Japanese Rights Holders Upset with YouTube
A Japanese entertainment group is not happy with YouTube's progress in weeding out copyrighted content, and is asking the social video site to implement stricter policies on video uploads.
The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (Jasrac) expressed its concerns in a letter addressed to YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. In it, the group said that problems with the posting of copyrighted content persist, and the current system "is not functioning well."
Sony Debuts PSP Download Service
Sony debuted its title download service for the PlayStation Portable game system Tuesday, initially offering five classic PlayStation titles.
Each title will sell for $5.99 USD, and can be accessed through the PlayStation 3 console. From there, the user will need to connect his or her PSP to transfer the emulated game. Plans call for games to be added on a regular basis.
QuickTime Helps Spread MySpace Worm
An issue with how QuickTime handles JavaScript in conjunction with a MySpace vulnerability is spreading through the popular social networking site, security firm Websense reports.
The video and the associated script will change links within the infected user's profile to links to phishing sites. In addition, it places itself on the profile in order to infect others. Viewing the video on another's MySpace profile would infect the viewers own, the firm said.
Vista's Graphical Power Shown with UniveRSS
While many may have not understood exactly what the Windows Presentation Foundation meant for Vista, a new application from Microsoft to visualize RSS feeds may provide a glimpse into the future.
Several WPF features are shown off in the example, including 3D animation functionality, data binding and data visualization, While the current version uses the RSS folder in IE7, future versions would allow for feed management within the software
Ask Debuts Revamped Local Search
Hoping to break into the nascent local search market, Ask on Monday introduced AskCity, an application that brings together several different search categories into a single service.
From the same interface, users would able to search for businesses, events, and movies. In addition, they would also be able to get directions to search results. The company is betting the integration will draw users away from its competitors, such as Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, and Microsoft's Windows Live Local.
Get Windows XP Free Virtually, With a Catch
Microsoft is providing a free virtualized copy of Windows XP SP2 to assist developers in migrating IE6 applications to IE7. However, it will only work until April 1, 2007.
The time-limited Virtual PC image would come with a pre-activated copy of Windows XP SP2, Internet Explorer 6, and the Internet Explorer 7 Readiness Toolkit. Microsoft says that the solution is the only supported method for running both versions of the browser side-by-side.
Parallels to Offer Major Virtualization Update
Parallels has released to beta testers a glimpse of the next version of its Mac OS virtualization software. Among the changes are a redesigned user interface, and tighter integration with Boot Camp.
For the first time, Parallels would be able to use a Boot Camp partition with a copy of Windows XP installed as a virtual hard disk drive. This would negate the need for the user to restart his or her computer to access the Windows partition.
Windows Live Search Mobile App Out
Microsoft has quietly released Windows Live Search for Mobile that runs on cell phones, and a Web-based version of Windows Live Messenger aimed at mobile browsers.
No official announcement was made for either product, and sources tell BetaNews the search client was only distributed internally. However, employees were permitted to offer the application freely, and by Thursday it had made its way to several enthusiast Web logs and onto the Windows Live Ideas front page.
Yahoo Refuses to Help Google in Book Case
Google will not be receiving any help from Yahoo in the case brought against it by the Author's Guild, the Associated Press reports.
Calling the company's subpoena an attempt to force it to divulge trade secrets, Yahoo said Thursday that it has refused to testify. A 17-page rejection letter was sent to Google last week, and Yahoo's reasoning sounds a lot like that of Amazon, which rejected a subpoena in October.
US Gov't Approves VeriSign .com Deal
VeriSign's proposed deal with ICANN for oversight of the .com domain has received final approval from the US Commerce Department, removing the last hurdle to extending the agreement until 2012.
The agreement was approved by ICANN back in March in a split 9-to-5 vote, and the negotiations were highlighted by opposition by some of the Web's largest registrars. Under the deal, VeriSign could raise rates without justification by up to seven percent in four of the next six years.
Sling Media Hires Former MTV Execs
The maker of the popular Slingbox device has hired two executives from MTV's digital business to head a new interactive programming division, although it's not quite clear yet what exactly they would be doing.
Former MTV Networks chief digital officer Jason Hirschhorn and digital media vice president Ben White will join the company to form the Sling Media Entertainment Group. Hirschhorn has been named president, while White would serve as Chief Creative Officer.
TiVo Sees Positives, Negatives In Results
While TiVo has managed to cut its losses and show some strength in subscribers, a lack of progress in its deals with Cox and Comcast combined with declining DirecTV subscribers are putting a drag on the company.
In addition, the need for the company to begin to generate real subscriber growth will cause it to swing to a much wider loss in the holiday quarter, it admitted.
Vista, Office 2007 Debut for Businesses
Microsoft's oft-maligned and much-delayed next-generation operating system is no longer just a talking point for the Redmond company, it's now a reality - at least for businesses.
At an event at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City, CEO Steve Ballmer announced the business availability of Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange Server 2007. In addition, several other business-centric applications were also launched on Thursday.
Special Edition Zunes Are Pretty in Pink
While overall sales may not be all that impressive, there is still a rabid enthusiast community looking to snag some 100 special edition pink-colored Microsoft Zunes, which have begun appearing on eBay.
Although it was unannounced, Microsoft apparently released 100 limited edition Zunes into the initial shipment of the players after its launch earlier this month. While some may question the company's choice of the color pink, the only others to have these players are the Zune team themselves.
Nintendo Expects to Meet Wii Goals
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime painted a rosy picture for the Wii Wednesday, saying it should easily meet its target of shipping four million consoles worldwide by years end.
Fils-Aime said there was some opportunity for Wii shipments to end up coming above company estimates, but that would be limited by manufacturing. He gave no indication of how many more consoles could be potentially produced above the four million currently projected, but called such a prospect "challenging."
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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