Google to Provide Click Fraud Data
In an effort to prove that it is serious about combating click fraud, starting next week Google will provide its AdWords customers with information on how many times it believes their ads have been clicked on fraudulently. With the company currently facing off with some of its advertisers in court over the issue, the new feature could help it in its defense that it is tackling the problem head on.
Google says it decided to offer the service as a way to give advertisers a real-time view of how many clicks the company is filtering out as fraudulent. According to some advocacy groups, as much as 15 percent of all clicks may be invalid, a number the industry and advertisers seem to disagree on. Details of the new feature were first reported by MarketWatch on Wednesday.
Warner Bros Offers TV Shows on iTunes
Warner Bros said Tuesday that it had added several television shows from its library to the iTunes Music Store, including episodes of "Friends," "Babylon 5," sketches from "MADtv" and animated shows including "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons." As with other shows available through the service, episodes will sell for USD $1.99 each. In addition to Warner's hit shows, it is also making available the pilot of "Aquaman," a show that never made it to air. The show is based on the DC Comic of the same name.
"Making our television content available to iTunes consumers is an important step in our digital distribution strategy," Digital Disribution president Simon Kenny said. The studio has become quite aggressive in its online strategy as of late. In May, it announced a deal to distribute movies and television shows through the BitTorrent download service, and in June announced a similar deal with YouTube competitor Guba.
Sony to Deliver $750 Blu-ray Burner
Sony has officially announced its first aftermarket Blu-ray Disc burner for PCs, which is slated to go on sale nationwide in August for $750 USD. The drive BD-R and BD-RE discs, and can store up to 50GB of data -- or four hours of high-definition video at 1080i.
Sony says the BWU-100A can record a single-layer 25GB Blu-ray disc in 50 minutes. DVD and CD burning is also supported. The company is bundling CyberLink's BD Solution with the drive, which will enable customers to burn high-definition content from one of Sony's new HDV camcorders onto a Blu-ray disc. Pre-orders are now being accepted at sonystyle.com.
NBC Debuts 'Early Nightly' Video Blog
NBC News has started a video blog starring Nightly News anchor Brian Williams aiming to give its viewers an early look at what stories the show is covering that day. Called the "Early Nightly," the short video clip is posted on the site each day around 11:00am ET. According to press reports, the move has been in the works for months, and was not simply a feature of covering the recent unrest in the Middle East.
While the segment will normally be taped from the newsdesk, for the time being it will be shot from Williams' location within the war zone. But that fact has already caused trouble; Wednesday's edition will be several hours late. Williams blamed it on "the logistics of getting videotape out of a battle zone," saying "it has been shot and is in the camera, and will soon be driven to Tel Aviv and fed out."
Microsoft Fixes Patch Snafus
Microsoft on Monday resolved a few problems surrounding last week's Excel-laden Patch Tuesday, most notably fixing a problem that prevented a patch from installing properly on Windows Server 2003 SP1. The company is encouraging administrators to re-run update checks.
"The two issues we fixed are related to MS06-034. One issue was that even though you installed the update you could still be getting it reoffered to you," explained Microsoft's Craig Gehre. The second issue related to ASP.dll not being updated correctly because it was in use. More information on the second bug is available from Microsoft's support knowledge base.
Parallels Software to be Sold in Stores
Virtualization software maker Parallels said Tuesday it had struck deals with several electronics retailers to offer its utility that allows an Intel Macintosh to run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously. While Apple provides similar capabilities with Boot Camp, a user must restart the computer to boot Windows.
Over the next month, Parallels will appear in Apple's company stores as well as on Amazon.com, and through CompUSA, Fry's Electronics, Office Depot and Staples. Apple has been quite receptive to the program, even mentioning it in one of its new Mac television ads. Virtualization capabilities are expected to be part of Apple's next operating system, code-named Leopard.
PowerPoint Flaw to be Fixed August 8
Microsoft issued an advisory Monday, warning customers of a security vulnerability in PowerPoint that was disclosed last week. The Redmond company plans to make a fix available as part of its monthly security updates on August 8, but may release a patch sooner if warranted.
"In order for this attack to be carried out, a user must first open a malicious PowerPoint document attached to an e-mail or otherwise provided to them by an attacker," Microsoft said, adding that it "is concerned that new reports of a vulnerability in PowerPoint were not disclosed responsibly, potentially putting computer users at risk. We continue to encourage responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities."
New Yahoo Homepage Goes Live
Calling it the most significant redesign since the portal's launch in 1994, Yahoo has put live its new homepage that incorporates AJAX and DHTML technologies. Unlike the new Netscape.com, Yahoo has kept much of its content the same, but the site now has simplified navigation and personalization features.
One new area of the site is called Yahoo! Pulse, which spotlights hot content on the Web. Yahoo has been beta testing the revamped homepage since February, and it put live a public preview in May. To help promote the new site, Yahoo has launched a homemade video contest. The best videos will be run across Yahoo's advertising network.
Skype Protocol Reportedly Cracked
A Chinese software company has reportedly reverse engineered the protocol and encryption used by Skype to make calls over the Internet, although details are still sparse. If legitimate, the news could mean that third party Skype clients are on the way.
The news came from VoIP blogger Charlie Paglee, who posted on his first-hand experience of receiving a call from a friend in China. That individual then sent Paglee a screenshot of the non-Skype client he used to place the call, which he said was currently in development. A demo of the software is expected to be made available in late August.
Google Antitrust Complaint Dismissed
A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Google customer Kinderstart that accused the search engine in March of "pervasive monopolistic practices." Kinderstart, a Web site and search for parents, filed its suit after receiving a low page ranking that it claims lowered its traffic by 70 percent.
Google has contended in previous cases that its page ranking technology was a form of opinion protected under the right to free speech. Federal Judge Jeremy Fogel wrote in his decision that, "Kinderstart has failed to allege any conduct on the part of Google that significantly threatens or harms competition." Kinderstart will have the opportunity to amend all nine counts of its lawsuit.
FCC Green Lights Adelphia Cable Sale
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a $17 billion sale of bankrupt cable provider Adelphia to Time Warner and Comcast. The decision stipulates that both companies must give competitors access to local sports programming.
Because Time Warner and Comcast offer both television programming and cable distribution to customers, the FCC banned the companies from preventing the sale of regional sports broadcasts to other providers. However, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps warned that even with the requirement in place, the consolidation of the cable industry could mean higher bills for consumers.
Google Joins OpenDocument Alliance
Google has become one of 240 members involved in the ODF Alliance, an organization designed to promote the adoption of OpenDocument, a new open source standard for electronic documents. Google's Writely online word processor already supports ODF files.
Analysts say the move bolsters ODF's position in the marketplace, assuming Google can find ways to use the format in its products. Microsoft recently announced it would support OpenDocument as well in Office 2007, but only through an add-in that converts to and from its own Open XML formats.
Toshiba Delays HD DVD Recorder
Toshiba announced a minor setback in the launch of the first ever HD DVD recorder Thursday. Due to production delays, the RD-A1 will not go on sale Friday as planned, instead hitting retail outlets by July 27. Sony's Blu-ray has reportedly been having production problems as well related to its blue laser.
Toshiba's RD-A1 will include an HD DVD burner and 1 terabyte of disk space for storing high-definition broadcasts. Priced at around $3,470, the device will first go on sale in Japan, and Toshiba has given no timeframe for a United States launch. The company's first HD DVD player debuted in Japan in March before coming to the U.S. in April.
NY Times Beta Testing RSS Service
The New York Times is holding a closed beta test for a new site it calls "My Times," which will enable users to create a personal news page from a variety of RSS feeds. USA Today and Newsweek have launched similar sites through a partnership with Newsgator.
My Times users can add feeds from the New York Times itself, as well as a number of third party blogs and Web sites. It's not clear if the site will support the addition of any RSS feed, or only those chosen by the Times. The company did not say when the new service would launch, but is inviting readers to be notified when it's ready.
Xbox 360 Goes Retro with '80s Games
Microsoft said Wednesday that it would add retro video games as part of its offerings in Xbox Live Arcade. The first game to be available through the program would be "Frogger," costing the user 400 Microsoft Points, equivalent to $5.00 USD. Over the next five weeks, the Redmond company plans to release a game every Wednesday. In each game, Microsoft has updated the classics to support better graphics, as well as creating new ways to play through the company's Xbox Live service.
Xbox Live Arcade has been a surprising success for the company, with over five million free trial games downloaded, and over one million actually purchased. Microsoft said that use of the service has been across a broad segment of customers, including hardcore gamers and beginners alike. Right now, 20 games are available through the service, however Microsoft has plans to increase that to 50 games by the end of the year.
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