Prospects for Flash on iPhone dim with Jobs comment
Neither the desktop nor mobile versions of Adobe Flash are apparently good enough for the iPhone in Steve Jobs' eyes, as stated in his first public comments on the matter.
Some had hoped that Thursday's expected announcement of the iPhone SDK would bring Adobe Flash support as well. However, with Jobs' comments to shareholders Tuesday, the chances of that now look unlikely, if not impossible.
AOL swings doors to its IM service wide open
Open AIM 2.0 marks the first time AOL provides nearly unfettered access to its instant messaging platform, a move that was welcomed by analysts.
The effort will provide developers with SDK's and API's to integrate with AIM, and will remove the usage restrictions that denied developers full access without having to hack in.
Infogrames scoops up former SCE Studios boss
Confirming earlier reports, Sony Computer Entertainment's Phil Harrison has indeed taken a job with Infogrames, owners of the Atari brand.
Harrison stepped down from SCE at the end of last month. Industry insiders have speculated that his departure had a lot to do with Sony's failure to fully embrace social gaming, ceding control of the video game market to Microsoft and Nintendo.
Office Live Workspace beta now open to the public
Microsoft said Tuesday that it had opened up the beta of its Office productivity suite extension, offering a means of online collaboration for those that may not use its more expensive group productivity products.
The company first announced its efforts to bring its software-as-a-service vision to Office with the release of Office Live back in February 2006 in beta. However, at that time, it seemed to be more centered around assisting in the day-to-day functions of a small business rather than online collaboration for Office documents.
Google ports Gears to mobile to support offline app use
To some, the desktop version of Gears may have not made a lot of sense. But Google's port to mobile phones seems to show the platform's promise.
Google Gears was meant to assist sites in taking their Web applications offline, thus allowing developers to offer their services when no data connection is available. The functionality is added to a user's browser through a plugin for either IE or Firefox.
Yahoo launches mobile web aggregator
Yahoo demoed a mobile application which it says will help users better manage online content.
OnePlace utilizes a bookmarking system to help users organize their data. Anything from news feeds, web sites, videos, images, e-mails, to search queries and other items are storable and automatically updatable without user interaction.
Visto, Microsoft settle patent dispute out of court
Just ahead of a hearing set to begin next Monday on Visto's claims of patent infringement against the Redmond company, the two sides have settled.
Both sides will drop any legal claims as a result of the agreement. Visto had accused Microsoft of infringing on three patents surrounding the synchronization of mobile data. The original suit was filed in December 2005.
Talk of iPhone in China begins anew
Once again, talk of bringing the iPhone to China is at the forefront, with China Mobile saying it was interested in offering the device to its customers.
Bringing the device to this region could be viewed as one of Apple's top priorities during 2008. Analysts have begun to question Apple's 10 million device goal this year based on sales in existing markets, so opening up new ones is an important next step.
BitTorrent comes to the iPhone
The iPhone Hacker core has developed a new application that will allow users to download torrents directly to the device over EDGE.
A preview version of the client is now available for download, which was ported from the open source Transmission BitTorrent client to run on the iPhone's ARM processor. However, tests over EDGE show that downloads may not be completely stable just yet. The way data is sent seems to crash the data connection quickly, although at times testers were reportedly able to download files at higher data rates without crashing.
Wikileaks returns after judge overturns own injunction
Whistleblower site Wikileaks has been allowed to reopen after the judge reversed his own decision to block it within the United States.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White cited First Amendment issues and legal jurisdiction questions as his reasoning for removing the injunction. This could be viewed as a win for both the site and the free speech advocates who saw it as too broad a ruling.
eBay, MercExchange settle 'Buy it Now' patent feud
As part of the agreement, eBay will purchase from MercExchange three patents which cover search, online auction, and fixed price sales.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "We're pleased to have been able to reach a settlement with MercExchange," eBay general counsel Mike Jacobson said in a statement.
Microsoft slashes Windows Vista retail price in surprise move
Microsoft appears to be attempting to increase Windows Vista sales by making the operating system more affordable both in the United States and abroad.
In the US, the changes will only apply to the Premium and Ultimate upgrade versions of the software. Premium will fall from $159 to $129, while the Ultimate version will now be $219, down from $299.
In Her Own Words: Neelie Kroes on the MS fines
The European Commissioner stood in front of reporters Wednesday morning to announce the EU's latest round of sanctions against Microsoft.
While BetaNews reported on the news that the EU would be fining Microsoft 899 million euros at that time, we are posting snippets of her comments and answers to reporters questions below in order to give our readers an better idea of the bloc's reasons for this latest round of sanctions.
Internal e-mails show concern over 'Vista capable' program
As the looming court battle over the "Windows Vista capable" program draws nearer, a federal judge unsealed internal e-mails which show that Microsoft may have been aware of potential problems long before the suit was filed.
These e-mails are likely to provide the plaintiffs a good deal of evidence that the Redmond company was indeed aware that some of their certified products could not run the more advanced features of the new OS.
Google adds collaboration tools to Apps platform
The search giant resurrected Jotspot on Thursday, relaunching the company's technology in a new Google Apps application called 'Sites.'
Sites would allow users to create collaboration areas quickly and easily. Within them, users can include videos, calendars, presentations, and attachments. The information is then presented in a wiki-like interface.
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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