GSMA leaders aim to endow notebooks with built-in HSPA, LTE
This morning London time, 16 members of the GSMA Association, including Microsoft, jointly announced the formation of a Mobile Broadband initiative, whose goal will be to endow notebook PCs in 91 countries with 2G and 3G.
The new marketing push appears to be an attempt to sheath a set of abbreviations that has yet to become part of the common vernacular -- namely, HSPA (formerly HSDPA and HSUPA), the software-upgraded "HSPA Evolved," and the GSMA group's hand-picked 3G successor, LTE -- into a more palatable brand name "Mobile Broadband" that consumers can accept. What it may also be is an effort to subtly distinguish HSPA from WiMAX -- a goal which would certainly please Qualcomm, a leading member of the new initiative, with a long record of opposing WiMAX.
RFID 'for the rest of us' to enter beta tomorrow
Alcatel-Lucent's Tikitag, a venture whose objective is to enable an "Internet of things," plans to enter public beta on October 1 with an "RFID for the rest of us" solution that's already produced an array of intriguing applications.
Tikitag -- a product first announced at the the Demo show in San Diego earlier this month -- uses high frequency RFID (HFRFID) operating at 13.56 MHz to connect real world items such as business cards, stuffed toys, and paintings to the Web through passive RFID tags and active readers. The technology is also compatible with Near Field Communication (NFC), a standard based on HFRFID which is now being implemented in some mobile phones.
New Microsoft support for jQuery makes part of its platform open source
One of the most exciting innovations in JavaScript is a tiny little open source library that makes functionality directly assignable to objects rather than to events. The surprise is that Microsoft has signed on as its key distributor.
It is now an established fact that JavaScript is the functionality language of the Web; and although it was Netscape that introduced us to it, and although those responsible are now at Mozilla, it's Microsoft that has taken the lead in recent years in accelerating its evolution. One major step was its embrace of AJAX two years ago. Another step, announced yesterday, may be just as big: the inclusion in its standard JavaScript of a very small, very potent library called jQuery that alters the dynamics of how Web pages work.
Motorola confirms Android plans, but won't say how big
Motorola first endorsed Google's Android platform almost a year ago. Yet now that HTC and T-Mobile are about to release the G1 phone, Motorola has confirmed to BetaNews that it will actually dive into the Android waters.
In a statement to BetaNews this morning, Motorola confirmed industry speculation that it is working on products for the Google-spearheaded Android platform. But a Motorola spokesperson refrained from commenting on published reports that the company is boosting its Android team from 50 to 350 developers.
Worldwide Sony Ericsson re-org hits US
Sony Ericsson will lay off over half of the employees of its research facility in Research Triangle Park just outside of Durham, North Carolina. The cutback is a part of a wider re-structuring taking place at the joint mobile phone company.
Of the nearly 750 workers at Sony Ericsson's research and development center, some 450 will be put out. The company said the cut of approximately 2,000 jobs worldwide would represent a savings of €300 million.
Washington State launches anti-scareware suits with Microsoft's help
Perhaps the most malicious act that malware could possibly do -- even more than wreck your system -- is separate users from their hard-earned cash. Now, a new campaign in the state of Washington has named its first anti-hero.
If you've ever perused our FileForum looking for a Windows System Registry cleaner or an undelete utility, even if you tend to trust our posts (and you should), there's a good chance you've found yourself wondering beforehand whether what you're about to download is legitimate. There's a growing industry in fake anti-malware, and many are now saying it's capable of doing as much damage, if not more, than malicious software to begin with.
DivX Connected gets vital upgrade: Flash
The DivX Connected platform has received a couple of crucial upgrades, making the hardware-software hybrid system more attractive to open source developers and consumers alike.
Version 1.4 of the DivX Connected server has been released, finally granting the home server software Flash Support, and adding to its unique Wake-on-LAN tools. With the server upgrade, a host of associated plug-ins were also released, bringing the platform into a place where it is equally desirable to casual consumers as it is to the "maker" crowd.
Legislation looks to patch privacy protections at borders
A bill set before Congress would require DHS officials to have a reasonable level of suspicion about you, personally, before they searched or seized your laptop, cell phone, digital camera or other electronic gear at the US border.
Last Friday, Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced the Travelers Privacy Protection Act on Friday to, as Cantwell put it, "strike the right balance of keeping Americans safe while protecting their right to privacy."
Lawsuit around Apple's first iPhone dismissed from federal court
Although the jury (and judge) might still be out on a later class action suit targeting Apple's newer iPhone 3G, a US judge has now ruled that Apple did not engage in "deceptive" practices concerning the original iPhone.
With a class action action around Apple's newer iPhone 3G still pending, a US judge has now thrown out a different lawsuit that had charged Apple with engaging in deception around batteries in the original iPhone.
Stainless adds Chrome-like functionality to new Mac browser beta
Download Stainless 0.1 beta for Mac OS X Leopard from FileForum now.
It may not be Mr. Right, as browsers go, but for Mac users who may be craving Google Chrome and who can't wait for the port-over, Stainless makes a case for being Mr. Right Now.
Legislation would force all new US radios to include digital 'HD'
More digital radios, especially those installed with new automobiles, include the capability to pick up digital "HD Radio" broadcasts over the air. But should the government mandate that satellite radio sets include HD Radio capability?
Demonstrating that there actually were at least a few spare minutes for Congress after all, during the debate over the financial bailout plan, House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D - Mass.) introduced a bipartisan bill that will require all future AM/FM radios or satellite radio receivers made or sold in the US to also receive digital HD broadcasts.
BT to test Phorm again, this time telling customers
UK internet service provider BT, a branch of British Telecom, will be running another trial of the controversial behavioral advertising system Phorm.
Last February, British ISPs BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media announced that they had joined together to deliver a targeted advertising platform. However, this was met with public outrage when BT admitted that it had already tested such a system with secretly collected user data.
With an iPod rival on tap, Nokia dumps enterprise software and security
With a new touch-screen phone dubbed "The Tube" rumored for later this week, Nokia is creating a new consumer e-mail service, while dropping its in-house enterprise software development and striving to sell its security appliances arm.
In line with its intentions to turn into more of an "Internet company," mobile phone maker Nokia today announced plans to stop producing its own enterprise software, in favor of pacts with companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco. In addition, it will to sell its security appliances line-up to a financial investor, if a contemplated deal goes through.
Tech stocks slammed amid House rejection of bailout plan
Last summer, companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Apple showed buoyancy amid a gathering economic storm in the US, giving investors confidence they could weather the storm. This afternoon, the storm was upgraded to a 'Cat-5.'"
In the clearest indication to date that the US technology industry cannot sustain its position as the fortress in the storm forever, a precipitous drop in stock values slammed values of shares in technology firms perhaps worst of all. Falling off of a cliff today are shares of Apple Inc., which at one point lost as much as 28% of its value at about 1:50 pm EDT, before recovering slightly to an 18% loss by 2:30 pm EDT at $105.48 per share -- still a 52-week low.
Circuit City looks to better 'customer experience' after another loss
The struggling consumer electronics retail chain today blamed its continuing financial losses on a 'weakened brand image,' together with competitive pressures and the faltering economy.
US retailer Circuit City plans to put more emphasis on "improving the customer experience" in its stores, in the wake of a $162.7 million loss for the second quarter of its 2009 fiscal year. Earlier efforts to do that haven't been "sufficient to reverse our overall business results," acknowledged Bruce H. Besanko, executive VP and CFO.
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