FCC Moves To Push for Better Cell E911
Saying current standards for cellular E911 are not enough, the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to push for better accuracy in pinpointing a cellular user's location.
Current standards only call for systems to be able to pinpoint a caller's location to within 300 meters for 95 percent of all calls, and within 100 meters for two-thirds of them. Under the new proposal, those distances are halved.
Suspended LiveJournal Blogs Return
LiveJournal has decided to restore access to some of the 500 Web logs it had suspended as part of an effort to crack down on pedophilia and to "protect children."
"Well, we really screwed this one up," SixApart chairman and CEO Barak Berkowitz wrote in the company Web log Thursday. "For reasons we are still trying to figure out what was supposed to be a well-planned attempt to clean up a few journals that were violating LiveJournal's policies that protect minors turned into a total mess."
'Spam King' Behind Bars, Authorities Say
The arrest of a 27-year-old Seattle man is being hailed as a major victory in the fight against spam -- and some are saying it could lead to a noticeable decrease in the amount of spam worldwide.
"Spam is a scourge of the Internet, and Robert Soloway is one of its most prolific practitioners," US Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan said. "Our investigators dubbed him the "Spam King" because he is responsible for millions of spam emails."
Apple Beefs Up Apple TV Offering
In an attempt to make the product more attractive to potential buyers, Apple has begun selling a version of Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive as well as announcing plans to allow access to YouTube from the device.
"These were the two pieces missing from Apple TV when it was announced," Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff said, speaking of more hard drive capacity and streaming content. "Apple TV is officially no longer lame."
Nazem Resigns as Yahoo CTO
After just a six-month stint as the head of the company's technology arm, Yahoo CTO Farzad Nazem will leave the company June 8. The announcement was revealed in a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang will serve as interim CTO while the company looks for a replacement, the filing said.
Tech Giants Push for NAND Flash Use in PCs
Three companies are teaming up to promote the use of NAND Flash memory in PCs, forming a consortium to push forward the technology's use in a variety of applications.
The Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Working Group will be chaired by Intel, with additional support from both Dell and Microsoft. The organization is aiming to provide a standard programming interface for non-volatile memory systems.
Palm Introduces New Laptop Product Line
Aimed as a 'companion' for its smartphones but essentially a computer on its own, Palm introduced the Foleo, a Linux-powered laptop-like device.
The Foleo is connected to the smartphone and allows the user to read and edit documents and e-mail, and has web browsing capabilities. The device also features built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and can use the phone's radio to access the Internet.
CBS Acquires Last.fm for $280 Million
CBS said Wednesday it had acquired Last.fm in a $280 million cash transaction, continuing its effort to move into the online entertainment industry.
For some, the acquisition was unexpected. "CBS as a buyer though is surprising and is a sure sign that the media giant is getting serious about Web 2.0," TechCrunch's Michael Arrington.
DRM-free Music Arrives on iTunes
Apple made good on its promise to offer DRM-free tracks on Wednesday, launching iTunes Plus with AAC tracks from label EMI.
The tracks are encoded at 256kbps, which the Cupertino company claims is "virtually indistinguishable" from the original recording. The tracks cost $1.29, and those already owning the tracks can upgrade for 30 cents per song or $3.00 per album.
Update: Microsoft Hasn't Sold 1 Million Zunes
5:00 pm ET May 29, 2007 - Microsoft now says the San Francisco Chronicle misquoted Robbie Bach, and explains that while it is still on track to sell one million Zunes by the end of June, it hasn't done so just yet.
Cesar Menendez, a product manager for Zune, announced the mistake on the Zune Insider blog Tuesday. However, he does note that, "we've achieved our goal of being the number 2 player in the hard-drive category."
TiVo Going Down Under in 2008
TiVo will begin offering service to consumers in Australia and New Zealand in 2008 thanks to a partnership with media company Seven Media Group.
The DVR maker's technology will be used to support a free-to-air digital television offering in the country. Popular features such as SeasonPass and WishList functionality, as well as broadband content, will be available to consumers.
Microsoft Adds New York to 3D Maps
Microsoft has updated its Live Search Maps service to include photo-realistic 3D imagery of New York City and six other U.S. cities along with Ottawa, Canada and Northampton, England.
Some had criticized Microsoft for leaving out one of the nation's most populous cities when the first 3D cities were announced. However, Microsoft answered the call Tuesday by adding the Big Apple.
Sony Throws Support Behind HD Radio
HD Radio received a boost Tuesday as Sony announced that it will be shipping both a table radio and mobile tuning device for the service.
The devices are part of a multi-year agreement to support the technology, and these first two products will ship in July of this year. Additional products will be announced at a later date, Sony said.
Sony Shows Off Paper-Thin Color Display
Sony debuted an innovative new bendable 2.5-inch display, one that is less than 0.01 inch thick -- not much thicker than a piece of paper -- and can display full-color video.
The Japanese electronics maker released video of its latest innovation on Friday, showing the flexibility and capabilities of the display. Sony isn't quite sure how it will be used, but it could have a variety of applications.
Access to MySpace Blocked in Apple Stores
Apple said Friday that it had banned access to MySpace from its demonstration computers, claiming casual browsing of the popular social networking site was taking up bandwidth. The site also has the dubious distinction of being the only site blocked by the company so far, say Apple representatives.
The decision is twofold: MySpace users were also taking up time on the machines, and the company wants to provide "everyone a chance to test-drive a Mac" according to a statement released Friday. According to news reports, people were even using the Photobooth application to update their MySpace pictures, and would then proceed to use the machines for 'hours,' according to an unnamed employee. MySpace had no immediate comment on the development.
Ed's Bio
Ed Oswald is a freelance journalist from the Reading, PA area. Although he has written across a variety of subjects, Ed’s passion and focus has been on technology and gadgets. His work regularly appears on tech news sites BetaNews, PCWorld, and Technologizer, and has been syndicated to eWeek, Time’s Techland blog, VentureBeat and the New York Times.
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