FBI Dealing With its Lost Laptop Problem
Although the FBI still seems to suffer from a problem of losing laptops, a new report indicates that the agency is getting better in keeping track of its equipment. During a 44-month period, the company either reported as lost or stolen 160 laptops. This is a marked decrease from the initial study in 2002, which found the agency lost some 317 units in a 28-month period from October 1999 through January 2002.
However, even with the improvement come concerns of data loss. As many as 51 of them possibly contained classified or sensitive information, with 8 of those confirmed to have held such data. In one case, a laptop contained personal data on FBI employees. In any case, the new report said "the FBI has taken steps to address weaknesses in physical inventories," although it recommended continued vigilance.
TiVo Delivers Major Series3 Update
TiVo pushed a major update to a small segment of its installed Series3 base on Monday, bringing many popular new features of the Series2 console to the next-generation set-top box for the first time. The update will be made available to the entire installed base once it is ensured there are no problems with the update itself.
Among the added features are TiVoCast, which is the company's broadband video delivery platform; KidZone, a parental controls service; enhanced wireless security options; Product Watch, a targeted advertising delivery system; and the recently deleted folder, which allows for the recovery of deleted programming. The company said the update does not include two highly anticipated features: TiVoToGo or external storage. Work is continuing on those applicatons.
StumbleUpon Ports Web Video to Wii
Web site recommendation service StumbleUpon said that along with the redesigned version of its video section that debuted Tuesday, it will begin offering a version of that portion of the site compatible with the Nintendo Wii's integrated Opera browser. Navigation of the site will be done through the controller, the company said, and will allow the user to search, view, rate, and recommend videos.
"Sending video from the web to the TV is something that no shortage of companies are doing or are seeking to do," technology pundit Michael Arrington said of the new service. "I've thought for some time that establishing content deals with hardware makers was the way to do this - but the more ways we see it happen, the more convinced I am that total openness is inevitable."
Google Loses Belgian Court Fight
Google has been ordered by a Belgian court to stop reproducing news articles from papers within the country for Google News. If other courts follow suit, one of the most popular services for the company outside of search could be in jeopardy. Belgian courts first ruled in September that the site must remove such content. Tuesday's ruling upheld that injunction, as well as extending the order to Yahoo's French site. Fines of $32,000 per day would be levied if the order were not followed.
While Copiepresse, the publishing organization that brought the suit, sad it was satisfied with the outcome, Google expressed disappointment and said that it will look into an appeal of the judgment. In any case, the group that brought the suit said that it would still consider a licensing agreement, although it was up to Google to approach Copiepresse.
iTunes Starts Selling Lionsgate Movies
Movie studio Lionsgate has agreed to begin selling its movies on Apple's iTunes Store, joining Disney and Paramount and bringing the number of available films up to 400. "Terminator 2," "LA Story," "Total Recall," and "The Blair Witch Project" are among the 150 movies being offered by Lionsgate this month for $9.99.
Lionsgate is a top independent movie studio, and holds a library of over 10,000 films. "We're delighted to offer these incredibly popular Lionsgate films on iTunes, and look forward to adding even more films in the future," remarked Steve Beeks, president of Lionsgate. "iTunes lets users download these wonderful films to watch on their computer, TV or iPod."
Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0 Updated
Apparently not content to leave its products in beta like rival Google, but not yet ready to rubber stamp a final release, Yahoo on Monday released what it calls a "gamma" version of its application for mobile phones. Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0 brings the ability to share searches and news articles with friends, as well as search directly from maps.
Yahoo! Go is available for Symbian and Windows Mobile based smartphones, and Yahoo says the service has been downloaded 400,000 times since its beta introduction last year. Other features of the offering include a personalized mobile homepage using RSS feeds, photo sharing through a Flickr widget, and access to Yahoo! Mail. One feature in version 2.0 that users may not be happy with is new interactive advertising.
Mozilla, Kodak Offer Photo Gallery Tool
Kodak said Thursday that it had created a new extension in conjunction with Mozilla that would make it easier for users of the popular alternative browser Firefox to upload and share their digital photos. The application supports drag and drop functionality, photo albums, and the ability to add captions directly in the browser window for use when the album is uploaded to Kodak's online gallery.
"We want to provide consumers with easy and convenient ways to do more with their pictures and thanks to the Firefox Companion for KODAK, they can now upload and share faster than ever before," said Madhav Mehra, general manager, KODAK Gallery. The extension is available for download from the Firefox Web site.
Lycos Mixes Up Social Video, Real-time Chat
Lycos said Thursday that it had launched Mix, a new tool that would allow its users to pull videos from several different sources across the Web and play them in a single playlist. The offering integrates the "watch and chat" experience first debuted with Lycos Cinema in November. Users would be able to chat about videos being viewed, as well as pause, play, rewind and fast-forward communally.
Mixes could either be public, where anyone would be able to add videos to the playlist, or private, where just the list owner may add videos. Videos could be added to playlists via a bookmark feature available for any browser, the company said. The Lycos Mix service is be compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X, and work on Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox browsers.
NY Considers Crosswalk iPod Ban
If you're going to be in New York soon, you may want to think twice about crossing the street wearing an iPod. That's because legislation is being introduced that would make being distracted by an electronic device while crossing the street illegal. Violators would be subject to a $100 fine.
New York State Senator Carl Kruger is spearheading the effort after at least three pedestrians were struck and killed in his Brooklyn distict because they weren't paying attention while crossing the street. In all cases, some type of electronic device was to blame. He claims that the government is tasked with protecting its citizens, and the distractions are increasingly becoming a matter of public safety.
Apple Sets Date for 2007 WWDC
Apple said Tuesday that it had set a date for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, a gathering where the company shows off development techniques and technologies to Macintosh developers. This year's conference will take place in San Francisco, Calif. from June 11-15.
It is possible that Mac OS X 10.5, code-named Leopard, may make its first appearance at the conference, as WWDC has sometimes been used as a launch pad for new software and hardware products. For example, at last year's event, Apple completed its transition to the Intel platform with the Mac Pro, as well as offering a sneak peek at Leopard.
OQO UMPC Adds Verizon Broadband
Portable computer maker OQO said Monday it would offer a version of its device that would feature integrated wireless connectivity provided by Verizon's EV-DO broadband network. The device features up to a 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, shock-resistant 60GB hard drive, and Windows Vista preinstalled. The unit would also be able to support dual external displays at up to 1920x1200 resolution.
"This collaboration with Verizon Wireless is another important step forward in realizing our vision of Anytime/Anywhere Productivity," said Bob Rosin, senior vice president at OQO. EV-DO provides average download speeds of 400Kbps to 700Kbps, says Verizon. The company's BroadbandAccess service is currently available in close to 250 major cities.
MS: Valid Vista Family Discount Keys Coming
Microsoft said Friday afternoon that it was in the process of issuing new keys to those who may have received invalid ones through the Vista Family Discount program. The feature, provided exclusively to purchasers of Vista Ultimate, allows for two PCs to be upgraded to Vista Home Premium at a cost of $49.99 per computer. However, a glitch in the key-generation system produced invalid keys.
According to Microsoft, the keys would be on the way via e-mail to those affected over the next five days. The company is at a loss to explain the cause of the key-generation issues, although it said it was taking steps to prevent it from happening to future participants. News of the response was first reported by Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net Friday.
Google Gets a Bit More Personal
Google on Friday moved to combine two of its separate personalization features in order to make searching a bit more friendly for its users. When signed into the site, Google will automatically custom tailor search results based on search history and preferences selected for the personalized homepage.
"Keep in mind that personalization is subtle—at first you may not notice any difference," says Google engineer Sep Kamvar. Those who don't want Google to track what they're doing can simply sign out of the site and personalization features will be disabled. "After all, the goal is to give you what you want when you want it," added Kamvar.
Test SlingPlayer Beta for Palm OS
The future of Palm OS -- now known as Garnet OS -- may be cloudy, but Sling Media is still working on its software player for the mobile platform. SlingPlayer enables Slingbox owners to view what's on their television using a Palm Treo with broadband connectivity.
The company is now accepting beta applications for a test of the software through Centercode, and estimates it will take about 15 minutes to complete the survey. Sling Media has previously made available a Windows Mobile version of its software, but Palm OS users have been waiting anxiously for their own mobile client.
Digital Camera Sales Fall for First Time
For the first time since they entered the marketplace, sales of digital cameras have dropped, according to market research firm IDC. In the fourth quarter of 2006, shipments fell 3 percent to 12.1 million cameras; 12.4 million were shipped in 2005.
This wasn't necessarily bad news for Canon, though, which surpassed Kodak as the top supplier of digital cameras in the quarter. The company shipped 2.5 million cameras, while Kodak shipped 2.4 million. Sony rounded out the top three suppliers, shipping 2.2 million digital cameras, IDC said. Canon controls about 20% of the total market, with Sony and Kodak holding 17% and 16%, respectively.
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