EarthLink Selected to Run Corpus Christi Wi-Fi
EarthLink said Wednesday that it had reached a deal with the city of Corpus Christi, Texas that would open up its preexisting Wi-Fi network for public use. Currently city workers and public safety officials use the network, but after EarthLink takes ownership, it will be optimized for public use and offered at around $20 USD per month.
Like other Wi-Fi deployments by the company, the network would be opened up to third parties allowing them to provide their own wireless services. "The [EarthLink] relationship will enable us to provide the Corpus Christi community with competitive commercial Internet services, give ISPs an equal opportunity to participate, and ensure a return on the City's current and ongoing network investment," city manager George "Skip" Noe said.
Yahoo Sued in China Over Pirated Music
Eleven companies have sued Yahoo's China division for about 5.5 million yuan ($710,690 USD) over accusations of copyright infringement, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said Wednesday. The group noted that while it believed China was an important market, it was taking steps to eradicate piracy in the country. Studies show that as much as 85 percent of all music in the country is pirated.
Yahoo! China said in response that it respects copyright and supports the fight against piracy, although it said that precedence had been set that shows Web site owners are not liable for the actions of their users. A previous case against Baidu.com was dismissed for similar reasons.
EarthLink to Offer TiVo DVRs with DSL
TiVo and EarthLink said Tuesday that they would begin offering a package deal where a consumer could purchase a stand-alone DVR unit and combine it with Internet or phone services through the ISP. Earthlink would be responsible for the marketing of the deal, which would begin later this year.
"This combined offering not only provides customers the simplicity and value of a bundle, but also provides seamless access to the growing portfolio of content and services that are being delivered via the Internet, directly to the living room," said EarthLink consumer products chief Gary Sonnier. Pricing for the offering, as well as financial terms of the deal, were not disclosed.
iTunes and Vista Still Have Issues
While the release of iTunes 7.1 does include a number of compatibility fixes that enable the software to work with most Windows Vista editions, Apple warns that users may still encounter problems. The company is working with Microsoft to resolve outstanding bugs.
Apple notes that ejecting an iPod using Windows Vista's "Safely Remove Hardware" feature could corrupt the device and require a full restore using iTunes. In addition, iTunes text and graphics may display incorrectly, and contacts may not sync properly from Windows to an iPod. For now, iTunes and iPods remain incompatible with 64-bit versions of both Windows XP and Windows Vista.
AOL Relaunches My.Netscape in Beta
Following the complete revamping of its Netscape portal to a Digg-like social-driven news site where users submit links to content elsewhere on the Web, AOL has relaunched My.Netscape in beta as a customizable homepage after taking it down months ago.
The result is much like other personal homepages from the likes of Netvibes and Google: users can select different types of content "modules" that are driven by RSS feeds. "My.Netscape will retain its identity as a personalized homepage, with a minimum of ad clutter," says developer Tom Drapeau. However, past My.Netscape users may not be too happy, as all of their stock and bookmark settings have not yet been migrated.
Mozilla Details Firefox Security Flaw
Mozilla disclosed Monday that it had opened up a vulnerability with a previous security fix for its Firefox, Seamonkey, and Thunderbird clients. According to an advisory issued Monday, a new JavaScript issue was introduced that would allow coding from Web content to be exploited to execute arbitrary code.
Only Firefox and Seamonkey are affected by the new flaw. A patch would need to be applied as disabling JavaScript does not protect against the problem, Mozilla said. Upgrading to either Firefox 1.5.0.10 or 2.0.0.2, or Seamonkey 1.0.8 and 1.1.1 would also address the issue. Those releases were made available in late February.
Microsoft Fights Against Xbox Hacks
Microsoft has fired back against hackers who had broke into the Xbox 360 console to run their own code by masking a patch to disable such activity within a system update billed as a fix to the console's online systems. As with most fixes, a user is signed out of Xbox Live and prevented from signing back in until the update is applied, making its installation almost mandatory.
The patch comes after it was discovered in late February the console had a vulnerability that allowed privilege escalation into hypervisor mode. Such an issue would allow attackers -- or creative users -- to run arbitrary code or alternative operating systems. Although no one has yet been successful in running anything of consequence, a "hello world" script program was posted on the Xbox Scene Web site late last week.
Fujitsu 160GB Laptop Drive Hits 7200 RPM
Fujitsu on Tuesday announced its latest lineup of Serial ATA hard drives for notebook computers, which feature perpendicular recording technology. Although the additions come in capacities far below Fujitsu's 300GB monster -- 80GB, 120GB and 160GB -- spindle speed has been bumped to 7200 RPM.
The MHW2160BJ series mobile hard drives also are the first to feature a 3.0Gb/sec SATA interface. "Fujitsu has positioned itself well to capitalize on the growing demand for higher performance 7200RPM laptop hard disk drives that replace the functionality found traditionally on desktop PCs," said Fujitsu vice president Joel Hagberg. The new drives will begin shipping in the second quarter.
Apple Plugs QuickTime Security Holes
Apple on Monday put out new releases of iTunes and QuickTime for both Mac OS X and Windows, adding support for the company's Apple TV product in the former and patching 8 serious security holes in the latter.
Each of the flaws could enable an attacker to create a malicious QuickTime file that, when run, executes arbitrary code and could lead to a full system compromise. Affected file types that have been corrected include QuickTime, MIDI, 3GP, PICT and QTIF files. iTunes 7.1 and QuickTime 7.1.5 are available for download on FileForum.
.mobi Registrations Pass 400,000
dotMobi, the company tasked with managing the .mobi top-level domain name, announced Monday that over 400,000 registrations have been placed since the TLD launched in October 2006. In comparison, only 100,000 .com domains were registered in the first ten years.
The company cited a growing desire from consumers to access Web sites on their mobile phones as the reason proclaiming .mobi's success. However, mobile browsing is still largely in its infancy, with disparate devices and software applications providing vastly different experiences. dotMobi hopes to fix that, and is providing tools such as a site builder and analyzer to aid developers.
AOL Updates 'Cayman' Webmail Beta
AOL pushed an update Monday to the beta site for its webmail product, code-named "Cayman." Changes in this refresh focused on enhancements to the overall look and feel of the application, as well as performance improvements. A more streamlined interface has been introduced that will allow for quicker navigation, along with the option to either read messages inline or pop-out as they currently do.
In addition, updates were made to the Side Panel feature, allowing the user to easily e-mail and IM contacts with just one click, as well as view upcoming events and to-do items. AOL said it planned to add more functionality as the beta progresses. The new version is available for testing from the AOL Beta site.
Microsoft Tempts Game Developers with Prizes
Microsoft kicked off its 'Dream-Build-Play' contest at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, offering $10,000 and the opportunity to have their game published in the Xbox Live Arcade to one lucky developer. While the grand prize is the money and distribution of the game, over $40,000 worth of prizes will be given out to 20 winners in total.
Microsoft, Alienware, AMD, Autodesk, and Softimage have all offered prizes for contest winners, the company said in a statement. To participate, the developer must use either Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express, or the third-party GarageGames Torque X platform. Submissions are due by July 2, and a winner will be announced August 13 at Microsoft Gamefest 2007.
EMI Says No to $4.1B Warner Music Bid
UK-based EMI, the world's third largest record label, has officially rejected a $4.1 billion takeover offer from the world's fourth largest label, Warner Music. EMI on Friday held a board meeting to discuss the "non-binding proposal" and decided it was not good for shareholders.
"The board concluded that it is not in the best interests of EMI shareholders to entertain a preconditional offer which would entail prolonged regulatory uncertainty and unacceptable operational risk at a critical time for the company," EMI said in a statement. Such a deal would have a hard time winning the approval of European regulators.
Windows Live Games Beta Signup Begins
Today Microsoft extended an invitation for individuals to participate in a beta test of its new Windows Live Games online community, which will allow PC gamers to connect with Xbox users over the Live gaming network.
Microsoft's window of opportunity for signup is limited. To be considered, users will have to fill out a very brief eight question survey. Those selected will be contacted in the coming weeks, and additionally will be entered in a prize drawing.
Sony Settles 'Touch Feedback' Suit
Sony has agreed to pay Immersion, the company that created "touch feedback" technology, $121 million to settle ongoing patent infringement litigation. The deal means Sony can include the technology again in future products after dropping it from the PS3. Touch feedback vibrates the controller in response to action on the screen.
Immersion won a judgment in March 2005 against Sony that would have halted PlayStation sales until royalties were paid - at that time $82 million plus $8 million in interest. Sony appealed the ruling and asked for a new trial, although that motion was denied in March of last year.
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