Intel Introduces Affordable Wireless Net
Continuing its drive to expand its product offerings, today Intel announced a new wireless networking (IEEE 802.11b) solution at the TECHXNY Conference. Intel Wireless Gateway includes an all-in-one solution; offering an access point, router, and imbedded firewall. Software for the gateway is web-based, intended to simplify the out of box experience. Additionally, up to 32 networked computers are supported, and protected by 128-bit encryption.
With this release Intel is targeting home offices, small businesses, and branch offices. The Wireless Gateway is certified interoperable with wireless LAN solutions from other manufacturers. It is expected to retails at $299, and will be available for purchase in August worldwide. This release is intended to compete with rivals such as Linksys and Apple who have long been offering inexpensive 802.11b solutions.
In Race to Top, Yahoo Sees its Future
Recent media coverage has depicted a head to head match up between AOL and Microsoft while competitors seem to fade away. Remaining a distant third in the race to dominate instant messaging, Yahoo has announced that it is adding video support to its IM client. Yahoo remains one of the most visited portal sites, but its IM usuage pales in comparison to the sites overall popularity. This attempt to prop up its lagging user base comes at a time when AOL and Microsoft are aggressively adding new features to their software.
Currently holding the top spot, AOL brands offer a considerable advantage over competitors. In the US alone, over 22 million users partake in AOL's Instant Messenger service. An additional 8 million prefer ICQ. Combined, these two services represent 54% of all instant messenger users. In comparison, Microsoft holds just 26% off the market – although its popularity continues to rise.
Handheld Sharpens View of Internet
Next week's PC EXPO is expected to uncharacteristically serve as a platform for the launch of many products other than PCs. Set to reveal the extremely versatile device this week, Interactive Imaging Systems (IIS) has released details on its upcoming iCOM Wireless Personal
Internet Browser (PIB). According to the company, the iCOM PIB features a full color VGA screen that is used in conjunction with a proprietary "virtual display system" to present online content just as it would appear on a 21 inch monitor.
A wide range of options are available for connecting to the Internet, and two CompactFlash data ports allow varied peripherals to be attached to the iCOM. Specialized versions
will be manufactured for military applications, police forces, aircraft mechanics, medical workers, and wherever else there is a demand for
portable devices. Pricing is slated to directly compete with PDAs and cellular phones.
Sony to Blast Off New Service
Budding artists will soon have a new forum that will allow them to display and fine tune their works for a worldwide audience. Targeting the 18-24 year old demographic, media conglomerate Sony Corporation intends to succeed were others have failed – by making passive users of its online entertainment services active users.
Available this fall, Sony Screenblast will offer users a virtual studio for their own recorded music, and provides powerful tools for editing amateur films -- all on the web. To further entice users, it intends to pull some star power from company ranks to provide users with sample tracks for mixing, and scenes for editing.
Microsoft Unveils 'XP Ready' Program
Microsoft announced yesterday the official minimum requirements to run Windows XP when it arrives this October. The new operating system demands a 233MHz processor, 64 megabytes of RAM minimum, and 1.5 gigabytes of hard drive space. However, using only 64MB of RAM will diminish performance and disable certain features in the OS, including 'fast switching' between users. To take full advantage of XP, a 300MHz processor and 128MB of RAM are recommended. Computers that run either Windows 2000 or Me can be easily upgraded to Redmond's latest offering. Microsoft posted a more detailed wish list for OEMs last month.
By comparison, XP predecessor Windows 2000 required a 133MHz processor, and recommended 64MB of memory.
FinePrint Offers Up Affordable PDF
Small and mid-sized businesses may have found a new friend. Undercutting Adobe by over 200 US dollars, San Francisco-based FinePrint has offered up its own solution for creating cross-platform PDF files. FinePrint's pdfFactory allows users to convert documents into portable document files, and retails for $39.95 USD; as compared to Adobe Acrobat which sells for a hefty $249 USD. PDF files can be read with Adobe's Acrobat Reader, freeware that runs on Windows, Mac OS, and all variants of UNIX. Over 200 million copies of the viewer have been installed world-wide, establishing the format as a staple of business communication.
Even as PDF becomes standard issue for distributing documents online, FinePrint contends that the overall cost of deploying an Adobe solution across entire organizations remains costly. In today's press release, President Jonathan Weiner elaborated, "Unfortunately, the cost of providing an entire workforce with PDF file writing capabilities has been prohibitive, and the Acrobat application offers more features than many users need."
DuelField Online Game Enters Beta
Harness the power of Earth, wind, air, fire, water, limbo, and the forces of nature to obtain god-like powers in SismoPlay's DuelField, now entering beta testing. Opponents face off on a mythical battleground to find out which deity will reign supreme. If victorious, the prize is total domination of the Earth's elemental forces. By controlling the minds of creatures and causing natural disaster called, players can improve their stats and obtain "control points."
Different types of creatures have special abilities and their appearance differs according to class and race. Players can obtain the most diverse legion of creatures that best suits their style of gaming by trading off and auctioning soldiers. The game ends when one player's fleet has been demolished.
Microsoft Announces .NET Server, VS .NET Beta 2
In his keynote speech at TechEd 2001, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates revealed two major announcements to attendees. Gates introduced the final beta of Visual Studio .NET, and stated that the moniker "Windows 2002" would not be the final product name for Whistler Server after all. Instead, he announced plans for Windows .NET Server, making clear the importance of the .NET strategy to Microsoft. Additionally, developers now have access to Microsoft's Mobile Internet Toolkit Beta 2, and UDDI developer edition.
Today's launch of Visual Studio .NET Beta 2 coincides with the tenth anniversary of Visual Basic, Microsoft's popular programming language. Visual Studio lays the foundation for the Microsoft .NET architecture of XML based services and applications. Visual Studio .NET and Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect introduce three significant new features: software modeling, database modeling, and development frameworks and templates.
Microsoft: We Use FreeBSD
Despite the company's bitter campaign against open source software, Microsoft continues to use FreeBSD to power important functions of its Hotmail free e-mail service. Much to the chagrin of the folks at Redmond, FreeBSD and Apache continued to run Hotmail for several years after it was purchased in 1997. Microsoft publicly claimed to have removed all traces of FreeBSD last summer, and even published a case study documenting its experiences. Microsoft told BetaNews that solutions such as FreeBSD are in use throughout its IT infrastructure. A spokesperson also clarified the the software giant's position on OSS technologies, and views on GPL licensing.
Microsoft maintains however, that it is migrating to its own proprietary software and any delays are meant to ensure a positive experience for its customers.
Ads Infiltrate Mobile Phones
Modern technology has granted corporations unprecedented access into the personal lives of consumers. Through their discretion, public awareness and by acts of government, privacy standards have been implemented to protect a wary public from the prying eyes of profiteers. Even still, many privacy advocates point out that there is cause for alarm. For many users, the boundaries were convenience morphs with an intrusion of privacy may have dissolved.
Today at The Nokia Connection 2001, the company announced its mPlatform Advertising solution, which is compatible with current as well as future generations of mobile handsets and PDAs. It will be bundled with Nokia mPlatform Solution, middleware offered to operators and service providers who in turn will have access to a new revenue stream. Advertisers will be able to utilize text, graphics, streaming media, and video clips to present their offerings to users of mobile Internet services.
Microsoft, XBOX Technologies Settle Name Dispute
The Associated Press issued a brief statement indicating that Microsoft and Florida-based, XBOX Technologies have settled their quarrel over the name 'Xbox'. XBOX Technologies will assume a different corporate identity in the future and Microsoft will attain the trademark rights. Specific terms of the agreement are not publicly available, and Microsoft could not be reached for comment prior to publication. However, XBOX Technologies representative Robert P. Koolen told BetaNews, "This was a very very mutually satisfactory settlement."
The dispute raised possibilities that Microsoft's much touted Xbox could be delayed. Last February, Bloomberg reported that John Van Leeuwen of XBOX Technologies would not indicate whether the company would sell the XBOX brand name.
PageMaker 7.0 Promises Content Anytime, Anywhere
The growing popularity of PDAs and other wireless devices has compelled Adobe to include mobile support in its newly released PageMaker 7.0. PageMaker is a page layout program, which focuses on Adobe's popular PDF (Portable Document Files) format to allow users to digitize print documents for online distribution. PDF files are now tagged, identifying elements of documents that are prone to change on different displays. This measure ensures a consistent page layout over a variety of devices and addresses productivity issues, making it easy to edit and share documents on the run.
Integration with other Adobe products has also been tweaked in version 7.0. Files from Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator can be imported natively into PageMaker, eliminating the need for duplicate versions of files. Adobe claims that it is now easier to convert files from third party applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher and QuarkXPress, for use with PageMaker. Additionally Adobe announced that, "users can create personalized collateral with new data merge capabilities that leverage text and images exported from databases and aid in direct mail creation by providing both automation and professional quality layout."
Nortel Improves Backend Network Speed
Helping to bridge the gap between system architecture and high-speed networks, the world's first consumer 10-Gigabit Ethernet Optical Adapter has hit the market. Nortel Networks has boosted data throughput between networks and servers to speeds that are ten times greater than those available through today's technology. Nortel is currently conducting beta trials of its adapter with California-based Hewlett-Packard.
According to Nortel's Pat Welch, "10-Gigabit Ethernet solutions are designed to break through the bottleneck to deliver high-speed access to eBusiness transactions, databases and other Web-related applications." Faster, more efficient, and less complex networks will stem from this technology.
Verbatim Boasts 3 Minute CD Creation
Blazingly fast 24x CD-Rs are on their way, enabling users to burn an entire CD in as little as three minutes. Major manufacturers of CD-recording drives including Yamaha, Plextor, Ricoh, and Sanyo have backed new Verbatim CD-R discs for 24x recording. Yamaha touts speeds of up to 3.5 MB/sec and 3.0 MB/sec on 24x and 20x burners respectively. The media supports legacy drives from 1x-16x, and has been fully tested on all existing and upcoming drives to ensure compatibility.
To support the 24x speed, Verbatim has revealed its "Super Azo" recording dye technology, based upon the patented Metal Azo dye developed by Mitsubishi Corporation. The recording dye is a layer upon which audio, video, and data are archived into the CD. Verbatim claims, "Super Azo technology not only withstands the high-speed lasers and drive speeds of the new drives, it maximizes their performance." The 24x media is available immediately and is backed by a lifetime warranty. Time for a new burner?
AltaVista Offers New Search Software
Dwindling income from advertisers has forced many staples of the Web, including Suck.com, to recently close up shop. In an effort to avoid a similar fate, CMGI-owned AltaVista has ported its technology to provide enterprise software for intra-business searches. Employers will be able to seek out information that is scattered across networks, and as first reported by Reuters, "unstructured information" located on individual laptops or even PDAs can be included in the queries. Like the company's previous solutions, the new AltaVista software has the capacity to search in 30 different languages, and across 200 different computer formats.
Security options are included for limiting the range of files being indexed, and to permit software access to only designated employees. Interestingly, an employee's e-mail can be included in a search. The Associated Press reports that privacy advocates have sounded alarms over the potential liabilities employers may face as a result of deploying such a solution.
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