PC Shipments Up, Apple Sees Growth
Market research firm IDC on Monday said PC shipments worldwide grew by 17 percent in the third quarter, higher than previous forecasts.
In the United States market, which grew 11 percent year over year, industry leaders Dell and HP held their ground with market shares of 18 and 16 percent worldwide, and 33 and 28 percent in the U.S., respectively.
Interview: Corel on Sun, Open Standards
INTERVIEW Corel's Richard Carriere recently sat down with BetaNews to discuss the hype around alternative office suites and the future of WordPerfect. Carriere says the market is ready for an MS Office alternative, that Microsoft doesn't innovate, and OpenOffice.org and the OpenDocument format aren't yet viable.
BetaNews: With the recent news surrounding the release of StarOffice 8 and Massachusetts supporting OpenOffice.org, it seems like the market is ready for alternatives to Microsoft. What do you make of this news, and why is Corel speaking up?
EFF: Your Printer is Watching You
Researchers with the Electronic Frontier Foundation claimed Monday they have broken a code that some color laser printers print with every page. According to the group, the Secret Service has admitted they encoded the data into the pages in order to track counterfeiters, however the data stored in the code was not known before the discovery.
In one line of printers, the date and time the print was made, as well as the serial number of the printer were encoded into the document. The dots appear on printers by Xerox, Canon, HP and others, of which the group provided a list.
Nintendo Offers Free Wi-Fi at Mickey D's
Nintendo on Tuesday said that it had struck a deal with wireless provider Wayport to give free Wi-Fi access to Nintendo DS users at more than 6,000 McDonald's locations across the United States.
Users will be able to connect to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, a wireless gaming service from designed for the Nintendo DS, starting on November 14. All users will have to do is start a game in Wi-Fi Connection mode at any Wi-Fi-enabled McDonald's.
Groups Sue CA Over Video Game Law
Trade groups representing video game manufacturers filed suit in a San Jose, Calif. U.S. District Court Monday, hoping to overturn a law banning the sale of violent video games to minors in the State of California.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law on October 7. While Schwarzenegger said he supported the video game industry, such a law was necessary in order to protect children from violent material. Also, it was reported that many in the legislature were swayed by the Grand Theft Auto scandal this summer.
Banks Told to Strengthen Web Security
Banks will be mandated to strengthen the security of online banking sites by the end of next year thanks to a new ruling handed down by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
Single-factor authentication, such as a password or PIN which most banks use today, will no longer be permitted.
Windows Fix Brings Problems For Some
Computer users who install security updates from Microsoft as soon as they are released may have been greeted with a nasty surprise from a patch released last week - portions of Windows become unusable, or even worse, they could be locked out of their systems altogether.
The patch was intended to fix vulnerabilities in the COM+ and MS DTC objects within Windows. Instead, on some systems it prevents users from installing programs or starting the firewall, makes the network connections folder appear as if it was empty, prevents authenticated users from logging on, along with several other issues.
European Slingbox Testers Wanted
Sling Media, maker of the Slingbox device that allows you to view what's playing on your home TV or DVR remotely, is seeking beta testers for a European version. Requirements for joining the test are residency in either Europe or Australia, a minimum of 3 hours of testing per week, and frequent feedback to the company about the Slingbox.
Testing will take place during the months of November and December, and candidates will be notified of their status within 10 days of receipt of the application. Those interested can fill out the online form on the Slingbox Web site.
Sony Launches 3G Walkman Phone
Sony Ericsson introduced its first 3G Walkman phone Monday, the fourth music-enabled phone in the lineup. The W900 is slated to become available across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East by the end of the year.
So far only one Walkman phone has been launched worldwide, the W800, which debuted earlier this year. Sony Ericsson said that it plans to release two previously announced phones shortly, the W550 and W600.
iRiver to Launch Tiny U10 Video Player
Digital media device manufacturer iRiver plans to channel the simplicity of the iPod for its U10, a tiny player that is completely controlled by pressing the edges of the unit. The device is not much more than 2 inches high and just over 3 inches wide.
The U10 is capable of displaying video in AVI and MPEG4, as well as the Windows Media Video format. In a demo for BetaNews last week, the device had no visible lag time or sluggishness and picture quality was quite impressive.
Palm, RIM to Bring BlackBerry to Treo
Palm and Research In Motion (RIM) announced on Monday details of a plan to collaborate and bring BlackBerry technology to the Treo 650 smartphone. The deal will also give Palm the capability to add the technology to its future phones as well.
In a fight to stay relevant, Palm in recent months has extended the olive branch to its competitors. In late September, it announced a new Treo based on Windows Mobile 5.0, ending a nearly half-decade old battle with Microsoft.
Logitech to Debut Keyboard for Gamers
Logitech plans to target serious gamers with a new keyboard that will include a programmable auxiliary display, which can show game information and computer information, as well as a litany of other geek-pleasing features.
The display can also be programmed to show vital game stats, such as ammunition left or power levels. Logitech told BetaNews during a demo last week that it is in discussions with several manufacturers to use the display in their games to detail information pertinent to gameplay.
Hollywood Wants Cut of iTunes TV Sales
Five Hollywood unions on Friday publicly called for negotiations on revenue sharing for TV shows that are sold through the iTunes Music Store.
In a statement aimed at the television shows' producers, the group said it looks "forward to a dialogue that ensures that our members are properly compensated for this exploitation of their work." The group claims that they were never informed of the deal until they learned of it through the media.
Apple Nixes Samsung Investment Plan
Apple has decided against investing some $3.8 billion in Samsung, citing the increasing "anti-Samsung sentiment [that] has recently deepened among some political and civic groups," according to an anonymous Samsung official. Details of the fallout were reported Saturday in the financial paper Korea Economic Daily.
Apple reportedly buys about 40 percent of Samsung's flash memory for its popular Nano and Shuffle iPods. This has caused several Korean competitors to publicly complain in the media of a "favorable arrangement" and accuse the two companies of collusion, with the Korean Fair Trade Commission looking into the allegations.
MS Joins Nigeria to Fight Internet Crime
The country of Nigeria said on Friday it would begin working with Microsoft to combat Internet crime originating in its country. The agreement marks the first time the Redmond company is working with an African country on such issues.
Nigerian moneymaking e-mail scams are probably the oldest and most well known spam on the Internet, which the government for a long time let occur without much intervention.
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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