Another muni Wi-Fi rollout on the rocks
Plans to bring wireless Internet to Boulder, Colorado and the surrounding metropolitan areas are being put on hold over funding issues.
The consortium called Colorado Wireless Communities was tasked with getting the funding to build out the networks in 10 cities from Lakewood to Boulder, a roughly 150 square mile area. The group is now unsure whether it can raise enough money.
Corel taps Symantec exec as interim CEO
The embattled former CEO David Dobson will now hand over the reins of the Canadian-based software company to veteran IT executive Kris Hagerman, who joins Corel as interim chief from Symantec.
After running up a stock buyout bid from Corel's major shareholder, Vector Capital, Dobson quit his job at Corel late last month to take a position at an unidentified corportation. Dobson had been widely expected to stay on with Corel through June.
T-Mobile 3G nationwide upgrade to begin now
T-Mobile USA's UMTS/HSDPA network rollout last week in New York will now be followed by buildouts in 20 more markets, according to plan. Spokespersons say this upgrade will cover both voice and data traffic, contrary to prior reports.
The number four carrier in the US has reportedly spent nearly $5 billion on the 3G network, and has done little to hype up the upgrade. Device support is currently lacking, however the company has plans to add to the lineup of handsets within the next week to include the carrier's first HSDPA device, and several "all-in-one" handsets.
Amazon at odds with N.Y. over Internet sales tax law
Amazon, the world's largest online retailer sued the state of New York, claiming its new law requiring out of state retailers to collect New York sales tax was unconstitutional.
Amazon filed the complaint with the New York state Supreme Court on April 25, claiming the law was vague and overly broad. It also told the court that it believes the law unfairly singles the company out.
Boingo next to offer free Wi-Fi service to iPhones, iPods
Wi-Fi provider Boingo will offer Apple iPhone and iPod Touch owners the opportunity to enjoy 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi service at 28 airports located in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
What's the catch? Users interested in the service will have to watch 15 seconds of video advertisements before having access to the Internet uninterrupted for 15 minutes.
Microsoft slowly seals its lips about its police toolkit
To put a lid on bloggers' speculation about police getting "backdoors" to Windows security, Microsoft is starting to hush up on the subject. In an e-mail to BetaNews on Friday, a spokesperson described COFEE as a "customizable framework."
Despite releasing a few more facts on Friday about a controversial new tool for police officers, Microsoft has now vowed to stay mum on the "exact methods" used by COFEE (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor), as well as about what kinds of passwords -- OS or network, for example -- COFEE might be able to crack.
NBC launches 'social education' site iCue
NBC News' educational arm NBC Learn has launched iCue: part social network, part news source for students age 13 and up, built upon NBC's vast video news archive.
iCue's learning environment is based on a concept called CueCards, which are video clips and related news stories fashioned into virtual trading cards. The content of these will focus on US history, government, and politics, as well as English language study and composition. CueCards can be collected, annotated, traded, indexed, and even integrated into games.
WSJ: Deutsche Telekom mulls Sprint Nextel buyout
Sources have told the Wall Street Journal that Deutsche Telekom is looking into either a merger or buyout of the third-largest US wireless provider.
With the addition of Sprint's customer base, T-Mobile would become the largest cellular provider in the US, serving nearly 83 million customers. The news appears to be a repackaging of earlier rumors that first surfaced in March.
Yahoo minus Microsoft: Ballmer slams the door on his way out
It is perhaps the biggest "no-go" in the history of the Internet industry. So in the absence of any Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Redmond, did Microsoft manage to move the needle in its direction in its fight to avoid becoming the #4 player?
Whether the idea was made popular by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tse in the sixth century B.C., or by Michael Douglas' portrayal of "Gordon Gekko" in the classic 1980s movie "Wall Street," there's a notion that warriors don't enter into battles they haven't already won in advance. Maybe Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hasn't read up on his philosophy or hasn't watched much AMC lately; in either case, he's the one holding an empty basket today, after shutting almost every door behind him on the way out of the Yahoo negotiations.
E3 in turmoil as game publishers skip event
Once the premier video game conference, E3 is now losing major publishers with Activision saying it will take a pass.
Vivendi -- which owns Activision -- will also drop out of the Entertainment Software Association for "business reasons." Instead of being at E3, the company will have its own event at its Santa Monica headquarters during the show.
Steve Ballmer's letter to Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang
Microsoft drops $50 billion bid to acquire Yahoo
In a statement issued late Saturday, Microsoft announced it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo. Speculation surrounding the status of the $50 billion deal has escalated since Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell's deadline of last weekend passed.
"We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole. Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in the statement.
Twitter co-founder refutes rumors of ditching Ruby on Rails
Twitter, Inc. Co-Founder Biz Stone today refuted published rumors that Twitter is dropping Ruby on Rails as an application development environment for the social networking site.
The controversy got started with a report published in TechCrunch yesterday, which was then reiterated in some other online publications and ultimately linked to in Slashdot.
Dell tries again with its XPS 730 high-end desktop gaming system
After one of the worst starts in the history of PCs two years ago, Dell's XPS desktop series has come crawling back, but not without scrapes and bruises along the way. Yesterday it revealed a new 730 model it hopes can recapture Dell's glory.
There are two schools of thought in the consumer PC industry: One believes that the global economy is in such poor shape this year that computer purchases will end up being heavily curtailed, and that the discretionary segment of the market -- the high end -- will absorb the brunt of the blow. The other believes that since the bad economy will impact lower wage earners hardest, higher wage earners will continue spending as they have before, and thus the high end of the market will be an oasis in the desert.
Xbox 360 to get wireless sport-themed controllers
Qmotions, the peripheral manufacturing subsidiary of the Actiga Corp. and a maker of controllers unique to individual sports games, will soon be releasing fully Microsoft-endorsed Xbox 360 wireless controllers.
One of these is called the Big Air, a wireless full-sized skateboard deck controller for skate- and snowboarding games. The Big Air will be an updated version of its X-board, which was a PS2 and Xbox peripheral that retailed for $99.99. Its availability is currently only listed as "Spring 2008," but updates are pending.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.