Slingbox for Mac Delayed 3 Months
Slingbox vice president of product management Jeremy Toeman disclosed over the weekend that the Mac OS X version of the company's software, which enables Slingbox users to watch their home television from anywhere with an Internet connection, has been pushed into the third quarter.
Toeman cited Apple's transition to Intel processors as the primary reason behind the delay, as Slingbox plans to deliver the software in Universal Binary format. "At some point right around the beginning of July we will begin the official signup process to become a Mac beta tester," Toeman said, adding that a public beta will be available in late August. A commercial release is expected in September.
Microsoft to Drop PDF Support in Office
Amid threats of a lawsuit from Adobe, Microsoft acknowledged Friday that it would remove support for saving files in PDF from Office 2007, as well as dropping its own rival format XPS from the productivity suite and Windows Vista.
The changes follow a breakdown of talks between the two technology giants after Microsoft announced last year it would include native PDF publishing with the release of Office 2007. The feature has long been a top request from customers, the company said at the time, and other office suites have the capability.
JetBlue Wins Wireless License
U.S. airline JetBlue won a government auction for wireless licenses, which grants the company a 1-megahertz frequency band that could be used for in-flight wireless Internet, telephone and entertainment services. The bid of $7.02 million was placed by JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV.
The spectrum was previously owned by Verizon's Airfone business, which now has two years to limit operations and cease operating altogether by 2009. Due to auction restrictions JetBlue has not said what it plans to do with the license, although it could provide wireless service to other airlines much like Boeing does with Connexion. Connexion's service, however, utilizes satellites rather than the air-to-ground communication that is granted by JetBlue's license.
EU Cell Providers to Cut Roaming Fees
Facing pressure by the European Commission to lower the high roaming fees charged by EU cellular providers when customers travel to other countries, several companies have agreed to halve the prices they charge. The fees will drop to 45 euro cents per minute in October, with another drop to 36 euro cents in October 2007, half the price of what is currently charged.
Germany's T-Mobile, Orange in the UK, Italy's Wind and Telecom Italia, along with Norway's Telenor and Sweden's TeliaSonera are among those wireless carriers that have agreed to cap the wholesale rates. The savings is expected to be passed along to consumers, but the companies did not say by how much. The EU is also considering legislation that would block extra charges for receiving calls in other European countries.
Visual Studio Gets Database Edition
Microsoft on Wednesday announced a new addition to the Visual Studio 2005 Team System: Team Edition for Database Professionals. The product is designed to promote collaboration when building database driven applications, and is another step on the road to Visual Studio "Orcas."
Orcas is the next release of Visual Studio that will tie together SQL Server 2005, Windows Vista and Office 2007. It will bring support for Microsoft's new .NET LINQ query syntax and integrate "Atlas," the company's new tool for developing Web applications using AJAX.
Authorities Raid Largest Torrent Site
The world's largest BitTorrent site, ThePirateBay.org, was raided and shut down by authorities in Sweden early Wednesday. The site's servers were confiscated, along with those used by Swedish pro-piracy political group Piratbyrån.
The Pirate Bay surged to popularity following the shutdown of SuprNova.org and LokiTorrents, both large repositories and search indexes for torrent files. The site has been spared much of the legal crackdown on illicit file sharing over BitTorrent thanks to lax piracy laws in Sweden.
Microsoft Debuts Windows Live OneCare
After a year in beta testing, Microsoft on Wednesday took the wraps off Windows Live OneCare, its all-in-one security and PC care subscription service. That package includes antivirus, anti-spyware and PC tuning and backup tools, along with free support for $49.95 USD per year.
In an interview Tuesday, OneCare Business Strategy Manager Sam McManus told BetaNews that the service is targeted at the average computer user, and will let them "focus on enjoying their online experience."
Opera Updates Browser for Pocket PC
Opera Software on Wednesday announced the release of Opera 8.6 for Windows Mobile based Pocket PCs, adding support for Microsoft's latest 5.0 release. The browser utilizes Opera's latest core, and offers tabbed browsing and Web surfing in horizontal landscape mode.
A beta preview of the mobile offering was first offered in January, and Opera says it has signed deals with T-Mobile and Japanese carrier Willcom to pre-install the software. A 30-day trial is available for download, with the browsing costing $24 USD to purchase. Opera says a version for Windows Mobile 5.0 based Smartphones is also on the way.
Disney to Offer Films on CinemaNow
The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday announced a non-exclusive agreement with online movie service CinemaNow to offer the studio's films for download. Beginning June 6, Disney will provide both new and catalog movies through the service at a cost of $20 per new title and $10 for some older ones.
CinemaNow movies -- in Windows Media Video format -- can be transferred to up to three devices, including portable players, but they cannot be burned to DVD. Disney's announcement follows a handful of deals from April in which movie studios signed on to CinemaNow and its rival Movielink. Apple is also reportedly looking into offering feature film downloads via iTunes.
Windows Sidebar Gallery Launches
In preparation for the public release of Windows Vista Beta 2, Microsoft put live over the weekend a beta Web site for hosting gadgets that run within the Windows Sidebar. The Gallery enables users to find available gadgets and allows developers to submit their own creations.
Although the site is currently quite sparse, Microsoft is accepting feedback and is expected to add more information and RSS feed support. Microsoft also released a beta SDK that provides documentation and examples for those interested in building Windows Live Gadgets for both Live.com and the Windows Sidebar.
Microsoft Releases Hardware for Mac
Microsoft on Tuesday made available its first keyboard and mouse set designed specially for Mac users, which sports a silver finish to match Apple's styling. The package includes Microsoft's Comfort Curve Keyboard -- without a Windows Start key -- and wireless high definition mouse for $99.95 USD.
Microsoft has also added hot key mapping for Mac programs such as iPhoto and iTunes, along with an eject key. "This launch further demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to enhancing the computing experience for Mac users. We were able to preview the product at Macworld this January and saw firsthand the very favorable response from Mac customers," said Scott Erickson, director of product management and marketing for Microsoft's Mac business unit.
Microsoft Announces IE7+ for Vista
In order to differentiate between Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP and Vista, Microsoft on Friday announced "IE7+." The special branding is designed to highlight the additional features IE7 will receive in Vista, including Protected Mode, parental controls, and improved network diagnostics.
"There are no feature differences between IE7 and IE7+ beta 2 other than the ones I mentioned above; we have, however, fixed a bunch of bugs between the two releases," explained IE team member Tony Schreiner. "As always, I’d love to hear your feedback on this naming as well as the product. We’ll have more information on how to sign up for Windows Vista beta 2 with IE7+ shortly."
Free Antivirus Offered to Vista Testers
With Windows Vista Beta 2 slated to become public through a Customer Preview Program in the coming weeks, testers may find themselves facing a major problem: many antivirus suites don't yet work with the new operating system. Computer Associates is aiming to remedy this issue by offering free copies of eTrust EZ for Vista.
The trial subscription will last for one year, at which customers will need to pay to continue receiving virus definition updates. With Microsoft planning to ship its own antivirus capabilities with Windows OneCare and Windows Live Safety Center, companies such as CA have been looking at ways -- such as free promotions -- to ensure they still have a place on the desktop.
Office 2007 Gets 'Ultimate' Edition
Just as it is doing with Windows Vista, Microsoft announced this week at WinHEC it would add an Ultimate Edition to its Office 2007 lineup. The retail package is intended for customers who don't want to deal with the hassle of choosing specific Office components they may need, as it includes everything for $679 USD.
Office 2007 Ultimate will include the standard Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook applications, along with Microsoft Publisher, OneNote, InfoPath, Access and the new Groove collaboration suite. The suite is essentially a version of Office 2007 Enterprise that will be available to all customers, not just large businesses.
Office 2007 Downloads Top 200,000
In the first 24 hours since going live, Microsoft counted 200,000 downloads of Office 2007 Beta 2. While the company provided no estimates of how many users it expected to try the new release, Microsoft officials said they were excited by the numbers. BetaNews alone pushed over 5,500 downloads of Office 2007.
“We’re seeing a ton of interest in the 2007 Office system Beta 2," a company spokesperson told BetaNews. "200,000 downloads in the first 24 hours! We’re thrilled to see our customers are as excited as we are for this big milestone.” Not all was smooth sailing, however, as the rush to download left some users complaining about "server busy" errors and slow speeds.
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