Fake MPAA-Sponsored Video Site Goes Offline
A video download site that had been exposed as a front for the MPAA to catch those who download copyrighted content, as well as those who may have already downloaded it, has been taken offline.
The site, called "MiiVi," contained whole downloads of movies as well as links to a program that would apparently speed downloads from the site. However, there's a catch: the site is owned by a anti-piracy company and the software is actually a Trojan horse of sorts.
Microsoft: We're Not Bound by GPLv3
Microsoft shot back at the open source community Thursday, saying it would not provide support for software licensed under the GPLv3. The third version of the GPL -- a license used for open source software -- was officially launched a week ago by the Free Software Foundation.
"Microsoft has decided that the Novell support certificates that we distribute to customers will not entitle the recipient to receive from Novell, or any other party, any subscription for support and updates relating to any code licensed under GPLv3," the company said in a statement.
Microsoft Adds 26 Terabytes to Virtual Earth
Microsoft on Thursday pushed its biggest update to Virtual Earth in the history of the mapping service, adding 26 terabytes of 3-D and birds-eye imagery. A large amount of the data is for a new feature the company calls "hill shaded," which displays the topography of a location.
Microsoft has additionally added new cities to its list of aerial imagery, with most featuring textured 3-D buildings and cityscapes. Canadian cities Hamilton, Quebec, Toronto have been added (Montreal will arrive next month), along with Toulouse France, Eastbourne UK in Europe. In the United States, a slew of cities have received updates, including New Orleans, Brooklyn and Nashville.
Microsoft Owns Up to Xbox 360 Quality Issues
Microsoft admitted that failure rates for Xbox 360 consoles were an issue, saying it would extend the warranty period for any consumer that had experienced a general hardware failure.
Known by users as the "three red lights of death," as many as 3 out of every 10 consoles were experiencing some type of problem, according to sources. In turn, Microsoft said it would take full responsibility for the issues.
Sprint Hangs Up on Problem Customers
Sprint is attempting to rid itself of customers who frequent its customer service lines by informing them that it would cancel their service effective July 30.
In letters that were apparently sent out on June 29, the company indicated to these users that "the number of inquiries you have made to us during this time has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs."
Six Fixes on Tap for Patch Tuesday
Microsoft is taking the guesswork out of Patch Tuesday by detailing the type and severity of patches in its new Advance Notification bulletins. The first of these is being used for July's Patch Tuesday. From the bulletin, it appears that Microsoft will issue six patches, three of which are be critical, two moderate, and one important. Patches will repair issues in Office, Windows, and the .NET Framework, including a specfic patch for Windows Vista.
Of the critical updates, remote code excution flaws in Excel, Windows, and the .NET Framework will be fixed. Both important patches will also fix remote code execution vulnerabilities in Publisher and Windows XP Professional. The final patch, rated moderate, will fix an information disclosure vulnerability within Windows Vista.
Sun Releases Own ODF Plug-in for Office
Separate from Microsoft's efforts to create a translator that supports Office 2007's Open XML formats and OpenDocument, Sun has released the final 1.0 version of its own ODF plug-in for Office. However, Office 2007 is not yet supported due to what Sun calls a bug in Microsoft's newest suite.
Sun ODF Plugin 1.0 works with Office 2003, Office XP and even Office 2000. It fully supports Word, Excel and PowerPoint files - something the Microsoft-backed plug-in does not yet do. Office 2007 is not supported due to an issue in Word 2007 in which the application ignores installed filters and only opens documents with its own. And, of course, Word does not natively support ODF.
European Carriers Vie to Sell iPhone
With AT&T reportedly having activated over 600,000 iPhones as of Monday, it's no surprise that European carriers are eager to jump on Apple's bandwagon. Numerous reports have pointed to wireless carrier O2 being chosen as Apple's exclusive iPhone partner in the United Kingdom, but little concrete evidence has surfaced.
The BBC seemed to back the speculation this morning, saying the iPhone should arrive in the UK before Christmas. However, the story, which has been since referenced worldwide, pointed to unspecified "press reports" as its source.
BlackBerry to Debut in China This Month
After eight years of attempting to break into the Chinese cellular market, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has received clearance to begin selling the popular devices in the country. Initially the company will focus on service to corporate customers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou among other large cities, with plans to expand later to other areas.
Representatives of RIM's Beijing office were quoted in the press as saying the company had already received 5,000 advance orders, and that the devices will be available by the end of this month. The move follows several other international expansions in the past few months. The Blackberry launched in Kenya at the end of June, and Kuwait in the end of May. RIM also launched the technology in Nigeria and Jordan earlier this year.
Japan to Get Xbox 360 Elite in October
In a likely attempt at turning its fortunes around there, Microsoft will begin selling the Xbox 360 Elite in Japan starting October 11. The company hopes its feature set will attract discerning Japanese gamers.
Traditionally, consumers in the country have opted for homegrown systems over those of competitors outside the country, evidenced by the dominance of Nintendo in this generation and Sony's PlayStation consoles in previous generations.
Universal Confirms iTunes Rumors
Universal has confirmed earlier reports that it was seeking to end its long-term agreement with Apple's iTunes.
Reports first surfaced in The New York Times on Monday that the label was looking to end its long-term contract with the digital music provider and instead opt for an "at will" contract.
Mozilla, eBay Team on Customized Firefox
Mozilla said Thursday that it had teamed with eBay to offer a version of its Firefox browser that is optimized for use with the auction site. In addition, eBay has released an add-on for those who want to add the functionality to an existing copy of the browser. The browser and add-on are available for several European countries including the UK, France and Germany. No US version was available as of press time.
Some of the new functionality in Firefox eBay Edition include a sidebar that would allow users to follow their auctions in real time, status alerts for various events including outbid notices, integrated search, and support for eBay's Account Guard product. Financial terms of the deal between eBay and Mozilla were not disclosed.
Apple Details iPhone Battery Replacement Program
Although its iPhones won't be out of warranty for another year, Apple is attempting to stave off future bad press -- like it received when iPod batteries began exceeding their life span -- by announcing a battery replacement program. iPhone users will be able to pay $79 plus $6.95 shipping for a new battery.
Because the iPhone's battery is not removable like previous iPods, the device must be sent into Apple for repair. The service will take about three business days, Apple says, and users must back up their data beforehand - a simple process via iTunes. While some might characterize the program as expensive, Apple will still replace non-charging batteries free of cost for the first year, and batteries for other cell phones can run up to $50.
Digital Music Sales Continue to Grow
Physical CD sales continue to drop, but sales of digital music are surging, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan.
From the period of January 1 to July 1, nearly 230 million albums were sold, a 15 percent drop over the same time last year. However, digital music sales increased by 49 percent to 417 million. When combined, album sales only dropped about 9.2 percent.
Open Format Duel Enters New Round After Mass. Decision
Following BetaNews' story yesterday on the State of Massachusetts' decision to propose formally accepting Microsoft's Office Open XML as a "suitable" format, advocates on two of the three sides of this issue wrote us to say they were concerned our story's contents might tend to favor a different side.
First, a Microsoft spokesperson cautioned us about a statement we cited from Linux Foundation board member and attorney Andrew Updegrove. "I was reading your story on the Massachusetts policy and was noticing something in Andy Updegrove's quote at the end of your piece which is actually inaccurate," the spokesperson wrote, "which I'm guessing he may not realize, but thought you'd want to know.
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