Psystar reports it's shipping Mac clones, begins building its office
The Mac clone company said Monday that it had begun shipping PCs that had been ordered during the week of April 7, while a news outlet confirmed the company indeed is building an office at its Miami location.
If indeed true -- it is not known yet since no one has reported receiving the Open Computer yet -- it would end a tumultuous week for the Florida company. Its online store was down Friday, but had returned Monday.
Apple files patent for instant messaging on the iPhone
Apple has filed for a patent which brings instant messaging to the iPhone and other touchscreen devices it produces.
The patent's abstract describes the application as follows: "One aspect of the invention involves a graphical user interface (GUI) on a portable electronic device with a touch screen display. The GUI has a set of messages exchanged between a user of the device and another person."
PlayStation Home delayed once again
Now delayed by almost a full year, Sony has warned that its Home MMO virtual world for the PlayStation 3 is still not finished.
The service was announced in July of last year, and was supposed to release in the fall. However, that never happened and Sony said at the Tokyo Game Show that a release was targeted for the spring.
NJ court rules ISP info confidential without subpoena
Personal information on the state's citizens cannot be released without a court order, the state Supreme Court ruled on Monday.
New Jersey's constitution provides greater protection on unreasonable searches and seizures than the US Constitution does. Anyone looking for the data, including law enforcement, needs to obtain a subpoena.
AT&T looks to Cisco for edge in business videoconferencing
The telecommunications company said Monday it would look to Cisco's expertise in communications to create a high-end solution for the enterprise.
Cisco already has had a videoconferencing solution available for about two years called TelePresence, which features large high definition screens and is easy to use. However, the company lacks a sales force.
Cable HD not so high-def, say subscribers
Some cable providers, most notably Comcast, are receiving even more flak over the quality of their high-def programming. The problem has been getting HD signals to fit in the given bandwidth, and now it may be taking a toll on quality.
While it may not be noticeable to the average television viewer's eye, some home theater enthusiasts are saying that Comcast's picture quality is not up to par. Now, recent tests by enthusiasts are backing up those observations with hard evidence.
Five movie studios in historic VOD, cable joint venture
Paramount Pictures, MGM, and Lionsgate have formed a joint venture that will plan to distribute a premium television channel as well as a video-on-demand service.
The group project could fundamentally change the current status of premium cable television, where a third-party would sign deals to distribute content through its network rather than the studios directly.
Involvement with Facebook's Beacon lands Blockbuster in court
The mess surrounding Facebook's Beacon service is still claiming victims: a Texas woman has sued Blockbuster over its involvement.
Cathryn Harris sued the movie rental chain on April 9 in US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Harris claims that by sharing her rental information with Facebook, the company ran afoul of the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988. Even after Facebook users opt out, she contends, their information is still being sent on to the Web site.
House passes bill to eliminate cell phone tracking for tax deductions
A provision to a tax reform bill offered by Rep. Sam Johnson (R - Texas) aims to remove the requirement that employees keep track of their cellular phone usage for tax purposes.
In an earlier day, when cellular phones were lugged in briefcases, their use was recorded by the minute. It was also more expensive, so businesses didn't really use cell phones all that often; and as a result, tracking cell phone usage was considerably easier. Thus the IRS compelled businesses to track usage of these devices in order that they may calculate deductions.
Microsoft acquires travel site Farecast
After having exited the travel business once before by spinning off Expedia, the Redmond company appears to stepping back in by scooping up a Washington-based startup.
Farecast is not exactly like Expedia, or other travel sites for that matter. Instead it essentially provides forecasts of whether fares would rise or fall on a specific route. From there, it provides a recommendation of whether to buy the ticket now or wait.
EA extends the expiration for its Take-Two buyout offer
Electronic Arts said Friday that it would extend the expiration date of its $2 billion takeover offer of Take-Two buy about one month. The deal was originally scheduled to expire on Friday.
However, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that it was opening up a second line of inquiry on the merger, and so far Take-Two has rebuffed EA's offer. Now, the deal will expire on May 16.
Questions abound over Mac cloner Psystar's legitimacy
Following its announcement of a $399 Mac clone earlier this week, problems contacting the company, a sudden failure of its online store, and changes to its Web site have raised some eyebrows.
A simple search of Florida's registered business listings indicate that the company filed with the state on July 6 of last year. The registered address is 10645 SW 122nd Street in Miami, with the apparent contacts Rodolfo and Roberto Pedraza.
Take-Two investors not pushing for EA takeover
April 17, 2008 3:00 pm EDT - Despite Take-Two's attempts to rebuff Electronic Arts over its proposed takeover bid, EA is still taking the necessary procedural steps to get the merger approved. On Thursday, it disclosed the Federal Trade Commission had contacted it for more information its on its proposal.
The FTC has not come to a decision on whether a merger would be anti-competitive, although EA obviously asserts that it is not. It said that the press release was neither an offer to purchase, nor a solicitation for proxies to be considered at Take-Two's shareholder meeting to take place this evening.
Universal details its Blu-ray plans for the summer
Recent Firefox update caused crashes, possible hole
While there is no evidence of an exploit as of yet, Mozilla is taking a proactive measure to fix the issue before it could be.
A problem with stability which resulted in crashes and evidence of memory corruption was remedied in Firefox 2.0.0.13, however apparently the fix did not completely close any holes.
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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