Bill Gates Makes Live 8 Appearance
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates took the stage on Saturday at Live 8 in London to show his support for the proposal being sent to the G8 leaders, which calls for dropping Africa's debt, doubling aid and opening trade barriers. Despite ongoing antitrust proceedings in Europe, Gates received an immense welcome from a crowd of 250,000.
Tech Leaders Support Live 8 Broadcast
Saturday's Live 8 is expected to break the record books with over two billion viewers worldwide, and deploying the technology required to power such a broadcast is not an easy feat. A number of tech industry heavyweights, including AOL and Sun Microsystems will be on the ground, while XM Satellite Radio streams Live 8 audio from the heavens.
Sun Microsystems is powering a text messaging campaign designed to spread the word about the extreme poverty Live 8 is attempting to eliminate. XM, meanwhile, is launching seven stations broadcasting the Live 8 concerts as they happen across the globe.
Yahoo Opens Maps API Using XML, RSS
Just one day after Google opened its maps service to outside developers, Yahoo has followed suit with a maps API of its own. But unlike Google's approach, which relies on JavaScript to embed maps into third party pages, Yahoo has built its offering using XML and requires developers to link to its Web site.
Specifically, Yahoo! Maps API employs geoRSS, which is an RSS 2.0 extension that adds support for location information. Yahoo has also stripped out the need for latitude and longitude coordinates to make implementation easier for developers by simply using an address.
Microsoft Releases Desktop Search API
Developers looking to extend Microsoft's Desktop Search utility, which is included as part of the MSN Toolbar Suite, now have extra tools at their fingertips. Microsoft quietly rolled out APIs, or application program interfaces, for its search this week, along with an SDK and command-line interface.
The APIs are designed to allow developers to create applications with search features that utilize Windows Desktop Search. Results are returned directly to the application and can be displayed in any format. But developers beware, as Microsoft notes "The methods and columns returned by Windows Desktop Search ISearchDesktop interface are in beta and may change in future releases."
Opera Branches Out to Mobile Windows
Despite initial plans to skip the Windows smartphone market, Opera has broadened support for its Web browser onto Microsoft based mobile devices. Opera 8 brings the company's latest browsing technology to the small screen, with support for major Web standards including CSS2, DOM 2 and JavaScript.
"Originally, we had not planned to make Opera available on the Windows Mobile platform, but users kept asking for it because they were disappointed with the far from satisfactory performance of the browser that came shipped on their devices," said Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner. Opera 8 for Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone is available for download now; a Pocket PC version is in development.
Google Opens Maps API to Developers
Since its launch earlier this year, Google Maps has drawn immense interest from outside developers who have extended the service for applications such as finding the cheapest gas to locating apartments for rent. But these add-ons, or hacks, were never officially sanctioned by Google - until now.
On Wednesday, the Google Maps API was unveiled to developers looking to embed Google Maps into their own Web pages using JavaScript. The toolkit also enables users to build their own map overlays, such as markers and shadowed "info windows" just like those used by Google.
Java to be Used in Blu-ray DVD Players
Next generation Blu-ray DVD players will ship with built-in support for Sun Microsystem's Java, which will be used for interactivity features. The announcement was made at Sun's JavaOne conference in San Francisco on Tuesday and could prove a big win for the technology that has largely remained Web-based.
All interactive features including menus, network services and games will be Java-based, according to Yasushi Nishimura, director of Panasonic's Research and Development Company of America.
Latin America Gets Slimmed Down XP
In an effort to quell rampant piracy throughout Latin America, Microsoft has introduced a Spanish version of its slimmed-down Windows XP Starter Edition. The low-cost version of Microsoft's flagship operating system strips out home networking and limits the number of programs that can be opened simultaneously.
Starter Edition also includes a number of features for first-time PC users, including a redesigned help with a detailed Getting Started Guide. Microsoft has also localized the system with country-specific wallpapers and screensavers.
AMD Files Antitrust Suit Against Intel
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices has sued Intel in a broad-ranging 48-page complaint accusing its rival of using illegal scare tactics and coercion to keep computer manufacturers from using AMD processors. AMD cited 38 companies in its lawsuit that it claims were bullied by market leader Intel.
AMD's case follows an antitrust ruling in Japan where Intel was found to have coerced one OEM into agreeing to purchase all of its CPUs from Intel, while another was mandated with an Intel-imposed quota of 10 percent non-Intel purchases.
Google Launches Free 3D Map Software
Just like it did following its purchase of Picasa, Google has released a free version of the satellite imagery-based mapping software it acquired from Keyhole last October. Google Earth functions much like the company's online Maps service, enabling users to zoom in on an address or get driving directions overlayed on a 3D map.
"Google Earth utilizes broadband streaming technology and 3D graphics, much like a videogame, enabling users to interactively explore the world-- either their own neighborhood or the far corners of the globe," said Keyhole general manager John Hanke. Unlike Google Maps, Google Earth also lets users rotate their view to see terrain and buildings, and add annotations to maps. Google Earth can be downloaded for Windows; a Mac version is currently in development.
Apple Goes Podcasting with iTunes 4.9
Podcasts may be a nascent media form appealing only to tech-heads and online radio enthusiasts, but Apple is hoping to change all that with the launch of iTunes 4.9. The update brings with it a podcast-enabled iTunes Music Store that enables amateurs to list their recorded radio shows for millions to download.
Podcasting comes from the meshing of the words iPod and broadcasting, and was largely spearheaded by RSS creator Dave Winer and former MTV personality Adam Curry. Podcasts are distributed via RSS feeds like standard Web content; links are simply embedded in the XML and podcast utilities can automatically download the audio.
Apple Brings Color to Refreshed iPods
Apple has merged its two full-sized iPods, dropping the monochrome version of the popular music player and unveiling a single iPod Color lineup. The 30GB iPod also got the axe, leaving only 20GB and 60GB iterations, complete with ability to view album artwork, photos and playback slideshows.
The new unified iPod Color also brings to the table a new Podcast menu, bookmarking support for resuming a podcast and the ability to display podcast artwork.
MTV to Join Video Game Industry
MTV Networks is continuing its efforts to move its brand beyond reality television and music videos onto the desktops of the connected younger generation. The company has signed a deal with Midway to launch three video games in the next two years, complete with in-game advertising for MTV.
L.A. Rush, the first game to be completed under the new MTV Games division, will debut this October. The other titles will arrive in 2006 and 2007. MTV and Midway will also work together on soundtracks for the games and split the royalties. "We are forging into new territory and are enthusiastic about this unique and exciting new way of working with game publishers and independent game developers," said MTV executive vice president Jeff Yapp.
AMD Boosts Speed, Price of Athlon FX
AMD has launched what it calls the fastest desktop processor for gaming on the market, but the new Athlon 64 FX-57 chip won't come cheap. Packing a speed of 2.8 GHz and 1MB of level-two cache designed for speeding up the latest games, the FX-57 will run $1,031 - over $300 more than the 2.6 GHz FX-55.
While both AMD and Intel are pushing new dual-core processors as the future for desktop PCs, the FX-57 retains its single-core roots. AMD says today's games are not optimized for more than one processor brain and the company can offer better performance by improving other aspects of the chip.
Supreme Court: Cable Can Stay Closed
In its second major decision for the tech industry Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down a lower court's ruling that cable companies must share their infrastructure with competing Internet providers. The 6-3 decision means cable companies can keep their broadband networks closed.
The Communications Act of 1934 regulated telephone lines like railroads: Carriers must allow competitors to access their wire services for a nominal fee in the same way that railroads cannot refuse competitors' trains onto their tracks. All traditional telecom carriers are considered to have a telecommunications component to their businesses, making them subject to the law.
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