EFF says Microsoft is complying with NBC broadcast flags
After reports of Vista refusing to record select programming from NBC, online interest group The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) says the same thing is happening for over-the-air (OTA) programming.
One user has reported that while attempting to record TV shows from Raleigh's WNCN high definition channel -- the NBC affiliate in the area -- an alert shows up saying that the broadcaster has disabled recording of the programming.
Apple looks to sweeten iPhone mobile music offerings
Constrained by its current deals, the Cupertino company is in talks with labels over giving it the rights to offer over-the-air downloads and more ringtones.
Sources told The New York Times that while negotiations are ongoing, Apple is seeking to expand the number of songs which then can be made into custom ringtones. In addition, it is looking into offering "ringback" tones as well.
EA extends Take-Two buyout offer by one month
Not deterred by Take-Two's consistent stance against the merger, EA has extended the expiration of the takeover deal by one month.
The company first made moves at Take-Two in March, when it offered to buy the game maker for about $2 billion. Take-Two said this undervalued its assets, and rejected the offer. EA pressed on, extending the expiration once before in April.
Sony announces in-house video game lineup
Looking to keep up the current string of positive news, Sony on Friday detailed its game lineup for the rest of the year and into 2009.
Part of the announcement also revolved around games intended to take advantage of the PlayStation Network, Sony's online gaming service. While the service is said to have eight million registered users, it still is seen by many as inferior to Xbox Live.
Yahoo's SearchScan irks some Web site owners
False positives and errors have some developers seeing red over Yahoo's new security feature.
Released in beta earlier this month, SearchScan culls search results to find possible malicious sites. Users can either choose to have the sites flagged as such or left out of the results altogether.
iPhone's reach expands further into Middle East, Africa
Cellular operator Orange announced Friday that it will sell the iPhone in most of the markets it serves sometime later of this year.
Two of the countries, Portugal and Egypt, will also see the iPhone available from another carrier, Vodafone. This continues Apple's apparent strategy of choosing broader deployment over exclusive deals.
OLPC hopes Windows is its sales savior
Representing a major alignment shift, the One Laptop Per Child project announced Thursday it had come to an agreement with Microsoft to put Windows XP on its XO Laptop.
The move would push the cost of the system up, which the company had been trying to reduce. Currently the "$100 laptop" costs about $188 to produce, however with Windows, that price could increase by $18 to $20.
Philadelphia takes a pass on saving muni Wi-Fi network
The Mayor of Philadelphia has indicated that he will not use city funds to keep the Earthlink wireless network running in the city.
While Mayor Michael Nutter told the Philadelphia Daily News earlier this week that they are far from finished with having discussions with EarthLink, the city won't spend money to save the Wi-Fi network.
Xbox 360 sells 10 million in US, Wii not far behind
While Microsoft is tooting its own horn over having the first console to sell 10 million units in the US market, Nintendo's own isn't far behind and is still gaining on the Xbox.
The Xbox 360 has been out for a full year longer than its two rivals, Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3. The milestone 10 millionth sale was reached apparently this week.
AT&T begins to choke iPhone purchases
It's another sign of the impending update to Apple's mobile phone: AT&T, the device's US carrier, has informed its retail staff to limit sales of the iPhone to customers.
Effective yesterday, customers can only purchase one phone at a time. This matches up well with moves around the world, where stock is either extremely low or depleted altogether.
CBS to acquire CNET Networks for $1.8 billion
In what was a surprise even to its own staff writers, it appears, CNET Networks said Thursday that it had entered into an agreement with CBS Corporation to be acquired in an $11.50 per share deal.
Both companies urged shareholders to approve the deal, which they expect to close in the third quarter.
Intel backtracks on Atom iPhone claims
After a German exec seemed to suggest that Apple would use the Atom chip in an upcoming iPhone or tablet-like device, Intel has been doing its best to stop the surrounding rumors.
The comments came from Intel Germany's Hannes Schwaderer as part of an interview with ZDNet.de. He said the device would be slightly larger than its previous version, with a larger display -- implying a tablet of some sort, possibly.
Google attempts to protect identities in Street View feature
Since the debut of Google's Street View in its mapping application, bloggers and curiosity seekers have made it somewhat of a sport to catch folks who may not have wanted their activities photographed.
These unflattering shots then make their rounds across the Internet and range from the somewhat humorous -- such as a bicycle stunt gone wrong or a man captured checking out a few ladies during a stroll at the beach -- they have also been know to catch things that might be less than legal -- including a pair of women who's business on the corner may not be sanguine.
RIAA demonstrates collegiate anti-piracy efforts
In a demonstration to The Chronicle, the music industry group discloses it uses the same software client as file sharers to catch pirates.
No university is singled out above another, and LimeWire is used as RIAA's software of choice. The process begins with a search on the service for song titles owned by its member organizations.
Sony to expand 'transaction-based game play'
The PS3 manufacturer said the feature that allows gamers to trade virtual items for real money will be expanded into two new titles to be released by its in-house game studio.
Those titles, The Agency and Free Realms, use technology from Live Gamer that serves as a secure back-end for online marketplaces. The company incorporated Sony's Station Exchange technology into its own product earlier this year.
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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