For years, customers have asked for an affordable subscription-based service for what has typically been perceived as Microsoft's steeply-priced software. If seventy bucks a year seems affordable enough, it's finally coming.
It could be one of Microsoft's most significant moves in the home applications market in years -- long overdue, many will say, but finally arriving. Beginning later this month, the company will offer an annual subscription package that bundles together its Office Home and Student 2007 suite with Windows Live Services, Office Live Workspace, and Windows Live OneCare, for $69.99 annually.
A paper will be published later this year with far-ranging recommendations for reducing cybercrime in Europe, including a statutory scale of damages against ISPs that do not respond promptly to requests to shut out compromised machines.
A subset of the paper, entitled "Security Economics and European Policy," was presented by one of its four authors, Tyler Moore, a researcher and Ph.D student at the University of Cambridge. Other authors included Ross Anderson and Richard Clayton, also of the University of Cambridge; and Rainer Bohme, TU Dresden.
While you're watching your TiVo, your TiVo is watching you -- not only what you watch, but what you skip.
Approximately everyone who has ever used one of TiVo Inc.'s digital video recorders has skipped over commercials. However, the devices also report, anonymously, every click of a remote back to the main offices, and track that aggregated information for clients of the company's Stop||Watch service, which it has offered since 2006. This from Todd Juenger, Vice President & General Manager, TiVo Audience Research & Measurement, in an interview with BetaNews.
Can the "Mac experience" be made to co-exist better with mainly Windows environments? Members of a new alliance say so. The EDA wants to spur greater adoption of Macs in enterprises.
With various studies pointing to a boom in popularity for Apple's venerable Macs, five software companies banded together this week to form the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA), a group aimed at making Macs more manageable in mostly Windows environments.
A few weeks ago, Microsoft denied it would be making any big purchases in the wake of its failed "hybrid" bid for Yahoo's search business. That's assuming that Powerset isn't a big purchase...and it very well might be.
Confirming rumors traded among the major blogs last week, as well as information Microsoft refused to comment about for BetaNews on Thursday, the company said today it is indeed purchasing San Francisco-based semantic search tools provider Powerset for an undisclosed sum.
Blizzard introduces a physical security token to help give gamers added peace of mind when playing World of Warcraft online.
To help keep gamers safe from possible account hijackings in World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment has introduced a small electronic authenticator that will produce a six-digit security code that can be entered before a WoW player logs on.
Despite its x86-sounding name, PC Tools has launched the free beta of iAntivirus, a piece of protective software designed for identifying and stopping Mac-exclusive malware.
Macs and their users are subject to a number misconceptions and stigmas. Thanks in part to a particular advertising campaign, there is an ill-bred notion that Macs are impervious to malware. Critics of the company condemn Mac users for being technologically ignorant in believing their hardware is insusceptible to compromise.
AT&T today unveiled its prices for the 3G iPhone when it is made available at 8am on July 11th. Buried in today's announcement was the news that customers can opt to purchase their new iPhones outright, without a contract.
New customers or those eligible for an upgrade discount will be able to snag the 3G iPhone at AT&T's lowest price: $199 for the 8 GB model, and $299 for the 16 GB. All customers at that price will be required to sign a two-year contract.
Adobe Systems Inc. announced today that it is working with both Google and Yahoo to improve the search engine indexing of Flash (.SWF) files -- a capability search engines have had for years, but haven't used.
Search engine giants Google and Yahoo are utilizing Adobe's recently-updated Flash Player standard to help make Flash-based content searchable. Google has already launched its indexing mechanism, with Yahoo reportedly next in line to do the same.
This afternoon, Microsoft is saying very little about a report in the Hollywood Reporter last Friday that it's planning to cut Xbox 360 prices this month, other than to say, "Stay tuned."
The Reporter's...uh, report is that Microsoft plans to cut the price of the 20 GB Xbox 360 Pro by $50, to $299, before the E3 video game trade show, which runs July 15-17 in Los Angeles.
Online auction service eBay has been ordered by a French court to pay $63 million to French fashion company Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the company responsible for making Louis Vuitton and Dior branded handbags and perfume.
A two-pronged legal attack saw LVMH accuse eBay of "guilty negligence" claiming it didn't do enough to stop fake LVMH merchandise from being sold through the site. And any sale whatsoever of LVMH-branded perfume, fake or not, was considered illicit by LVMH since only approved distribution networks are allowed to sell the perfume to customers.
Deutsche Telekom division T-Mobile has joined its main competitors in the United States with a bump in text messaging fees from $0.15 up to $0.20, more than a year after a price hike from $0.10 to $0.15.
Customers looking to opt out of their subscriber contract with T-Mobile will likely be able to use this SMS increase as a legitimate excuse. Although T-Mobile representatives over the phone may tell you it's not allowed, some reports including this from independent service BerryReview.com suggest a price increase could be perceived as a material breach of contract. As a result, subscribers may be able to opt out without paying an early termination fee.
Twenty percent of cable customers now say phone calls to companies don't solve their problems, according to a new survey. Meanwhile, cell phone providers are coming up with answers faster, and PC users are finding useful info on the Web.
Although not exactly entirely delighted, US cell phone and PC customers are growing happier with the customer service they receive. But consumer satisfaction with cable and satellite providers is taking a further nosedive, say new survey results released this week by industry analyst firm CFI Group.
What may not even be the final version of Firefox 2 was officially released this morning, after an extensive testing process during which newer security issues were apparently addressed.
After a deluge of negative feedback from angry customers, Netflix has announced that it will not be removing its profile feature.
"You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles," reads a message Netflix customers received Monday afternoon. "Thank you for all the calls and e-mails telling us how important Profiles are. We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you."