it possible for you to send them a letter of love and a plea to receive Christ one last time. You can also send information based on scripture as to what will happen next. Each fulfilled prophecy will cause your letter and plea to be remembered and a decision to be made.

"WHY" is one last chance to bring them to Christ and snatch them from the flames!

I have a question, though: what if, during the six days after the trigger event, all "hell" breaks loose (pun intended) and there's no power for the servers to send the emails? For that matter, will anyone even be able to read the emails!?

Perhaps text messages would be a better idea.

Tracking Study Using Cell Phones Raises Ethics Questions

A study detailed in Nature exposes the local nature of humans: we like to hang around our homes. But that's not what caught my eye. It's the way the study was conducted.

Northeastern University (Mass.) tracked the cell phone usage of 100,000 people - outside the U.S. - to determine how far they strayed from home over time. Location information was determined by tracking cell phone towers as they made and received calls and text messages.

The study, done over a six month period, also included an additional 206 GPS-enabled cell phones.

The interesting tidbit of info for the scientists involved: nearly 75% of those studied mainly stayed within a 20-mile-wide circle for the six-month period.

While that's interesting, what's disturbing is the fact that the study was done without the explicit permission of the participants. While that would be illegal in the U.S., according to the FCC, the study was done outside the U.S., in an unspecified "industrialized nation."

The cell phone carrier who assisted in the study was also not revealed.

Albert-Laszlo Barabasi and co-author Cesar Hidalgo did not check with an ethics panel before conducting the study, or they might have gotten an earful. They said they were not required to check with such a panel because the study involved physics, not biology. It's not a biological study, but it seems to be more like a behavioral or perhaps socialogical study - and that would require an ethics panel.

In fact, Barabasi said, "This is a new step for science. For the first time we have a chance to really objectively follow certain aspects of human behavior."

Bioethicist Arthur Caplan at the University of Pennsylvania said, "There is plenty going on here that sets off ethical alarm bells about privacy and trustworthiness."

The study, according to the authors, could be use to produce epidemiological data, showing how a contagious disease might spread, or to produce more effective transportation systems.

That said, while Barabasi said the study started with 6 million phone numbers - and chose the 100,000 at random - how would you like to have your whereabouts tracked for six months without your knowledge?

The Most Dangerous Domains to Surf

Given time, I suppose many people could come up with a list of questionable "domains," ones you should probably have some concern about when surfing to them. Particularly country domains, such as .uk, .us, and so on. In a study released Wednesday by security firm McAfee, they gave us their own view of the most dangerous domains to surf to.

The Hong Kong (.hk) domain jumped 28 spots and is now the #1 most dangerous place to surf and search on the web according a new report called "Mapping the Mal Web Revisited." This is the second annual such report.

According to the report, 19.2% of all Web sites ending in the .hk domain pose a security threat to Web users. Meanwhile China (.cn) is second at over 11%. The most popular domain, .com ranks at #11 overall.

How did McAfee get this data? Using their SiteAdvisor technology, of course. The study compared the ratings of sites found in each of the 265 country and generic domains (such as .com) and ranked them by the number of risky Web sites found in each domain. Risky sites, according to the report, were ones that contained "adware, spyware, viruses, spam, excessive pop-ups, browser exploits or links to other red-rated sites."

In terms of safety, Finland (.fi) replaced Ireland (.is) as the safest online destination with 0.05%, followed by Japan (.jp).

Other key findings from McAfee "Mapping the Mal Web Revisited" report 2008 include:

• The chance of downloading spyware, adware, viruses or other unwanted software from surfing the Web increased 41.5% over 2007
• Sites which offer downloads such as ringtones and screen savers that are also loaded with viruses, spyware and adware increased over the last year from 3.3% to 4.7%
• The Philippines (.ph) experienced a 270% increase in overall riskiness
• Tokelau (.tk) and Samoa (.ws) were notably safer in 2008 dropping to 28th and 12th
• In Europe, Spain (.es) experienced a 91% increase in overall risk

What does all this mean? Well, obviously, for McAfee it means, you consumers need to buy our security products and use our SiteAdvisor tech (free). For consumers it means, make sure you have some sort of up-to-date virus scanner on your system, don't accept unwanted pop-up offers on sites you go to, and "be careful out there."

The full report can be downloaded from McAfee's site ... when they get around to posting it, that is.