Laptops With Both EV-DO and HSDPA Coming
While computer makers have for the past year been rolling out laptops with built-in 3G broadband services, customers were forced to make a choice between HSDPA, used by AT&T and soon T-Mobile, or EV-DO, used by Verizon, Sprint and Alltel. Qualcomm aims to change this with its new "Gobi" chipset.
The Gobi chip is compatible with both technologies, which could lead to its quick adoption by manufacturers - and potentially drive more consumer adoption of 3G services. Qualcomm says the chipset is available now, and expects consumers to see laptops with the dual capability by the second quarter of 2008. Gobi does not, however, support WiMAX, which is currently being tested by Sprint as a better -- and faster -- alternative to cellular-based 3G offerings.
Microsoft to Open Access to Viridian Virtualization API
In a move to demonstrate its recent drive toward openness was not being done to appease the European Commission, Microsoft this afternoon announced it is adding the API for hypercalls - the ability for a host machine to communicate directly with a virtual machine - to the list of technologies covered by its Open Specification Promise.
The hypercall API will be one of the more intriguing additions to Windows Server 2008, which will be the vehicle in which the company's built-in virtualization technology, code-named Viridian, will premiere next year.
Intel Settles Transmeta Dispute, Granted License for Power Management
The company that years ago set out to become a legitimate alternative to Intel, and blazed the trail that AMD eventually followed, today announced it is setting aside its patent infringement claim against Intel. The companies have reached an out-of-court settlement granting Intel perpetual license to Transmeta's CPU power management technology, in exchange for $150 million in cash up front and $100 million more over the next five years.
"This agreement insures there will be a complete peace between the companies," Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy told BetaNews this morning, "and presents the opportunity for the companies to work on future projects together."
Samsung's Revised Blackjack to Premiere with AT&T
Samsung announced at the CTIA Wireless show in San Francisco yesterday that its Blackjack II smartphone will be available later this year through AT&T. The i617 is much like its predecessor in appearance and profile, but has undergone some design tweaks.
Most notably missing from the handset is the scroll wheel, which made the Blackjack behave much like a Blackberry. It has been replaced by an iPod-style jogwheel above the keypad.
Microsoft Officially Drops EU Appeals
As expected following news Monday that Microsoft would finally comply with the European Union's requirement that it make parts of its Windows source code available for distribution to developers, the Redmond company has officially dropped its appeal of the original 2004 antitrust ruling, as well as an appeal of the fine imposed in July 2006.
Seemingly eager to put the matter behind the company once and for all, Microsoft says it paid that fine of 280.5 million euros in October 2006. Microsoft had also appealed a provision of the 2004 decision that required it to freely open certain Windows protocols to open source developers, but that effort was struck down last month, leading the company to file another appeal. The company said that appeal was now unnecessary due to the deal with the EU Commission announced Monday.
Verizon Decides Not to Fight 700 MHz 'Open Access' Requirement
After having mounted what appeared to have been a serious legal challenge to the US Federal Communications Commission's right to impose rules for bidders in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction without legislative authority, Verizon yesterday formally withdrew its FCC complaint from the D.C. District Court of Appeals, Dow Jones reported this morning.
Verizon had sought judicial review on the matter on the basis that the FCC exceeded its authority under current telecommunications law. The FCC has ordered that winners of spectrum in the so-called "C-block," which currently resides around UHF Channel 63, make services available to customers using that spectrum only if they can choose their own equipment. Verizon's lawyers challenged that argument on the grounds that any restrictions whatsoever could be construed as a violation of federal mandates for openness in the auction process.
Cisco: WiMAX is Ready for Mainstream
WiMAX technology is on the cusp of coming fully into the marketplace, and Cisco has seized an early opportunity in acquiring mobile WiMAX pioneer Navini Networks for $330 million.
The idea for long-range broadband-capable wireless connectivity has been in existence for several years, but due to the changing face of WiMAX as we know it, and varying degrees of adoption by big companies, actual developments have been fewer than the regulations pertaining to them.
Apple Pulls Boot Camp, Leopard Leaks
Although Mac OS X version 10.5, known as "Leopard," won't pounce into retail stores until Friday at 6pm, a purported final copy of the new operating system is already making the rounds on the Internet. Windows Vista leaked out before its launch as well, but there is one key distinction in that Leopard includes no activation requirements or other anti-piracy restrictions. Mac enthusiast sites are using the leak to prepare early reviews of Leopard.
In preparation for Leopard's launch, Apple has pulled the beta version of Boot Camp, which allows owners of Intel Macs to install Windows and dual-boot between the operating systems. It's unlikely that Apple will provide further updates to Tiger owners, instead encouraging them to spend $129 on the upgrade to Leopard, which ships with Boot Camp built in.
Google Adds IMAP to Gmail Accounts
Although Google's popular webmail service has long offered POP support, accessing an account via IMAP was not possible until today. Gmail users are beginning to see an IMAP option enabled by default in their account settings, which will make the service more useful to those accessing e-mail remotely.
Google has put together detailed instructions on how to make IMAP for Gmail work with a number of clients, including Apple's iPhone. The advantage of IMAP is that it keeps e-mail data synced across multiple devices, so any changes made remotely instantly appear on the Web and elsewhere.
Verizon Wireless Settles with New York, Will Reimburse EV-DO Customers
This afternoon, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office announced that Verizon Wireless had reached a settlement with the state, which had earlier accused it of wrongfully terminating about 13,000 accounts of customers of its "Unlimited" nationwide Internet service, for excessive usage.
A nine-month investigation by the A-G's office determined that Verizon Wireless had actually instituted a monthly usage cap for its "NationalAccess" and "BroadbandAccess" service tiers, without disclosing that cap to its customers.
Verizon Offers FiOS Customers 20Mbit Uploads
Further upping the ante in its effort to steal customers from cable providers, Verizon unveiled a new high-speed symmetrical plan for its FiOS Internet service. Subscribers will have both 20Mbit/sec download and 20Mbit/sec upload speeds - something that is unheard of in the industry.
Although 20Mbit/sec uploads may primarily whet the appetites of file swappers, Verizon notes there are some useful purposes for such speeds including video conferencing and uploading family movies. The 20/20 service is first launching in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but Verizon says it will come to the company's 13 other markets eventually. The cost will be $64.99 per month for those with a Verizon phone contract, and $69.99 for those without.
New Admin Tool to Leverage Group Policy for Managing WM6 Devices
Up to now, most analysts have confronted the topic of the viability of the Windows platform on mobile devices from the user's perspective: What applications can she run? Will her documents be portable? Can her contacts and e-mail be synchronized effectively?
Beginning in the second quarter of next year, there will be one more connection to be drawn: Windows Mobile devices will become manageable through Windows Server-based networks using group policy tools.
Experimental 'Functional' Language Emerges from Microsoft Research
Are the C programming language and its object-oriented offspring - C++, C#, Objective-C - still well-suited to the requirements of multithreaded, network-oriented computing environments today? That's the question on the minds of engineers at Microsoft Research, whose latest programming language is today being officially moved off the back burner. The F# language has received the company's official blessing.
"I am a big fan of technology transfer between a research organization and a product development organization so that we can 'productize' the great research ideas and deliver to customers in a timely manner," pronounced Microsoft corporate vice president for the Developer Division, S. Somasegar, in a blog post last Wednesday. "This is one of the best things that has happened at Microsoft ever since we created Microsoft Research over 15 years ago. Here is another great example of technology transfer at work."
Private BitTorrent Site Raided, Operators Arrested
In what could serve as a chilling warning to operators of other private file sharing networks, UK and Dutch police jointly raided the homes of those running OiNK, an invite-only BitTorrent site that allegedly has been the source of much pirated music.
According to investigators, pre-release music was first uploaded to OiNK and would then spread to other Web sites, blogs and file sharing networks. Because membership required an invitation, OiNK's operators felt secure from legal crackdowns that have recently occurred on other P2P sites and service.
Microsoft Targets Family Gamers with New Xbox 360
Learning from the continued success of Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft is taking a new approach to gaming this holiday season by focusing on family gamers who care more about basic fun games then complex worlds with high-powered graphics like "Halo 3."
Although much of the next-generation console war was centered on advanced visual capabilities, Nintendo had the surprise hit with its relatively diminutive Wii. The casual and family gamer, who was largely overlooked by Microsoft and Sony, has become the driving force behind Nintendo's resurgence in the gaming industry.
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