Microsoft Invites Mozilla Devs Over
The head of Microsoft's open source lab is inviting Mozilla developers up to Redmond for some help in making sure Firefox and Thunderbird run on Windows Vista. The offer is part of a weekly lab Microsoft is holding for developers in order to reduce application compatibility problems.
With Windows Vista nearing its first release candidate, application compatibility has taken center stage. If customers' applications don't seamlessly work with the new operating system, many will hold off on upgrading. In turn, Microsoft has begun to seek out bigger developers and work with them directly.
Microsoft: Help Us Rename 'Atlas'
Microsoft is looking for suggestions on what to name its new AJAX development tool known by the code-name "Atlas," which is due out early next year. Atlas is designed to simplify the creation of ASP 2.0-based Web sites that take advantage of advanced JavaScript and XML functionality.
"I can confirm that "Atlas" will not be the final name, and clearly we are listening, so add your funny and serious suggestions alike," said Microsoft developer Brad Abrams. ASP guru Steven Smith has posted the Atlas Naming Game and Microsoft will be looking at the comments for ideas.
Samsung to Begin Selling 70-Inch LCD
Samsung will introduce this week the world's biggest LCD display for use in consumer TVs, topping current 65-inch models with a 70-inch diameter screen. The LCD supports 1080p high-definition, as well as a 180-degree viewing angle and 120Hz video signal reproduction.
Samsung will begin producing the 70-inch LCD in early 2007, the company said, hoping to better compete against plasma displays and projection TVs. With prices continuing to fall, LCD TVs have become more affordable for consumers, bringing with them superior technology. Samsung did not announce pricing for the 70-inch display, but a 65-inch model from Sharp retails for $15,500 USD.
Microsoft Ups Stock Buyback by $16B
Microsoft is expanding the stock repurchase program it first announced July, pledging to spend an additional $16.2 billion buying back the company's shares through June 30, 2011. The total planned expenditure now tops $36 billion.
The Redmond company's first tender offer closed Thursday, and included 155 million shares of common stock totaling $3.6 billion. This number amounts to 1.5 percent of total outstanding Microsoft stock. By utilizing its massive cash reserves to repurchase shares, Microsoft is hoping to revitalize its stagnating stock price and appease investors.
Google Opens Online Word Processor
Google late Thursday re-opened its Writely beta online word processing application, which the search engine acquired in March. Because the service was being transitioned to Google's servers, it was not accepting new accounts until today.
Writely offers document authoring and collaboration capabilities within a Web browser through the use of advanced scripting and AJAX. Features of the service include the ability for multiple people to work on a document in real time, secure storage that saves a document every 10 seconds, and an easy-to-use interface that mimics a desktop client without the hassle of a download.
Google Starts Tracking Music Trends
Google is testing out a new service as part of its Google Talk instant messaging client that tracks the music that its users are listening to and ranks the tracks by genre. From the Google Music Trends site, users can see the top songs and click them for more information.
The service is completely opt-in and is compatible with Apple's iTunes, Windows Media Player, Yahoo! Music Jukebox as well as Winamp. Google will also store the music as part of its Personal Search history, so users can look back and see the artists they listened to on any given date. Information on Google Music Trends is updated nightly and includes data from the past week.
Microsoft Teasing New Game Device?
A new viral Web site at notfornoobs.com has launched that appears to tease an upcoming game-related device by Microsoft and hardware manufacturer Razer. While few specifics are offered by the site, it hints that more details are coming next Friday.
Both Microsoft's logo and that of Razer appear in the static on a classic TV. Razer makes peripherals for professional gamers, including high-end mice and sound cards. "I have to admit, it's not the best I've seen- putting Microsoft logos into teaser programs is a no-no in my opinion," remarked Microsoft's Sean Alexander, who says he doesn't know what's coming.
Dell Prepares AMD Desktops, Laptops
Dell on Thursday announced an expended partnership with AMD that would bring the chipmaker's processors to Dell desktop and notebook systems. The company has reportedly ordered up to 2 million AMD machines.
In May, Dell unveiled plans to bring AMD's Opteron chips to its high-end servers before the end of the year, but said nothing about its consumer lineup. The world's largest computer marker has been a longtime supporter of Intel, helping the company remain atop the processor market.
AOL Goes Digging for Spammer's Gold
AOL's efforts to seize money from a convicted spammer has led the company to the front yard of a home in Massachusetts. Buried in the earth are gold and platinum bars Davis Wolfgang Hawke purchased with his illicit earnings, AOL believes.
A $12.8 million judgement was won last year against Hawke, but AOL has been unable to locate him and collect the payment. Hawke was reportedly raking in $600,000 per week at his operation's height, and invested the cash in gold and platinum in hopes it would be harder for authorities to take.
Mozilla Delays Firefox 2.0 Until Oct.
Microsoft isn't the only one running into snags getting new releases out the door. Mozilla said this week it is pushing back the launch of Firefox 2.0 until mid-to-late October, with Beta 2 now slated to debut August 23.
New features in Firefox 2.0 include enhancements in security, tabbed browsing, performance, and extensions. The browser update also includes a built-in spell checking and an anti-phishing feature, much like Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7. JavaScript 1.7 and improved subscribing of RSS feeds are also among the additions.
Windows Security Site Shows Mac User
Much ado has been made about security in Mac OS X as compared to Windows, with numerous technology pundits recommending Apple's systems for their relative safety. Microsoft accidentally did the same this week, publishing clipart of a user on a PowerBook to its Security Web site under the headline "You're clean."
"If you're going to pretend to be serious about security, shouldn't you use a picture of a Dell or HP or something instead of reminding people about the truly secure Apple Macintosh?" asked MacDailyNews, which first reported the snafu. Microsoft has since corrected the mistake, replacing the image with a mother and child checking a laptop, which suspiciously looks like a 12-inch PowerBook sans Apple logo.
Sony Shipping 50GB Blu-ray Discs
Sony on Wednesday announced it had begun shipping its 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray recordable media, which like DVD-Rs can be written to once. The discs store up to 4 hours of high-definition video and will cost $48 USD apiece. Rewriteable Blu-ray media is expected later this year.
Because Blu-ray discs are less resilient than rival format HD DVD, Sony says it has re-engineered its AccuCORE technology to provide scratch resistance, reduction of corruption and deterioration, as well as stable writing functionality to keep the disc level while spinning. Blu-ray discs can also hold up under high temperatures, Sony says.
Google Buys Photo Recognition Firm
Google on Tuesday announced it had acquired Neven Vision, a company that develops photo recognition software which is currently used in mobile phones, along with biometric applications by the U.S. government and law enforcement.
Neven Vision holds 15 patents related to image analysis and facial recognition. Google plans to use the technology to improve Picasa, its free photo organization application. The program will eventually be able to automatically identify individuals and places in pictures, which will make searching far easier.
Memorex Begins Selling HD DVD Discs
Optical media maker Memorex announced Tuesday it had begun shipping its HD DVD-R discs to retail locations across the United States. Utilizing a blue-violet laser, the discs can store 15GB of data, or up to 75 minutes of HD-quality video and 7 hours of standard DVD video.
It won't be cheap to be an early adopter of the technology, however, as each HD DVD-R disc will cost $19.99 USD. Like it did with standard DVDs, that price will go down as the marketplace begins to adopt the high-definition format. Memorex previously began selling Blu-ray recordable and re-writeable discs in June. 25GB write-once Blu-ray media retails for around $25 USD per disc.
EFF Demands FTC Investigate AOL
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed an official complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, demanding an investigation into the release of massive amounts of search data by AOL. The EFF also wants the FTC to require AOL to change its privacy practices.
AOL intentionally published the data in late July on its research site, although reports of the release only surfaced last week. The data included three months of search queries from 650,000 users, each identified by a number. AOL, like other major search engines including Google and Yahoo, logs the activity of its users.
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