Confirmation: Internet Explorer 8 beta testing has begun
As selected testers first received invitations from Microsoft yesterday, numerous reports speculated as to the nature of the IE 8 Beta 1 test. Late last night, Microsoft sorted out those reports for BetaNews.
In a response to a BetaNews inquiry, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the Beta 1 testing process for Internet Explorer 8 has begun. To help distinguish it from the public preview process, in which prospective customers are given peeks at how the finished product might work, Microsoft officially calls this a "Techbeta."
Microsoft still battling Windows Live and Hotmail outage
A major outage to Microsoft Windows Live services has left an unknown number of users unable to access MSN Messenger, Hotmail and other services since earlier today. Progress is being made on resolving the situation, the company says.
Initially believed to be an incident isolated to the east coast of the United States, users from the west coast and several other nations also reported they have been unable to access any Windows Live services since sometime around 6:30 a.m. EST.
Microsoft scores win against man who claims he developed Office tech
A federal court that hears patent appeals ordered a lower court to reconsider damages to be paid to a Guatemalan developer over technologies in the Microsoft Office suite.
Carlos Amado originally sued Microsoft in 2003, saying that his technologies surrounding databases and spreadsheets were misappropriated in several versions of Office.
Apple beats Best Buy, Target in music sales; only behind Wal-Mart
With music sales on its iTunes Store continuing to grow and sales of physical CDs continuing to fall, Apple has become the second largest music retailer in the United States, only trailing retail giant Wal-Mart.
The number-two position was bestowed on Apple by research firm NPD Group, which counted the music sold during 2007. Because iTunes sells music as individual tracks while stores like Wal-Mart do not, the firm counted every 12 tracks as a single CD sold.
Network Solutions taken to court over domain 'front-running'
Domain registrar Network Solutions was sued over the practice of "front-running" by a Los Angeles law firm representing domain name trader Chris McElory.
ICANN had already been investigating Network Solutions due to its actions, where it was putting holds on domain names after a user searched for them but did not immediately register.
Sun completes its MySQL purchase, looks ahead to Oracle, MS
VMware fixing security vulnerability in virtualization products
Security company Core Security Technologies discovered a major flaw in several VMware virtualization products that could unintentionally leave companies exposed to hackers.
The exploit allows malicious users on the Guest operating system to eventually get full control of the Host system, including enabling them to "create or modify executable files." This is possible by bypassing security controls in VMware's shared folder feature, which enables users to quickly copy documents between host and guest systems.
Lenovo takes on the MacBook Air with its X300 ultra-portable
Topping the MacBook Air in features but not price, Lenovo has announced its answer to the ultra-portable laptop, the ThinkPad X300.
At 0.75-inches thick, and 2.9 pounds in weight, Lenovo's Thinkpad X300 shaves a tremendous amount of girth from the company's traditionally boxy laptops. Precisely what class this model belongs to is somewhat mysterious because of this.
DivX pulls the plug on Stage6 video upload site
Explaining that the site was only an "experiment," DivX said Monday that it had shut off uploads to its Stage6 video site, and would be closing the site completely on February 28.
The official reason states that DivX simply ran out of money to keep the site going, and it was requiring an "enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to provide."
HD DVD add-on for Xbox 360 now only $50
After announcing it is being discontinued, Microsoft is offering the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 for under $50 - an amazing deal or a waste of cash depending on where you stand.
While HD DVD will no longer continue as a format after Toshiba's withdrawal, and no new movies will be released, there are over 500 titles already available at discount prices. That could make the $50 investment very worthwhile, especially with Blu-ray players priced at least 6 times higher.
Google, others to build massive under-sea Internet link to Asia
A new group comprised of six companies including Google publicly revealed plans to build an undersea fiber-optic cable that will link Japan to the west coast of the United States.
The ultimate aim of the cable is to be able to allow companies to send large amounts of data across the world at a lower price. Consortium companies will utilize a five fiber pair cable system, which can be upgraded to eight fiber pairs later down the road.
Sony's new Blu-ray players feature-packed, but still high priced
Sony pressed ahead with its Blu-ray plans Tuesday, announcing two new players coming this year, but still at prices above what most consumers are willing to pay.
The BDP-S350 will ship this summer for $400 USD, and the BDP-S550 in the fall before the holiday season for $500 USD. The S350 will ship with Blu-ray Profile 1.1, also known as BonusView, but will include an Ethernet port so it can be upgraded to Profile 2.0 -- or BD-Live -- when the new firmware is ready.
Apple adds new CPUs, Multi-Touch trackpad to MacBook Pro
Apple on Tuesday updated its entire laptop line with faster processors, more storage and memory, along with adding its Multi-Touch trackpad to the MacBook Pro.
All MacBook models now include the latest Intel Penyrn processors. The MacBook Pro is available in standard 2.4GHz and 2.5GHz options with a 2.6GHz upgrade, while the MacBook ships with 2.1GHz and 2.4GHz options.
Google's newest use: finding vulnerabilities
"Hacktivist" group Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc) began offering a software tool that scans for security flaws in Web sites by exploiting Google's omnipresence.
Goolag Scanner was developed by John Long, who is a published author and early pioneer in the Google Hacking tehnique. He is also a self-proclaimed "Christian Hacker" that often does his work for charity.
Burst offers alternative to 'disruptive' pre-roll video ads
To help prevent the problem of advertising-spawned "Web site abandonment" among consumers, Burst Media is using a new video ad channel to roll out a video ad technology dubbed "InBanner."
At the same time, Burst has also been working with partner Quattro on enabling some Web sites for mobile advertising, said Chuck Moran, Burst's director of marketing, in an interview with BetaNews.
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