Microsoft sells two millionth Zune, but sales show little growth
Despite a complete revamp of its Zune portable media player last October and a new software update that brings TV downloads, sales of Microsoft's iPod rival have yet to increase.
In the two years since the device's launch, two million Zunes have reached customers. Although it took Apple's iPod more than two years to reach that same milestone, the industry has changed quite a bit. Apple dominates the market with a 71% share, and has sold 140 million iPods since the iconic player debuted in 2001.
Sprint loses another 1 million wireless subscribers
Although a big WiMAX deal brought some good news to Sprint Nextel last week, the beleaguered wireless provider sounded a less happy note today, reporting the loss of about one million additional subscribers last quarter, along with a $505 million drop in revenue.
The number of subscribers for Sprint's current 3G services fell to 52.8 million for the first quarter of 2008, down from 53.6 million during the same period a year ago.
Flaw lets spammers use Gmail for sending bulk e-mail
The persistent battle against junk e-mail is already difficult, with 95% of messages sent being spam, but a vulnerability in Gmail could inadvertently worsen the problem until fixed.
The Information Security Research Team (INSERT) has helped to uncover a security flaw that transforms Google's popular Gmail service into a spam machine by turning the Google SMTP servers into open SMTP replays.
Philadelphia's Wi-Fi network threatened with shutdown
EarthLink attempted to give Philadelphia a deadline of last Thursday to hand over control of its municipal wireless network in order to shut it down gracefully, however the city has so far pushed back the effort.
Wireless Philadelphia, the non-profit group tasked with management of the network, said that the service continues to operate across the city. It argues that EarthLink has no right to set any type of deadline for a handover, or shut the network off.
Microsoft President Jeff Raikes leaving to head Gates Foundation
27-year Microsoft veteran Jeff Raikes, who heads the company's Office and business software division, is leaving to become CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the organization announced Monday.
Raikes will take the reigns from Patty Stonesifer, also a former Microsoft executive, who has served as CEO for the foundation since its inception in 1997. Stonesifer said in February that she planned to step aside by the end of the year. Raikes will begin full-time work for the Gates Foundation in September.
Microsoft appeals 899 million euro "late fee" in EU
Microsoft announced on Friday that it has filed an appeal with the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, contesting the antitrust fine demanded by the European Commision in February.
The landmark 899 million euro fine was the culmination of the European Commission's 2004 decision to require Microsoft to change its practices for the sake of fair competition in the EU. The Commission previously fined Microsoft €497 million for bundling Media Player into Windows, and not providing adequate Windows protocol interoperability information to open source developers.
Windows XP SP3 update causing endless reboots in AMD machines
An issue with how the Service Pack 3 update handles AMD chips will cause some Windows XP computers to continuously reboot. Microsoft says it is investigating, and provided removal instructions for those having problems.
The issues come in two forms: The first affects some systems with AMD chips and OEM XP images, while the other seems to affect certain AMD motherboards. Microsoft is looking into the problem and said it will advise when it has a solution.
RIM's new BlackBerry Bold to rival iPhone on world wireless networks
RIM's just unveiled iPhone competitor, the BlackBerry Bold, looks likely to be available on multiple 3G wireless networks in each of many world markets, a prospect that could potentially impact Apple's policy of setting up exclusive relationships for its own device with carriers such as AT&T for the US and O2 for the UK.
Offering support for high-speed 3G networks, Wi-Fi (802.11/a/b/g), and integrated GPS, the BlackBerry Bold features a glossy metallic look. It also provides much more memory than RIM's current BlackBerry Curve model with 1GB built in. With the Bold, RIM is matching the screen resolution, but not the screen size, of the iPhone.
Apple stops selling current iPhone, as 3G speculation grows
Many signs have long pointed to a 3G iPhone launch next month, and the speculation grew even louder over the weekend as Apple stopped selling the current 8GB and 16GB models from its online store.
The iPhone becoming "Currently Unavailable" from Apple followed UK wireless carrier O2 posting a message saying that it was temporarily no longer offering the device either. However, O2 later put back on sale the 16GB iPhone without further explanation.
FBI bought $3.5 million in counterfeit networking parts
The FBI recently discovered it had been duped into buying about 3,500 parts that were not genuine Cisco products.
Among the fake parts purchased were routers, switches, interface converters, and WAN cards. There was some concern initially that these parts could pose a potential security risk, allowing hackers access to sensitive data.
Eye-Fi adds Web features, geotagging to Wi-Fi SD cards
Eye-Fi, the company behind the Wi-Fi SD card that debuted early this year has branched out its offering with added features.
Now, instead of offering only a single 802.11g-equipped memory card, two new models have been added, and all three cards fit into categories depending on their functionality: Home, Share and Explore.
Fixed alternative for 'white space' networking gains a unique ally
While Google and Microsoft are pressing the FCC to give further consideration to "white space" networking devices that transmit in unused portions of the TV spectrum, a microphone company -- no less -- is trying to tip the balance.
Huge players like Google, Microsoft, Motorola, Sprint, and the National Association of Broadcasters are hardly the only ones interested in the FCC's ongoing white space deliberations. Shure Inc., a maker of wireless microphones, has just filed an alternative proposal arguing against a "beacon plan" backed by Google and Motorola.
Google's Picasa sends its last 'Hello' on May 15
Obsolescence comes in many forms, one being the natural kind, the other planned. Then there's the suddenly, unexpectedly enforced kind, which is rarer but which reared its ugly head today with one of Google's more innovative, but old, ideas.
Of the dozens of Google experiments over the years, some in "beta" and some in "release" form, not all survive to adolescence. One that is due to expire next week is Hello, an interesting take on person-to-person photo sharing that, on its face, sounded like a good idea.
Google: Microsoft remains a strong competitor, even without Yahoo
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said yesterday that he still sees Microsoft as a potent competitor, even though its concerted and often acrimonious campaign to buy Yahoo now looks like it will pass into history.
"Microsoft has been a significant competitor with Google for a very long time," Schmidt declared, in a talk with reporters just before Google's annual meeting in the Silicon Valley.
Yahoo beta tests new search results concepts in India
When a query is entered on Yahoo's Glue Pages, search results -- whether text, image, or video -- all turn up on an organized single page. It's an idea that's turning heads, and it's showing up first on Yahoo's Indian domain.
Currently, topics related to health and medicine, sports and entertainment, travel, technology, and finance yield results on these Glue Pages, which entered beta earlier this week.
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