BenQ Pulls Questionable 9/11-Themed Ad
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer BenQ has sent letters of apology to those who contacted the company over its use of the wreckage of the World Trade Center in a recent ad for its MusiQ line of MP3 players. Although an official apology has not been released, BenQ Americas president Ben Chu replied to those who did complain, saying it "apologizes for the feelings this regretful incident may have caused."
The ad, which says "I believe, music makes hope" with a Chinese teenager standing in front of imagery of the WTC ruins, has since been pulled. Chu says that the company is taking steps to prevent such an incident from happening again. BenQ could not be reached for comment as of press time.
ICANN Signs Contract for '.asia'
ICANN said late Thursday that it had signed an agreement with DotAsia Organization, Ltd. to run the ".asia" top-level domain, approved by the organization in October. The group said registration of the names would be restricted to those with residency in the region, which would include Australia.
With the addition of .asia, 266 domain names now exist on the Internet. DotAsia is a consortium of domain name managers from countries within the region. The domain name itself is seen as an opportunity to unify the entire region, ICANN says.
NTT DoCoMo Recalls 1.3M Phone Batteries
Following the high-profile recall problem for Sony due to a fire risk in laptop batteries, another Japanese company has been forced to recall its batteries as well, but this time it involves cellular phones. NTT DoCoMo said Thursday that it is recalling 1.3 million Sanyo Electric batteries in Mitsubishi D902i phones at an expected cost of up to $35 million.
According to the Japanese carrier, the batteries include deformed parts that could cause the battery to rupture if it is accidentally dented. The issue could occur during or immediately after changing. At least one battery has already confirmed to have ruptured, and there may be as many as 17 other cases of overheating or rupture due to the problem. Owners of the affected phones are being notified, NTT DoCoMo said.
Sony Resolves PS3 HD Issue -- Sort Of
Sony has released version 1.3 of its firmware for the PlayStation 3 game console, which gives preference to 1080i high-definition output. The device initially outputted in only 720p and 1080p HD, which meant older televisions with support only for 1080i were stuck displaying standard definition 480p.
The fix additionally improves USB support and enables Blu-ray movies to be viewed in YUV, which is intended to boost quality when using the HDMI output. Support for a Bluetooth remote was also added. "Within 3 weeks of US launch, most of the software criticsms have been addressed," remarked BetaNews reader Mark Gillespie. "PS1/PS2 game compatibility was vastly improved in v1.1...Now the 1080i issue is resolved, I wonder if anyone will do the honourable thing, and report this?" However, some users report the update actually has a negative impact.
Microsoft Opens Up Halo 3 Beta
Microsoft's Bungie Studios has put the call out for beta testers of the next installment of the Halo game series for the Xbox 360 console, set to offer for the first time a multiplayer aspect of the game through Xbox Live. Halo 3 is slated to come out in 2007, and Microsoft says it is offering the beta to allow gamers to become part of the development process. Feedback received would be used to refine the final product, it said.
Those interested can sign up through the Halo 3 Web site. It is open to North American gamers with an Xbox 360 and hard drive, and an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Additionally, gamers must be 17 years or older. Microsoft plans to eventually offer the beta in Europe, and it advised gamers there to watch their local Xbox sites for more details.
Blockbuster Giving Netflix Users Free Rentals
In an obvious attempt to attract its rival's customers to its own online movie rental service, Blockbuster will let Netflix subscribers with a Blockbuster membership rent movies from its stores for free through December 21. The Netflix member would have to exchange the tear off address flaps from their envelopes to receive the movie, the company says.
While in the store, it's fairly likely Blockbuster will use the opportunity to promote the new Total Access feature of its own online rental service launched in November. Subscribers are now able to return their movies in-store in exchange for free rentals. Blockbuster Online needs all the help it can get to attract customers - its 1.5 million users trail Netflix's 5.7 million subscribers.
Toshiba to Ship 100GB 1.8-inch HDD
Toshiba said Tuesday that it would begin shipping a 100GB 1.8-inch hard drive in January of next year, leading to speculation that the timing may have something to do with a new iPod that may be launched at the MacWorld 2007 Expo in January. Toshiba's new drive is the same physical size as what is used in the current crop of iPods, although in 30GB and 80GB capacities.
Rumors have surfaced in the past month of a touch-screen iPod model to be announced at the show. The unit is expected to sport a 3.5-inch display, and would be the first major upgrade to the iPod platform in over a year.
Microsoft, Belkin Settle U2 Patent Dispute
Microsoft said Friday that it had settled a patent infringement suit with peripherals maker Belkin. The Redmond company sued Belkin in August, saying it infringed on patents surrounding U2 technology, which allows peripherals to automatically determine if they need a USB or PS/2 connection. At the time, Microsoft complained to the International Trade Commission that Belkin was refusing to enter into licensing talks.
As part of the arrangement, Belkin would license the U2 patents in exchange for settling any litigation. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the complaint asked for no financial damages. U2 has already been licensed to other manufacturers, such as Targus and Fellowes.
BBC News Video Comes to Yahoo News
Yahoo said it has reached an agreement with ABC News, the BBC's broadband and wireless content representative in the U.S., to bring BBC News video to its news site. Starting Friday, 30 video clips each day would be uploaded to the site on a variety of topics, including U.S. and world news, sports, business, politics, technology, health and entertainment. The videos would be provided at no cost, and would be ad-supported.
"We are pleased to bring the renowned journalism of the BBC to Yahoo! News, a leading online news service that reaches millions across the world," BBC Global News division director Richard Sambrook said. "The demand for BBC content in the United States is growing all the time and we believe our expansion on new digital platforms is critically important to helping us meet that demand."
PS3 Sales in Japan Fall 49 Percent
Sales of the PlayStation 3 in Japan fell by almost half in the first full week of availability, and low shipments are being blamed for the lackluster sales, say gaming company Enterbrain. The site had estimated that 88,400 consoles sold in the first two days of launch, but from November 13 to 18 only 43,378 sold. Sony will not comment on the report, but said it was continuously shipping new consoles.
Data for the US is not yet available, although it is likely that sales will follow a similar pattern. At issue is the Blu-ray disc drive within the console. Sony hasn't been able to procure the blue laser diodes needed, among a host of other manufacturing difficulties. The problems are also affecting game sales; PS3's highest-ranking title in Japan was Ridge Racer 7, coming in at #29.
AOL to Give Away Free Movies Dec. 2
AOL said Thursday that it would offer 30 movies to users of its AOL Video portal at no cost as a holiday gift. The titles, which would include recent releases like Spiderman 2 and holiday favorites like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation normally sell for $9.99 to $19.99 USD. Users would be limited to one movie download, and would have 24 hours beginning at 6:00am ET on December 2 to download it.
The movies would be delivered in Windows Media format, and require a Windows XP computer running Internet Explorer and Windows Media 10 in order to view them. Once downloaded, the user would be able to view the file offline, as well as on one other PC and two Windows Media-compatible portable devices.
Sony Shuffles Game Management
With the PlayStation 3 finally out the door, Sony is shuffling around executives in its video game unit. Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ken Kutaragi, the so-called "father of the PlayStation" will also become chairman of the company.
Kazuo Hirai, head of SCE's U.S. operations, will move back to Tokyo and become the company's President while also filling a vacant COO position that was previously handled by Kutaragi. Despite appearances that PS3 delays and a lackluster launch brought about the changes, SCE says Kutaragi will continue to oversee daily operations. Jack Tretton, who helped launch the original PlayStation, will take over from Hirai as CEO of SCE America.
Flaw Found in Symantec Backup Tool
Symantec has released a patch for its Veritas NetBackup software, saying it had discovered a buffer overflow vulnerability in the application. The flaw exists in the web programming language PHP, which NetBackup is partially written in. Successful exploitation would result in the attacker being able to take control of the affected system remotely.
This is the second time the NetBackup application has been found to have a buffer overflow issue. The last one was discovered in January, and was made worse when a security firm publicly disclosed exploit code for the issue. In this case, no known exploit is yet available, Symantec said in an advisory.
Wal-Mart to Offer AT&T High-Speed Services
AT&T said Wednesday that it had reached a deal with Wal-Mart to offer its high speed Internet service in 570 stores across 13 states. Consumers would be able to learn about and purchase services from Wal-Mart's "Connection Center" kiosks. AT&T pointed to the potential reach of up to 150 million customers who shop in the nation's largest retailer each week as a reason for working with Wal-Mart.
AT&T will also offer Wal-Mart gift cards of $25 for ordering the company's Express service, and $75 cards for ordering Pro and Elite Service. Service fees would begin at $14.99 per month, with no term commitment. "We offer the fastest Internet speeds in the market for the price, which fits perfectly with the Wal-Mart everyday-low-price model," AT&T Consumer chief marketing officer Rick Welday said.
Opera Mini 3.0 Released for Phones
Opera Software on Tuesday released the final version 3.0 of its Opera Mini Web browser, which is designed for mobile phones. The upgrade introduces a number of new social networking features, such as photo sharing and a built-in RSS reader.
Other additions include support for secure SSL connections and speed improvements. Opera Mini uses server-side compression to make browsing the Web faster. The software is available free of charge, but a data plan is required from a wireless carrier to use Opera Mini. Most mobile handsets are supported, but recent Cingular phones are not compatible due to the carrier's Java Virtual Machine that asks the user to approve each data connection as it is made.
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