Pint-sized but versatile Linux server hits North America
A pint-sized, multi-functional Linux server small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, was released this week into the North American market by Japan-based Plat'Home.
Designed to work as an Apache Server, MySQL database server, or just about any other type of larger Linux server, the new OpenMicroServer is particularly geared to places that are short on space, or where systems need to be remotely managed due to an absence of on-site administrators.
Court: Border search of laptops without cause permissible by law
In a decision that could anger some privacy advocates, a US appeals court said that border and airport security agents can search laptops without cause.
Surprisingly, the unanimous 3-0 decision came from the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals, which has otherwise been a target of criticism for its alleged liberal bias.
Toshiba president: 25% of notebooks will have SSDs by 2011
The solid state disk industry may never be ready for prime time, according to data last week from the president of Toshiba, a supporter of the technology. SSD's rate of growth may never catch up, he projected, to the rest of the storage industry.
While the overall market for solid-state disk drives is expanding at triple-digit annual rates, according to an account of a speech on Monday by Toshiba President Shozo Saito from the Nikkei press agency, analysts today are noting that just as twice nothing is still nothing, thrice not very much is a small percentage indeed.
New Ubuntu Linux runs in Windows from an emulated image
The latest Ubuntu operating system, version 8.04, code-named "Hardy Heron," has a new feature aimed at making it easier for Microsoft Windows users to install and test the operating system without creating a separate virtual machine.
"Wubi" is a Windows-based installer that puts Ubuntu on the same partition as the Windows partition. Though it physically writes to the hard drive, it does not actually partition or format it -- which, of course, would defeat the purpose. Instead, it installs Ubuntu onto a disk image that emulates a hard drive.
As flat screen prices plummet, Pioneer strikes a deal
In a deal spawned by the flat panel TV industry's current price war, financially struggling Pioneer Corp. has agreed to stop making plasma panels and buy them instead from Panasonic's parent company Matsushita.
Pioneer has shown an operating loss for three consecutive years now, while dealing with an oversupply of plasma display capacity in the face of falling prices.
MySpace cuts the ribbon on its third-party App Gallery
A popular feature on social networking site Facebook, the ability to adorn a profile with multiple mini-applications, was unveiled today on MySpace in its Application Gallery.
In February, the MySpace Developer Platform was created, allowing original applications to be integrated with MySpace. To test these third party apps out, MySpace rolled out a beta of the Application Gallery, which facilitated over 2 million installs of the over 1,000 third-party applications posted there.
Microsoft says it's time to kill Smart Watches
While SPOT devices were released to great fanfare four years ago, the company says it will stop selling new watches.
Smart watches with the MSN Direct service have sold out, and the company has no intentions of producing new models. It says however, that it would continue to seek out new channels for the SPOT technology.
Google boosts its mobile outreach with smaller image ads
In a move designed to change the texture of mobile Web content, Google is integrating smaller display ads designed for mobile browsers, into its AdWords service starting today. But it won't fool many into thinking it's not playing catch-up.
The leader in online display image advertising right now is actually DoubleClick, which is now a Google division but is still allowed to do its own thing. In the meantime, Google's increasing emphasis on mobile device platforms -- including its own Android -- is pushing it to become a display ad leader for that segment.
Motorola phones suffer watershed sales decline in Q1
Motorola posted a sharp 39 percent annual decline in mobile device sales and revenue during the first quarter of this year, but a company restructuring plan is looking to bring sales back into control.
During this quarter, Motorola decided to "pull the chute" on its plummeting mobile division and create two discrete publicly traded companies. President and CEO of the Schaumburg, Illinois company Greg Brown said that improvement of the mobile product portfolio is a prime concern.
XP's death sentence may not be commuted
April 24, 2008 - 6:10pm: A Microsoft spokesperson has officially quelled any speculation over a change in strategy. According to an official statement, Microsoft's current plans to end XP sales are "unchanged", and the company is "confident that's the right thing to do based on the feedback we've heard from our customers and partners."
Continuing his tour of Europe, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company may reconsider its decision to stop selling the XP operating system in June.
HDTV now in one quarter of US households, but what's on?
While some US consumers are using HDTVs for video games, and some are watching true high-def broadcasts, HDTV sales are also being driven by plummeting display prices and the upcoming changeover to digital TV broadcasting.
Although 25 percent of US households now own at least one high-definition TV set, owning an HDTV and actually viewing HD content are not one and the same for everyone, according to new research from a prominent television industry analyst group.
Yahoo says it's cooperating with DOJ in Google antitrust concern
Whether US federal officials have serious concerns over the Yahoo/Google beta test remains unclear this morning, though explanations given to the press last night may actually raise more questions than they answer.
The US Department of Justice has yet to issue a comment on, or confirm, a story that first appeared on Reuters wires late yesterday. Initially, it was reported and widely repeated that the DOJ is investigating Yahoo and Google over a test of integrating AdSense ads on Yahoo search pages.
China surpasses US as largest online nation
Although China is one of the world's most populous nations, until recently it lagged behind the US in terms of its online population. That changed in February however, when the country's population online reached 221 million.
Even with the jump ahead of the US, China still lags behind the worldwide average in terms of a percentage of its population. At the end of 2007, that number stood at about 16 percent, versus a worldwide average of 19.1 percent.
GroupTweet to blame for Twitter security 'compromise'
Twitter, the moment-by-moment status update ("What are you doing now?") site that's the buzz among social networking circles, was shaken by a potentially embarrassing foul-up.
Especially popular among Silicon Valley's big names and linkable to many other sites, most notably Facebook, Twitter allows users to create a pseudo-RSS feed of the often inane and meticulous details of their day. Some users, however, found their not-so-inane private messages had been broadcast to all their friends through no fault of their own.
Iomega surges ahead with a half-terabyte home theater drive
On its way to becoming an EMC division, Iomega today announced its new 500 GB ScreenPlay HD Multimedia Drive, designed to let users watch entertainment content on their TVs and home theater systems without the need of a PC.
The ScreenPlay HD Multimedia Drive measures 7.7" x 2.3" x 5" and weights two pounds, which is the equivalent of a regular-sized paperback book. The USB 2.0-powered drive is a 3.5-inch 7200 rpm hard drive connectable to PCs using Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or Vista.
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