Will homeland security products ever be interoperable?
Keenly aware of users' frustration, technologists and government agency officials last week called for greater standardization among the myriad products designed for dealing with terrorist strikes, tsunamai, and other disasters.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - The list of products geared to protecting people from terrorist attacks and killer hurricanes keeps on growing, from nuclear bomb-sensing technology to underwater surveillance systems and airport runway cameras that can "see in the dark," to give just a few examples.
AT&T, Apple slapped with suit over visual voicemail
Klausner Technologies has sued the two companies, claiming one of the signature features of the iPhone violates two of its patents.
While many patent cases have little prior case law to work with, the firm has already litigated successfully with two other companies who later licensed the technology. Both Vonage and AOL have struck agreements with the company.
Comcast, Time Warner decline to bid in 700 MHz auction
The two largest cable television franchise holders will not participate in the FCC's auction for the old UHF channel spectrum this January, indicating it could all come down to the telcos versus Google.
However the US Federal Communications Commission's upcoming auction for wireless spectrum plays out, the nation's two largest CATV franchise operators will not be involved. A Time Warner Cable executive stated as much to a gathering of communications industry leaders in New York this morning, as covered by IP Democracy; and Comcast made its intentions known in a formal statement.
Calif. government site still serving up malware, porn
The same Web hosting provider that was found to have allowed hackers into a government Web site in California due to shoddy server security is still causing problems for that county's IT administrators.
The Marin County Transportation Authority was found to linking to sites with pornography and malware, similar to what occurred nearly two months ago.
Classical music joins the DRM-free trend
Adding to the canon of DRM-free music, a Universal Music Group subsidiary has made a large portion of its catalog of classical performances available online free from digital rights protection.
Today, a label in Universal Music Group's classical division, Deutsche Grammophon, announced that it would be making the majority of its catalog available as DRM-free downloads on DG Web Shop.
Firefox claims over 125 million active users
A study of "pings" to Mozilla's servers estimates nearly 49 million may be using a version of Firefox on a daily basis. That's 15 million more than a Mozilla study estimated, using a different metric, for users in July.
It has been notoriously difficult to determine how many people use the Firefox browser, though many have come to an agreement that the number of downloads of any new version is not a reliable indicator. Today, a new estimate by Mozilla's Chief Technology Officer, John Lilly, makes a claim that would appear to be a significant adjustment to one just four months ago by Mozilla's user experience lead, Mike Beltzner, by way of some unique mathematics.
Windows Mobile gets Office 2007 format support
Version 6.1 of Office Mobile finally brings support for Microsoft's Open Office XML document formats, over a year after Office 2007 was released to businesses. The update is free of charge for existing Office Mobile users; the suite costs $49.95 and runs on Windows Mobile 5 and 6.
Along with compatibility for OOXML in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Office Mobile 6.1 includes an enhanced viewing experience for charts in Excel Mobile, ability to view SmartArt in PowerPoint Mobile, and the ability to view and extract files from compressed (.zip) folders. More information is available from Microsoft's download page.
TiVo turns into digital picture frame with Photobucket and Picasa
TiVo is continuing effort to establish its set-top boxes as full-fledged entertainment centers, but the company is facing increased pressure from Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PS3.
The race to dominate the living room is not a new one, but its been an uphill battle for many companies, and Apple's recent TV effort fell flat despite the success of its iPod and iTunes duet. But TiVo is in a unique position in that it already has its DVRs in homes -- now it just needs to expand their capabilities.
Creative debuts 32 GB flash Zen for Singapore, US
Creative upped the ante on flash-based players, offering the first flash-based player with storage comparable to some of today's hard-drive based models.
The latest Zen model will come with 32 GB of storage, slightly more than the standard sized Zune and iPod models. At that size, it would be the first flash-based player to eclipse the capacity of currently available HDD-based devices.
AOL turns to Amazon for video downloads
After apparently sluggish sales at its own homegrown store, AOL has decided to end its own video download service and outsource it to Amazon's Unbox.
Although financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, both sites would split revenues from videos sold through AOL, the companies said. AOL's own service lasted for about one year.
Microsoft plays catch-up against Yahoo and Google in advertising
Microsoft is playing catch-up against Yahoo and Google -- its chief competitors in the booming online advertising market -- with a new program called adCenter Excellence introduced today.
Microsoft's announcement comes just about two months after Yahoo's acquisition of BlueLithium, producers of an extensive ad toolkit, and not much more than a year after Yahoo's acquisition of the Right Media advertising network.
Peru, Mexico billionaire agree to buy $188 laptops
In a minor success for the struggling One Laptop Per Child project, the Peruvian government has agreed to purchase 260,000 laptops while Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is buying 50,000 for distributing in his country.
MIT professor and OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte announced the deals over the weekend, adding that Slim is an "old friend" and has been involved in the effort since the beginning.
Record label holdouts pushed to offer DRM-free songs in MP3
With EMI and Universal seeing success in offering its catalogs in MP3, remaining holdouts Sony BMG and Warner Music Group are facing pressure to do the same.
Sources are telling Billboard magazine that several factors are coming together to force the labels' hands. First, Pepsi is planning an MP3 music giveaway for next year. In addition, Wal-Mart is now telling labels to start offering DRM-less tracks or risk delisting from their online store.
LiveJournal sold to Russian media company SUP
The transaction is intended to allow Six Apart to focus on its other core brands, including MovableType, TypePad, and Vox.
This morning, blogging software producer Six Apart announced it's selling the rest of its LiveJournal service -- that part which Russian media company SUP hasn't already been running there -- to SUP for an undisclosed sum.
Blizzard parent to acquire Activision, build new gaming empire
In a transaction that can best be described with the word "WOW," the remaining portion of the Vivendi media empire left over from the sale of Universal to NBC will acquire a 68% stake in Activision, the world's first independent game console software company.
The deal will create what Activision CEO Robert Kotick -- presumably the leader of the new venture -- calls the "largest pure-play interactive entertainment publisher in the world." That publisher, which may either rival Electronic Arts or surpass it in market capital, depending on the final numbers, will own and manage what may very well be the jewel in the crown for all game publishing: World of Warcraft, which is currently being produced by the Blizzard Entertainment division of Vivendi.
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