Sunday, February 24, 2008

Latest News
Hewlett-Packard beat its PC competitors in both online customer support and service in a recent survey. 24-Feb-2008

Aperture Technologies is offering a mobile version of its Vista data center planning and management program. 24-Feb-2008

Mandy Moore shares her encouragement, adventures, and advice on uPumpItUp.com. 24-Feb-2008

Microsoft's promise of better interoperability drew mixed reaction from the open-source community. 24-Feb-2008

Mobile video catches up with a pair of opportunist thieves and shares their exploits with the world on the Web. 24-Feb-2008

A young former idol learns a hard lesson about careless security when his hard drive's contents are posted. 24-Feb-2008

Britain strong-arms ISPs to work with entertainment industries to curtail illicit downloading. 24-Feb-2008

From terrible and terrific technology to big business ideas, PC World picks the best and worst of this year's Game Developers Conference. 23-Feb-2008

Even a 7 percent increase in broadband adoption would create 2.4 million jobs, says the nonprofit Connected Nation. 23-Feb-2008

RIM raised its subscriber-gain forecast for the current quarter despite recent outages. 23-Feb-2008

Music and video distribution company seeks to boost its game distribution business with an acquisition. 23-Feb-2008

Even novices can hack more effectively with a program that leverages Google's search prowess. 23-Feb-2008

Aspyr Media will soon release the Mac version of the role-playing adventure game. 23-Feb-2008

Supporters of the rival ODF and OOXML document formats should work together, says the editor of the ODF standard. 23-Feb-2008

High demand prompts Sony to soon seek additional sources of LCDs for TVs, report says. 23-Feb-2008

Société Générale could have prevented fraud that cost billions by imposing tighter controls on traders, a report concluded. 23-Feb-2008

New European guidelines seek a balance between protecting privacy and supporting new technologies. 23-Feb-2008

In "Operation Infrastructure," U.S. and European Commission agencies seized 360,000 counterfeit computer goods. 23-Feb-2008

Security firm identifies the primary sources of viruses, spyware, and other cyberpests. 23-Feb-2008

First Office Update Due in March, XML Converter Delayed
Getting the update out will push back the release of the final Open XML File Format Converter Update to Office 2004 for Mac. 23-Feb-2008

A merger would still leave plenty of jobs to go around, a Microsoft exec reassures staffers of both firms. 23-Feb-2008

European regulators say they'll keep tabs on how Microsoft delivers on its promise of transparency. 23-Feb-2008

Google's OpenSocial initiative to simplify the creation and adaptation of applications for social-networking sites needs further improvement. 22-Feb-2008

Think the iPhone is pricey? The cool cell phone of 1988 cost $4382 in today's dollars. A 150MB hard drive? $8755. Take a trip with us down memory lane, and you'll never whine about the price of a gadget again. 22-Feb-2008

A Microsoft official's blog sheds new light on the company's Silverlight 2 browser plug-in technology. 22-Feb-2008

What can aligning the iPod and iTunes offerings with a tv program do for Apple, even when the program in question is as popular as the Fox Network's "American Idol? 22-Feb-2008

In a letter to employees, Microsoft put an upbeat spin on its attempt to take over Yahoo. 22-Feb-2008

Carry-on batteries are now governed by a complicated new set of rules--and the government could get tougher. 22-Feb-2008

Engineering Director David Glazer discusses Google's OpenSocial social networking initiative. 22-Feb-2008

The hacking group Cult of the Dead Cow this week released a tool that turns Google into an automated vulnerability scanner. 22-Feb-2008

Some Windows Vista users began finding Service Pack 1 in Windows Update this week, even though it isn't promised until next month. 22-Feb-2008

The update improves the software's compatibility with Apple TV 2 and provides several bug fixes. 22-Feb-2008

U.S. and EU officials will work with importers to see how the fakes enter their markets, launch criminal investigations, and take up the matter with China. 22-Feb-2008

The update offers improved support for iPhone, along with other bug fixes and improvements. 22-Feb-2008

European growth will be just ahead of the United States at 7.5 percent annually, while Canada is expected to be the slowest region with 5.4 percent annually. 22-Feb-2008

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Blu-ray battled HD DVD to the death to win the high-def format war. What's ahead now for the average user? Here are our expert's pros and cons.

Read More
The battle for high-def video dominance began in 2000; here's a look at how Blu-ray bested HD DVD.


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Latest News
A handful of leading technology companies formed the PC Gaming Alliance to promote gaming, development and peripherals. 20-Feb-2008

A distributed denial of service attack plagued the blogging service through the weekend and into Tuesday. 20-Feb-2008

Cellular service competitors followed Verizon with unlimited monthly voice plans for $99. 20-Feb-2008

These creative prototypes take advantage of flexible, foldable screens, unusual designs, and materials that can mold themselves into new shapes. 19-Feb-2008

Apple quietly discontinued its Xserve RAID enterprise storage product line today after the introduction of XSan 2. 19-Feb-2008

A new laptop-protection system can automatically wipe hard disk data on machines taken from authorized locations. 19-Feb-2008

Joins rivals AT&T and Verizon in offering unlimited $99-a-month plans. 19-Feb-2008

Microsoft plans to authorize a proxy fight to oust Yahoo's board, according to The New York Times. 19-Feb-2008

Some systems are thrust into endless reboots after receiving Vista SP1 updates, according to messages posted to the company's support site. 19-Feb-2008

Blu-ray battled HD DVD to the death to win the high-def format war. What's ahead now for the average user? Here are our expert's pros and cons. 19-Feb-2008

What's next for Toshiba and for HD DVD consumers? The answers may be hidden in Toshiba's own words. 19-Feb-2008

While ISPs advertise ever-increasing broadband speeds, download speeds for users in the UK don't match the claims. 19-Feb-2008

Excel Software's MarketBuddy for Mac OS X and Windows increases contact capacity, cuts memory requirements. 19-Feb-2008

Apple's 1GB iPod Shuffle is getting a price cut, plus a 2GB sibling that ships this month. 19-Feb-2008

Intel's new powerhouse motherboard goes public at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. 19-Feb-2008

Sybase has entered the cluster-database market with Adaptive Server Enterprise Cluster Edition. 19-Feb-2008

Video game publisher Electronic Arts says China will soon be one of its top three markets in Asia. 19-Feb-2008

New service, co-founded by hacker DVD Jon, lets users share copy-protected files from iTunes. 19-Feb-2008

The battle for high-def video dominance began in 2000; here's a look at how Blu-ray bested HD DVD. 19-Feb-2008

New 'Turbo-3G' HSPA mobile services from AT&T Wireless and 3 Sweden feature fast upload speeds. 19-Feb-2008

Toshiba and SanDisk will build a state-of-the-art NAND flash memory factory and share the chips. 19-Feb-2008

Microsoft won't say if it will support Blu-ray for the Xbox; continues selling HD DVD external add-on. 19-Feb-2008

UPDATE: Toshiba says it will no longer develop, manufacture, or market HD DVD players and recorders. 19-Feb-2008

Unisys describes its broad services strategy, jockeying for a bigger role in the datacenter. 19-Feb-2008

Mozilla Messaging opened Tuesday, and will initially focus on Thunderbird 3. 19-Feb-2008

The DreamSpark program will provide programming tools to high school and college students worldwide. 19-Feb-2008

The new xVM Ops Center can automate operations workstations running Linux and Solaris. 19-Feb-2008

Shortage of skilled workers means firms would be smart to address women's workplace concerns, according to research. 18-Feb-2008

The Xbox 360's HD DVD support is by add-in, not built in, and Microsoft expects no changes. 18-Feb-2008

Congress urged to require standards in health care databases so private firms can exchange information as needed. 18-Feb-2008

Save the Children recreates a Freetown slum on its site to show donors how they make a difference. 18-Feb-2008

Here's a timeline of the format battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. 18-Feb-2008

A California court has shut down the U.S. version of Wikileaks.org, where whistle-blowers anonymously post documents. 18-Feb-2008

The maker of the BlackBerry claims Motorola has infringed on its patents and charges 'exorbitant' royalties. 18-Feb-2008

A file described as the database for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Web site shows up for sharing. 18-Feb-2008

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Latest News
The popular site is aiming to beat Amazon online with a selection of unrestricted MP3 downloads. 13-Feb-2008

Renesas SP Drivers will develop driver and controller chips for small LCDs in mobile devices. 13-Feb-2008

ISP Tele2 says it's not a weapon in the music industry's war against copyright violations. 13-Feb-2008

Acer is taking aim at Japan and also plans to launch low cost PCs and mobility products this year. 13-Feb-2008

The second lengthy BlackBerry outage in less than a year has one consulting company advising clients not to rely solely on the popular smart phones for critical e-mail messages. 13-Feb-2008

The Senate rejected a bid to remove legal immunity for telecom providers that participated in a government surveillance program. 13-Feb-2008

After declining Microsoft's buyout offer, Yahoo starts the layoffs announced last month. 13-Feb-2008

A fire an LCD monitor assembly plant in China will affect Lite-On's production, but won't disrupt global supplies. 13-Feb-2008

T-Mobile customers in 11 countries will see oneSearch as their mobile search application. 13-Feb-2008

News stories, videos, and blogs produced in the first 24 hours of the iPhone launch 13-Feb-2008

Looking for love this Valentine's Day? Sure, you'll find amore--and whole lot more--with online dating. 12-Feb-2008

All travelers, U.S. citizens and others, need to be aware of certain issues when entering the U.S. with electronic equipment. 12-Feb-2008

The Symbian operating system grew 50 percent over 2007, and is well placed to grow in future, according its chief executive officer. 12-Feb-2008

The software update for the Apple TV that was promised by Steve Jobs last month is now available. 12-Feb-2008

Microsoft today included a set of nonsecurity updates to prepare customers to install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 as part of its monthly "Patch Tuesday" security fixes. 12-Feb-2008

IDG World Expo today said this year's E for All game show, initally scheduled for August, will happen October 3-5, 2008. 12-Feb-2008

Research In Motion still can't say why its BlackBerry service went down for several hours yesterday. 12-Feb-2008

Eleven security updates are released today that fix a number of critical flaws in Microsoft products, including Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer. 12-Feb-2008

Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin says too many OSes are hindering mobile app development. 12-Feb-2008

Samsung and LG Electronics unveiled mobile phones running on LiMo, the new mobile Linux. 12-Feb-2008

Apple may release an iPhone with 3G technology by midyear, financial analyst says. 12-Feb-2008

Acer says a strong laptop market will push its 2008 sales up 35 percent over last year. 12-Feb-2008

Google search will be added first to new Nokia multimedia phones, then roll out to other handsets. 12-Feb-2008

UK plan would require ISPs to monitor Internet activity and cut off service to copyright violators. 12-Feb-2008

Seeking new subscribers, Match.com is testing a Facebook app, considering a hookup with MySpace. 12-Feb-2008

This week CNN is launching iReport.com, a site built completely on user-produced news. 12-Feb-2008

Vodafone is testing HSPA+, an update to the HSPA mobile broadband technology. 12-Feb-2008

Motorola has seen a 'tremendous increase' in sales of set-top boxes for HDTV services. 12-Feb-2008

The AOL Open Mobile Platform can be used for creating apps that run on any mobile phone. 12-Feb-2008

Asustek's upcoming U2E ultraportable has a leather-bound case and a 32GB solid state drive. 12-Feb-2008

RIM Co-Chief Exec Balsille says company may produce a touchscreen BlackBerry if demand is high. 12-Feb-2008

BenQ has unveiled the user interface for an upcoming Linux-based 'mobile Internet device.' 12-Feb-2008

Samsung says there is too much overlap, buying Motorola's mobile phone unit is not a good idea. 12-Feb-2008

Yahoo's new oneConnect service lets mobile phone users share bits of their favorite Web sites with friends. 12-Feb-2008

LG.Philips LCD is changing its name to LG Display, after Philips Electronics reduced its stake in the company. 12-Feb-2008

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Latest News
So-called 'white-label' social networks are proliferating in vertical markets and enterprises. 09-Feb-2008

The board, which met this weekend, reportedly expressed concern about regulatory scrutiny. 09-Feb-2008

A Dutch company develops the 'Tankpitstop' robot to fill 'er up while drivers relax. 09-Feb-2008

Industry organizations see opposition to patent reform legislation and step up the debate. 09-Feb-2008

CFO Chris Liddell has pushed for dozens of deals--including the recent bid for Yahoo--in his three years at Microsoft. 09-Feb-2008

Nokia began offering its N-Gage gaming service to N81 users and rebranded its Twango photo- and video-sharing site. 09-Feb-2008

Michel Mayer is leaving his dual role as chairman and CEO for the semiconductor company. 09-Feb-2008

A licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin claims Intel infringed on its patent related to processor technology. 09-Feb-2008

Barclays has sold its Colorado call center to Firstsource Solutions, which will use the site for several clients. 09-Feb-2008

Modeling and animation technology from acquisition Caligari could boost Microsoft's Virtual Earth mapping system. 09-Feb-2008

Dell has trimmed its online selection of AMD-based consumer systems, focusing instead on offering Intel-based PCs. 09-Feb-2008

The Web site of AvSoft Technologies attempts to install a virus on visiting PCs, security firm warns. 09-Feb-2008

Several partner firms will demo prototypes of devices running Android at the Mobile World Congress, Google says. 09-Feb-2008

Activists are calling for a vigil to draw attention to Saudi Arabian blogger Fouad Al-Farhan, imprisoned since December. 09-Feb-2008

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Latest News
Dell is patching up its mashed-up enterprise support model by retooling some elements. 06-Feb-2008

Enterprises get tips from a consultant on dealing with compliance, discounts, ongoing support, and terms and conditions. 06-Feb-2008

A former Xerox customer service agent is charged with stealing and reselling stolen cartridges. 06-Feb-2008

Technology displays two-line banner ads on cell phone screens along with free e-mail service. 06-Feb-2008

The new Open Value Subscription program gives additional software license options to small businesses. 06-Feb-2008

Zimbra, acquired by Yahoo last year, updated its communication and collaboration suite. 06-Feb-2008

Attackers are exploiting an ActiveX bug in Yahoo's Jukebox music player, Symantec says. 05-Feb-2008

Skype patches a critical vulnerability that forced it to dump features from its VoIP and chat software to prevent attackers from hijacking Windows PCs. 05-Feb-2008

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says future growth for the company hinges on continued investment, especially in eight core areas. 05-Feb-2008

A judge will decide if a company that gathers evidence for the RIAA in illegal file-sharing cases should be required to have a private investigator's license. 05-Feb-2008

The CanSecWest security research conference promoters are thinking about giving hackers another shot at hacking a Mac, as well as Linux- and Windows-based PCs. 05-Feb-2008

AT&T will raise rates for most of its major broadband plans in its 13-state legacy region starting in March, the company said this week. 05-Feb-2008

A wave of bugs in the plug-in technology used by Microsoft's browser has some security experts recommending that users disable all ActiveX controls. 05-Feb-2008

Our cell phone expert puts the HTC SMT5800 through its paces and finds out how it stacks up against Verizon's other Windows Mobile phones. 05-Feb-2008

Hands-on users of the new OS are proving to be the most resistant. 05-Feb-2008

Although motor skills are equal, males were quicker to understand the object of the tested games, and thus performed better initially, the study found. 05-Feb-2008

GameTap is shutting down the servers for its Myst Online multiplayer online game, but site will remain live. 05-Feb-2008

Terra Soft has released Yellow Dog Linux 6.0, which runs on G4 and G5 Macs. 05-Feb-2008

Adobe Systems is discontinuing its royalty-free Adobe Stock Photos service on April 1. 05-Feb-2008

Aloha Spectrum Holdings sold 12 MHz of its nationwide 700 MHz wireless spectrum to AT&T for $2.5 billion. 05-Feb-2008

PicoChip's base station for the 4G mobile standard LTE can also run WiMax. 05-Feb-2008

A Las Vegas company has been fined $2.6 million and ordered to stop sending spam, making false claims. 05-Feb-2008

A new language is being developed by cell phone-addicted teens based on predictive text. 05-Feb-2008

A civil suit filed by Dell sheds light on typosquatting, creating ad-filled Web pages with URLs that are similar to brand-name sites. 05-Feb-2008

Apple iTunes now offers Naval Battle, and Chess and Backgammon, for latest-gen iPods. 05-Feb-2008

Acronis Recovery lets IT managers back up and recover SQL Server, Oracle, and Microsoft Exchange databases. 05-Feb-2008

Developers working on a Mac port of the Xbox Media Center software have released XBMC version 1. 05-Feb-2008

With the iPhone in only four countries, Apple has become the world's third largest smart phone supplier. 05-Feb-2008

Announcements by Yahoo and Google show that Microsoft faces challenges to its business software franchises. 05-Feb-2008

HP now uses recycled plastics to produce its inkjet printer cartridges. 05-Feb-2008

Researchers say proof-of-concept chip is 10 times more efficient than chips in current cell phones. 05-Feb-2008

Nvidia is buying graphics vendor Ageia Technologies, developer of the PhysX gaming engine. 05-Feb-2008

EA is limiting sequels to focus on original games like Spore, expects PS3 to outsell Xbox. 05-Feb-2008

The MySpace developer Web site launches today; developers have till March to create apps before they're available to members. 05-Feb-2008

eBay merchants say new fee structure and ban on leaving negative feedback about buyers will change the marketplace. 05-Feb-2008

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Latest News
We at PC World have seen technology history--lots and lots of it. And maybe even made a little of it ourselves. 01-Feb-2008

Plus: Wii fitness, the checked-luggage battery ban, and more. 01-Feb-2008

Exploit code affecting an unpatched flaw in an image uploader used by both Facebook and MySpace is circulating publicly. 01-Feb-2008

Magnetic fields produced by Apple iPods and other such portable music devices don't interfere with cardiac pacemakers, an FDA study says. 01-Feb-2008

Put together two giants like these and there are bound to be some good results and some nasty ones. Here are 11 of our dreams and nightmares. 01-Feb-2008

If Yahoo accepts Microsoft's big buyout offer, will some of the Yahoo services you like be discontinued or, perhaps worse, Redmond-ized? 01-Feb-2008

Federal agencies required to ensure security of their Windows XP and Vista PCs by the end of February are going to get some tools to help them. 01-Feb-2008

Microsoft wants to give its online advertising and online services business a major boost, ending years of business and technology defeats at the hands of Google. 01-Feb-2008

MacBook Air users might need to move their new ultra-thin laptops to keep bits moving to and fro, Apple Inc. said in a note on its support site, just one of several problems posted now that the new portable has started shipping. 01-Feb-2008

The Yahoo bid is a dramatic statement from Microsoft, a company that delayed acknowledging the importance of emerging Web business models for so long. 01-Feb-2008

Regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe both must approve the proposed acquisition, which is already drawing ire. 01-Feb-2008

UPDATE2: CEO Ballmer suggests the firms could team on online ads and apps. 01-Feb-2008

A researcher says the techniques to stay anonymous online can be thwarted through flaws in the systems. 01-Feb-2008

Flag Telecom's repair ship should reach and begin repairing the damaged undersea Internet cable on Tuesday. 01-Feb-2008

Terry Semel is leaving his post as Yahoo's non-executive chairman, six months after resigning as CEO. 01-Feb-2008

Analysis: Low flash memory prices could mean lower cost solid-state devices and bigger storage in gadgets. 01-Feb-2008

Update: The handset division is Motorola's biggest business, but has had no big wins since the Razr. 01-Feb-2008

Eco-friendly, GreenPower family of hard drive consume less power and go idle when not in use. 01-Feb-2008

The partners develop flash technology that speeds data transfers by up to five times. 01-Feb-2008

Here's Microsoft's formal offer letter sent to Yahoo's board of directors on Thursday. 01-Feb-2008

Apple's iTunes U offerings have expanded this week with new content from the(PBS) network. 31-Jan-2008

Mozilla bumped up the threat ranking for an unpatched Firefox bug to "high," but promises a quick fix. 31-Jan-2008

Microsoft schedules a Feb. 27 launch event for SP1 and Windows Server 2008 in Los Angeles. 31-Jan-2008

No plans to develop Halo Wars for Windows Vista at this time, a Microsoft executive says. 31-Jan-2008

AT&T's wireless data networks in the Southeast and Midwest U.S. were down today. 31-Jan-2008

Angry eBay sellers are threatening a week-long strike by pulling their listings to protest changes in the online auction company's fee structure. 31-Jan-2008

A warning posted by Apple on networking issues with the newly-released MacBook Air has been dropped from Apple's Web site. 31-Jan-2008

Install the software and services you want--plus, enjoy cameras, portable game consoles, and more with access to wireless networks. 31-Jan-2008

A preliminary investigation links the cuts to a ship's anchor that dragged and ripped into the two fiber optic undersea cables. 31-Jan-2008

A look at Comcast's entertainment portal, a video site for game fans, and AOL's new investment information center. 31-Jan-2008

No more huge deals but plenty of consolidation in the software industry, Forrester Research reports. 31-Jan-2008

Most young people in the U.S. download their music, from sites like iTunes but also from file-sharing services. 31-Jan-2008

If $746,000 for the Jupiter PC with a diamond-studded platinum case is too much, there's a cheaper gold model. 31-Jan-2008

Online advertiser Member Source Media used misleading bulk e-mail to drive traffic to its Web site, FTC says. 31-Jan-2008

MacBook Air purchasers should use only the Mac OS X install discs that came with their laptops. 31-Jan-2008