Nokia Announces the 9300i

With the announcement of the Nokia 9300i, Nokia has added another member to its family of high-end smartphones. The company says that its 9300i has the right combination of design and functionality, and is ideal for professionals on-the-go.

The Nokia 9300i features WLAN connectivity with full keyboard, 65,536-color screen, support for a wide range of email solutions and an attachment viewer. WLAN connectivity enables the 9300i to provide a reliable and cost-effective data connection for downloading large files or emails with attachments.

Nokia 9300i's wide color screen facilitates viewing different types of documents, presentations, spread-sheets, etc; while its memory capacity of 80 MB expandable up to 2 GB, offers ample space for file storage.

The new smartphone supports E-GPRS (EDGE) and WLAN 802.11g; multiple email clients (with attachments) including BlackBerry Connect, Nokia Business Center, IBM WebSphere, Oracle Collaboration Suite, Seven Always-On Mail and Visto Mobile; and five-party conference calling via an integrated speakerphone.

9300i's infrared and Bluetooth capabilities offer users 2 distinct ways of wirelessly synchronizing their devices to a desktop PC or laptop, as also of exchanging data with other mobile devices.

Niklas Savander, senior vice president, business device unit - enterprise solutions business group, Nokia, said, "Nokia continues to offer more choices for individuals, looking for fully featured smartphones built specifically for business use. Our business customers want continuity as well as a constant stream of improvements in our products. The Nokia 9300i delivers just that as it combines WLAN and other features with a suite of powerful applications and email solutions."

The Nokia 9300i is slated to be available in Q1 2006 and the company plans to offer a tri-band version of its 9300i, optimized for mobile networks in Europe and Asia (900/1800/1900 MHz), and capable of operating in compatible GSM networks in America.

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Holographic Challenge for DVDs

If you thought Blu-ray and HD-DVD were the only new disc formats coming out this decade, think again. The emergence of holographic data storage technology may hamper growth for the two rival high-definition formats in the years to come.

Holographic data storage has existed for 40 years, but is just coming to the commercial market and may reach the consumer market by 2007. The new DVD formats promoted by Sony (Blu-ray) and Toshiba (HD-DVD) are expected to go on sale in early 2006.

As opposed to the blue laser technology used both in Blu-ray and HD-DVD, holographic storage goes beyond recording the surface of the disc and records through the full depth of the medium.

Longmont, Colorado-based InPhase Technologies has formed an alliance with Hitachi Maxell to sell discs the size of a DVD that can store 300 GB of data. By comparison, Blu-ray discs will be able to hold 50 GB and HD-DVD discs will store about 30 GB. InPhase’s Tapestry holographic system can store more than 26 hours of broadcast-quality high-definition video.

While other technologies record one data bit at a time, holography allows a million bits of data to be written and read in parallel with a single flash of light. So transfer rates are significantly higher than current optical storage devices.

As a result, the holographic discs also can read and write data at 10 times the speed of the DVDs currently in the market, or six times that of blue laser discs.

Commercial holographic discs will go on sale by the end of 2006. The initial product, called Tapestry Media, will come in the form of 130mm discs made from a photopolymer material.

InPhase is currently marketing the product to enterprises that can afford the high cost of the discs and readers. Currently, the reader costs a lofty $15,000 each, while one single disc costs $120—clearly unaffordable for the consumer market, Liz Murphy, vice president of marketing at InPhase, said Monday.

The hopes to fill the archival needs in the commercial markets for specific applications such as security, geospatial imagery, entertainment and broadcast, medical, and scientific applications, Ms. Murphy said.

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Arriving on Tuesday: Firefox's 1.5 Browser

As we reported recently, the final version of Firefox 1.5 is due to show up on Tuesday, sometime in the afternoon. Once it does, it'll be available at GetFirefox.com, and I'll get in line with the teeming masses to download it. But I've been using various pre-release versions for weeks now, and for the most part, things have gone extremely well. The little browser that could has gotten even better.

Firefox 1.5 looks practically the same as 1.0, and there's no single new feature that'll change your life. But there's a pretty long list of enhancements, including at least two that are major and overdue: You can now download and install patches to the browser--rather than having to download the whole shebang every time--and you can drag and drop tabs to shuffle 'em around.

Some of the other tweaks include a quick and easy way to flush out your browser history and other settings that snoops might look at, faster performance of the Back and Forward buttons (according to Mozilla--I never had a problem with 1.0's speed here, but 1.5 does feel a tad snappier), and a tidier, better-organized Options dialog. And bravo to Mozilla for taking the time to improve the browser's accessibility to disabled users, including better support for screen readers for the blind.

The upgrade also has a bunch of architectural refinements, such as support for SVG, CSS 2, CSS 2, and CSS 3; most of us won't notice these, but they put the browser in better stead to run today and tomorrow's most sophisticated Web applications smoothly. And Mozilla says it has "many" security enahncements, which might be reason enough to upgrade.

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3G industry optimistic for 2006

3G stands for third generation, which, put simply, is broadband for your mobile.

However, much of the hype around the services it offers - including video, picture messaging, and accessing the internet - has not been realised in past years.

Despite all the fancy offerings, it turns out that most people use their phones to make telephone calls and send the occasional text.

In Europe voice is the clear revenue winner, closely followed by text. But we only spend an average of 1 euro a month on all the other services put together.

Operators are looking at a similar situation in the US, although in Japan and South Korea, where 3G were first introduced, the field is more bunched up.

Part of the problem may be data speeds. 3G typically offers us download rates of 100 to 300 kilobits per second - this is much slower than most broadband connections in the home which typically pass data round at megabit speeds.

But new upgrades to networks such as HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and EV-DO (Evolution, Data Optimised) could spark a change in 2006.

We will not know it is happening, but these upgrades will mean we can download data from one place to another at between two and three times the speed.

This makes large files like music or video a far more attractive proposition.

Makeover

Last month, the Isle of Man in the UK was the first place in Europe to get a commercial roll out of the new HSDPA technology, allowing faster broadband access over the whole island.

Although this is only available through a PC card at the moment, it is already leading to a turf war between wi-fi hotspots and cellular networks.

Internet browsing on mobiles is in for a makeover as well. Some big industry names are behind a new browser called the S60, which was recently shown off in Hong Kong.

Launching early next year, it allows quick zoom in, a page overview, and an Apple-like scroll-through page history.

Broadband has already fuelled an explosion in online multi-player gaming in the home, and now many see that transferring to mobiles.

However, because of the time it takes to play many games, much will depend on how much operators charge these young players.

Higher data speeds while on the go makes mobile TV more attractive, too, and many in the industry believe it is the development to watch in 2006.

But some already see a tussle between the operators and content providers, as Mark Newman, an industry analyst from Informa, explained.

"If we imagine in any particular country there may be four or five mobile operators, and each one wants to have something exclusive that they can offer to their customers.

"On the other hand if you're a TV company, you want to broadcast your services to as many people as possible. Immediately you have friction between the two sides."

Driving factors

It is not just about the technology. Next year's Football World Cup is expected to be a significant turning point.

Christophe Caselitz, the president of Global Mobile Networks for Siemens, said: "The soccer event is going to be one of the driving factors next year.

"I would doubt that somebody is going to watch 120 minutes over the cell phone, but you can condense that, you can look to the most important goals, or to the most important scenes.

"Then we have really good chances that the soccer championship next year will be the boom for this technology."

Siemens was showing off its version of a new mobile TV broadcast system, called DVBH, at the show.

We will need new handsets to receive the signals, so while trials began this year, the rollout could perhaps be more likely to coincide with the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Internet telephony, or IP calling, promises to help bring down the cost of calling next year, with wi-fi in the home and office likely to lead to landline rates on our mobiles while inside these hotspots.

Marc Rouanne, the chief operating officer at Alcatel, said the first thing that will start is combined GSM and wi-fi.

"With the handset you have, you will arrive in your home and you will move to wi-fi and DSL. You won't notice.

"That's simplicity. This is coming for Christmas in seven markets."

As for Wimax - wi-fi's cousin that covers a much larger area - it could still be a way off for mobiles. For one thing, they need to get a large transmitter/receiver inside the handsets.

As for 3G itself, many see 2006 as a turning point for the fortunes of new services.

The industry is waiting for us all to do more than just talk.

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XBox 360 - High Def vs Normal TV

One glorious feature of the XBox 360 is that it can put out a high definition TV signal. All of us players with HDTV systems will get to see amazing clarity.

First, it's important to comment that the XBox 360 has two separate cables that it can use. One puts out the high quality HD signal. The other cable is the STANDARD TV signal that we know and love from existing game systems. So if you don't have a HD TV yet, don't panic. As long as you get the standard cable, you will be able to play the system on your standard TV.

That being said, it's important to note that the games will look FAR better on a HDTV, because of course the HDTV has a far better resolution. Here's how TV resolution works.

On a standard TV, if you look really closely at the screen, you'll see little dots of color. Each dot can make red, green or blue. There are a total of 480 lines of dots. Each dot lights up with its 3 base colors, to help fill in the total picture. Since there are only 480 lines, it means you can actually see the lines and the graininess when you watch TV. It's like reading a poorly printed newspaper, where you can see lines and ridges in the photos.

Also, a standard TV has a ratio of 4:3, meaning that the screen is 4 units wide by 3 units high. It's not quite a square, it's a long rectangle. That's because when TVs were coming out, this was the radio of movie screens. Since then of course movie screens have gotten wider - but TV screens have not.

High definition fixes these problems. First, it has a MUCH better resolution. You now have a grid of 1920 x 1080 dots!! That gives you *incredibly* higher detailed pictures. You usually are very hard pressed to see the lines at all. You can see crystal clear images on this.

Next, the ratio has changed to match what we see in movie theaters - 16:9 ratio. It is much wider. This is important because your human eyeballs are meant to see the world with a wide angle. You don't look down a tunnel. When you watch a show with that wider aspect, you feel more "immersed" in the experience. Also, when you get DVDs of modern movies, you don't end up with pieces chopped off the edges. You get to see the full movie experience.

Currently, just under 20% of US homes have a HD TV set. According to studies, over half of all US households had plans to buy a HDTV in the next 12 months. You might want to be one of them, if you don't have a HD TV already!

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Wireless home music hub needs no computer

Olive Media Products has introduced the Musica wireless music center, an alternative to the PC as the digital music hub in the home.

The Musica has a 160GB hard drive that stores more than 40,000 songs. It can access music from any Mac or PC that is on the same home network. It also allows users to burn music directly into the device, from not only CDs but also analog tape or vinyl albums.

The Musica has its own CD rewritable drive, so users can burn custom CDs or copy existing albums and update iPods, all without a computer.

As a media hub, the Musica can stream music to as many as 20 rooms, including user-selected Internet radio stations. The Digital Pure Audio feature allows users to harmonize the music volume and attributes to correspond to a specific room or atmosphere.

Burned music can be stored in MP3 or WAV files. The Musica is available via the company's Web site at olive.us for $1,099. For an additional fee, the company will preload the Musica with a customer's private music collection.

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Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Highest in 650,000 Years

Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are the highest they have been in 650,000 years, according to the first in-depth analysis of tiny air bubbles trapped in an ice core from East Antarctica.

In two articles analyzing air from the ice core published in the journal "Science" today, European researchers have extended the greenhouse gas record back to 650,000 years before the present, adding 210,000 years to previous records.

One study chronicles the stable relationship between climate and the carbon cycle during the Pleistocene Era, 390,000 to 650,000 years before the present. The second one documents atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide levels over the same period.

The analysis shows that today’s rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, at 380 parts per million by volume, is now 27 percent higher than its highest recorded level during the last 650,000 years, said "Science" author Thomas Stocker of the Physics Institute of the University of Bern, in Bern, Switzerland, who serves as the corresponding author for both papers.

“We have added another piece of information showing that the timescales on which humans have changed the composition of the atmosphere are extremely short compared to the natural time cycles of the climate system,” Stocker said.

This 210,000 year extension of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane records, encompassing two full glacial cycles, should help scientists better understand climate change and the nature of the current warm period on Earth. The record may also aid researchers in reducing uncertainty in predictions of future climate change and help to clarify when humans began significantly changing the balance of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.

A long term research effort known as the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, or EPICA, recovered the new ice core from a site in East Antarctica called EPICA Dome C.

The EPICA Dome C ice core contains hundreds of thousands of years worth of atmospheric air samples within small bubbles trapped in the ice. The air bubbles form when snowflakes fall, and they contain a record of global greenhouse gas concentrations.

The new ice core record described in the two "Science" papers provides some overlap with a similar record from the Vostok ice core – now, the second longest ice core record -- and extends the Vostok record by 210,000 years.

Ed Brook, a professor of geosciences at Oregon State University, who analyzed the studies in the same issue of "Science" called the research "an amazing accomplishment we would not have thought possible" as recently as 10 years ago."

"Not long ago we thought that previous ice studies which go back about 500,000 years might be the best we could obtain," said Brook, who is also the co-chair of the International Partnerships in Ice Coring Sciences, a group that is helping to plan future ice core research efforts around the world.

"Now we have a glimpse into the past of up to 650,000 years, and we believe it may be possible to go as much as one million years or more," Brook said. "This will give us a fuller picture of Earth's past climates, the way they changed and fluctuated, and the forces that caused the changes. We'll be studying this new data for years."

"The levels of primary greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are up dramatically since the Industrial Revolution, at a speed and magnitude that the Earth has not seen in hundreds of thousands of years," Brook said. "There is now no question this is due to human influence."

Analysis of the older cores just removed from Antarctica, Brook said, are consistent with some of the quick changes in methane and carbon dioxide levels that are related to abrupt climate change.

It also appears that the natural climate cycles in the distant past – the development and retreat of Ice Ages, for instance – were smaller in magnitude and had less fluctuation in atmospheric gases than what the Earth is now experiencing.

There are critical questions that work of this type may help answer, researchers say such as the relationship between increasing levels of greenhouse gases and global warming.

There are also concerns that the Earth's climate may have changed very abruptly at times in the past, in complex interactions between the atmosphere, ocean currents and ice sheets.

Past studies of gases trapped in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores have suggested that Earth's temperature can sometimes change amazingly fast, warming as much as 15 degrees in some regions within a couple of decades.

At the same time, there are concerns about the change of major ocean currents, such as those in the North Atlantic Ocean, that are responsible for the comparatively mild climate of much of Europe.

If that "thermohaline circulation pattern" were to abruptly shut down, as has happened at times in the past, it could plunge much of the European continent into a climate more closely resembling that of central Canada.

Brook says continuing research will help to address many of these questions. The 17 nation committee he co-chairs is considering a very deep ice coring project in Antarctica that might provide a record of atmospheric gases 1.2 million years ago, or even further back in time.

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Scientists discover singing iceberg in Antarctica

Scientists monitoring earth movements in Antarctica believe they have found a singing iceberg.

Sound waves from the iceberg had a frequency of around 0.5 hertz, too low to be heard by humans, but by playing them at higher speed the iceberg sounded like a swarm of bees or an orchestra warming up, the scientists said.

The German Alfred Wegener institute for polar and marine research publish the results of its study, done in 2002, in Science magazine on Friday.

Between July and November 2002 researchers picked up acoustic signals of unprecedented clarity when recording seismic signals to measure earthquakes and tectonic movements on the Ekstroem ice shelf on Antarctica's South Atlantic coast.

Tracking the signal, the scientists found a 50 by 20 kilometer iceberg that had collided with an underwater peninsula and was slowly scraping around it.

"Once the iceberg stuck fast on the seabed it was like a rock in a river," said scientist Vera Schlindwein. "The water pushes through its crevasses and tunnels at high pressure and the iceberg starts singing."

"The tune even goes up and down, just like a real song."

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High Def, Low Cost: HDTV Prices Plunge

Big screen, shrinking price tag: Syntax's 32-inch Olevia LT32HVE LCD TV has a street price of approximately $1100. The most casual of HDTV shoppers know that prices fall each year, but price cuts over the past 12 months have finally brought large LCD and plasma models within reach for mainstream shoppers as the holiday-buying season gets into full swing.

Prices for LCD TVs have declined in part because of heavy competition from such budget brands as Syntax and Westinghouse, says Riddhi Patel, senior analyst for market research company iSuppli. In addition, LCD panel manufacturers are able to turn out more screens per day. David Naranjo, vice president at research firm DisplaySearch, says that new factories can output glass sheets large enough to make eight 32-inch panels, compared with the three-panel sheets previous-generation facilities produced.

This combination of efficiency and competition has roughly halved the average street prices of 32-inch LCDs in the past year, according to DisplaySearch. Still, prices continue to vary a good deal between brand-name and budget offerings. For example, U.S. market leader Sharp's LC-32GA5U model has a street price of about $1700, while the Olevia LT32HVE from relative newcomer Syntax goes for about $1100.

Good Starters

These 32-inch models make good HD starter sets for U.S. customers, Naranjo says, because images on their wide, 16:9-aspect-ratio screens are roughly the same height as those on a conventional 27-inch, 4:3-aspect-ratio CRT--today's most popular TV type.

As usual, shoppers willing to wait longer will likely save even more money. However, DisplaySearch predicts a more modest 38 percent price drop for 32-inch LCD TVs in 2006.

While LCD vendors are upping production of 40-inch-plus panels, plasma displays remain far better deals in that size range, with average prices of 42-inch high-definition panels falling by about 35 percent in 2005, DisplaySearch reports. Some price cuts have been greater: In 2004 Panasonic's TH-42PX25 listed at $6000; its current successor, the TH-42PX50, has a list price of $3000. In comparison, LG's 42-inch LCD, the 42LP1D, sells for $4800.

As with LCDs, efficiency gains have contributed to falling plasma prices. Panasonic's newest plasma-glass factory produces six 42-inch panels per sheet, compared with two panels per sheet at the previous-generation facility. Discount brands such as Akai, Maxx, and Norcent have not pushed prices down as much as their LCD counterparts have, but they're starting to. "I think they are getting more attention now that value brands in LCD have caught on," says iSuppli's Patel.

Plasma Closes In

Meanwhile, prices for digital rear-projection sets--DLP, LCD, and LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) models--haven't dropped as much as prices for flat panels. For example, 50-inch digital rear-projection sets have dropped just 27 percent over the last year. As a result, plasma sets are starting to attract people who in years past might have opted for a rear projection model.

LG Electronics spokesperson John Taylor says that the company is focusing its rear-projection efforts on 50-inch or larger sets. But even here, rear projection is no longer markedly less expensive than plasma. For example, Panasonic's 56-inch DLP model, the PT-56DLX75, lists for $3300, while its 50-inch TH-50PX50 plasma set sells for just $700 more. In contrast, Panasonic's 50-inch DLP set, the PT-50DLD64, last year sold for $4000--half the list price of the company's 50-inch TH-50PX25 plasma set.

Flat Panels Drop the Most

LCD and plasma prices have fallen furthest in the past year; digital rear-projection price declines are now predicted to flatten.

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Shortages spoil Xbox 360 launch

Many American electronics stores sold out of the coveted console on the first day it went on sale and many who queued overnight were left empty handed.

Shortages were made worse as many gamers did not want to settle for the lower-priced version of the gadget that lacks a hard drive.

Some enterprising Xbox 360 owners cashed in on the scarcity by instantly re-selling their console on eBay.

Empty shelves

Microsoft's next generation console officially went on sale at midnight on 22 November but many who queued to make sure of grabbing the gadget did not manage to buy one. Some stores were reportedly allocated less than fifty of the consoles.

The websites of Amazon, Circuit City, Best Buy and Wal-Mart all listed the console as sold out.

Microsoft is selling the Xbox 360 in two bundles but few gamers seemed happy to settle for the cheaper version of the unit that does not have a 20 GB hard drive.

The hard drive or a memory unit is needed for players who want to use the console to play games for the original Xbox or who want to save their progress on new games.

"Hard-core gamers would pay up for a premium system and do not want to feel limited to a shaved down system," said David Hornak who was offered only the lower-priced machine at Best Buy in New York.

Up to half of all the machines allocated to electronics stores were the cheaper bundle which only helped to worsen the supply problems.

Analysts expect the sell-outs to continue for days and some did not expect the supply problems to ease until well into December. The situation is likely to be repeated when the 360 goes on sale in Europe on 2 December and Japan on 10 December.

"We are well aware that many gamers are disappointed to have not gotten their Xbox 360 on day one," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, in a statement.

He added: "We are working around the clock to manufacture as many Xbox 360s as we can and are replenishing our retail channel week after week."

Microsoft is hoping to sell three million Xbox 360s in the first 90 days that the console is on sale.

Ebay reported that 1,800 Xbox 360s had been re-sold via the auction site in the first 12 hours after the console was launched - many for a significant mark-up on the original price.

In a statement eBay said that the average price of the consoles was $660 (£385). By comparison the full Xbox 360 bundle is selling in stores for $399.99.

Some packages of the console which came with a selection of games were selling for prices as high as $2,500 said Ebay.

Microsoft's launch of the Xbox 360 now is widely seen as a gamble because although it means the console is on sale in the important Christmas season it has to hope that frustration does not turn to anger and translate into lost sales.

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Classy debut for GTA on Sony PSP

It is time to return to the Liberty City of Grand Theft Auto 3 in the most intense epic created for the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Terrorising the handheld amid the usual fanfare, the biggest-selling action series of all time retains the same free-roaming gameplay, high production values and tabloid-baiting violence as players grease the crime ladder for the Leone family.

Befitting the format, missions are easier and more potted than on the home consoles, delivering quick bursts of crime to your thumbs.

The action hardly deviates much from GTA's best-selling formula, while rage missions, hidden packages, and lashings of side tasks keep things busy.

Once again the presentation is impeccable, with lengthy cut-scenes driving the story and an urban sprawl that is even easier on the eyes than when we first made the merry trip to Liberty City on the PlayStation 2.

The radio stations return and, although offering a less memorable collection of tunes, the ability to rip your MP3s is a big plus. The voice talent, although competent, boasts none of the star turns that characterised previous games.

Power hungry

It is not all hunky-dory in Liberty City, though.

While pushing the infant PSP like no other game, Liberty City also exposes the machine's hardware failings.

The stiff, shallow analogue stick is unforgiving and difficult to control. It is no substitute for the PlayStation 2's Dual Shock controller.

The machine's tin-pot speakers whimper out the licensed soundtrack like a mouse's death rattle, while the limited battery life means you must stay close to a power socket.

Still, there is much to admire here, including wireless multiplayer death matches and racing for the masses.

Hardware issues aside, Liberty City is simply an incredible technical accomplishment for a handheld, delivering a dose of Grand Theft that outshines the original PlayStation 2 GTA3 and redefines what portable gaming can be.

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Ground Rules for Buying on the Cutting Edge: mp3 player

IPod or not? Faced with that decision, people tend to flock toward what's most popular.

And there are good reasons to do so. Apple's tiny iPod Shuffle, barely-larger iPod Nano and the full-sized, video-capable iPod combine utility, elegance and style as few electronic items ever have. The iPod also works with the best music-jukebox program available, Apple's iTunes.

So why buy any other player?

The first reason is the most important feature of a digital music player: which kinds of music files it accepts in addition to MP3s, by far the most widely used type. (Only some older Sony models balk at that format.)

Beyond MP3s, Apple's iPods support the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) formats used by the iTunes program and music store, but not Microsoft's Windows Media Audio, or WMA. Windows Media-compatible players by such firms as Creative and iRiver, however, can't play Apple's formats. Sony's hardware accommodates Sony's proprietary ATRAC format, but not Windows Media or AAC.

Although the big music-download stores carry about the same inventory, Windows Media-based sites such as Napster, Rhapsody and Yahoo offer one thing iTunes doesn't: the option to pay $10 to $15 a month to download unlimited songs. These downloads can't be burned to audio CDs and expire when the subscription does-- but for those who want to acquire a lot of music in a hurry, this rental option might work. If so, look for a player marked with a blue "Plays For Sure" logo that has a checkmark next to "Subscription."

The other reason to buy a non-iPod player is to get things that Apple won't offer--for instance, FM tuners and user-replaceable batteries. (Those inside the iPods are sealed inside their shiny cases; Apple's mail-in replacement service costs $60.)

Lastly, since the Windows version of iTunes only runs on Win 2000 and XP, users of older Microsoft systems who don't want to pay for third-party iPod-management programs will have to stick to Windows Media-based players.

How to choose among the many different Windows Media models?

Most are compact devices that use flash memory to store anywhere from 64 megabytes to two gigabytes of music. If you go this route, pick up one with at least 256 megabytes of storage. One useful bonus feature to look for is the ability to store a computer's address book and calendars, which may eliminate the need for a handheld organizer.

If, on the other hand, you'd prefer to join the iPod-purchasing hordes, the next step is to choose between the iPod Shuffle, the iPod Nano and what I'll call the "big" iPod ("big" being a relative term).

For most people, the iPod Nano makes sense. In two- and four-gigabyte sizes ($199 and $249), it stores enough music for days of nonstop listening, as well as copies of digital photos and a Mac or PC's contacts and calendar files.

The big iPod, $299 for a 30-gigabyte model and $399 for a 60-gigabyte version, can also play videos bought at iTunes or converted from other sources. But the limited selection on iTunes -- and the way video playback drains an iPod's battery in just a few hours -- makes that feature a dubious value. The real reason to get the big iPod is to be able to carry around an entire music collection at once.

The iPod Shuffle starts at just $99 for a 512-megabyte version. But with little storage and no screen, it's best as somebody's first player ever -- especially if the recipient may subject it to some abuse -- or as a second player used during exercise.

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Butterfly wings work like LEDs

Fluorescent patches on the wings of African swallowtail butterflies work in a very similar way to high emission light emitting diodes (LEDs).

These high emission LEDs are an efficient variation on the diodes used in electronic equipment and displays.

The University of Exeter, UK, research appears in the journal Science.

In 2001, Alexei Erchak and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrated a method for building a more efficient LED.

Most light emitted from standard LEDs cannot escape, resulting in what scientists call a low extraction efficiency of light.

Ingenious design

The LED developed at MIT used a two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal - a triangular lattice of holes etched into the LED's upper cladding layer - to enhance the extraction of light.

And layered structures called Bragg reflectors were used to control the emission direction. These high emission devices potentially offer a huge step up in performance over standard types.

Pete Vukusic and Ian Hooper at Exeter have now shown that swallowtail butterflies evolved an identical method for signalling to each other in the wild.

Swallowtails belonging to the Princeps nireus species live in eastern and central Africa. They have dark wings with bright blue or blue-green patches.

The wing scales on these swallowtails act as 2D photonic crystals, infused with pigment and structured in such a way that they produce intense fluorescence.

Pigment on the butterflies' wings absorbs ultra-violet light which is then re-emitted, using fluorescence, as brilliant blue-green light.

Performance-enhancing bugs

Most of this light would be lost were it not for the pigment being located in a region of the wing which has evenly spaced micro-holes through it.

This slab of hollow air cylinders in the wing scales is essentially mother nature's version of a 2D photonic crystal.

Like its counterpart in a high emission LED, it prevents the fluorescent colour from being trapped inside the structure and from being emitted sideways.

The scales also have a type of mirror underneath them to upwardly reflect all the fluorescent light that gets emitted down towards it. Again, this is very similar to the Bragg reflectors in high emission LEDs.

"Unlike the diodes, the butterfly's system clearly doesn't have semiconductor in it and it doesn't produce its own radiative energy," Dr Vukusic told the BBC News website "That makes it doubly efficient in a way.

"But the way light is extracted from the butterfly's system is more than an analogy - it's all but identical in design to the LED."

Dr Vukusic agreed that studying natural designs such as this could help scientists improve upon manmade devices.

"When you study these things and get a feel for the photonic architecture available, you really start to appreciate the elegance with which nature put some of these things together," he said.

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New Dispute in Technology for Next Generation of DVD's

The battle for who will control the standards for the next generation of DVD's became more tangled yesterday when the Blu-ray Disc group said that it would not adopt technology requested by one of its leading members, the Hewlett-Packard Company.

Last month, Hewlett said it would consider quitting the Blu-ray group, which is led by the Sony Corporation and Panasonic, if it did not honor its request that certain copy protection and interactive software be included in the standard for the discs, which promise better audio and visual quality and more data storage.

The software that Hewlett favors has been adopted into the rival standard that Toshiba and others have developed.

One technology that Hewlett favors is called mandatory managed copy and lets users legally copy DVD's. The other, known as iHD, allows for interactive features and will be included in an operating system being developed by Microsoft, which supports Toshiba's standard.

But on Wednesday, the spokesman of the Blu-ray group, Andy Parsons, told Reuters that his group would use different software technology known as Java that was developed by Sun Microsystems.

While the Blu-ray group was willing to consider Hewlett's request, it was unwilling to make the changes to its standard if it meant delaying the introduction of new Blu-ray products next year, Mr. Parsons told Reuters.

Mr. Parsons told Reuters that mandatory managed copy would be part of Blu-ray format, but while Hewlett's request for interactivity was being considered, "at this point in time, the Blu-ray group is still proceeding down the path of Java."

The Blu-ray group could change course and adopt the additions that Hewlett wants. But for now, Hewlett is a step closer to having to decide whether to leave the Blu-ray group and formally join forces with the Toshiba group, or potentially produce products in both standards.

If Hewlett leaves the Blu-ray group, it could put pressure on Dell, another Blu-ray member, to follow. This would provide a huge lift to Toshiba, which has recently lost ground to the Blu-ray group in the battle for allies in Hollywood and Silicon Valley.

Negotiations over the architecture of the rival DVD technologies have been primarily between the Hollywood studios producing the content for the discs and consumer electronics manufacturers that will make the machinery to play them.

But Microsoft, Intel and computer makers have added their voice to debate because they build DVD players and recorders into their PC's.

Microsoft and Intel have formally backed Toshiba's HD-DVD standard because they said it is more computer friendly.

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Apple updates Front Row to 1.0.1

Apple has released an update to Front Row, bringing it to version 1.0.1. The new release is available for download from Apple’s Web site.

Front Row is a new application which debuted with Apple’s recently refreshed iMac G5 line. Paired with a wireless remote control included with the iMac, Front Row provides users with an integrated way of navigating the music, photos and video stored on the iMac without needing a keyboard or mouse to do it.

“The Front Row Update delivers overall improved reliability and compatibility for browsing music, photos, and videos on your iMac,” said Apple.

Front Row requires an iMac G5 with built-in iSight and Mac OS X v10.4.2 or later.

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Sony Offers Instant Video Everywhere

Working toward the ultimate goal of making "everything possible video-capable," Sony Electronics has partnered with GlowPoint Inc. to launch Instant Video Everywhere, a consumer-oriented Internet telephony option that offers free video VOIP calling capability worldwide, the companies announced Wednesday.

IVE is a standards-based application that combines desktop video services with voice-over-IP capability. The IVE service is compatible with a number of communication devices (such as cell phones and laptops) and enables live, face-to-face interactions between users, regardless of whether they have Web cam access, according to a recent news release.

"We look at video communication as the final frontier in terms of thinking about the ways people can connect," said David Trachtenberg, CEO and president of GlowPoint. "We are visual beings, consistently bombarded by one-way video. Moving forward, what we're talking about here is two-way real-time video communication."

Sony's IVE service is available at the consumer or enterprise level, upping the overall VOIP ante. It uses patent-pending standards-based technology to allow users to place and receive audio or video calls to any mobile phone, traditional telephone or videoconferencing system.

"With the current options available on the market, users can only communicate with people in their network," said Trachtenberg. "With the IVE solution you can now connect to anyone, anywhere, including cell phones and land lines."

Consumers can access the IVE service from their home, office or any other broadband-enabled "hot spot" (such as hotel, airport or coffee house) to place unlimited free calls to other users worldwide. In addition, communication is not restricted to users on the same proprietary service, according to a GlowPoint representative.

"We realize that it's more than transport. Getting a video packet from point A to point B has to be as easy and spontaneous as making a phone call," said Eric Murphy, vice president of integrated visual communications for Sony. "We've integrated services that mimic what you're used to in the telephone world into the video world. We call it VOIP Plus; it's what VOIP will be when it grows up."

The service is available as a free one-click software download at Sony's IVE Web site. In terms of features, it offers "All You Can See and Say" unlimited video and voice calling between users, with no per-call or long-distance charges. Each user is also given a 10-digit personal video number.

"We give out real telephone numbers to all subscribers, so users can make voice calls to a friend's cell phone from their computer," said Trachtenberg. "Not only going from video to voice, but also completely off of the video network, a user can place a call from a cell phone to a video number and have a VOIP call."

Sony is offering off-network access (i.e., calling a cell phone or communicating with video users on other conference-based systems) via IVE pay-for purchase options. The premium service is available to consumers for $9.95, and a service for office professional goes for $19.95.

Additional IVE service features include multiperson calling, video call mailboxes, live video operators, and online user and video portals.

"IVE is all bundled under the Sony brand, which is important from a distribution aspect because we're now able to use the solution to get into new channels and partnerships," said Trachtenberg. "Sony has already preloaded IVE on its new line of VAIO notebooks, so it's also opening up doors from a retail perspective."

"It's a great way to bring network, content, branding and distribution into one partnership," said Murphy. "The way Vonage did with the VOIP market, we will do with the video VOIP market."

Looking toward the future at advanced video VOIP technology, calls may come through your television or even your PlayStation Portable, according to Michael Brandofino, chief technology officer and executive vice president of GlowPoint.

"A video-enabled community is what we're driving for," he said. "And this service is the start of it."

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Moto Phone Offers Cingular Users No-Click News

Motorola Inc. announced Thursday the launch of its V557 flip-phone for Cingular Wireless customers, which gives instant access to news, sports, entertainment and other content via a "ticker tape" feature on the cell phone home screen.

The Bluetooth-enabled V557 multimedia handset, with soft-touch finish and chrome accents, is the first device to offer Motorola's new Screen3 technology, according to a recent news release.

"Subscribers want the latest mobile content without having to click, scroll and hunt through menus for it," Cheryln Chin, corporate vice president of Mobile Software Solutions at Motorola, said in a statement.

"And network operators want to be able to do more with mobile data services. With SCREEN3, we address both sets of needs; making the mobile phone the next major media gateway by putting content where it belongs, in front of subscribers' eyes, zero clicks away."

Motorola's Screen3 solution, which the company unveiled today, is a data service application that ships standard with the V557 handset. The technology is designed to help operators drive mobile data usage and generate revenue by offering easy access to targeted content and promotions, according to a company representative.

Click here to read about Motorola's V360 multimedia phone.

Screen3 incorporates a media gateway server to manage client technology and content from beginning to end, offering a range of media channels based on user preference. Motorola designed the server to provide billing, operator control and tracking capabilities, the company said.

"We've made available RSS news feeds through the network, which we monitor and update regularly," Chin told Ziff Davis Internet. "A 'smart synchronization' feature intelligently synchs between media gateway and client, so only new and personalized content is delivered."

Cingular is the first network operator to make available Screen3, which it will offer through its new Media Net Live Ticker service, also announced today.

Cingular's Media Net ticker offers customized content via a "bite, snack, meal" model that drives data services revenue immediately, according to Chin.

The Media Net ticker baits with preselected "bites" (or headlines) that are updated automatically and continuously roll across the bottom of the screen display. The user can opt to "snack" by clicking on a headline to access an excerpt of the story.

"The data services revenue kicks in when the user opts to read the entire article," Chin said. "The beauty [of it] is that as a Cingular subscriber, it doesn't cost for a bite or a snack, I'd only pay for the whole meal."

Charges only occur if the user opts to access the entire story. Cingular customers can purchase the ticker tape content on a pay-as-you-go basis, at 1 cent per KB, or through one of the Media Net Bundle packages, which range from $4.99 for 1MB data usage to $19.99 for unlimited access.

"Our customers have already shown a desire to personalize their phones with ring tones, games and graphics," Ralph de la Vega, chief operating officer for Cingular Wireless, said in a statement.

"We are giving them the tools to take personalization an unprecedented step further and attain the quickest access to news, information and entertainment in the industry. The result is a service that completely changes the way consumers engage with the wireless Internet."

Cingular broadens its mobile-messaging reach. Click here to read more.

The V557 makes available a number of additional consumer data services through Cingular's EDGE (Enhanced Data Global Evolution) network, including MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) for sending images, music and other multimedia files.

The Motorola for Cingular handset supports POP3 for access to your e-mail accounts. It also enables instant messaging through IM Wireless Village, which offers interoperability between various instant messaging platforms.

The phone features an integrated VGA camera with zoom, brightness adjustment and picture caller ID. In addition, it has video recording and playback capabilities, according to the release.

The V557 is currently available at Cingular Wireless retail stores throughout the country. It retails for about $99.99 with a two-year service agreement and $50 mail-in rebate.

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Sony offers new CDs, MP3s for recalled discs

The company is responding to widespread security worries over copy protection technology contained on 52 albums released over the last year. When put in a Windows-based computer's CD player, the discs install antipiracy technology on a hard drive that exposes the PC to the risk of viruses and other hacker attacks.

Sony said on Friday that customers who have purchased any of the affected CDs can mail the discs back to the company using instructions found on the record label's Web site. Once they have sent in the discs, customers will also be provided with a link to download MP3s of the songs on the album.

"Sony BMG is reviewing all aspects of its content protection initiatives to be sure that they are secure and user-friendly for consumers," the company said in a statement. "As the company develops new initiatives, it will continue to seek new ways to meet consumers' demands for flexibility in how they listen to music, while protecting intellectual-property rights."

The recall of 4.7 million compact discs, along with the exchange offer for the roughly 2.1 million discs sold with the copy protection technology included, is an expensive step for a record company that has been battered by criticism online and in other media for the past two weeks.

The copy protection software, created by British company First 4 Internet, hid traces of itself on hard drives using a powerful programming tool called a "rootkit," a technique sometimes used by virus writers to similarly mask the presence of an infection on a PC.

Because of flaws in the rootkit, Sony's software was left open enough such that other, malicious software could take advantage of its presence on a computer to hide itself. Several pieces of malicious software have already appeared online that piggyback on the copy protection to vanish in a PC, opening the computer to outside attacks.

Security researchers have found flaws not only in the original First 4 Internet software, but also in an uninstaller tool temporarily distributed by Sony that could directly allow an attacker access to a PC.

The Sony exchange offer is immediately available, and the company will pay all shipping charges in both directions, it said. Discs are already being pulled off retail shelves and are no longer available at online stores, including Amazon.com.

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MIT Is Crafting Cheap -- But Invaluable -- Laptops

A riddle: What has the durability of a sneaker, the smarts of a computer, the color scheme of a lunchbox and the potential to alter almost everything about the way schoolchildren in the developing world learn?

The answer: well, nothing yet.

But now, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they're close to creating a device that would fulfill this ambitious vision -- a tough, kid-friendly laptop that could be sold to poor countries for $100.

A prototype of this computer will be unveiled Wednesday at a U.N. conference in Tunisia. Its designers concede that the prototype is still missing some crucial features, such as a cheap display screen and a hand crank that would provide power.

But high expectations are already standard.

"It will change . . . the way children everywhere think about themselves in relation to the world," said Seymour Papert, a professor emeritus of education and media technology at MIT, believing that the result may be less violence and dissension as kids plug into education and international culture.

The laptop project has garnered some doubters, who wonder how useful its wireless connections will be in villages where access to the Internet is expensive or nonexistent. Some have also expressed concern about whether, despite their distinctive coloring, millions of the laptops will really get to and remain in the hands of children.

The leaders of the "$100 Laptop Initiative" said they wanted a machine that would substitute -- at one stroke -- for computers, textbooks, libraries, maps and movies that may be missing from poor children's lives.

"None of that's there in an African village," Papert said. "How can we give it to them?"

Some of the tools were already there. The designers decided to use "open source" software because it meant fewer problems with licensing fees, and they were able to get a cheap processor similar to those in home computers. The $100 laptops probably will sacrifice some of the memory that Americans are used to, designers said.

The display screen was more problematic. In regular laptops, that alone can be worth much more than $100. For this laptop, the display needed to be much cheaper -- around $35 -- and it needed to do more, including switch to read vertically like the page of a book.

"We call that the 'Curl up in a bed' mode," and it's crucial to a child using the computer outside school, said Kenneth Jewell, an "envisioner" at Design Continuum, the firm in West Newton, Mass., that was hired to design the laptop's exterior.

Even the color was a question. Designers didn't want something that screamed "for little kids only," out of fear that teenagers would reject the laptops as uncool. But they did want something distinctive enough to deter adults from stealing and selling them.

"What we wanted to do is basically design in a social stigma," said Kevin Young, another Design Continuum employee. "When you see the laptop, you automatically associate it with education," he said, a quality that designers hope will make it as unattractive to thieves as a yellow school bus.

The product of all this will be made public at the United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society, when Secretary General Kofi Annan and MIT Media Lab Chairman Nicholas Negroponte unveil a green-and-yellow computer with a sheath of black rubber around its edges.

Some elements still aren't ready. The screen on this prototype will still be of the old, expensive type, and the hand crank will be for show only. The hope is to solve these problems and begin production of the laptops by late 2006.

The laptop designers are confident, noting that they have already heard some interest from the education ministries in Brazil and Thailand. Negroponte -- the brother of National Intelligence Director John D. Negroponte -- said there will be a good way to see the device's impact on the lives of poor children.

Their "first English word will be 'Google,' " he wrote in an e-mail.

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AOL, Warner to Bring Old TV Shows Online

Dozens of old television shows including "Welcome Back Kotter" will be available online and free-of-charge under a deal between America Online Inc. and Warner Bros.

In the latest alternative to traditional TV viewing, a new broadband network called In2TV will be launched in early 2006 by AOL and Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, the companies said Monday.

Besides the TV shows, In2TV will include games, polls and other interactive features.

"Welcome Back Kotter," "Sisters" and "Growing Pains" are among the 30 series to be offered initially. They will be grouped on channels by genre, including comedy, drama, animation, sci-fi and horror, action-adventure and "vintage TV."

In2TV plans to offer more than 100 TV series and at least 300 episodes per month in the first year, the companies said.

The shows will be delivered through AOL Video on Demand, AOL Video Search and AOL Television. At the time of launch, the programs will be available exclusively on AOL and will not be in syndication on TV, AOL official said.

Some of the shows will be offered in a new video format, "AOL Hi-Q," that AOL promises will offer DVD quality on a full computer screen. Users will be directed to a plug-in to install the technology on their computer.

The shows will include advertising, although it's not certain at this point how it will be displayed. Alternatives include an ad that streams before the programming starts or ads at the traditional commercial breaks when the shows aired on television.

In2TV will offer an early test of whether consumers can be persuaded to watch longer-form programming on their computer screens. Currently, much successful Internet programming runs only a few minutes long on the theory that many viewers don't have the patience to sit through longer shows at their desktop or laptop.

About 35 million U.S. homes now have broadband access, compared to 110 million homes with TV. About half of those Internet users say they have watched video online, according to industry analysts.

Several alternates to traditional TV viewing have been announced in recent weeks, including a deal between Apple Computer Inc. and Walt Disney Co. that makes reruns of "Lost" and other programs available as individual $1.99 downloads for viewing on computers or video-capable iPods.

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IBM holds on to Top500 supercomputer lead

IBM Corp. retained its lead of the Top500 list of supercomputers with its BlueGene/L System installed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif. The system topped the twice-yearly list of the fastest computers in the world for the third consecutive time and is likely to remain number one for some time since its size doubled earlier this year.

The list, the twenty-sixth to be issued, was due to be announced Monday at the Supercomputing conference (SC05) taking place in Seattle through Friday.

There was some shakeup among the global top ten supercomputers with new entrants displacing some incumbents on June’s list.

Cray Inc. notched up one new system and one revamped system, while IBM and Dell Inc. had one new system apiece in the top ten. Two IBM eServer Blue Gene systems on June’s list dropped off the top ten — the Blue Protein supercomputer at the Computational Biology Research Center in Japan and a Blue Gene machine at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Also exiting the top ten was the Thunder supercomputer at the Lawrence Livermore laboratory based on Intel Corp.’s Itanium 2 processors.

IBM’s Blue Gene/L was measured with a Linpack benchmark performance of 280.6 teraflops. A teraflop is one trillion mathematical calculations per second.

In second position to the BlueGene/L was IBM’s Watson Blue Gene (WBG) eServer system which the company installed at its Thomas J. Watson Research Center in June with a performance of 91.3 teraflops. New in at number three was the ASCI Purple system built by IBM and based on its pSeries 575 server, which is also installed at the Lawrence Livermore lab. It was measured at 63.4 teraflops.

Silicon Graphics Inc.’s Columbia system at the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, Calif., slipped from June’s third position to fourth place with 51.9 teraflops.

The DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories had two newly installed systems at number five and six on the list, Thunderbird, a Dell Inc. PowerEdge-based system just edging ahead of Red Storm, a revamped Cray machine with maximum performances of 38.3 teraflops and 36.2 teraflops respectively.

NEC Corp.’s Earth Simulator in Yokohama, Japan, which topped the Top500 list for five consecutive times until IBM displaced it a year ago, was in seventh position with a performance of 35.9 teraflops, a slip from June’s number four position.

In eighth position was another IBM machine, the fastest computer in Europe, the MareNostrum at the Barcelona Supercomputer Center in Spain, with a performance of 27.9 teraflops. The MareNostrum was number five on June’s Top500 list. After that came another IBM eServer BlueGene machine, owned by Astron and run at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands with a performance of 27.4 teraflops. In tenth position was another new entry, a Cray machine at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. with a performance of 20.5 teraflops.

IBM had the most supercomputers on the list with 43.8 percent, followed by Hewlett-Packard Co., with 33.8 percent of all systems, though the latter had no showing in the top ten list.

Two-thirds of the Top500 machines are powered by Intel’s chips, with 81 of the 333 systems using the chip giant’s EM64T-based processors. IBM’s Power chips appeared in 73 systems. Intel’s rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) had processors in 55 systems, more than doubling its standing on the last list put out in June.

Geographically speaking, the U.S. dominates the list, accounting for 305 of the Top500 supercomputers, trailed by Europe with 100 systems and Asia with 66 machines. Germany, which had been the leading European supercomputer country with 40 systems on June’s Top500 list, only had 24 systems on the new list. with the U.K. becoming the number-one European player with 41 systems up from June’s 32 systems.

The Top500 list was compiled by Erich Strohmaier and Horst Simon of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Hans Meuer of the University of Mannheim, Germany, and Jack Dongarra of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

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New Xbox Will Debut With 18 New Games

Microsoft Corp. said Monday it will offer 18 Xbox 360 games when the new version of its video game console hits store shelves in North America next week.

Standard editions of launch titles, including "Kameo: Elements of Power" and "Project Gotham Racing 3," will sell for $50 — the same as most games for the original Xbox.

The Redmond-based software company will also offer 13 Xbox accessories, including faceplates that can be tacked on to the front of a console to personalize it.

Other accessories, like a wireless controller and a 20-gigabyte hard drive, come standard in the fully loaded $400 console and are sold separately for a scaled-back version that will sell for $300.

Over the weekend, Microsoft announced that Xbox 360 users will be able to play "Halo," "Halo 2" and about 200 other games designed for the original Xbox, which came out in the fall of 2001.

Microsoft has said it expects to sell up to 3 million Xbox 360 consoles within 90 days of its North American launch Nov. 22.

The North American debut will be followed by a Dec. 2 launch in Europe and a Dec. 10 launch in Japan.

Sony's PlayStation 2 has slightly more than half of the worldwide market for the most recently available consoles, compared with about 34 percent for the first Xbox and 15 percent for Nintendo Co.'s GameCube, according to Gartner Inc., an industry research group.

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IBM 3D TV

International Business Machines, a worldwide leader in technology innovation, has announced a new and affordable 3D video system that works with normal DLP (Digital Light Processing) televisions. Before now, 3D video systems would set you back at least $1,800 while the price of IBM’s new system is expected to be only $1000 – if only a grand sounds cheap to you.

This “black box” device can be connected to any DLP projector or television via the common VESA (Video Experts Standards Association) 3 pin stereo connector.

IBM demonstrated the new system on a 50-inch, flat-screen Texas Instruments rear-projection digital television at the 22nd annual Flat Information Displays conference held in San Francisco this month.

"This was on the drawing board for about two years and now we're at the conceptual proof-of-concept stage. We are here to look for a manufacturing partner to bring the technology to market," said Jim Santoro, a technology license program manager from IBM's office in Poughkeepsie near IBM’s corporate headquarters in Armonk, New York.

IBM tends to develop cutting edge technology and then license it to third party manufactures rather than build and sell finished products. This strategy allows them to keep pouring funds in to basic research and cutting edge technology. It also permits wide dissemination of it’s technologies throughout the industry increasing chances for permanent adoption over competing technologies.

Exact details concerning the 3D technology – still unnamed – were not forthcoming, but the company spokesperson said it was compatible with OpenGL and Direct Draw – both software components of the Microsoft Windows operating system that allow programmers to manipulate video for computer games.

While 3D monitors and projectors have been around for a few years, IBM’s approach is the first to use a single projector to simulate both left and right views needed to form 3D image. Normal 3D units need two projectors.

IBM has managed to alternate the video frames to give the appearance of double projectors without the added cost. This means adding video frames – lots of them. While normal “live” video is 30 frames per second, this device processes 144fps. First you see the frames from the left and then the right perspective giving the image an authentic three dimensional look.

While technical details are scare, the device obviously uses some serious video processing hardware to build the 3D image: 144fps video is far beyond the capacity of almost all computer graphics cards.

On the downside, you still need 3D glasses to correctly view the image and practically no video is shot in 3D as it requires more expensive cameras, but as price drops and general interest rises, this is sure to change.

Some sports TV networks have expressed interest in filming NFL games in 3D. To shoot in 3D, TV networks would need to install expensive 3D cameras and image processing hardware.

The OpenGL and Direct Draw compatibility is definitely aimed at software developers who make games – computer gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry. Imagine being able to play Halo 2 in 3D – VERY cool. The technology also lends its self to the creation of high end presentation software – think 3D Power Point.

While this technology is definitely more economical than current models and its PC compatibility may usher in a host of 3D games, it still may become obsolete with the introduction of the holy grail of 3D displays – inexpensive models that do not require funky glasses. Now that would truly be something.

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What's Slowing Down Your PC?

A new computer right out of the box is an engineering marvel. Programs and files load with lightning speed. Unfortunately, computers do not remain in this pristine condition very long. You do not notice it at first, but usually sooner rather than later that peppy performance is gone.

Why do computers slow down? There is no single answer; a combination of factors contributes to the gradual degradation of a computer's performance. The causes fall into three categories. The first is hardware design. The second is virus and spyware infiltration.

The third is caused by some of the remedies applied to cure the first two causes.

We looked at some of the key ways Windows PCs get bogged down. We will tell you about disk fragmentation, conflicting DLLs, registry issues, viruses and spyware, and other things that can cause the processor to sputter. Once the causes are exposed, we will explore the most popular cures.

Hardware Issues

Over time, files on the hard disk get spread out. Known as fragmentation, this scattering is caused by adding programs, deleting programs, and modifying files. All contribute to the clutter on the hard drive that develops with continued use of the computer.

Hard disks are designed to store data in predetermined clusters of storage space. Smaller files leave unusable "free space" within these areas, and oversize files are split into numerous clusters. These stored file segments become more fragmented as the hard drive absorbs data.

The more fragmented stored files become on the hard drive, the longer it takes the reading apparatus to pull together all of the data and assemble them in their original order. Similarly, when more data is written to a fragmented hard drive, it takes longer to find enough unused clusters to store the data segments.

This problem often is compounded by physical defects on the hard drive's surface. Hard drives can develop bad sectors that slow down performance and make file saving difficult or impossible.

Drained Resources

Almost as deadly to a computer's performance as a cluttered hard drive is a lengthy list of start-up programs. This problem often starts at the factory, where the manufacturer bundles numerous programs as part of a marketing campaign or licensing agreement with software makers.

Many of the installed programs are configured to start when the computer boots, even if the consumer does not want these programs to run. Often, special utilities that enhance features in software or hardware components run in the background. Most consumers, however, have no idea that these programs are running because the software does not show up on the screen. But they might show an icon in the system tray, where they sit idly waiting to be discovered.

These programs take a large bite out of system resources. The more programs that run at one time, the greater the drain on system resources. Typically, a computer should have 85 percent to 90 percent of its total memory available for use after the computer starts. Too many programs running at start-up, however, can drain those memory resources to as little as 50 percent before the user opens any real programs like a word processor or a Web browser.

Software and Malware Galore

Some of the biggest causes of sluggish computer performance are spyware programs running in the background and adware that causes Web browsers to slow to a crawl. The term "spyware" refers to any software that runs meddlesome tasks such as displaying ads, collecting personal information, or reconfiguring the computer, usually without the user's consent or knowledge.

The term "adware" refers to programs that are specifically advertiser-supported, and "malware" is software that interferes with the functions of other applications, like viruses, worms, or Trojans.

To defend against these onslaughts, computers also are burdened by antivirus and antispyware programs, in addition to other intrusion-protection software such as firewalls and e-mail spam filters.

These defensive measures can slow down computer performance by as much as 15 percent, according to some analysts.

"Computer slowdown is caused by many factors, including malicious software running in the background and 'heavy' securityRelevant Products/Services from Messagelabs solutions that drain system performance," said Leon Rishniw, vice president of engineering for computer security firm CloudMark.

He said the two largest causes of PC slowdown are forgotten third-party utilities and spyware. "Many of the popular third-party applications floating around, such as the peer-to-peer programs of dubious quality, not only install with spyware but also consist of multiple components that are difficult to remove," said Rishniw.

Clearing the Clutter

One of the easiest cures for sluggish PCs caused by an aging hard drive is included in the Windows operating system. Microsoft'sRelevant Products/Services from Microsoft own Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup utilities are located in the Start menu under Accessories/System Tools.

Disk Cleanup checks the hard drive for unnecessary programs and other clutter, such as temporary Internet files. Running this clean-up program at least once a month will keep free space on the hard drive available to speed up file access.

Disk Defragmenter is a very reliable program. It analyzes the condition of the hard drive and optimizes folders and files. When the file shuffling is completed, the hard drive is reorganized so that files are stored in contiguous clusters, speeding up computer performance tremendously.

Monitor the hard drive fragmentation ratio weekly. When Disk Defragmenter shows the drive is fragmented more than 10 percent, click the Defrag button. Plan on doing this at the end of the work day. Given the size of today's hard drives, the fixing process can take several hours.

Other Strategies

Other cures are available as third-party software applications. Symantec's Latest News about Symantec Norton SystemWorks 2006 ($69.99) is a suite of computer maintenance tools that picks up where Microsoft's built-in utilities leave off. It includes programs that defrag the hard drive, remove outdated Windows Registry entries and fix DLL files that can cause system conflicts that slow down performance.

Raxco Software's PerfectDisk 7.0 ($39.95) defrags hard drives and goes one step further. It also consolidates the free space that defragging creates on the hard drive. This helps to keep the hard drive running uncluttered for longer periods of time.

One of the most useful self-maintenance tasks is to clear out unused programs before defragging the hard drive. Go to your Control Panel and select the Add/Remove function. Scroll down the list and highlight programs that are never used. Click the Remove button.

Just as important as ridding the hard drive of unneeded applications is stopping programs from running at start-up that you don't use. To do this, click on the Run link in the Start menu and type: msconfig. Then click the OK button.

This command launches the built-in system configuration tool. Click on the Start Up tab and scroll down the list of programs, clicking the check box to remove the undesired programs. When finished, click the OK box.

When the computer reboots, only the programs still marked with a check will load. If you discover that you need or want a disabled program to load each time the computer starts, just repeat the process and click the check box for the desired program.

There are a few items that you absolutely need, including ScanRegistry, TaskMonitor, SystemTray, and LoadPowerProfile. Of course, you do not want to disable the antivirus program or the Internet security or firewall program, either.

Fighting Malware

Virus and spyware programs are almost impossible to avoid without protective software tools. Antivirus programs are very successful in catching viruses and eradicating them. Only run one program of this kind because two or more will drain resources and will interfere with the other programs.

But spyware is a much more complex process. Spyware is more difficult to spot and remove. Many software products take different approaches, and it is very common for one antispyware program to miss one or more infections while another product finds the spyware. To be safe, you should run more than one of these applications.

"As more and more average users utilize their home PC as a gateway to their bank account and other financial management tools, spyware creators will be presented with an increasingly juicer target from which they can harvest data," said CloudMark's Rishniw. "Clean-up tools are important, but by the time users need them, their personal data has already been compromised."

To minimize that risk and to speed up sluggish computers bogged down from spyware, scan for infections at least once daily.

Spyware Treatment

Two of the more well-known and well-regarded free programs are SpyBot Search and Destroy and Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. Both of these gems are regularly updated with the latest spyware definitions.

Both programs run when you launch them so they do not consume system resources continuously. Spybot, however, can be configured to hook in to system components to block spyware intrusions even when the scan engine is not actively searching for spyware.

SpySweeper by Webroot ($29.95) runs in the background and hooks in to system components for real-time protection against spyware attacks.

Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta 1 is currently free. It provides real-time protection and is based on a very popular product acquired by Microsoft from Giant Software.

Tenebril's SpyCatcher ($29.95) provides real-time spyware protection and claims to stop next-generation, mutating spyware. It also blocks reinstallation of aggressive spyware.

One of the newest product trends is an all-in-one suite that protects against virus and spyware infections and provides firewall protection forbroadband Latest News about Broadband Internet access. The advantage to this software approach is that all the updates are performed at the same time and there is just one product to use.

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6.0 ($69.95) and Panda Platinum Internet Security 2005 ($79.95) are two of the newest products that provide these all-in-one protections.

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360 to play 200+ Xbox games

After playing coy for months about the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility, Microsoft has finally come clean. The software behemoth announced late Friday that over 200 games from its current-generation console will play on its next-generation console.

As one might expect, Microsoft has made sure all the top Xbox games are supported, including Halo and Halo 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I and II, Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black, and the three Grand Theft Autos: III, Vice City and San Andreas. A total of 212 Xbox games will be playable on the 360 at launch, though Microsoft says that number will increase.

Friday also brought good news to Xbox Live addicts. Any of the backwards-compatible games will be playable cross-platform between the Xbox 360 and Xbox over Xbox Live. That means would-be Master Chiefs with a 360 can still own their friends playing on current-generation consoles--although the former will see the carnage in higher resolution.

However, there is a catch. To play an Xbox game on the 360, players must first insert the current-gen game into a next-gen console hooked up to Xbox Live. The system will check if the console has the latest emulation software. If not, it will automatically download said software, install it on the 360, restart, and load the original Xbox game. Obviously, a 360 hard drive--which comes with the Halo and Halo 2 software preinstalled--is required to store the backwards-compatibility software.

For 360 owners who either can't or won't log onto Xbox Live, Microsoft offers two other solutions. First, they can go to Xbox.com, download the emulators, burn them onto a CD, and then insert said CD into the 360, which will auto-install the software. The other option is to order a free CD from Xbox.com which will be mailed to the requestor for a "nominal" fee. However, the CD will be mailed out for free to Japanese 360 owners.

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Nintendo: Revolution will be cheapest next-gen console

The Revolution remains the most mysterious of the three next-generation consoles. With only the barest of system specs, and no tech demos, little is known about the device--or what is so "revolutionary" about it. So far, its most innovative features are a unique controller and repeated statements by its maker, Nintendo, that it will appeal to a vast untapped market of nongamers.

Today, though, one of Nintendo's most public faces said the Revolution will also stand out from its competition for another big reason: price. Speaking to CNN/Money correspondent Chris Morris, Reggie Fils-Aime, executive vice president of sales and marketing, predicted that the Revolution would be cheaper than both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

"Value has been a key card for us this generation, and we'll continue to play it," Fils-Aime told Morris. "Do I expect us to be at a lower price point than our competition? Yes, I do. Have we determined a price yet? No, we haven't."

How low will Nintendo go? It's hard to tell. Rumors of a $199 Revolution are running rampant in forums, though there is nothing concrete to support such an assumption. However, it would have to be below the only known next-gen price points. Microsoft is selling two Xbox 360 SKUs--the no-frills $299 "core" Xbox and the $399 standard model with hard drive and wireless remote.

In his interview with Morris, Fils-Aime also reiterated that the Revolution will not support high-definition televisions. "What we'll offer in terms of gameplay and approachability will more than make up for the lack of HD," he said. Both Microsoft and Sony are making much of the 360 and PS3's HD capabilities.

Fils-Aime also implied that the DS will see redesigns, just as the Game Boy Advance has. "As soon as [the DS] was launched, we started looking at ways to tweak it visually," he told Morris.

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Halo gets new look for Xbox 360

The guys from Bungie have finally given some more detail on why Halo and Halo 2 will be the first things players will want to play on Microsoft's Xbox 360.

This is news to be appended to their previous announcement that there would be something new in the Halo games that would encourage players to continue playing them on the next-gen console. The good news for Halo fans is that, as said on Bungie's site, "the hardware in the 360 can do a lot of nifty stuff, and specifically in the cases of Halo and Halo 2, it can display the graphics in wide screen, at 720p, with full scene anti-aliasing." Good news for fans with an interest in playing Halo at high resolutions until the release of Halo 3.

Better still, this won't require a new copy of Halo and while we all knew (the power of positive thinking) this, it's nice to see it written up that, "The "new" version of Halo or Halo 2 is simply the disk you have already. Pop it into your 360 and it'll load up just like before." Sounds like something I could just about manage.

The only question that remains is how Halo would look with the resolution cranked up and anti-aliasing applied. The word is that, "it doesn't look kludgy, artifacty or smeary like an upscanning DVD player. The best way to describe it is that both games look like they're running on a PC at those resolutions." Neologism has never sounded so backwards compatible.

Certainly good news for the Xbox 360 camp, with gloomy shadows cast over the PS3's backwards compatibility this can only mean more converts for Microsoft in the next-gen console race.

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Happy First Birthday, Firefox

Popular open-source browser hit the open market a year ago today. Firefox is celebrating with a slew of data proclaiming its maturation in the world of Web browsing.

When Firefox was introduced to the masses, Mozilla Foundation President Mitchell Baker called it a major milestone. He declared that millions of people would "be able to enjoy a better Web experience."

Baker's prophesy was at least partially true. Firefox 1.0 was downloaded more than 10 million times in its first month and more than 100 million times in the first year -- in more than 20 languages. In just a few weeks, Firefox 1.5 will try to bring at least 100 million more users to the Mozilla camp.
The Firefox Hype

By December 2004, Mozilla was in full hype mode with the Mozilla Foundation publishing a two-page advocacy ad in the New York Times to raise awareness and promote adoption.

The ad asked, "Are you fed up with your Web browser?" Two months later, the number of downloads climbed from 11 million to 25 million.

"Microsoft restarting Internet Web Hosting and Web Design services from the original domain name registrar, Network Solutions. Explorer development says a lot about Firefox," Jupiter Research Analyst Joe Wilcox told LinuxInsider. "Microsoft might have started doing that anyway because Windows Vista development was cranking up, but I do think there was some relationship between the events."

Analysts said Web site operators also took notice, understanding that they could not limit development to suit Internet Explorer as they had done in the past. Then there's the buzz around Web 2.0.

"Web 2.0 and the idea that services and software Get your FREE Oracle Database Software Kit today! will be delivered through the browser over the Internet rather than just from the desktop is emerging," Wilcox said. "Whether it was intentional or not, Firefox is definitely part of that whole phenomenon."

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Digital Doctor: More questions answered

Many viewers are confused about the impending switchover from analogue TV to digital, due to take place between 2008 and 2012.

What will the changeover mean for licence fee payers? Will it mean buying a new television? And how much will it cost?

BBC News' resident Digital Doctor is on hand to deal with your queries, and returns to deal with a second batch of your questions.

Question: I bought a digital TV in 2003, which enables me to view digital channels without having a digital box. However, I cannot view digital channels (such as E4, ITV3 and ITV4) that have been introduced since I bought the TV. Is there anything I can do to receive them?
Martha, London

Digital Doctor: You will need to tell your TV to re-scan for new channels. Since 2003, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky have all added new services to Freeview, and the channel numbers changed last month. For instructions on re-scanning your TV, check your manual, or consult your manufacturer.

Question: Will the analogue switch-off affect my analogue radios?
Howard Gilbert, London

Digital Doctor: No. While switching-off analogue (FM and AM) radio remains a possibility, no date for it has yet been set.

Question: As someone who is not prepared to spend money buying a set-top box (I have only just got a television, and will be perfectly happy not to use it for live programmes), would I have to pay a licence fee for my television once the switchover has happened, if I am only going to be using it for watching videos/DVDs?
Jo, Bristol, UK

Digital Doctor: You will still need a licence if you use equipment to receive or record television transmissions, including a TV, video recorder, set-top box, or a computer with a TV card. Contact TV Licensing for details about individual cases.

Question: Will Sky retain the current monopoly with Channels 4 and 5 over satellite? You can buy receivers now, but they are not compatible with the Sky card which is needed to get these two basic, supposedly national channels. We cant get Five through the aerial here either. Freeview is also not available. Cable is not likely to be either. I dont live in the middle of nowhere - I'm 15 miles outside Manchester
Cheryl, Derbyshire

Digital Doctor: Sorry, this is a long reply which needs a bit of history to it. When the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five joined the digital satellite service, all had a contract which meant Sky encoded their signals to stop them from "leaking" outside the UK, and also to ensure the right regional TV services went to the right place. This meant digital satellite viewers needed a decoder card to watch the main UK channels.

But the BBC pulled out of its deal with Sky in 2003, meaning all BBC services can now be watched without a card. ITV announced earlier this year it was pulling out of its own deal, and the two broadcasters are joining forces to offer a free satellite TV service, Freesat, along the lines of Freeview.

This leaves Channel 4 and Five still in the Sky deal. Channel 4 found itself in trouble with some satellite viewers when they found they needed a Sky Digital subscription to watch More4 when it launched last month. Freeview viewers can watch E4 and More4 for nothing, while satellite viewers have to sign up to Sky Digital.

Whether this situation continues is down to whether Channel 4 continues with its contract with Sky. Channel 4 recently joined the consortium which owns Freeview, and clearly the BBC and ITV would like it to join their Freesat service. It is not known what Channel 4's plans are, though.

Five's plans are less clear, although both Channel 4 and Five are already on the "Freesat from Sky" free satellite service - even if E4 and More4 are not.

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BizTalk launches, depending on how you define launch

Although Microsoft "launched" BizTalk Server 2006 on Monday, the business process-management software itself may not be finally ready until the middle of next year.

Traditionally, the launch event is the denouement of Microsoft's product development cycle. There are beta versions, then release candidates, and at some point Microsoft gives it the final stamp of approval and it goes "gold master" and is released to manufacturing. Such was the case with both SQL Server and Visual Studio, which also were touted on Monday.

But despite being launched today, the new version of BizTalk won't even hit the Beta 2 stage until later this year.

"Because all these products have been developed together... It made sense from our point of view to launch them together," said Robert Wahbe, general manager of the connected systems division that includes BizTalk.

Final release of BizTalk, originally slated for the first quarter of next year, is now slated for some time in the first half of the year.

Now, in fairness, while it has taken five years for Microsoft to update SQL Server, the current release of BizTalk is fairly recent, having come out last year.

Customers who want to peek at the new product can certainly download a prerelease "community technology preview" version. However, for customers who are considering BizTalk, Wahbe suggests they move to the current version, BizTalk 2004.

Unlike past versions, in which it was hard to move older BizTalk projects onto a new version of the server software, the new software will accommodate older projects without a hitch, Wahbe promised.

One of the other changes Microsoft is making is that it is bundling in the "adaptors" necessary for BizTalk to talk to other enterprise software, such as SAP. Typically such products have been paid add-ons.

"It really simplifies the licensing of the product," Wahbe said. Earlier this year, Microsoft bought eight such adapters from iWay, one of its partners.

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Study: AMD chips edge past Intel in retail PC sales

Chip-making underdog Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) edged past Intel Corp. last month in supplying processors for the U.S. retail PC market, according to a study by research firm Current Analysis Inc.

Intel has a firm hold on the overall number-one chip supplier spot for all U.S. consumer PCs, thanks in part to its exclusive deal with direct-selling powerhouse Dell Inc. Still, AMD’s October milestone illustrates the progress it has made in eating away at Intel’s dominance.

Current Analysis, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., collects its data by surveying major U.S. consumer-electronics retailers. In October, AMD processors were in 49.8 percent of the PCs those retailers sold, compared with a 48.5 percent share for Intel.

AMD brushed past Intel in desktop sales in September. An uptick in its notebook sales as well in October gave it the overall edge over Intel for that month, according to the report.

“AMD did the unthinkable by surpassing Intel in October. Continuing to hold this lead in the holiday season would be a colossal win for the company,” Current Analysis Director of Research Matt Sargent said in a written statement accompanying the firm’s report.

While AMD gained a slight upper hand on market share, Intel is still the clear revenue winner, thanks to the higher average selling price of Intel-based PCs. Intel’s revenue share of retail PC sales in October was 57.6 percent to AMD’s 40.1 percent, according to Current Analysis’ research.

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All go for giant comms satellite

The six-tonne UK-built craft was carried aloft by a Zenit-3SL rocket at approximately 1345 GMT on Tuesday.

The launch had twice been postponed after a software glitch stopped the countdown sequence on Saturday.

Inmarsat-4 F2 is designed to improve broadband and 3G communications, principally in the Americas.

It is the second of three satellites; the first, which covers most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Indian Ocean, was launched from Cape Canaveral in March.

This one will improve and extend communications across South America, most of North America, the Atlantic Ocean and part of the Pacific Ocean.

The two satellites will support the London-based sat-com Inmarsat company's global broadband network, BGan.

Their onboard technology is designed to allow people to set up virtual offices anywhere around the world via high-speed broadband connections and new 3G phone technology.

The satellites offer "broadband for a mobile planet", says Inmarsat chief operating officer Michael Butler. Those set to benefit include business travellers, disaster relief workers and journalists.

The spacecraft, each the size of a London bus, should continue functioning for about 15 years. They were built largely at the EADS-Astrium facilities in Stevenage and Portsmouth, UK.

The Inmarsat-4 F2 was launched from waters close to Kiritimati (Christmas Island) on the equator.

It used the innovative Sea Launch system, which employs a converted oil drilling platform as a launch pad. The pad is moved into position from its California base.

Sea Launch is a joint venture between American, Russian, Ukrainian and Norwegian companies.

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Last digital push 'to cost £572m'

TV viewers reluctant to move to digital television will cost £572m to convert when the analogue signal is switched off, TV watchdog Ofcom has said.

The government has confirmed the switch to digital will take place, region by region, between 2008-2012.

Ofcom estimates the number of digital "refuseniks" is 10% of all households.

It puts the cost of switching to digital at £132 per household. There will be government help for those 75 and over and those with disabilities.

But Ofcom added the £572m figure accounted for just 2% of UK consumer spending on home entertainment.

'Stressful'

Earlier on Tuesday, industry analysts expressed doubts over the government's plans to switch off the analogue signal.

"For a large fraction of the population, digital terrestrial television represents nothing of benefit whatsoever," independent analyst Chris Goodall told a House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee.

He said the switchover to digital would be "costly and extremely stressful".

"This will be the biggest single civil project in the history of this country," former Five boss David Elstein told MPs.

"But there seems to be no project management. Just telling people that all their TVs and videos are going to stop working is not managing things."

Awareness

Digital UK, an organisation set up to co-ordinate the changeover, will launch campaigns to target each region at a time, three years ahead of their digital switchover.

Last week a survey conducted by retailer You Me TV suggested only a third of viewers were aware of the digital switchover timetable, but Ofcom claimed awareness was higher.

At present 63% of UK households watch digital television, with 200,000 moving to digital each month, according to Ofcom.

Digital television can be accessed through Freeview set-top boxes, via digital satellite, digital cable and television over broadband services, where the set-top box can be provided for free or with other subscription costs.

Other costs of moving to digital as estimated by Ofcom include:

# Equipment costs per household, based on two television sets and one video recorder, for all-digital television is put at £132.

# Some 2% of roof-top aerials (for those who unwilling to change over) will cost £125 per installation. About half of set-top aerials will need replacing at a cost of £20-£40 each.

# VCR video recorders will still be able to record and playback digitally broadcast programmes and DVD players will not need to be replaced. But viewing one channel, while recording another could require a new hard-disk recorder, costing £80.

# By 2008 the average price of a television set-top box for Freeview digital television viewing would be about £26.

# Power consumption will cost households between £2 and £8 extra on their average annual household electricity bill.

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Here Come the Hot Gaming Consoles!

Xbox 360 rocks. Microsoft's newly minted, next-generation game console is packed with a fire-breathing processor, an outlandish graphics processing unit, and high-definition TV outputs for blasting pixels onto huge HDTV screens. It even looks sweet, with a curvaceous, Apple-esque design that both soothes and entices. There can be no doubt: This month Xbox 360 will incite store riots and lure grown men into acts of depravity, just to have one by the end of 2005.

Or will it? Sony's PlayStation 3 may rock even more--once it comes out next year. It's got the processor, graphics, HDTV support, and Zen-inspired chassis design. All that, and it's going to come equipped with a high-definition-capable Blu-ray optical drive that will let the console read super-dense discs packing more than 25GB of data (no, that is not a misprint). If you want a next-generation console, it sure as heck ought to handle next-generation media--and PlayStation 3 does just that.

So what's a gamer (or the parent of a gamer) to do? With the holidays looming large, folks have a decision to make. Do they snap up an Xbox now and wrap it in colorful paper, despite the fact that it historically has been the less-popular game console? Or do they give the gift of sweaters this season and wait several months to see what the reigning champ of game boxes has to offer?

Fact is, there are no easy answers. The decision may come down to budget, or patience, or the love of a particular game not available on another system. Every gamer is different. But let's detail what we know today about next-generation game consoles.

No Clear Winner

For all the heady high technology, neither platform is a slam-dunk, says Anand Lal Shimpi, editor in chief and founder of the popular AnandTech hardware technology site. The issue, he says, boils down to titles--or the lack of them.

"I think honestly the biggest weakness Microsoft has is their launch lineup--they've got a few hard hitters, but they don't seem to have a [blockbuster like] Halo this time around," Shimpi explains.

One advantage Microsoft definitely has is time. The Xbox 360 goes on sale November 22, while the Sony PS3 will not be available until March 2006 or perhaps even later. That six-month lead will help Microsoft jump out ahead of rival Sony in 2006, according to Anthony Gikas, senior research analyst at market research firm Piper Jaffray.

In predicting how you, the consumer, will sort out the "buy now or later?" question, Gikas expects 6 million Xbox 360 consoles to ship in 2006, against just 1 million PS3 units. In 2008, however, the tide will have turned, with 8.5 million PS3 units selling compared to 6 million Xbox 360 consoles. At the end of the six-year generation window (at which time we'll be salivating over what might be coming next in game consoles), Gikas expects the Xbox 360 will grab 35 percent to 40 percent of the console market, less than the 45 percent to 50 percent he thinks PS3 should command.

The good news is that the two platforms--Xbox 360 and PS3--should be wildly popular, ensuring a steady flow of new titles for years to come.

As an aside, the Nintendo Revolution console, by contrast, remains largely shrouded in mystery. Most industry watchers expect it will settle in as a niche player in the console arena. What we think we know about Revolution is that it should support older Nintendo titles, offer wireless connectivity, and include a controller that looks like a TV remote. Unlike Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo has told folks the new system won't support HDTV.

And Then There Were Two

What sets the Xbox 360 and PS3 apart from each other? Not as much as you might think. While Sony uses the much-talked-about Cell processor in the PS3, the underlying architecture is actually based on the same PowerPC chip foundation built into the Xbox 360. Still, the innovative design of the Cell processor should offer Sony a technical lead, since the CPU is split into focused subprocessing units that let it tackle many tasks in tandem. By some estimates, the PS3 will be capable of twice the floating-point operations of the Xbox 360.

But Shimpi says title designers are struggling with the new platform. "I have heard nothing but bad things about the Cell processor when it comes to game developers," Shimpi warns. "You can call game developers lazy, unwilling to change, or whatever, but the fact of the matter is that they are building the next generation of games, and I have yet to hear a single one embrace the architecture and say, 'Yes! This is exactly what we've wanted.'"

So how do these two heavyweights stack up? A quick rundown of the strengths and weaknesses is revealing. Quick caveat: Neither of these is actually for sale right now, so things could change.

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Program your TiVo through Yahoo

Yahoo continued its steady push beyond personal computers and into the living room, announcing Monday a partnership with TiVo that allows people to program their digital video recorders over the Internet.

The ability to remotely instruct a TiVo device what to record is not itself a breakthrough; TiVo users can already do that through the company's Web site.

But the collaboration kicks off what could turn into a broader partnership, the companies said. By the end of the year, for instance, TiVo subscribers might be able to start accessing certain Yahoo services -- such as photos, weather and traffic -- through their TiVo set-top boxes.

The deal is yet another signal that Yahoo intends to be a major player in the convergence of Internet and television technologies.

The Sunnyvale company has been trying to move its content and services onto other devices besides the PC; it has a partnership with SBC Communications that could eventually push Yahoo-branded content onto mobile phones and home stereo systems.

``It's sort of like you're seeing Yahoo spread its wings and be more of a portal that ties into the TV in your home,'' said Michael Goodman, an analyst with the Yankee Group.

David Katz, head of sports and entertainment for Yahoo, said the deal furthers the company's ``mission of delivering what consumers want, when, how and where they want it.''

Monday's deal should help extend the reach of both companies' brands, particularly TiVo, headquartered in Alviso, north of San Jose.

At one time the lone player in the digital video recorder industry, TiVo has seen its market share eroded by competitive digital recorder-makers and scheduling services, including the cable and satellite companies who used to be its partners.

Satellite TV service DirecTV, for instance, used to sell TiVo-branded digital video recorders but recently launched an aggressive marketing campaign for its own video recorder.

Under the new partnership with Yahoo, visitors to Yahoo's TV schedule page will see a prominent TiVo link that allows them to add programs to the recording schedules for their Series 2 recorders.

``We think there's a great deal of compatibility among our brands and customer bases and subscribers and their interests in entertainment,'' said Naveen Chopra, director of business development for TiVo.

Analyst Phil Leigh of research firm Inside Digital Media said he can foresee people searching for video content through the Internet and simultaneously scheduling it for recording on their TiVos.

``I think the integration of video search and TiVo is coming,'' he said.

TiVos have been connected to the Internet for years. But the company has resisted the temptation to just offer subscribers Internet access through their televisions -- a model attempted by other companies over the years without much success. Instead, Chopra said, TiVo is focused on developing ``specific applications well-suited to the TV,'' such as the ability to order movie theater tickets via TV while simultaneously watching a Julia Roberts movie.

``We're very focused on what makes sense,'' Chopra said.

Similarly, Yahoo has been studying the best ways to take advantage of the convergence of the Internet and TV. The Sunnyvale Internet giant has partnerships with both SBC and Verizon, two communications companies hoping to bring Internet-based televisions into homes.

Yahoo could use those partnerships to put some of its services onto TV sets.

Also Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo and SBC will soon introduce a co-branded cell phone that would integrate with Yahoo services such as music, photos and e-mail. Yahoo had no comment on the report.

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Google on cell phones.

Google introduced software that allows users to search for local businesses and view maps and satellite images on cell phones.

Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., the two most-used Internet search engines, are expanding the content they offer on mobile handsets, a further sign of the growing connection between the Web and cell phones.

Google yesterday introduced software that allows users to search for local businesses and view maps and satellite images on handsets, according to an e-mailed statement.

SBC Communications Inc., the No. 2 U.S. local phone service company, said it will introduce a Cingular cell phone that links to Yahoo's content.

The plans highlight the eagerness of Internet and mobile-phone companies to attract consumers who want to use their phones to view information while on the move. Yahoo and Google already offer some search services on mobile handsets.

Mobile phones outsold personal computers almost 4 to 1 last year, researcher Gartner Inc. said, as handset sales grew 30 percent, more than twice as fast as PCs.

Google's new tool, called Google Local for mobile, is available on a test basis today, the Mountain View, Calif.- based company said. The service works with certain handsets from Cingular Wireless LLC, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc.

The software also allows users to search for driving directions and zoom in and out of digital maps.

Google doesn't charge for the service, although data fees may be levied under some carriers' plans.

SBC's device, planned for release next year, will let users access Yahoo services including photos, instant messaging and e-mail, Sue McCain, a spokeswoman for San Antonio-based SBC said.

The phone will be made by Nokia Oyj, McCain said. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo doesn't comment on product plans, spokeswoman Helena Maus said.

Mobile phone sales rose 30 percent last year to more than 674 million units, compared with a 12 percent increase in PC shipments to 189 million, according to Stamford, Conn. -based Gartner.

Google shares rose $4.60 to $395.03 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They've more than doubled this year.

Yahoo shares rose 3 cents to $37.90 and have risen less than 1 percent this year.

SBC fell 25 cents to $23.41 on the New York Stock Exchange. It has fallen 9.2 percent this year.

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TiVo and Yahoo launch new service

TiVo and Yahoo have launched a new joint service that allows TiVo users to set their digital TV recorders remotely from Yahoo's website.

The agreement will also mean that, in future, TiVo users will be able to access other Yahoo services, such as weather updates, on their TV screens.

TiVo's shares rose 6% in Monday trading following the announcement but some analysts were unconvinced.

They say TiVo will keep losing ground to rival digital TV recorder providers.

Cable and satellite TV companies are increasingly offering their own digital recorders, such as BSkyB's Sky+ system.

Slowing subscriber growth

Under TiVo's agreement with Yahoo, its subscribers will be able to set their TV recorders from any Yahoo website.

The scheme is available to TiVo users with a Series2 box and a standard Yahoo ID.

TiVo's latest results, released in August, showed that its number of new fee-paying subscribers in the second quarter of this year fell to 254,000, down from 288,000 for the same period in 2004.

The Wall Street Journal said on Monday that Yahoo and rival Google were also preparing to launch their own mobile phone services, with Yahoo entering into partnership with telecoms firm SBC.

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Yahoo, Google to Launch Wireless Services

Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. are set to roll out new wireless services, taking advantage of advanced networks and cellphones to provide features similar to those available on computers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Yahoo soon will introduce a cellphone it will sell through a partnership with SBC Communications, according to SBC executives. The phone will take Yahoo a step closer to linking music, photos and email with consumers' existing online accounts, address books and preferences, the paper said.

Google is tailoring some Internet services for use on wireless devices. Starting Monday, consumers using some types of cellphones will be able to access satellite maps wirelessly as they can on the Google Maps service, the paper said.

The moves will mark a further step in the evolution of cellphones from communications devices to minicomputers that can be used for email, Web browsing, music downloading and even watching TV, in addition to calls. Handset manufacturers have already started to produce single devices that combine cellphones, Web surfing, wireless email and MP3 players.

SBC and Yahoo have had a partnership since 2001 and have steadily expanded it beyond traditional telecom and online services to merge video, wireless and phone services. SBC executives said the SBC-Yahoo phone, which will be manufactured by Nokia, is expected to be available as soon as early next year and will cost $200 to $300.

Operating on the Cingular Wireless network, which is co-owned by SBC and BellSouth Corp., the phone will also be an MP3 player, a 1.3 megapixel camera and will have a removable memory card.

Last year, Google began letting U.S. consumers get search results by sending text messages from their cellphones.

Starting Monday, many consumers whose phones support Java software will be able to download the Google Local application. From there, they can conduct searches for businesses or services in a specific geographical location and view the search results plotted on a map.

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Epson Introduces Multilingual Text to Speech Synthesis Chip

Epson today announced availability of its multilingual text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis chip for embedded applications. The S1V30100 is a highly integrated companion chip that provides a complete decode path from text input to analog output via headphones or audio line level output signals. The chip can be easily integrated with a wide range of host devices and microcontrollers using a message protocol that runs over either a UART or an SPI link.

The S1V30100 contains Fonix DECtalk v5.0 as its TTS engine, and the chip supports five languages: US English, French, German, Castilian Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. Further languages, such as Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, are currently under development. The chip also supports G.726 ADPCM encoding and decoding for pre-recorded speech at sampling rates of 24, 32, or 40 kbits/s, and has the option to support MP3 and/or AAC decoding of music data if required.

Target applications for the S1V30100 include speech-enabled portable devices, assistive devices for speech or visually impaired users, educational toys, automotive navigation systems, etc. The on-chip A/D and D/A converters can also be accessed directly by the host processor via an I2S interface, thereby allowing general audio data to be input or output to/from the host processor system.

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Electronic paper moves from sci-fi to marketplace

In Neal Stephenson's sci-fi novel "The Diamond Age," a young girl's companion is a book with amazing qualities -- it talks, and the words magically change with the story.

A decade after Stephenson's book was published, what was once labeled science fiction is finding its way to the real-world market.

"Electronic paper" is a display technology that makes possible flexible or even rollable displays which, unlike current computer screens, can be read in bright sunlight.

But, much like when LCD displays came to the market, consumers are first likely to see the technology in clocks and watches. The popular example of an electronic newspaper that automatically updates itself wirelessly is still years away.

A number of companies are currently working on such displays -- LG.Philips LCD (034220.KS) and Massachusetts-based E Ink announced last month that they have developed a protype 10-inch display, and Fujitsu (6702.T) showed a color display in July.

Philips' (PHG.AS) Polymer Vision unit aims to mass-produce a rollable 5-inch display by the end of 2006, and among the first consumer products is a watch with a curved electronic paper display from Seiko Epson (6724.T), due to hit the Japanese market next year.

Electronic paper was invented in the 1970s at Xerox' (NYSE:XRX - news) Palo Alto Research Center by Nick Sheridon, who now works as research director at Xerox subsidiary Gyricon, which makes electronic paper signs.

"If you remember the green-screen monitors -- it drove him crazy and he was looking for something that was easier on the eyes," Gyricon spokesman Jim Welch said.

ELECTRONIC OR PAPER?

The technology at the heart of electronic paper? Tiny black and white particles that are suspended in capsules about the diameter of a human hair.

The particles respond to electrical charges -- a negative field pushes the negatively charged black particles away to the surface, where they create a black dot. Positively charged white particles create the opposite effect.

At a 10th of a millimeter, the thickness of an ordinary sheet of paper, electronic paper is much thinner than the liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) used in today's computers and mobile phones.

It also consumes 100 times less power because it does not require a back light and only needs electricity to change the image, not to hold it.

Like ordinary paper, it reflects light, making it readable even in difficult conditions such as direct sunlight.

Michigan-based Gyricon is already selling e-paper signs and message boards that can be updated wirelessly -- allowing, for example, to centrally update room signs throughout a building.

MOBILE INTERNET

But it is the potential for boosting mobile Internet use that makes electronic paper displays particularly attractive, said Karl McGoldrick, Chief Executive of Polymer Vision.

Displays that can be rolled up mean that while the screen gets bigger, the actual device can stay small.

"Beyond smart phones, beyond PDAs, displays are simply too small to have any value from a mobile Internet perspective," McGoldrick said.

"This year, there will be something like 700 million mobile phones sold and, out of those, just 5 percent will be smart phones. If you want to bring the mobile Internet to the mainstream, you need to attack the other 670 million phones."

In the first step, McGoldrick envisions a pocket-size standalone device that can download content directly from a PC, via the mobile network or wireless Internet. He said Polymer Vision was currently talking to manufacturers and content providers alike to put such a device together.

The firm says its 5-inch display will be priced comparably with LCD displays of the same size.

Ted Schadler, an analyst at market research group Forrester, cautioned that manufacturers needed to make sure their devices did not end up being a "solution looking for a problem."

"It's not enough to build a product. You have to build an end-to-end solution. Of course Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) has done that brilliantly with the iPod, and they're continuing to push the envelope there, but they're about the only ones," Schadler said.

An electronic newspaper, when the technology is finally available to produce one, still may not be the device to rescue newspaper publishers from an aging readership and dwindling circulation numbers.

Such a device could well be sold by newspaper publishers who would subsidize it in order to sell subscriptions, but it would have to offer other sources to be attractive, Schadler said.

"If you would lock consumers into just one news service, they will not find it interesting. Users might want to read a blog, a competitor, a magazine, a book -- not just the Financial Times, the Herald Tribune, the New York Times," he said.

"They have to be really careful how they open the access to make it more valuable," Schadler said.

Source

iRobot Scooba Floor Washing Robot

iRobot takes orders for it's new floor washing robot Scooba.

iRobot sells the Scooba for $399.99 with free shipping and a 30 day risk free trial.
Only issue is that the delivery time is 8-10 weeks.

The Scooba features a four stage cleaning process in a single pass. It vacuums, washes, scrubs and dries floors automatically. iRobot announced the Scooba robot back in May. I think the Scooba has what it takes to be as successful as the Roomba.

4 stage cleaning process in a single pass

* Preps by picking up loose sand, crumbs and dirt
* Washes using clean Clorox cleaning solution where mops just spread the dirt around
* Scrubs your floor removing dirt and grime
* Dries by picking up the dirty solution leaving the floor clean and dry
* A single tank cleans up to 200 sq. ft. and passes over an area an average of 4 times.

Comes with everything you see featured above

* iRobot Scooba Floor Washing Robot
* 8 oz bottle of Clorox solution
* Measuring Cup
* Charging Brick
* Charging Base
* Battery
* 1 Virtual Wall® (requires 2 D Batteries not included)

Standard features

* Stair Avoidance System

1 year manufacturers warranty

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Psyc Network Walkman Digital Music Playerspacer

Listen longer with superior battery life. Store hundreds of tracks. Easily navigate through your music with the backlit LCD display.

* Up to 70 hours of continuous playback on one “AAA” battery
* Backlit LCD Display
* Plays Back in ATRAC3™ Audio Format and MP3 Files
* 512MB Built-in Memory
* Compatible with Sony's Connect™ Online Music Store

Superior battery life gives you more music options. Grind every curb in Burbank. Bike the Everglades. Chill out in your bedroom. Sony gives you more time with up to 70 hours of battery life.1 The Backlit LCD Display provides easy viewing of song data, so you've got more control of your tunes. And, with 512MB2 of built-in memory, you can pack your player with up to 345 songs. Features MP3 playback and Skip-Proof Design.

Ultra Compact Portable Design
Weighing in at less than one ounce, the player fits comfortably in the palm of your hand or can easily be carried in a pocket or purse.

512MB1 Built-In Memory
Stores up to 345 songs on the device.

Up to 70 Hours1 Battery Life with one “AAA” Battery
Up to 70 hours of continuous playback on one “AAA” battery.

Plays Back MP3/ATRAC3®/ATRAC3plus™ Audio Formats
For the music connoisseur, use the included software and hardware to store and play back your collection of MP3s. For the digital music novice, Sony's ATRAC® format provides higher sound quality with smaller sizes than many competing formats. This enables you to store more music and have longer listening times.

Backlit LCD Display
Provides easy viewing of song data and much more.

Supports WMA and WAV Audio Formats
The Network Walkman player plays back ATRAC3®, ATRAC3plus™ format and MP3 files, and supports WMA and WAV.

Easy Toggle Navigation
Navigate through tracks, albums and settings by using the large face of the product and "rock" it back and forth to make a selection.

Transfer Personal Downloaded Music and CD Recordings
Between your CDs and your PC, create your own music mixes for on-the-go enjoyment.

Compatible with the Connect™ Music Store
The Connect™ Music Store provides an easy method for downloading personal music. Connect™ Music Store offers access to an extensive online music library including many independent titles as well as featured artist and celebrity mixes. www.connect.com

Music Management Software Supplied
Import, manage and easily transfer your digital music collections with the supplied music management software.

Skip-Proof Design with No Moving Parts
For uninterrupted playback even while carrying the Network Walkman player during active uses.

Connects to USB Port for High-Speed Data Transfer
After mixes have been created in the jukebox, they are easily transferred at high speed to the device.

Multi Language Display
Displays encoded text that can include the artist name, disc name, and/or track name.


Source

Microsoft to Digitize 100,000 Books

Software giant Microsoft Corp. said Friday it has signed a deal to scan and put online 100,000 books from the British Library.

Readers will be able to search through around 25 million pages of material next year without having to visit the library in London or pay any fee.

Microsoft is initially investing $2.5 million in the project, but both sides say there are plans to digitize more titles in the future.

A plan by search engine Google — a rival to Microsoft's MSN search engine — to upload its own digital library has been dogged by complaints from publishers that their copyrights are being infringed.

Mindful of that controversy, Microsoft and the British Library stressed that they will be choosing books only from the older end of the library's vast collection of 13 million titles, as these have long fallen out of copyright.

Despite the fierce rivalry between the two digital companies, the library says its deal with Microsoft is not exclusive — the scanned books will be posted on the British Library's own Web site, currently freely searchable through Google.

"This is great news for research and scholarship and will give unparalleled access to our vast collections to people all over the world: They will be available to anyone, anywhere and at anytime," the British Library's Chief Executive Lynne Brindley said in a statement.

Source

Electronic paper moves from sci-fi to marketplace

In Neal Stephenson's sci-fi novel "The Diamond Age," a young girl's companion is a book with amazing qualities -- it talks, and the words magically change with the story.

A decade after Stephenson's book was published, what was once labeled science fiction is finding its way to the real-world market.

"Electronic paper" is a display technology that makes possible flexible or even rollable displays which, unlike current computer screens, can be read in bright sunlight.

But, much like when LCD displays came to the market, consumers are first likely to see the technology in clocks and watches. The popular example of an electronic newspaper that automatically updates itself wirelessly is still years away.

A number of companies are currently working on such displays -- LG.Philips LCD (034220.KS) and Massachusetts-based E Ink announced last month that they have developed a protype 10-inch display, and Fujitsu (6702.T) showed a color display in July.

Philips' (PHG.AS) Polymer Vision unit aims to mass-produce a rollable 5-inch display by the end of 2006, and among the first consumer products is a watch with a curved electronic paper display from Seiko Epson (6724.T), due to hit the Japanese market next year.

Electronic paper was invented in the 1970s at Xerox' (NYSE:XRX - news) Palo Alto Research Center by Nick Sheridon, who now works as research director at Xerox subsidiary Gyricon, which makes electronic paper signs.

"If you remember the green-screen monitors -- it drove him crazy and he was looking for something that was easier on the eyes," Gyricon spokesman Jim Welch said.

ELECTRONIC OR PAPER?

The technology at the heart of electronic paper? Tiny black and white particles that are suspended in capsules about the diameter of a human hair.

The particles respond to electrical charges -- a negative field pushes the negatively charged black particles away to the surface, where they create a black dot. Positively charged white particles create the opposite effect.

At a 10th of a millimeter, the thickness of an ordinary sheet of paper, electronic paper is much thinner than the liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) used in today's computers and mobile phones.

It also consumes 100 times less power because it does not require a back light and only needs electricity to change the image, not to hold it.

Like ordinary paper, it reflects light, making it readable even in difficult conditions such as direct sunlight.

Michigan-based Gyricon is already selling e-paper signs and message boards that can be updated wirelessly -- allowing, for example, to centrally update room signs throughout a building.

MOBILE INTERNET

But it is the potential for boosting mobile Internet use that makes electronic paper displays particularly attractive, said Karl McGoldrick, Chief Executive of Polymer Vision.

Displays that can be rolled up mean that while the screen gets bigger, the actual device can stay small.

"Beyond smart phones, beyond PDAs, displays are simply too small to have any value from a mobile Internet perspective," McGoldrick said.

"This year, there will be something like 700 million mobile phones sold and, out of those, just 5 percent will be smart phones. If you want to bring the mobile Internet to the mainstream, you need to attack the other 670 million phones."

In the first step, McGoldrick envisions a pocket-size standalone device that can download content directly from a PC, via the mobile network or wireless Internet. He said Polymer Vision was currently talking to manufacturers and content providers alike to put such a device together.

The firm says its 5-inch display will be priced comparably with LCD displays of the same size.

Ted Schadler, an analyst at market research group Forrester, cautioned that manufacturers needed to make sure their devices did not end up being a "solution looking for a problem."

"It's not enough to build a product. You have to build an end-to-end solution. Of course Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) has done that brilliantly with the iPod, and they're continuing to push the envelope there, but they're about the only ones," Schadler said.

An electronic newspaper, when the technology is finally available to produce one, still may not be the device to rescue newspaper publishers from an aging readership and dwindling circulation numbers.

Such a device could well be sold by newspaper publishers who would subsidize it in order to sell subscriptions, but it would have to offer other sources to be attractive, Schadler said.

"If you would lock consumers into just one news service, they will not find it interesting. Users might want to read a blog, a competitor, a magazine, a book -- not just the Financial Times, the Herald Tribune, the New York Times," he said.

"They have to be really careful how they open the access to make it more valuable," Schadler said.

Source

Hollywood writer guns for gaming

Peter Jackson has done it, the Wachowski Brothers did it, and Steven Spielberg is about to do it.

They are just some examples of the big guns in Hollywood who are dipping their toes into the fantastical world of the video game.

Already, gamers are getting used to blockbuster film titles spawning a gaming spin-off, such as King Kong, Spider-Man, The Matrix or the Hulk, giving humble thumb bandits the chance to star in the action at home once the popcorn has run dry.

As games become more photo-realistic, something which is going to improve dramatically when high definition game formats are released for next generation consoles, the line between the two worlds of entertainment blurs.

As pressure too builds on game developers to produce ever-more compelling and "big hitting" game titles, it is no surprise that the skills of Hollywood are starting to be poached.

Big Gun

Screenwriter Randall Jahnson, whose film credits include The Doors and The Mask of Zorro, is the latest to turn his pen to the smaller screen in the upcoming western Activision and Neversoft game title (PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, PC).

To a non-game-playing writer, the experience opened up many more creative avenues for him than he could have imagined. It also presented some interesting challenges he had not had before.

"It is very different. Both mediums are slave to money and technology. When you are writing a screenplay you are writing a very straight ahead narrative. You are moving from the beginning to the middle to the end as economically as possible," he told the BBC World Service programme Go Digital.

But the gamer is much more proactive, directing the action and the storyline to a large extent. Video games certainly must have a narrative drive to them, but they have side missions and plots which can take the story and the action in a different direction.

"You just have much more latitude as a writer to invent situations, details, conversations - stuff that would be considered as extraneous in a film."

This creativity unleashed even extends to composing the period "wanted" poster narrative within the game, the kind of detail about which film scriptwriters do not usually have to be concerned.

"I literally wrote thousands of wild lines that would be delivered in the heat of combat. You would have to assign five lines for Colton for his reactions for getting a gut shot, like 'Ow, lucky shot!'.

"When you are writing a traditional script you have to settle on one line, one version. This gives you the chance to include all the lines," said Mr Jahnson.

With that new vein of creativity comes the challenge of keeping hold of the overall narrative in a game. That narrative and storyline is crucial to keeping people hooked on the game as it is to a film.

This point was driven home to Mr Jahnson when Nerversoft developers placed a controller in his hand and pointed to the "x" button which gamers use to fire, but also to skip boring non-gaming bits.

His warning, Mr Jahnson remembers, was stark: "When you are starting to write this script, imagine there is a player sitting there with his finger on that button like a gun slingers with a twitchy finger and you have to write something that will prevent him from pressing that button again and again.

"It's got to be compelling, creative, emotionally involving, and expose character traits as well all in one minute. In a film, you would have four minutes to do that."

Collaboration fun

One of the most significant lessons he will take back to the film world is how collaborative the creative experience was compared to Hollywood.


"It made writing a video game a little nutty. It was like being in pre-production, production, and post production all at the same time."

That simultaneous collaboration meant it was very different to being a writer tucked away with copious coffee, crafting a linear story alone.

"I would like to say to the film world, 'hey, this is how it should be done'," he says.

"The film industry is very director-driven. Directors wield the most power. In the game world, at least with my experience, has been very collaborative and idyllic so I hope other producers, directors and developers take note of that and say that works."

As for the future of games meet film, Mr Jahnson is confident that the cross-pollination of ideas will grow.

Right now there is a stampede of screenwriters clamouring into the game world, he says, because there are not enough movie opportunities to work on.

"I have lots of hope for the game medium and it is only going to get better, faster and richer."

As for igniting his interest in gaming, it has indeed opened up a whole new world of fun for Mr Jahnson. He fully intends to play Gun when it comes out, but it might be a fast showdown.

"I am going to get creamed, big time."
"In Gun it was interesting because you had the art department rushing into some of our story meetings and showing me renditions of what Colton our hero looks like and what the villains look like. I mean, the story isn't even done yet and they are showing me this.

Source

Microsoft's big games gamble

The first shots in a new video games battle will be fired in November when Microsoft launches its new Xbox 360 console in the shops.

The video games industry is the fastest-growing part of the entertainment business - and Microsoft is determined to conquer it with the Xbox 360.

Described by Microsoft UK boss Neil Thompson as "the most powerful console ever seen on the planet", it will cost upwards of £200, and boasts new generation graphics, and a range of new features.

The new console is Microsoft's second attempt to topple Sony's dominant PlayStation video games brand and this time they'll have a head start over their rivals.

Source

Firefox fanbase reaches new high

The global average of 11.5% is the highest percentage of users that the open source browser has ever reached.

The research also reveals that Americans are the biggest fans of Firefox with 14.1% using it. In the UK 4.9% use it to get around online.

Despite the success, Microsoft's Internet Explorer still dominates the net with an 85.5% market share.

Browser battle

The figures, gathered from a sample of more than two million web users, show that Firefox's market share has grown by almost three percentage points since April 2005.

One Stat said that some of this growth has come at the expense of Microsoft's browser, but it has also stolen users from other browsers such as Opera and Netscape. One Stat also reported that users of Apple's Safari browser for the Mac was also recording good growth figures.

It is thought that continuing news stories about security problems in Internet Explorer are helping to fuel the move away from Microsoft's program.

One Stat's figures are at the upper end of all estimates for the success of Firefox. By contrast analysis firm Net Applications gave the browser a 9% market share according to figures gathered in October.

In recent months, browsers, toolbars and the technology around them have become the new front line in the war between the web's biggest companies - Microsoft, Google and Yahoo - to grab and keep hold of users.

New browsers are also continuing to appear. Most recently a browser called Flock launched that tries to make it easier for users to manage what they do on the web, such as remember places of interest and store pictures, in one place.

Source

Consumer Reports: Shopping Online Smarter

In today's world of mass retailers, it's easy to assume that a big-box store like Best Buy or Wal-Mart would be the best place to buy consumer electronics. Guess again.

A Consumer Reports reader survey suggests that shopping online might be the smarter choice.

As a group, online outlets did a better job overall than brick-and-mortar retailers of satisfying customers when it came to their purchases of televisions, digital cameras, DVD/DVR players, camcorders, handheld computers, or audio equipment, according to more than 18,700 readers surveyed in the spring.

The rankings were based on price, product selection, product quality, service, information quality and return policies.

At the top of the list: Crutchfield.com, Amazon.com, Costco.com, J&R.com, and Buy.com.

Retailers that sell both on the Web and in-store, such as Costco, Circuit City and Best Buy, scored higher marks on the Internet than at their walk-in locations.

But there are trade-offs either way.

The survey, to be published in the magazine's December issue, found that while online outlets may have wider selections and lower prices, physical stores — namely local independent stores and smaller chain retailers, such as Tweeter Home Entertainment and Ritz Camera — offer good service.

Mass merchandisers like Target, Wal-Mart and Costco might have decent prices but they rated poorly in service and selection, the survey found.

As the holiday shopping season nears, Consumer Reports offered the following tips:

_Do research beforehand. Internet retailers and manufacturer Web sites offer a plethora of product details and specifications — not to mention information that the item you were eyeing may already have its next model out, possibly with more features at only a slightly higher or even a lower price.

If talking to a real person is more your preference, Consumer Reports says you'll probably be out of luck at places like Target or Wal-Mart, where sales staffing is minimal. Places like Tweeter, Ritz Camera, RadioShack and Ultimate Electronics were rated among the best in service.

_Narrow your prospects to two to four finalists. Note the model names and numbers and the features you must have.

_Shop for the best price once you know which models meet your needs. Many shopping comparison sites scour the Internet for deals, including MySimon.com, BizRate.com, and Shopping.com. Specialty magazines for audio, video and photography also carry advertisements from smaller electronics retailers that might be able to quote you a lower price over the phone than what you see in ads.

Note, however, that online retailers don't always have lower prices, and consumers should factor in shipping and handling costs of buying or returning an item.

Some brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Costco, have very liberal return policies.

Also, membership fees should be counted when it comes to wholesalers, like BJ's Wholesale and Costco.

_Visit a few stores to touch and examine the products first hand, but save time by calling ahead first to make sure they carry the brands and models you seek. While on the phone, ask for the price, too.

There are other factors to consider.

For delivery and installation services, walk-in stores have the edge, especially for large-screen projection TVs and wall-mount plasma or LCD screens.

If you want something immediately, you may be able to walk out with a product when you buy from a nearby store. With online retailers, you have to wait days or pay more for rush delivery.

If you're not in a rush to buy, shop when the electronics you want tend to go on sale.

The best deals on digital cameras and camcorders are in the spring, and camcorders tend to also go on sale in winter.

You'll find lower prices for DVD players in April and July, and lower prices on TV sets in July, November, and January, pre- and post-Super Bowl.

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Dissecting Digital Camcorders

You almost can't go anywhere without someone bringing along a camcorder. And it's easy to understand why: These devices allow you to make a permanent record of big and small events in your life, from family get-togethers to weddings and vacations.

But recently camcorders have changed. They now record video digitally, creating lasting images that look good enough for network TV. In fact, today it's hard to find the analog camcorders of yesteryear.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Digital camcorders are decidedly more flexible. You can easily transmit the video they capture to a personal computer for manipulation. Or you can burn the video to DVD, which lasts longer than analog tapes.

But which type of digital camcorder should you choose? Not surprisingly, there are about as many ways of recording digital video as there are personal computing technologies. With the holidays right around the corner, here's a guide to the different types of digital camcorders.
Digital Videotape

Cost: From $300

Pros: Affordable; wide range of options

Cons: Searching the captured video can be a pain

The most common type of camcorder today uses traditional magnetic tape to store video. But unlike your aging VHS video recorder (or the Video8 Handycam you bought five years ago), they do it digitally, so the sound and video are of better quality.

There are three major types: MiniDV, MicroMV, and Digital8. MiniDV camcorders use matchbox-size digital videotapes to store 60 or 90 minutes of sound and video. They range in price from $300 for basic models such as the JVC GR-D250 to many thousands of dollars for professional models like the Canon XL2, which pros have even used to make movies.

Many models in the $400-and-up price range can also double as digital cameras, storing still images on a flash memory card. However, the results are usually not as good as a dedicated still camera, so don't assume you can leave your digital camera at home.

The MicroMV and Digital8 formats were created by Sony, but both are now falling out of favor. MicroMV camcorders like the tiny, $1000 Sony DCR-IP1 use a tape the size of a matchbook, which means the camcorders can be smaller, but the video quality is not as good as that of MiniDV models. Digital8 models like the $300 DCR-TRV280 are fairly similar to MiniDV--the tapes are the same size, and the devices can connect to a PC in the same way, via FireWire/I.Link.

The image quality you get from these digital-tape camcorders is a lot better than what you used to see from their older analog cousins, and you can copy the digital video to a PC for editing and burning to DVD with ease. But the fact that you're using a tape means finding a particular scene can be a real pain. It's rather like trying to find a music track on an old-fashioned audiotape--fast forward, check where you are, fast forward again, and repeat until you find it. And you always run the risk of rewinding to watch a clip, then inadvertently overwriting your video when you start recording again.
DVD

Cost: From $600

Upside: DVDs used can be viewed with most set-top DVD players

Downside: More expensive than MiniDV camcorders; video is even more difficult to edit

Camcorders like the $750 Canon DC10 and the $1000 Sony Handycam DCR-DVD403 that record straight to DVD are becoming increasingly popular for one reason: You can record to DVD, then pop the disc into most set-top players and watch it. And like commercial DVDs, you can fast forward and skip scenes with the touch of a button. Most DVD camcorders even create a menu, allowing you to choose your favorite scenes more easily.

But there are a couple of caveats. The small, 8-centimeter DVDs that these camcorders use can only hold 30 minutes of video. And before you can view the disc in a set-top DVD player, you have to run through a process called "finishing," which can take a few minutes and essentially "locks" the disc so you can't record anything more on it.

DVD camcorders are also more expensive than equivalent MiniDV camcorders, and they make it more difficult to edit video after you've shot it. This means that if you want to take all the video you've shot and put only the good parts on another DVD, it's more awkward with a DVD camcorder than a MiniDV model.
Flash Memory

Cost: $100 and up

Upside: Some are very cheap; others are well-suited for extreme sports fans

Downside: Video quality is lousy

Using the same memory cards as digital cameras, camcorders such as the $100 Aiptek Pocket DV4500 and the $600 Samsung SC-X105L record video without any moving parts. The Samsung is also waterproof and has an external camera pod that you can attach to a helmet so you can record adventures such as skydiving (something that you should never try with a MiniDV or DVD model).

Just for fun, there's even a single-use, flash-memory-based camcorder. Buy the CVS camcorder for just $30, shoot up to 20 minutes of video, then take it back to the pharmacy, and CVS will put your video on DVD. As you might imagine, the video quality leaves a lot to be desired, but it's cheap and could make sense in situations where you might be afraid to take an expensive camcorder.

Overall, flash camcorder technology is still rather new. The video these camcorders produce is of lower resolution and quality than that captured by MiniDV and DVD models. But this is changing. New models such as the $1000 Panasonic SV-AV100 record video that is nearly as good as a MiniDV camcorder, but they are expensive.
Hard Drive

Cost: $800 to $1000

Upside: Can hold a lot of video that's easy to edit and copy

Downside: Relatively expensive; unproven technology

The new kids on the camcorder block use a hard drive instead of a tape, DVD, or memory card. Models such as the $800 JVC Everio GZ-MG30 employ the same hard drives that high-capacity music players like the IPod use. This means they can store a lot of video. The GZ-MG30, for instance, has a built-in 30GB hard drive that can hold up to 10 hours of video. It's enough for even the most ardent video users to record what they want without ever changing tapes. And editing the video is a breeze: Just connect the camcorder to a PC via the USB port and you can copy video to the PC's hard drive with a couple of mouse clicks. Now you're ready for editing and burning DVDs.

Richard Baguley is a San Francisco Bay Area freelance writer who takes videos of his dog, Fester. He also blogs about camcorders and digital video for Camcorderinfo.com.

Source

Nintendo create 7,500 free hotspots in UK for Nintendo DS

First it was McDonalds in the US, now Nintendo is planning on opening 7,500 wi-fi locations across the UK for the launch of its Wi-Fi gaming service on 25 November.

Partnering with wireless providers BT Openzone and The Cloud, Nintendo DS gamers will be able to play in McDonalds restaurants, Coffee Republic coffee houses, Hilton and Ramada Jarvis hotels, Road Chef and Welcome Break service stations, First Great Western railway stations, over 25 student unions and city centre BT Payphones and airports, football stadiums and even the British Library and Canary Wharf for free.

Nintendo UK will also be installing BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots into major video games retailers and other key outlets across the UK.

Chris Clark, CEO of Converged Mobility Operations, BT said: "We believe the future for Wi-Fi is that people will be able to access the internet, their corporate networks and their games consoles any time, anywhere using whatever device they have."

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Soon you can buy a book on Amazon, read it online

Amazon is trying to do for books what Apple's iPod digital player did for portable music. The online retail giant on Thursday said it will offer online access to books for a fee to customers who buy hard copies of the same book. The service starts next year.

Also, in a twist on pay-per-view television, Amazon will start making pages of books available online on a pay-per-page basis.

"We think this is a big deal," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says. "If we can bring the world of books to customers, wherever they happen to be, that's a worthwhile thing to work on."

The publishing industry is going through a rough transition into the digital age, battling Internet search giant Google over copyright-infringement claims.

Google is scanning in copyrighted books from several libraries, part of its plan to let online users search books. While only snippets of the books are available for viewing, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Authors Guild have sued Google, saying it doesn't have the right to scan the books without permission.

Google says it has fair use. Thursday, it began offering public domain books from the libraries at print.google.com. (Related item: Google offers index of public domain works)

Microsoft also is a player. Last week, the software maker joined Yahoo's competing book-digitization program, which allows online searches of books in the public domain. A test version is set for next year.

Publishers welcomed Amazon's new service. "We're very pleased," AAP director Judith Platt says. "We are willing to embrace the digital environment with open arms, but it needs to be done in a way that respects publishers and authors."

The new Amazon program stems from its "Search Inside the Book" feature launched two years ago. Since then, one of every two books offered in the USA has the feature, which next year will go further with the pay-per-page and online-access features.

Bezos expects consumers to pay a fee of about $1.99 to get digital access to the book at the time of purchase, and to pay "a few cents" per page for page views. Books suitable for this category are ones devoted to cooking, computers and textbooks, he says.

Amazon began 10 years ago as an online bookseller, but it has expanded into many other sales categories. Still, books remain its No. 1 category, Bezos says.

He declined comment on Google's plans.

Also Thursday, publisher Random House said it hopes to put its books online on a pay-per-page basis.

"We believe that it is important for publishers to be innovative in providing digital options for consumers to access our content," said Richard Sarnoff, president of Random House's corporate development division.

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Google Upgrades Desktop Search

Google Thursday unveiled an updated version of its desktop search tool, Google Desktop 2. The free download combines desktop search with Google Sidebar, which makes customized news and other information easily accessible to users. An additional feature in the new desktop search is a personalized maps panel, which displays maps relevant to a user's geographic location, interests, and online activity. The revised product also offers various sidebar panels for other services, such as American Express--so consumers can track credit information in real time--and iTunes. Google has also made extra APIs available so developers with varying degrees of experience can use JavaScript to create additional sidebar plug-ins.

In addition, for businesses, Google has added several new enterprise features in an effort to improve administration tasks and security. Google also launched a desktop search-related blog on Thursday.

Google unveiled the official version of its first desktop search product, Google Desktop Search 1.0, in March after six months of testing. Google was the first of the major search players--Yahoo!, AskJeeves, and MSN--to formally launch a desktop search product.

It wasn't until late September that chief rival Yahoo! launched its own desktop search product, which launched in beta in January. Upon the launch, Yahoo! added a contextual search feature, "LiveWords," which enables users who use the desktop search to retrieve documents from their hard drives to then highlight terms within those documents--and with one click, search the Web for pages related to those highlighted words.

Yahoo!'s desktop software, used for searching hard drives, can index content from over 300 different file types, including Microsoft Office applications, Adobe PDF, and assorted music and video formats. The beta version of Yahoo! Desktop first launched in January--after rivals Google and Microsoft debuted their own beta versions.

Microsoft's MSN unveiled a toolbar and desktop beta in December, and then launched officially in mid-May. New features include a preview window that allows users to drag and drop searched items into other applications; the ability to customize both the files indexed by the search algorithm and where the index file is stored; and the ability to download additional third-party plug-ins that allow different file types to be searched.

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It's Not Just a Phone, It's an Adventure - Motorola V60

Larry Azlin, a software engineer in El Cerrito, Calif., considers himself one of the lucky ones. His aging clamshell cellphone, a Motorola V60, seems to work just fine. But once he gives it some thought, it occurs to him that he does have a few complaints.

"The buttons on the sides are a bit annoying," he said. They seem to do different things when the phone is open and when it is closed.

His biggest complaint is that the Motorola V60 phone insists on making noise at every opportunity. "You can't even turn it off without it making a sound," he said, noting that when he tried to discreetly silence the phone at a concert, it squawked.

Mr. Azlin is hardly alone in being confused and confounded by his cellphone at times. Gone are the days when the most one expected from a mobile phone was to place or to receive a call.

In recent years cellphone makers have tended to view their products, which millions of people press to their faces every day, less as phones and more as platforms for services and features.

Practically every new iteration of cellphone promises more: digital music, streaming video, 3-D video games, location-based navigation and full Internet browsing, not to mention a camera. With more features often come more buttons, complications and costs, and thicker operating manuals.

Some people call it feature creep.

Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, a market research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y., said he had seen "a little bit of response" from cellphone makers to do away with arcane key combinations and with making users mine through menus to accomplish the most basic of tasks.

But "the customer for handsets really isn't the consumer," he said. Rather, it is the carrier.

At a wireless trade show this month in New Orleans, carriers like Cingular and Verizon Wireless spoke repeatedly about the importance of providing services that would further drive the average revenue per user on their voice and data networks.

Mr. Rubin said creating phones that encouraged consumers to browse the Web, to upload videos and to download ring tones, for example, was good for the industry's bottom line.

James Burke, senior director for North American product operations for Motorola in its headquarters in Libertyville, Ill., near Chicago, acknowledged that "phones are clearly getting more and more complicated in terms of what we can put into them." But he said better and cheaper technologies gave cellphone operators more opportunities to "really address consumer needs."

"My sense is that technology is a bit dangerous here if done wrong, jamming every feature in like a Swiss Army knife," Mr. Burke said. "You get into trouble with the consumer. But if done right, it can really be enabling. It can be very powerful."

He cited two phones expected soon from Motorola - the E815 (scheduled for the first half of this year) and the E725 (scheduled for the second half) - as examples of how to do it right.

The E815 features a large keypad and well-spaced buttons beneath a large color screen. The combination makes it easy to create and send text messages, he said. The E725 is a "slider" phone, with its display panel and scroll wheel sliding up to reveal a 12-button keypad for simple navigation.

Still, both phones are laden with functions. They offer high-speed uploading and downloading of pictures and files. The E815 has a 1.3-megapixel camera; the E725 will have a VGA camera, dedicated music keys, a five-band graphic equalizer, audio synchronized rhythm lights and up to two gigabytes of storage on an optional removable memory card.

"I don't think we're overserving people," Mr. Burke said.

John Chier, a spokesman for Kyocera Wireless, which is based in San Diego, said his company's research had affirmed that "people wanted a phone that was easy to use." But he asserted that the solution was not to create lots of stripped-down phones.

In the end, Mr. Chier said, cellphone makers have little to distinguish themselves beyond the way they combine and arrange features. "As manufacturers, we are pretty much painting from the same technology palette."

One effort to make things simple is Kyocera's SoHo cellphone, a "voice-centric" phone in limited release in North America. Its exterior has sharp, angular lines, but the clamshell phone offers little more than a large keypad for making calls and text messaging. It has no camera, but predictive text software, voice-activated dialing and a speakerphone.

On the other hand, Kyocera's Slider Remix KX5, due in August, is a multiuse phone that shoots video and 1.3-megapixel pictures, plays music files in MP3 and AAC (the format used by Apple's iPod), and much more. More important, Mr. Chier said, the Slider Remix will be easy to use with its pinwheel-like controls and - yes, Mr. Azlin - a one-touch silence button.

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Yahoo goes drag-and-drop for mapping

The upgraded Yahoo Maps is more tightly integrated with Yahoo Local, allowing users to quickly find, for instance, the locations of Mexican restaurants in a particular neighborhood by typing in things like "best margarita" or "outdoor seating" or other category types or descriptions.

In addition, users can now type in a business address and the service will display the business name, phone number, user rating and link to additional information.

The new service also aims to make it easy to map out driving directions with multiple stops, including the ability to drag-and-drop specific businesses into the route. The map is larger and includes a collapsible mini-map with a shadow box that can easily be dragged around to shift the neighborhood displayed in the larger map.

The service automatically stores frequently referenced destinations, which can also be set to automatically fill in a search box using a nickname. Users can click on the browser's "back" button to see the previous map action, and the map can automatically be configured for a printing layout.

"The interface is cleaner and better" than before, said Greg Sterling, an analyst at The Kelsey Group. "You can drag the map around without reloading it and the data changes as you drag it."

Yahoo also said it is releasing two new types of mapping application programming interfaces (APIs) designed to give developers more flexibility in creating applications that combine their own content with Yahoo maps.

Yahoo is offering Flash and Ajax programming versions of a Syndication API and a set of Building Block APIs for Yahoo Maps, which require more programming skills than the Simple Publishing API released in June, Yahoo said.

In addition, Yahoo is releasing an extension to the Simple Publishing API. The new downloadable Microsoft Excel plug-in creates a Web page with content from a developer's Excel spreadsheet onto a Yahoo Map to create a map mash-up without requiring any programming.

The Syndication and Building Block APIs will allow developers to embed a Yahoo map into their own Web page instead of having it hosted on the Yahoo Web page, Sterling said.

Google's mapping API has always allowed developers to host their mash-ups on their own Web sites, which partially explains why there are so many Google Maps mash-ups, he said.

"It's easy to plug in Google Maps and it was hosted on your site. Google lets you take and run with their maps and Yahoo until today did not," Sterling said. "This will boost Yahoo's (map) use on third-party sites."

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Symantec tweaks email security

SYMANTEC has updated its email security offer and come up with a new single-license enterprise product bundle.

The move is part of its stated goal of integrating security and e-mail archiving for the enterprise.

The new licensing scheme is intended to simplify product bundling, says the vendor.

Symantec Mail Security Enterprise Edition is a single-licensed suite of mail security solutions for SMTP gateway and groupware tiers. It gives customers a choice between multiplatform software-based, appliance-based and hosted service solutions, says Symantec.

Symantec has just reported a loss for its latest quarter thanks to a hefty charge from its acquisition of Veritas.

It lost $251.3 million in its fiscal Q2, ended September 30. In the same period a year earlier, it made $235.6 million.

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Agilent Technologies' new genome analysis technology set to accelerate Australia's fight against mesothelioma

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that its breakthrough Human Genome CGH Microarray technology will be used by researchers at Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in a three-year study designed to better understand mesothelioma, a cancer found in the lining of the chest, the abdominal cavity and around the heart, usually caused by exposure to asbestos.

Due to its active mining and manufacturing of asbestos in the mid-1900s, Australia has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in the world. Rates of the disease have tripled in the past 20 years and are expected to peak about 2010. Diagnosis of this type of cancer is difficult, and patients are often not identified until the condition is quite advanced.

Agilent's new microarray techniques in comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) will allow researchers to rapidly and reliably identify genetic changes in tumorous cells. It is believed that specific genetic changes may accompany the onset and progression of the disease.

Dr. Andrew Holloway of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre said his team will work in conjunction with colleagues at The University of Western Australia, using Agilent's CGH microarray to provide a more thorough understanding of the genetic makeup of mesothelioma cells, which may ultimately lead to increased knowledge of the origins and development of this and other cancers.

"Agilent's CGH technology will allow us to study the entire genome in a manner that hasn't been possible in previous genomics research," said Holloway. "Upon completion, this project will produce the largest data set of its kind on mesothelioma in the world. We are very optimistic that it will give us a much clearer understanding and interpretation of this devastating disease."

"Agilent's new CGH microarray platform provides very high sensitivity, enabling researchers to detect small changes in chromosomes, including single copy deletions, which have previously been the most difficult to find," said Agilent Integrated Biology Solutions product manager David Tunks.

"We hope the outcome of this work will have a major effect on mesothelioma research," said Holloway. "The Australian economy will need $5 billion to fund the compensation, treatment and management of mesothelioma in the community, so this research is critical in working toward minimizing these costs, with the eventual hope of developing tools for earlier diagnosis and treatment."

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Nokia Announces Three Smartphones

It was in Barcelona four years ago that Nokia announced its first smartphone, the Nokia 7650. The Finnish giant used the same stage Wednesday to announce three new multimedia handsets, including one for digital TV.

The TV handset, the N92, is the world's first handset for the digital video broadcast-handheld standard (DVB-H), Nokia said. The standard allows live TV signals to mobile handsets on spectrum separate from the cellular network. There have been more than three dozen DVB-H trials around the world and operators in Italy and Malaysia have announced plans to launch service in 2006.

The N92 is expected to go on sale initially in Europe, Africa and Asia in mid-2006. Besides TV on a 2.8-inch screen, it is envisioned to be a music device capable of playing up to 1,500 songs with a 2 GB memory card, and also has a 2-megapixel camera. It can replay TV shows in 30-second bursts and record programs.

In the United States both Crown Castle and Qualcomm intend to have broadcast TV to handsets next year. Crown Castle plans on using the DVB-H standard, while Qualcomm has its own network using its MediaFLO technology. TV to handsets has been launched in Korea using another standard.

In addition to the N92 TV handset, Nokia's multimedia general manager, Anssi Vanjoki, announced the N71 music device that also has the company's new customizable Web browser, and the N80 "plug-and-play" home entertainment handset and controller.

Vanjoki said the N80 is designed to create networks with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared and USB 2.0 connectivity. The handset is a quad-band world phone that includes U.S. GSM and W-CDMA frequencies as well as European frequencies and is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2006. It has a 3-megapixel camera and FM radio.

Vanjoki said the N80 is based on interoperability standards under the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) umbrella as well as the Digital Living Network Alliance. Intel and Microsoft are cooperating in the interoperability effort, he said.

The N71, also due in the first quarter, is a clamshell device with a new browser using Nokia's "Minimap" features that creates kind of a "screen-within-a-screen" window to show users where the browser is located on a Web page. The browser supports "real simple syndication" (RSS). The handset has a slot for a 2 GB mini-SD card and has a 2-megapixel camera. It has radios for GSM 900/1800/1900 GHz and W-CDMA at 2100 GHz. The N71 also has a customizable multimedia key that users can set to launch any application they want, such as music, video or e-mail. It also has a five-band equalizer and Nokia CEO and President Jorma Ollila said in a keynote address that Nokia has updated its forecast for smart phones. It now expects to ship 100 million of such "convergent devices" in 2006, double this year's number. That includes seven Series 60 3rd Edition handsets planned for the first quarter.

Ollila reiterated Nokia's earlier guidance that the manufacturer will sell 100 cameraphones this year and that more than half of all Nokia devices now are capable of playing music. Nokia will ship 40 million music phones in 2006, he said, adding that half of all its handsets in 2006 will be built for W-CDMA networks.

In a separate developers' conference Tuesday, a Sony Pictures official discussed plans to put full-length motion pictures on memory cards that can be viewed on a mobile phone.

Jason Wells, vice president of mobile for Sony Pictures Digital, said Sony and Nokia are in discussion about bundling the movie cards with handsets for sale in retail stores.

Wells, who is based in Culver City, Calif., said he watched two movies on a Nokia handset on his flight to Barcelona on one battery charge. The movie player allows users to pause a show and then resume it in the same place.

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EA wins The Simpsons license for next-gen platforms

Top publisher Electronic Arts has announced that it is the new holder of the rights to create videogames based on the hugely successful The Simpsons franchise, with a next-generation title already in the pipeline.

The firm has signed a long-term deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television and Gracie Films which gives it the rights to create next-generation titles based on the long-running TV series, taking over from current Simpsons game publisher Vivendi Universal Interactive.

The deal is even more significant since it's the first time that EA has entered into such a deal with Fox, and could pave the way for future collaboration on some of Fox' other hugely successful properties.

No launch date for the first next-generation Simpsons title has been specified as yet, and it's not clear which of the next-gen platforms it will appear on - although it's probably safe to say that all three platforms will get Simpsons titles at some point.

"This is something EA's been interested in for years," commented Nick Earl, general manager of the EA Redwood Shores studio where the titles will be developed, "and now game development and technology is at a place where The Simpsons characters and world will really come alive in these games."

Twentieth Century Fox president Gary Newman also offered his thoughts on the deal, stating that "Electronic Arts is exactly the right creative partner to bring Springfield to life in this medium," but we'll leave the last word to Simpsons executive producer James L Brooks, who simply commented that "I think this is a great opportunity for us, primarily because it brings with it the possibility of free EA games." It's all about having your priorities right.

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Sony 2GB NW-A608/SI Special Edition MP3 Player

Sony again releases a special edition of its mp3 players only in Japan. This time it is a Winter Special Package of their small flash players.

The NW-A608/SI comes with 2GB and a silver color finish. The display shows snow flakes (how cute...). On the back is an engraving saying 2005 anniversary. The player comes with either a sliver or black box containing either a black protective skin or see-through one.
Sony already announced special editions of the Sony NW-A series. The Sony NW-A1200/B mp3 player also featured more storage than the standard editions.

I would not care that much, if Sony would release special color editions of their MP3 players only in Japan. But that those special edition players have more storage than the standard ones that are available outside of Japan simply put sucks.

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Germans get biometric passports

The new passport looks much like the old one, but airport control devices can detect a minute electronic tag concealed inside the cover.

German Interior Minister Otto Schily described the new e-passport as "a real security bonus".

He said the new technology would make forgery "impossible - or at least more difficult". Critics say that is not good enough.

The new biometric passport contains a paper-thin computer chip. Stored on this chip is a scan of the holder's face.

After 2007 the chip will also include fingerprint scans and iris scans could follow later.

When passengers have their passports checked at the airport, a device will scan their face whilst the immigration officer swipes the passport past another control device to check whether the information matches.

Safety concerns

But security tests carried out on the new e-passport have left many questions unanswered, says the data protection commissioner, Peter Schaar. He wanted more transparent testing before the passports were introduced.

"The authorities gave us virtually no information about the results of the security testing that was done," he says. "We haven't been able to properly assess how secure the new passport will be."

Mr Schaar's main concern is unauthorised access to the confidential biometric data. He wants to see more safeguards.

The German government has ruled out a centralised database of the confidential information. "But who says this won't happen abroad?" he says. "We need an EU-wide ruling to prevent storage of this data. This has all happened too fast."

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Spray-On Solar-Power Cells Are True Breakthrough

Scientists have invented a plastic solar cell that can turn the sun's power into electrical energy, even on a cloudy day.

The plastic material uses nanotechnology and contains the first solar cells able to harness the sun's invisible, infrared rays. The breakthrough has led theorists to predict that plastic solar cells could one day become five times more efficient than current solar cell technology.

Like paint, the composite can be sprayed onto other materials and used as portable electricity. A sweater coated in the material could power a cell phone or other wireless devices. A hydrogen-powered car painted with the film could potentially convert enough energy into electricity to continually recharge the car's battery.

The researchers envision that one day "solar farms" consisting of the plastic material could be rolled across deserts to generate enough clean energy to supply the entire planet's power needs.

"The sun that reaches the Earth's surface delivers 10,000 times more energy than we consume," said Ted Sargent, an electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Toronto. Sargent is one of the inventors of the new plastic material.

"If we could cover 0.1 percent of the Earth's surface with [very efficient] large-area solar cells," he said, "we could in principle replace all of our energy habits with a source of power which is clean and renewable."

Infrared Power

Plastic solar cells are not new. But existing materials are only able to harness the sun's visible light. While half of the sun's power lies in the visible spectrum, the other half lies in the infrared spectrum.

The new material is the first plastic composite that is able to harness the infrared portion.

"Everything that's warm gives off some heat. Even people and animals give off heat," Sargent said. "So there actually is some power remaining in the infrared [spectrum], even when it appears to us to be dark outside."

The researchers combined specially designed nano particles called quantum dots with a polymer to make the plastic that can detect energy in the infrared.

With further advances, the new plastic "could allow up to 30 percent of the sun's radiant energy to be harnessed, compared to 6 percent in today's best plastic solar cells," said Peter Peumans, a Stanford University electrical engineering professor, who studied the work.

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Virtual club to rock pop culture

The gamer who bought a virtual space station for $100,000 (£56,200) says he wants to turn it into a nightclub to change the face of entertainment.

Jon Jacobs, aka Neverdie, won the space station, currently being built within the online role-playing game Project Entropia, in an auction.

He wants to call it Club Neverdie and sees it as the perfect vehicle to bridge reality and virtual reality.

Gamers in Entropia regularly buy and sell virtual items using real cash.

Last year, a gamer bought an island for $26,500 (£13,700).

"I'm already in talks with some of the worlds biggest DJs about spinning live sets inside the nightclub," he told the BBC News website.

"Gamers want to be entertained while they play, hunt, socialise and craft, and because of the real cash economy aspects of Project Entropia, they can afford to pay for their entertainment."

Traditionally, a club, theatre or a stadium have been the only live venues where one could have a social experience while listening to and watching top performers, said Neverdie.

But now, he says, virtual worlds can be an alternative live venue.

"I truly think that this will be the decade that gaming and virtual reality changes the face of popular culture," said Neverdie.

Reach inside

Set on a distant planet called Calypso, made up of two continents with large expanding cities, Entropia has 236,000 registered players.

In the game, players exchange real currency with PEDs (Project Entropia Dollars).

Neverdie is a popular and well-known in-game character. He and another character, Island Girl, appeared in a 2003 dance music movie Hey DJ!, which starred Jon Jacobs, Charlotte Lewis, and Tina Leiu.

He said that his club will give the entertainment industry in the "real world" a route into virtual worlds where millions spend their social time.

"Club Neverdie will enable the entertainment industry to reach inside virtual reality and target the gamer while he's in his element, while also harnessing the economic power of the gamers to raise the quality level of the content on offer."

When the space station was put up for auction, it was described as a "monumental project" in the "treacherous, but mineral rich" Paradise V Asteroid Belt.

It came with mining and hunting taxation rights, mall shopping booth and market stall owner deeds, a land management system, and a billboard marketing system.

The game's currency lets players, or members, invest in personal development and growth by buying up goods, buildings, and land in the Entropia universe.

"The real estate market inside the Project Entropia universe is on fire, because there is so much money to be made," said Neverdie.

"Gamers everywhere are realising that our virtual worlds can compete with reality on an economic level."

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Microsoft unveils web-based strategy

Microsoft is to deliver versions of its leading software products over the internet, with Bill Gates calling it "a big change".

At a presentation in San Francisco, Mr Gates, the Microsoft chairman, outlined his plans for a next generation of "live software" services, which willmake packages accessible on demand over the web.

"This is a big change for everybody," Mr Gates said. "It is employing every part of the [software] ecosystem."

Analysts said the move had been expected because of increased competition from companies such as Google, which industry watchers say has outmanoeuvred Microsoft by offering a string of competing products over the internet.

Competitors who already provide web-based software sevices branded the move inevitable. Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce.com, a leading web-based software provider, said: "Bill Gates is still trying to prove Microsoft’s relevance in the age of the internet.

"The real innovators ... have all succeeded because Microsoft has let us down on innovation,"he told Times Online.

Microsoft "clearly gets where the focus of the competition needs to be," Tim O’Reilly, the publisher and software design guru, told Reuters.

"There are going to be some fabulous new services. But whether they are built by Microsoft or by Yahoo or Google or Salesforce remains to be seen," he added.

Groups such as Salesforce.com have been growing rapidly by providing business owners with internet-based applications for tracking customer relationships and managing back-office functions.

"It’s the Day of the Dead," Mr Benioff said. "Bill Gates and Ray Ozzie announced a series of 'internet-based software services' with 'Live' appended to some familiar names: Windows Live, Microsoft Office Live, Windows Live Messenger, and so on.

"The clear implication is that their current product line should be renamed with similar zeal: Windows Dead, Microsoft Office Dead, and Windows Live Messenger Dead."

Talking to the Sunday Times while in London last month, Mr Gates shrugged off criticism, saying the company had more than doubled in size in the six years since he stood down as chief executive.

"We have a lot of breakthrough things and we are able to be ambitious because of the size of the company," he said. "In the past six years we have done more and moved faster."

Mr Gates was speaking hours before Microsoft released another mixed set of results. Although first-quarter profits rose 24 per cent to $3.1 billion (£1.8 billion), it lowered forecasts for sales and earnings, and reported weak results for MSN, the internet business that competes with Google.

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Is Windows Vista Out of Sync?

All the years in the making might hurt more than help the adoption of Windows Vista, Microsoft Corp.'s next client operating system.

The release of the software giant's new operating system will be one of Microsoft's most important product launches this decade, when it goes live next year. But despite the product's myriad new features and functionality, current market trends could inhibit initial adoption of Vista, PC industry analysts say.

The two main levers Microsoft can use to spur sales—preloading the operating system on new PCs and offering it as a software upgrade—may be compromised to some extent by shrinking PC unit shipment growth rates, which are predicted to slow to single-digit levels in the latter half of this decade, analysts say.

"It looks like the launch window for Windows Vista should have been [in] 2004 or 2005, and Microsoft missed it," said Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research.

Originally, Microsoft had hoped to ship Vista (or, as it was known then, "Longhorn") by 2004, three years after it delivered Windows XP. But, as has happened in the past with other Microsoft operating systems, the target delivery date slipped. To keep the launch from slipping into 2007, Microsoft ripped the WinFS file system from it, a decision announced in August 2004. Now, according to the latest plan, Vista Beta 2, which is expected to be mostly feature-complete, will arrive in December. Microsoft is hoping to RTM or release the product to PC makers by next summer and allow them to ship it to end customers in the fall of next year.

If Microsoft had made its original target of 2004, Vista would have arrived at the height of the PC boom. While PC unit shipments are projected to increase throughout the rest of the decade, the rate at which they will grow will slow, both IDC and the Gartner Group have predicted. The slowdown will come as corporations take a breather following a post-recession PC buying spree that peaked in 2004 and will tail off in 2006.

Even hardware improvements, including 64-bit addressing processors and the proliferation of dual-core chips in mainstream desktops and notebooks expected in 2006, aren't likely to keep pushing up unit shipment growth rates, the firms said. Instead, growth rates are predicted to slow from a peak of about 15 percent in 2004 and about 14 percent in 2005 to just over 8 percent in 2009, according to IDC's latest forecast.

"Our position is that there's no reason for it [Vista] to have a major impact," said Richard Shim, an analyst with IDC. "The days when the OS has the sort of impact that Windows 95 did when it came out are gone. When that happened it was a major change to the OS—just the navigation of it—now you look at Vista and, even for all of its bells and whistles, there's no one thing that people say, 'I have to have it for that.'"

Thus, despite having a crack at a market that will grow from just over 243 million units in 2007 to almost 288 million in 2009, according to IDC, the year-to-year PC market growth seen in Vista's first two years on the market will be more sedate than in previous years.

Gartner analyst Leslie Fiering said that her firm expects Vista's initial impact to be in the consumer market, which may see a slowdown in the second and third quarters of 2006, followed by a pop in the fourth quarter and possibly the first quarter of 2007 as systems loaded with Vista come out. Businesses, however, are likely to allow at least six months for testing the final version of the OS. Most will wait 12 to 18 months, which gives time for continued testing as well as the arrival of a service pack update.

"None of the clients that we're talking to are planning to jump Day One. Most are planning to give it 12 months," Fiering said. "The very soonest I have heard from the most aggressive of our clients is adoption of [Vista] at the middle of 2007. This is only a couple of accounts out of all those we've talked to. Most have looked at end of '07 to the middle of '08."

Thus, major adoption may not come until the 2008 timeframe, when Gartner predicts businesses will begin a new wave of PC rollouts. However, the firm is still predicting slower growth for PC unit shipments in the 2008 and 2009 timeframe.

Gartner predicts that unit shipments will grow almost 13 percent to nearly 207 million units in 2005. But growth will slow to single digits between 2006 and 2009. During 2009, for example, growth will slow to 7.6 percent with the market total approaching 281 million, according to Gartner's latest forecast.

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HDTV sales in the U.S. to grow 71 percent by 2009

The report, which includes data from Parks Associates' "Mobile Entertainment Platforms & Services" study, finds consumers are growing less skeptical about HDTV, which is creating a gradual increase in demand for high-definition products and services. Nearly 47% of TV households in the U.S. plan to buy an HDTV in the next twelve months. This increase would boost HDTV sales by 30% and HD video services by 38% by the end of 2006.

"Consumers are beginning to see the true benefits of HDTV," said Deepa Iyer, a research analyst at Parks Associates. "Consumers who were once hesitant to spend huge dollars on an HDTV are now reconsidering this product category."

As a result, service providers, including broadcasters, cable, and DBS operators, are beginning to feel a push to expand their HD video services in order to attract more HD subscribers. Service providers, content producers, television and chipset manufacturers, and other solution providers are all working to bring more high-definition products and services to market, although Iyer warns that they need to ramp up their efforts. The overall market penetration for high-definition televisions and services is very low. The current subscription rate for HD programming is barely 10% among all digital video subscribers, while only 35% of total HDTV households subscribe to HD video services.

"It is a chain reaction," Iyer said. "An increase in HDTV sales will fuel the demand for other services including high-definition VOD, local content, primetime programming, and movies. However, this industry lacks a sense of urgency in its efforts to bring compelling HD services to consumers. It has to recognize that HDTV will become ubiquitous only if all collateral forces within come together to embrace the change."

Parks Associates will further examine the issue of meaningful content delivery at the upcoming executive conference "Fall Focus: Making Media Meaningful," hosted November 9-11, 2005, at the Fairmont San Jose. With sessions such as "Enhancing the Television Experience via Interactivity" and "The "Eyes" Have It: Video Content on Consumers' Terms," this event will feature analysis and discussion on the expanding paradigm for video services.

"Adoption of High-Definition TVs and Services" provides an analysis of the enablers, inhibitors, and opportunities for high-definition TVs and services in the U.S. It provides insight into service providers' strategies and consumer behavior patterns for next-generation services and applications.

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Sony's CD Receiver Transfers Music Directly from a PC to a Car Stereo

The new receiver has 1GB of flash memory and a USB port engineered into the faceplate. When the faceplate is removed from the receiver and connected to a Windows enabled PC, it is recognized as an external drive. With the provided USB cable, users can quickly transfer and save MP3 and WMA files to the faceplate.

The Xplod MEX-1GP (Giga Panel) model also supports playback of CD-R/RW discs. Due to the unique ATRAC3/3plus playback capability of this receiver, it can play compressed music files burned onto a CD.

The new receiver is finished in high-gloss black with a 13-segment LCD display for simple navigation of track and title information. The screen displays album, artist and track name when playing downloaded music files. Users can shuffle or repeat tracks, albums or personalized groups through controls on the faceplate or with the supplied remote control.

The MEX-1GP unit has a built-in 208-watt power amplifier and a three-band equalizer enabling clear, rich sound. The selectable rear/subwoofer preamp outputs, controls the frequency and output level of an external amplifier.

It comes supplied with a wireless remote control and will be available in February for about $350.

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30GB Blu-laser storage tested

CDR INFO tests the first blue-laser technology based storage peripheral to appear anywhere for sale. The Plasmon UDO30D-SE stores up to 30 GB of data on one of those Magneto-Optic-like cartridges. Still using the SCSI interface though, probably the right choice for the server market though a Firewire version would be most welcomed. It ain't cheap but you can bet that data written on it will still be readable in five years.

Hardwarecentral sends us some news about the new Fujitsu Lifebook P1510D tablet converting laptop. Unlike a fully fledged tablet PC though, this one comes with Windows XP pro and does not require a special stylus to work. Built around a Pentium M 753 cpu, it has 512MB memory , a 30GB HDD plus a DVD writer. Apart from the usual onscreen QWERTY keyboard, Fujitsu also provides with Ritepen hand recognition and Dialkeys to cover all bases.

Bit-Tech reviews the Razer Copperhead Gaming mouse - reviewed. It has an excellent light blue scheme, even the wheel lights up. The reviewer considers that it is by far the fastest mouse he ever used and is much more smoother than other mice as well. Not cheap as well. As always, try before you buy.

PCadvisor has a quick preview at the Linspire Five-0 beta version. Within 20 minutes, you are in. Inspired by both OS X and Windows XP, it comes as a platform rather than a single OS. Bundled with it are SIPphone, Mozilla, GAIM, Openoffice and some more. Should you finally give up to it? Not according to the reviewer, you might better save your hard earned money and get other free alternatives instead.

The Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 adds to the growing list of Geforce 6100/Nforce4xx based motherboards. This particular model is tested at Hardwarezone. Unlike some others, this one uses the higher end Nforce 430 but still packed in a mATX format. You still get four SATA2 and four ATA connectors as well as a Realtek audio solution, GbE, two Firewire but no DVI ports - and some other additions which might make it a perfect competitor to the Aopen Pentium M-based platforms.

Another HIS card gets reviewed, this time the entry level HIS Radeon X700 ICEQ 128MB AGP card. This one goes head to head against the 6600 and the 6600LE. Very nice cooler - if a little bit overwhelming, comprehensive software package, excellent overclocking but won't do you much good if you're after high resolutions.

Got a question for our readers - is there any simple way to connect a Freeview digital set top box to a D-Sub CRT or LCD without going through the computer; something like a scart-to-female DSUB converter or something similar. Thanks for letting me know. µ

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Linux kernel 2.6.14 released

The latest version of the Linux kernel, which carries the catchy title 2.6.14, has been released.

Unlike previous kernel updates, this one comes with some new features for Open Saucers to play with.

One of the most important things is Wireless connectivity with version 19 of the Wireless Extensions API installed.

The new kernel has two new virtual file systems. The first is relayfs, which enables high-speed data transfer between the user space and kernel. The second is Securityfs which is targeted for use by security modules which might have otherwise created their own file systems.

Also in this bumper edition is HostAP, FUSE, netlink connector, support for DCCP, PPTP, full four page-table support for ppc64, numa-aware slab allocator,and lock-free descriptor lookup amongst other exciting things.

So far comments from the Linux community have been mixed. Some fear that since they couldn't get their computers to work under the new kernel it might not be as stable as previous versions.

They claimed that Linux might be going the way of Microsoft and adding functionality at the expensive of stability.

Others were saying they had no problems and would flush the heads of those who disagreed down the first convenient toilet.

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Freescale unveils world's first 3G single core modem for mobile phones

Freescale Semiconductor has unveiled its revolutionary 3G single core modem processor, at the heart of the MXC300-30 platform, based on the Mobile eXtreme Convergence architecture. Freescale is the first to provide a single core modem for third generation wireless phones — and is the only one to provide a comprehensive UMTS platform including combined baseband and applications processor, RF, power amplifier and power management.

"Freescale is pulling ahead in the race to deliver comprehensive 3G solutions that remove barriers and reduce the risk for handset manufacturers," says Franz Fink senior vice president and general manager of Freescale's wireless and mobile systems group.

"The MXC300-30 platform illustrates our architectural approach to reducing handset design costs while increasing design freedom. Imagine slim and sleek 3G handsets like the 2.5G handsets of today, at the same affordable price."

This single platform can equip virtually any product — an MP3 player, a handheld DVD player or a digital camera — to become a fully functional smart mobile cellular device.

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BSkyB in Vodafone mobile TV deal

Sky Mobile TV will allow Vodafone customers to view some of BSkyB's TV content on their third generation (3G) handsets from Tuesday.

Rival mobile firms O2 and Orange have already launched trial TV services in the UK and France.

And earlier in the month 3 launched an enhanced mobile TV service, including access to a range of TV channels.

BSkyB's deal will give it access to new markets as it seeks to move beyond satellite TV broadcasting.

'Triple play'

In an effort to expand its customer base, BSkyB recently snapped up internet firm Easynet for £211m ($374m).

That deal gave BSkyB access to the so-called "triple play" bandwagon of broadband, telephony and satellite TV services.

BSkyB's latest deal will give the company access to Vodafone's 250,000 3G subscribers in the UK.

"This is an innovative service that complements our existing pay-TV activities, extends the reach of Sky content and delivers an additional stream of revenue," said BSkyB chief operating officer Richard Freudenstein.

Tim Yates, Vodafone UK's chief marketing officer, added: "This is a highly significant day for both the mobile and television industries."

Unlike the forays by O2 and Orange into the mobile TV market, the Vodafone service is not a trial.

Meanwhile through a deal with MobiTV, 3 has expanded its TV offering with seven new channels: Kiss; Shorts TV; CNN; Extreme Sports; ITN; Cartoon Network and Bravo. TV on the move

In September, O2 began a six month pilot of technology which allows people watch TV directly on their mobiles.

Orange, meanwhile, began testing similar technology this month in France.

Vodafone's Sky Mobile TV service offers two packages broadcasting a combined total of 19 channels carrying news, sport, music and documentary programmes.

However, Mr Freudenstein said that some of Sky One's programmes, including popular shows 24 and Weeds, would not be available because of difficulties in obtaining the mobile rights to some programmes.

"This is a developing technology, so some of the channels do not have rights at this stage," he said.

The service will be free to Vodafone customers until 31 January 2006, after which date it will cost £5 a month.

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