Steve Case Launches New Music Service
Steve Case is at work once again, this time on a music service that is built on top of the Facebook platform and connects to a user's iTunes playlist to stream it to others.
Backed by case's Revolution LLC, Qloud (pronounced "cloud") also has the backing of several labels and music industry luminaries. It intends to help the user share his or her iTunes library with friends through the social network Facebook.
MacBooks Get a Slight Speed Bump
Apple on Thursday quietly pushed updates to its MacBook line of laptops, giving them integrated video, a faster front side bus, and slightly faster processors. The white models will be bumped to 2.0 and 2.2GHz, while the black model gets the 2.2GHz processor. All the chips now are based on the Santa Rosa architecture, Macrumors reported. In addition, all models come with an 800Mhz front side bus, and GMA X3100 integrated video.
Customers may also choose to upgrade their MacBooks to 2.6GHz processor for $250 extra, according to the product pages. Overall, the bumps provide only marginal speed enhancements, a less than 10 percent increase from their predecessors. Silent upgrades to its products are common Apple practice: the company often upgrades the internals with little, if any notice to the press.
Gateway Acquisition Gives Acer More to Fight HP With
Setting up more guns on its side in its all out brawl against global #1 PC seller Hewlett-Packard, global #3 Acer - now with Gateway under its belt - filed amendments to its countersuit on Tuesday, alleging HP infringed on patents held by Acer. It's a serious battle, as Acer fights to prevent a federal judge from imposing an injunction against the importation of Acer PCs from Taiwan into the US.
Acer completed the transition of Gateway into its portfolio on October 17, so the timing of this countersuit is probably not coincidental. A check of the US Patent and Trademark Office database this morning revealed no fewer than 323 patents were assigned to Gateway, Inc. of Irvine, California. Though the amended lawsuit filing has not yet been made public, so the new patents in question have not been revealed outside of court, Gateway's patent portfolio included chip designs such as digital audio controllers, and practical designs such as a slot for holding a stylus on a portable PC.
Wal-Mart, Buy Price HD DVD Player at $100
Not to be outdone by rival retailers that have dropped the price of Toshiba's A2 HD DVD player to just under $200, Wal-Mart is knocking another $100 off the price this Friday, but only for one day. Wal-Mart shoppers can pick up the Toshiba A2 in stores for $98.87 from 8am to midnight. Best Buy is now offering the A2 for $99.99, although it appears to be out of stock at most stores.
While it has been replaced by the Toshiba A3, the A2 is fully capable thanks to firmware upgrades that keep older HD DVD players current. Although it's only a temporary sale, such low prices for HD DVD players will surely drive sales from those on the fence about whether to invest in high-definition movies. Blu-ray has yet to respond to the price drops, which could hurt the format's adoption this holiday season.
AOL Pushes Truveo Video Search Platform Globally
Stymie Over Whois Changes Leaves ICANN With Bad Options
At a meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in Los Angeles, another discussion about possible changes to a fundamental Internet process has been tabled. The implications of those changes would be substantial, and the implications of declining to make those changes may also be substantial.
It involves the Whois database - the registration of responsible authorities for the maintenance of services at designated IP addresses. Currently, the names of those authorities are typically available in the clear, and are publicly searchable. While online scam artists easily work the system to obfuscate their true identities, legitimate Web site proprietors would like some legitimate means for them to keep their public information - including their telephone numbers - out of the public view.
Intel Ships 150,000 Classmate PCs to Libya
Intel and Microsoft have shipped out 150,000 low-cost computers to the Libyan government, the companies confirmed on Tuesday.
While it is also said the Libyan government is set to receive a shipment of some 1.2 million of the OLPC's version of the laptop, so far shipments have not started. Thus Intel and Microsoft have beaten their competitor to the punch, so to speak.
MotoROKR Leverages Car Audio for MP3, Bluetooth Speakerphone
Motorola has announced its MotoROKR T505 A2DP FM Transmitter - a car-mounted device that can turn any FM radio into an MP3-playing speakerphone - for the first quarter of 2008.
Though it resembles a garage door opener, the Motorola MotoROKR T505 is actually a Bluetooth FM transmitter that also handles speakerphone duties. It can pair with stereo Bluetooth-enabled phones and MP3 players, and then broadcast the signal to a free station on your car's FM dial.
Nintendo Overtakes Sony in Video Game Revenues
Despite Sony's troubles in selling the PlayStation 3, it was still able to boast the highest software revenues of the big three -- until now.
Data released by iSuppli Tuesday indicates that in the third quarter Nintendo was able to eclipse the long-dominant Sony by some 200 million dollars, posting $1.2 billion in revenues. This was up from $943.6 million in the second quarter, and $611 million a year ago.
WD Ships 320GB Laptop Hard Drive
Filling the growing demand for larger mobile storage options, Western Digital announced Wednesday it has begun shipping a 320GB 2.5-inch hard drive for laptops and portable devices. The drive features a Serial ATA interface with transfer speeds of 3Gb per second.
Called the Scorpio, WD's drive comes in a speed of 5400 RPM, which might scare off enthusiasts, but is more than capable for most situations. Acer and other laptop manufacturers are expected to begin offering the drive shortly, and it can be purchased directly from WD for $199.99 USD.
At Last, Blu-ray Gets Picture-in-Picture
Panasonic said Tuesday that it had introduced the first Blu-ray player to be based on the Final Standard Profile, which adds new functionality that so far has been missing from Sony's format.
For example, picture-in-picture will be available for the first time in Blu-ray; previously it was only offered by HD DVD players and is useful for displaying special feature content alongside a movie. Additionally, other features which made the interactivity superior in HD DVD are now making it onto Blu-ray.
Kmart Dumps Blu-ray Due to Price
Kmart has decided not to carry Blu-ray players due to their high prices, instead focusing solely on HD DVD this holiday. While it may no longer be the bastion of discount stores it once was, Kmart's move highlights the problems facing Sony's format as HD DVD continues to get cheaper.
The HD DVD Promotions Group said that Kmart's decision to go exclusive wasn't related to an end-cap purchase (where vendors can buy specific shelf space and lock out competitors), but rather because the cost of Blu-ray players are more tailored to home theater enthusiasts. HD DVD meanwhile, will have players under $200, with even deeper discounts after Thanksgiving.
Apartment Exclusivity Deals with Cable Providers Banned by FCC
An apartment landlord cannot enter into an arrangement with a cable TV or broadband service making it the exclusive provider for an apartment complex or duplex, as a result of a ban on such arrangements yesterday by the US Federal Communications Commission, by a 5-0 vote.
But the extent of the ban may not have a measurable impact on apartment dwellers' options, as it merely invalidates exclusivity clauses. It does not mean that landlords must enable tenants access to the service provider of their choice - just that landlords can't be given price breaks for choosing one provider over another.
AOL Works To Allay Fears of Behaviorally Targeted Ads
With behaviorally targeted advertising becoming more and more popular, some Internet users are wishing to remain anonymous. AOL is planning an effort to educate users about the technology, as well as offer new ways to opt out.
The internet company is hoping to educate the public more about this method of advertising in hopes that Internet users will become more apt to participate. Ads using the technology are set to become a large part of the AOL banner ad network by the end of the year.
Google Introduces New Social Networking API
Google is expected to announce Thursday that it will release an API that allows developers to create a single application that works across several social networks.
So far the Mountain View, Calif. search giant will "open up" its own Orkut. Ning, Plaxo, Friendster, viadeo, Hi5, LinkedIn and Oracle have also agreed to open their networks to the API.
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