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.
Nokia expects real-life 'Transformers' in seven years
On display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from February 24 to May 12 is a nanotechnology-equipped concept mobile device.
The Morph is the result of an ongoing partnership between Nokia and the University of Cambridge, and illustrates their ideas of how future devices will look and function. It's a multipurpose unit with context-dependent shape; so whatever its intended use may be at the time, it can be structurally modified to fit the user's needs.
The Open XML debate resumes before the ISO
As the world's principal standards body re-examines Microsoft's key applications standards format, one of ODF's chief proponents suggests the world will be better off if OOXML were to co-exist with ODF.
It may yet be approved as an international standard, but first, Microsoft's Office Open XML data format will need to withstand its most critical test to date: Beginning today in Geneva, and continuing on until Friday, 120 representatives of the world's national standards bodies will convene as ISO Subcommittee 34 to debate an estimated 1,100 separate issues, filtered from thousands of comments ranging from concerns to reservations, regarding whether Microsoft has done enough to bring OOXML up to their expectations.
Reports: Sony to buy LCD panels from Sharp
Continuing the trend among LCD TV makers to pool their resources, Sony said it will buy panels from competitor Sharp in order to keep up with demand.
Neither company is commenting on the report, which first surfaced in the Japanese media on Friday. However, Sharp is already working with another LCD TV manufacturer, using Toshiba's computer chips in its own sets.
Fujitsu enters the half-terabyte HDD fray
Fujitsu is now the third company to have announced a half terabyte 2.5" drive by announcing its MHZ2 BT.
Fujitsu's reputation for HDD production has a few historical black marks. In 2001-2002, over 300,000 of its PB16 family of drives had to be recalled and replaced due to severe overheating. This resulted in a $43 million class action lawsuit settled in 2004. Furthermore, the company's Lifebook N3010 reportedly tended to run on the extremely hot side (October 2006 Sony battery issue notwithstanding).
Microsoft launches Engagement Mapping, its upshot from aQuantive
In the midst of its continuing effort to buy Yahoo for $41 billion, Microsoft today launched Engagement Mapping, a new initiative that rolls in technology from aQuantive.
With Engagement Mapping, an effort slated to enter beta testing on March 1, Microsoft hopes to replace "last ad clicked," a conventional approach that connects sales, leads, and traffic to the last ad that a visitor clicked on while traversing the Web.
The 'cloud' gets crowded with the Times entering the scene
The latest entry in two rapidly expanding fields -- cloud computing and Adobe AIR applications -- comes from an unusual source this morning: The New York Times.
This morning, The New York Times officially launched its public beta of a new service called ShifD, aimed at allowing users to share content via PCs, phones and other mobile devices.
Xbox 360 HD DVD drive gets the axe
Stopping short of saying it would produce a external Blu-ray drive, Microsoft has discontinued the accessory.
Those who had purchased the drive would still be eligible for warranty and product support. But as many suspected, the Redmond company gave a hat tip to streaming media as the way of the future.
New Japanese satellite could boost Internet speeds
Over the weekend, the Japanese counterpart to NASA successfully launched "Kizuna" (Winds), an experimental satellite that will be able to offer high-speed Internet access to users in 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) expects Kizuna to be the first step towards creating a powerful space-based telecommunications network.
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