Intel retracts 'inappropriate' statements about ARM, iPhone
Intel execs at this week's Developer's Forum made derisive remarks about the ARM chips used in most smartphones -- including the iPhone -- saying they made devices "not very smart." Another executive then issued a retraction of sorts.
Shane Wall, VP and director of strategic planning, platform architecture and software for Intel's Ultra Mobility Group; and Pankaj Kedia, director of ecosystems of the Ultra Mobility group, engaged in a discussion after Wall's keynote at IDF on Tuesday. There, the execs blamed the deficiencies of both the Apple iPhone, and smartphones as a whole, on ARM chips.
Apple accedes to developer demands by issuing new iPhone NDA
Apple this week issued a new, two-part NDA to take the place of an initial agreement abandoned after iPhone developers barraged the Internet with messages signaling their discontent, sometimes using colorful language.
Acknowledging that the first non-disclosure agreement had turned out to be "burdensome" for developers, Apple announced about three weeks ago that it would drop the old document in favor of a new one, while also telling developers to keep complying with the old one in the interim.
Microsoft prepares for a mild recession, nothing worse
In another indication that the American information technology industry is better suited to riding out the economic storm than other sectors, Microsoft's forecast for the rest of this year is for slightly slower growth.
Prior to the on-shore strike of an approaching hurricane, you're likely to hear many meteorologists use the phrase, "I'm not a fortune teller," as a way of downplaying expectations about the confidence one may have in their predictions. Over the last week of quarterly earnings reports, the keyphrase uttered almost invariably has been, "We're not economists."
Dish Network rolls out MPEG-4 HD to more US markets
Yesterday, Dish Network announced that 21 new markets will be transmitting content in MPEG-4, bringing the total US Markets using the standard to 52. In six of these added markets, local HD channels were added to content rosters.
The 21 new markets are: Abilene-Sweetwater, Sherman, and Waco-Temple-Bryan TX; Atlanta; Birmingham (Anniston and Tuscaloosa), and Huntsville-Decatur (Florence) AL; Chattanooga and Memphis, TN; Columbia-Jefferson City, Joplin-Pittsburg, and St. Louis MO; Des Moines-Ames, IA; Florence-Myrtle-Beach, SC; Ft. Myers-Naples, and Mobile-Pensacola (Ft. Walton Beach), FL; Jackson, MS; Lincoln, Omaha, and Hastings-Kearney, NE; Quincy-Hannibal-Keokuk, IL; Ada, OK; South Bend-Elkhart, IN; and Topeka, KS. Of these markets, Nebraska, Illinois, and Iowa as well as Columbia-Jefferson City, MO; and Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas will receive high definition local channels.
New troubles reported with iPod-like e-voting units
With just over a week left before the general election, reports are surfacing of problems with e-voting machines from manufacturers rarely mentioned in the news.
Hart InterCivic isn't the most common e-voting platform out there (that would be the Accuvote TS and TSX line, from Premier / Diebold), and the eSlate doesn't operate like touchscreen units do. Instead, it uses a dial-and-button approach that's a bit like an older iPod -- run your finger around a big dial, then click a button to make your picks.
TSA releases its final 'Secure Flight' watchlist program rules
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will take over responsibility for the controversial "Secure Flight" passenger screening program in early 2009, according to documentation released by the Department of Homeland Security yesterday. DHS also revealed just how large its watchlist is.
Those responsibilities were previously managed by individual airlines.
NAB fight against 'white spaces' access gains Congressional support
Lobbyists for the National Association of Broadcasters made headway today in their efforts to block FCC approval of a Google-spearheaded computer industry proposal to open the "white spaces" for free and open access.
After issuing a blistering attack last week on a move by the computer industry to open the white spaces of the wireless spectrum for public access, lobbyists for TV broadcasters today succeeded in convincing eight US legislators to send a letter to the FCC calling for a period of public comment before an FCC vote.
Amazon EC2 exits beta, offers WS2K3 in the cloud
Beginning today, customers can implement instances of Windows Server 2003 (licensed to and purchased by them) in Amazon's cloud, enabling businesses to deploy sophisticated Internet applications without their own servers.
After a two-year beta cycle, Amazon's Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) service this morning entered general availability. Now, for what's essentially a service, what does this mean besides removing the warning that some parts are still under construction? Today, Amazon implemented a service-level agreement for EC2 customers guaranteeing 99.95% availability during what it describes as a "service year."
Out-of-band security patch addresses critical Windows vulnerability
It's a part of Windows that handles all the file and print sharing services over any network. Today, Microsoft decided to take the unusual step of issuing a patch for a vulnerability on this part now, and not wait until November 11.
The part of Windows known as the Server service -- the component responsible for handling file sharing, print sharing, and pipelining between computers -- has been hit once again with an exploit whose profile resembles an August 2006 problem patched the following month. But this time, Microsoft is announcing it received information about this latest exploit privately, indicating that unlike the older incident, Microsoft was working to pre-empt any possibility of the exploit making its way into the wild.
UIQ devices get Opera Mobile 9.5 beta
Opera Software has been touring the world this week to support the release of the latest Opera Mobile browser beta version 9.51b2, which was released on Monday.
In mid-summer, the first beta, exclusive to touchscreen Windows Pocket PCs with WM5 and WM6, was rolled out with about two-thirds of the expected features. That version has been upgraded, and support for UIQ has been added. The UIQ touch platform is supported on a number of Sony Ericsson handsets, such as the W950 and 960 Walkman phones, and the Motorola MOTORIZR Z8 and MOTO Z10.
EFF steps in on YouTube DMCA takedown controversy
With its strong condemnation of recent YouTube copyright takedowns of campaign videos incorporating news footage, the EFF might be able to accomplish for fair use what the presidential political campaigns have not.
Earlier this week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation stepped into the controversy over the takedowns, which are coming at a crucial time in the political season. (YouTube's DMCA-allowed review process would keep such videos off the service for at least 10-14 days -- in some cases, until after the November 4 election.)
Google wants to expand into Russia, but Russia won't let it
Google's attempts to buy a Russian contextual ad firm Begun are now being blocked by antitrust authorities in that country, who have turned down Google's application -- temporarily, at least.
Russian antitrust authorities today rejected an attempt by Google's affiliate there, Kokuna Holding, to buy a contextual advertising firm named Begun from Russian-based portal Rambler for $140 million.
Making the G1's battery live longer than a soap bubble
Reckless usage of any 3G device, including T-Mobile's G1, can kill a fully charged battery in a matter of hours. With the benefit of history and some key Android apps, G1 owners can take precautions to extend their battery lives.
In June, PC World ranked the relative battery life of a dozen 3G smartphones. All of them tested in the "fair" range, except for the Palm Treo 750 which ranked as "poor." The issue of interest at the time was the battery life of the iPhone 3G, which has been called everything from "Questionably Adequate" to "Garbage."
Android to include more apps Monday, and some won't be free
Android open source developers will be able to start charging for their software in January, Google announced today. Meanwhile, Google's online store for mobile software -- now containing only a few dozen applications -- is still in beta.
Just after the New Year, Android open source developers will be able to start charging for their software applications, Google said in a blog post today, while also announcing that the Android market will start opening up for more applications next Monday.
Beta test a new wireless headset for the office and your PC
Best test firm Centercode is looking for people in the workplace who spend a significant amount of time on the telephone. The product being tested is unlike any other in that it not only connects to the desktop phone system at your office, it also works with your PC.
Centercode wants those of you whose job depends on daily phone time and would have your life improved with a new wireless headset. You get the wireless freedom and the ability to conduct wireless VoIP calls as well as landline based calls easily.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.