Ed Oswald

Windows customization software maker Stardock announced that it had launched DesktopGadgets.com, a Web site devoted to the mini-applications that can reside on a user's desktop. Unlike Konfabulator or DesktopX, these programs do not require an additional program in order to be used. Stardock said these gadgets could be created with DesktopX Pro, as well as Microsoft's new Sparkle tool.

"We believe with Microsoft's embrace of gadgets along with their inherent usefulness that users will want a place to get high quality, useful gadgets to extend their desktop, place on their side bar, or use in ways no one has thought of yet," said Stardock President Brad Wardell. "Because gadgets don't require any extra downloads, we believe developers are more likely to create sophisticated content than what has typically been seen with 'widgets'."

Continue reading →

Verizon on Thursday announced it had begun its rollout of its fiber-optic based cable TV alternative. Called FiOS TV, the service will offer access to 180 digital video and music channels as part of its main offer for under $40 USD per month.

The service has launched first in Keller, a Texas city 30 miles west of Dallas. Verizon plans to expand to Wylie, Sachse and Westlake, Texas later in the year. FiOS TV will then expand to cities in Florida, Virginia and California - places where it has obtained permission to offer service.

Continue reading →

Squashing rumors that AOL is on the auction block, Time Warner says it remains committed to AOL, according to comments made by CEO Richard Parsons at a Goldman Sachs media conference. Parsons told attendees that he thought the driver for the company "is going to be AOL in the short term and the long term."

AOL has had a rough go of it since its merger with Time Warner in 2000. The firm was the subject of investigations and lawsuits by the federal government and shareholders alike, leading up to the removal of "AOL" from the combined company's name.

Continue reading →

First, it was Microsoft. Now Sony has announced plans to restructure the company and cut 10,000 jobs. Sony executives made the announcement Thursday at a press conference in Tokyo, where they acknowledged past mistakes have cost the company both in profits and market share in several key businesses.

"We have made promises before, but we failed to execute them," Howard Stringer, Sony's CEO, admitted.

Continue reading →

UPDATED The RIAA's latest attempt at curbing illegal peer-to-peer downloads appears to be working. On September 15, the group sent out cease and desist letters to seven undisclosed P2P networks. As of Thursday, it had appeared that at least two of them have now closed their doors.

According to reports, WinMX has ceased operations, and its Web site, winmx.com, has gone offline. The offices of another file sharing service, eDonkey, were reported closed by Reuters, although its Web site remained online Thursday and sources say the company known as MetaMachine simply moved locations.

Continue reading →

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a massive reorganization into three new divisions each headed by its own president. Also announced was the retirement of Windows head Jim Allchin after Windows Vista ships in late 2006. The following is a selection of what analysts and bloggers are saying about the changes.

"If Microsoft's premise is right, the new structure would better facilitate cross-product integration and improve product development. If Microsoft is wrong, the reorganization could slow down work in progress."
- Joe Wilcox, Microsoft Monitor

Continue reading →

Hoping to cash in on the buzz surrounding ultra-thin phones like the Motorola RAZR, NEC on Wednesday announced that it had launched the world's thinnest mobile phone in Hong Kong, and would bring the handset to other markets shortly.

At 11.9 millimeters thick when folded, the new phone comes in about two millimeters thinner than the RAZR. The phone will support GSM/GPRS, and comes complete with a 1.3-megapixel digital camera.

Continue reading →

There is no "for sale" sign in the front yard of T-Mobile USA. Deustche Telekom's mobile division chief Rene Olbermann told a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce that the company plans to invest in 3G in the US, and said the unit's importance to Deustche Telekom's bottom line "is beyond doubt." Financial analysts had rumored T-Mobile USA as being on the chopping block since the beginning of the summer as a way for Deustche Telekom to cut debt.

However, T-Mobile continues to grow quickly, passing 20 million subscribers this week. In two and a half years, subscriber numbers have doubled, Olbermann said. He also solidified T-Mobile's promise for 3G services in 2007, and seemed content with the carrier's position as the fourth largest operator in the US, far behind market leaders Cingular, Verizon and Sprint-Nextel.

Continue reading →

BetaNews has learned that MSN plans to remove mature and adult rated communities from its MSN Groups service in late November. The groups would be moved to a third-party site, WorldGroups, which will handle all adult categorized groups for the service after the transition.

Users will be unable to create or change a group's classification as "adult" or "mature" after October 19. This would be followed by a lockdown of content on these groups on November 2, and then removal of the groups from MSN on November 28.

Continue reading →

Teen drivers could soon have to put down their cell phones when driving if states follow the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. The government agency pushed for new regulations at a hearing on highway safety on Tuesday.

"An average of more than 120 young people die every week in vehicle crashes in this country," said Acting NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. "We must do everything we can to reduce these needless deaths and we strongly believe that banning wireless communications devices for teenagers learning to drive will help significantly."

Continue reading →

Google's efforts to index the catalogs of several libraries is again running into copyright issues as a group of authors accused the search giant of "massive copyright infringement." They alledge that Google never approached them for permission to index their books, and have taken the search engine to court.

The group behind the suit is the Author's Guild, a non-profit organization that lobbies for free speech, copyrights, and other issues of importance to writers.

Continue reading →

Sharp said it has plans to release a 57-inch LCD television in December in a move aimed at increasing its market share of flat-panel TVs. The company also said that it plans to launch the TV in North America in February 2006. The TV will support the full HD standard, with a resolution of up to 1,920 by 1,080 pixels.

LCD televisions, however, still remain much more expensive than plasmas. The TV will retail for 1.52 million yen, or about $13,600 USD. In comparison, a new 65-inch plasma set from Panasonic due out soon in Japan will sell for 990,000 yen, or about $8,875 USD.

Continue reading →

Secunia warned on Tuesday that critical vulnerabilities within the Linux and Unix versions of Firefox could allow an attacker to easily execute shell commands on a user's system. Mozilla responded on Wednesday by issuing version 1.0.7 of the browser that addresses the flaw.

The vulnerability is known to affect Firefox version 1.0.6 on Fedora Core 4 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. Secunia rates the issue "extremely critical," which is reserved for "remotely exploitable vulnerabilities, which can lead to system compromise. Successful exploitation does not normally require any interaction and exploits are in the wild."

Continue reading →

Intel said on Tuesday it had made changes to its manufacturing process that would allow for the production of processors that use very little power, and would extend battery life of mobile and small form factor devices.

To decrease power consumption of its chips, Intel had to improve the design of the transistor. Energy leaks from these transistors, even when in the off state waste electrical power. Through the new design process, engineers at Intel were able to reduce leakage by 1,000 times over the standard construction.

Continue reading →

Dell on Tuesday debuted the "Ditty" - its answer to the iPod Shuffle which the company hopes will prove more successful than previous incarnations of its DJ music players. At $99 USD for 512MB, the Ditty is aimed at taking away some of Apple's Shuffle market share this holiday season.

The Ditty has two features that the Shuffle has been often criticized for not including: an FM tuner and small monochrome screen. The device is also "PlaysForSure" compatible, meaning the user can download music from any Windows Media based subscription music service.

Continue reading →