OpenDocument Gains Ground in Belgium, India
OpenDocument made additional strides in establishing itself this week, as the Belgian government certified the OASIS format as the only acceptable standard for internal documents. In addition, OpenDocument backers are promoting the format in India at the IIT Delhi conference.
The proposal to standardize on OpenDocument was approved Friday by Belgium's Council of Ministers, according to a report in ZDNet Belgium. Beginning in 2008, all documents sent between government services must be in ODF, after the final proposal removed Microsoft's Office Open XML formats as a viable option.
Novell Ousts CEO, CFO in Shakeup
Enterprise Linux firm Novell announced on Thursday that its board of directors had named company president Ronald Hovsepian to replace CEO Jack Messman, while simultaneously ousting CFO Joseph Tibbetts. The shakeup comes as Novell struggles to succeed as an open source company.
Messman, who has been a director since Novell's founding, will remain on the company's board until the end of October, and Novell's current vice president of finance and corporate controller Dana Russell will become interim CFO while the company finds a replacement for Tibbetts.
Panasonic Unveils $1,300 Blu-ray Player
Panasonic on Thursday announced plans to debut its first Blu-ray Disc player, along with a matching receiver and speaker system for home theater enthusiasts. But moving to the high-definition format won't come cheap; Panasonic's DMP-BD10 player will cost $1,300 USD.
The Blu-ray player, SA-XR700 receiver and SB-TP1000 speaker package will reach retail outlets in September, Panasonic said. The delay will give time for Blu-ray to establish itself in the marketplace. Sony's new format is just starting to get out the door, with the first Blu-ray movies appearing on store shelves this week.
Toshiba to Deliver HD DVD Recorder
Toshiba on July 14 will launch in Japan the world's first HD DVD recorder, following the debut of its HD DVD player in March. The device, the RD-A1, will include one terabyte of hard disk space and can store up to 130 hours of high-definition programming.
But Toshiba's new recorder won't come cheap. Estimated pricing in Japan is 398,000 yen, or $3,470 USD. Still, the company hopes to sell 10,000 units by the end of 2006. Launch plans for the device in the United States and Europe has not yet been decided, Toshiba said.
TiVo Adds iPod Support -- For a Price
TiVo on Wednesday released a new version of its TiVo Desktop application for Windows, which enables subscribers to transfer recorded television programs from the set-top box to their computers and portable devices.
The DVR maker also released a premium version of the software called TiVo Desktop Plus with support for transferring content to Apple's iPod, Sony's PSP, Treo and Nokia phones, along with other portable devices that support MPEG-4 or H.264 video. The Plus version is priced at $24.95 USD.
Sun Releases Second Java 6 Beta
Sun Microsystems on Wednesday released the second beta of Java 6, the company's next-generation development language targeted at so-called Web 2.0 programmers. Perhaps most enticing for those new to Java, the update adds a framework for supporting popular scripting languages such as PHP.
Java SE 6 -- previously known by the code-name "Mustang" -- also leverages JavaScript and includes a full "Web services client stack," along with support for recent Web services specifications like JAX-WS 2.0 and JAXB 2.0. In addition, the release will bring support for Windows Vista.
Microsoft: Excel Flaw a Windows Bug
Microsoft's Security Response Center said in a blog posting on Wednesday that it was investigating reports of a second vulnerability affecting Excel, and had examined a PERL script that demonstrates the flaw. The company says the problem actually lies in hlink.dll, a Windows component.
The DLL handles operations involving hyperlinks and could affect other programs beyond Excel. However, Microsoft notes that a user would need to open a malicious file and manually click the link. "We have not found any way to attempt to exploit this vulnerability that involves simply opening a document: a user must locate a click a hyperlink in the document," said MSRC's Christopher Budd. He adds that it is early in Microsoft's investigation and "we have our teams working hard on it."
Netflix Mulls Movie Download Service
Responding to a report in Variety, Netflix late Tuesday acknowledged that it was exploring the idea of allowing users to download movies over the Internet, but said it had no firm plans. The explanation came in a regulatory filing intended to clarify remarks made on Friday.
At the Independent Film and Television Alliance production conference on Friday, Netflix vice president of original programming Eric Besner commented that the company was developing a set-top box that could be used for digital downloading. Netflix has long said movie downloads was part of its future plans.
Windows Live Head Leaves Microsoft
Less than 24 hours after the launch of Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft corporate vice president Martin Taylor, who oversaw the product's launch, has made a surprise departure from the Redmond company. Taylor was a 13-year veteran of Microsoft and a top advisor to company CEO Steve Ballmer.
Before becoming a corporate VP of Windows Live and MSN in March, Taylor spearheaded Microsoft's "Get the Facts" campaign that responded to the threat from Linux and open source. He was expected to play a major role in shaping the Windows Live strategy, and was featured in a Microsoft Q&A on Monday.
Microsoft Security Pricing Irks Partners
When Microsoft first hinted that it would enter the security software market three years ago, the company's partners began to worry behind closed doors about the implications. With Microsoft's security push now in full swing, the doors have opened and once bedfellows have turned adversaries.
Apprehension began to surface after Microsoft purchased GeCAD Software in June 2003, acquiring the company's RAV antivirus technology. In August of that year, Microsoft launched its PC Satisfaction trial, which would later morph into Windows Live OneCare.
Microsoft Warns Over Excel Flaw
Microsoft on Monday issued a security advisory for the vulnerability in Excel that was disclosed by the company's Security Response Center on Friday. According to Microsoft, Zero-day attacks are being carried out against a vulnerability in Excel 2000, 2002, 2003 and Excel 2004 for Mac.
The exploit, currently being sent via e-mail, could give an attacker the same rights as a user, which could lead to a full system compromise. Although Excel 2002 and 2003 prompt a user before opening a potentially malicious Excel file, Excel 2000 does not.
Opera 9 Web Browser Unleashed
Opera Software on Tuesday rolled out version 9.0 of its free Web browser across 25 languages on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X platforms. The release adds a number of major new features, including widgets and support for BitTorrent downloads.
Widgets are small mini-applications that typically run inside another program. The basic idea is to enable developers to quickly build useful applications with simple scripting languages like JavaScript and DHTML. Opera notes that its widget support can be used for multimedia, news feeds, games and more.
Windows Live Messenger Launches
Microsoft on Monday rolled out the final version of Windows Live Messenger to 240 million users, marking the official launch of its Windows Live family of services. New features include built-in calling and shared folders.
Like many other instant messaging clients, Microsoft has made calling features a centerpiece of Windows Live Messenger. Users will be able to place free PC-to-PC calls, and even call traditional phone numbers for a small fee through a partnership with Verizon.
Sony BMG to Stream Free Music Videos
Responding to the surge in popularity of online video sites like YouTube, music label Sony BMG plans to provide consumers free access to its vast library of music videos, along with artist interviews and live performances.
The new service, called Musicbox Video, will stream videos in a Flash-based player that utilizes technology provided by Brightcove and includes playlists with top videos and genres. Sony BMG artist sites will also feature custom versions of the player, which requires no download.
Dutch Court Rules MP3 Linking Illegal
An appeals court in The Netherlands ruled on Friday that a Web site posting links to copyrighted MP3 files was breaking the law by promoting copyright infringement. The site, zoekmp3.nl, was taken offline Monday after the court said it would face daily fines of 10,000 euros.
Although zoekmp3.nl did not directly host the MP3 files, the court ruled that facilitating the downloads was also in violation of Dutch law. Similar Web sites have been ruled illegal in Australia and China, and the United States has cracked down on BitTorrent sites, which facilitate distribution by hosting torrent files.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.