Sling Media Looking for Mac Testers
Sling Media put out a call Tuesday night for beta testers to try out its Mac client, saying it expected the test to last for several months. Requirements include at least several hours a week to run through a number of exercises and complete surveys. The application period will close July 26, and the company plans to choose its beta testers after that date. Those interested must fill out a survey.
"Just like the Mobile beta program, we will conduct the program in multiple waves. Also, due to the expected high number of applicants, you will only hear from us if you are selected," Sling Media's Jeremy Toeman said in a blog post on Tuesday. "Finally, you must be able to sign an NDA/non-compete with the company in order to be part of the private beta pool."
Yahoo Launches Entertainment Vlog
Yahoo has launched a new video blog, or vlog, which aims to highlight the nine most interesting sites, stories and videos on the Web. Called "The 9", the show is updated every weekday morning and hosted by mtvU VJ Maria Sansone. While most of the show is put together by producers at Yahoo, it asks viewers to submit an item for the "Pepsi 10th," a segment sponsored by the soft drink maker.
"We quickly bundle it all together into a neat, fast-paced and work-friendly package and try to get it up by about 9am," Yahoo says in the description of the show. Yahoo's choice of name is interesting: Microsoft has a video blog as well, called "10." However, the Redmond company's vlog only contains company-produced video segments.
Google to Build Offices in Michigan
Google is expected to announce Tuesday plans to build a 240,000 square foot combined office and research center in Michigan, adding 1,000 jobs to downtown Ann Arbor, the New York Times reports. According to previous press reports, the search giant has been canvassing the city for the past year looking for office space.
The new office would be the base for Google's library digitization project, and serve as a call and technology center, sources told the Times. Ann Arbor was selected from an initial list of 50 cities across the country, and holds special meaning for one of the company's founders, Larry Page. Page graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in engineering, and its main campus is located in the city.
D-Link Releases Wi-Fi Flip Phone
D-Link said Monday it would begin shipping its "clamshell" Wi-FI phone, which is compatible with VoIP services like Vonage. Available in two colors, black and silver, the phone operates very much like the cell phones they are patterned after. Included is a color screen, caller ID, polyphonic ringtones, 100 entry address book, and text messaging support.
According to D-Link, the phone is capable of three hours of talk time, and up to 70 hours of standby time, which is about half of the battery life of average cellular phones. It supports three types of Wi-Fi encryption, WEP, WPA, and WPA2, and will support the Public SIP Telephone Network through a future firmware upgrade. Both the D-Link DPH-540 and DPH-541 retail for $249.99 USD.
Intel Regains U.S. Retail Sales Lead
Intel regained the lead in retail sales in the United States in June, grabbing 51.2 percent of the market, up nine points since May. Conversely, AMD saw its share drop down to 48.5 percent in the month, down from 57.4 percent. Data from analyst firm Current Analysis indicated much of Intel's rapid gains had to do with new low-price notebooks entering the market from companies like Toshiba. These notebooks contain Intel's Celeron M chip, and retail for under $599.
Analysts with the firm say much of the chipmaker's strength has come in that segment, as it still lags far behind AMD in the desktop market, especially in low price systems For example, at least four-fifths of any desktop computer below $750 is powered by an AMD processor. However, as has been the case for four years, once a desktop PC passes a retail price of $750, Intel is found on 52.1 percent of computers up to $999, and 91.7 percent of those above $1,250.
IBM to Release Lotus Notes for Linux
IBM announced plans Monday to port its well-known collaboration software Lotus Notes to the Linux operating system. The application would be based on the open-source Eclipse framework, and is scheduled to be released on July 24. IBM said that it also planned to use Eclipse in other versions of Lotus Notes that will ship next year, code-named "Hannover."
While the Linux version was originally scheduled to debut at that time, market demand pushed IBM to release it much earlier than planned. With IBM's focus increasingly turning to Linux, a port of one of its signature products makes sense. Additionally, the company sees a largely untapped market for collaboration software among those companies who choose not to use proprietary operating systems. Upon its release, Mac and Windows users would be able to switch at no charge, IBM said.
103-Inch Plasma to Debut Early 2007
Panasonic parent Matsushita said Monday that it would begin selling a 103-inch plasma television -- the largest in the world -- by early next year. The display is capable of 1080p high-definition and measures 2.4 metres by 1.4 meters. Pricing has not yet been announced.
Matsushita is targeting the display at businesses and electronic billboards, and hopes to sell 5,000 units per year. Those 103-inch plasmas sold as actual televisions are only expected to account for 20 percent of total sales. The monster screen is one inch bigger than Samsung's largest plasma, which it has not begun selling commercially.
EU to Debate Microsoft Penalties
The European Commission said Friday it planned to hold a debate next Wednesday on proposed sanctions against Microsoft as part of its regular meeting. To be debated is the EC's plans to fine the Redmond company 2 million euros per day for non-compliance with a 2004 antitrust decision. European Union officials unanimously accepted that plan earlier this week, a move Microsoft called "unnecessary" based on its work to comply with the Commission's demands.
EU spokesperson Jonathan Todd confirmed that the subject of Microsoft was on the agenda during a daily news briefing Friday. The comments seemed to echo an earlier statement from EC competition commissioner Neelie Kroes, who told reporters Thursday that she saw no other route to punish Microsoft other than handing out additional fines.
Survey: Digital Music Sales Soaring
Digital music sales may finally have enough impetus to boost the industry, according to data released Thursday by Nielsen SoundScan. While physical album sales declined some 4.2 percent, sales of digital albums soared by 126 percent in the first half of 2006. Overall, the music industry grew slightly by about a tenth of a percent. By the numbers, 270.6 million physical albums and 14.7 million digital albums were sold so far this year, versus 282.6 million and 6.4 million in the first half of 2005.
According to Nielsen, the top selling album is the soundtrack to the Disney Movie "High School Musical," which sold 2.6 million copies. Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" follows in second, with about 2 million copies sold; third is James Blunt's "Back to Bedlam" with 1.7 million; Mary J. Blige's "The Breakthrough" is fourth with 1.5 million; and Carrie Underwood's "Some Hearts" rounds out the top five at 1.4 million.
Security Hole Fixed in Google Reader
Google late Wednesday fixed a security flaw in its Google Reader RSS feed aggregation tool, which opened the door for a cross-site scripting attack. The vulnerability was disclosed in detail on Tuesday, and enabled an attacker to steal personal data from Google users.
"What are the implications of this attack for Google? Well, for starters, I can put a phishing site on Google. “Sign up for Google World Beta.” I can steal cookies to log in as the user in question, I can use the credentials of the user to screen scrape any of the content off of the www cname, including changing options like adding my RSS feed to your page, or deleting them," read a post on the ha.ckers.org blog.
eBay Says 'No' to Google Checkout
Merchants looking to sell their goods through eBay may not use Google Checkout as a payment method, the auction site now says in an updated Acceptable Payments Policy. Google's new service has launched as a potential competitor to eBay's own PayPal.
Although it does not offer person-to-person payments, Google Checkout does overlap when it comes to purchases from online stores, where PayPal makes a bulk of its revenue. "Sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy," eBay says, adding that it only supports established and safe payment services. Those who violate the policy can end up suspended from eBay.
Paris Plans to Offer Citywide Wi-Fi
The city of Paris is considering a plan that would blanket the city with wireless Internet access by the end of 2007, its Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said Tuesday. Additionally, tax breaks are planned for companies who install fiber-optic cables in the city. Paris hopes to have 80 percent of the city covered by a fiber network by the end of the decade.
Access to the wireless network would be free, and would be maintained by private companies. Access points would be located in public areas and libraries, according to the plan. The final plans will be submitted for approval next week.
Microsoft: We Did Everything EU Asked
With the European Commission expected to hand down fines of 2 million euros per day dating back to December 15 for Microsoft's alleged non-compliance with antitrust sanctions, the company has sent an e-mail to employees updating them on the situation. Microsoft's associate counsel in Europe, Horacio Gutierrez says the company has done everything the EU has asked.
E-mail from Horacio Gutierrez to Microsoft EMEA Employees
EMC to Purchase RSA for $2.1 Billion
Storage manufacturer EMC announced late Thursday that it would acquire RSA Security, maker of the popular SecurID devices, in a deal valued at $2.1 billion. EMC will pay $28 per share for RSA, a hefty premium that has concerned investors and sent EMC shares plunging on Friday.
Security has become a critical factor in data storage, with companies like Microsoft releasing technologies to help companies lock down their data. EMC says it was missing a security solution from its product offerings. The acquisition is expected to close late in the third quarter, with RSA becoming EMC's Information Security Division.
Exploit Code Released for Mac OS X
Security firms warned users of Apple's Mac OS X earlier this week about the existence of an exploit that could result in the execution of arbitrary code. The news has made upgrading to version 10.4.7 even more important, as the update fixes the issue. The vulnerability lies in an operating system file called "launchd."
The proof-of-concept code was created by Digital Munition security researcher Kevin Finisterre. He has written other exploits in the past, including another for a Bluetooth flaw within Mac OS X. Finisterre says he does his work out of a desire to show those who believe the operating system is completely safe that there are flaws that need to be addressed.
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