Addressing the recent announcement that he will not deliver the Macworld keynote this year, Apple CEO Steve Jobs released a statement this morning about his mysterious health condition.
Top Stories
Here's a very familiar theme for us every year: Despite both manufacturers' and certain governments' own regulatory bodies to drive and enforce industry standards, there's no one way to do digital mobile TV.
Disgruntled IT guy fells blogging site
January 5 - 8:40 PM ET
It's better than having some jerk walk back in with a gun, but it's sure not good: The journalspace.com blog site has shut down after a "disgruntled" former IT employee used his own data-backup choice to obliterate its entire data store.
7 Comments...
January phish buffet: Now with IRS
January 5 - 2:46 PM ET
As regular as tax season itself, phishers pretending to offer information on an IRS "stimulus payment" are targeting thrifty (or is that greedy?) taxpayers.
1 Comment...
Samsung announces HDTVs with Yahoo Widgets
January 5 - 2:16 PM ET
The broadband-connected television market will be in full bloom at CES 2009, with Samsung announcing that its newest lineup of HDTVs will sport "Internet@TV", a Yahoo-powered widget interface.
RIAA: MediaSentry relationship had already ended
January 5 - 1:30 PM ET
In the second "deflation" of a Wall Street Journal story in as many months, an RIAA spokesperson confirmed to BetaNews this morning that the termination of its use of the MediaSentry service had already happened.
1 Comment...
Netflix and Amazon On Demand come to even more
January 5 - 11:26 AM ET
Amazon today announced that owners of the formerly Netflix-exclusive Roku set-top box will be able to access Amazon Video On Demand, and LG announced it's building Netflix instant streaming directly into some of its upcoming HDTVs.
Apple's FileMaker launches revamped Mac and Windows database
January 5 - 11:07 AM ET
At Macworld today, Apple's FileMaker, Inc. subsidiary will launch a major overhaul of its flagship database for Mac and Windows desktops and servers, a product used by 70 of the world's Fortune 100 corporations.
1 Comment...
Twitter twormented by phishers
January 5 - 6:47 AM ET
UPDATED A phisher or phishers operating over the holiday weekend deluged Twitter users with direct messages designed to steal sign-in information. A second, unrelated compromised dozens of high-profile accounts and spewed rude fake messages.
8 Comments...
CES Countdown #4: Who's securing the CE device's end user?
January 5 - 5:56 AM ET
Computer security fuels many excellent conferences. CES is not typically one of them, but the current state of the economy is compelling conference goers to refocus on their core priorities...and security is one of them.
CES Countdown #5: Are the world's digital plans killing mobile DTV?
January 2 - 4:48 PM ET
Here's a very familiar theme for us every year: Despite not only manufacturers' own best efforts but also certain governments' own regulatory bodies to drive and even enforce industry standards, there's no one way to do digital mobile TV.
2 Comments...
CES Countdown #6: Can the PC adapt to the commodity business model?
January 2 - 1:25 PM ET
With the consumer economy changing radically and rapidly, Microsoft and others are experimenting once again with applying the pay-as-you-go model to computing, since it seems to work well enough for other industries.
4 Comments...
CES Countdown #7: Will someone please do something about battery life?
January 2 - 11:06 AM ET
Vendors at CES 2009 will be displaying some interesting new workarounds to the persistent issue of short battery life, ranging from an "ECO On Mode" in MSI's Wind U115 netbook to a solar battery charging gadget from Energizer.
9 Comments...
Web rates UK Web ratings proposal an 'F'
December 31 - 6:24 PM ET
Every so often, the Web provides a form of entertainment that almost everyone can enjoy -- a punching bag. Enter Andy Burnham, the UK Culture Minister, and his recent musings on a movie-style ratings system for the Internet.
18 Comments...
Top 20 BetaNews stories of 2008
December 31 - 3:49 PM ET
What were the stories that gathered BetaNews readers' attention, got them talking, made them think more about the meaning behind the technology? Our space-age statistics generator has provided us with the final tally.
5 Comments...
BetaNews CES 2009 Contest: Win Vista Ultimate and Office 2007
December 31 - 2:43 PM ET
Before CES 2008, BetaNews debuted our "Better Questions" contest, where we asked you, the reader, what questions you wanted answered from the CES floor. This year, we're asking you again.
61 Comments...
'Y2K9' bug hits 30 GB Zunes
December 31 - 2:30 PM ET
UPDATED: In the early morning hours of the final day of the year, many Zune users found their devices frozen on the logo screen, totally unresponsive.
53 Comments...
CES 2009: Netbooks and notebooks from under $500 to over $5,000
December 31 - 1:21 PM ET
CES rollouts will run the gamut from MSI's Wind "hybrid" netbook -- with a mix of SSD and HDD drives in a single machine -- to a high-end notebook with a secondary display. And Windows 7 could be closer than anyone thinks.
12 Comments...
CES Countdown #8: Can smart HDTVs bypass the 'media PC' altogether?
December 31 - 12:23 PM ET
If you don't own a media PC yet, do you actually want one? Now would be a good time for anyone who makes media PCs to step up to the plate and deliver an updated value proposition...Any volunteers?
7 Comments...
Samsung boosts its own 4G wireless chip development
December 30 - 2:03 PM ET
While other manufacturers are pulling back on chip development because of the bleak economy, Samsung is now stepping up its work on WiMAX and LTE so as to bring down its royalty payments -- and quite possibly, its financial risk.
2 Comments...
Blinkx debuts its 'least annoying' ad platform
December 30 - 12:36 PM ET
Video search engine Blinkx has taken a new approach to video advertising with its "un-roll" format, in a move which leverages its technology for sorting videos for a project with a potentially much higher rate of return.
1 Comment...
Microsoft denies the severity of a Media Player exploit
December 30 - 11:45 AM ET
The proof of concept for a Windows Media Player exploit does exist, and it has been shared. But it's not a vulnerability, Microsoft said, because it would need to trigger remote code execution...and this one doesn't.
16 Comments...
TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus 3.1.0.1740
January 5 - 6:28 PM ET
TheSage English Dictionary and Thesaurus is a complete dictionary and a multifaceted thesaurus of the English language. It runs locally, and does not use your Internet connection. The essential functionality includes the following: tabbed interface allowing multiple definitions and searches to be readily available, quick cross-referencing; standard and advanced wildcard search functionality; anagram search; history and session record keeping; options that allow customization of the appearance of TheSage; copy to clipboard of all or part of the information displayed.
Windows Vista/XP
License: Freeware
User Rating: 5.0
License: Freeware
User Rating: 5.0
SUPER © 2009.build.35
January 5 - 6:07 PM ET
SUPER © is all you need if you need a simple, yet very efficient tool to convert (encode) or play any Multimedia file, without reading manuals or spending long hours training. It is a multimedia encoder and a multimedia player, easy-to-use with one simple click.
Windows 2000/2003/9x/XP
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.0
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.0
Floola for Windows 4.5
January 5 - 5:46 PM ET
Floola is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone (any model supporting iTunes) under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. It can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation. It supports all common used iPod features including artwork, podcasts and smart playlists. It is also able to convert audio or video incompatible with the iPod so that you can copy almost any file to it. It even allows adding youtube and myspace videos just entering the page url.
Floola has the following other editions available: Floola for Mac OS X and Floola for Linux.
Windows (All)
License: Freeware
User Rating: 3.8
License: Freeware
User Rating: 3.8
MediaMonkey 3.1.0.1207 Beta
January 5 - 5:25 PM ET
MediaMonkey is an easy-to-use music manager and media jukebox for serious music collectors and iPod users. It catalogs your CDs, OGG, WMA, MPC, FLAC, APE, WAV and MP3 audio files. It looks up missing Album Art and track information via Freedb and the web, and includes an intelligent tag editor and an automated file and directory renamer to organize your music library. It includes a CD ripper, CD Burner, and audio converter for saving music, and manual or automated playlist editors for creating music mixes. Its player automatically adjusts volume levels so that you don't have continually fiddle with the volume control and supports hundreds of Winamp plug-ins and visualizations; or if you prefer, it can use Winamp as the default player. It also includes portable audio device synchronization that allows you to quickly synch tracks and playlists with iPods and other portable audio devices.
Windows 2000/2003/9x/XP
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.2
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.2
AnyDVD HD 6.5.0.8 Beta
January 5 - 5:04 PM ET
AnyDVD works in the background to automatically remove the copy protection of a DVD movie as soon as it's inserted into the drive, allowing you then to backup the movie using a DVD backup tool such as CloneDVD and CloneDVD mobile. You can also remove the RPC region code, thereby making the movie region free and viewable on any DVD player and with any DVD player software. It is capable of removing unwanted movie features, including subtitles and prohibition messages such as copyright and FBI warnings. It also allows you to launch an external application whenever you insert or remove a disc, or prevent 'PC-friendly' software from automatically launching when you insert a video DVD.
Decryption is not all that AnyDVD offers. You can control the drive speed of your DVD drive, allowing you to reduce the noise level when watching movies on your PC. You can even adjust the display frequency of your monitor for both NTSC and PAL displays. It also decrypts protected audio CDs to allow you to copy them.
Windows 2000/2003/9x/Vista/XP
License: Shareware
User Rating: 4.4
License: Shareware
User Rating: 4.4
Mo-Search 3.1.0 Beta
January 5 - 4:43 PM ET
Mo-Search quickly Locates, Scores and Ranks relevant files by searching file contents or filenames/paths. Advantages include: Scored and Ranked Results, Searches Networked Drives (shares), Integrated FileViewer with Highlighted Matches, and Integrated EXIF QuickView adjacent to previewed images.
Windows 2000/2003/9x/Vista/XP
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.5
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.5
K-MeleonCCF ME 0.09 RC3
January 5 - 4:22 PM ET
K-MeleonCCF is a Web browser which for the Microsoft Windows platform. It is an unofficial version of K-Meleon and based on the same Gecko layout engine as Mozilla Firefox. It uses native Windows API to create the user interface (instead of using Mozilla's cross-platform XUL layer), and as a result, is tightly integrated into the look and feel of the Windows desktop; this approach is similar to that of Galeon and Epiphany (for the GNOME desktop), and Camino (for Mac OS X). This also makes K-MeleonCCF less resource-intensive and more responsive to user input.
K-MeleonCCF ME was developed as a more streamlined version of K-MeleonCCF, using less resources and delivering greater responsiveness. This is achieved by the exclusion of Mozilla's inefficient XUL (XML User Interface Language) in menus, and the use of more Lua-based macros.
Windows 2000/Vista/XP
License: Open Source
User Rating: 4.0
License: Open Source
User Rating: 4.0
FreeBSD 7.1
January 5 - 4:01 PM ET
This is the ISO version of FreeBSD.
FreeBSD offers advanced networking, performance, security and compatibility features today which are still missing in other operating systems, even some of the best commercial ones.
The quality of FreeBSD combined with today's low-cost, high-speed PC hardware makes FreeBSD a very economical alternative to commercial UNIX workstations. It is well-suited for a great number of both desktop and server applications.
FreeBSD
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.6
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.6
K-Lite Codec Tweak Tool 2.3.1
January 5 - 3:40 PM ET
K-Lite Codec Tweak Tool will scan for broken filters and remove them. If the tool detects something that is broken, it will then prompt you with the details and you will be given the option to remove the broken item.
Windows (All)
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.5
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.5
aTuner 1.9.85.18048
January 5 - 3:19 PM ET
aTuner is a small tool for changing/tweaking settings on your GeForce, Quadro and Radeon graphic cards. Includes Anti-Aliasing (including all unofficial modes), Anisotropic Filtering, VSync, and MipMap LOD Bias.
Windows 2000/XP
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.4
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.4
ClamAV 0.94.2-1
January 5 - 2:58 PM ET
ClamAV is an open source antivirus solution that features a command line interface for scanning files, updating the virus definitions, and a daemon for faster scanning needed on high performance systems.
Unlike most antivirus products, ClamAV requires no yearly subscription fee, and is completely free with source code to anyone who wishes to use it. Because it is released under the GPL v2 license, you must follow all license requirements if you modify the ClamAV source code, or use it in your own projects.
Windows 2000/2003/9x/XP
License: Open Source
User Rating: 3.9
License: Open Source
User Rating: 3.9
GPU-Z 0.3.1
January 5 - 2:37 PM ET
GPU-Z is a lightweight utility designed to give you all information about your video card and GPU.
Windows 2000/Vista/XP
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.6
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.6
FileZilla v3 for Windows 3.2.0 RC2
January 5 - 2:16 PM ET
FileZilla is a fast and reliable FTP client and server with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface.
FileZilla has the following other editions available: FileZilla v2, FileZilla v3 for Mac OS X and FileZilla v3 for Linux.
Windows Vista/XP
License: Open Source
User Rating: 4.6
License: Open Source
User Rating: 4.6
VirtualDub 1.9.0 Experimental
January 5 - 1:55 PM ET
VirtualDub is a video capture / processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It lacks the editing power of a general-purpose editor such as Adobe Premiere, but is streamlined for fast linear operations over video. It has batch-processing capabilities for processing large numbers of files and can be extended with third-party video filters. It is mainly geared toward processing AVI files, although it can read MPEG-1 and also handle sets of BMP images.
Windows 2000/2003/9x/XP
License: Open Source
User Rating: 4.9
License: Open Source
User Rating: 4.9
hMailServer 5.0 Build 321 Beta
January 5 - 1:34 PM ET
hMailServer is a free, open source mail server for Windows. It has support for SMTP, POP3, IMAP, virtual domains, anti virus scanning, distribution lists and much more. It comes with a great COM library that easily can be used for integration. Data is stored in a database server, MySQL or MS SQL, depending on your choice.
Windows 2000/2003/XP
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.8
License: Freeware
User Rating: 4.8
