Netflix to officially phase out HD DVD on December 15
Subscribers to the online movie rental service Netflix this afternoon found a not-entirely-unexpected message in their e-mail, informing them that HD DVD-based movie titles would not be available in one month's time.
"Effective December 15, 2008, we will no longer carry HD DVDs," the message from Netflix reads. "At that time, we will automatically replace any HD DVD titles in your Queue with standard DVDs when available. You don't have to do anything...Last February, we announced that since most of the major movie studios had decided to release their high-def movies exclusively in Blu-ray, we were going exclusively Blu-ray as well and would be phasing out our HD DVDs."
At last, AMD inaugurates the 45 nm quad-core Opteron era
In perhaps the most difficult period of its history, the company that re-introduced value and performance to the CPU market finds itself having to do the same thing all over again.
On the heels of Intel's announcement that it is beginning the phase-out period for the 45 nm generation of quad-core processors that it introduced only in March 2007, AMD is announcing the immediate availability of its "Shanghai" class quad-core 45 nm processors. With frequencies capped well below 3.0 GHz, just as AMD did with the "Barcelona" class, its marketing emphasis will continue to be on low-power performance.
Intel's profit warning follows a profit warning
It's being called the "economic Katrina," and now there are signs that it has officially made landfall. After already preparing investors for bad news, Intel yesterday took the unusual step of proclaiming the news will actually be worse.
The first clear signs of an approaching financial maelstrom for Intel came as early as last April, when the typical seasonal downturn in revenue extended into double-digit percentages. Something was wrong -- demand from businesses and consumers alike was falling demonstrably, and low-margin businesses such as flash memory were already feeling a serious squeeze.
SBS 2008, Essential Business Server 2008 now available
Download a 60-day trial edition of Windows Essential Business Server 2008 from FileForum now.
At last, small- and mid-size businesses now have access to the final commercial editions of Microsoft's pre-configured, feature-packed buildouts of Windows Server 2008 tailored for the needs of corporations smaller than, say, GM.
Test new IE Mobile 6 on a free emulator for VS 2008
Download Windows Mobile 6.1.4 Emulator Images for Visual Studio 2008 from FileForum now.
What will customers with Windows Mobile phones be doing with your application, and how will they perceive your Web site, with the upcoming 6.1.4 release? The latest round of emulator images can answer those questions.
Qualcomm gives the first hints of a market battle with OLPC
With Europe, North America, and Japan facing some of the worst economic conditions in decades, manufacturers are looking to China and Southeast Asia for shelter. Now, a connectivity provider says it has a plan.
With PC manufacturers looking to emerging markets around the world to help them through a slumping global economic situation, we've learned this morning that they're about to find themselves with unexpected company: Qualcomm, which licenses connectivity technologies such as CDMA and HSDPA for phone and handset manufacturers, announced this morning it has come up with a reference design for what it's calling an "alternative PC," that it has already licensed to one Southeast Asian manufacturer, Inventec.
New IBM 45 nm SOI foundry could open new doors for small devices
A wealth of new handsets, netbooks, and high-volume CE devices could be enabled in the coming year by a key innovation IBM announced yesterday: a service in which it builds low-power composite design chips using ready-made IP libraries.
With the handset and small device space being opened up by new platforms such as Android, mobile Linux, and the royalty-free Symbian, opportunities are arising for more vendors -- some of them major players, some of them newer ones -- to come to market with fairly high-performance hardware. But up until recently, the possibility of making a high-performance handset was out of reach for many vendors, including the smaller ones that can't yet even afford completely custom design.
Comparing the iPhone 3G, Bold, and G1 on the inside
The fact that Apple's only phone is the iPhone may not be in Apple's favor when it comes to being able to purchase component parts in bulk. HTC, which makes a lot more than the G1, can produce T-Mobile's Android phone cheaply.
If we assume for a moment that the software and touch-screen controls offer exactly the same value to each of the three most prominent offerings among this year's smartphones -- Apple's iPhone 3G, Research in Motion's BlackBerry Bold, and HTC and T-Mobile's G1 -- which manufacturer gives you the most hardware value? The teardown artists at hardware analysis firm iSuppli have just torn apart a G1, and the surprise is that the one that does not have a touchscreen is actually more expensive than one that does, according to its estimates.
Hitachi answers Seagate with its own half-terabyte self-encrypting HDD
In a week where all electronics manufacturers are considering how to tailor their value propositions for the demands of the new economy, Hitachi GST is not one to be left behind.
Just one day after Seagate's announcement that it will be introducing self-encrypting half-terabyte hard drives to the notebook market, Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies division is announcing its own entry in that category. For the past four years, Hitachi has been answering Seagate's Momentus series with its own Travelstar; and in this particular case, Hitachi has chosen to merge its low-power "green" focus with its secure and trusted campaign.
Microsoft's Burley Kawasaki: How modeling will change programming
The first betas of Visual Studio 2010 are already introducing developers to a new and powerful concept of service modeling -- an incredible new way to make applications more scalable, as Microsoft's Oslo chief explained to BetaNews.
With the next 2010 edition of the venerable Visual Studio -- the betas for which are already being used by developers, probably even for some production work -- even in the Standard Editions, there will be a prominent and much-welcomed change that is already impacting the way they work. It concerns a concept that used to be virtually the private domain of organization's such as IBM's Rational division, and around which entire philosophies of work, workflow, and even life and living have sprung forth...though fortunately, Microsoft has more practical plans for it.
Microsoft: 1 in 10 Vista printer driver installations fail
At a WinHEC session in Los Angeles last week, bloggers report, just during last September, of the driver installations for Windows Vista automatically reported back to Microsoft, over 11% of install attempts for printer drivers failed.
Although no video was produced for this specific WinHEC session last Wednesday, Angus Kidman of APC and John Lister of Blorge both report that a table presented by Microsoft Senior Program Manager Chris Matichuk showed that 11.24% of all Vista-based printer driver installations automatically reported back to Microsoft, were failures.
Ballmer: Windows Mobile 6.5 set for H2 2009, so whither WM7?
Developers seeking a complete functionality overhaul for future Windows Mobile-based smartphones may have to wait until late in 2010, as comments from Microsoft's CEO indicate the next WM version is just a refresh.
Last October 30, Motorola Mobile Devices CEO Sanjay Jha made an off-the-cuff remark during Motorola's quarterly conference call, saying his company was planning for Windows Mobile 6.5 in the second half of 2009. Effectively confirming that date, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last Thursday told analysts attending a conference in Melbourne, Australia, in conjunction with its carrier partner Telstra that the next wave of mobility features will be realized in Windows Mobile 6.5 -- not Windows Mobile 7 -- due in H2 2009.
Sprint posts a loss: 'We have yet to turn the corner'
The gamble Dan Hesse took when taking the helm of Sprint was to restore value to a brand whose public image had taken a serious pounding. He may be gaining headway in terms of public confidence, but it's at a cost.
The strategy of new Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has been to reconstruct the public image of his company, and to be transparent about the difficulties ahead. It's a commendable strategy, but this morning Hesse found himself paying the price for it anyway, explaining a $326 million net loss for the quarter on 12.2% lower revenue, as having partly derived from decisions he himself made.
Deal is on for Panasonic to acquire Sanyo
As the world finally starts taking seriously the move to solar power, Sanyo has been implementing a plan to emerge victorious as the leader in that field. But with the global economic crisis upon us, it may not be able to do that alone.
The Chinese news agency Xinhua is confirming, and Reuters is also reporting this morning, that Panasonic and Sanyo Electric have struck an agreement which will enable Panasonic to acquire a 70% stake in Sanyo from three financial institutions which currently co-own the company, including Goldman Sachs.
Very mild Patch Tuesday ahead from Microsoft
After a series of critical out-of-band security patches were issued by Microsoft two weeks ago, most of the thunder has been squelched for next Tuesday's regular set: down to one critical and one important patch.
In keeping with Microsoft's current policy, the company no longer releases too detailed information in advance of patches' distribution. For example, if the company were to say too much about interim workarounds, it might give away clues that could make many more machines vulnerable prior to Tuesday.
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