cole aldrich

Update: 11:37 a.m. PDT To include quotes from a Cox spokesman.

Update: 4:05 p.m. PDT To include Comcast's statement that the 2 million notices sent out was not part of any new policy.
cole aldrich
The Internet service providers that have agreed to work with the recording industry to battle illegal file sharing are starting to come forward.

Joe Waz, a senior vice president at Comcast, the nation's second largest ISP, told a gathering of music industry executives that the company has issued 2 million notices on behalf of copyright owners, according to multiple people who were in attendance.

Comcast said Wednesday afternoon that the 2 million notices Waz referred to were part of the company's standard practice and not a new policy.

"Comcast, like other major ISPs, forwards notices of alleged infringement that we receive from music, movie, videogame, and other content owners to our customers," Comcast said in a statement. "This is the same process we've had in place for years--nothing has changed. While we have always supported copyright holders in their efforts to reduce piracy under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and continue to do so, we have no plans to test a so-called 'three-strikes-and-you're-out' policy."



Comcast's Joe Waz, in a photo from March 2008.

(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET)
Waz made the comments Tuesday while part of a panel at the Leadership Music Digital Summit in Nashville. This was the same event where an AT&T executive told the gathering that the nation's largest ISP was cooperating with the Recording Industry Association of America by sending notices to customers accused of illegal filing sharing. The letters are part of a trial program, the executive told the audience.
cole aldrich
In addition, sources confirmed that Cox Communications is also assisting the RIAA in the group's new campaign to use ISPs to help discourage consumers from pirating songs.

In December, the RIAA shocked music fans by announcing the termination of a years-long strategy of filing copyright lawsuits against individuals. Instead, the lobbying group for the major recording companies would seek the help of Internet providers. The RIAA said it had lined up a group of large ISPs to help, but declined to disclose which ones or how many.

To copyright owners, the shift in strategy is a victory. For a long time, people in the music and film industries have complained that broadband providers were profiting from piracy. Many in the entertainment industry have called on ISPs to lend a hand in plugging up the flow of illegal content.

To those who advocate for Internet users, however, any plan that threatens to shut off someone's Internet access without hard evidence is unfair. RIAA leaders have said that the group's graduated response program would include punitive action for repeat offenders, which could include suspension or even termination of service. RIAA managers say they support due process to protect people from being falsely accused. But what the due process looks like has yet to be determined.

Comcast was careful to state that it isn't considering terminating customers' service.

An AT&T spokeswoman said that the ISP has not threatened anyone with the disabling of service but acknowledged that warning letters sent to customers, the company says it reserves the right to terminate service.

She said the company sends a letter from the RIAA and adds its own cover letter. The company informs the customer that the problem could be that a teenager in the home has downloaded unauthorized material or that someone else is doing so via an unsecured Wi-Fi connection.
cole aldrich
As far as Cox is concerned, the practices that the RIAA is asking ISPs to adopt have been standard since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed in 1998. The company acknowledges that it will, in the case of chronic offenders, shut off service. A Cox spokesman said this about the company's policy:


When we receive notifications from RIAA or other copyright holders stating that their copyrighted material is being infringed by a customer, we pass that information along to the customer so they can correct the problem, or dispute the notice directly with the copyright holder if they feel the notice was sent in error. This notification is the most helpful thing we can do for the customer and is expected of us, as an ISP, under the DMCA. We attach a copy of the notice from the copyright holder with our message to the customer.

The spokesman said that the company has issued "hundreds of thousands" of warnings to customers but has terminated service on less than one tenth of 1 percent.

There's data to support the claim that warning notices work. In the United Kingdom, research done by Wiggin and Entertainment Media Research found that seven out of 10 people surveyed said they would stop downloading unauthorized content if they received a notice from their ISP.

Note to readers: Have you received a warning letter from AT&T or another ISP? If so, e-mail me by clicking on the link in my bio below. Please include your contact information. I won't reveal your name in any story if that's what you prefer.

vince offer

Domize, a domain-finding search tool that launched around this time last year, has a new advanced search mode. Like Google it now lets you craft searches with modifiers that can either leave certain words out, or find synonyms that can help you get around common words that may have already been taken.
vince offer
For instance, a search where I included a like modifier for the word "revolution" gave me words like rotation, gyration, and change. You can combine this with another word, or words of your choice, and it will continue to sniff out open domains combined with each of the synonyms it originally came up with. There are also a slew of other modifiers, including the option to experiment with alternate spellings by mixing up vowels and consonants. There's also a modifier that can randomly affix various endings to the word you're searching for, like throwing a -ing, -ed, -est, or -er.


Using a modifier for colors Domize can search through variations of colors alongside whatever word or words are around it.

(Credit: CNET)
In all cases the results show you which domains are open and for sale (for .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .mobi, and .us only). The ones that are taken show up in red and hovering over them with your mouse gives you a preview of what the site looks like. The ones that are still available are blue and link directly to domain registrar GoDaddy. You can also set it to link to Dotster, Network Solutions, and Moniker.
vince offer
While Domize is useful, I still think you get more bang for your buck from Bust A Name (coverage). I find that search tool a little easier to use, and it lets you find the best deal on the domain by showing you how much it costs from multiple registrars at the same time.

You can give Domize a try below, although for now it appears that the search modifiers only work on the main site

16 blocks

With the recession continuing its hold on the economy, IBM is reportedly preparing for another round of layoffs, according to a report Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal.

The cuts are expected to affect a large swath of U.S. employees in IBM's global business services unit, with a number of the jobs reassigned to workers in India, the Journal reported.
16 blocks
Talk of pending layoffs in IBM's services unit is making the rounds on Alliance@IBM, a Communications Workers of America affiliate attempting to organize IBM workers into a union.

On the Alliance@IBM site, two posts Wednesday referenced pending layoffs in the services unit:

Comment 3/25/09: I talked to two different Band 10s in IBM Global Business Services yesterday who have both said that tomorrow will be a big day for firing in almost all of the GBS business units. Both of them are expecting that they will be cut because the percentages are going to be higher at the higher levels. Both made reference to this could be called a black Thursday. I know that several employees have been contacted by their manager to have a short meeting that day. My manager has not said anything to me yet but I am already preparing myself for the news. -Anonymous-

Comment 3/25/09: 'there is definitely a GBS lay off coming very soon. Big lay offs across the board' Thank you, -modest mouse-. This is welcome news to those being tortured on the bench. -anonymouse-

IBM was not immediately available for comment.

In January, IBM had 16 blocks a round of layoffs, but declined to disclose the area of the cuts, or location. Published reports, however, referred to North America as the location of the layoffs.

Big Blue tentatively has its first-quarter earnings report scheduled for April 20.

naptown

Why pay list price? Especially now, when you're probably watching every penny? One of the best ways to get a deal on anything is to use a coupon. But instead of searching around the house for scissors and chopping up circulars, check out these 18 online services that give you what you need to save you cash on your next purchase.
naptown
Adpera It might not provide coupons in the conventional sense, but Adpera finds the best e-mail ads from retailers and displays them on the site. From designer sportswear to shoes and housewares, Adpera's selection is incredible. And searching for and finding deals is made simple with the help of a prominent search box at the top of the page. Adpera is basically one big spam folder. But instead of annoying you, it actually saves you some cash.

CoolSavings If you're looking for a full-featured site that includes both printable and online coupons from retailers on a wide range of disciplines, CoolSavings is for you. The site offers coupons for companies that you might have never heard of, and some that that are probably right down the street. The sheer quantity of coupons on CoolSavings is amazing. Unfortunately, though, CoolSavings' collection of free coupons isn't that helpful. In order to access the more sought-after deals, you'll need to sign up for the site. Once you do, you'll be happy: from personal finance to groceries, there are coupons for everything on CoolSavings.


Coupious is unique and worth using.

(Credit: Coupious)Coupious Coupious is one of the coolest services in this roundup. A mobile app, it can be installed on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android-based phone. With the help of those devices' location services, it actively searches for businesses around your location and finds coupons while you're on the go. I've tried it on numerous occasions and have been amazed at its speed and relevance. Once you're ready to use one of the coupons it finds, you need only to click "Use now" and you're all set. And it's free.

CouponAlbum CouponAlbum is huge. That's the best way to describe it. Unlike some services that specialize in a particular area, CouponAlbum wants to be your one-stop shop for everything that's on sale right now. Whether it's software, toys, sporting goods, or food, the site has it all. And since it's updated weekly, you'll never run out of deals.

CouponCabin When I'm looking to save a few bucks, one of my first destinations is always CouponCabin. Unlike other sites that throw any company's deal at you, CouponCabin sticks to major stores like Target, Walmart, GameStop, and a few others. All the coupons are up-to-date and new deals are placed on the site every week. And since you can search by company or category, you probably won't miss a single deal at the places you frequent.
naptown
CouponGood If you're an online shopper, CouponGood is a good first place to check before you decide to buy something. The site provides coupons for online companies exclusively. With the help of a simple design, it makes it easy to find any deal you're looking for. Simply input the URL of a company that you're considering buying from and the site will see if it has any active coupons available. Based on my testing, every site I searched for had at least one active coupon, ranging from free shipping to 20 percent discounts. And since the site's free, you'll only need to click a link or input a code at checkout to activate it.

CouponMom CouponMom is targeted at, you guessed it, mothers, but I'm not sure it's even worth trying out. The site requires you to sign up and promises big deals, but when I used it, I quickly realized it couldn't compete on any level with Coupons.com. It's an alternative if for some reason you don't like Coupons.com.


Coupons.com is a fine coupon service.

(Credit: Don Reisinger/CNET Networks)Coupons.com When you're getting ready to go to the local supermarket or grocery, go to Coupons.com before you leave. The site offers a variety of printable coupons on goods ranging from food to cleaning supplies and they're available for use anywhere the products are sold. I use Coupons.com each week and I save myself at least $10 in grocery costs during that time. It's an extremely useful site that's designed well and makes it easy to find coupons. It's a must-see.

CouponsDeluxe CouponsDeluxe doesn't provide the sheer quantity of deals that you'll find on sites like Coupons.com or CouponsAlbum, but the site does do a nice job of finding tech deals. In fact, it's filled with software and hardware coupons. But since there are so many other sites that provide the same coupons in packages designed much better, I'm not convinced CouponsDeluxe should be on your radar.

CouponTweet If you've been searching Twitter to find deals, CouponTweet offers to do the heavy lifting for you. The service allows you to tell it what kind of deals you'd like to receive. It then searches around Twitter to find deals. When it does, it lets you know via a tweet. So far, the selection isn't all that great, but that could change if more people use Twitter to promote deals. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Currently it's in private beta.

DealDivine DealDivine is unique in the coupon space. Instead of simply putting as many coupons on the site as possible, it applies a Digg-like engine that lets users vote on which coupons are best. There's just one problem: there aren't that many coupons and the site's few users are not active. But when there are coupons placed on the service, they're usually valuable.

DealLinker Much like DealDivine, DealLinker uses a Digg-like voting mechanism to help users find coupons and deals. The site lists the latest coupons in products ranging from groceries to electronics. Based on the quality of the deal and how much savings it provides, users vote it up or down. DealLinker's handy filtering tool makes it easy to find coupons based on when they were made available, or find those that have the best rating. Even better, the site has a more active user base than DealDivine, so you'll have a better sense of what's good and what's not.
naptown
FatWallet As soon as you go to FatWallet, you'll be shocked by how much information is packed on its home page. From cash back shopping to a coupon search, you'll find anything you need on FatWallet. And while you can easily click through different links to find coupons on FatWallet, the best way to find them is through that search feature. I searched for a variety of companies and each time, a coupon was displayed that was both valid and worth using. And because it requires keywords to help you through the search, simply inputting "Apple" will give you all the deals that are available from places like the Apple Store and third-party retailers like MacMall. That said, there are only 2,500 retailers supported on FatWallet, so you might be hoping for more. But in my experience, I was perfectly satisfied with its offering.

RetailMeNot If you're looking for coupon codes and you enjoy tag clouds, RetailMeNot is for you. The site's coupon selection is ample and includes codes for online retailers like eBay, Amazon, and others. And although I'm not usually fond of tag clouds, I found that it worked quite well on RetailMeNot and helped me find the kind of products I was looking for.


SavingPiggy keeps it to the best stores.

(Credit: Don Reisinger/CNET Networks)SavingPiggy You won't be impressed by the quantity of stores SavingPiggy supports. In fact, the site has the fewest of any service in this roundup. But for what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. The site's coupons come from major retailers like Amazon and the Apple store, so it doesn't waste your time with companies that you'll probably never buy products from anyway. But I did find one issue with the site: it still has Circuit City rebates listed on its coupons page.

ShopLocal ShopLocal provides all the weekly ads companies offer and gives you access to them so you can flip through them and find some deals. Though you can find that elsewhere, ShopLocal goes one better: it automatically finds your location and fills you in on all the deals in your area. From groceries to electronics, the site has it all. In fact, it found that there were 19,543 active deals in my town alone.

Shortcuts Shortcuts, which is owned by AOL, is one of the best coupon sites on the Web. Similar to Coupons.com, the site provides manufacturer coupons for free in a design that's superior to most of the other sites in this roundup. The sheer number of coupons is enough to get you to Shortcuts, but once you get there, you quickly realize that if you don't want to leave the site to try out others, you'll be perfectly fine--it has the best coupons and user experience of any coupon site.

Valpak Much like ShopLocal, Valpak adds an element of community to the service. Instead of searching for specific coupons as soon as you get to the site, Valpak asks you to input your city and state or zip code. Once you do, it delivers all the coupons in your area for any product you can think of. I searched for my area and found thousands of coupons and deals. That said, all of the coupons available on Valpak need to be printed out and brought to the store, so don't expect any online deals.

muff

Wall Street executives feeling harassed by taxpayers outraged at their pay might take note of how Google's ruling triumvirate fared in 2008: $1 in salary each, no bonus, no stock grants, and no stock options.


muff
Google has offered co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt "market-competitive" salaries every year since 2005, but once again in 2008, the three turned it down, according to a company regulatory filing Tuesday. "Due to their own preferences not to receive salary compensation, Eric, Larry, and Sergey each rejected these offers and continue to receive base salaries of $1," the company said.

Also in 2008, the company decided that the stock-based compensation it had awarded to top executives in 2007 was "sufficient to help us meet our retention and business objectives through 2008," so no new stock compensation was awarded to them except in the case of new Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette, who was set to receive compensation worth more than $2 million along with thousands of shares and stock options in his first year.

Schmidt received perks totaling $508,764 in 2008, up from $480,561 the year before. That covered $402,562 in personal security costs and $106,201 Google paid to fly his family members and friends on paid chartered flights.
muff
Of course, Page, Brin, and Schmidt are certainly not paupers. The 29,148,614 shares of Google's Class B common stock Page held at the end of 2008 are worth $10.1 billion at Tuesday's closing price of $347.17; Brin's 28,611,862 shares are worth $9.9 billion, and Schmidt's 9,372,740 shares are worth $3.3 billion.

gonzaga university

This one might be interesting: after months of promising to minimize changes to the look and feel of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Apple appears to be readying a new build of the upcoming operating system release that changes the color scheme for the Mac OS X user interface. (Source: AppleInsider).
gonzaga university
Apple hasn't said very much about Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which was expected to ship "about a year" following the June 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference. But it has said that the majority of the changes will be focused on improving performance and stability, especially when it comes to graphics. We won't know for sure until Apple actually releases the upcoming build, said to be held back to prevent leaks just like this one.


Earlier rumors


AT&T excited about new iPhone?
Apple's iPhone partners at AT&T are said to be very excited about the rumored next-generation model. Source: The Boy Genius Report
March 23, 2009

Video recording, faster networking on next iPhone?
A report that a future iPhone might support video recording makes sense in light of another report that Apple plans to upgrade its networking speed.
March 20, 2009

Apple touch-screen Netbook rumors heat up
Take this for what you will, but the Apple rumor mill is churning with word that the company has a touch-screen Netbook in the works that will hit the market in time for back-to-school sales later this year.
March 10, 2009

iPhone 3.0 code hints at future Apple hardware
Two vague references within the iPhone OS 3.0 beta could be evidence that Apple has plans for that software that involve something beyond the iPhone or iPod Touch.
March 19, 2009
gonzaga university
An Apple Netbook, really?
What really tickles us about Top Crown's latest 3G notebook is the logo on the top lid. Etched on the cover is a mirror image of Apple's trademark.
March 18, 2009

shugo chara episode 76

There's no more @AustinPD on Twitter. That's because it wasn't actually the official Twitter account of the Austin, Texas, police department, according to the Austin Statesman.
shugo chara episode 76
The link to the account now reads that it was "suspended for strange activity," and city authorities have asked Twitter to keep tabs on the impersonator's contact information after both the police department and Texas attorney general's office complained to Twitter. The Statesman added, however, that criminal charges are not being sought at this point.

"Although some may dismiss the site as a simple prank or minor irritant, the fact is that the information presented was false and misleading, and could lead to unwarranted concern by the public," Austin police chief Art Acevedo said in a statement.

"AustinPD" wasn't exactly a huge sensation on Twitter, with only about 450 followers. But it was enough to tick off the real cops, especially during the South by Southwest Festival, when all eyes were on Austin.

Updates from the fake Twitter account included "warming up my radar gun for SXSWi" and "we're looking to make more stops at SXSW this year than last," as well as references to police jargon codes that seemed to be stemming from a knowledge of gangsta rap lyrics rather than actual law enforcement.

The Austin Statesman reported that fake accounts are a very serious problem on Twitter: "Even taco trucks aren't safe: NPR reported Monday that the Los Angeles-based Mexican-Korean food joint Kogi has a Twitter doppelganger that posts fake locations, menu items, and a 'Taco Bikini Saturday' event."

Getting punked by fake tweets is nothing new at South by Southwest, though: journalist Mat Honan has an annual ritual of posting off-the-wall updates in which he pretends to be present at SXSWi but actually isn't ("At the hyper-packed Facebook panel waiting for some sort of 'big announcement.' I bet it's that the new redesign was done by Blingee").
shugo chara episode 76
The antics of Honan and other Twitter account holders led to the spread of fake rumors such as a free breakfast burrito giveaway at the local Whole Foods (not true) and reports that oddball actor Bill Murray was showing up at SXSWi parties (never confirmed, but let's face it: probably not true).

Last month, Twitter suspended an account claiming to come from the Dalai Lama but reinstated it when the owner of the account agreed to provide a disclaimer that it was unofficial.

pootrap

SAN FRANCISCO--In a keynote address short on news, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revved up a packed Game Developers Conference house here Wednesday morning with tales of the company's design strategies. pootrap

Nintendo had been mum in advance of the speech, leaving many in attendance hoping that the company would announce something big, along the lines of a hot new game or even a piece of new hardware. In the end, though, Iwata's revelations were limited to three new games and a new storage infrastructure for the Wii virtual console.

The games included Rhythm Heaven, an American version of a rhythm game for the Nintendo DS that Iwata said had already sold 1.7 million copies in Japan. The company got the capacity crowd excited by giving everyone in attendance a copy of the new title.



In addition, Nintendo will also be releasing a new Wii Ware game called Rock 'n Roll Climber that lets players use their Wii controllers and a Wii Balance Board to simulate the motions of climbing a rock wall. The rock and roll element seems to come into play only in the sense that when they complete a wall, players get to pick up a digital guitar and shred for a moment or two.

The last game Nintendo unveiled during the keynote was a new Zelda title for the DS called The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. It should be out later this year, Iwata said.

Finally, Iwata said that Nintendo has released Virtual Console Arcade, a selection of arcade classics, as well as a series of Final Fantasy titles for Wii Ware: My Life as a Darklord: Final Fantasy Chronicles; Final Fantasy IV: The After Years; and the original Final Fantasy, for Virtual Console.



One game Nintendo announced during its Wednesday GDC keynote was Rock 'n Roll Climber, which allows users to employ their Wii controllers and a Wii Balance Board to simulate climbing a rock wall.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

And the last piece of news of any note from the speech was an announcement of the Wii System Menu 4.0, an upgrade to the existing Wii Ware menu structure that also features the ability to save on and load games directly from high-capacity SD cards, which should be able to store up to 240 titles each.

At the beginning of his address, Iwata said that worldwide Wii sales have now exceeded 50 million units, making the hit console the fastest-selling video game device in history. Further, the DS has now sold 100 million units worldwide.

It was clear that many in the audience were hoping for more. However, there was also an unmistakable love affair between the thousands of developers on hand Wednesday and the Nintendo president, who, in a classy gesture, thanked them for their hard work supporting Nintendo over the years.



The other notable announcement from the Nintendo keynote was a new feature for Wii Ware which will allow users to store up to 240 games on a single high-capacity SD card. They will also be able to auto-load the games straight off the SD card.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

Most of Iwata's talk revolved around a summary of the design philosophies of legendary Nintendo game maker Shigeru Miyamoto. Those, boiled down to bullet points, Iwata explained, are personal communications, a prototype stage, the use of small teams, simultaneous work on multiple projects, an acceptance of trial and error, and finally a mass production stage.
pootrap
Iwata joked that it's well-known that Miyamoto's games usually stem from his personal hobbies. For example, Iwata said, when Miyamoto got a dog, the hit game Nintendogs soon followed. Similarly, his interest in gardening led to the sleeper hit Pikmin. And Miyamoto's devotion to exercise directly contributed to the creation of the massively successful Wii Fit.

Alluding to non-disclosure agreements that are common in the games industry, as well as in many others, Iwata joked, "I have asked (Miyamoto) to stop talking about his hobbies when he's not at work."

Iwata also talked about a perception that Nintendo's deep pockets create an unfair playing field for third-party developers making games for the Wii or the DS. He said that while the company acknowledges the issue, he thinks that third parties have amply demonstrated their ability to succeed on the platforms. For example, he said, 75 third-party Wii games from seven publishers have sold in excess of 1 million copies.

And that said, he urged the developers in the room to keep on doing what they've been doing.
pootrap
"The future of video games is in your hands," Iwata said. "And I cannot wait for you to show us your surprises."

alicia lópez harrison de lardé

Looking ahead to the future, the trainees of Daimler AG at the Sindelfingen Mercedes-Benz plant have built a Roadster with fuel cell drive, the company announced today.


For about a year, more than 150 trainees and dual education system students worked on the overall concept, development, assembly, and completion of the F-Cell Roadster. This project involved junior employees from the fields of automotive mechatronics, model building, electronics, coating technology, manufacturing mechanics, product design, and interior appointments. The project focused on ways to integrate alternative drive systems into training with hands-on experience.

alicia lópez harrison de lardé
The Roadster incorporates stylistic elements from every era of Mercedes-Benz's history, such as the carbon-fiber bucket seats with hand-stitched leather covers and the distinctively styled fiberglass front section, based on the component from the Formula 1 racing bodies, according to the company.

kyle gallner

On Tuesday night, a Los Angeles Times blog post pointed to an soundbite that Facebook "gaming guru" Gareth Davis produced at the GamesBeat conference in San Francisco: that the company is "looking at" offering a virtual currency to developers. The virtual goods industry, the article notes, is a $1.5 billion behemoth.
kyle gallner
This would mean that games and other apps with a presence on Facebook could use a universal "Facebook currency" that would not only be interoperable between apps, it could also line Facebook's pockets with some extra cash. But Davis' language ("looking at") is about as ambiguous as it gets, so my advice to potentially-excited developers would be "don't hold your breath."

What this reminds me of is the once-hyped "Facebook Wallet." Remember that? A few months after the social network launched its developer platform in May 2007, word started to spread that it was also working on a PayPal-like payment system. Executives hinted at it on conference panels. In a high-profile move, Facebook hired Benjamin Ling, the Google engineer who had been instrumental in developing the Google Checkout product. But Ling left after less than a year at the company and returned to Google. Rumors started to spread that Facebook had scrapped the plan entirely.

Once source I talked to earlier this month in the virtual-currency space said that Facebook Wallet never came as close to fruition as some seemed to think it had. "It's not like they ditched it, it's that they never got it off the ground," the source said, adding that some developers were wary of the idea in the first place because of the extra work it would involve with little obvious benefit other than "it's easier."
kyle gallner
I'd assume the situation would be similar for a Facebook currency of its own. It'd take a lot of development for a product that developers wouldn't even necessarily want. There is, however, a flip side: Facebook has offered virtual goods of its own, in the form of the "Facebook Gifts" that members can purchase for one another's profiles, since 2007. Late last year, Facebook switched the payment system for Facebook Gifts from U.S. dollars to "credits," making it easier for the site to charge more or less than its previous standard $1 for the virtual items.

It'd obviously be very easy for Facebook to make these credits available to developers. But Facebook's roadmap these days has shown that its focus is on the Facebook Connect component of the platform rather than beefed-up features for embeddable apps. It's also unclear whether developers would want to alter mature products to institute a new virtual currency--or whether they'd all want to be interoperable with competitors.

april 3 2009

To further its research into new powertrain technology, Mazda began leasing a series hybrid vehicle with a hydrogen-fueled range extending engine to energy companies and local governments. This type of test leasing helps automakers gain useful data on how cars operate in a controlled setting, and ensures that the vehicles' drivers have hydrogen filling stations available.
april 3 2009
Although the powertrain configuration is similar to that of the Chevrolet Volt, a series hybrid using an electric motor to power the wheels and a range-extending engine to generate electricity, Mazda puts its own twist on the system, with a hydrogen-burning rotary engine as a range extender. Mazda previously developed an RX-8 using a rotary engine that burned hydrogen, calling it the RX-8 Hydrogen RE. BMW has also explored burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine with the Hydrogen 7.

Mazda's new vehicle is called the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, and is built on the five passenger Premacy platform. It has a 110 kilowatt motor to turn the wheels, which gets juice from a lithium ion battery pack. When the battery runs low, the rotary engine kicks in to generate electricity, drawing hydrogen from a 5,000 PSI tank. As configured, the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid gets a range of 125 miles.
april 3 2009
The car includes a dual fuel system, making it possible to use gasoline if no hydrogen is available.

american beauty

EA Mobile is making a big bet on the iPhone and iPod Touch, announcing plans this week to port more than a dozen of its most popular games to Apple's gadgets.

EA Mobile's Travis Boatman--a fixture onstage at Apple's last two iPhone software events--announced this news during a keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco Tuesday. At some point this year, EA Mobile will release versions of franchises like Madden NFL, Wolfenstein, Command and Conquer, and NBA Live, according to PocketGamer.
american beauty
Gaming continues to be one of the most active areas on the App Store, and game developers at GDC flocked to sessions regarding the iPhone--conference organizers were forced to turn away late-arriving attendees to some sessions, according to my colleague Daniel Terdiman. Apple has helped encourage the idea of the iPhone and especially the iPod Touch as next-generation gaming devices with its latest advertisements for those devices.

blake griffin girlfriend

The British are looking very hard in the mirror these days. Perhaps it is related to the belief that the country is running out of money.

In any case, who would have thought that they would choose to give up mandatory education about the Second World War and begin teaching their children about Twitter and Wikipedia?
blake griffin girlfriend
The plans, leaked to the dastardly press (perhaps some devious cove just twittered a tiny URL to a password-protected site), give children relief from having to learn too many dates, place names, and pesky scientific formulas. You can google all that nonsense, anyway.

But if you can't tweet your progress in toilet training, what kind of adult can you expect to become?

The plans declare that children must leave primary school (to which children go until the unofficial drinking age of 11) fully conversant with the delights of blogging, podcasting, Wikipedia, and Twitter.

While I am aghast that Facebook appears not to be specifically mentioned, my eyes become moist when I see that children will be required to gain "fluency" in keyboard skills and learn to use a spellchecker.


"Very nice, miss. But when do we learn how to tweet our feelings?"

(Credit: CC Spiraltri3e)
Naturally, talking--and, presumably, typing--heads have already offered their 60 pence worth on the topic. Teresa Cremin, president of the U.K. Literary Association, worries about a lack of drama and "no emphasis on reading for pleasure."

Madam, please don't worry. We all read Twitter for pleasure. Can there be any other reason?
blake griffin girlfriend
Other British critics seem to be worried that Twitter and Wikipedia are merely fads. But ladies and gentlemen, you are the great nation that brought us lasting pleasures such as "Dancing with the Stars," "American Idol," and the Dyson vacuum cleaner thingy. Things that the whole world marvels at and studies every day.

The creators of Twitter and Wikipedia can only hope to match the enduring quality of some of the great British contributions to history, science, and culture.

vince shamwow

I wrote a blog about a new way of creating Captchas by using 3D images that Taylor Hayward, a blogger, came up with and thought it would be really cool when implemented. Now, 3D Captchas seem to have become a reality--however, not from Hayward.
vince shamwow
Incidentally, the folks at YUNiTi.com, a social Web site, have been working on the same idea for a few weeks and have implemented the method on their Web site.

The site announced Wednesday that it has created a 3D Captcha method that is unbreakable by current computer technology, yet much easier for humans to identify.

Captchas is short for Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart. This is a way to make sure the input is not generated by a computer.

Similar to Hayward's idea, this new technology relies on our ability to identify objects in 3D instead of using alphanumeric characters. YUNiti's 3D Captcha, however, has three objects in the challenge and extends the list of images to any object, not limiting it to animals as in Hayward's idea. This increases the challenge's level of complication to prevent computers from successfully making the correct guesses.

I tried a new Captcha at the Web site and it worked very well. You just need to click on the placeholders for each object, then you are presented with a list of objects to choose from. After four mouse clicks, I passed the Captcha the very first time.
vince shamwow
Marcos Boyington, co-founder and primary software engineer of YUNiTi.com, told CNET News that he and his brother came up with the idea without knowing of Taylor Hayward's method. Boyington believes this was joint discovery of the same concept by people in different parts of the world. He said he is seeking contact with Hayward to talk about collaboration opportunities.

princeton hockey

Update (8:13 PM on 3/25/09): Savio Rodrigues offers a more compelling reason than I do below for Red Hat's precipitous drop in net income: "interest income (on money sitting in bank) went from roughly $18 million down to roughly $5 million year-over-year." This follows on Rodrigues' excellent analysis of why Red Hat's net income is so far out-of-whack with its peers. Definitely worth reading.
princeton hockey
Update (6:17 AM on 3/26/09): I heard back from Red Hat on the reason for the drop in net income. "The drop was due to both interest income down and the fact that we had a one-time gain last year on the sale of MySQL." Sorry for any confusion my misreading of the financial tea leaves may have caused. The drop in net income does not stem from heightened costs of selling due to the recession.


Red Hat's fourth-quarter earnings suggest that while demand for its open-source products remains red hot, selling the Red Hat value proposition increasingly demands heavy lifting as the economy worsens.

Red Hat reported a 27 percent drop in its net income over the same quarter last year, dropping to $16 million from $22 million. That's the bad news, as it suggests that Red Hat is having to spend more money to earn income.

The good news is that Red Hat profit beat analyst expectations, landing at 22 cents per share instead of the expected 20 cents per share, as Reuters reports.

The even better news is that revenue grew to $166.2 million, an 18 percent increase from the year ago quarter, but only 1 percent from the prior quarter. Of this revenue, subscription revenue accounted for $139.4 million, up 14 percent year-over-year and 3 percent from the prior quarter.

In the earnings call, Red Hat highlighted significant achievements, despite the challenging environment:

Billings exceeded $200 million;
More than 100 deals greater than $250,000;
Fiscal year 2009 revenue hit $652.6 million;
In fiscal year 2009, Red Hat notched 25 percent revenue growth, 24 percent non-GAAP operating income growth, and operating cash flow of $236 million;
The company ended its fiscal 2009 with cash and cash equivalents and investments of $846 million and essentially no debt; Update (8:13 PM on 3/25/09): Savio Rodrigues offers a more compelling reason than I do below for Red Hat's precipitous drop in net income: "interest income (on money sitting in bank) went from roughly $18 million down to roughly $5 million year-over-year." This follows on Rodrigues' excellent analysis of why Red Hat's net income is so far out-of-whack with its peers. Definitely worth reading.

Update (6:17 AM on 3/26/09): I heard back from Red Hat on the reason for the drop in net income. "The drop was due to both interest income down and the fact that we had a one-time gain last year on the sale of MySQL." Sorry for any confusion my misreading of the financial tea leaves may have caused. The drop in net income does not stem from heightened costs of selling due to the recession.


Red Hat's fourth-quarter earnings suggest that while demand for its open-source products remains red hot, selling the Red Hat value proposition increasingly demands heavy lifting as the economy worsens.

Red Hat reported a 27 percent drop in its net income over the same quarter last year, dropping to $16 million from $22 million. That's the bad news, as it suggests that Red Hat is having to spend more money to earn income.

The good news is that Red Hat profit beat analyst expectations, landing at 22 cents per share instead of the expected 20 cents per share, as Reuters reports.

The even better news is that revenue grew to $166.2 million, an 18 percent increase from the year ago quarter, but only 1 percent from the prior quarter. Of this revenue, subscription revenue accounted for $139.4 million, up 14 percent year-over-year and 3 percent from the prior quarter.

In the earnings call, Red Hat highlighted significant achievements, despite the challenging environment:

Billings exceeded $200 million;
More than 100 deals greater than $250,000; princeton hockey
Fiscal year 2009 revenue hit $652.6 million;
In fiscal year 2009, Red Hat notched 25 percent revenue growth, 24 percent non-GAAP operating income growth, and operating cash flow of $236 million;
The company ended its fiscal 2009 with cash and cash equivalents and investments of $846 million and essentially no debt; Update (8:13 PM on 3/25/09): Savio Rodrigues offers a more compelling reason than I do below for Red Hat's precipitous drop in net income: "interest income (on money sitting in bank) went from roughly $18 million down to roughly $5 million year-over-year." This follows on Rodrigues' excellent analysis of why Red Hat's net income is so far out-of-whack with its peers. Definitely worth reading.

Update (6:17 AM on 3/26/09): I heard back from Red Hat on the reason for the drop in net income. "The drop was due to both interest income down and the fact that we had a one-time gain last year on the sale of MySQL." Sorry for any confusion my misreading of the financial tea leaves may have caused. The drop in net income does not stem from heightened costs of selling due to the recession.


Red Hat's fourth-quarter earnings suggest that while demand for its open-source products remains red hot, selling the Red Hat value proposition increasingly demands heavy lifting as the economy worsens.

Red Hat reported a 27 percent drop in its net income over the same quarter last year, dropping to $16 million from $22 million. That's the bad news, as it suggests that Red Hat is having to spend more money to earn income.

The good news is that Red Hat profit beat analyst expectations, landing at 22 cents per share instead of the expected 20 cents per share, as Reuters reports.

The even better news is that revenue grew to $166.2 million, an 18 percent increase from the year ago quarter, but only 1 percent from the prior quarter. Of this revenue, subscription revenue accounted for $139.4 million, up 14 percent year-over-year and 3 percent from the prior quarter.

In the earnings call, Red Hat highlighted significant achievements, despite the challenging environment:

Billings exceeded $200 million;
More than 100 deals greater than $250,000;
Fiscal year 2009 revenue hit $652.6 million;
In fiscal year 2009, Red Hat notched 25 percent revenue growth, 24 percent non-GAAP operating income growth, and operating cash flow of $236 million;
The company ended its fiscal 2009 with cash and cash equivalents and investments of $846 million and essentially no debt;
Red Hat renewed 100 percent of its top 25 customers each quarter in fiscal 2009.
These are very impressive achievements. Along with Oracle and IBM and few others, Red Hat is demonstrating that it can swim upstream in a sluggish economic climate. The economy continues to separate wheat from chaff, and Red Hat clearly qualifies as the former.


Update (8:13 PM on 3/25/09): Savio Rodrigues offers a more compelling reason than I do below for Red Hat's precipitous drop in net income: "interest income (on money sitting in bank) went from roughly $18 million down to roughly $5 million year-over-year." This follows on Rodrigues' excellent analysis of why Red Hat's net income is so far out-of-whack with its peers. Definitely worth reading.

Update (6:17 AM on 3/26/09): I heard back from Red Hat on the reason for the drop in net income. "The drop was due to both interest income down and the fact that we had a one-time gain last year on the sale of MySQL." Sorry for any confusion my misreading of the financial tea leaves may have caused. The drop in net income does not stem from heightened costs of selling due to the recession.
princeton hockey

Red Hat's fourth-quarter earnings suggest that while demand for its open-source products remains red hot, selling the Red Hat value proposition increasingly demands heavy lifting as the economy worsens.

Red Hat reported a 27 percent drop in its net income over the same quarter last year, dropping to $16 million from $22 million. That's the bad news, as it suggests that Red Hat is having to spend more money to earn income.

The good news is that Red Hat profit beat analyst expectations, landing at 22 cents per share instead of the expected 20 cents per share, as Reuters reports.

The even better news is that revenue grew to $166.2 million, an 18 percent increase from the year ago quarter, but only 1 percent from the prior quarter. Of this revenue, subscription revenue accounted for $139.4 million, up 14 percent year-over-year and 3 percent from the prior quarter.

In the earnings call, Red Hat highlighted significant achievements, despite the challenging environment:

Billings exceeded $200 million;
More than 100 deals greater than $250,000;
Fiscal year 2009 revenue hit $652.6 million;
In fiscal year 2009, Red Hat notched 25 percent revenue growth, 24 percent non-GAAP operating income growth, and operating cash flow of $236 million;
The company ended its fiscal 2009 with cash and cash equivalents and investments of $846 million and essentially no debt;
Red Hat renewed 100 percent of its top 25 customers each quarter in fiscal 2009.
These are very impressive achievements. Along with Oracle and IBM and few others, Red Hat is demonstrating that it can swim upstream in a sluggish economic climate. The economy continues to separate wheat from chaff, and Red Hat clearly qualifies as the former.


Update (8:13 PM on 3/25/09): Savio Rodrigues offers a more compelling reason than I do below for Red Hat's precipitous drop in net income: "interest income (on money sitting in bank) went from roughly $18 million down to roughly $5 million year-over-year." This follows on Rodrigues' excellent analysis of why Red Hat's net income is so far out-of-whack with its peers. Definitely worth reading.

Update (6:17 AM on 3/26/09): I heard back from Red Hat on the reason for the drop in net income. "The drop was due to both interest income down and the fact that we had a one-time gain last year on the sale of MySQL." Sorry for any confusion my misreading of the financial tea leaves may have caused. The drop in net income does not stem from heightened costs of selling due to the recession.


Red Hat's fourth-quarter earnings suggest that while demand for its open-source products remains red hot, selling the Red Hat value proposition increasingly demands heavy lifting as the economy worsens.

Red Hat reported a 27 percent drop in its net income over the same quarter last year, dropping to $16 million from $22 million. That's the bad news, as it suggests that Red Hat is having to spend more money to earn income.

The good news is that Red Hat profit beat analyst expectations, landing at 22 cents per share instead of the expected 20 cents per share, as Reuters reports.

The even better news is that revenue grew to $166.2 million, an 18 percent increase from the year ago quarter, but only 1 percent from the prior quarter. Of this revenue, subscription revenue accounted for $139.4 million, up 14 percent year-over-year and 3 percent from the prior quarter.

In the earnings call, Red Hat highlighted significant achievements, despite the challenging environment:

Billings exceeded $200 million;
More than 100 deals greater than $250,000;
Fiscal year 2009 revenue hit $652.6 million;
In fiscal year 2009, Red Hat notched 25 percent revenue growth, 24 percent non-GAAP operating income growth, and operating cash flow of $236 million;
The company ended its fiscal 2009 with cash and cash equivalents and investments of $846 million and essentially no debt;
Red Hat renewed 100 percent of its top 25 customers each quarter in fiscal 2009.
These are very impressive achievements. Along with Oracle and IBM and few others, Red Hat is demonstrating that it can swim upstream in a sluggish economic climate. The economy continues to separate wheat from chaff, and Red Hat clearly qualifies as the former.



Red Hat renewed 100 percent of its top 25 customers each quarter in fiscal 2009.
These are very impressive achievements. Along with Oracle and IBM and few others, Red Hat is demonstrating that it can swim upstream in a sluggish economic climate. The economy continues to separate wheat from chaff, and Red Hat clearly qualifies as the former.



Red Hat renewed 100 percent of its top 25 customers each quarter in fiscal 2009.
These are very impressive achievements. Along with Oracle and IBM and few others, Red Hat is demonstrating that it can swim upstream in a sluggish economic climate. The economy continues to separate wheat from chaff, and Red Hat clearly qualifies as the former.

clint walker

Apple has issued a fix for the graphics problems suffered by some owners of the company's new 17-inch MacBook Pro.

The firmware update was released Wednesday for owners of the MacBook Pro announced at Macworld and shipped in February. Some owners had reported problems with vertical lines polluting the display, and Apple says the new firmware should fix the problem.
clint walker
Please let us know if you had any problems installing the update, or if the firmware update doesn't fix the problem. Based on the release notes for the firmware, it 's not clear whether this fix is related to the instability issues noted by some 17-inch MacBook Pro users when running Nvidia's discrete graphics cards.

bill self

There are very few ways to view job openings, book a vacation, or find that perfect home without plowing through multiple websites and advertisements. Alertpedia is a useful website that saves you time by performing filtered searches based on what you're looking for. The search results are delivered in the form of a daily, weekly, or immediate email. The best part? No sign-up required.
bill self
Unlike websites like Kayak or Crazedlist, who deliver an immediate search result, Alertpedia saves you time by doing an automatic, periodical search. You can search for weather, traffic, jobs, travel, YouTube videos, and other categories.For example, if you are on a hunt for the best (cheapest) plane tickets from San Francisco to New York, fill out a one-time alert request, specify how often you'd like to be alerted, and Alertpedia takes care of the rest. You will receive weekly or daily emails with a summary of the current travel deals. This can be handy if you're booking travel in advance since it saves you time performing repeat searches on travel websites.

(Credit: Sharon Vaknin/CNET Networks)
A great application for Alertpedia would be for moms and dads. Parents can be alerted on recent health hazards such as the recent breakout of salmonella, or tips for dealing with asthma. Alerts on product recalls, like the recent hooded sweatshirts are also valuable for the health and safety of children.

Though Alertpedia can be very practical, it does have a few weaknesses. When using the service, users should be careful about what filters they choose in their searches. A very general filter, or search term, could lead to endless results. On the other hand, a very specific term could minimize results and render the service useless.
bill self
Alertpedia is best utilized for those looking for information on an ongoing basis. Users can not filter their alerts based on travel dates, or set a specific price range for their Craig's List searches. Most importantly, the results are not delivered right away. For those looking for immediate results, other search engines would be more useful.

ben 10 alien force season 3

Updated at 5:05 p.m. PDT to include explanation of RIAA's graduated response, quotes from RIAA, as well as information about how some ISPs had already implemented their own type of graduated response.

Jim Cicconi, a senior executive vice president at AT&T, says much has been written about his company's relationship with the music industry and some of it is flatly untrue. ben 10 alien force season 3

This much at least Cicconi wants customers to understand: "AT&T is not going to suspend or terminate anyone's policy without a court order."

"We're pleased to be in constructive discussions with several ISPs. We're making important progress, and doing so in a manner consistent with everyone's respective priorities. We're grateful that some of the industry's leading executives came to Nashville and talked through these important issues."
--RIAA spokesman spokesmanOn Tuesday, Cicconi told attendees of the Leadership Music Digital Summit that the ISP has begun issuing warning notices to people accused of pirating music by the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA, the trade group representing the four largest music labels, said in December that it had received cooperation from some large Internet service providers. CNET reported Wednesday that besides AT&T, Comcast and Cox Communications were also working with the music industry.

There has been some confusion about what the RIAA's graduated response program involves. The program could include suspension or termination of service for repeat offenders. It's up to the ISP to decide. But there are also other forms of escalating responses, such as the sending of multiple letters. Some of the notices could take a stronger tone or perhaps the ISP might follow up with a phone call.

Ideally for the the RIAA, the graduated response would culminate in a temporary suspension of the account for chronic offenders. Some ISPs have balked at that step, but the RIAA is still encouraged by discussions it's had with the ISPs so far.

"We're pleased to be in constructive discussions with several ISPs," said an RIAA spokesman. "We're making important progress, and doing so in a manner consistent with everyone's respective priorities. We're grateful that some of the industry's leading executives came to Nashville and talked through these important issues."
ben 10 alien force season 3
CNET News reported Tuesday evening that Cicconi said AT&T had begun issuing warning notices to people accused of pirating music by the RIAA. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 has mandated that ISPs forward those letters to people accused of violating copyright. But AT&T has begun sending its own "cover letter" along with the RIAA's cease and desist notice, according to a company representative. Cicconi confirmed on Wednesday that those letters began going out last week. CNET also reported that in the notices sent to customers was language informing them that the company had the right to terminate service. Cicconi again confirmed that, but said the clause wasn't much more than legal boilerplate.

"What we do is send notices and keep track of violations and IP addresses. It's our view that any stronger action has got to rest with the copyright owner...That's what the courts are there for."
--Jim Cicconi, AT&T executive "It's a standard part of everybody's terms of service," Cicconi said. "If somebody is engaging in illegal activity, it basically gives us the right to do it...We're not a finder of fact and under no circumstances would we ever suspend or terminate service based on an allegation from a third party. We're just simply reminding people that they can't engage in illegal activity."

Cicconi said the company began testing this kind of "forward noticing" late last year and even experimented with sending certified letters. Cicconi said the notices worked. The company saw very few repeat offenders.

The RIAA is encouraging ISPs to strengthen their responses to piracy. Some ISPs, such as Cox, says it had already implemented a policy very similar to what the RIAA is asking for.

Comcast said Wednesday afternoon that it hasn't changed its policy. An executive who spoke at the same conference as Cicconi told the audience that the company has sent 2 million notices on behalf of content owners. A company representative said the company has no plans to test "a so-called 'three-strikes-and-you're-out' policy."
ben 10 alien force season 3
But music industry sources told CNET that Comcast has agreed to cooperate with the RIAA in other ways.

But what happens to chronic offenders? Cicconi said that his company will only send notices and that if a content owner wants more done, they need to see a judge.

"What we do is send notices and keep track of violations and IP addresses," Cicconi said. "It's our view that any stronger action has got to rest with the copyright owner...That's what the courts are there for."

Cicconi raises some important questions. How many ISPs are willing to cut off a customer's Internet connection without a court order, and how effective is the RIAA's graduated response program without one?

Note to readers: Have you received a warning letter from AT&T or another ISP? If so, e-mail me by clicking on the link in my bio below. Please include your contact information. I won't reveal your name in any story if that's what you prefer.

richard goodwin

During an employee Webcast earlier this week to discuss Intel's stock options program, the chip giant's CEO, Paul Otellini, shed a little background on Sun Microsystems' pursuit to find a buyer.

When queried by an employee about his thoughts regarding an IBM-Sun merger and whether Cisco's recent announcement about entering the storage market drove Sun to find a buyer, Otellini said:
richard goodwin
Oh, I don't know if the Cisco entry spurred IBM. I think (a) cheap Sun price--a low price--spurred a lot of interest. I can tell you that Sun was shopped around the valley and around the world in the last few months. A lot of companies got calls or visits on buying some or all the assets of the company. It looks like IBM is in the hunt now. And at a hundred and some odd percent premium, I suspect they'll get it.

I don't think it had anything to do with Cisco. I think IBM is trying to consolidate architectures. IBM has the strongest Java license in the industry. By picking up Sun--which is the creator of Java--they really consolidate their position not just in Linux, but also in Java.

I think the stuff on Solaris and SPARC is likely to see EOLs over time through the IBM acquisition. But no strategic reason for IBM to maintain that except to attempt to convert the very large Sun SPARC Solaris base to power. I think that would be their most likely strategy as part of this.

Is it good or bad for us? I don't know. I'd rather have Sun be independent, I guess.

Otellini's comments were published in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday.
richard goodwin
Sun's shares closed down about 3 percent to $7.85 a share Wednesday during the regular trading session, while the broader markets advanced. With its closing price, Sun is valued at $5.85 billion.

IBM is reportedly interested in paying $6.5 billion to $8 billion, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal.

candy spelling

Microsoft has already gone into plenty of detail about the touch features in Windows 7. In fact, touch was the first thing that the company shared when it came to how Windows 7 would look and feel.

But for those that really want to go deep, the company on Wednesday posted an even more detailed look at the thinking that went into building touch into Windows 7.

The company also noted that it continues to tweak the way gestures work as it gets more feedback from the beta version of Windows 7 that was released in January. For example, in its earlier incarnation, the recognition engine was missing many quickly performed gestures.
candy spelling
"We tuned the gesture detection engine with sample gesture input provided by real people using touch in pre-release builds," Microsoft said in the blog posting. "These tuned gestures are what you will see in the (release candidate) build."

The company also notes which touch-capable machines already in the market support the pre-release versions of Windows 7, namely HP 's TouchSmart All-in-One PCs (IQ500 series & IQ800 series), its TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PC, and Dell's Latitude XT or XT2 Tablet PC.

The blog goes into a lot of detail on how the gestures work and how the company tests the features. Because it's sometimes easier to see something in action, I've included two videos--one that I did last fall and another that Microsoft posted on Wednesday along with its blog.

william greider

About 100 technology executives, including dozens of high-level officers and CEOs, met with White House officials and congressional leaders Wednesday to discuss ways the tech industry can help turn around the economy and the legislative agenda they say is needed to make that happen.
william greider
Cisco CEO John Chambers, Hewlett-Packard Executive Vice President Mike Holston, and Solazyme CEO Jonathan Wolfson were some of the executives brought together in Washington by TechNet, a bipartisan political network of CEOs from the "innovation" economy. The organization unveiled its 2009 policy agenda, which includes some proposals already under way such as support for green technologies and increased broadband infrastructure, as well as more controversial issues like immigration reform and patent reform.

The tech executives first met with a bipartisan group of congressmen, followed by a meeting with members of the Senate Democratic Steering Committee, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). They also met with a group of Senate Republicans, as well as House Republicans led by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) There was also a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats.

At the White House, the executives met with officials including White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, and Tom Kalil, the associate policy director for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
william greider
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act has enabled the Obama administration and Congress to address some issues relevant to the tech community, like health information technology and energy efficiency, but there needs to be "continued follow-through both from our side and their side," said Chris Hankin, senior director of federal government affairs for Sun Microsystems.

The executives also appealed to the politicians to resist protectionist policies spurred by concern over U.S. job growth. President Obama's budget proposal, for instance, would limit multinational corporations' ability to defer U.S. taxes on profits earned abroad until the profits are brought back to the United States. The administration estimates it can raise $210 billion over 10 years by collecting those taxes.

"There's concern that would put us at a competitive disadvantage," since other countries have the same tax deferral policy, said Betsy Mullins, TechNet's vice president of government and political affairs.

With over 70 percent of the industry's sales overseas, "what does that do to your sales, your ability to grow, and to create new jobs?" she asked.

unc gonzaga

Microsoft is facing another patent infringement suit, this time over the technology it uses to automatically update Windows, Office, and other programs.

In a lawsuit filed March 20, BackWeb Technologies charges that Microsoft's Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), as well as Windows Update and other products, infringe four of BackWeb's patents. BackWeb, which is based in Israel and has U.S. offices in San Jose, Calif., filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
unc gonzaga
BackWeb seeks, among other things, an injunction against Microsoft, a declaration that BackWeb's patents are valid, and monetary damages.

A Microsoft representative said the company has yet to be served with court papers, so it would be "premature" to comment.

BackWeb was an early leader in the technology for "pushing" data onto a computer.

The full lawsuit is posted as a PDF file on BackWeb's site.

aaron spelling

Lenovo announced an internal overhaul Wednesday, reorganizing both its regional and product groups.
aaron spelling
Think products, like the iconic ThinkPad and the desktop ThinkStation, will be separated from the Idea group, which makes the IdeaPad and IdeaCentre PCs. The Think group will focus on commercial customers as well as high-end small and medium businesses (SMB). The Idea group will target consumer and SMB transactional customers.

The reorganization also spawned two new business units: one that targets mature markets, and another that targets emerging markets. They will replace the current business units that focus on specific regions. Lenovo considers the U.S., Canada, Israel, Australia/New Zealand, and Western Europe mature, while Africa, Asia Pacific, China, Eastern Europe, India, Pakistan, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the Middle East are emerging.

The reorganization is the latest change at the Chinese company, which has been hit hard by the faltering global economy and resulting drop in IT spending. Lenovo lost $97 million last quarter--which resulted in the CEO stepping down, and the laying off of 11 percent of its workforce--due partly to the fact that it is so heavily invested in large commercial customers.
aaron spelling
In an interview with CNET News last month, Lenovo COO Rory Read said the transactional business had slowed down more than expected, and that he hoped to grow the consumer business to more than the current 25 to 30 percent of sales it already accounts for.

umd hockey

Lenovo announced an internal overhaul Wednesday, reorganizing both its regional and product groups.

Think products, like the iconic ThinkPad and the desktop ThinkStation, will be separated from the Idea group, which makes the IdeaPad and IdeaCentre PCs. The Think group will focus on commercial customers as well as high-end small and medium businesses (SMB). The Idea group will target consumer and SMB transactional customers.
umd hockey
The reorganization also spawned two new business units: one that targets mature markets, and another that targets emerging markets. They will replace the current business units that focus on specific regions. Lenovo considers the U.S., Canada, Israel, Australia/New Zealand, and Western Europe mature, while Africa, Asia Pacific, China, Eastern Europe, India, Pakistan, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the Middle East are emerging.

The reorganization is the latest change at the Chinese company, which has been hit hard by the faltering global economy and resulting drop in IT spending. Lenovo lost $97 million last quarter--which resulted in the CEO stepping down, and the laying off of 11 percent of its workforce--due partly to the fact that it is so heavily invested in large commercial customers.

In an interview with CNET News last month, Lenovo COO Rory Read said the transactional business had slowed down more than expected, and that he hoped to grow the consumer business to more than the current 25 to 30 percent of sales it already accounts for.

red dragon

Internet Explorer 8 has a new feature that lets you get a lot done just by highlighting words on a Web page. Here's how to take advantage.

red dragon
Highlight any text on a Web page by holding down the left mouse button and dragging your cursor over the words. You'll see a blue box with an arrow. Click on that and you'll get a list of options.

If, for instance, you're highlighting an address, you can choose to map it on Google Maps, pinpointing the location. It can also do regular Web searches.

Let's say you're reading a column and you want to know more about the author. Highlight the author's name and choose search. You'll get search results for that person. You can also translate a phrase, e-mail certain text, and even blog with Windows live.

These options are called Accelerators by Microsoft. If you want to customize your options, highlight text, click the blue box, then select all accelerators--that gives you a bunch more options, including the capability to manage accelerators. Select that option. From there, you can disable or remove accelerators. Or click Find more accelerators and you'll go to a page where you can add many more.
red dragon

john and sherry rivers

There's been lots of hype about the fact that the latest variant of the Conficker worm is set to start communicating with other computers on the Internet on April 1--like an April Fool's Day time bomb with some mysterious payload.
john and sherry rivers
But security researchers say the reality is probably going to be more like what happened when the clocks on the world's computers turned to January 1, 2000, after lots of dire predictions about the so-called millennium bug. That is, not much at all.

"It doesn't mean we're going to see some large cyber event on April 1," Dean Turner, director of the global intelligence network at Symantec Security Response, said on Wednesday.



It's likely that the people behind Conficker are interested in using the botnet, which is comprised of all the infected computers, to make money by distributing spam or other malware, experts speculate. To do so, they would need the computers and networks to stay in operation.

"Most of these criminals, even though they haven't done something with this botnet yet, are profit-driven," said Paul Ferguson, an advanced-threats researcher for Trend Micro. "They don't want to bring down the infrastructure. That would not allow them to continue carrying out their scams."

To help clear up some of the confusion about Conficker, here are answers to common questions people may have.

What is Conficker and how does it work?
Conficker is a worm, also known as Kido or Downadup, that cropped up in November. It exploits a vulnerability in Windows that Microsoft patched in October.

Conficker.B, detected in February, added the ability to spread through network shares and via removable storage devices, like USB drives, through the AutoRun function in Windows.

Conficker.C, which surfaced earlier this month, shuts down security services, blocks computers from connecting to security Web sites, and downloads a Trojan. It also reaches out to other infected computers via peer-to-peer networking and includes a list of 50,000 different domains, of which 500 will be contacted by the infected computer on April 1 to receive updated copies or other malware or instructions. Previous Conficker variants were written to connect to 250 domains a day.

Among the domains targeted by Conficker was that of Southwest Airlines, which was expected to see an increase in traffic from the botnet on March 13. But a Southwest spokesman said the worm had had no impact on the site.
john and sherry rivers
Where did Conficker come from?
Some pieces of the Conficker code and methodologies it uses are similar to those used in previous botnet worms created by the underground operation known as the Russian Business Network and cohorts in the Ukraine, Ferguson said. But while there is speculation, researchers don't know for sure who is involved, he said.

"There is some evidence to indicate that this might at one point have been tied to distribution of misleading apps and rogue affiliate networks," said Symantec's Turner.

How is it different from other Internet worms?
Conficker has grown increasingly sophisticated with each iteration, with features designed to increase its longevity, most likely in response to researchers' attempts to block it. After researchers began preregistering domains targeted in the code, the Conficker.C authors upped the ante by having the algorithm generate 50,000 possible domains, instead of just 250, throwing a big roadblock into efforts to counter the worm. The creators also are using advanced encryption to obscure the instructions detailing which random 500 of the 50,000 domains will actually be contacted on April 1.

It appears the authors may also be intending to create domain collisions by targeting domains that are already in use by legitimate owners, Ferguson said.

"They're creating collateral damage, throwing a monkey wrench into our ability to counter them," he said. "What they're trying to do is make our lives miserable on any efforts to mitigate the threat."

Some of the tactics, including the domain randomization, inter-node communication, and use of strong encryption, are new, according to Ferguson.

"They are using tactics that are probably the most complex and sophisticated botnet tactics we've seen to date," he said. "This is very professionally architected design and development."

Added Turner: "This is the first widespread distribution of a worm since about 2004," when Sasser came out. That worm was believed to have infected as many as 500,000 computers.

What is being done to fight Conficker?
Microsoft has partnered with all the major security companies and domain registrars and registries to form the Conficker Coalition Working Group. The parties are collaborating on research, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out who is behind the worm and how to stop it. They are using techniques like behavioral analysis of the code and reverse engineering, but researchers don't want to reveal too much information on their efforts. "We have made headway but I'm hesitant to talk about how far we've gotten," Turner said.
john and sherry rivers
Researchers in the U.S. are preregistering domains that are targeted, but experts in Canada are going even further. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is taking steps to block domains generated in Conficker code that fall in the .ca top-level domain from being used in the botnet, the nonprofit agency said. "If other domain registries were able to do the same thing it would go a long way toward helping mitigate some of the ability for the botnet to breathe," Ferguson said.

Conficker has proved to be such a nuisance that Microsoft has even offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the Conficker case.

What can I do?
Computer users should apply the Microsoft patch and update their antivirus and other security software.

Windows users should also apply a Microsoft update for the AutoRun feature in Windows that was released in February. The patch allows people to selectively disable the Autorun functionality for drives on a system or network to provide more security, to ensure that it is truly disabled. In addition to putting USB drive users at risk of Conficker and other viruses, the Autorun functionality has been blamed for infections from digital photo frames and other storage types.

Panda also has released a free "vaccine" tool for blocking viruses that spread through USB drives.

Microsoft has a Conficker removal tool. More botnet information and removal resources are on the

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Like most Web browsers, Internet Explorer 8 has add-ons. But sometimes you may want to get rid of them, even if just temporarily. IE 8 has made it easier to disable and enable your add-ons. Here's how to do it.
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Let's say you have the Google Toolbar running in IE 8. You should see an X to the left of the toolbar. It's the familiar X that usually means you can close something. In this case, you'd be right to guess that. Click that X and you'll disable the toolbar.

Now that can be dangerous if other add-ons rely on the one you're disabling. So IE 8 gives you a lovely list of any dependent add-ons and the option to disable them at the same time. Once you've made your selections, press the Disable button and the add-on will disappear.

What if you want it back?

Go to tools and select Manage Add-ons.

Select the type of add-on, in our example from above, it would be a toolbar.

Scroll down until you find your toolbar. And press enable.

IE 8 will suggest re-enabling any related add-ons you disabled earlier. Press enable again, then press close.
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In the case of the toolbar, even though I had enabled it, it still didn't show up. I had to go to View, select toolbars and select the Google Toolbar to make it viewable.

If you want to browse through all the add-ons available for IE 8, visit

capricorn one

Delivering on its promise, Google released a new mobile application on Wednesday that brings its Voice Search feature to BlackBerrys, much like it did for the iPhone and Android-based T-Mobile G1.
capricorn one
The Google Mobile App is available now as a free download and allows you to conduct searches with the sound of your voice. To do so, you simply hold down the Talk button on your BlackBerry and then speak your search term into the phone. Brits, you'll also be happy to hear that the app now supports British English accents.

Perhaps even more powerful, the app also includes support for Google's My Locations feature, which brings up search results based on your location as determined by your BlackBerry's GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular triangulation.

Other enhancements include shortcuts to several Google services, such as Gmail, Maps, News, and Reader. To get Google Mobile App on your BlackBerry, you can point your phone's browser to http://m.google.com or enter your mobile number here. Be aware that the app requires you have to have BlackBerry OS 4.1 or higher and BlackBerry OS 4.2 or higher for Voice Search.

capricorn one

sham wow

SAN FRANCISCO--In an industry dominated by men, leave it to women to come up with the winning idea in a contest to create a concept for a video game about losing one's virginity.
sham wow
On Wednesday, at the Game Developers Conference here, the two-woman team of Heather Kelley and Erin Robinson won the Game Design Challenge with just 36 hours of preparation, while their competitors had weeks to come up with concepts for a game about "your first time."

This was the sixth straight year of the design challenge, hosted annually by New York-based game developer Eric Zimmerman. The contestants are generally top-tier game designers like two-time winner and Spore and The Sims creator Will Wright, Deus Ex lead designer Harvey Smith, or 2008 winner and Leather Goddesses of Phobos creator Steve Meretzsky.

The contestants are generally given several weeks to come up with a concept for a game based on some sort of unusual challenge posed by Zimmerman. Past themes have included a game about love, a game based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson, and a game that could win the Nobel Peace Prize.

"We are in a medium that is just incredibly plastic," Zimmerman said. "We can put anything up on the screen...Still, we find every year that most of the money being put into games is put into a relatively narrow (set of) genres" that tends to include monsters, dragons, and the like.

He also threw away "Call of Booty"--because it would have "problems that would keep it off the shelf at Wal-Mart"--and then almost settled on a beat-matching idea called "Hump Hump Revolution." Zimmerman added that the purpose of the challenge is "to think about how we can create games that really break away" from what's been done so many times before.
sham wow
Sex and autobiography have been constant themes in literature, film, and theater, Zimmerman argued, pointing to "Lolita," the work of Henry Miller, Chaim Potok's novel, "My name is Asher Lev," and the films of Fellini and Woody Allen.

But while Zimmerman touted the widespread historical acceptance of the theme of autobiographical sex, he noted with some dismay that veteran game designer Kim Swift, who works for Valve and who created the award-winning Portal, had originally been slated to be among the contestants but had eventually been pressured by Valve to withdraw due to the theme.

"I'm saying this as a fan of Valve," Zimmerman said, "but I do find it frustrating and disturbing that Kim would be pulled from the panel."

Still, he said, after word got around about Swift's withdrawal, Lapis designer Kelley and independent developer Robinson volunteered to step up and compete.

The two ended up facing off against Meretzsky, on hand to defend his crown, and Habbo Hotel lead designer Sulka Haro.

And in the end, while all three submissions were well-received, the duo of Kelley and Robinson were judged by the audience to have very closely beaten out Meretzsky.

The two women came up with a concept for "Our first times," and presented it as a two-level game, one level for Kelley's experience and the other for Robinson's. They imagined a series of mini games that could be played on Nintendo's Wii, or possibly on Apple's iPhone.

Kelley began by explaining that her game would commence with the player having to pick an outfit for a date that was intended to conclude with their deflowering. It would have to be the least complicated outfit possible, she said, nothing with zippers that get stuck, or too many buttons or ties.

sham wow
An artistic rendering for a mini game that was part of the winning concept at the Game Design Challenge at GDC.

(Credit: Katrina Glerum)
Then, there would be a mini game in which players would have to shave their legs, making especially sure not to miss the all-important spot "by the knees." Next up, dinner, and making sure to remove all the garlic from the meals, something the main character--clearly a female, since the game was presented from a woman's perspective--would have to do because of the general cluelessness of the boyfriend in question.

The next mini game would revolve around choosing the proper mood music from a selection of LPs--yes, records, since the game would be set in the timeframe of Kelley's first time. And clearly, she said, Miles Davis would have to be the choice.

The penultimate mini game would task the player with "not falling off the top bunk" in a college dorm room," while the final task would involve flicking off the smirking roommate.

The Robinson level also involved a series of mini games that commenced with "driving home from ultimate-Frisbee practice" and setting the radio station in a car--perhaps using the Wiimote dial, she said--to anything except country music. Next would be a stop at a drug store to buy a brand of condoms that doesn't terrify you, and then going "back to his place," and grappling with adjusting the tracking on his "antiquated" VCR.

Being a game concept presented from the woman's perspective, the next mini game would revolve around "making the first move. Poor guy."

And then, afterward, calling the best friend to tell the tale.

"But you have to be careful," Robinson said, "because she's next to mom and grandma on the speed dial."

Perhaps given their short notice, the mini-game concepts created by Kelley and Robinson weren't very fleshed out, something that was a shame since they seemed to be onto something. But the crowd appreciated how much effort they had put into the storyboards they'd created, and forgave the rudimentary fleshing out of the details.

Meretzsky's concept--which came in a very close second--ended up revolving around the idea of moving beyond the awkwardness of fumbling high school attempts at romance. But before explaining his final design, he talked at length about the challenges of coming up with a game idea when every possible title was too overtly sexual. He said he tried out "Where's dildo," but discarded it because "it had nothing to do with my autobiography."

And then, he thought "about the almost too obvious genre of first-person shooters."

He also threw away "Call of Booty"--because it would have "problems that would keep it off the shelf at Wal-Mart"--and then almost settled on a beat-matching idea called "Hump Hump Revolution."
sham wow
And, playing off the title of Swift's hit game, as well as a popular 2008 film, he said he nearly ended up with "Zack & Miri make a Portal," but "my business people tell me paying licenses for two different (intellectual properties) is a non-starter."


Defending champion Steve Meretzsky said he considered a concept for a game called "Zack & Miri Make a Portal" but backed off after he was informed that it would be a non-starter to license two separate IPs.

(Credit: Katrina Glerum)
In the end, he said, he came up with a three-act structure for a game based in the virtual world, Second Life, where act one involves the awkward era of high school, the second act is the more promising college years and finally, act three, happiness in the form of a series of vignettes including dates, a wedding, and then, home life.

The game, he said, would be called, "Wait, time passes."

"No matter how picked on you are," Meretzsky said, "this too shall pass. Your time will come, and you will find happiness and your place in the world."

Of the six Game Design Challenges, this year's felt the most wanting for detail and working game mechanics. That may have been because the contestants' task of building something autobiographical didn't meld well with game design. Still, the crowd, which was heavy with game designers, appreciated the efforts and shouted out their support for all three contestants.

After all, in the end, the point was to take a particularly challenging game design topic and create something that could plausibly be a working title. And who would know better the difficulties of doing so than a room full of game designers?

john nash biography

Allergies are probably the most obvious way nature tells you it doesn't want you around. I know this love/hate relationship very well because it's spring and I've been sneezing in fits. What I don't always know, however, is how much nature hates me and just when it'll show it.
john nash biography
Fortunately, there are robots to help you with just that--if you live in Japan, that is.


This pollen bot is blue, which means the pollen level is on the lower side.

(Credit: Weather News)According to NTDT TV, Weather News, a Japanese weather information company, has produced 500 globe-shaped robots that change color depending on the amount of allergy-causing pollen in the air. These fourth-generation pollen-detecting bots are smaller than previous iterations, according to the company.

The robots can detect different levels of pollen and put them on a scale from 1 to 5 via different colors. The robots actually look more like big fluorescent lights. Actually, I'm not why sure they're called robots; they don't even look cute.

Nonetheless, the robots have been installed across Japan. Apart from telling the owner and people around about the pollen threat levels, the robots also collect data on temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure and transmit it to Weather News, which then combines and releases it to the public via the Internet.

This helps allergy sufferers decide when they should stay inside and when and it's safe to go out. Pollen watchers can also sign up for a service that sends pollen conditions to their cell phone every morning.

NTDT TV notes that Japan, and especially Tokyo, is a place where allergies are a big problem because of the ubiquity of cedar trees. These trees can be found everywhere in the country, and on nice days, pollen can even be seen with the naked eye like a cloud hovering above the forest.
john nash biography
I hope someday we can find these robots in the U.S. In the meantime, I guess I will continue to have to take pills while loving nature.

CNET's Takayuki Sakurai contributed to this report.

matt campbell

Dell beat IBM to the PR punch, but does it really have the technology jobs to beat Big Blue in the server competition?
matt campbell
On Wednesday, Dell made a splash with a massive introduction of servers, workstations, storage arrays, and yes, even services. The message to corporate IT buyers was that yes, Dell understood their needs and could supply a variety of sophisticated hardware and software for the modern data center.

Has Michael Dell finally figured things out? Is this is the start of a dramatic assault on what has been the near-exclusive preserve of Hewlett-Packard and IBM? I wish him the best, but it's hard to get too excited. The company has been down this same road for the better part of the last two decades with limited results.

I remember listening to a couple of representatives from Dell expatiate on how their brand new enterprise services team would put a severe hurt on Big Blue. The pitch boiled down to one line: "we can offer service and support for so much less than IBM can charge." That was in the late 1990s.

Turns out that when it came to supporting multimillion dollar installations of sophisticated equipment, the calculations surrounding total cost of ownership were a lot more complicated. In the years since then, IBM's Global Services has enjoyed a remarkable run. Perhaps the recession will open more doors for Dell, which wants to appeal to a more cost-conscious subset of IT buyers. But this isn't going to be a cake walk.

In fact, next week IBM will debut its own server redesign based on Intel's Xeon 5500 Series. The new line is being touted by IBM for its ability to help reduce management costs and overall energy use. Take it with a requisite grain of salt, but IBM is positioning the announcement as its most comprehensive x86 upgrade in years. The highlights: matt campbell

• Systems with 92 percent energy efficiency

• Blades that offer twice as many transactions per minute at 1,333 GHz

• Yearly energy savings up to $100 per server

On the software side, the announcement will include tweaks to the company's Director management suite for helping customers deal with virtualized environments.

In coming weeks, the analysts and test labs will sort out fact from fiction in the claims made by Dell, IBM, and the other computer makers lining up to make announcements surrounding Intel's next big chip proclamation. But I was intrigued by a comment by Tom Bradicich. He's an IBM fellow and distinguished engineer at the company who often winds up doing face time on customer calls.

"I met with a customer recently who had a 5 percent utilization rate," he told me over the phone, adding that this phenomenon was widespread in IT and had contributed to data center sprawl. At the same time, he noted that it's also a reason for the concomitant increase in costs and energy use.

"Price performance is appealing, but the idea that you need more servers, and so then you go out and buy more servers, is a failing concept," according to Bradicich. "If we can up the utilization rate, which is a high end concept (from the mainframe era), then we can lower the number of parts you buy. We want to sell you less."

Counter-intuitive, but it fits with an increasingly common theme at IBM, which wants to accentuate the myriad parts of its company as a way of "out-geeking" the competition in customers' eyes. That's what it's done with HP. And that's what it will play up in its competition with Dell. Who can fault CEO Sam Palmisano for flaunting what he has at his disposal? By playing up its size and tech chops, IBM figures it has a convincing story to help fend off forays by rivals eager to sell into the data center market.

To be continued...

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VoIP service Jaxtr is untethering its users from the Internet. The company was set to announce on Wednesday a new Jaxtr-on-the-go service that lets people make calls from their phones without having to visit to Jaxtr's Web site first.

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Jaxtr offers 150 toll-free local access numbers around the world for customers to use to make free or low-cost calls as part of the Jaxt-on-the-go service.

(Credit: Jaxtr)
The service is designed for people who aren't near a computer with Internet access or who don't have Web access on their mobile phones.

Basically, users can dial a toll-free local access number from their mobile or landline phone and type in the number they want to call. Then, they can either pay for a low-cost direct call or wait for the service to make the connection after sending an SMS message to the other people and providing them with a local number to dial.

The company has more than 150 toll-free numbers worldwide, mostly for major metropolitan areas. Obviously, you have to go to Jaxtr's Web site initially to get the toll-free number that is nearest you.

From then on, you dial that number to call anywhere and type in the phone numbers you want to call. If you want to make a free call, you wait on the phone while an SMS is sent to the people you are calling that notifies them you are trying to reach them and offers a local number they can use to get connected to you.
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Conveniently, the phone number that you both dialed can be used to reach each other thereafter, said Bahman Koohestanti, chief executive of Jaxtr.

The service is an extension of the FreeConnect service Jaxtr announced in December that lets people make free international calls.

For FreeConnect, you have to enter your phone number and the number of the person you want to call on the Jaxtr Web site to initiate the connection, and the other person has to have registered with Jaxtr.

For both services, people can call others directly using calling credits dubbed "Jax." Eventually, people will be able to purchase calling credits by phone, Koohestanti said.

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Nvidia was hit by a Standard & Poor's ratings downgrade Wednesday, according to a Dow Jones report, adding to the graphics chipmaker's woes.
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Standard & Poor's ratings services ratcheted down its outlook on Nvidia from positive to stable, according to Dow Jones. S&P cited concerns about the graphics chipmaker's sinking revenue and profitability.

The ratings agency maintains a junk-level BB- grade on the company, and S&P noted that revenues from Nvidia's recent efforts to expand into cell phones, handheld devices, and supercomputer applications is small, according to Dow Jones. Nvidia also faces new competition from Intel's upcoming Larrabee graphics chip, S&P said.

In addition, Nvidia has been grappling with graphics chip issues on laptops. Apple issued a fix Wednesday for the graphics problems suffered by some owners of the new 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Not everything was bad news for Nvidia Wednesday, however. Ironically, on the same day, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Doug Freedman upgraded Nvidia to "buy" from "neutral" saying that "our checks indicate an improving top-line allowing the company to grow from a larger revenue base...as the trough appears less deep than originally thought," he wrote in a research note.
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"Although we remain cautious on gross margin mix we do believe that (operating expenditures) are ahead of expectations, potentially adding leverage to our estimates," Freedman said.