FCC report opens the door for white spaces devices
An FCC technical report issued Friday makes it look more likely that the US government will sign off on a Google-led pitch to clear the white space spectrum for free use by Android. The news couldn't come at a worse time for T-Mobile.
With Google and a growing number of influential partners putting pressure on the FCC to make spectrum in the white spaces available for "free and open access," a team of FCC technologists on Friday released a report suggesting that worries about wireless interference from so-called white spaces devices -- raised by T-Mobile and other parties -- are overblown.
CBS goes after Hulu by aligning with YouTube
Though reports early last year said that a deal between CBS and Google for YouTube distribution had fallen by the wayside, the network's content will soon be available in full on the popular video site, complete with commercials.
Announcing on Friday that "Full-Length TV Dinners" would be coming to the Site, YouTube's team blog noted that it will naturally first be a test. Advertisements could be pre-, mid-, or post-roll, but will only appear in the premium full-length content. In our tests -- which, granted, only lasted a few minutes this morning -- we didn't see any overlaid advertising in premium content, though overlay ads do appear in "clips" from CBS shows (including the Evening News), which only last a few minutes.
Microsoft finds published exploit of Vista privilege elevation hole
A less-than-critical Vista hole could become more critical, as Microsoft's security team says it's aware of a published exploit that could enable an ordinary process to pass itself off as a system process with unrestricted access.
Last April, Microsoft admitted to a serious, though perhaps not critical, security hole in all modern versions of Windows including XP and Vista. But a notice posted last Thursday to the company's Security Response Center blog, warning of a published exploit using that same technique, is an indication that the hole has gone unplugged all this time.
Things left unsaid, in a recent interview with Sony's CEO
When Charlie Rose interviewed Sony CEO Sir Harold Stringer on Wednesday, a few excellent questions were posed -- but a few others should have been.
No American television host conducts long-form interviews like Charlie Rose -- especially when the interview subject has a lot of 'splainin' to do. Enter Sir Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO of Sony, who sat down for a marvelous show-long interview with Rose on Wednesday.
EU regulations block Italian ISPs from blocking Pirate Bay
In August, Italian courts ordered that local ISPs block popular BitTorrent destination The Pirate Bay, but the decision was later overturned in appeal. This week, we found out why the Court of Bergamo ruled as it did.
Italy's recent attempt to block BitTorrent tracking site The Pirate Bay was deemed indefensible under an EU regulation.
Making it to Apple's App Store by staying out of court
Easily, the place to be for iPhone apps is Apple's App Store. But some VoIP software providers are learning that it helps to offer apps that don't require jailbreaking. and which won't land them in the halls of justice.
Apple's iPhone has been luring a lot of third-party VoIP developers lately. Last week, its controversial App Store added Fring to a list of applications that already included TruPhone and Pennytel. Meanwhile, Sipgate -- an application banned in Germany last month -- isn't perched up there with the rest of them.
Wal-Mart changes its mind, leaves existing DRM servers up
In what can only be described as another "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario, faced with the option of thousands of disgruntled customers, Wal-Mart is informing them it's decided to leave its online DRM servers running.
According to letters received by customers and reprinted today by multiple sources -- among them Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow -- the nation's largest retailer is telling them that music they downloaded from the Wal-Mart online music store can continue to be played indefinitely. It has apparently reversed its decision of last week, and while still moving forward toward a DRM-free model for future music downloads, will leave its servers online to support the DRM schemes in existing downloads.
Hands on: An amateur photographer tests out Adobe's latest Lightroom
Digital cameras have changed the photography landscape, enabling amateurs to become what marketers call "prosumers." The latest gear and software tools are now being directed at this group, but is it worthwhile for you to upgrade? Mary Hartney spent a month with Adobe's Lightroom 2 to find out.
As a self-taught photographer who has shot with formats all over the map, it's only natural that I would have cobbled together a patchwork system for editing and processing my photos. A marketing expert would call me a consumer-level photographer, or a serious amateur, and both are correct. I began shooting in spring of 2006 with a 35mm Canon from the early 1980s, experimented with some toy cameras, and eventually invested in a Nikon D80 and three lenses.
Mobile service providers brace for the economic storm
Your cellular-service provider is no more immune to the effects of financial panic than anyone else, and as the economy contracts, certain "unlimited" voice and data plans may, in fact, find themselves limited.
Verizon announced Friday that it will up fees by 3 cents/message for firms that send SMS messages to users -- a move that's likely to put a serious crunch on businesses designed around that testing model. Meanwhile, earlier in the week AT&T lowered the boom on customers of its pre-paid GoPhone data service who used it to plug their laptops into mobile-broadband services. AT&T announced that it'll discontinue its $19.99/month service plan, which it framed as a trial offer that had run its course.
Apple warns users about bad Nvidia graphics chips
In offering free repairs on impacted MacBook Pro laptops, Apple yesterday told users that the symptoms of faulty Nvidia graphics processors include "distorted video or no video."
Apple on Thursday contended that, contrary to promises by Nvidia Corp., MacBook Pro laptops may contain bad Nvidia graphics chips. Apple also offered users an extended warranty and free repairs on the affected PCs.
New Norton Vista tool trades UAC for online feedback
Download Norton Labs UAC Tool for Windows Vista from FileForum now.
The latest freeware tool from Norton Labs offers to do Vista users a favor by turning off many of those annoying User Access Control prompts. If you're wondering what Symantec wants in return...so were we.
Verizon Wireless to raise fees for service-related texts
Verizon Wireless sent an announcement to partner companies this week that it will add a 3¢ fee for Mobile Terminated (MT) messages on the first of November.
There are generally three types of SMS traffic: Mobile Originated/Application Terminated, Application Originated/Mobile Terminated, and Mobile Originated/Mobile Terminated. Each type of SMS exchange is used for different purposes. For example, Mobile Originated/Application Terminated messages are used for text message voting systems.
BlackBerry Bold sales halted in UK
Research in Motion's BlackBerry Bold has undergone yet another delay, this time it's been attributed to "software issues" by UK service provider Orange.
The launch of Blackberry's 3G Bold smartphone in the US has been restricted due to what were purported to be extended Quality of Service tests on AT&T's network. This explanation now has some doubt cast upon it as a leaked document from UK carrier Orange attributes its halted Bold sales to software issues.
Internet snoop Adzilla vacates the American market
US Congressional hearings are one sign. But in another sign that North Americans are getting fed up with Web snooping, Adzilla has shut down its American operations and headed for the less privacy-focused environment of Asia.
In response to a Congressional crackdown on Charter Communications and its Web tracking partner NebuAd, fellow Internet privacy snoop Adzilla is abandoning its North American operations and packing its bags for the Asia-Pacific.
Qualcomm gains an ally in its renewed war with Broadcom
The leading provider of chipsets for the world's GPS devices is no longer seen as unchallenged in that department, and in August was handed a crushing defeat at the hands of Broadcom. Now, the enemy of its enemy may be its newest friend.
Last August 8, a judge with the US International Trade Commission found that SiRF Technology, a company that builds the chipsets used in a sizable, but slipping, majority of the world's GPS systems, were infringing upon six US patents from a Broadcom subsidiary directly related to the sensitivity of GPS devices. That subsidiary is called Global Locate, Inc., and it too makes GPS chipsets.
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