Verizon: WV Cable Thefts a Public Safety Threat
While cable thefts and vandalism are a problem for telecommunications companies nationwide, Verizon said Tuesday the problem is especially bad in West Virginia, where over 17,000 customers have experienced service interruptions as a result of the issue.
Across the state, 45 occurrences of either vandalism or theft have occurred. In one recent case, a 20-foot section of cable was stolen and caused both fire and police departments to lose telephone service, posing a threat to public safety.
LG Wins Low-Cost 3GSM Phone Contest
A barrier to 3G adoption has long been the price of the phone itself. However, LG has been selected as a winner of a contest to produce a low-cost handset that would retail for about $100 and operate on GSM Networks.
The contest, sponsored by the GSM Association, was judged by some of the worlds biggest operators using the technology, including AT&T, Globe Telecom, Hutchison 3G, KTF, MTN, Orange, Smart, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor, T-Mobile and Vodafone.
Kodak Throws Hat Into InkJet Printing Ring
Kodak is entering the home printing market with a line of printers that use better quality ink developed by the company, saving consumers up to 50 percent on ink costs while allowing them to print the same number of pages.
The printers used pigment-based ink, and would retail for $9.99 for black ink, and $14.99 for the five-ink color cartridge. The consumer says home printing of 4x6 photos could be as little as ten cents per print with their system.
Wii Continues Dominance in Japan
Nintendo's Wii console continues to be the surprise success in the next-generation console race, outselling the Sony PlayStation 3 by a two-to-one margin in Japan during the month of January.
Only 148,000 PS3s sold during the month, compared with 405,000 Wii consoles, Japanese gaming magazine Enterbrain said Tuesday. Sony's lackluster success in a region normally considered its strongest again brings up questions of the console's overall success.
Helio Closes In On 100,000 Subscribers
The joint mobile venture between EarthLink and SK Telecom finished 2006 with 70,000 subscribers, and expects to hit the milestone in April. Additionally, it is making money at a rate that would allow it to surpass $100 million in revenue per year.
Helio's disclosure of its user base came as part of a larger announcement where it announced its own music store. The company also said it was encouraged by the rate of subscriber growth, which is increasing month after month.
TI Debuts its Own Integrated Comm Chip
Just days after Broadcom demoed a chip with integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FM reception, competitor Texas Instruments answered back with a better integrated chip that adds Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11n.
Like its Broadcom counterpart, the TI chip is built using 65-nanometer processes. It would also be the first mobile-based 802.11n solution. For voice over WLAN functionality, call quality and reliability would increase, the company says.
Gorbachev Asks Gates to Show 'Pirate' Mercy
A plea to prevent a Russian teacher from being sentenced to detention in Siberian prison camps is coming from an unlikely source: former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The leader wrote an open letter to Microsoft founder Bill Gates asking him to show mercy and intercede on behalf of the accused man.
Gobachev claimed in the letter posted to the Web site of The Gorbachev Foundation Monday that Alexander Ponosov did not know he was committing a crime. Ponosov lives in a small village in the Ural Mountains, located in the western part of Russia.
TiVo Users Favor Bud Light, Doritos Bowl Spots
TiVo said Monday in its annual analysis of the Super Bowl viewing habits that Bud Light and Doritos were the biggest winners in viewership, although K-Fed's highly anticipated -- and much promoted -- Nationwide commercial made a decent showing.
Statistics are compiled using data culled anonymously from 10,000 TiVo subscribers. From there, the company uses the data to show what moments -- and in this case commercials -- best kept the viewer's attention.
Rambus DRAM Royalties to be Capped
Following a ruling in August that found memory chip maker Rambus liable for monopolizing the DRAM market, the Federal Trade Commission has imposed caps on royalty rates it can charge for its patented technologies. The company vows to appeal.
In a 3-to-2 decision, the FTC ruled that the company 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 would be barred from collecting royalties.
Apple, Beatles Settle Trademark Spat
Apple said Monday that it had reached an agreement with The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd., which settles any trademark issues between the two companies. It is not immediately clear, however, if the settlement includes putting the band's music on iTunes.
It would likely not be known until Tuesday whether the agreement contained such a provision, as that is the day Apple updates its iTunes Store. But the appearance of Beatle music at the Macworld keynote has nevertheless started the rumor mill.
iPod, iTunes Have Problems with Vista
If you have an iPod, and plan to install Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, Apple has one word of advice for you: don't.
That's because issues with iTunes 7.0.2 and the next-generation operating system are creating havoc for some users, Apple disclosed on Friday. The problems include issues with purchased music tracks playing, syncing issues, and even incidents where the device becomes corrupted.
Broadcom Demos Integrated Comm Chip
Chipmaker Broadcom has developed a way to integrate Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM reception capabilities onto a single chip, allowing manufacturers to produce devices with the functionality without sacrificing cost, size or battery life.
The functionality would be integrated into a 65-nanometer CMOS chip. The solution is perfect for those looking to include more functionality in smaller devices, the company said. Up until now, added functionality required embedding more chips.
Investors Sue Dell Over Bad Accounting
Investors in Dell are suing the company, accusing it of improperly accounting for bonuses it received from Intel for using its chips exclusively. The suit, which seeks class action status, claims the profits of the company were artificially inflated.
Dell could have been receiving as much as $1 billion per year in kickbacks, which were not properly accounted for and would likely be illegal under U.S. law. Furthermore, this could have hid more serious financial issues at the Texas-based computer maker.
Flickr Users in Uproar Over Login Policy
Flickr owner Yahoo has decided to phase out the separate login for the popular photo sharing site, instead opting to use its own system. While the search engine says the change is intended to make it easier for Yahoo to integrate Flickr into other services, some diehard users just aren't having it.
Yahoo further justifies its decision by mentioning the fact that only one out of every 20 users still uses a non-Yahoo ID. The company originally intended to support both authentication options when it acquired Flickr in March 2005, but changed that policy later in the year.
ID Theft Decreases in 2006
Incidents of identity theft are decreasing, and the average loss as a result of fraud has dropped, a new study suggests. The improvement may reflect a higher awareness of the problem by consumers and businesses, say experts.
A study released Thursday by Javelin Strategy & Research showed that Americans lost $49.3 billion during 2006 due to identity theft. While still a considerable amount of money, that is down 13 percent from $55.7 billion a year earlier.
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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