Spam: Coming Soon to an IM Near You
According to survey released Wednesday, nearly one third, or 17 million, of the nation's instant message users have received some kind of unsolicited message at least once.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project contacted respondents by phone over a period from January 13 to February 9. The study, however, did not include those under 18, which is widely considered the biggest group of IM users.
Sony to Stop Producing PDAs
Sony officially withdrew from the personal digital assistant market Wednesday, citing that PDAs were becoming passe as consumers turn to smartphones as personal information managers. The loss of Sony would mean PalmSource, the company that makes the Palm OS software, will be losing one of its biggest customers.
"The PDA market is being encroached by cell phones and other mobile devices that can offer similar functions, making it difficult for PDAs to maintain their position in the market," a Sony representative told Reuters.
SIRIUS Nabs NASCAR from XM
In a surprise move, satellite radio service SIRIUS on Wednesday announced that beginning in 2007, it will become the exclusive satellite radio broadcaster of NASCAR stock car races. The deal lasts through 2012 at a value of $107.5 million, with the highest payments coming at the end of the contract.
NASCAR is considered one of the fastest growing of all spectator sports, and its fans are widely coveted because of their brand loyalty. The sport is currently broadcast on SIRIUS' competitor XM through a deal that was signed in 2000.
Judges Scold FCC Over Broadcast Flag
Two of the three federal appeals court judges from the District of Columbia scolded the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday over what they saw as an overstep of the agency's authority given by Congress. The reprimand came in response to the FCC's ruling on the "broadcast flag."
The broadcast flag came about in November 2003 at the request of the entertainment industry to block copying. The ruling required that any device sold in the US that could receive digital television after July 2005 must be able to detect the flag.
Microsoft, Alcatel Join Forces on IPTV
French company Alcatel and Microsoft have announced the details of a partnership for IPTV or Internet Protocol Television. Alcatel will use Microsoft TV IPTV Edition to deliver content over broadband networks and use Microsoft's technology in its hardware. Both companies hope that the agreement will help to accelerate growth in IPTV services.
"By aligning the efforts of both companies, we can provide a complete solution...and significantly raise the bar for consumer services in the home," said Moshe Lichtman, corporate vice president of the Microsoft TV Division. Microsoft has already signed agreements with other companies, including SBC Communications, BellSouth and Telecom Italia.
Woz: Apple Going After Wrong People
Apple founder Steve Wozniak spoke out recently about a lawsuit involving a beta copy of Mac OS X 10.4 that leaked onto the Internet late last year, saying his former company should drop the matter.
The case involves three named defendants, one of which is Vivek Sambhara of Atlanta, Georgia. Sambhara was interviewed by technology enthusiast Web log DrunkenBlog in early January where he explained the case against him in more detail.
New Pentium 4 Chips to Increase Cache
Intel announced Sunday several additions to its line of Pentium 4 processors, all of which include 2MB of secondary cache, twice that of the current line of P4 processors. Also included with the new chips is the same technology included in its mobile processor line, which is designed to limit power consumption.
The processors will range in speed from 3 to 3.6 GHz with an 800Mhz bus. The top of the line model will sell for $605 USD in lots of 1,000, with the lowest model coming in at $224 USD.
Mobile Phone Virus Surfaces in US
The world's first virus that specifically targets mobile phones has made an appearance in the United States. Called Cabir, the virus initially appeared in the Philippines about eight months ago. Since then, it has spread to twelve countries and could eventually threaten a significant portion of the 1.5 billion cell phone users worldwide.
"It's interesting (the Cabir variant) has now been found in the United States, but it's not the end of the world," said Mikko Hypponen, director of Finnish anti-virus research company F-Secure. He explained that the biggest impact of the virus is draining cell phone batteries.
iPod Mini Changes May Be Imminent
Two Apple enthusiast sites, ThinkSecret and AppleInsider, report that sources are saying an upgrade to Apple's popular iPod Mini line may be imminent. Rumored changes are a boost in capacity to 5GB and a color screen to better compete with recently released players from Creative and iRiver.
Inklings of some kind of change were first reported on AppleInsider earlier this week, saying that wait times for the Mini on international versions of the Apple Store were "abruptly extended." Also, some stores began to give away free players to customers might mean Apple was clearing excess inventory to make room for the revised players.
TiVo Subscriber Base Passes 3 Million
Digital video recorder service TiVo reported Friday that it had passed the 3 million customer mark at the end of January, adding 251,000 TiVo-only customers and 447,000 DirecTV customers.
"Last year, we launched an aggressive growth plan that included increasing our subscription acquisition spending to grow our base, strengthen our market position, and fuel our recurring revenue model," said Mike Ramsay, TiVo's Chairman and CEO. "We accomplished our goal of doubling our sub base to over 3 million subscriptions."
Google Opening Oregon Tech Facility
Google is set to open a new technology facility 85 miles east of Portland, Oregon after the search engine company bought a 30-acre parcel of land from the Port Authority of The Dalles, Oregon. The purchase will cost Google $1.87 million and be its second location in the Pacific Northwest.
Both representatives for The Dalles and Google were refusing to comment to the media, although Google said it was "pleased to be in the area." The company expects to begin construction soon, and the new location is expected to create 50 to 100 new jobs.
Qwest Makes Last-Minute Bid for MCI
Sensing time is running out in preventing a merger between MCI and telecom giant Verizon, Qwest late Thursday made its intentions clear that it still plans to pursue acquiring MCI.
Qwest CEO Richard Notebaert made a direct appeal to MCI's board Thursday in a letter asking members to reconsider their approval of the deal with Verizon. At times, the tone of the letter hinted that Qwest may be ready to play hardball to get the long distance company.
Microsoft Refreshes AntiSpyware Beta
Microsoft released an updated beta version of its AntiSpyware product on Thursday. Included in the new release are enhancements to the product's protection agents, the addition of several new threat categories, and improvements to the stability and performance of the product.
Microsoft said the changes were made in response to feedback from users of the software. The refreshed beta also includes the latest anti-spyware definition files, which can be automatically updated from within the software.
ChoicePoint ID Theft Problem Worsens
The identity theft investigation involving database giant ChoicePoint, a company that provides consumer information to insurance companies, got much larger late Wednesday.
The company disclosed an additional 110,000 people across the country could have had their personal information compromised, bringing the total number of possible victims to 145,000. The new tally likely makes ChoicePoint's break-in the largest case of identity theft in history.
Microsoft to Replace Faulty Xbox Cords
Microsoft announced Thursday a program to replace the power cords on over 14.1 million Xbox systems worldwide. Microsoft said that the voluntary replacement offer is to protect consumers from a potential fire hazard, which could occur in about one out of every 10,000 units.
While most of the failures have resulted in no injury to the consumer, Microsoft disclosed in a statement that approximately 30 individuals reported slight injuries and property damage, including minor burns, and smoke and fire damage to property.
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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