Mio looks to Knight Rider to stand out in the GPS crowd
Mitsubishi looks to redefine HDTV with lasers
The company on Wednesday released further details of its laser-based high definition sets that it first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - Mitsubishi plans to release new models based on its new laser technology in 65" and 73" sizes, with the smaller version expected to be released in the third quarter of this year, the company said at a press event. If Mitsubishi makes that target, the 65" model would be the first commercially available laser television on the market.
Live from Digital Experience NYC 2008
BetaNews' Jacqueline Emigh and Ed Oswald were on hand in New York City Wednesday night for Pepcom's annual June confab, where close to three dozen companies showed off their wares for the technology press.
You could say it was a jungle out there -- in fact, literally. Some of the things we spotted: Mio making the dreams of "Knight Rider" fans (from the Hasselhoff era) a reality with their very own KITT; Matsushita debuting its Laser TV technology; and Nokia embracing WiMAX with their newest version of the Internet Tablet device.
FT: Virgin Mobile close to deal with SK over Helio
Apparently confirming earlier reports that the two sides were at the bargaining table, the Financial Times reports that the two companies are very close to a deal.
According to a Financial Times update this afternoon, a deal has been agreed to "in principle" for Virgin Mobile to acquire the Helio-branded operations of Korea-based SK Telecom. An announcement could come as early as the end of this week.
Better late than never: Open XML converter comes to Mac
Almost two years after it was originally promised, Microsoft has finally delivered the Open XML converter plug-in for Mac OS X.
While the new version of Office for Mac reads and writes to Open XML natively, users of previous versions of the productivity suite were effectively locked out until Tuesday. The 45 MB plug-in enables users of both Office v.X and 2004 to read and write to Open XML.
Google restricts Gmail access in Germany
A 2007 court ruling has resulted in some changes to the way the search company provides its services in Germany, and Google's users were unceremoniously treated to some of those changes beginning late last week.
Google was barred from using the name "Gmail" in Germany as a result of a July 2007 court ruling. That decision found that German businessman Daniel Giersch owned the trademark within that country.
XP's death sentence won't be commuted this time
In a letter to its OEM customers that install the operating system on PCs they sell, Microsoft has confirmed that it would no longer sell Windows XP as a packaged product, nor sell it to OEMs past its June 30 deadline.
Over 100,000 people had attempted to save Windows XP through an online petition. Nonetheless, Microsoft has remained steadfast in its intention to retire the aging operating system.
T-Mobile to discount its early termination fees
While it is not the prorating system that competitors such as AT&T and Verizon use, the nation's fourth largest carrier will discount its early termination fee if it is within 180 days of the contract end date.
Early termination fees (ETF) more than 180 days since the T-Mobile customer's contract expiration will remain at $200. However, those with 91 to 180 days left will see the fee halved to $100. The fee is halved yet again to $50 for those with 31 to 90 days to go.
Adobe Acrobat JavaScript flaw exploit in the wild
Computer researchers at Johns Hopkins University have discovered a flaw within most recent version of Adobe's Reader and Acrobat software applications that could allow hackers to take control of vulnerable systems.
"Adobe categorizes this as an critical issue and recommends affected users update their installations," Adobe said in an advisory today.
FCC scolds Verizon on landline retention practices
In a 4-1 vote on Friday, the US Federal Communications Commission said it has banned Verizon from using cable companies' customer data in efforts to persuade their customers not to switch.
Retention practices are nothing new for the communications industry. Most commonly, a wireless company will offer its customer special deals in return for remaining with it, after the customers informs the company of his intentions to switch.
'Making available' theory takes center stage in RIAA v. Thomas
After the judge in the Jammie Thomas trial admits he may have made some serious mistakes, the organization helping to defend her in court is now seeking a retrial.
A hearing on the subject is scheduled for August, where the two sides will argue for and against throwing out the October verdict that found Thomas guilty and fined her $220,000.
Disney shifts gears, away from Movies.com and toward Veoh
Disney had attempted to break into the movies-on-demand business with movies.com, and had partnered with Fox, However, the company was unable to make that a reality.
On Monday, the Disney Company -- parent company of ABC Television -- announced that it had sold movie information site movies.com to Comcast, which would then fold the site into its Fandango service. As of today, we noticed Movies.com has already begun to integrate itself into that site; clicking on some links took us to pages on Fandango.
Nokia acquires geotagging startup Plazes
The phone manufacturer says acquiring the producer of a geo-locating service for finding one's friends, helps accelerate its vision of connecting people under its services strategy.
Plazes is a privately held company based in Berlin. Founded in 2006, it employs 13 and focuses on allowing users to post there location along with a short description of what they are doing, much like Twitter.
MetroFi is the latest to pull out of muni-Wi-Fi
The company announced Friday it's ending service in most of the areas it served, including major cities in California, Oregon, and Illinois, becoming the latest casualty of the muni-Wi-Fi bubble.
A message on MetroFi's Web site today indicated the company was dropping both its free and premium services effective Friday for the cities of Concord, Cupertino, Foster City, and Sunnyvale in California, and Naperville, Illinois. Remaining under MetroFi control, if only for the time being, are wireless networks in Riverside, Calif. and Aurora, Ill.
AT&T will pay a high price for iPhone 3G
The carrier may be paying as much as $425 in subsidies per unit to Apple, according to an analyst's estimate. If that's true, that's more than double what its competitors pay on average for other smart phones.
As a general rule, carriers usually pay subsidies are about $200 for smart phones. However in a research note, Oppenheimer financial analyst Yair Reimer believes AT&T is paying Apple $325 per phone for right of carriage.
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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