Verizon Corrects 'Naked' DSL Reports
Telecommunications giant Verizon has been forced to break some bad news to customers - they cannot simply drop their phone service while keeping Verizon DSL. Instead, subscribers can port their number to another telephone service provider. The clarification comes after news reports said Verizon would begin offering 'naked' DSL.
"Our customer reps are being trained to instruct customers on what to do. Unfortunately it sounds like not all of them are totally up to speed, which
sometimes can happen when a system changes," a Verizon spokesperson said.
Opera 8 Surpasses 600,000 Downloads
Firefox may be garnering most of the attention as an alternative to IE, but Opera 8 has been met with a massive response from Internet users - so much so that new Opera download servers had to be installed. In just 48 hours since its launch, Opera Software says over 600,000 people have downloaded its new Web browser.
Opera 8 debuted on Tuesday boasting simplicity and security. The new release includes native speech technology, a new rendering technology that handles any type of screen size, built-in RSS news feeds, as well as a new security information field to better inform users of risks will surfing the Web.
AMD Debuts Dual-Core Opteron, Athlon
As expected, AMD officially launched its dual-core Opteron processors for high-end servers Thursday at an event in New York City. The company is also preparing a dual-core desktop processor dubbed the AMD Athlon 64 X2, which will launch in June and go head to head with Intel's dual-core Pentium chips.
The 800 Series Opteron is available now and designed for four- to eight-way servers, while the 200 Series processors aimed at two-way servers and workstations will ship late May.
Nokia Interface Expert on Phones, Blogs
With the addition of cameras, music players and more, mobile phones are becoming increasingly more integrated with consumer electronics and a staple of everyday life. BetaNews spoke with Nokia's top user interface guru, Christian Lindholm -- once dubbed the "godfather of mobile phone users" -- to discuss the design challenges prevented by such convergence, and his new project called Lifeblog.
BetaNews: To start off, can you provide us with a bit of background on your work at Nokia? You developed the Series 60 user interface and the Navi-Key. How did you get started on interface design and what were your
goals with the work?
AOL Begins Blocking Phishing Sites
In a major initiative to combat the growing threat of identity theft scams, AOL announced it will begin to work internally and with partners to identify and block member access to phishing sites. AOL says the blocks affect only dangerous sites, and will not be extended to censor questionable content.
The move will be the first time AOL has made a concerted effort to prevent its members from reaching the dark corners of the Web. The company previously only blocked small numbers of sites on an "ad hoc basis" based on "internal referrals during work hours," a company spokesperson told BetaNews.
AOL Takes On MTV With Music Videos
Although Winamp fell by the wayside late last year, AOL Music is continuing full steam ahead with a number of initiatives designed to bring in a broader audience of consumers. Last week, AOL announced a deal with XM Satellite Radio and now the company is planning to take on Yahoo's Launch and MTV with online music videos.
AOL announced on Tuesday plans to roll out its own music video service in the coming months. The company has stuck deals with two record labels thus far for rights to stream their video libraries: Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.
Microsoft Preparing Mobile IM Client
Microsoft said on Tuesday it is developing a slimmed down instant messaging client that will run on Windows Mobile-based cell phones and portable devices to extend the capabilities of Live Communication Server 2005 to business users on the go.
The new mobile messenger application is based on the user interface of Microsoft's forthcoming Office Communicator 2005. Communicator, formerly code-named Istanbul, integrates IM, voice, video, telephony and Web conferencing capabilities into a single interface and makes them accessible in Microsoft's Office applications.
Warner to Use Microsoft HD DVD Codec
Scoring a major show of support for its VC-1 Windows Media Video format, which is one of the main codecs of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray high-definition DVDs, Microsoft has signed a deal with Warner Bros. Studios. Warner Home Video will use VC-1 in its HD-DVD titles slated for release before the end of the year.
While industry giants are choosing sides in the battle between HD-DVD and Sony developed Blu-ray, Microsoft wins either way. The company's WMV 9 based VC-1 has been selected as a mandatory format for both next-generation DVD discs, alongside MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.
Dual-Core AMD Opteron Prices Leak
Although the new dual-core Opteron server processors from AMD won't be officially announced until Thursday, pricing details have already begun to leak out. According to sources, the low-end Opteron 865 chip will cost $1,514 USD, the same as the most expensive single-core Opteron 852.
The numbers, first reported by DigiTimes, are from unnamed Taiwan motherboard manufacturers who have received the new chips. The dual-core Opteron 870 will run $2,149, with the Opteron 875 priced at $2,649. AMD's dual-core offerings are targeted at the enterprise market for use in high-powered servers.
Opera 8 Web Browser Launches
Touting its speed, security and simplicity, Opera Software today launched a major upgrade to its popular Web browser. Opera 8 pulls together a number of innovative new features and security safeguards under a refreshed user interface.
By default, Opera now sports a simplified tabbed interface, with advanced features available for manual activation. Unlike Mozilla's Firefox, Opera says users do not need to download extensions to add functionality, as a wide-range of features are built-in for power users.
MS Kicks Off Massive XP Ad Campaign
Windows XP may be approaching its fourth birthday, but that is of little concern to Microsoft as it today kicks off one its largest and longest running marketing campaigns to promote the operating system. The 15-month advertising blitz will encourage users across the globe to "Start Something" using Windows XP.
Using a total of 51 television spots, 39 print ads and 250 online ads across the globe, Microsoft will tout the hundreds of thousands of software applications and devices designed for Windows XP. The goal, says Microsoft, is to demonstrate how Windows opens the door to a wide range of activities.
Apple Unveils High Def Final Cut Studio
Apple late Sunday announced a new high-definition video production suite dubbed Final Cut Studio that lassos together the company's popular Final Cut Pro 5 with Soundtrack Pro for audio editing, Motion 2 for animation and DVD Studio Pro 4, which now burns high-definition DVDs.
The latest update to Apple's award-winning video tool, Final Cut Pro 5 supports DV, SD and film, along with all major HD formats including HDV, DVCPRO HD and fully uncompressed HD. Furthering the focus on HD, Apple has added a "RT Extreme" engine to view uncompressed HD effects in real time.
Mac OS X 10.3.9 Brings Safari Updates
It may be less than two weeks before Tiger pounces onto the market, but Apple still has Panther users in mind. The company has released Mac OS X version 10.3.9 that resolves a number of minor issues, including SSL compatibility in Safari. The update also fixed erratic trackpad behavior on recent PowerBooks.
Safari, the Web browser designed for Mac OS X, now renders SSL pages faster and adds new trusted certificates for compatibility with more secure Web sites, Apple says. An issue that causes certain Web sites to alert users of a "bad server response" has also been resolved. Mac OS X 10.3.9 can be downloaded via Software Update. Detailed information on the update is available on Apple's support site.
Adobe Buys Macromedia for $3.4 Billion
In a stock deal valued at $3.4 billion, Adobe on Monday announced it has acquired rival Macromedia. The merger, which brings together Adobe's ubiquitous PDF document format and graphics suite with Macromedia's market-leading animation tools, pits the combined company squarely against Microsoft.
Under the buyout terms, Macromedia shareholders receive 0.69 shares of Adobe for every Macromedia share. The number represents a 25 percent premium over Macromedia's stock price. The deal is expected to close in the fall pending regulatory approvals.
RIAA Target Fights Back Against ISP
A mother of two teenagers who was told to pay $4,500 or face a lawsuit from the Recording Industry Association of America is fighting back. Dawnell Leadbetter has filed a lawsuit of her own against Comcast, who provided the names and addresses of alleged file swappers to the RIAA.
Leadbetter was a customer of Comcast's High-Speed Internet Service and says no court authorized the cable ISP to violate her privacy, according to Reuters.
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