CTIA backs Sprint, T-Mobile in white space battle
The CTIA telecom trade group has now joined Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile in calling for FCC licensing around "white space" spectrum, against the wishes of major device makers to open up the spectrum for unlicensed wireless access.
The wireless telecom trade group CTIA has chimed in on the growing debate over the use of unused "white space" in already licensed spectrum, siding -- for the most part -- with Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile. Essentially, the group views possible device interference in the unlicensed white spectrum as a threat to operators' investments in future 4G broadband networks.
Cable provider looks to create Bill of Rights for P2P users
Comcast and partner Pando Networks are leading an effort to push the industry to adopt some common practices when it comes to dealing with file sharers.
Pando is providing the cable operator with its Network Aware P2P technology so that it can analyze traffic moving through its network. Comcast plans to publicize those test results so that other cable operators can optimize their networks to better handle P2P traffic.
Vista SP1 now available in more languages
Microsoft has made Vista Service Pack 1 available in all of the company's 36 supported languages, where there had previously only been five: English, Spanish, French, German and Japanese.
x86 and x64 versions are available for manual install through Windows Update or from the Microsoft Download Center as a standalone installer, and DVD images are available to TechNet Plus and MSDN subscribers as well as those with a volume license. The two standalone installers can be downloaded here: x86, x64.
Dell debuts reworked Vostro notebook
Designing according to consumer feedback, and even taking a little inspiration from Apple, Round Rock, Texas' Dell debuted its redesigned Vostro small business laptop.
The new release is part of a larger undertaking by Dell to expand its laptop portfolio by 50 percent during the year. Europe, the Middle East and Africa will be able to purchase the laptops Tuesday, while a launch is scheduled in the Americas for May 1, and the Asia-Pacific region on May 5.
Mandriva updates its Linux distribution for spring
Mandriva quietly launched Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring, the latest Mandriva Linux distribution featuring a number of updates since its last distribution release.
"The release has some really nice new features, and looks to be pretty solid and stable," said Mandriva Community Manager Adam Williamson wrote in his blog. "We're really happy with it."
Ubisoft to get Gameloft's Indian studio
International video game company Ubisoft has entered into an agreement with mobile games company Gameloft to acquire its development studio in Pune, India.
The facility, with a staff of 120 developers and testers has been responsible for creating games for both the PSP and the Nintendo DS, notably releasing the DS version of Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft said it intends to increase the staff to 200 by the end of this year, and looks to have as many as 500 working at the facility in the future.
Mac cloner plans to take on Apple's Mac OS EULA
6:15 pm EDT April 16, 2008 - A first-hand investigation by Gizmodo appears to cast doubt on the identity and even the existence of Psystar as a company, after its team found no evidence of a computer company doing business at the address listed on its Web site, and especially after that address appears to change several times at random over the course of a single day.
4:42 pm EDT April 15, 2008 - Miami-based Psystar is now offering a Mac clone for $399, and is vowing to fight for its right to produce the device should Cupertino's lawyers come a-knocking.
AOL buys content engine Sphere
Still playing catch-up to Yahoo, Google and other rivals around attracting Web site visitors, AOL is now adding Web content engine Sphere to its growing list of acquisitions.
Before snapping up Sphere this week for an estimated $25 million, AOL had partnered with the Silicon Valley start-up anyway, using the company's widget-driven content search service for creating links from AOLnews.com and myAOL.com.
RIM faces obstacles in building BlackBerry service in India
Research in Motion and the Indian Ministry of Telecommunications have yet to reach a decision upon the security concerns raised by the BlackBerry's system of communication.
Indian security officials are reportedly wary of the lack of traceability of BlackBerry-delivered messages. The government's need for an unencrypted BlackBerry message scheme was reported by many to have been delivered as a threat to shut down the network if a solution wasn't reached. These rumors were promptly dispelled by India Telecoms Secretary Siddhartha Behura, who said a ban was out of the question.
Official XP SP3 release date still up in the air
A Microsoft spokesperson declined this afternoon to confirm reports circulating on technology blogs today citing purportedly leaked documents as saying the online release date for Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be April 29.
"We expect Windows XP SP3 to be available in 1H 2008, provided it meets our quality bar for release," stated the spokesperson, in response to BetaNews' question about the specific date.
MySpace launches in Korea, immediately starts playing catch-up
The new South Korean portal for MySpace claims it will succeed where others have failed because it will cater to local culture more than its competition in the social networking space.
Music and video will be the first content available through the new Korean MySpace site, which bodes well because an estimated 70% of home users there have access to broadband Internet. Yet the company may find it has to conquer the language barrier if it wants to be perceived as competitive.
Re-org at Microsoft relocates UC head to its emerging markets unit
Last year at a conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft introduced spectators to its new efforts to reach emerging markets and build innovative new form factors...to somewhat mixed results. This morning, there was a mix-up of another kind.
At last year's WinHEC conference in Los Angeles, the opening session featured Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' proclamation that the telephone and the PC were merging, followed soon thereafter by a demonstration from Chief Research Officer Craig Mundie. It was obvious to everyone that what Mundie's team produced for him couldn't keep up with Gates' presentation of Unified Communications, especially when Mundie found himself extolling the virtues of a piece of assemble-it-yourself furniture that had been converted into a device to remind seniors to take their medication.
Associated Press to focus more on mobile content
The press service said Monday that it would be soon offering its stories and videos to mobile users, including a site designed for Apple's iPhone.
Users will input a ZIP code, much the same way as for a weather service now. The press site will return local as well as national headlines. The service will be free and ad-supported, with local papers also able to place their ads on the site as well.
Google Apps hacked to run on Amazon Web Services
A developer has found a way to host Google Apps on Amazon's Web services platform, and is open sourcing his solution.
When Google released App Engine, some saw it as a way to lock in applications created within Google Apps from being transferred to to any other Web services provider. This would essentially diminish the attractiveness of start-ups from an acquisition perspective, analysts said, for anyone other than Google, or those who may not mind allowing Google to continue hosting its data.
AOL optimizes mobile search for Apple's iPhone
The mobile search field is still anyone's game, and AOL looks to be approaching it by tailoring its search to one of the most popular devices of the last five years: the Apple iPhone.
AOL Mobile Search for iPhone was designed for the mobile Safari browser also found in the iPod Touch. The site's AJAX technology is built around the multi-touch interface of Apple's devices and is currently in public beta, powered by Google. Google itself has had a mobile Safari-customized search site since late last year.
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