Nokia Begins Shipping N95 to Europe, Asia
Nokia has begun shipments of its N95 multimedia computer device Thursday, with the first devices going to key European, Asian, and Middle Eastern markets.
The phone, which was first announced back in September, has no release date as of yet in the US. It includes a 5-megapixel camera and HSDPA/WCDMA support, along with integrated GPS functionality and a two-way slide design.
RIAA's Case Against Mother Faltering
A U.S. District Court Judge has denied the RIAA's effort to walk away quietly from its case against New York resident Patricia Santangelo, saying she had the right to have her legal status resolved "one way or the other."
In a judgment filed on Monday and obtained by BetaNews, Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that RIAA will either have to proceed to trial or motion to dismiss the case with prejudice. Either way will result in an unfavorable situation for the group.
Microsoft Reorgs Live Search Leadership
Microsoft looked within to find a replacement for its outgoing search chief Chris Payne, while reorganizing its search department and bringing its ad platform group under the direction of the division.
"Aligning Search and our Ad Platform efforts under a single R&D leader is essential as we drive advances in our search, commerce, and payments infrastructure, and evaluate change-the-playing-field opportunities," the company said in a statement.
EarthLink Beta Tests Wi-Fi Phone
EarthLink has begun a beta test of a phone that will use its municipal Wi-Fi network as well as a consumer's home network to both place and receive calls. The first tests will occur on the company's network in Anaheim.
Accton Technology has been selected to manufacture the phones, which will be made available to select beta testers in the city. Those in the region could sign up for the beta by calling 1-800-352-7650, the company said.
Sirius' Karmazin Proposes 'a la Carte' Sat Programming
Attempting to appease lawmakers still uneasy over the planned merger between XM and Sirius, CEO-designate Mel Karmazin said the company is considering offering a la carte programming options post-merger.
The comments were made both in regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as during Karmazin's testimony in front of the Senate Antitrust Committee on Tuesday.
Euro PS3 Backwards Compatibility List Revealed
Facing increasing criticism over its decision to make the European edition of the PlayStation 3 less backwards compatible than its US counterpart, Sony on Tuesday announced which games would work with the console.
Earlier models launched in both US and Japan include a chip which allowed most PS2 games to be played on the console. However, in the interest of cost-cutting, the company replaced the chip with software for emulation.
Report: Palm Takeover is Imminent
Technology news site Unstrung.com says that a $2 billion sale of Palm could be in its final stages, with three bidders interested in the company, one of which being cell phone maker Nokia.
Rumors of a sale have persisted for much of the last week, as the once dominant PDA maker has faltered in the face of competition from Microsoft and RIM, maker of the BlackBerry. While Nokia seems to lead the bidding, it is said that management would prefer a private equity buyer.
Rambus Wins Stay of FTC Patent Judgement
Rambus will be allowed to continue to collect royalties on its memory chip technologies thanks to a stay of an order that would have forced it to lower its rates, however the extra money will need to be placed in escrow while it appeals.
The Federal Trade Commission had ruled in February that Rambus could charge a maximum royalty rate of .5 percent for DDR SDRAM, and .25 percent for SDRAM for a period of three years after the order is issued. Following this period, the company will be barred from collecting royalties.
Movie Gallery to Open Online Rental Service
The nation's second biggest movie retail chain said Monday that it would open its own online DVD rental service in order to stop the defection of customers to rivals Blockbuster and Netflix.
Movie Gallery, which operates both Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video, would debut the service later this year. A survey of the chain's customers showed that while many were renting new releases through its stores, but opting for the online services for older releases.
Sprint Looks to Lure Talkative Customers
Sprint is testing a new cell phone plan in San Francisco that allows its talkative users to have unlimited calling, messaging, and internet usage for $120 per month.
Currently its cheapest unlimited plan is $200 per month, but only includes mobile calls. This will include the above, minus data access for laptops. Those wishing for that service will need to pay an additional $30 per month.
One-Third of Computer Attacks Start in US
Most computer attacks originate in the United States, a study has found. Additionally, hackers are increasingly becoming more organized, creating crime rings that are becoming more effective in carrying out attacks.
The report, released by Symantec on Monday, details increasingly sophisticated networks are causing an increase in data theft and leakage, as well as targeted code which is being used to steal confidential information and then sell it on the black market.
Microsoft to Pay Business for Using Live Search
If you can't get people to use your product for free, you can always pay them to.
Microsoft is now offering to pay businesses through service or training credits if they get their employees to use its Live Search product at work. The amount of the payment would be based on the number of search queries served.
Blu-ray: We'll Replace DVD in Three Years
Blu-ray is aiming to replace the DVD format within three years, and is practically claiming victory at the CeBIT technology show in Germany.
The European chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association says that by the end of that period, Blu-ray would be the only next-generation format left. It pointed to the launch of the PlayStation 3 as a major impetus for the format's eventual supremacy.
Panda Looks to Speed Antivirus Scans
Panda has released NanoScan, an online virus scanning service that is able to perform a full sweep of a computer in less than one minute. The speed is a vast improvement over current virus scanners, which take as much as an hour or more to complete.
The company isn't giving specifics on how the software works, only saying that it will require a small 400KB ActiveX download. No software is installed on the user's computer, and is hosted on Panda's servers. This would ensure that the signature files were continually up-to-date.
Wii Continues Sales Dominance in February
Nintendo's Wii outsold all other next-generation consoles in February, the NPD Group reports, further solidifying its second place market share among new consoles in the US. Meanwhile, PS3 sales continue to lag.
It was not all bad news for Sony, however. Sales of its PS2 are still strong, selling 295,000 units during the month. This was about the same as its performance in January, when it sold 299,000 consoles.
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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