One critical patch for Vista en route
Maybe they are busy prepping for CES, but Microsoft only plans to issue two patches for the first Patch Tuesday of the new year. Both patches will deal with code execution vulnerabilities in the Windows Vista operating system. One will be rated "critical," while the other received an "important" rating from the Redmond company.
The critical patch affects not only Vista, but all versions of the Windows operating system, while the important patch is also intended for Windows 2000, XP, and 2003. FrSIRT may provide some idea as to what these patches may be: it currently lists a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft DirectX, and a "moderate risk" flaw in the Windows CFileFind class.
Warner Bros. moves to Blu-ray camp exclusively
In a move that could upset the balance between the competing high-definition disc formats yet again, Warner Home Video today said that it is switching its allegiance entirely to the Blu-ray camp, in an effort to reduce confusion.
Beginning next May, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced late this afternoon, it will cease releasing new movie titles on the HD DVD format, preferring Blu-ray exclusively.
Powerline home networking could come to Vista
DS2 now claims to be the only powerline vendor offering on-board support for the LLPD network mapping protocol in Microsoft's Vista. But is LLPD really simple enough for use in home networking? And what are the chances anyway for a technology that runs over home electrical wiring?
Attempting to make it easier for consumers to figure out their home networking connections, DS2 -- a top maker of the powerline equipment that works over home electrical wiring -- has now added full support for a feature in Microsoft's Vista OS that supports the display of computers, network adapters, routers and other devices on an easy-to-read network map.
Is the on again, off again San Fran Wi-Fi back on track?
After Earthlink and Google scrapped plans to offer wireless in the city, many weren't so sure. But a start-up is promising to finish the job.
Silicon Valley-based Meraki, which has financial backing from Google, says it will attempt to complete the citywide network within one year. The company says it plans to lay out its plans on Friday.
HP to update media PCs with AMD Phenom, hybrid high-def drives
While even HP has admitted consumers' shifting preference toward notebooks as desktop PCs, for 2008, it plans to give desktops a boost with multimedia form factors, new AMD CPUs, and some intriguing price points.
If the desktop PC form factor has any room left in which to grow this year, it's in the media form factor. There, it has to be willing to assume an odd shape, perhaps not so much an element of your desk as something that can be wedged in an open cavity between cabinets in your home entertainment system.
Intel decides to leave OLPC project
Citing "philosophical differences," the chipmaker has abruptly announced its departure from the One Laptop Per Child organization.
Intel failed to appear at a board meeting in Florida recently, which apparently set off a dispute between the company and those in charge of the program. It is this argument which led to Intel's announcement on Thursday.
Album music sales drop, singles in renaissance
The Associated Press today reported 2007's substantial decline in the music industry's album sales, illustrating how albums are no longer the vehicle of choice for music consumption.
The year 2007 saw a total of 500.5 million albums sold, including "hard copy" media: CDs, cassettes and LPs -- yes, someone's still out there pressing vinyl. This is a 15% drop from the unit total for 2006, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
WirelessHD could forge high-def streaming home networks
Wireless links carry the potential to speed consumer adoption of high-def video by easing home networking woes. Sony, Toshiba, LG, Samsung, NEC, Matsushita, and now Intel are now working on a standard called WirelessHD to help meet this promise, while some other vendors continue to go it alone.
Although consumer electronics makers are still trying out a variety of approaches to sending high-def video over wireless links, the industry is now starting to see more consolidation around an upcoming standard known as WirelessHD.
Sling to demonstrate remote TV for BlackBerry
California-based Sling Media Inc., maker of the popular SlingBox place-shifting hardware device, has officially announced its intention to demonstrate SlingPlayer for BlackBerry and a new HD SlingBox at CES 2008 next week.
Sling Media announced that it will be showing off SlingPlayer Mobile on a BlackBerry Pearl 8120, with a release slated for later this year. Sling intends to extend its service for watching and programming TV remotely through the popular e-mail handset.
Xbox Live 'up and running' for some, but not all
Despite claims on the service's support page that all is well, users are still reporting to BetaNews and other media outlets that the problems said to be fixed still continue.
Microsoft is blaming the outages on the massive influx of new customers over the holidays, which could mean that the company was ill-prepared to handle what is typically the busiest time for the video game sector.
The era of DRM fades further with Sony BMG's switch
The lone holdout of the big four music labels caved to pressure from the rest of the industry and will begin to sell tracks free of the restrictive technology.
EMI and Universal Music Group had announced their plans to drop DRM earlier in 2007, and Warner Music Group announced its plans in December. With Sony BMG's announcement, a majority of the top acts in music today will now be available in MP3 format.
Two major high-def streaming providers become partners
While Blu-ray and HD DVD have missed their window of opportunity for resolving the high-def format dilemma, CES 2008 could see two of the biggest names in the high-def streaming field demonstrating a realistic, connected alternative.
The alternative vehicle for high definition movies on home consoles -- if there is ever to be one -- is the streaming, on-demand, programmable network. Today that vehicle could be a big step closer to reality, and just in time for next week's CES, with an agreement between two services to forge one service: CinemaNow's streaming movie download service will soon feature Macrovision's platform technology.
PSP to finally become a communications device with Skype
On a site dedicated to building up excitement over its announcements at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony inserted language all but confirming the rumors of Skype for PSP.
Sony's site gives new credence to rumors of Skype for the PlayStation Portable -- rumors which date back to June 2006: "Call friends, talk trash to fellow gamers or catch up with acquaintances via Skype for PSP."
CES Trend #5: Notebooks becoming the PC of choice
At CES 2008 next week, manufacturers won't be showing off hot new desktops; instead, sleek new notebooks will take center stage. In the United States, notebooks are already outpacing desktop PC sales by a small margin and it won't be much longer before the rest of the world catches up.
The desktop market peaked in the United States in 2006, but with growth in developing markets continuing, it will take a while longer for the market to peak elsewhere. Research firms seem to agree that this will happen sometime around the end of the decade, when notebook sales will eclipse desktops in combined worldwide shipments.
Motorola launches MPEG-4 DVR boxes for HD cable
Vendors are seeding the market with HD consumers devices of various sorts. But if you get an MPEG-4 set-top box, for example, when will there be enough HD cable content around for you to manage?
Despite the many technical challenges still facing widespread adoption of high-definition video, more and more consumer device makers are now hopping aboard the HD bandwagon, including Motorola, a vendor that today introduced its first MPEG-4 set-top DVR (digital video recorder) boxes for cable TV.
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