FBI Offers $25,000 for Lost Hard Drive
The Birmingham, Alabama Veterans Administration Medical Center said this week it is seeking the return of an external Iomega hard drive containing personal information on at least a half-million people. The Center has brought in the FBI to help investigate and is offering a $25,000 reward.
The drive was reported missing by an employee who had used it to backup medical records. Although the sensitive data on the drive has not surfaced elsewhere, recent cases of identity theft have prompted the FBI to get involved in a number of similar stolen hard drive cases. A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would hold IT managers responsible for such privacy breaches.
Gates to Keynote Microsoft MVP Summit
Microsoft on Thursday announced plans for its 2007 MVP Global Summit, its annual meeting of Microsoft enthusiasts and developers that the company has placed a "most valuable professional" tag on. This year the company plans to recognize some of the over 2,000 MVPs who helped the company get Windows Vista, its first major operating system upgrade in five years, out the door.
This year's summit will take place from March 12 to 15 at both the Washington State Convention and Trade Center and on Microsoft's main campus in Redmond. The keynote speaker would be Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. "The MVPs serve as an inspiration, sharing their expertise and passion for technology communities with an unyielding drive to help others," MVP program head Sean O'Driscoll said.
HP Brings British Film Archive Online
Through a two-year partnership with the British Film Institute, HP will assist the organization in creating a digital archive of more than 300 films and television shows. When it opens in March, the Mediatheque at BFI Southbank will have a catalog of films and videos spanning more than a century, it said. Another reason for the move is to digitize content to ensure it is preserved.
About 30 titles per month would be added to the digital archive, officals say. However, the groups will likely only put a small dent into the center's vast library, which includes some 230,000 films and 675,000 television programs - the biggest in the world.
Former Dell CEO to Receive $5 Million
Former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins, who was ousted by the computer manufacturer's board at the end of January and replaced by company founder Michael Dell, won't leave empty handed: Rollins will receive a severance package that includes $5 million in cash over the next two years.
Along with dropping his CEO post, Rollins is set to leave Dell's board of directors on May 4; the separation agreement was signed last week, Dell said in a filing with the SEC. Rollins joined Dell in 1996 and was appointed CEO in July 2004. During his tenure, however, Dell was unable to retain its status as the leading PC manufacturer due to increased pressure from Hewlett-Packard.
CBS, YouTube Deal Stalls Out
YouTube's deals with the traditional media companies continued to unravel, with The Wall Street Journal saying Wednesday that CBS is the latest casualty. At issue were disagreements on the language of the deal. Sources told the paper that Google and CBS would work on smaller partnerships instead, leaving the door open to restarting talks in the future.
The loss of CBS' content follows Viacom, which abruptly pulled its videos off YouTube earlier this month. Companies including Viacom have also considered developing a YouTube competitor on their own, however talks there have not gone anywhere. Neither CBS nor YouTube had any comment.
Microsoft Search Share May Have Stopped Falling
MarketWatch this morning cites a Bear Stearns analyst's report as providing statistics showing usage share of global online searches actually grew a tenth of a point, to 10.6% from 10.5%. If the analyst's figures are confirmed, this would mark the end of a twelve-month slump for MSN and Live Search.
Microsoft runs the world's #3 search engine behind Google and Yahoo, but it's a distant third place. Recent reports from all three major statisticians -- HitWise, Nielsen/NetRatings, and comScore Networks -- throughout last year showed the gulf between Yahoo and MSN widening. Early indications from the analyst's report appear to signal a turnaround not only for Microsoft, but also for AOL and Ask.com.
Report: Adobe CS3 to Debut March 27
An analyst with Merrill Lynch says that Adobe will likely introduce Creative Suite 3 around March 27, with a ship date that would follow shortly afterwards. Most important to this refresh would be native support for Intel processors on the Macintosh platform. Up until now, users must use CS2 in emulation mode, which results in slower performance. Adobe has long said that native Intel support on the platform was a priority.
Jay Vleeschhouwer, the analyst who wrote the report disclosing the release date, says he expects about six different CS3 product suites, and 14 individual products overall. Core CS3 products would include Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
Vonage, Verizon in Court Over VoIP
Vonage is set this week to appear in court to face charges that it has infringed on patents owned by telecommunications giant Verizon. Altogether, the nation's largest VoIP provider is accused of violating seven patents covering telephone features and the use of Wi-Fi to place telephone calls. If Vonage loses the case, it could put in jeopardy what has become one of the fastest growing Internet services, and force a lot of smaller providers out of business.
While Vonage disputes Verizon's claims, judges have so far seemed to side with the Baby Bell, saying there was enough evidence to allow all of the company's claims to go to trial. Verizon is seeking unspecified damages, and would likely seek and injunction as well to prevent Vonage from using the services.
Microsoft Updates SQL Server for Vista
Microsoft on Monday released Service Pack 2 for SQL Server 2005, a major upgrade that adds support for Windows Vista and Office 2007. In addition, Microsoft is now allowing unlimited virtual instances of SQL Server on severs licensed for the Enterprise Edition of the database software.
SP2 for SQL Server 2005 is available for immediate download. Separately, Microsoft released a new Community Technology Preview of Windows Server "Longhorn," the successor to Windows Server 2003. Although Microsoft planned Beta 3 for early 2007, the February CTP is not quite there yet, and the company asks all beta testers to download and install the interim release.
Adobe Ships Lightroom, Updates Camera Raw
As expected, Adobe on Monday began shipping Photoshop Lightroom 1.0, the company's image processing application for professional photographers. Until April 30, 2007 the software will cost $199 USD, after which the price will be raised to $299 USD. A trial download is available here.
Alongside Lightroom 1.0, Adobe additionally released Camera Raw 3.7, the image processing technology for Photoshop CS2, Elements 4.0 and 5.0, and Premiere Elements 5.0. The update now supports over 150 cameras, including the recently released Nikon D40 and Pentax K10D, as well as support for default image settings.
Dell Snags Motorola Mobile Phone Chief
Dell has hired the former head of Motorola's cell phone division to head its new global consumer division beginning on Monday. Ron Garriques will resign immediately from the cell phone manufacturer and will temporarily be replaced by Ray Roman and Terry Vega, who are Motorola's vice presidents of both global sales and global devices.
Since returning to Dell as CEO at the end of last month, Michael Dell has taken a hard look at both its product line as well as the executive staff. The company has lost the first place spot in market share to competitor HP, and the company has been criticized for its slow growth and slim profits. Garriques' hiring follows that of Solectron CEO Michael Cannon, who now head's Dells global operations.
Vonage Founder Offers 40,000 Dollars
Jeff Pulver, co-founder of VoIP service Vonage is offering a total of 40,000 of his own dollars to aspiring Internet TV producers and Video Bloggers who can best explain "How to Watch Internet TV."
The contest is to rally interest around Pulver's Network2 Internet TV site, which is dedicated to aggregating the best in longer-form, episodic video that the Internet has to offer.
Windows Vista 'DreamScene' Available
Microsoft on Wednesday made available a beta of the second "Ultimate Extra" for Windows Vista, which is available for download free of charge for those who purchased the Ultimate Edition of the new operating system. Called DreamScene, the Extra lets users put videos as their desktop background.
Developed by Stardock and first demoed at CES in January, DreamScene also adds the capability to fill a background with an image without distorting its size. Microsoft reminds users that DreamScene is still a Technical Preview and unsupported until the final release. Vista Ultimate users can download DreamScene from Windows Update.
Microsoft Sued Over VPN Technology
Software company VirnetX filed suit against Microsoft Thursday, accusing the Redmond company of infringing on two of its patents regarding virtual private networking. According to a statement from VirnetX, one patent deals with the methods to create a secure communication link, and the other on ways to transparently create a VPN.
VirnetX seeks damages and injunctive relief. The suit was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, seen by most as the most patent-holder friendly of the federal courts. Further details of the suit were not disclosed, and a request for comment from Microsoft was outstanding as of press time.
Microsoft Settles Antitrust Case with Iowa
Microsoft has settled with the state of Iowa over charges that it had overcharged consumers for its products. Details of the settlement were not disclosed, although a court date has been set for April 20 where more information could be released. Half of the money received from the settlement would be used to "close the digital divide," attorneys for the plaintff say.
Iowa's lawsuit against the Redmond giant was one of the only to remain in the courts, as most have either been dismissed or settled thus far. Lawyers claim that Microsoft has overcharged Iowa consumers by nearly a half-billon dollars over the last 12 years.
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