Netflix service on TiVo Series3 goes live
This morning, the Netflix service was officially made available to users of TiVo Series3, and TiVo HD XL users with the updated software and an existing Netflix subscription.
On Friday, the TiVo 11.0 software began to roll out, but other than a slight rearrangement on the main menu and the "11.0" insignia, there was little to speak of in the update. However, this meant that the updated boxes were primed for the Netflix On Demand service, which was announced at the end of October.
On fifth thought, maybe Microsoft is interested in Yahoo's search
So which is it? Last week, the candle in Carl Icahn's window appeared lit, while Steve Ballmer's was snuffed out. This week, after Icahn put out his candle publicly on nationwide TV, Ballmer appears to have lit his again.
In an exchange of semi-counter-proposals that has seen more flip-flops than a 2004 Republican campaign rally, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made it clear this morning through his mouthpiece of choice, The Wall Street Journal, that his company may be interested after all in a deal with the search engine component of Yahoo.
Most companies are far too optimistic regarding security
According to a study released this morning, troubled times and sloppy security may prove a mighty temptation for hackers or even disgruntled employees -- and companies' overly high opinions of their own security don't help.
The Enterprise Strategy Group, which conducted the Database Security Controls study in conjunction with Application Security Inc., spoke in October to 179 IT decision-makers working in enterprise-class organizations (meaning those with 1,000 employees or more). The 27-item questionnaire inquired about security budgets, breaches, controls and audits.
Australia's Agora Android phone to ship worldwide in January
The world's second Android phone, the Agora, is on the way from Australian-based Kogan, and the device -- which features a full QWERTY keyboard -- will be available globally early next year.
Australia-based Kogan Technologies is now accepting pre-orders for the Agora mobile phone -- the second Android phone after HTC's G1 -- with worldwide shipments to start on January 29, 2009.
RealNetworks lets 130 go
Digital music to make up 41 percent of sales by 2013
CDs are still selling, but a report out yesterday from Jupiter Research says that the long slow decline isn't as slow as previously thought. But what will make up for the drop in shiny-disk sales?
According to the study, digital downloads will fill the void -- but not entirely. The Jupiter survey predicts that overall, the music market will shrink by about 0.8% by 2013, to $9.8 billion in sales, with the percentage of sales of "offline physical format" forms (CDs, albums, etc.) plummeting from a 64% share of sales down to 40%. That's a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of -8.7% -- a worse number than Jupiter predicted last time they looked at the market (-7.1%).
Good OS founder: 'Cloud' on netbooks to be shown at CES
Although not divulging many specifics, David Liu, the founder of Good OS, said this evening that netbooks will, in fact, be demo'd at CES running the company's new Cloud OS.
"While I can't disclose detailed information, I can say that Cloud [OS] will be shown running on netbooks at CES," said David Liu, the founder of Good OS, in an e-mail to BetaNews Friday evening. Liu was responding to a request for information about Cloud OS, a product that brings together a compressed edition of Linux with a browser built by Good for use in the netbook environment.
Phase II of Google and Facebook's OpenID arms race
Yesterday, both Facebook and Google took their respective OpenID systems out of beta, continuing their neck-and-neck move away from "walled garden" status.
Back in May, Facebook, Google, and MySpace all debuted their open identification platforms which allow the sites to work with other services based upon a single login and user identity. However, there was immediate tension between Google and Facebook, which resulted in Facebook blocking Google's Friend Connect.
Wal-Mart waffles on reports of $99 iPhone 3G
Answering an inquiry from BetaNews about Wal-Mart's reputed plans to sell an iPhone 3G for $99, a spokesperson today issued a statement that neither confirms nor denies the rumors.
"We have made no official announcement on offering the iPhone at Wal-Mart," said spokesperson Kelly Cheeseman today, when asked by BetaNews for comment on published reports that the retail chain will start selling a 4 GB version of Apple's iPhone 3G for $99 just before New Year's Day.
Windows Vista SP2 beta, WS2K8 SP2 beta released
Download Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta from FileForum now.
The first public tests of Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows Server Service Pack 2 (both have the same kernel) were released this morning, and you can download them for yourself now.
Gizmine puts a little 'kawaii' in Christmas
The proprietors of Dynamism have spun off the Asian-pop-tech's lower-end gadgets and baubles into their own site, Gizmine. As the Japanese girls coo, cuuuuuuute!
Kawaii ("cute") certainly seems to be the byword for the new shop, which eschews Dynamism's cutting-edge mini-notebooks in favor of blinged-out earbuds, inexplicable but fun USB gadgetry (Dynamism veterans, this is where your rubber-duckie USB drive lives now), and all those watches that are so fashionable you can't read the time on them.
ZMP releases SDK for 'Music Roomba'
After being out in its homeland for nearly two years, Japanese company ZMP has released the SDK to US developers for its music robot called Miuro.
Miuro is Japanese consumer robotics company ZMP's answer to the Roomba. But instead of scuttering around to perform cursory cleanup tasks, Miuro scutters around playing music.
Netbooks running new 'Cloud OS' rumored for CES
At CES next month, future netbooks are likely to be on hand running Cloud OS, newly introduced software from Good OS that lets users access lightweight applications like Google Apps in a browser.
Good OS, which makes the gOS used on the sub-$200 desktop PCs sold at Wal-Mart, this week announced new software known as Cloud OS that could further improve the prospects of both Linux and Windows XP as operating systems for portable PCs while dampening Vista's chances.
Microsoft acquires Yahoo from the inside out, appoints Qi Lu
The man who could very well have given Yahoo the keys to the kingdom of online advertising, is now a very senior executive at its arch-enemy and would-be suitor. But will Microsoft do more with Dr. Lu than it did with aQuantive?
In a move that, by now, surprised precisely no one, the man who helped Yahoo get its next-generation advertising platform off the ground has now officially joined Microsoft. Dr. Qi Lu, the principal architect for the Yahoo advertising platform first known as Panama, then Apex, then AMP, then finally APT, is now Microsoft's President of Online Services.
Shazam: eight million songs of the eternal Now
It's a huge hit on the iPhone, and though we experienced a few quirks during testing, the Shazam music-ID service seems to have gained nothing but goodness by adding 2 million tracks to its knowledge base. We do, however, wish it took a broader view of music history.
The idea is appealing -- let your phone help identify a song you're hearing by transmitting it to a database that can ID it for you. It's a tricky task and there are a lot of services that think they have an angle on it: Midomi lets you sing or hum your track, the Open Music Encyclopedia has a variety of searches for the musically adept, Unknown Track awaits for those quick enough to record a sample, and SongTapper keeps time for those who can only manage percussion.
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