Stymie Over Whois Changes Leaves ICANN With Bad Options
At a meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in Los Angeles, another discussion about possible changes to a fundamental Internet process has been tabled. The implications of those changes would be substantial, and the implications of declining to make those changes may also be substantial.
It involves the Whois database - the registration of responsible authorities for the maintenance of services at designated IP addresses. Currently, the names of those authorities are typically available in the clear, and are publicly searchable. While online scam artists easily work the system to obfuscate their true identities, legitimate Web site proprietors would like some legitimate means for them to keep their public information - including their telephone numbers - out of the public view.
Intel Ships 150,000 Classmate PCs to Libya
Intel and Microsoft have shipped out 150,000 low-cost computers to the Libyan government, the companies confirmed on Tuesday.
While it is also said the Libyan government is set to receive a shipment of some 1.2 million of the OLPC's version of the laptop, so far shipments have not started. Thus Intel and Microsoft have beaten their competitor to the punch, so to speak.
MotoROKR Leverages Car Audio for MP3, Bluetooth Speakerphone
Motorola has announced its MotoROKR T505 A2DP FM Transmitter - a car-mounted device that can turn any FM radio into an MP3-playing speakerphone - for the first quarter of 2008.
Though it resembles a garage door opener, the Motorola MotoROKR T505 is actually a Bluetooth FM transmitter that also handles speakerphone duties. It can pair with stereo Bluetooth-enabled phones and MP3 players, and then broadcast the signal to a free station on your car's FM dial.
Nintendo Overtakes Sony in Video Game Revenues
Despite Sony's troubles in selling the PlayStation 3, it was still able to boast the highest software revenues of the big three -- until now.
Data released by iSuppli Tuesday indicates that in the third quarter Nintendo was able to eclipse the long-dominant Sony by some 200 million dollars, posting $1.2 billion in revenues. This was up from $943.6 million in the second quarter, and $611 million a year ago.
WD Ships 320GB Laptop Hard Drive
Filling the growing demand for larger mobile storage options, Western Digital announced Wednesday it has begun shipping a 320GB 2.5-inch hard drive for laptops and portable devices. The drive features a Serial ATA interface with transfer speeds of 3Gb per second.
Called the Scorpio, WD's drive comes in a speed of 5400 RPM, which might scare off enthusiasts, but is more than capable for most situations. Acer and other laptop manufacturers are expected to begin offering the drive shortly, and it can be purchased directly from WD for $199.99 USD.
At Last, Blu-ray Gets Picture-in-Picture
Panasonic said Tuesday that it had introduced the first Blu-ray player to be based on the Final Standard Profile, which adds new functionality that so far has been missing from Sony's format.
For example, picture-in-picture will be available for the first time in Blu-ray; previously it was only offered by HD DVD players and is useful for displaying special feature content alongside a movie. Additionally, other features which made the interactivity superior in HD DVD are now making it onto Blu-ray.
Kmart Dumps Blu-ray Due to Price
Kmart has decided not to carry Blu-ray players due to their high prices, instead focusing solely on HD DVD this holiday. While it may no longer be the bastion of discount stores it once was, Kmart's move highlights the problems facing Sony's format as HD DVD continues to get cheaper.
The HD DVD Promotions Group said that Kmart's decision to go exclusive wasn't related to an end-cap purchase (where vendors can buy specific shelf space and lock out competitors), but rather because the cost of Blu-ray players are more tailored to home theater enthusiasts. HD DVD meanwhile, will have players under $200, with even deeper discounts after Thanksgiving.
Apartment Exclusivity Deals with Cable Providers Banned by FCC
An apartment landlord cannot enter into an arrangement with a cable TV or broadband service making it the exclusive provider for an apartment complex or duplex, as a result of a ban on such arrangements yesterday by the US Federal Communications Commission, by a 5-0 vote.
But the extent of the ban may not have a measurable impact on apartment dwellers' options, as it merely invalidates exclusivity clauses. It does not mean that landlords must enable tenants access to the service provider of their choice - just that landlords can't be given price breaks for choosing one provider over another.
AOL Works To Allay Fears of Behaviorally Targeted Ads
With behaviorally targeted advertising becoming more and more popular, some Internet users are wishing to remain anonymous. AOL is planning an effort to educate users about the technology, as well as offer new ways to opt out.
The internet company is hoping to educate the public more about this method of advertising in hopes that Internet users will become more apt to participate. Ads using the technology are set to become a large part of the AOL banner ad network by the end of the year.
Google Introduces New Social Networking API
Google is expected to announce Thursday that it will release an API that allows developers to create a single application that works across several social networks.
So far the Mountain View, Calif. search giant will "open up" its own Orkut. Ning, Plaxo, Friendster, viadeo, Hi5, LinkedIn and Oracle have also agreed to open their networks to the API.
Networked PS3s Break World Record
Stanford University's Folding@home program has assembled the most powerful distributed computing network yet, but there's no mainframe systems involved. Instead, the network is made up of PlayStation 3 consoles.
Can you say your PS3 is helping to cure cancer? PS3 owners participating in the Folding@home project can. The Cell CPU in the devices are being utilized en masse to do work to understand the nature of protein folding.
Dell Now $92 Million Less Valuable Than Originally Stated
It might be a more embarrassing position for Dell Inc. to find itself in if it were alone: a multi-billion-dollar US manufacturer having to restate earnings after having had to admit it made certain adjustments to its books. An FTC investigation begun two years ago initially looked into the possibility of backdating options to maximize their value on-paper, but later turned up an even uglier truth: From 2003 up until the middle of last year, Dell's fiscal managers adjusted their books by shuffling amounts between accounts, in order to shore up the appearance of better performance.
Now we know the extent of the damage. After having submitted five amended or updated 10-Q reports with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, and after all the adjusted math is done, the difference between what Dell said it earned and what it actually earned was $92 million over a nearly four-year period.
Can Yahoo! Messenger 9 Topple AIM?
Yahoo on Tuesday rolled out a beta version of Yahoo! Messenger 9.0, cleaning up the client's user interface and making it easier to call contacts and send text messages. But more interesting is news that Yahoo! Messenger saw its user base grow 19% over the past year, which pulls it closer to overtaking AOL in the US.
AOL, which owns both AIM and ICQ, has dominated instant messaging for a decade, but both Yahoo and Microsoft have chipped away at AOL's lead, taking advantage of the company's dial-up business collapse that left AIM largely stagnant. MSN -- now Windows Live Messenger -- counts the most users worldwide, but AIM still reigns supreme in the United States.
AT&T US Mobile TV Delay Renews Concern About Viability
A move by AT&T last week to delay the planned initial rollout of its US mobile TV service, based on the MediaFLO platform, until "early 2008" at the earliest, is bringing up old questions about not only whether American consumers are ready to embrace the technology, but whether the infrastructure is there to support it.
The news was first reported by RCR Wireless and later confirmed by Reuters, and comes as bad tidings for Qualcomm, the key stakeholder in mediaFLO. When all is said and done, that company could have spent close to a billion dollars since 2004 on the establishment of an infrastructure for streaming full-length, broadcast quality TV programming to cell phones. For all that investment to make sense, customers have to want it, and not having it this holiday season won't help them to conjure a want for it.
Microsoft Follows Google Into Geospatial Standards Group
A scant few months after the Google Earth's KML was deemed a best practice by the Open Geospatial Consortium, Microsoft has joined the OGC as a principal member.
The Open Geospatial Consortium consists of 345 companies, government agencies, and universities. Their aim is to build a consensus around the development of the OpenGIS Specification.
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