Verizon Speeds Up DSL Downloads
Playing catch-up to the recent moves of cable operators to increase broadband speeds for their customers, Verizon announced Monday that effective immediately, customers will receive 3Mbit per second downloads as part of the basic plan that costs $29.95 per month. The news could be seen as a counter to competitor Comcast, whose service area covers much of Verizon's territory.
"Our highest speed service is now available at our lowest price ever for DSL," said Marilyn O'Connell, senior vice president of broadband solutions for Verizon. "And, unlike some competitors' services, our lowest price is not a short-term promotional rate that automatically increases later on," possibly referring to Comcast's promotional rate.
Microsoft Helps With Florida Spam Suit
Microsoft praised Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist on Monday over his work to attempt to stop two Tampa residents from sending spam. According to the lawsuit, Scott J. Filary and Donald E. Townsend are being accused of running a fake e-mail business and sending some 65,000 spam e-mails over the past year.
Microsoft had been working with Florida officials since November of last year to attempt to shut the operations of the two men down.
Businesses Slow to Adopt XP SP2
A study released by research firm AssetMetrix Monday indicates that even though April 12 is quickly approaching, the day when Automatic Update will attempt to force Windows XP users to install Service Pack 2, less than a quarter of businesses have made the upgrade.
The study looked at 251 North American companies, consisting of about 131,000 computers.
Security Flaws Found in Outlook, IE
Two major security flaws were discovered in Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Outlook software Thursday by research firm eEye Digital Securities. According to the firm's Web site, vulnerabilities exist in both programs that allow malicious code to be executed with minimal user interaction.
The company promised more detail to come in a future advisory.
Need a Lift? Catch a Ride With Google
Need a ride? In the near future, Google hopes to help you with that problem. Using its recently released Google Maps technology, developers at the company have created the Google Ride Finder, a service which allows the user to locate transportation services within a given area.
While the service only works in 11 cities, Google hopes to add more cities and services in the near future. "With Google Ride Finder, you can tell us where you want to find a ride and we'll show you the actual positions of participating vehicles in that area, along with a phone number you can use to contact the fleet operator," said Google developer Russell Shoji.
MCI Restarts Talks With Qwest
As the takeover drama involving MCI, Verizon and Qwest enters its seventh week, MCI on Friday said it would restart talks with Qwest over the company's latest acquisition bid.
On Thursday, Qwest upped its offer to $9 billion, a half-million more than its previous bid and $1.4 billion more than Verizon's latest offer.
Report: PSP Selling, But Not as Planned
According to at least one analyst, Sony’s PlayStation Portable may not be selling as well as the company may have expected. In a survey of 150 retail locations, American Technology Research found that only one-third of the locations had sold out. Of the remaining stores, 15 had less than three units in stock.
The PSP, which retails for $249, was expected to sell up to one million units within the first few days of launch. Sony even delayed the European launch of the device in order to ensure that enough units were available to ensure a smooth launch.
Microsoft Warns: Don't Be a 'Phool'
Microsoft, with the help of the Federal Trade Commission and the National Consumers League, is using the backdrop of April Fools Day to warn computer users about the dangers of "phishing" scams. Microsoft also announced it has filed 117 lawsuits against alleged phishing site operators.
Phishing is the term for a scam that appears either as a pop-up or within an e-mail that attempts to steal a user's personal information. Very often these scams look like genuine e-mails from companies such as PayPal and eBay.
'Tiger' Already a Top Seller at Amazon
Ahead of its expected public release in mid-April, Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" is already a #1 seller at Amazon.com. Amazon is offering a $35.00 mail-in rebate for the $129.99 Tiger retail box, bringing the final cost down to $94.99. Windows XP Home, meanwhile, currently sits at #16 on Amazon's software chart.
Tiger promises several enhancements to Apple's flagship operating system, including an upgrade to Safari that supports RSS; Dashboard, which allows easier access to news and information through small applications called widgets; and an upgrade to QuickTime.
Toshiba Battery Charges in One Minute
Impatient people may find Toshiba's latest invention something that would fit their lifestyle. The company announced Tuesday that it had discovered a way to recharge a Lithium-Ion battery to 80 percent in only one minute. Currently, the fastest batteries take approximately an hour to recharge to the same capacity.
In addition, Toshiba scientists have found a way to extend the usable life of the battery, claiming it will only lose 1 percent of its capacity after 1,000 recharging cycles. The new Li-Ion battery could also operate more reliably at lower temperatures than previous batteries could.
AMD Demos 'Pacifica' PC Virtualization
At a meeting to showcase its latest technologies in Austin, Texas, AMD on Wednesday demonstrated its "Pacifica" virtualization technology, which allows a user to run multiple operating systems on a single machine. While this can already be done on today's computers, Pacifica requires no advanced software.
With the Pacifica technology, as well as Intel's rival offering dubbed "Vanderpool," the software needed will be built into the chip itself. While basic software is still required to switch between operating systems, the programs will be less complex and more secure than older methods.
MS Adds Genuine Advantage Goodies
Microsoft announced Wednesday that it will be adding benefits to the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program it launched last fall, which requires users to validate their Windows license in exchange for special perks at the Microsoft Download Center. Users with genuine versions of Windows will now be able to download Language Interface Packs, or LIPs.
LIPs are add-ons to the operating system that will allow the user to change some of the commonly used features into their native language, above the 24 languages in which Windows is already released.
AOL Launches Blog Service for Teens
AOL officially launched its RED Blogs service Tuesday, aimed at capturing some of the growing popularity of online Web logs by focusing on the teen segment. AOL members can create fully customizable journals, and either keep them completely private, open to only friends, or as a normal blog that anyone can view.
Before launching the product, AOL commissioned a survey to gauge teens' interest in blogging. It found that teens were almost evenly split, 51-49, on whether they would want to share their personal feelings with their parents or on a blog.
MCI Accepts New Verizon Buyout Offer
MCI announced Tuesday that its board had decided to accept an amended offer from Verizon rather than Qwest, possibly ending a month and a half standoff between the three companies as well as shareholders. The new offer is for $7.6 billion in cash and stock - about $1 billion above Verizon's previous offer, but still less than Qwest's latest $8.45 billion offer.
On Monday, Qwest threatened to withdraw its offer on April 5 if no response was heard from MCI. However, even with the recent developments, Qwest still said it may be back. "We still believe our offer creates superior value for shareholders. We are going to assess the situation and determine what is in the best interest of shareholders, customers and employees," a Qwest spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.
Telecoms Join Forces to Fight Hackers
Telecommunications giants BT, NTT, MCI and Cisco plus 14 other companies have joined forces to share information about hacking attempts, called "fingerprints," to their systems. The Fingerprint Sharing Alliance hopes that the new system, which uses a central database, may be able to provide early warning about denial of service attacks.
"By sharing the attack details providers are better able to protect their customers as the attack is mitigated closer to the point of origin, thus preventing collateral damage," Tom Schuster, president of Arbor Networks said. Arbor is the company that set up the system.
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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