Update: Microsoft Hasn't Sold 1 Million Zunes
5:00 pm ET May 29, 2007 - Microsoft now says the San Francisco Chronicle misquoted Robbie Bach, and explains that while it is still on track to sell one million Zunes by the end of June, it hasn't done so just yet.
Cesar Menendez, a product manager for Zune, announced the mistake on the Zune Insider blog Tuesday. However, he does note that, "we've achieved our goal of being the number 2 player in the hard-drive category."
Google Quietly Acquires Security Firm
Although it normally touts its numerous acquisitions on the company blog, Google has yet to officially announce that it has purchased security firm Green Border, which offers software to protect Web users that takes a fairly unique approach.
Green Border, which happens to be located in Google's hometown of Mountain View, Calif., was founded in 2001, but has failed to make major headway in the marketplace. Its software has been offered as a free download, with a Pro version cosing $49.95 USD.
TiVo Going Down Under in 2008
TiVo will begin offering service to consumers in Australia and New Zealand in 2008 thanks to a partnership with media company Seven Media Group.
The DVR maker's technology will be used to support a free-to-air digital television offering in the country. Popular features such as SeasonPass and WishList functionality, as well as broadband content, will be available to consumers.
Burst Media CEO: Will Google + DoubleClick Fit?
Now that the pairing of online advertising industry giants DoubleClick and Google is receiving extra regulatory attention, both in the US and abroad, the question arises once again: Does a merger of two giants lead to the creation of a single behemoth that can carve out a lion's share of the Web audience for itself? One of DoubleClick's long-time competitors - Burst Media CEO Jarvis Coffin - believes it won't.
In an interview for BetaNews a few weeks ago, Coffin espoused the merger, as well as the Yahoo + Right Media deal reached later, as smart and sensible, creating new efficiencies rather than lumping together databases or audiences.
Vista Edition of Halo 2 Delayed Due to Nudity
Hoping to avoid a "Hot Coffee" type incident, Microsoft said Friday that it is delaying the Vista release of Halo 2 to the first week of June, approximately two weeks behind schedule. At issue is the discovery of partial nudity in one of the scenes within the game, the company says. The issue is not easily found during game play, and has since been fixed.
The rating on the game will not change as the first run of discs are the only ones to include the content. A warning label will be placed on those discs, and a patch made available to remove the offending content. Subsequent shipments would have the patch pre-applied at the factory.
FTC Will Investigate Google + DoubleClick: Did Microsoft Make the Call?
Early this morning, The New York Times reported that the US Federal Trade Commission would be expanding its otherwise normal investigation into the prospective merger deal between contextual advertising giant Google and display advertising giant DoubleClick, by issuing Google a "second request" for more information late last week.
The FTC has issued no statement on the affair, and has declined to answer questions, though the Times report and other subsequent news items are raising the question of whether the FTC is acting on its own accord, or at the behest of others - as one theory has it, Microsoft.
Microsoft Adds New York to 3D Maps
Microsoft has updated its Live Search Maps service to include photo-realistic 3D imagery of New York City and six other U.S. cities along with Ottawa, Canada and Northampton, England.
Some had criticized Microsoft for leaving out one of the nation's most populous cities when the first 3D cities were announced. However, Microsoft answered the call Tuesday by adding the Big Apple.
Toshiba to Roll Out AMD Turion-based Notebooks
A report from Reuters early this morning states that a Toshiba spokesperson stated it will end its exclusivity with Intel, with a deal that would deploy AMD processors in 20% of the company's laptop computers. The report cites Nikkei Business Daily as the source, but provides few details.
One detail which Reuters apparently corrected from an earlier report is that Toshiba plans to include AMD CPUs in mid-range laptops for both consumer and corporate markets in the US and Europe, not entry-level, value systems as has already been widely disseminated. We can assume this means Toshiba will be using AMD Turions, not mobile Semprons, or at least not yet.
Sony Throws Support Behind HD Radio
HD Radio received a boost Tuesday as Sony announced that it will be shipping both a table radio and mobile tuning device for the service.
The devices are part of a multi-year agreement to support the technology, and these first two products will ship in July of this year. Additional products will be announced at a later date, Sony said.
Microsoft Cancels Developer Conference
Microsoft has decided to cancel its scheduled 2007 Professional Developer's Conference, previously slated to take place in Los Angeles the first week of October. The company says its new developer tools are already available to customers.
Traditionally, PDC is held every two years to preview major Microsoft platform advances, and preview technologies before their release. PDC 03 highlighted Windows Vista -- Longhorn at the time -- while PDC 05 reiterated that focus with Vista and Office 2007, as well as the recently launched Expression Suite.
Apple Patches 13 Security Flaws
Apple released its fifth security update of 2007 on Friday, correcting 13 bugs in both client and server versions of its Mac OS X operating system. The most serious security hole could lead to arbitrary code execution or a denial of service attack, although most require local access to the Mac.
Many of the flaws patched by Apple are located in UNIX applications that ship with its operating systems. BIND, crontab, fetchmail, file, PPP, ruby, screen and texinfo have all been updated. Apple's own iChat application has also been patched to correct a buffer overflow that could be exploited by an attacker on a local network. More information is available on Apple's Web site.
NEC Employees Implicated In Fake Order Scam
Ten employees have been caught faking orders in order to receive kickbacks, Japanese electronics maker NEC disclosed on Tuesday. In total, the ten made over $4.1 million on $18 million in forged orders, however NEC said that it would not affect earnings. Criminal proceedings will likely be pursued against those involved. "It is extremely regrettable that these illegal trades have occurred and we deeply apologize to all the people that have been affected," NEC said in a statement.
This news comes as the latest in a string of bad news for investors. In 2006, NEC restated its earnings three times, due to inflated sales figures. It has also missed deadlines with the Securities and Exchange Commission to file required reports, and is facing the threat of a delisting from the NASDAQ.
Linux Foundation: We Have Our Own Patent 'Arsenal'
In an op-ed piece published by BusinessWeek today, Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin stated his organization will be ready to fund the legal efforts of anyone who produces Linux software who's threatened with - or sued on account of - patent infringement. If necessary, Zemlin writes, the foundation will use its own patent portfolio to mount countersuits.
"Touch one member of the Linux community, and you will have to deal with all of us," reads Zemlin's article. "Microsoft is not the only - perhaps not even the largest - owner of patents in this area. Individual members of the Linux ecosystem have significant patent portfolios. Industry groups, such as the Open Innovation Network and our own legal programs at the Linux Foundation, aggregate our membership's patents into an arsenal with which to deter predatory patent attacks. With our members' backing, the Linux Foundation also has created a legal fund to defend developers and users of open-source software against malicious attack. We don't expect to but, if needed, we will use this fund to defend Linux."
Sony Shows Off Paper-Thin Color Display
Sony debuted an innovative new bendable 2.5-inch display, one that is less than 0.01 inch thick -- not much thicker than a piece of paper -- and can display full-color video.
The Japanese electronics maker released video of its latest innovation on Friday, showing the flexibility and capabilities of the display. Sony isn't quite sure how it will be used, but it could have a variety of applications.
Windows Server for Consumers: Is There a Place in the Home?
With the near-ubiquity of network architecture as a fundamental part of nearly all computing and digital communications, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft would develop a SKU of Windows Server directed toward the consumer. Windows Home Server may have a substantive impact in the home computing environment, opening up new avenues for connectivity and functionality that home distros of Linux, and even the more media-savvy Mac OS, thus far haven’t considered.
Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg has often said that Microsoft is in a unique position among the world’s corporations: It must find a way to market essentially the same product to a business systems architect as well as a cola-drinking, detergent-using consumer.
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