Adobe Builds Support for its Media Player
Adobe this morning is building support for its multilingual AIR Web services platform (formerly code-named Apollo) by unveiling a new version of its service-driven Adobe Media Player (AMP) for deployment by some major players, including CBS, Yahoo, and PBS.
"We think that Adobe Media Player is the next generation of media player because it doesn't just play files, and it isn't just a closed, walled garden of content," remarked Deeje Cooley, AMP's product manager, in an interview with BetaNews. "We are really trying to embrace the ecosystem and the open standards that are emerging out on the Internet, such as RSS. By leveraging RSS, we're able to support a wide ranging and ever growing body of video podcast content, so anybody can publish a video podcast and will now be able to make that content available in Adobe Media Player."
Nokia Acquires Navteq for $8.1 Billion
Nokia said Monday that it had agreed to acquire navigation software company Navteq in an $8.1 billion acquisition, one of its largest in company history.
The move is likely aimed at giving Nokia a strong presence in the increasingly lucrative mobile navigation market. The mobile phone maker would also gain an instant customer base, which it said it would continue to support after the acquisition.
DigitalLife 2007: Photos from Day 2
When the buzz starts to die down, the diehard electronics fans come out of the woodwork to enjoy the scene Friday afternoon at DigitalLife 2007 in New York City. Tim Conneally found some Day 2 surprises on the show floor, including some really high-tech goofing off, an attempted robbery (no kidding), and what the fans truly thought were the hits of the show.
Microsoft and the EU's Experiment in Socialism
European lawmakers are now considering sweeping and unprecedented proposals for regulating Microsoft's future behavior that could have immediate ramifications on the global PC industry. One is the possibility of having PC makers stop installing any operating system on the machines they sell in Europe. How serious are these proposals, and does the EC have enough backbone to enforce them? BetaNews discussed the possibilities with industry analyst Carmi Levy.
It was a rare and captivating moment in history, to witness Microsoft - the modern symbol of American capitalistic prowess - literally speechless as an organization in the wake of the European Court of First Instance's decision on September 17. To this day, it isn't exactly clear what the company intends to do at this point - rather than deflect attention away from the topic - in response to the CFI's ruling that Microsoft abused its dominant position by producing a server operating system without fully publishing its interoperability protocols.
Five More Months Tacked Onto XP Availability Roadmap
Apparently bending to pressure from partner OEMs who continue to report customers continuing to demand Windows XP, Microsoft decided this morning to extend the availability of the older operating system series to the retail channel and to partners from January to June 2008, as it maintains availability to system builders clear through to January 2009.
The move comes several months after Dell reported it would continue offering Windows XP as an option for its systems as long as it could. However, another possible contributing factor could be the company's plan for XP Service Pack 3. A check of the company's service pack roadmap today shows the company has only tentative faith in its ability to produce SP3 by as late as next June.
Disney Shutting Down Phone Service
A year after it ended service for its ESPN Mobile service, Disney said Thursday that it would also be closing Disney Mobile, however it gave no specific reasoning for closing down. Like it did for ESPN, Disney will now sell its content and services through carriers. The deal would likely work the same as that for the sports network. Service would be provided to current customers through December 31.
Content and applications would no longer be available for purchase, however. It would also reimburse certain customers for handset and accessory purchases, which it said it would provide further information by October 8. Early termination fees would be waived for those wishing to leave the service early. Disney will honor number porting requests, although it asked customers to port their numbers by November 30.
ITunes Update Makes Some Legit Phones 'iBricks'
While Apple has warned those who have unlocked the iPhone that the latest update would likely break their phones, some users are finding their locked phones broken by the update.
Reports first began surfacing on the website Twitter among users who had a locked iPhone and experienced problems after the update. The issues ranged from a loss of all data on the phone to 'bricking' of the device.
3Com Sold for $2.2 Billion Cash
3Com said Friday that it had reached a deal to be acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital and former partner Huawei Technology for $2.2 billion USD in cash. Huawei would gain a minority stake in the 3Com as part of the transaction. The former big name in networking has lost traction in recent years as competitor Cisco has rapidly gained market share.
Shareholders would receive $5.30 in cash per share of 3Com stock they own. The deal has already been approved by the company's board of directors, and it asked that shareholders approve the deal. ""We believe that this agreement better positions 3Com to establish itself as a global networking leader, which will benefit our employees, our customers and our partners," president and CEO Edgar Masri said in a statement.
XM-Sirius Deal Approval Still Not a Sure Thing
FCC chairman Kevin Martin seemed to lend some support to a merger between XM and Sirius on Thursday, while at the same time another commissioner seemed to suggest he would be voting against it.
Martin made his comments at a conference of broadcasters, and said he doubted that the combined company would cause local advertising revenue to fall, one of the industry's complaints over the merger.
No Vote On Internet Tax Ban Yet
Bush Administration officials are urging lawmakers to make the ban on taxing access to the Internet permanent, however a vote on the matter was struck down Thursday.
Earlier in the week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Commerce Secretary Carlos Guiterrez issued a joint statement saying that preventing taxation would "help sustain and environment for innovation" and would "strengthen the foundations of electronic commerce."
Microsoft Offers Manual Fix to 'Stealth' Windows Update Bug
It turned out to be an insignificant problem after all, rather than something on the order of a rootkit: the discovery that Microsoft's Windows Update feature updates itself even when users turn off "automatic updates" - a fact that Microsoft had actually documented quite well, but which few had apparently read. But now, a claim that the self-updating update subsequently unregistered Microsoft's Windows Update drivers in XP-based systems forced its own drivers to become unregistered.
The claim comes from Windows Secrets writer Scott Dunn, who wrote the initial article about what he called a "stealth update." After using an XP install disk to roll the operating system back to a previous state, he discovered the system's capability to install updates retrieved from the Internet would fail.
Minnesota Stands Up for Overcharged Customers
Hundreds of complaints from Minnesotans against Sprint Nextel have been heard by Attorney General Lori Swanson. In a lawsuit against the carrier filed earlier this week, she accused the company of extending customers' contracts without their informed consent, and seeks restitution of up to $25,000 per incident.
The allegation is that the company used "hidden trip wires" to lock customers into lengthy contracts whenever minor plan changes were made. If true, it is a violation of Minnesota state laws that require adequate information to be supplied to customers, and knowing consent be obtained before any contract terms are altered.
iPhone Update Delivers Unnerving Message
Apple released an update to its iPhone today that applies some critical bug fixes and adds some new features, such as the ability to buy iTunes songs over a Wi-Fi connection. It also delivered a message to users of unlocked devices.
iPhone Version 1.1.1 adjusts the speakerphone and receiver volume problem, adds the ability to view e-mail attachments in portrait or landscape mode, and patches 10 vulnerabilities, most of which are related to the built-in Safari browser.
Yahoo to Stop Podcasts, Unlimited Music's Future in Doubt
In a banner along the top of its Web page, Yahoo notified users of its podcast service today that it will be shutting down that service on October 31. This as TechCrunch's Michael Arrington discovered the company has scheduled a priority meeting of its senior executives, including CEO Jerry Yang and President Susan Decker, for tomorrow morning.
This afternoon, Yahoo felt the need to prepare customers - and perhaps investors - for tomorrow's news, by giving it the best spin possible early on.
Dell's 'Beast' Finally Unleashed: XPS M1730 Notebook Launched
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