By DAVID BARBOZA
BEIJING - Inside the shimmeringheadquarters of the Lenovo Group,China's largest computer maker,workers are carting birthday cakes overto three office cubicles.These days, every employee here getsa birthday gift, something amultinational company might beexpected to do in this age of feel-goodcorporate management.The problem is that people in China donot traditionally celebrate birthdays.But that is changing. And so is Lenovo.It is trying to become a global companywith its purchase of I.B.M's personalcomputer business for $1.75 billion,and handing out birthday cakes is justpart of the process of evolving into amultinational corporation.To further globalize the company,however, Lenovo will do somethingeven bolder: it will move itsheadquarters to Armonk, N.Y., whereI.B.M. is based, and essentially handover management of what will becomethe world's third-largest computermaker, after Dell and Hewlett-Packard,to a group of senior I.B.M. executives.American multinational companiesoutsource manufacturing to China. Whycan't a Chinese company outsourcemanagement to the United States?Executives at Lenovo - which getsabout 98 percent of its $3 billion inrevenue from China - are, in effect,acknowledging that they do not havethe necessary global experience to runthe new company."The most valuable asset we haveacquired through I.B.M.'s PC businessis its world-class management teamand their extensive internationalexperience," says Liu Chuanzhi,chairman of Lenovo and one of thecompany's founders.Indeed, few executives at Lenovo seemdisappointed by the move. In fact,many seem pleased to be buying into ablue-chip American corporation.After all, Lenovo - formerly known asLegend - may be the biggest computermaker in China, but the company is stillvirtually unknown outside of Asia.And top executives at Lenovo say theyare eager to learn how to run a globalcompany from their new colleagues atthe PC unit of I.B.M., which operates inmore than 150 countries and had $9billion in revenue in 2003.Preparations are already under way inBeijing. For the last few months, allvice presidents have been required tostudy English for at least one hour aday. The chairman says he has readbooks about Bill Gates and AndrewGrove. And the chief executive ofLenovo has agreed to give upday-to-day management of thecompany to assume the role ofchairman.His task will be to fly back and forthfrom Beijing to New York to consultwith Lenovo's newly named chiefexecutive, Stephen M. Ward Jr., thesenior vice president and generalmanager of I.B.M.'s Personal SystemsGroup.Many analysts were surprised byLenovo's decision to outsource itsmanagement to New York."I admire what Lenovo is doing," saidJoe Zhang, a UBS analyst who followsLenovo. "Many Lenovo executives havedecided to do this at the expense oftheir careers. They're putting personalego behind for the greater good of thecompany."People involved in the negotiations withI.B.M. said that Lenovo officials saw noother choice. They recognized thatLenovo could not simply take over amuch bigger I.B.M. PC unit and run itfrom Beijing.That is why a major theme of the talkswas how to keep business as usualafter the deal was completed, thosepeople say.While I.B.M. is full of M.B.A.'s, Lenovo -which is still partly government owned- has only two members of the seniormanagement team with an M.B.A. Andnone of the top executives have everworked for a multinational corporation.But analysts also say that Lenovo is nopushover. The company is consideredone of China's most successfulcorporations. For years, for example,Lenovo's brand has outsold Dell,Hewlett-Packard and I.B.M. computersin China.And even though it began as astate-owned enterprise, Lenovo hasalways been entrepreneurial, analystssay. It was one of the first companieshere to list its shares in Hong Kong. Itwas among the first to reward itsemployees with stock options, whichhave turned some of its top executivesinto millionaires.The company's identity was shaped, inpart, by its visionary chairman, Mr. Liu,who in 1984 helped found Lenovo witha group of scientists from the ChineseAcademy of Sciences.Early on, it was the hard-charging Mr.Liu who persuaded the Chinesegovernment to give the companygreater control over its hiring andsalary decisions, allowing thestate-owned company to raise capitalfrom outside investors and essentiallyoperate like a private company.Later, Mr. Liu won governmentapproval to list the company's stock inHong Kong and for Lenovo to startproducing its own computers, ratherthan simply marketing Western brands.By 1997, with its own brand of low-costChinese-character-friendly computers,Lenovo was suddenly China's biggestcomputer maker.Mr. Liu, a military academy graduatewho suffered through China's brutalCultural Revolution, said he often ranthe company with an iron fist, scoldingworkers who showed up late formeetings and pushing scientists andexecutives to deliver on their promises."All the people were scientists in thosedays," Mr. Liu recalled. "They werevery casual. They'd always be late formeetings and they'd make theirpromises. So we decided that if anyonewas late they'd stand up for oneminute."Along the way, Mr. Liu also groomed acadre of loyal and fierce executives,including Yang Yuanqing, 42, who isnow the company's chief executive, andMary Ma, 52, Lenovo's highly respectedchief financial officer.But just how the new company'smanagement will take shape in Beijingand New York is still unclear.Though he will step down after themerger, Mr. Liu, 60, will continue toserve as a member of the board.Mr. Yang, a serious-minded executivewho helped fire up the company's salesforce, will become chairman. Ms. Ma,who led the talks to acquire I.B.M.'s PCunit, is expected to remain as chieffinancial officer.Lenovo's challenge will be to meldradically different corporate cultures."Neither culture should be the de factoculture," said Martin Gilliland, ananalyst at Gartner Research. "Theyhave to start a new one. Can theydevelop a new Lenovo businessculture? That's one of the keys tosuccess."In recent years, Lenovo officials say thecompany's corporate culture hasevolved from what some companyofficials called the "semimilitary"culture that prevailed in the early days,to a more easy-going and hip high-techculture.These days, Lenovo's new corporateheadquarters in Beijing's "SiliconSuburb" is teaming with young 20- and30-somethings, casually dressed,chattering into mobile phones andlooking confident.The halls are decked with employeerecognition plaques, business schooltheorems and New Age philosophy:"Happiness," reads one workplaceposter. "Work hard and live art," readsanother.Newcomers to Lenovo are even trainedin the same kind of teamworkprograms that can be found atAmerican business schools, right downto the leaps of faith - the backwardfalling employee who is caught by ateam of supportive co-workers.And for those who need a jolt, eachmorning at 8:30 the Lenovo themesong is broadcast on loudspeakersthroughout the headquarters, urgingworkers to guide the corporate shipthrough perilous waters."Lenovo, Lenovo, Lenovo," one linegoes, "we are sailing through thewaves to lands far away. Lenovo,Lenovo, Lenovo. We are building a newsplendor."Lenovo is also seeking the best outsideadvice it can get, hiring a client rosterthat includes Goldman, Sachs;McKinsey & Company, the consultingfirm; Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the NewYork law firm; and Ogilvy, the publicrelations firm.And the new language for the companyis English, company officials say.Lenovo officials say they are studyingAmerican business history, and thechief executive lists The HarvardBusiness Review as part of his regularreading.In fact, like other computer andsoftware giants, Lenovo is even fanningits own myths. In 1984, the companywas formed in a small, concretesecurity guard's booth that became itsfirst laboratory and headquarters.The booth - part of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences - was torn downin 2001 to make way for a newbuilding. But it was soon rebuilt andnow sits like an empty artifactalongside the headquarters of Lenovo'sparent company, Legend Holdings.Critics now worry that Lenovo must finda way to preserve I.B.M.'s traditions ina PC industry of increasing competitionand commodity manufacturing.But Mr. Yang, Lenovo's current chiefexecutive, says not to worry."We are going to stick to the principlesof I.B.M. as a high-premium, high-valueimage, " he said. "We're not going tomake any compromises on this."www.nytimes.comChinese Buyer of PC Unit Is Movingto I.B.M.'s HometownBy DAVID BARBOZABEIJING - Inside the shimmeringheadquarters of the Lenovo Group,China's largest computer maker,workers are carting birthday cakes overto three office cubicles.These days, every employee here getsa birthday gift, something amultinational company might beexpected to do in this age of feel-goodcorporate management.The problem is that people in China donot traditionally celebrate birthdays.But that is changing. And so is Lenovo.It is trying to become a global companywith its purchase of I.B.M's personalcomputer business for $1.75 billion,and handing out birthday cakes is justpart of the process of evolving into amultinational corporation.To further globalize the company,however, Lenovo will do somethingeven bolder: it will move itsheadquarters to Armonk, N.Y., whereI.B.M. is based, and essentially handover management of what will becomethe world's third-largest computermaker, after Dell and Hewlett-Packard,to a group of senior I.B.M. executives.American multinational companiesoutsource manufacturing to China. Whycan't a Chinese company outsourcemanagement to the United States?Executives at Lenovo - which getsabout 98 percent of its $3 billion inrevenue from China - are, in effect,acknowledging that they do not havethe necessary global experience to runthe new company."The most valuable asset we haveacquired through I.B.M.'s PC businessis its world-class management teamand their extensive internationalexperience," says Liu Chuanzhi,chairman of Lenovo and one of thecompany's founders.Indeed, few executives at Lenovo seemdisappointed by the move. In fact,many seem pleased to be buying into ablue-chip American corporation.After all, Lenovo - formerly known asLegend - may be the biggest computermaker in China, but the company is stillvirtually unknown outside of Asia.And top executives at Lenovo say theyare eager to learn how to run a globalcompany from their new colleagues atthe PC unit of I.B.M., which operates inmore than 150 countries and had $9billion in revenue in 2003.Preparations are already under way inBeijing. For the last few months, allvice presidents have been required tostudy English for at least one hour aday. The chairman says he has readbooks about Bill Gates and AndrewGrove. And the chief executive ofLenovo has agreed to give upday-to-day management of thecompany to assume the role ofchairman.His task will be to fly back and forthfrom Beijing to New York to consultwith Lenovo's newly named chiefexecutive, Stephen M. Ward Jr., thesenior vice president and generalmanager of I.B.M.'s Personal SystemsGroup.Many analysts were surprised byLenovo's decision to outsource itsmanagement to New York."I admire what Lenovo is doing," saidJoe Zhang, a UBS analyst who followsLenovo. "Many Lenovo executives havedecided to do this at the expense oftheir careers. They're putting personalego behind for the greater good of thecompany."People involved in the negotiations withI.B.M. said that Lenovo officials saw noother choice. They recognized thatLenovo could not simply take over amuch bigger I.B.M. PC unit and run itfrom Beijing.That is why a major theme of the talkswas how to keep business as usualafter the deal was completed, thosepeople say.While I.B.M. is full of M.B.A.'s, Lenovo -which is still partly government owned- has only two members of the seniormanagement team with an M.B.A. Andnone of the top executives have everworked for a multinational corporation.But analysts also say that Lenovo is nopushover. The company is consideredone of China's most successfulcorporations. For years, for example,Lenovo's brand has outsold Dell,Hewlett-Packard and I.B.M. computersin China.And even though it began as astate-owned enterprise, Lenovo hasalways been entrepreneurial, analystssay. It was one of the first companieshere to list its shares in Hong Kong. Itwas among the first to reward itsemployees with stock options, whichhave turned some of its top executivesinto millionaires.The company's identity was shaped, inpart, by its visionary chairman, Mr. Liu,who in 1984 helped found Lenovo witha group of scientists from the ChineseAcademy of Sciences.Early on, it was the hard-charging Mr.Liu who persuaded the Chinesegovernment to give the companygreater control over its hiring andsalary decisions, allowing thestate-owned company to raise capitalfrom outside investors and essentiallyoperate like a private company.Later, Mr. Liu won governmentapproval to list the company's stock inHong Kong and for Lenovo to startproducing its own computers, ratherthan simply marketing Western brands.By 1997, with its own brand of low-costChinese-character-friendly computers,Lenovo was suddenly China's biggestcomputer maker.Mr. Liu, a military academy graduatewho suffered through China's brutalCultural Revolution, said he often ranthe company with an iron fist, scoldingworkers who showed up late formeetings and pushing scientists andexecutives to deliver on their promises."All the people were scientists in thosedays," Mr. Liu recalled. "They werevery casual. They'd always be late formeetings and they'd make theirpromises. So we decided that if anyonewas late they'd stand up for oneminute."Along the way, Mr. Liu also groomed acadre of loyal and fierce executives,including Yang Yuanqing, 42, who isnow the company's chief executive, andMary Ma, 52, Lenovo's highly respectedchief financial officer.But just how the new company'smanagement will take shape in Beijingand New York is still unclear.Though he will step down after themerger, Mr. Liu, 60, will continue toserve as a member of the board.Mr. Yang, a serious-minded executivewho helped fire up the company's salesforce, will become chairman. Ms. Ma,who led the talks to acquire I.B.M.'s PCunit, is expected to remain as chieffinancial officer.Lenovo's challenge will be to meldradically different corporate cultures."Neither culture should be the de factoculture," said Martin Gilliland, ananalyst at Gartner Research. "Theyhave to start a new one. Can theydevelop a new Lenovo businessculture? That's one of the keys tosuccess."In recent years, Lenovo officials say thecompany's corporate culture hasevolved from what some companyofficials called the "semimilitary"culture that prevailed in the early days,to a more easy-going and hip high-techculture.These days, Lenovo's new corporateheadquarters in Beijing's "SiliconSuburb" is teaming with young 20- and30-somethings, casually dressed,chattering into mobile phones andlooking confident.The halls are decked with employeerecognition plaques, business schooltheorems and New Age philosophy:"Happiness," reads one workplaceposter. "Work hard and live art," readsanother.Newcomers to Lenovo are even trainedin the same kind of teamworkprograms that can be found atAmerican business schools, right downto the leaps of faith - the backwardfalling employee who is caught by ateam of supportive co-workers.And for those who need a jolt, eachmorning at 8:30 the Lenovo themesong is broadcast on loudspeakersthroughout the headquarters, urgingworkers to guide the corporate shipthrough perilous waters."Lenovo, Lenovo, Lenovo," one linegoes, "we are sailing through thewaves to lands far away. Lenovo,Lenovo, Lenovo. We are building a newsplendor."Lenovo is also seeking the best outsideadvice it can get, hiring a client rosterthat includes Goldman, Sachs;McKinsey & Company, the consultingfirm; Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the NewYork law firm; and Ogilvy, the publicrelations firm.And the new language for the companyis English, company officials say.Lenovo officials say they are studyingAmerican business history, and thechief executive lists The HarvardBusiness Review as part of his regularreading.In fact, like other computer andsoftware giants, Lenovo is even fanningits own myths. In 1984, the companywas formed in a small, concretesecurity guard's booth that became itsfirst laboratory and headquarters.The booth - part of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences - was torn downin 2001 to make way for a newbuilding. But it was soon rebuilt andnow sits like an empty artifactalongside the headquarters of Lenovo'sparent company, Legend Holdings.Critics now worry that Lenovo must finda way to preserve I.B.M.'s traditions ina PC industry of increasing competitionand commodity manufacturing.But Mr. Yang, Lenovo's current chiefexecutive, says not to worry."We are going to stick to the principlesof I.B.M. as a high-premium, high-valueimage, " he said. "We're not going tomake any compromises on this."
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Opinion from PC Magazine: Panic Over Spyware
Opinion from PC Magazine: Panic Over Spyware: "Panic Over Spyware
ARTICLE DATE: 12.20.04
By John C. Dvorak
Panic Over Spyware
ARTICLE DATE: 12.20.04
By John C. Dvorak
I'm chatting with the CEO of a spyware company and he tells me that he knows for a fact that Dell support lines have been getting 70,000 calls a week regarding machine performance and anomalies. Dell has been referring the callers to Web sites discussing spyware. It's spyware causing the problems. I'm thinking to myself that if Dell is getting 70,000 calls, then Microsoft must be getting 700,000 calls, since the smart money would always assume that it's a software problem. Whatever the call volume, this situation with spyware is now officially out of control.
ADVERTISEMENT
This subject is near and dear to me, since my laptop was infected via a hotel network connection recently. The culprit is the webrebates.exe Trojan horse. Like many of these pests, once it gets on your machine it starts installing loaders all over the place. These are essentially spyware spies. They all look to make sure that the spyware stays in place. If you manage to erase it one of the little drones will reinstall it. You cannot erase the drones and the spyware fast enough to prevent this simple process from continuing unless you use special software to ferret out all the drones first. Many of these pests also contaminate the Registry, and many of the drones are in subdirectories that cannot be seen using any normal process.
As an aside I should mention that I've always wondered why Microsoft Windows has weird deeply rooted directories that cannot be seen in Internet Explorer, DOS, or any tool. They are scattered all over the place. The nasty spyware drones often end up buried so deep that finding them requires lengthy deep searches by antispyware tools.
Now, if you think that the free antispyware programs are going to help with the nastiest of infections, you are kidding yourself. I've chatted with four spyware vendors over the past couple of weeks and they all agree that it's gotten so bad that the public is only partially aware of the problem. Few users know that their machines are infected.
There is now a firm belief that organized crime, including the Russian mafia, is behind much of this activity. The scene is no longer dominated by kids out for fun.
So what is the spyware used for? There appear to be four primary uses.
Continue Reading >
Market research. Yes, it's true. A lot of spyware is used just to track browsing and other online behavior for market-research companies. This was one of the two initial uses.
Employee and spousal monitoring. This is the second initial use for this stuff. Key loggers and other systems that are usually installed directly onto machines by the person or institution doing the spying. The FBI has been known to capture passwords using such software.
Spambots. The more recent use of spyware has been to create legions of spambots for spammers to rack up big numbers without taxing their own servers. There are probably millions of drone machines, sometimes called zombie PCs. At night they are brought to life to serve spam all over the world. Yet another reason why the 24/7 always-on Internet is a complete disaster.
Identity and credit-card theft. This is the latest twist and the fastest-growing trend. Last week, a new combination scam somehow got through my spam-filtering mechanism and tried to install a Trojan horse loader onto my system through the preview window of Microsoft Outlook Express. (Wasn't this supposed to be fixed?) My Kaspersky antivirus software saw the loader and stopped it cold. But what I found interesting was that this was one of those "Your account is temporarily closed" scams designed to collect personal information.
The notable thing about spyware is that because it isn't virulent like a virus and seldom spreads from your machine to another, it manages to stay out of the spotlight. The national media pay little attention to the problem, and many mainstream media tech writers are Mac users, so they don't get it. Who knows what will happen when the Mac community gets hit? They feel immune, and are for now. But when they get hit, there will be few resources to help them, since the antispyware community is busy with all the PC-related problems.
Since spyware has not spread quickly and tends to be installed via browsers one computer at a time, we are seeing slow—but relentless—growth. We can expect it to continue. I'm looking at all the spyware packages and I'll have a few to recommend in the months ahead. For now you'll probably need multiple systems to get rid of this stuff. This will be the number-one topic in the year 2005, guaranteed.
ARTICLE DATE: 12.20.04
By John C. Dvorak
Panic Over Spyware
ARTICLE DATE: 12.20.04
By John C. Dvorak
I'm chatting with the CEO of a spyware company and he tells me that he knows for a fact that Dell support lines have been getting 70,000 calls a week regarding machine performance and anomalies. Dell has been referring the callers to Web sites discussing spyware. It's spyware causing the problems. I'm thinking to myself that if Dell is getting 70,000 calls, then Microsoft must be getting 700,000 calls, since the smart money would always assume that it's a software problem. Whatever the call volume, this situation with spyware is now officially out of control.
ADVERTISEMENT
This subject is near and dear to me, since my laptop was infected via a hotel network connection recently. The culprit is the webrebates.exe Trojan horse. Like many of these pests, once it gets on your machine it starts installing loaders all over the place. These are essentially spyware spies. They all look to make sure that the spyware stays in place. If you manage to erase it one of the little drones will reinstall it. You cannot erase the drones and the spyware fast enough to prevent this simple process from continuing unless you use special software to ferret out all the drones first. Many of these pests also contaminate the Registry, and many of the drones are in subdirectories that cannot be seen using any normal process.
As an aside I should mention that I've always wondered why Microsoft Windows has weird deeply rooted directories that cannot be seen in Internet Explorer, DOS, or any tool. They are scattered all over the place. The nasty spyware drones often end up buried so deep that finding them requires lengthy deep searches by antispyware tools.
Now, if you think that the free antispyware programs are going to help with the nastiest of infections, you are kidding yourself. I've chatted with four spyware vendors over the past couple of weeks and they all agree that it's gotten so bad that the public is only partially aware of the problem. Few users know that their machines are infected.
There is now a firm belief that organized crime, including the Russian mafia, is behind much of this activity. The scene is no longer dominated by kids out for fun.
So what is the spyware used for? There appear to be four primary uses.
Continue Reading >
Market research. Yes, it's true. A lot of spyware is used just to track browsing and other online behavior for market-research companies. This was one of the two initial uses.
Employee and spousal monitoring. This is the second initial use for this stuff. Key loggers and other systems that are usually installed directly onto machines by the person or institution doing the spying. The FBI has been known to capture passwords using such software.
Spambots. The more recent use of spyware has been to create legions of spambots for spammers to rack up big numbers without taxing their own servers. There are probably millions of drone machines, sometimes called zombie PCs. At night they are brought to life to serve spam all over the world. Yet another reason why the 24/7 always-on Internet is a complete disaster.
Identity and credit-card theft. This is the latest twist and the fastest-growing trend. Last week, a new combination scam somehow got through my spam-filtering mechanism and tried to install a Trojan horse loader onto my system through the preview window of Microsoft Outlook Express. (Wasn't this supposed to be fixed?) My Kaspersky antivirus software saw the loader and stopped it cold. But what I found interesting was that this was one of those "Your account is temporarily closed" scams designed to collect personal information.
The notable thing about spyware is that because it isn't virulent like a virus and seldom spreads from your machine to another, it manages to stay out of the spotlight. The national media pay little attention to the problem, and many mainstream media tech writers are Mac users, so they don't get it. Who knows what will happen when the Mac community gets hit? They feel immune, and are for now. But when they get hit, there will be few resources to help them, since the antispyware community is busy with all the PC-related problems.
Since spyware has not spread quickly and tends to be installed via browsers one computer at a time, we are seeing slow—but relentless—growth. We can expect it to continue. I'm looking at all the spyware packages and I'll have a few to recommend in the months ahead. For now you'll probably need multiple systems to get rid of this stuff. This will be the number-one topic in the year 2005, guaranteed.
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Mozilla Firefox 1.0 review - Mozilla Firefox 1.0 Intro - Security & Utility Services - CNET Reviews
Mozilla Firefox 1.0 is the dream Internet browser you've been looking for. Featuring a host of small technical improvements, including tabbed browsing, built-in and customizable search bars, and a built-in RSS reader, Mozilla's Firefox browser is the one that should finally put a dent in Microsoft Internet Explorer's unrivaled market dominance. While its lack of ActiveX support might prevent some sites from working properly, after more than three weeks of use in our tests, Firefox 1.0 remained fast and stable and displayed an impressive range of cutting-edge browsing options. We were able to view every Web site just fine, thank you. If you're fed up with the latest Internet Explorer security patch issued from Microsoft or with the latest virus to capitalize on some flaw in IE, you should switch to Firefox--now.
Next: Mozilla Firefox 1.0
Next: Mozilla Firefox 1.0
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
The New York Times > Technology > Google Is Adding Major Libraries to Its Database
The New York Times > Technology > Google Is Adding Major Libraries to Its Database: "The New York Times
December 14, 2004
Google Is Adding Major Libraries to Its Database
By JOHN MARKOFF and EDWARD WYATT
Google, the operator of the world's most popular Internet search service, plans to announce an agreement today with some of the nation's leading research libraries and Oxford University to begin converting their holdings into digital files that would be freely searchable over the Web.
It may be only a step on a long road toward the long-predicted global virtual library. But the collaboration of Google and research institutions that also include Harvard, the University of Michigan, Stanford and the New York Public Library is a major stride in an ambitious Internet effort by various parties. The goal is to expand the Web beyond its current valuable, if eclectic, body of material and create a digital card catalog and searchable library for the world's books, scholarly papers and special collections.
Google - newly wealthy from its stock offering last summer - has agreed to underwrite the projects being announced today while also adding its own technical abilities to the task of scanning and digitizing tens of thousands of pages a day at each library.
Although Google executives declined to comment on its technology or the cost of the undertaking, others involved estimate the figure at $10 for each of the more than 15 million books and other documents covered in the agreements. Librarians involved predict the project could take at least a decade.
Because the Google agreements are not exclusive, the pacts are almost certain to touch off a race with other major Internet search providers like Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo. Like Google, they might seek the right to offer online access to library materials in return for selling advertising, while libraries would receive corporate help in digitizing their collections for their own institutional uses.
"Within two decades, most of the world's knowledge will be digitized and available, one hopes for free reading on the Internet, just as there is free reading in libraries today," said Michael A. Keller, Stanford University's head librarian.
The Google effort and others like it that are already under way, including projects by the Library of Congress to put selections of its best holdings online, are part of a trend to potentially democratize access to information that has long been available to only small, select groups of students and scholars.
Last night the Library of Congress and a group of international libraries from the United States, Canada, Egypt, China and the Netherlands announced a plan to create a publicly available digital archive of one million books on the Internet. The group said it planned to have 70,000 volumes online by next April.
"Having the great libraries at your fingertips allows us to build on and create great works based on the work of others," said Brewster Kahle, founder and president of the Internet Archive, a San Francisco-based digital library that is also trying to digitize existing print information.
The agreements to be announced today will allow Google to publish the full text of only those library books old enough to no longer be under copyright. For copyrighted works, Google would scan in the entire text, but make only short excerpts available online.
Each agreement with a library is slightly different. Google plans to digitize nearly all the eight million books in Stanford's collection and the seven million at Michigan. The Harvard project will initially be limited to only about 40,000 volumes. The scanning at Bodleian Library at Oxford will be limited to an unspecified number of books published before 1900, while the New York Public Library project will involve fragile material not under copyright that library officials said would be of interest primarily to scholars.
The trend toward online libraries and virtual card catalogs is one that already has book publishers scrambling to respond.
At least a dozen major publishing companies, including some of the country's biggest producers of nonfiction books - the primary target for the online text-search efforts - have already entered ventures with Google and Amazon that allow users to search the text of copyrighted books online and read excerpts.
Publishers including HarperCollins, the Penguin Group, Houghton Mifflin and Scholastic have signed up for both the Google and Amazon programs. The largest American trade publisher, Random House, participates in Amazon's program but is still negotiating with Google, which calls its program Google Print.
The Amazon and Google programs work by restricting the access of users to only a few pages of a copyrighted book during each search, offering enough to help them decide whether the book meets their requirements enough to justify ordering the print version. Those features restrict a user's ability to copy, cut or print the copyrighted material, while limiting on-screen reading to a few pages at a time. Books still under copyright at the libraries involved in Google's new project are likely to be protected by similar restrictions.
The challenge for publishers in coming years will be to continue to have libraries serve as major influential buyers of their books, without letting the newly vast digital public reading rooms undermine the companies' ability to make money commissioning and publishing authors' work.
From the earliest days of the printing press, book publishers were wary of the development of libraries at all. In many instances, they opposed the idea of a central facility offering free access to books that people would otherwise be compelled to buy.
But as libraries developed and publishers became aware that they could be among their best customers, that opposition faded. Now publishers aggressively court librarians with advance copies of books, seeking positive reviews of books in library journals and otherwise trying to influence the opinion of the people who influence the reading habits of millions. Some of that promotional impulse may translate to the online world, publishing executives say.
But at least initially, the search services are likely to be most useful to publishers whose nonfiction backlists, or catalogs of previously published titles, are of interest to scholars but do not sell regularly enough to be carried in large quantities in retail stores, said David Steinberger, the president and chief executive the Perseus Books Group, which publishes mostly nonfiction books under the Basic Books, PublicAffairs, Da Capo and other imprints.
Based on his experiences with Amazon's and Google's commercial search services so far, Mr. Steinberger said, "I think there is minimal risk, or virtually no risk, of copyrighted material being misused." But he said he would object to a library's providing copyrighted material online without a license. "If you're talking about the instantaneous, free distribution of books, I think that would represent a problem," Mr. Steinberger said.
For their part, libraries themselves will have to rethink their central missions as storehouses of printed, indexed material.
"Our world is about to change in a big, big way," said Daniel Greenstein, university librarian for the California Digital Library of the University of California, which is a project to organize and retain existing digital materials.
Instead of expending considerable time and money to managing their collections of printed materials, Mr. Greenstein said, libraries in the future can devote more energy to gathering information and making it accessible - and more easily manageable - online.
But Paul LeClerc, the president and chief executive of the New York Public Library, sees Web access as an expansion of libraries' reach, not a replacement for physical collections. "Librarians will add a new dimension to their work," Mr. LeClerc said. "They will not abandon their mission of collecting printed material and keeping them for decades and even centuries."
Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have long vowed to make all of the world's information accessible to anyone with a Web browser. The agreements to be announced today will put them a few steps closer to that goal - at least in terms of the English-language portion of the world's information. Mr. Page said yesterday that the project traced to the roots of Google, which he and Mr. Brin founded in 1998 after taking a leave from a graduate computer science program at Stanford where they worked on a "digital libraries" project. "What we first discussed at Stanford is now becoming practical," Mr. Page said.
At Stanford, Google hopes to be able to scan 50,000 pages a day within the month, eventually doubling that rate, according to a person involved in the project.
The Google plan calls for making the library materials available as part of Google's regular Web service, which currently has an estimated eight billion Web pages in its database and tens of millions of users a day. As with the other information on its service, Google will sell advertising to generate revenue from its library material. (In it existing Google Print program, the company shares advertising revenue with the participating book publishers.)
Each library, meanwhile, will receive its own copy of the digital database created from that institution's holdings, which the library can make available through its own Web site if it chooses.
Harvard officials said they would be happy to use the Internet to share their collections widely. "We have always thought of our libraries at Harvard as being a global resource," said Lawrence H. Summers, president of Harvard.
At least initially, Google's digitizing task will be labor intensive, with people placing the books and documents on sophisticated scanners whose high-resolution cameras capture an image of each page and convert it to a digital file.
Google, whose corporate campus in Mountain View, Calif., is just a few miles from Stanford, plans to transport books to a copying center it has established at its headquarters. There the books will be scanned and then returned to the Stanford libraries. Google plans to set up remote scanning operations at both Michigan and Harvard.
The company refused to comment on the technology that it was using to digitize books, except to say that it was nondestructive. But according to a person who has been briefed on the project, Google's technology is more labor-intensive than systems that are already commercially available.
Two small start-up companies, 4DigitalBooks of St. Aubin, Switzerland, and Kirtas Technologies of Victor, N.Y., are selling systems that automatically turn pages to capture images.
December 14, 2004
Google Is Adding Major Libraries to Its Database
By JOHN MARKOFF and EDWARD WYATT
Google, the operator of the world's most popular Internet search service, plans to announce an agreement today with some of the nation's leading research libraries and Oxford University to begin converting their holdings into digital files that would be freely searchable over the Web.
It may be only a step on a long road toward the long-predicted global virtual library. But the collaboration of Google and research institutions that also include Harvard, the University of Michigan, Stanford and the New York Public Library is a major stride in an ambitious Internet effort by various parties. The goal is to expand the Web beyond its current valuable, if eclectic, body of material and create a digital card catalog and searchable library for the world's books, scholarly papers and special collections.
Google - newly wealthy from its stock offering last summer - has agreed to underwrite the projects being announced today while also adding its own technical abilities to the task of scanning and digitizing tens of thousands of pages a day at each library.
Although Google executives declined to comment on its technology or the cost of the undertaking, others involved estimate the figure at $10 for each of the more than 15 million books and other documents covered in the agreements. Librarians involved predict the project could take at least a decade.
Because the Google agreements are not exclusive, the pacts are almost certain to touch off a race with other major Internet search providers like Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo. Like Google, they might seek the right to offer online access to library materials in return for selling advertising, while libraries would receive corporate help in digitizing their collections for their own institutional uses.
"Within two decades, most of the world's knowledge will be digitized and available, one hopes for free reading on the Internet, just as there is free reading in libraries today," said Michael A. Keller, Stanford University's head librarian.
The Google effort and others like it that are already under way, including projects by the Library of Congress to put selections of its best holdings online, are part of a trend to potentially democratize access to information that has long been available to only small, select groups of students and scholars.
Last night the Library of Congress and a group of international libraries from the United States, Canada, Egypt, China and the Netherlands announced a plan to create a publicly available digital archive of one million books on the Internet. The group said it planned to have 70,000 volumes online by next April.
"Having the great libraries at your fingertips allows us to build on and create great works based on the work of others," said Brewster Kahle, founder and president of the Internet Archive, a San Francisco-based digital library that is also trying to digitize existing print information.
The agreements to be announced today will allow Google to publish the full text of only those library books old enough to no longer be under copyright. For copyrighted works, Google would scan in the entire text, but make only short excerpts available online.
Each agreement with a library is slightly different. Google plans to digitize nearly all the eight million books in Stanford's collection and the seven million at Michigan. The Harvard project will initially be limited to only about 40,000 volumes. The scanning at Bodleian Library at Oxford will be limited to an unspecified number of books published before 1900, while the New York Public Library project will involve fragile material not under copyright that library officials said would be of interest primarily to scholars.
The trend toward online libraries and virtual card catalogs is one that already has book publishers scrambling to respond.
At least a dozen major publishing companies, including some of the country's biggest producers of nonfiction books - the primary target for the online text-search efforts - have already entered ventures with Google and Amazon that allow users to search the text of copyrighted books online and read excerpts.
Publishers including HarperCollins, the Penguin Group, Houghton Mifflin and Scholastic have signed up for both the Google and Amazon programs. The largest American trade publisher, Random House, participates in Amazon's program but is still negotiating with Google, which calls its program Google Print.
The Amazon and Google programs work by restricting the access of users to only a few pages of a copyrighted book during each search, offering enough to help them decide whether the book meets their requirements enough to justify ordering the print version. Those features restrict a user's ability to copy, cut or print the copyrighted material, while limiting on-screen reading to a few pages at a time. Books still under copyright at the libraries involved in Google's new project are likely to be protected by similar restrictions.
The challenge for publishers in coming years will be to continue to have libraries serve as major influential buyers of their books, without letting the newly vast digital public reading rooms undermine the companies' ability to make money commissioning and publishing authors' work.
From the earliest days of the printing press, book publishers were wary of the development of libraries at all. In many instances, they opposed the idea of a central facility offering free access to books that people would otherwise be compelled to buy.
But as libraries developed and publishers became aware that they could be among their best customers, that opposition faded. Now publishers aggressively court librarians with advance copies of books, seeking positive reviews of books in library journals and otherwise trying to influence the opinion of the people who influence the reading habits of millions. Some of that promotional impulse may translate to the online world, publishing executives say.
But at least initially, the search services are likely to be most useful to publishers whose nonfiction backlists, or catalogs of previously published titles, are of interest to scholars but do not sell regularly enough to be carried in large quantities in retail stores, said David Steinberger, the president and chief executive the Perseus Books Group, which publishes mostly nonfiction books under the Basic Books, PublicAffairs, Da Capo and other imprints.
Based on his experiences with Amazon's and Google's commercial search services so far, Mr. Steinberger said, "I think there is minimal risk, or virtually no risk, of copyrighted material being misused." But he said he would object to a library's providing copyrighted material online without a license. "If you're talking about the instantaneous, free distribution of books, I think that would represent a problem," Mr. Steinberger said.
For their part, libraries themselves will have to rethink their central missions as storehouses of printed, indexed material.
"Our world is about to change in a big, big way," said Daniel Greenstein, university librarian for the California Digital Library of the University of California, which is a project to organize and retain existing digital materials.
Instead of expending considerable time and money to managing their collections of printed materials, Mr. Greenstein said, libraries in the future can devote more energy to gathering information and making it accessible - and more easily manageable - online.
But Paul LeClerc, the president and chief executive of the New York Public Library, sees Web access as an expansion of libraries' reach, not a replacement for physical collections. "Librarians will add a new dimension to their work," Mr. LeClerc said. "They will not abandon their mission of collecting printed material and keeping them for decades and even centuries."
Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have long vowed to make all of the world's information accessible to anyone with a Web browser. The agreements to be announced today will put them a few steps closer to that goal - at least in terms of the English-language portion of the world's information. Mr. Page said yesterday that the project traced to the roots of Google, which he and Mr. Brin founded in 1998 after taking a leave from a graduate computer science program at Stanford where they worked on a "digital libraries" project. "What we first discussed at Stanford is now becoming practical," Mr. Page said.
At Stanford, Google hopes to be able to scan 50,000 pages a day within the month, eventually doubling that rate, according to a person involved in the project.
The Google plan calls for making the library materials available as part of Google's regular Web service, which currently has an estimated eight billion Web pages in its database and tens of millions of users a day. As with the other information on its service, Google will sell advertising to generate revenue from its library material. (In it existing Google Print program, the company shares advertising revenue with the participating book publishers.)
Each library, meanwhile, will receive its own copy of the digital database created from that institution's holdings, which the library can make available through its own Web site if it chooses.
Harvard officials said they would be happy to use the Internet to share their collections widely. "We have always thought of our libraries at Harvard as being a global resource," said Lawrence H. Summers, president of Harvard.
At least initially, Google's digitizing task will be labor intensive, with people placing the books and documents on sophisticated scanners whose high-resolution cameras capture an image of each page and convert it to a digital file.
Google, whose corporate campus in Mountain View, Calif., is just a few miles from Stanford, plans to transport books to a copying center it has established at its headquarters. There the books will be scanned and then returned to the Stanford libraries. Google plans to set up remote scanning operations at both Michigan and Harvard.
The company refused to comment on the technology that it was using to digitize books, except to say that it was nondestructive. But according to a person who has been briefed on the project, Google's technology is more labor-intensive than systems that are already commercially available.
Two small start-up companies, 4DigitalBooks of St. Aubin, Switzerland, and Kirtas Technologies of Victor, N.Y., are selling systems that automatically turn pages to capture images.
Friday, October 15, 2004
BBC > Intel shift over need for speed
The world's largest chip maker, Intel, is changing its approach to making faster computer microprocessors.
It has dropped plans to release a four gigahertz version of its flagship Pentium 4 chip.
Intel's shift reflects a change for the chip industry, which is moving away from boosts in megahertz and gigahertz.
Instead it is looking to boost chip performance in ways other than simply increasing computational brainpower, also known as clock speed.
Dual power
In the past, chip makers have been involved in a speed race, looking at ways of increasing a microprocessors clock speed.
This is a measure of how fast a chip can crunch numbers
Intel's current fastest chip processes computer instructions at speeds of up to 3.6GHz.
The promised 4GHz chip was supposed to power the fastest-ever generation of Intel-based PCs early next year.
But Intel has cancelled those plans to focus on other ways of getting more out of chips, such as its dual-core project.
This involves putting the power of two microprocessors in a single package, thus offering faster computing.
Engineers are also working on ways of tweaking chip design to squeeze more power out of them.
Intel has pushed the clock speed of its PC chips since the launch of the 5MHz 8088 processor in 1979.
Its decision marks a shift in the quest for speed. Rivals like AMD have also adopted a similar approach, looking at other ways of making chips that can handle more than one task at once, such as playing music and making a home video.
The latest change in Intel's strategy follows a series of other miscalculations by the company.
It delayed a new line of laptop chips in January, recalled a desktop chip in June and pushed back another laptop chip in July.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go /pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology /3746640.stm
Published: 2004/10/15 12:20:22 GMT
? BBC MMIV
It has dropped plans to release a four gigahertz version of its flagship Pentium 4 chip.
Intel's shift reflects a change for the chip industry, which is moving away from boosts in megahertz and gigahertz.
Instead it is looking to boost chip performance in ways other than simply increasing computational brainpower, also known as clock speed.
Dual power
In the past, chip makers have been involved in a speed race, looking at ways of increasing a microprocessors clock speed.
This is a measure of how fast a chip can crunch numbers
Intel's current fastest chip processes computer instructions at speeds of up to 3.6GHz.
The promised 4GHz chip was supposed to power the fastest-ever generation of Intel-based PCs early next year.
But Intel has cancelled those plans to focus on other ways of getting more out of chips, such as its dual-core project.
This involves putting the power of two microprocessors in a single package, thus offering faster computing.
Engineers are also working on ways of tweaking chip design to squeeze more power out of them.
Intel has pushed the clock speed of its PC chips since the launch of the 5MHz 8088 processor in 1979.
Its decision marks a shift in the quest for speed. Rivals like AMD have also adopted a similar approach, looking at other ways of making chips that can handle more than one task at once, such as playing music and making a home video.
The latest change in Intel's strategy follows a series of other miscalculations by the company.
It delayed a new line of laptop chips in January, recalled a desktop chip in June and pushed back another laptop chip in July.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go /pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology /3746640.stm
Published: 2004/10/15 12:20:22 GMT
? BBC MMIV
Monday, October 11, 2004
Monday, October 04, 2004
Brighthand > New Version of Adobe Reader for Pocket PC Released
By Ed Hardy | Editor-in-Chief
Oct 4, 2004
Adobe has released Adobe Reader for Pocket PC 2.0, a free application that allows users to view Adobe PDF files.
The latest version allows users to enter data into forms and wirelessly submit it. When working offline, the data is temporarily stored, then submitted once a connection is established.
Forms can also be submitted by e-mail or directly to the destination server using a cradle or cable.
The new version of Adobe Reader for Pocket PC allows users to read ebooks in PDF format.
In addition, it can display slide shows generated by Adobe Photoshop Album software in portrait or landscape mode.
HP iPAQ users can print PDF files directly from a handheld device to a printer via Bluetooth.
Adobe Reader for Pocket PC 2.0 requires Windows Mobile 2003, but has limited support for Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. It takes up about 7 MB of space on the handheld.
This free application can be downloaded from the Adobe web site.
Thanks to Pocket PC Thoughts for the tip.
Oct 4, 2004
Adobe has released Adobe Reader for Pocket PC 2.0, a free application that allows users to view Adobe PDF files.
The latest version allows users to enter data into forms and wirelessly submit it. When working offline, the data is temporarily stored, then submitted once a connection is established.
Forms can also be submitted by e-mail or directly to the destination server using a cradle or cable.
The new version of Adobe Reader for Pocket PC allows users to read ebooks in PDF format.
In addition, it can display slide shows generated by Adobe Photoshop Album software in portrait or landscape mode.
HP iPAQ users can print PDF files directly from a handheld device to a printer via Bluetooth.
Adobe Reader for Pocket PC 2.0 requires Windows Mobile 2003, but has limited support for Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. It takes up about 7 MB of space on the handheld.
This free application can be downloaded from the Adobe web site.
Thanks to Pocket PC Thoughts for the tip.
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves: "Sunday, October 3, 2004
T-Mobile Releases iPAQ 6315 Update
Posted by Janak Parekh @ 05:00 PM
If you're an iPAQ 6315 owner using T-Mobile service, and are having trouble sending email, check out this update.
Quote:
Get more from your HP iPAQ h6315
Installing this update will improve the wireless performance of your HP iPAQ h6315 Pocket PC. You should install this update if:
* You are experiencing difficulties sending e-mails over GPRS using Pocket Inbox.
* You are experiencing difficulties sending e-mails with attachments over GPRS using Pocket Inbox.
* You are experiencing difficulties sending large files over GPRS using other applications.
* Your iPAQ has an older software version. Click here for instructions on checking your software version."
___________________________________________________
I installed the update. I was having great difficulty blogging from my iPaq 6315. It seems to have cleared up the problem. John H. Armwood
T-Mobile Releases iPAQ 6315 Update
Posted by Janak Parekh @ 05:00 PM
If you're an iPAQ 6315 owner using T-Mobile service, and are having trouble sending email, check out this update.
Quote:
Get more from your HP iPAQ h6315
Installing this update will improve the wireless performance of your HP iPAQ h6315 Pocket PC. You should install this update if:
* You are experiencing difficulties sending e-mails over GPRS using Pocket Inbox.
* You are experiencing difficulties sending e-mails with attachments over GPRS using Pocket Inbox.
* You are experiencing difficulties sending large files over GPRS using other applications.
* Your iPAQ has an older software version. Click here for instructions on checking your software version."
___________________________________________________
I installed the update. I was having great difficulty blogging from my iPaq 6315. It seems to have cleared up the problem. John H. Armwood
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
BBC > $550,000 fine for Janet exposure
Federal regulators in the US have fined the CBS TV network a record $550,000 (£306,814) for pop star Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" in February.
The singer exposed her right breast during a dance routine with Justin Timberlake at this year's Super Bowl.
Now the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has fined 20 CBS-owned TV stations the maximum penalty for indecency - $27,500 (£15,340) - each.
The fine is the largest ever levied against a US television broadcaster.
However, the agency's five commissioners decided not to fine CBS's affiliate stations - more than 200 in all - which also aired the show.
The breast-baring incident generated a record number of complaints - more than 500,000 - and CBS was quick to apologise.
Timberlake blamed the exposure on a "wardrobe malfunction", while Jackson said it had been an accident.
In March she told chat show host David Letterman a second piece of material had been in place to conceal her breast when Timberlake ripped off her bustier.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go /pr/fr/-/2/hi /entertainment/3681326 .stm
The singer exposed her right breast during a dance routine with Justin Timberlake at this year's Super Bowl.
Now the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has fined 20 CBS-owned TV stations the maximum penalty for indecency - $27,500 (£15,340) - each.
The fine is the largest ever levied against a US television broadcaster.
However, the agency's five commissioners decided not to fine CBS's affiliate stations - more than 200 in all - which also aired the show.
The breast-baring incident generated a record number of complaints - more than 500,000 - and CBS was quick to apologise.
Timberlake blamed the exposure on a "wardrobe malfunction", while Jackson said it had been an accident.
In March she told chat show host David Letterman a second piece of material had been in place to conceal her breast when Timberlake ripped off her bustier.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go /pr/fr/-/2/hi /entertainment/3681326 .stm
Thursday, September 02, 2004
PCWorld.com - Should Your Next PC Be a Workstation?
PCWorld.com - Should Your Next PC Be a Workstation?: "Should Your Next PC Be a Workstation?
Despite sub-$1000 prices, the answer still depends on what apps you run.
David Essex
From the October 2004 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Thursday, September 02, 2004
Until recently, workstation meant a pricey power system that graced the desk of an engineer, a graphics designer, or a professional video editor. But astute PC shoppers who see workstations following conventional desktop PCs down past the $1000 barrier are asking: Should I buy a workstation instead?
The answer: Get one only if you run industrial-strength programs that need high-end graphics and performance, and if you're willing to pay extra for fail-safe reliability. Workstations remain special-purpose systems that contain souped-up hardware and undergo extensive testing, which costs a premium. But with that premium down to a few hundred bucks, the choice really depends on your needs.
It's easy to find affordable, introductory workstations that run Windows. Both Dell and Hewlett-Packard market Windows XP-based workstations starting at under $1000 and stretching to about $3500; IBM's offerings cost only a few hundred dollars more. Midrange ($3000 to $10,000) and high-end units typically have bigger cases than PCs, more memory and PCI slots, and more drive bays, making frequent upgrades easy.
Power, Redundancy
Most workstations have error-checking and -correcting memory that won't drop the occasional bit--a flaw unnoticeable in fast-moving games but disastrous when calculating jet aircraft tolerances. These units have larger power supplies and better, quieter fans to avoid overheating.
Even some entry-level workstations support dual CPUs,"
Despite sub-$1000 prices, the answer still depends on what apps you run.
David Essex
From the October 2004 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Thursday, September 02, 2004
Until recently, workstation meant a pricey power system that graced the desk of an engineer, a graphics designer, or a professional video editor. But astute PC shoppers who see workstations following conventional desktop PCs down past the $1000 barrier are asking: Should I buy a workstation instead?
The answer: Get one only if you run industrial-strength programs that need high-end graphics and performance, and if you're willing to pay extra for fail-safe reliability. Workstations remain special-purpose systems that contain souped-up hardware and undergo extensive testing, which costs a premium. But with that premium down to a few hundred bucks, the choice really depends on your needs.
It's easy to find affordable, introductory workstations that run Windows. Both Dell and Hewlett-Packard market Windows XP-based workstations starting at under $1000 and stretching to about $3500; IBM's offerings cost only a few hundred dollars more. Midrange ($3000 to $10,000) and high-end units typically have bigger cases than PCs, more memory and PCI slots, and more drive bays, making frequent upgrades easy.
Power, Redundancy
Most workstations have error-checking and -correcting memory that won't drop the occasional bit--a flaw unnoticeable in fast-moving games but disastrous when calculating jet aircraft tolerances. These units have larger power supplies and better, quieter fans to avoid overheating.
Even some entry-level workstations support dual CPUs,"
PC Magazine Opinion: How Good is the Portable Media Center?
PC Magazine Opinion: How Good is the Portable Media Center?: "How Good is the Portable Media Center?
September 2, 2004
By Michael J. Miller
So how good is the Microsoft Portable Media Center (PMC)? Not bad, not bad at all, especially for a first-generation product. It has a good user interface and was pretty intuitive to use, despite a few glitches.
Effectively, the UI is a new version of Windows Media Player (version 10). I've never been a huge fan of WMP, despite its decent performance, preferring the UI in jukebox software like Musicmatch. But the new version is a lot cleaner, with the basic controls now on the top (instead of on the side), and with more intuitive controls such as Rip and Burn. And it finally lets you create MP3 files without a third-party add-on.
The new version adds a Sync screen, where you can select material to be copied to a PMC or a supported music player. From this screen, you can select music, recorded TV shows, video, or photographs to move to the device. You can also set it up to sync automatically, transferring the most recent content to the device.
The PMC devices, and other upcoming music players that support Microsoft's new Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), will also let you take music you are renting�say from Napster's streaming service�and put it on the devices using Microsoft's new 'Janus' DRM technology. This lets you play the music, but only if you sync often enough for the software to verify that you're still licensed to listen to the music. This is an interesting development, though I wonder how many people will pay extra for the ability to take their music with them on such a device.
In general, everything worked pretty well for me�transferring songs I ripped, renting songs, and downloading tracks I purchased. And I "
September 2, 2004
By Michael J. Miller
So how good is the Microsoft Portable Media Center (PMC)? Not bad, not bad at all, especially for a first-generation product. It has a good user interface and was pretty intuitive to use, despite a few glitches.
Effectively, the UI is a new version of Windows Media Player (version 10). I've never been a huge fan of WMP, despite its decent performance, preferring the UI in jukebox software like Musicmatch. But the new version is a lot cleaner, with the basic controls now on the top (instead of on the side), and with more intuitive controls such as Rip and Burn. And it finally lets you create MP3 files without a third-party add-on.
The new version adds a Sync screen, where you can select material to be copied to a PMC or a supported music player. From this screen, you can select music, recorded TV shows, video, or photographs to move to the device. You can also set it up to sync automatically, transferring the most recent content to the device.
The PMC devices, and other upcoming music players that support Microsoft's new Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), will also let you take music you are renting�say from Napster's streaming service�and put it on the devices using Microsoft's new 'Janus' DRM technology. This lets you play the music, but only if you sync often enough for the software to verify that you're still licensed to listen to the music. This is an interesting development, though I wonder how many people will pay extra for the ability to take their music with them on such a device.
In general, everything worked pretty well for me�transferring songs I ripped, renting songs, and downloading tracks I purchased. And I "
The New York Times > Opinion > Mr. Bush and the Truth About Terror
The New York Times > Opinion > Mr. Bush and the Truth About Terror: "September 2, 2004
Mr. Bush and the Truth About Terror
While Republican delegates have been meeting in New York City, terrorist bombs have been exploding in the rest of the world. The horrific pictures of victims on an Israeli bus and slain airplane and subway passengers, as well as of a school held hostage in Russia, are a stark reminder to Americans that terrorism is not all about us. It is the tactic of preference for the self-obsessed radical movements of our age.
President Bush was absolutely right when he said it was impossible to win a war against terrorism - it's like announcing we can win a war against violence. Terrorism can only be minimized and controlled, and that can be done only with a worldwide strategy, joined by all of the world's sensible and peaceful nations. We hope that when Mr. Bush accepts his party's nomination for re-election tonight, he makes that argument.
The chances of a serious dialogue about terror took a blow, of course, when Mr. Bush retracted his completely sensible statement about terrorism after the Kerry-Edwards campaign attacked it. So far, this has been an election season of monumental simple-mindedness, in which the candidates start each day by telling us this is the most important election in the history of the planet, then devote the rest of their waking hours to meaningless sniping. But it's certainly not too late to elevate the conversation.
Tonight we do not need Mr. Bush to remind us that he went to ground zero and spoke through a bullhorn. It was a fine gesture that any president would have made. As far as judging his leadership, it is as irrelevant as the famous extra minutes he spent in a classroom in Flori"
Mr. Bush and the Truth About Terror
While Republican delegates have been meeting in New York City, terrorist bombs have been exploding in the rest of the world. The horrific pictures of victims on an Israeli bus and slain airplane and subway passengers, as well as of a school held hostage in Russia, are a stark reminder to Americans that terrorism is not all about us. It is the tactic of preference for the self-obsessed radical movements of our age.
President Bush was absolutely right when he said it was impossible to win a war against terrorism - it's like announcing we can win a war against violence. Terrorism can only be minimized and controlled, and that can be done only with a worldwide strategy, joined by all of the world's sensible and peaceful nations. We hope that when Mr. Bush accepts his party's nomination for re-election tonight, he makes that argument.
The chances of a serious dialogue about terror took a blow, of course, when Mr. Bush retracted his completely sensible statement about terrorism after the Kerry-Edwards campaign attacked it. So far, this has been an election season of monumental simple-mindedness, in which the candidates start each day by telling us this is the most important election in the history of the planet, then devote the rest of their waking hours to meaningless sniping. But it's certainly not too late to elevate the conversation.
Tonight we do not need Mr. Bush to remind us that he went to ground zero and spoke through a bullhorn. It was a fine gesture that any president would have made. As far as judging his leadership, it is as irrelevant as the famous extra minutes he spent in a classroom in Flori"
Japan Today - News - Annan wants more troops in Sudan - Japan's Leading International News Network
Japan Today - News - Annan wants more troops in Sudan - Japan's Leading International News Network: "Annan wants more troops in Sudan
Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 07:50 JST
UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that Sudan's government has not stopped attacks on 'terrorized and traumatized' civilians in its Darfur region and urged the speedy deployment of an expanded international peacekeeping force.
Annan did not say how large a force he wanted, but U.N. diplomats said a U.N. plan presented to the African Union called for about 3,000 peacekeepers. The 53-nation African organization now has about 80 military observers in Darfur, protected by just over 300 soldiers"
Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 07:50 JST
UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that Sudan's government has not stopped attacks on 'terrorized and traumatized' civilians in its Darfur region and urged the speedy deployment of an expanded international peacekeeping force.
Annan did not say how large a force he wanted, but U.N. diplomats said a U.N. plan presented to the African Union called for about 3,000 peacekeepers. The 53-nation African organization now has about 80 military observers in Darfur, protected by just over 300 soldiers"
Microsoft announces Windows Portable Media Center devices and Microsoft Music beta
According to Microsoft, five years ago, less than 13 percent of Internet users had a digital-music file on their computer. Now, 70 percent of computer users listen to music on their PCs. Last year, more than 100 million digital photos were taken. More and more people are using PCs to view videos. By the end of this year, 9.5 million TV tuner cards will have shipped.
The company has announced a series of new products and services, along with services and devices from partners. The release today of Windows Media Player 10, Portable Media Center devices, and MSN Music preview will place Microsoft in direct competition with other companies betting on individual content, like Apple and HP with their iPod devices.
The company says the new Windows Media Player 10 is central to Microsoft's digital-media strategy. The new Media Player 10 offers a built-in online Digital Media Mall, which provides access to online stores and services, including the newly announced MSN Music, and others like CinemaNow, MusicMatch, MusicNow, Napster and Wal-Mart. Windows Media Player 10 also includes support for more than 70 portable devices, and it enables users to automatically copy music, video, pictures, and recorded TV to portable devices. The new version will be available 2 September 6AM PDT.
The Portable Media Center is an entirely new category of handheld devices to make digital music, TV, movies, and pictures stored on a PCs to be available on a mobile device.
The first Portable Media Center, built by Creative Labs (Creative Labs 20GB Zen pictured), includes a 3.75-inch screen (9.5 centimeters) and 20GB hard drive, enough storage for 80 hours of video, 5,000 songs, and tens of thousands of pictures. Samsung is also working to put its own Portable Media Center in the market.
The company has announced a series of new products and services, along with services and devices from partners. The release today of Windows Media Player 10, Portable Media Center devices, and MSN Music preview will place Microsoft in direct competition with other companies betting on individual content, like Apple and HP with their iPod devices.
The company says the new Windows Media Player 10 is central to Microsoft's digital-media strategy. The new Media Player 10 offers a built-in online Digital Media Mall, which provides access to online stores and services, including the newly announced MSN Music, and others like CinemaNow, MusicMatch, MusicNow, Napster and Wal-Mart. Windows Media Player 10 also includes support for more than 70 portable devices, and it enables users to automatically copy music, video, pictures, and recorded TV to portable devices. The new version will be available 2 September 6AM PDT.
The Portable Media Center is an entirely new category of handheld devices to make digital music, TV, movies, and pictures stored on a PCs to be available on a mobile device.
The first Portable Media Center, built by Creative Labs (Creative Labs 20GB Zen pictured), includes a 3.75-inch screen (9.5 centimeters) and 20GB hard drive, enough storage for 80 hours of video, 5,000 songs, and tens of thousands of pictures. Samsung is also working to put its own Portable Media Center in the market.
eHomeUpgrade | Engadget Reviews the Creative Zen Portable Media Center - September 2, 2004
eHomeUpgrade | Engadget Reviews the Creative Zen Portable Media Center - September 2, 2004: "Engadget Reviews the Creative Zen Portable Media Center
Category: Portable Media Players - September 2, 2004
By Alexander Grundner
Phillip Torrone at Engadget takes the the Creative Zen Portable Media Center for spin and finds that device has something for everyone, as long as you own Media Center or a PC with a TV tuner/recorder. Overall Phillip seems satisfied with the PMC's (Portable Media Center � Microsoft's portable media player OS) features, functionality, and battery life, but points out the player's limited digital media file format support and that Window Media Player 10 takes a very long to time to convert a PC's pre-recorded video to a format suitable for the player � 30 minute video takes about 30 minutes to encode.
Philip also points to some workarounds to make the product more useful like DVD-To-Pocket PC, a program that can shrink down a DVD to play well on a Pocket PC or handheld video device like the PMC. His final thoughts, �Personal video players are still fairly new, and it�s going to take some time to see if people start buying these. We think the biggest obstacle will be the frustrating copyright laws regarding movies and DVDs, so while you can copy DVDs you own onto these devices, it�s not exactly easy and the legality of doing so is still unclear."
Category: Portable Media Players - September 2, 2004
By Alexander Grundner
Phillip Torrone at Engadget takes the the Creative Zen Portable Media Center for spin and finds that device has something for everyone, as long as you own Media Center or a PC with a TV tuner/recorder. Overall Phillip seems satisfied with the PMC's (Portable Media Center � Microsoft's portable media player OS) features, functionality, and battery life, but points out the player's limited digital media file format support and that Window Media Player 10 takes a very long to time to convert a PC's pre-recorded video to a format suitable for the player � 30 minute video takes about 30 minutes to encode.
Philip also points to some workarounds to make the product more useful like DVD-To-Pocket PC, a program that can shrink down a DVD to play well on a Pocket PC or handheld video device like the PMC. His final thoughts, �Personal video players are still fairly new, and it�s going to take some time to see if people start buying these. We think the biggest obstacle will be the frustrating copyright laws regarding movies and DVDs, so while you can copy DVDs you own onto these devices, it�s not exactly easy and the legality of doing so is still unclear."
Monday, August 30, 2004
[print version] Ericsson pulls Bluetooth division | CNET News.com
[print version] Ericsson pulls Bluetooth division | CNET News.com: "Ericsson pulls Bluetooth division
By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1039-5327431.html
Story last modified August 27, 2004, 1:42 PM PDT
One of the key developers of Bluetooth is shutting down the division that helped foster the personal area networking technology.
Ericsson has already started to shut down its 125-worker Technology Licensing group and will reshuffle employees into other divisions, a representative confirmed Friday. A majority of the workers affected will remain with the company. Ericsson did not make a formal announcement of the closure.
Bluetooth is a short-range radio technology that connects portable devices such as cell phones, handheld devices and notebook computers. The technology has a range of up to 10 meters and wirelessly transfers data at rates of up to 720 kilobits per second.
Ericsson doesn't plan to continue design and development around Bluetooth, but it will continue to support existing customers and include it in products, the company representative said. Bluetooth technology efforts will be incorporated into the work of Ericsson's Mobile Platforms group.
Further advancements in Bluetooth technology will be made by the Special Interest Group"
By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1039-5327431.html
Story last modified August 27, 2004, 1:42 PM PDT
One of the key developers of Bluetooth is shutting down the division that helped foster the personal area networking technology.
Ericsson has already started to shut down its 125-worker Technology Licensing group and will reshuffle employees into other divisions, a representative confirmed Friday. A majority of the workers affected will remain with the company. Ericsson did not make a formal announcement of the closure.
Bluetooth is a short-range radio technology that connects portable devices such as cell phones, handheld devices and notebook computers. The technology has a range of up to 10 meters and wirelessly transfers data at rates of up to 720 kilobits per second.
Ericsson doesn't plan to continue design and development around Bluetooth, but it will continue to support existing customers and include it in products, the company representative said. Bluetooth technology efforts will be incorporated into the work of Ericsson's Mobile Platforms group.
Further advancements in Bluetooth technology will be made by the Special Interest Group"
The New York Times > Grokster and the Information Exchange
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/30/opinion/30mon3.html?ex=1251604800&en=d06acac67db552ea&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland
The legal battles over file-sharing are usually construed as a fight over intellectual property rights, plain and simple. On one side are copyright owners, including songwriters and artists as well as the major recording companies and movie studios. On the other side, a handful of advocacy groups and a legion of file-sharers bent on nothing more than outright theft of copyrighted music and movies. The short title of a recent appeals decision says it all: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer v. Grokster.
But the broader issue is the distribution of information. Software like Grokster creates a network of independent Internet users who can access one another's computer files without going through a central server. (Napster maintained a central server, which made it legally liable in very different ways.) Grokster can certainly be used to swap music illegally. But it can also be used to exchange electronic copies of books already in the public domain, transcripts of Congressional hearings or any number of other legitimate types of information. Much like a VCR that does not distinguish between a pirated tape and one legally acquired, the technology does not care what is shared. It is impossible to strike down software like Grokster for its use in illegal file-sharing without also destroying its capacity for legal and socially beneficial activities.
This distinction lies at the heart of a recent Ninth Circuit appeals court decision, which upheld a ruling in favor of Grokster and against an army of corporate copyright owners. This decision does not make illegal file-sharing legal. But it implicitly raises a question central to most copyright battles. Is society better served by restricting or even prohibiting new technologies to protect the rights of copyright owners or is there a greater good in the widest possible exchange of information? The resolution lies somewhere in the middle. Finding it, as the court acknowledges, is properly left to Congress.
These are thorny issues indeed. Freedom of information is at the root of American democracy, and yet every day we see that freedom being compromised, controlled and limited. The Grokster decision is a ruling in favor of keeping our bets open about which technologies will turn out to serve our freedoms best.
The legal battles over file-sharing are usually construed as a fight over intellectual property rights, plain and simple. On one side are copyright owners, including songwriters and artists as well as the major recording companies and movie studios. On the other side, a handful of advocacy groups and a legion of file-sharers bent on nothing more than outright theft of copyrighted music and movies. The short title of a recent appeals decision says it all: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer v. Grokster.
But the broader issue is the distribution of information. Software like Grokster creates a network of independent Internet users who can access one another's computer files without going through a central server. (Napster maintained a central server, which made it legally liable in very different ways.) Grokster can certainly be used to swap music illegally. But it can also be used to exchange electronic copies of books already in the public domain, transcripts of Congressional hearings or any number of other legitimate types of information. Much like a VCR that does not distinguish between a pirated tape and one legally acquired, the technology does not care what is shared. It is impossible to strike down software like Grokster for its use in illegal file-sharing without also destroying its capacity for legal and socially beneficial activities.
This distinction lies at the heart of a recent Ninth Circuit appeals court decision, which upheld a ruling in favor of Grokster and against an army of corporate copyright owners. This decision does not make illegal file-sharing legal. But it implicitly raises a question central to most copyright battles. Is society better served by restricting or even prohibiting new technologies to protect the rights of copyright owners or is there a greater good in the widest possible exchange of information? The resolution lies somewhere in the middle. Finding it, as the court acknowledges, is properly left to Congress.
These are thorny issues indeed. Freedom of information is at the root of American democracy, and yet every day we see that freedom being compromised, controlled and limited. The Grokster decision is a ruling in favor of keeping our bets open about which technologies will turn out to serve our freedoms best.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
PCWorld.com - First Look: Danger Sidekick II
PCWorld.com - First Look: Danger Sidekick II: "First Look: Danger Sidekick II
The one-time World Class Product of the Year PDA gets a much-needed upgrade.
by Grace Aquino, PC World
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Danger's first Sidekick revolutionized mobile Web access by offering a decent-size screen, a usable keyboard, and solid applications--and it won our 2003 World Class Product of the Year Award for its trouble. Two long years later--an eternity in tech time, during which PalmOne's Treo 600 supplanted the original Sidekick in many mobile users' hearts--the Sidekick II is finally here. Fans of the original model will find much to like, but critics of the first aren't likely to be swayed by its evolutionary successor.
Offered by cellular provider T-Mobile and co-developed by Danger and Sanyo, the $300 Sidekick II addresses many user complaints about the first device, including the fact that it made for a lousy cell phone.
After testing an early production sample of the Sidekick II for two weeks, I can report that it works much better as a phone than the original. Voice quality in my informal tests equaled that of a standard cell phone. The unit's speakerphone was good, too, though it needed a bit more volume. Nevertheless, the unit's flat design and relatively large size made holding it against my ear feel awkward--especially during longer conversations (the unit does include an earbud)."
The one-time World Class Product of the Year PDA gets a much-needed upgrade.
by Grace Aquino, PC World
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Danger's first Sidekick revolutionized mobile Web access by offering a decent-size screen, a usable keyboard, and solid applications--and it won our 2003 World Class Product of the Year Award for its trouble. Two long years later--an eternity in tech time, during which PalmOne's Treo 600 supplanted the original Sidekick in many mobile users' hearts--the Sidekick II is finally here. Fans of the original model will find much to like, but critics of the first aren't likely to be swayed by its evolutionary successor.
Offered by cellular provider T-Mobile and co-developed by Danger and Sanyo, the $300 Sidekick II addresses many user complaints about the first device, including the fact that it made for a lousy cell phone.
After testing an early production sample of the Sidekick II for two weeks, I can report that it works much better as a phone than the original. Voice quality in my informal tests equaled that of a standard cell phone. The unit's speakerphone was good, too, though it needed a bit more volume. Nevertheless, the unit's flat design and relatively large size made holding it against my ear feel awkward--especially during longer conversations (the unit does include an earbud)."
PDAntic Blog
PDAntic Blog: "Press Release: WorldMate Professional Edition with 'Flight Status Option' from OAG
Flight information is just getting better!
Lod, Israel August 19, 2004 ?MobiMate? one of the world's leading mobile application provider, just released the latest version of WorldMate?Professional Edition for Pocket PC, offering new and a exciting Flight Status service.?This is one of the first services of its kind available for the Pocket PC platform allowing users to track the status of their flights and receive the up-to-date information directly to their handheld device.?MobiMate has again partnered with OAG, the world's leading provider of travel information since 1929, to offer this new and exciting feature complimenting the flight schedules service.?The user can now check flight schedules ahead of time, choose the desired route and check the status of the flight before leaving for the airport!?No more time wasted waiting around at airports because he/she didn't know that the flight had been delayed?
Flight Status is a first of its kind pay per use service, which means that there is no monthly fee, the user buys and uses the tokens only when he needs them.?Tokens are currently available in packages of 30 credits available on the MobiMate website.
WorldMate Professional Edition is aimed directly at business travellers, who require more travel-related information and tools to assist them in planning, managing and tracking their business travel.? This is why MobiMate is constantly adding more business related features that allow business travellers the tools to always be one step ahead of competition.?Main features include ?Flight Schedules and flight status information from OAG, online currency converter, five world clocks, weather for over 38,000 locations supplie"
Flight information is just getting better!
Lod, Israel August 19, 2004 ?MobiMate? one of the world's leading mobile application provider, just released the latest version of WorldMate?Professional Edition for Pocket PC, offering new and a exciting Flight Status service.?This is one of the first services of its kind available for the Pocket PC platform allowing users to track the status of their flights and receive the up-to-date information directly to their handheld device.?MobiMate has again partnered with OAG, the world's leading provider of travel information since 1929, to offer this new and exciting feature complimenting the flight schedules service.?The user can now check flight schedules ahead of time, choose the desired route and check the status of the flight before leaving for the airport!?No more time wasted waiting around at airports because he/she didn't know that the flight had been delayed?
Flight Status is a first of its kind pay per use service, which means that there is no monthly fee, the user buys and uses the tokens only when he needs them.?Tokens are currently available in packages of 30 credits available on the MobiMate website.
WorldMate Professional Edition is aimed directly at business travellers, who require more travel-related information and tools to assist them in planning, managing and tracking their business travel.? This is why MobiMate is constantly adding more business related features that allow business travellers the tools to always be one step ahead of competition.?Main features include ?Flight Schedules and flight status information from OAG, online currency converter, five world clocks, weather for over 38,000 locations supplie"
nexGear -> The stuff of greatness: iriver H140
nexGear -> The stuff of greatness: iriver H140: "The stuff of greatness: iriver H140 wins EISA's coveted 'European New Media Audio 2004-2005' award
Jury especially impressed by the pocket jukebox's sound quality and rich features
The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) has given its coveted 'European New Media Audio 2004-2005' award to the hard drive-based H140 audio player from iriver. iriver, the leading provider of innovative portable audio and video solutions in the digital entertainment segment, has thus walked away with the most important distinction in Europe's entertainment electronics industry only months after establishing its European headquarters. In explaining the reasons for its decision, the jury � made up of experts from 50 leading European broadsheets and trade publications � was full of praise in particular for the 'excellent sound quality' and the extensive array of features fitted in the iriver H140.
After the company recently published upbeat figures for the quarter just ended, the EISA award comes as yet more powerful evidence that iriver has correctly interpreted the signs of the times. Its premium brand has a clear technological edge and is setting new standards in the portable audio and video player segment.
The EISA jury justified its decision in the following terms: 'This very well made portable player has a built-in hard drive whose 40 gigabytes of memory make up to 10,000 MP3 titles available to mobile users. The USB 2.0 port facilitates very fast data transfer for all kinds of files. Besides MP3s, the device can also play WMA, WAV, ASF and OGG music files. Its feature set includes a rechargeable battery, a built-in VHF tuner and a microphone for the user's own live recordings. Users can operate the player either with the built-in controls or with a remote control unit supp"
Jury especially impressed by the pocket jukebox's sound quality and rich features
The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) has given its coveted 'European New Media Audio 2004-2005' award to the hard drive-based H140 audio player from iriver. iriver, the leading provider of innovative portable audio and video solutions in the digital entertainment segment, has thus walked away with the most important distinction in Europe's entertainment electronics industry only months after establishing its European headquarters. In explaining the reasons for its decision, the jury � made up of experts from 50 leading European broadsheets and trade publications � was full of praise in particular for the 'excellent sound quality' and the extensive array of features fitted in the iriver H140.
After the company recently published upbeat figures for the quarter just ended, the EISA award comes as yet more powerful evidence that iriver has correctly interpreted the signs of the times. Its premium brand has a clear technological edge and is setting new standards in the portable audio and video player segment.
The EISA jury justified its decision in the following terms: 'This very well made portable player has a built-in hard drive whose 40 gigabytes of memory make up to 10,000 MP3 titles available to mobile users. The USB 2.0 port facilitates very fast data transfer for all kinds of files. Besides MP3s, the device can also play WMA, WAV, ASF and OGG music files. Its feature set includes a rechargeable battery, a built-in VHF tuner and a microphone for the user's own live recordings. Users can operate the player either with the built-in controls or with a remote control unit supp"
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves: "
T-Mobile Posts Presale Page For iPAQ 6315
Posted by Janak Parekh @ 08:00 AM
'Finally. A handheld that can keep up with you. Get yours now, exclusively from T-Mobile, and start bossing this thing around. The new iPAQ has it all?hone, e-mail, Bluetooth? and Wi-Fi, for just $499.99. T-Mobile bundled rate plans include everything you need to get the most out of your new handheld, starting at $79.99 per month. Order your iPAQ now, before it arrives in stores. Products ordered through this pre-sale Web site are expected to ship on 8/26/2004.'
That's great, except for two things: CompUSA has already been selling the units, and more confusingly, T-Mobile only seems to be offering two price plans with the presale -- both with unlimited GPRS and (Hotspot) WiFi, but at the whopping prices of $79.99 and $99.99 depending on the number of bundled voice minutes. Wouldn't people want to get cheaper plans and use WiFi at home too? I'm hoping that once T-Mobile gets the iPAQ 6315 out of presale mode, they'll offer standard plans with it, too."
T-Mobile Posts Presale Page For iPAQ 6315
Posted by Janak Parekh @ 08:00 AM
'Finally. A handheld that can keep up with you. Get yours now, exclusively from T-Mobile, and start bossing this thing around. The new iPAQ has it all?hone, e-mail, Bluetooth? and Wi-Fi, for just $499.99. T-Mobile bundled rate plans include everything you need to get the most out of your new handheld, starting at $79.99 per month. Order your iPAQ now, before it arrives in stores. Products ordered through this pre-sale Web site are expected to ship on 8/26/2004.'
That's great, except for two things: CompUSA has already been selling the units, and more confusingly, T-Mobile only seems to be offering two price plans with the presale -- both with unlimited GPRS and (Hotspot) WiFi, but at the whopping prices of $79.99 and $99.99 depending on the number of bundled voice minutes. Wouldn't people want to get cheaper plans and use WiFi at home too? I'm hoping that once T-Mobile gets the iPAQ 6315 out of presale mode, they'll offer standard plans with it, too."
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves: "Wednesday, August 25, 2004
iPAQ 2215 at Amazon for $309.99
Posted by Janak Parekh @ 09:30 PM
Amazon is selling the iPAQ 2215 for $359.99 minus a $50 rebate. Of all the prices I've seen, that's the lowest right now. While it's not the newest Pocket PC unit, many people still love theirs, and it has a CF slot and Bluetooth. [Affiliate]"
iPAQ 2215 at Amazon for $309.99
Posted by Janak Parekh @ 09:30 PM
Amazon is selling the iPAQ 2215 for $359.99 minus a $50 rebate. Of all the prices I've seen, that's the lowest right now. While it's not the newest Pocket PC unit, many people still love theirs, and it has a CF slot and Bluetooth. [Affiliate]"
Thursday, August 19, 2004
CNET.Com > Wal-Mart offers sub-$600 notebook
By John G. Spooner
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100 -1044-5315244.html
Story last modified August 18, 2004, 2:01 PM PDT
Wal-Mart Stores has begun selling a Wi-Fi notebook PC for less than $600, which analysts say could herald a laptop push by the retailer for the holiday season.
The retail giant began offering the wireless notebook, manufactured by Taiwan's Elitegroup Computer Systems, in late July for online sales only. It's listed at $598, without discounts or mail-in rebates.
Wal-Mart has traditionally sold only a limited number of notebook models, including laptops from Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba. Instead, it has concentrated its marketing efforts on desktop PCs, but it also sells lower-priced machines based on the Linux operating system.
The move suggests that Wal-Mart is evaluating new strategies to pump up notebook sales during the 2004 holiday season and possibly beyond, said Sam Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis, a San Diego firm that tracks retail sales.
"It's a very entry-level configuration," Bhavnani said. "But it does have wireless, which makes it a very compelling offer. That's where this system will pose a threat (to brand-name PC makers) once it hits the shelf. The Wal-Mart customer is going to see it there, see the price and just buy it."
In addition to wireless, the ECS notebook comes loaded with a 14.1-inch display, an AMD Athlon XP 1600+ processor, 128MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, a DVD-drive, Wi-Fi 802.11b and Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system. It also carries a one-year warranty, according to Wal-Mart's Web site.
Although it's fairly common for stores to sell notebooks for as low as $500, the Wal-Mart offer stands out because it does not require customers to use discounts and mail-in rebates to get the PC for the $598 price.
Moreover, the ECS machine offered by Wal-Mart includes Wi-Fi, a feature that's become very popular on notebooks in general, but which many rock-bottom-priced systems still lack, Bhavnani said.
One potential shortcoming is that the Wal-Mart/ECS model has only 128MB of RAM, as opposed to the 256MB more common in competing systems. But first-time or budget buyers might be willing to overlook that, given the machine's price.
But in general, technology progression has lowered prices on PC components, which means that today's cheap notebook is much more capable and less costly than yesterday's budget machine. Most low-price notebooks can now burn CDs and can usually connect to wireless networks--features that were once reserved for high-end models that cost thousands of dollars.
Just two years ago, it took almost $1,000 to buy a machine such as Gateway's Solo 1450SE, which in June 2002 offered a 1.3GHz Intel Celeron chip, a 14.1-inch screen, 128MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive and a DVD drive for $999 after a $100 mail-in rebate.
Lower prices have helped notebooks see a recent rise in popularity, and their sales are expected to grow faster than the overall PC market. Research firm IDC forecast that laptop computers will make up nearly half of all PC shipments in the United States and almost 40 percent of such shipments worldwide by 2007.
So it's no surprise that Wal-Mart, which sells sub-$300 desktops loaded with Linux, might want to explore the lower reaches of the notebook market, Bhavnani said. "At $600Â…you can basically guarantee they're going to sell all of those (ECS machines)," he said.
Although it's early to say whether laptop sellers should be worried--Wal-Mart carries a lot of weight with its nearly 2,900 stores and so-called supercenters- -competition at the lower reaches of the notebook market is already quite stiff.
Retailer CompUSA, for one, is advertising a nicely loaded Hewlett-Packard Pavilion ze4805us notebook for $849, after $250 in instant and mail-in rebates. It comes with a 15-inch screen, Athlon XP 2800+ chip, 256MB of RAM, 60GB hard drive, Wi-Fi 802.11g and combination CD-burner/DVD drive. The offer is good through Aug. 21, according to the store's Web site.
Wal-Mart's retail site lists a nearly identical Pavilion ze4805WM-B model, which appears to lack Wi-Fi, for $928.
Even Dell has gotten into the low-price game. Its Inspiron 1000 notebook, introduced earlier this summer, starts at $899 before rebates. The most basic Inspiron 1000 configuration includes a 2.2GHz Intel Celeron processor, a 14.1-inch display, 256MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive and a combination CD-burner/DVD-ROM. It does not include wireless (a $39 upgrade) and it offers a standard 90-day warranty (a one-year warranty is a $29 upgrade). However, Dell offered the machine with a $100 mail-in rebate and a free printer through Wednesday.
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100 -1044-5315244.html
Story last modified August 18, 2004, 2:01 PM PDT
Wal-Mart Stores has begun selling a Wi-Fi notebook PC for less than $600, which analysts say could herald a laptop push by the retailer for the holiday season.
The retail giant began offering the wireless notebook, manufactured by Taiwan's Elitegroup Computer Systems, in late July for online sales only. It's listed at $598, without discounts or mail-in rebates.
Wal-Mart has traditionally sold only a limited number of notebook models, including laptops from Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba. Instead, it has concentrated its marketing efforts on desktop PCs, but it also sells lower-priced machines based on the Linux operating system.
The move suggests that Wal-Mart is evaluating new strategies to pump up notebook sales during the 2004 holiday season and possibly beyond, said Sam Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis, a San Diego firm that tracks retail sales.
"It's a very entry-level configuration," Bhavnani said. "But it does have wireless, which makes it a very compelling offer. That's where this system will pose a threat (to brand-name PC makers) once it hits the shelf. The Wal-Mart customer is going to see it there, see the price and just buy it."
In addition to wireless, the ECS notebook comes loaded with a 14.1-inch display, an AMD Athlon XP 1600+ processor, 128MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, a DVD-drive, Wi-Fi 802.11b and Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system. It also carries a one-year warranty, according to Wal-Mart's Web site.
Although it's fairly common for stores to sell notebooks for as low as $500, the Wal-Mart offer stands out because it does not require customers to use discounts and mail-in rebates to get the PC for the $598 price.
Moreover, the ECS machine offered by Wal-Mart includes Wi-Fi, a feature that's become very popular on notebooks in general, but which many rock-bottom-priced systems still lack, Bhavnani said.
One potential shortcoming is that the Wal-Mart/ECS model has only 128MB of RAM, as opposed to the 256MB more common in competing systems. But first-time or budget buyers might be willing to overlook that, given the machine's price.
But in general, technology progression has lowered prices on PC components, which means that today's cheap notebook is much more capable and less costly than yesterday's budget machine. Most low-price notebooks can now burn CDs and can usually connect to wireless networks--features that were once reserved for high-end models that cost thousands of dollars.
Just two years ago, it took almost $1,000 to buy a machine such as Gateway's Solo 1450SE, which in June 2002 offered a 1.3GHz Intel Celeron chip, a 14.1-inch screen, 128MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive and a DVD drive for $999 after a $100 mail-in rebate.
Lower prices have helped notebooks see a recent rise in popularity, and their sales are expected to grow faster than the overall PC market. Research firm IDC forecast that laptop computers will make up nearly half of all PC shipments in the United States and almost 40 percent of such shipments worldwide by 2007.
So it's no surprise that Wal-Mart, which sells sub-$300 desktops loaded with Linux, might want to explore the lower reaches of the notebook market, Bhavnani said. "At $600Â…you can basically guarantee they're going to sell all of those (ECS machines)," he said.
Although it's early to say whether laptop sellers should be worried--Wal-Mart carries a lot of weight with its nearly 2,900 stores and so-called supercenters- -competition at the lower reaches of the notebook market is already quite stiff.
Retailer CompUSA, for one, is advertising a nicely loaded Hewlett-Packard Pavilion ze4805us notebook for $849, after $250 in instant and mail-in rebates. It comes with a 15-inch screen, Athlon XP 2800+ chip, 256MB of RAM, 60GB hard drive, Wi-Fi 802.11g and combination CD-burner/DVD drive. The offer is good through Aug. 21, according to the store's Web site.
Wal-Mart's retail site lists a nearly identical Pavilion ze4805WM-B model, which appears to lack Wi-Fi, for $928.
Even Dell has gotten into the low-price game. Its Inspiron 1000 notebook, introduced earlier this summer, starts at $899 before rebates. The most basic Inspiron 1000 configuration includes a 2.2GHz Intel Celeron processor, a 14.1-inch display, 256MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive and a combination CD-burner/DVD-ROM. It does not include wireless (a $39 upgrade) and it offers a standard 90-day warranty (a one-year warranty is a $29 upgrade). However, Dell offered the machine with a $100 mail-in rebate and a free printer through Wednesday.
Brighthand > FCC Spills the Beans on the Toshiba e830 This VGA Pocket PC now expected September 15
By Ed Hardy | Editor-in-Chief
Aug 18, 2004
When a wireless handheld receives FCC approval, the documents that go along with the filing are typically posted on this government agency's web site. However, when the Toshiba e830 was submitted for approval, a confidentiality request was included. This kept most of the details of this device from becoming public.
At least, this was true until this week, when someone at the FCC accidentally posted the e830's information a month early. The files have since been taken down, but they were up long enough to confirm the earlier rumors about this handheld.
All of the changes to this model will be internal. Externally, it will be essentially identical to the already-available e800 (see picture below).
Overview of the Toshiba e830
The e830 will have a 4-inch 640-by-480-pixel (VGA) screen. Because this model will use Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, its display can be easily switched between portrait and landscape modes.
This Pocket PC will run a 520 MHz Intel XScale processor. It will have 128 MB of RAM, plus a 32 MB ROM drive for extra storage.
The e830 will offer both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking. It will also include both a CompactFlash Type II slot and an SD/MMC slot that supports SDIO.
This device will be 5.3 inches high, 3.0 inches wide and 0.6 inches thick (135 mm by 77 mm by 17 mm).
It is not known when the official announcement for the Toshiba e830 will be, but the confidentiality request says that the FCC can post all the relevant documents on September 15, a strong sign that this model will be introduced on that day.
What the price will be is not yet known, though it will probably be $600 to $650.
This is just one of a number of Pocket PCs with similar feature sets coming on the market in the coming months. A comparison of the feature sets for these can be found in this article.
Thanks to Duncan from FirstLoox.org for the tip.
Aug 18, 2004
When a wireless handheld receives FCC approval, the documents that go along with the filing are typically posted on this government agency's web site. However, when the Toshiba e830 was submitted for approval, a confidentiality request was included. This kept most of the details of this device from becoming public.
At least, this was true until this week, when someone at the FCC accidentally posted the e830's information a month early. The files have since been taken down, but they were up long enough to confirm the earlier rumors about this handheld.
All of the changes to this model will be internal. Externally, it will be essentially identical to the already-available e800 (see picture below).
Overview of the Toshiba e830
The e830 will have a 4-inch 640-by-480-pixel (VGA) screen. Because this model will use Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, its display can be easily switched between portrait and landscape modes.
This Pocket PC will run a 520 MHz Intel XScale processor. It will have 128 MB of RAM, plus a 32 MB ROM drive for extra storage.
The e830 will offer both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking. It will also include both a CompactFlash Type II slot and an SD/MMC slot that supports SDIO.
This device will be 5.3 inches high, 3.0 inches wide and 0.6 inches thick (135 mm by 77 mm by 17 mm).
It is not known when the official announcement for the Toshiba e830 will be, but the confidentiality request says that the FCC can post all the relevant documents on September 15, a strong sign that this model will be introduced on that day.
What the price will be is not yet known, though it will probably be $600 to $650.
This is just one of a number of Pocket PCs with similar feature sets coming on the market in the coming months. A comparison of the feature sets for these can be found in this article.
Thanks to Duncan from FirstLoox.org for the tip.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Geekzone.Com > Pocket Informant 5.2 released
WebIS has just announced a new release of its best seller software for Windows Mobile Pocket PC. Pocket Informant 5.2 sports a revamped Notes View providing robust support for Outlook Notes in any number of folders and storage cards, PhatWareÂ’s PhatNotes and PhatPad products, and Sound files complete with the ability to search the contents of all notes. As well users will find a plethora of improvements in the Month View, Tasks, Editors, Journaling, and the user interface.
The new notes view displays the contents of all PhatNotes databases and all Outlook Notes/Sound files in a tree allowing for the standard tap/hold menus, drag and drop to move notes or convert them between PhatNotes/Outlook formats, and of course a preview window for notes.
Pocket Informant 5.2 is a free upgrade to all current users and also includes a free copy of PhatWareÂ’s PhatNotes Lite.
Users can visit the What's new page to check the changes in this version, and download the update from the WebIS website.
The new notes view displays the contents of all PhatNotes databases and all Outlook Notes/Sound files in a tree allowing for the standard tap/hold menus, drag and drop to move notes or convert them between PhatNotes/Outlook formats, and of course a preview window for notes.
Pocket Informant 5.2 is a free upgrade to all current users and also includes a free copy of PhatWareÂ’s PhatNotes Lite.
Users can visit the What's new page to check the changes in this version, and download the update from the WebIS website.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Pocket PC Thoughts > Buy A Creative Labs Portable Media Center, Get A Suunto n3 Smart Watch Free
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Buy A Creative Labs Portable Media Center, Get A Suunto n3 Smart Watch Free
Posted by Ed Hansberry @ 01:00 PM
Amazon is running a few promos actually on the new Portable Media Center, so if you are planning on getting one, you might as well get a new smart watch!
Special Offer: Buy this Portable Media Center and get a Suunto n3 Smart Watch in black or white for free with promotional code SMARTWATCH01. (Applies only to products sold by Amazon.com. Does not apply to products sold by third-party merchants and other sellers through the Amazon.com site.) Offer expires August 31, 2004.
Special Offer: Buy this portable media player and get a Fossil Wrist Net Dick Tracy (FX3002), Round Face (FX3001), or Square Face (FX3000) Smart Watch for free with a promotional code. See the watches' product detail pages for details. (Applies only to products sold by Amazon.com. Does not apply to products sold by third-party merchants and other sellers through the Amazon.com site.) Offer expires August 22, 2004.
Buy A Creative Labs Portable Media Center, Get A Suunto n3 Smart Watch Free
Posted by Ed Hansberry @ 01:00 PM
Amazon is running a few promos actually on the new Portable Media Center, so if you are planning on getting one, you might as well get a new smart watch!
Special Offer: Buy this Portable Media Center and get a Suunto n3 Smart Watch in black or white for free with promotional code SMARTWATCH01. (Applies only to products sold by Amazon.com. Does not apply to products sold by third-party merchants and other sellers through the Amazon.com site.) Offer expires August 31, 2004.
Special Offer: Buy this portable media player and get a Fossil Wrist Net Dick Tracy (FX3002), Round Face (FX3001), or Square Face (FX3000) Smart Watch for free with a promotional code. See the watches' product detail pages for details. (Applies only to products sold by Amazon.com. Does not apply to products sold by third-party merchants and other sellers through the Amazon.com site.) Offer expires August 22, 2004.
PC Magazine > Messages Can Be Forever
I'm surprised that it's just dawning on people that text messages sent via wirelessly enabled PDAs, pagers and, of course, mobile phones can be retrieved and read by third parties.
This was cast into the light recently when the defense in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case announced that they may investigate text messages sent among Bryant's accuser, a former boyfriend, and another friend.
For those who don't know, SMS (Short Message Service) text messages are not sent in a peer-to-peer-style manner. In other words, SMS-enabled phones do not connect directly. Text messaging is a store-and-forward technology. One person types a message and sends it to the service provider (Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.). The provider then sends that message to the intended recipient. This is much the same way e-mail works. And in most circumstances, there's some record of the information contained in these messages left on the server.
At some point, people have to get over the idea that what they do electronically—e-mail, text messaging, surfing Web pages—is ephemeral. Those ones and zeros may occupy very little physical space, but they are eminently retrievable and could dog you for decades. I'm not just talking about messages, either. Your voting record on something as silly as American Idol is likely stored on a server somewhere. So, what if you start using the mobile phone to weigh in on something more important, like your opinion about the upcoming presidential election? You may suddenly be pigeonholed as a Democrat or Republican supporter.
SMS is not, however, exactly like e-mail. The messages have one severe limitation: Most can be no longer than 160 characters—unlike e-mail, where the limitless capacity of mail servers allows people to blather on for thousands of incriminating characters. This does mean that whatever messages remain on servers will probably be cryptic, at best.
Even so, it's worth checking with your cell-phone service provider to see what kind of SMS storage policy it maintains. Does it store everything it forwards, or only store messages until it forwards them and knows that the message was successfully received? Perhaps it holds onto the messages for a few (or more) days. Verizon, for example, automatically stores messages for up to five days (in case the recipient's phone is turned off). Verizon's text-messaging FAQ also says users can store text messages for as long as they like, but isn't clear on whether the messages are stored on the cell phone or on Verizon's servers.
This was cast into the light recently when the defense in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case announced that they may investigate text messages sent among Bryant's accuser, a former boyfriend, and another friend.
For those who don't know, SMS (Short Message Service) text messages are not sent in a peer-to-peer-style manner. In other words, SMS-enabled phones do not connect directly. Text messaging is a store-and-forward technology. One person types a message and sends it to the service provider (Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.). The provider then sends that message to the intended recipient. This is much the same way e-mail works. And in most circumstances, there's some record of the information contained in these messages left on the server.
At some point, people have to get over the idea that what they do electronically—e-mail, text messaging, surfing Web pages—is ephemeral. Those ones and zeros may occupy very little physical space, but they are eminently retrievable and could dog you for decades. I'm not just talking about messages, either. Your voting record on something as silly as American Idol is likely stored on a server somewhere. So, what if you start using the mobile phone to weigh in on something more important, like your opinion about the upcoming presidential election? You may suddenly be pigeonholed as a Democrat or Republican supporter.
SMS is not, however, exactly like e-mail. The messages have one severe limitation: Most can be no longer than 160 characters—unlike e-mail, where the limitless capacity of mail servers allows people to blather on for thousands of incriminating characters. This does mean that whatever messages remain on servers will probably be cryptic, at best.
Even so, it's worth checking with your cell-phone service provider to see what kind of SMS storage policy it maintains. Does it store everything it forwards, or only store messages until it forwards them and knows that the message was successfully received? Perhaps it holds onto the messages for a few (or more) days. Verizon, for example, automatically stores messages for up to five days (in case the recipient's phone is turned off). Verizon's text-messaging FAQ also says users can store text messages for as long as they like, but isn't clear on whether the messages are stored on the cell phone or on Verizon's servers.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Pocket PC Thoughts - News, Views, Rants & Raves
Pocket PC Thoughts - News, Views, Rants & Raves: "Portable Audio: Creative's TravelSound Travel Speakers
By Jason Dunn on Tuesday, August 10, 2004
One of the things I don't like about my current laptop, a Fujitsu P5010D, is that the speakers just aren't very loud. With it's wide, crisp 12' screen, it's perfect for DVD playback but the lack of audio punch makes watching DVDs practical only when using headphones. So I set out looking for a set of external speakers that would connect to the laptop and give me more audio, yet still be small enough to easily travel with me. My first attempt was a set of small $20 un-powered Sony speakers that were touted as being a walkman accessory ?the audio level was no louder than what my laptop could produce (being un-powered was my first clue that they wouldn't be sufficient).
Next I tried a much more expensive solution: the Creative TravelSound speakers. At $75 CND, this was more than I was comfortable spending, but I knew I could return it if I wasn't happy. Here's a quick Photo Review of the Creative TravelSound speakers, an accessory appropriate for any type of portable audio device, including a Pocket PC and Smartphone."
By Jason Dunn on Tuesday, August 10, 2004
One of the things I don't like about my current laptop, a Fujitsu P5010D, is that the speakers just aren't very loud. With it's wide, crisp 12' screen, it's perfect for DVD playback but the lack of audio punch makes watching DVDs practical only when using headphones. So I set out looking for a set of external speakers that would connect to the laptop and give me more audio, yet still be small enough to easily travel with me. My first attempt was a set of small $20 un-powered Sony speakers that were touted as being a walkman accessory ?the audio level was no louder than what my laptop could produce (being un-powered was my first clue that they wouldn't be sufficient).
Next I tried a much more expensive solution: the Creative TravelSound speakers. At $75 CND, this was more than I was comfortable spending, but I knew I could return it if I wasn't happy. Here's a quick Photo Review of the Creative TravelSound speakers, an accessory appropriate for any type of portable audio device, including a Pocket PC and Smartphone."
Monday, August 09, 2004
Rumor - Movies Channel Coming Soon
Rumor - Movies Channel Coming Soon: "Rumor - Movies Channel Coming Soon Back to all headlines
submitted by Brian Monday, August 09, 2004
Back in March we got more than a hint of what new content was planned for MSN Direct. Fossil posted a mini-site that showed a number of new channels, including sports, traffic, dining guide, movies and daily diversions. Two of those have already been released and there are now numerous indications that movies are coming soon.
Thanks to detective work by several forum members including AdamJaz and codylawyer, it's apparent that movie content will likely be the next MSN Direct channel. The MSN Direct support pages have had references to adding movie content to watches, but those were quickly removed. This time we were lucky enough to grab a screen shot of another reference on the support site."
submitted by Brian Monday, August 09, 2004
Back in March we got more than a hint of what new content was planned for MSN Direct. Fossil posted a mini-site that showed a number of new channels, including sports, traffic, dining guide, movies and daily diversions. Two of those have already been released and there are now numerous indications that movies are coming soon.
Thanks to detective work by several forum members including AdamJaz and codylawyer, it's apparent that movie content will likely be the next MSN Direct channel. The MSN Direct support pages have had references to adding movie content to watches, but those were quickly removed. This time we were lucky enough to grab a screen shot of another reference on the support site."
Gizmodo : Sony Rumored To Reenter PDA Market With Pocket PC
Gizmodo : Sony Rumored To Reenter PDA Market With Pocket PC
Om Malik passes on a rumor that Sony may be reentering the US PDA market with another Clië - this time running Windows Pocket PC operating system. Although there's not much to go on at the moment - just the overheard comments of a Sony executive - it would be an interesting turn. The PDA market in general is stagnating, with Palm's share slowing slipping in most segments. But it also seems weird to scrap five+ years of PalmOS experience just to move back into the PDA segment with an operating system that plenty of others are already leaving behind, as well.
And a Symbian PDA? It could happen - Nokia is working on one - but for whatever reason I just don't see that coming from Sony unless it's in the form of a smartphone. Overall, though, I consider the whole thing unlikely.
Om Malik passes on a rumor that Sony may be reentering the US PDA market with another Clië - this time running Windows Pocket PC operating system. Although there's not much to go on at the moment - just the overheard comments of a Sony executive - it would be an interesting turn. The PDA market in general is stagnating, with Palm's share slowing slipping in most segments. But it also seems weird to scrap five+ years of PalmOS experience just to move back into the PDA segment with an operating system that plenty of others are already leaving behind, as well.
And a Symbian PDA? It could happen - Nokia is working on one - but for whatever reason I just don't see that coming from Sony unless it's in the form of a smartphone. Overall, though, I consider the whole thing unlikely.
US oil price hits record 44.97 dollars
US oil price hits record 44.97 dollars: "Tuesday August 10, 12:53 AM
US oil price hits record 44.97 dollars
New York crude oil shot to an all-time high, flirting with 45 dollars a barrel as Iraq's southern oil fields halted pumping because of a threat by Shiite militiamen.
Light sweet crude for delivery in September surged 1.02 dollars to 44.97 dollars a barrel early afternoon, thundering past the previous record, set Friday, of 44.77 dollars.
Iraq oil pumping stopped as factional fighting raged.
The Southern Oil Company ceased production for 'security reasons' after Shiite militia threatened to attack infrastructure, spokesman Mohammed al-Mohammedi said.
The south had been the only outlet for Iraqi oil. An attack on the pipeline to Turkey halted northern shipments last week."
US oil price hits record 44.97 dollars
New York crude oil shot to an all-time high, flirting with 45 dollars a barrel as Iraq's southern oil fields halted pumping because of a threat by Shiite militiamen.
Light sweet crude for delivery in September surged 1.02 dollars to 44.97 dollars a barrel early afternoon, thundering past the previous record, set Friday, of 44.77 dollars.
Iraq oil pumping stopped as factional fighting raged.
The Southern Oil Company ceased production for 'security reasons' after Shiite militia threatened to attack infrastructure, spokesman Mohammed al-Mohammedi said.
The south had been the only outlet for Iraqi oil. An attack on the pipeline to Turkey halted northern shipments last week."
Brighthand � Toshiba Giving Up Consumer Handhelds
Brighthand � Toshiba Giving Up Consumer Handhelds: "Toshiba Giving Up Consumer Handhelds
Concentrating Solely on Professional Market
By Ed Hardy | Editor-in-Chief
Aug 9, 2004
Over the last several months, there have been conflicting reports about Toshiba's plans for the handheld market.
Sources have told Brighthand that this Japanese company will pull out of this market in the coming months. Also, customers in Europe have reported being told by Toshiba employees that this company is leaving the handheld market.
Recently, however, some Toshiba executives in France told 01net that their company is going to focus entirely on the professional market, and not create any more handhelds for the general public. These executives said nothing about completely leaving the handheld market. "
Concentrating Solely on Professional Market
By Ed Hardy | Editor-in-Chief
Aug 9, 2004
Over the last several months, there have been conflicting reports about Toshiba's plans for the handheld market.
Sources have told Brighthand that this Japanese company will pull out of this market in the coming months. Also, customers in Europe have reported being told by Toshiba employees that this company is leaving the handheld market.
Recently, however, some Toshiba executives in France told 01net that their company is going to focus entirely on the professional market, and not create any more handhelds for the general public. These executives said nothing about completely leaving the handheld market. "
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves: "Monday, August 9, 2004
Service Pack 2 For Windows XP Coming To A PC Near You
Posted by Ed Hansberry @ 12:00 PM
The long awaited Service Pack 2 for Windows XP will be on your XP based PC soon. Beta testers and subscribers to MSDN may already have it. Microsoft will put it on the Windows Update site and push it out via Automatic Updates in the coming days and weeks.
I mainly wanted to alert you to a few changes in SP2 that will apply to mobile device users that use ActiveSync. By default, XP now enables the 'Windows Firewall' which replaces the anemic 'Internet Connection Firewall' that came with XP in 2001. You will need to create two exceptions in the new Windows Firewall for ActiveSync, but XP should help you do this with relative ease."
Service Pack 2 For Windows XP Coming To A PC Near You
Posted by Ed Hansberry @ 12:00 PM
The long awaited Service Pack 2 for Windows XP will be on your XP based PC soon. Beta testers and subscribers to MSDN may already have it. Microsoft will put it on the Windows Update site and push it out via Automatic Updates in the coming days and weeks.
I mainly wanted to alert you to a few changes in SP2 that will apply to mobile device users that use ActiveSync. By default, XP now enables the 'Windows Firewall' which replaces the anemic 'Internet Connection Firewall' that came with XP in 2001. You will need to create two exceptions in the new Windows Firewall for ActiveSync, but XP should help you do this with relative ease."
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Geekzone Mobile Forums - T-Mobile USA unveils the T-Mobile Sidekick II
posted 05/08/2004 00:29:34 NZ
T-Mobile USA has announced the T-Mobile Sidekick II . The new model will be making its debut at an exclusive, VIP party featuring a performance from The Black Eyed Peas. The public will be able to get its hands on the T-Mobile Sidekick II this fall (USA).
The company says the Sidekick II went through a low-carb diet and is 25 percent slimmer than the original model. The new Sidekick II comes with a fully integrated camera and flash, enhanced phone sound quality and functionality such as a speakerphone; and enhanced battery life to give customers approximately 4.5 hours of talk time.
New features on the Sidekick II include:
HiFi Ringers: Get ringtones based on the straight-up, full-on actual recorded songs from top artists. Everything from hip-hop and rock to classic soul.
Voice Ringers: Download voice messages from music artists and celebrities who announce incoming calls.
New Games: Download the latest games for fun anytime, anywhere.
Contacts: Keep up to 2,000 of your personal contacts on this new version
The color screen swivels open to showcase a full QWERTY keyboard. T-Mobile Sidekick II owners get their own email account and can set up as many as three external accounts to deliver email directly to their inbox. Yahoo! Messenger is now available for download to the T-Mobile Sidekick II, in addition to the fully integrated version of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) service.
Along with the launch of the T-Mobile Sidekick II, T-Mobile and Danger plan to introduce software that will allow Sidekick customers to wirelessly synchronize their desktop contacts and calendar information with their T-Mobile Sidekick. This synchronization software will be available for the T-Mobile Sidekick II and previous Sidekick generations. Price of the software will be announced at a later date.
T-Mobile USA has announced the T-Mobile Sidekick II . The new model will be making its debut at an exclusive, VIP party featuring a performance from The Black Eyed Peas. The public will be able to get its hands on the T-Mobile Sidekick II this fall (USA).
The company says the Sidekick II went through a low-carb diet and is 25 percent slimmer than the original model. The new Sidekick II comes with a fully integrated camera and flash, enhanced phone sound quality and functionality such as a speakerphone; and enhanced battery life to give customers approximately 4.5 hours of talk time.
New features on the Sidekick II include:
HiFi Ringers: Get ringtones based on the straight-up, full-on actual recorded songs from top artists. Everything from hip-hop and rock to classic soul.
Voice Ringers: Download voice messages from music artists and celebrities who announce incoming calls.
New Games: Download the latest games for fun anytime, anywhere.
Contacts: Keep up to 2,000 of your personal contacts on this new version
The color screen swivels open to showcase a full QWERTY keyboard. T-Mobile Sidekick II owners get their own email account and can set up as many as three external accounts to deliver email directly to their inbox. Yahoo! Messenger is now available for download to the T-Mobile Sidekick II, in addition to the fully integrated version of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) service.
Along with the launch of the T-Mobile Sidekick II, T-Mobile and Danger plan to introduce software that will allow Sidekick customers to wirelessly synchronize their desktop contacts and calendar information with their T-Mobile Sidekick. This synchronization software will be available for the T-Mobile Sidekick II and previous Sidekick generations. Price of the software will be announced at a later date.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Gizmodo > Panasonic R3 Notebook Review
One of the great things working at Gizmodo has allowed me to do is to get my hands on a whole range of gadgetry that I probably wouldn't have been able to play around with otherwise. Since I work from home, each ring of the doorbell means there's probably something new coming, so it's a little like Christmas, except when I return the gifts nobody gets pissy. But despite the joy of opening up all the gadgets and trying them out, most of them -- especially the laptops -- end up being disappointing, and I'm rarely too upset to send them back to the vendor and manufacturer.
Not so with the Panasonic R3, a machine so well put-together that I actually considered buying one for my own personal use, and if it didn't cost twice that of my budget (importers are selling it for around $2800 for a fully-spec'd out unit), I probably would have. What makes the R3 the hands-down best sub-notebook I've ever used? Well, for starters, it actually usable.
Not so with the Panasonic R3, a machine so well put-together that I actually considered buying one for my own personal use, and if it didn't cost twice that of my budget (importers are selling it for around $2800 for a fully-spec'd out unit), I probably would have. What makes the R3 the hands-down best sub-notebook I've ever used? Well, for starters, it actually usable.
HP’s h6315 Pocket PC Phone to go on sale August 26th?
Posted Aug 3, 2004, 10:53 AM ET by Peter Rojas
Not 100% confirmed, but it looks like August 26th will be the first date HP’s new h6315 Pocket PC Phone (the one with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth) will finally go on sale, with T-Mobile set to be the exclusive carrier, at least here in the States.
Not 100% confirmed, but it looks like August 26th will be the first date HP’s new h6315 Pocket PC Phone (the one with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth) will finally go on sale, with T-Mobile set to be the exclusive carrier, at least here in the States.
Engadget > How-To: Solar charge your SPOT Smart Watch (and an iPod)
If you own a Suunto SPOT Smart Watch you usually charge it via plugging it in to an outlet or with the included USB charger (which in turn is plugged into your computer). We’re going to show you how to make a pretty cheap and easy solar charger for your watch that doesn’t touch any of the included cable(s) at all. And what we’re going to cover will most likely apply to many other USB powered gadgets you have as well, so even if you don’t have a Suunto N3 SPOT watch, there’s some good info here.
As an added bonus, we’re going to give you a sneak peak at a solar powered charger for Apple’s iPod. If you want to see that, just skip to the end.
Ingredients
• Sunnto N3 SPOT Smart Watch
• iSun Solar Panel
• USB extender cable
As an added bonus, we’re going to give you a sneak peak at a solar powered charger for Apple’s iPod. If you want to see that, just skip to the end.
Ingredients
• Sunnto N3 SPOT Smart Watch
• iSun Solar Panel
• USB extender cable
Monday, August 02, 2004
S.Korea's Daum to Buy Lycos for $95 Mln
By Jean Yoon and Rhee So-eui
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's top Web site operator Daum Communications Corp., said on Monday it would acquire Lycos Inc., the U.S. business of Spain's Terra Lycos, owner of popular sites such as Wired News and Tripod, for $95 million.
The deal underlines the growing global ambitions of technology companies in South Korea, which has more broadband connections per head than any other country, although analysts were not convinced of its investment merits.
"The buyout will provide a springboard for our company to venture into the U.S. Internet market and become a global player, Daum said in a disclosure statement to the Kosdaq exchange.
Daum will acquire 100 percent of Lycos for 111.2 billion won ($95.44 million) in cash. Terra bought Lycos in an all-stock deal in May 2000 worth $12.5 billion at the time, which was near the height of the Internet boom.
Daum will finance the deal with 70 billion won of its cash reserves and a bond issue, the statement said.
Daum, the fifth-biggest stock on the Kosdaq, rose 2.44 percent to 33,600 won as of 10:20 p.m. EDT Sunday, outperforming the wider market's 0.39 percent fall.
Lycos is ranked seventh in the United States in terms of site visits and has about 170,000 paid users, according to data provided by Daum.
South Korea has 28.6 million Internet users, or more than 60 percent of its population, and more than 11 million broad-band service subscribers, according to government data.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's top Web site operator Daum Communications Corp., said on Monday it would acquire Lycos Inc., the U.S. business of Spain's Terra Lycos, owner of popular sites such as Wired News and Tripod, for $95 million.
The deal underlines the growing global ambitions of technology companies in South Korea, which has more broadband connections per head than any other country, although analysts were not convinced of its investment merits.
"The buyout will provide a springboard for our company to venture into the U.S. Internet market and become a global player, Daum said in a disclosure statement to the Kosdaq exchange.
Daum will acquire 100 percent of Lycos for 111.2 billion won ($95.44 million) in cash. Terra bought Lycos in an all-stock deal in May 2000 worth $12.5 billion at the time, which was near the height of the Internet boom.
Daum will finance the deal with 70 billion won of its cash reserves and a bond issue, the statement said.
Daum, the fifth-biggest stock on the Kosdaq, rose 2.44 percent to 33,600 won as of 10:20 p.m. EDT Sunday, outperforming the wider market's 0.39 percent fall.
Lycos is ranked seventh in the United States in terms of site visits and has about 170,000 paid users, according to data provided by Daum.
South Korea has 28.6 million Internet users, or more than 60 percent of its population, and more than 11 million broad-band service subscribers, according to government data.
Friday, July 30, 2004
The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > State of the Art: A Palmtop as Wireless Omnivore
The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > State of the Art: A Palmtop as Wireless Omnivore: "STATE OF THE ART
A Palmtop as Wireless Omnivore
By DAVID POGUE
IF today's portable gadgets prove anything, it's that you can't have everything. A gizmo can't be tiny, lightweight and rugged and still have a big screen, roomy keyboard and low price tag. The problem isn't the designers' lack of imagination or the price of components; it's a little thing called physics.
When you shop for palmtops, for example, you're really shopping for compromises. If you want a built-in camera, buy this palmtop; built-in cellphone, buy that one. If you need a little thumb-driven keyboard, buy this model; if you prefer handwriting recognition, buy that one.
This frustrating game of This-but-Not-That has led to a proliferation of add-ons: snap-in camera lenses, clip-on thumb keyboards and slide-in wireless cards. Each represents another piece to buy, another thing to go wrong and, above all, another little piece to lose as you dash from airport to car rental shuttle"
A Palmtop as Wireless Omnivore
By DAVID POGUE
IF today's portable gadgets prove anything, it's that you can't have everything. A gizmo can't be tiny, lightweight and rugged and still have a big screen, roomy keyboard and low price tag. The problem isn't the designers' lack of imagination or the price of components; it's a little thing called physics.
When you shop for palmtops, for example, you're really shopping for compromises. If you want a built-in camera, buy this palmtop; built-in cellphone, buy that one. If you need a little thumb-driven keyboard, buy this model; if you prefer handwriting recognition, buy that one.
This frustrating game of This-but-Not-That has led to a proliferation of add-ons: snap-in camera lenses, clip-on thumb keyboards and slide-in wireless cards. Each represents another piece to buy, another thing to go wrong and, above all, another little piece to lose as you dash from airport to car rental shuttle"
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Engadget > End of an era - T-Mobile kills free WAP access
End of an era - T-Mobile kills free WAP access
Posted Jul 28, 2004, 12:45 PM ET by Joshua Klein
Related entries: Cellphones
Using WAP to browse from a cellphone was never all it was cracked up to be. The carriers tried to convince everyone that squirting a few lines of text from their pre-processed sites to our phones passed for “the Internet” and were surprised when users didn’t come clamoring, but T-Mobile let us have all we wanted of it. Now that’s suddenly over. Instead users are getting redirected to T-Mobile’s “T-Zones” site with a page stating that unlimited access is now $4.99 a month. Note that when we said WAP wasn’t all it was cracked up to be we didn’t say it wasn’t useful; some folks made a daily habit of getting their fix of information chunks on their phones that way, and T-Mobile just dropping a fee on it like that is sorta frustrating.
Posted Jul 28, 2004, 12:45 PM ET by Joshua Klein
Related entries: Cellphones
Using WAP to browse from a cellphone was never all it was cracked up to be. The carriers tried to convince everyone that squirting a few lines of text from their pre-processed sites to our phones passed for “the Internet” and were surprised when users didn’t come clamoring, but T-Mobile let us have all we wanted of it. Now that’s suddenly over. Instead users are getting redirected to T-Mobile’s “T-Zones” site with a page stating that unlimited access is now $4.99 a month. Note that when we said WAP wasn’t all it was cracked up to be we didn’t say it wasn’t useful; some folks made a daily habit of getting their fix of information chunks on their phones that way, and T-Mobile just dropping a fee on it like that is sorta frustrating.
CNET > New TiVo recorders on the horizon
New TiVo recorders on the horizon
Last modified: July 28, 2004, 11:52 AM PDT
By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
New digital video recorders using TiVo's service will be coming out this summer.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company will unveil a Series2 recorder with a new look in mid-August, and licensing partners Toshiba and Humax are expected to release DVRs with DVD-burning capabilities, according to TiVo. Pioneer Electronics, another TiVo partner, announced Wednesday that its DVD rewritable drive, the DVR-108, will be a recommended component of TiVo's DVR and DVD burner reference design.
The combination DVR and DVD boxes will allow consumers to record television programming and then burn it to DVD-R or DVD-RW discs. The Pioneer drive is capable of recording and writing to DVD+R and DVD+RW media as well, but TiVo's design limits users to only DVD-R and DVD-RW discs.
Partnering with manufacturers to expand the number of products that can tap into TiVo's service is a key part of TiVo's strategy to increase its subscriber base. Fees for TiVo's service are $12.95 per month or $299 for the life of the recorder. The service allows consumers to pause and record live television broadcasts and program boxes to record future shows.
Toshiba and Humax are expected to release boxes based on the reference design later this summer. Pioneer has been shipping two DVR and DVD recordable boxes, the DVR-810H and Elite DVR-57H, for about a year, according to a company representative.
TiVo will unveil a new Series2 reference design, which will have similar features and prices as current boxes but will have a new look, according to TiVo representatives.
Last modified: July 28, 2004, 11:52 AM PDT
By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
New digital video recorders using TiVo's service will be coming out this summer.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company will unveil a Series2 recorder with a new look in mid-August, and licensing partners Toshiba and Humax are expected to release DVRs with DVD-burning capabilities, according to TiVo. Pioneer Electronics, another TiVo partner, announced Wednesday that its DVD rewritable drive, the DVR-108, will be a recommended component of TiVo's DVR and DVD burner reference design.
The combination DVR and DVD boxes will allow consumers to record television programming and then burn it to DVD-R or DVD-RW discs. The Pioneer drive is capable of recording and writing to DVD+R and DVD+RW media as well, but TiVo's design limits users to only DVD-R and DVD-RW discs.
Partnering with manufacturers to expand the number of products that can tap into TiVo's service is a key part of TiVo's strategy to increase its subscriber base. Fees for TiVo's service are $12.95 per month or $299 for the life of the recorder. The service allows consumers to pause and record live television broadcasts and program boxes to record future shows.
Toshiba and Humax are expected to release boxes based on the reference design later this summer. Pioneer has been shipping two DVR and DVD recordable boxes, the DVR-810H and Elite DVR-57H, for about a year, according to a company representative.
TiVo will unveil a new Series2 reference design, which will have similar features and prices as current boxes but will have a new look, according to TiVo representatives.
CNET > A software glitch is freezing playback of stored shows on some DirecTV boxes that access TiVo's digital video recorder service.
A software glitch is freezing playback of stored shows on some DirecTV boxes that access TiVo's digital video recorder service.
The glitch apparently is caused by a software upgrade, version 3.1.0c, that was first downloaded by DirecTV TiVo set top boxes earlier this month, according to postings to a number of TiVo community sites.
"I first noticed the problem a few days after the upgrade was downloaded to my recorder, which was Thursday (July 8)," said Dale Betterton, an attorney who lives in Baltimore. "The video would freeze live programming, but the sound would continue."
The problem seems to so far only affect first-generation set top boxes and not the newer Series2 boxes. Representatives from TiVo confirmed the problem but would not give further details, such as what the upgrade was meant to do.
TiVo said the short-term resolution is to unplug the boxes, wait for a few minutes and restart them.
Betterton tried the Band-Aid fix but said the problem returned a few days later.
TiVo said it is working to resolve the problem.
"A software fix will be available in a few days that will permanently fix this issue," the company said in a short e-mail statement.
DirecTV representatives were not initially aware of the problem and are looking into the issue.
DirecTV subscribers make up the majority of TiVo's subscriber base. As of April 30, there were 872,000 DirecTV subscribers using TiVo's service. By comparison, 724,000 TiVo subscribers use standalone boxes that connect to other service providers, such as cable connections.
DirecTV has been a significant supporter of TiVo since its inception, investing in the company back in April 1999. But more recently, DirecTV has been pulling out of its investments, including TiVo.
This story has a happy ending for Betterton. When he called to complain to DirecTV, he received a $75 credit towards a Series2 box, which he purchased, and he has not had any problems since.
According to the latest posts on various TiVo community forums, a new software upgrade, 3.1.0c2, is now available.
In related news, new TiVo recorders are due out this summer. TiVo will unveil a Series2 recorder with a new look in mid-August, and licensing partners Toshiba and Humax are expected to release DVRs with DVD-burning capabilities.
The glitch apparently is caused by a software upgrade, version 3.1.0c, that was first downloaded by DirecTV TiVo set top boxes earlier this month, according to postings to a number of TiVo community sites.
"I first noticed the problem a few days after the upgrade was downloaded to my recorder, which was Thursday (July 8)," said Dale Betterton, an attorney who lives in Baltimore. "The video would freeze live programming, but the sound would continue."
The problem seems to so far only affect first-generation set top boxes and not the newer Series2 boxes. Representatives from TiVo confirmed the problem but would not give further details, such as what the upgrade was meant to do.
TiVo said the short-term resolution is to unplug the boxes, wait for a few minutes and restart them.
Betterton tried the Band-Aid fix but said the problem returned a few days later.
TiVo said it is working to resolve the problem.
"A software fix will be available in a few days that will permanently fix this issue," the company said in a short e-mail statement.
DirecTV representatives were not initially aware of the problem and are looking into the issue.
DirecTV subscribers make up the majority of TiVo's subscriber base. As of April 30, there were 872,000 DirecTV subscribers using TiVo's service. By comparison, 724,000 TiVo subscribers use standalone boxes that connect to other service providers, such as cable connections.
DirecTV has been a significant supporter of TiVo since its inception, investing in the company back in April 1999. But more recently, DirecTV has been pulling out of its investments, including TiVo.
This story has a happy ending for Betterton. When he called to complain to DirecTV, he received a $75 credit towards a Series2 box, which he purchased, and he has not had any problems since.
According to the latest posts on various TiVo community forums, a new software upgrade, 3.1.0c2, is now available.
In related news, new TiVo recorders are due out this summer. TiVo will unveil a Series2 recorder with a new look in mid-August, and licensing partners Toshiba and Humax are expected to release DVRs with DVD-burning capabilities.
Monday, July 26, 2004
SpotStop.com Forums - MSN Direct - Review Tissot High-T
SpotStop.com Forums - MSN Direct - Review Tissot High-T: "Tissot has been making watches for over 150 years. In that time they?e broken a lot of boundaries and have built a reputation of quality and innovation. They?e brought some amazing new enhancements to a product offering begging for a high-end hardware provider like this. While the High-T carries a high price tag, it also brings a touch screen, vibrating alarm, elegant design and much more to the table. Of course an MSRP of $725 will keep many prospective SPOT buyers away, for those looking to distinguish their wrists from the crowd; Tissot may have the answer you?e been looking for."
PCWorld.com - Mailblocks Update Offers Easier Spam Blocking
PCWorld.com - Mailblocks Update Offers Easier Spam Blocking: "Mailblocks Update Offers Easier Spam Blocking
Improved Web-based e-mail service features simpler challenge/response system.
Paul Roberts, IDG News Service and Liane Cassavoy, PCWorld.com
Monday, July 28, 2003
The creators of the newest version of the Mailblocks Web-based antispam e-mail service are hoping to take the challenge out of its challenge/response technology: The company has unveiled an update featuring improved sender verification that should help cut down the number of challenges the service issues.
Mailblocks' challenge/response technology works by quarantining inbound e-mail messages in a pending folder and then sending an e-mail 'challenge' message to the sender. Legitimate senders go to a Web page where they retype a number to verify that they're a real person (computer-generated spam mailers can't complete the task).
Verified messages move into the Mailbocks user's in-box, and the address is added to their master list; nonverified mail stays in the pending folder for up to 14 days before it disappears. Subsequent messages from an approved address go directly to the in-box unchallenged. (Mailbocks users can also add e-mail addresses directly to their master list.)
Less Challenging
The biggest problem with the early version of Mailblocks' technology was that every user had their own master list of verified senders. That meant that even if the service verified you as a real sender on the list for one Mailblocks user, it had to do so again when you sent a message to another Mailblocks user.
The latest version of the challenge/response feature, by aggregating the valid responses from all Mailblocks users, reduces the likelihood that Mailblocks will rechallenge s"
___________________________________________________________________________
I have used mailblocks email for about seven months. It works just as advertised. I have my domain email forwarded to my mailblocks account. I used to receive 300-400 spam messages per day. I now receive only 2 or three per week. This service really works. John H. Armwood
Improved Web-based e-mail service features simpler challenge/response system.
Paul Roberts, IDG News Service and Liane Cassavoy, PCWorld.com
Monday, July 28, 2003
The creators of the newest version of the Mailblocks Web-based antispam e-mail service are hoping to take the challenge out of its challenge/response technology: The company has unveiled an update featuring improved sender verification that should help cut down the number of challenges the service issues.
Mailblocks' challenge/response technology works by quarantining inbound e-mail messages in a pending folder and then sending an e-mail 'challenge' message to the sender. Legitimate senders go to a Web page where they retype a number to verify that they're a real person (computer-generated spam mailers can't complete the task).
Verified messages move into the Mailbocks user's in-box, and the address is added to their master list; nonverified mail stays in the pending folder for up to 14 days before it disappears. Subsequent messages from an approved address go directly to the in-box unchallenged. (Mailbocks users can also add e-mail addresses directly to their master list.)
Less Challenging
The biggest problem with the early version of Mailblocks' technology was that every user had their own master list of verified senders. That meant that even if the service verified you as a real sender on the list for one Mailblocks user, it had to do so again when you sent a message to another Mailblocks user.
The latest version of the challenge/response feature, by aggregating the valid responses from all Mailblocks users, reduces the likelihood that Mailblocks will rechallenge s"
___________________________________________________________________________
I have used mailblocks email for about seven months. It works just as advertised. I have my domain email forwarded to my mailblocks account. I used to receive 300-400 spam messages per day. I now receive only 2 or three per week. This service really works. John H. Armwood
PC Magazine - HP iPAQ hx4700
HP iPAQ hx4700: "HP Ramps Up Pocket PC Line
By Jennifer M. DeFeo
Analysts continue to predict the demise of the PDA, frequently citing Sony's exit from the market, but HP is moving in a different direction. The company is introducing six new iPAQ models in its Pocket PC line. The new devices include the high-end iPAQ hx4700with a VGA screen ($649.99 direct), the mid-level rx3715 multimedia companion; and the slim entry-level iPAQ rz1710 organizer. HP is also offering its first phone/PDA combo, the iPAQ h6315, in partnership with T-Mobile; even better, it has three wireless-network options, GPRS, 802.11b, and Bluetooth.
We got our hands on preproduction units of the aforementioned models, so we could give you the inside track on what to expect from the latest batch of iPAQs. We tested their batteries, ran our benchmark tests, and worked them silly. And we found that there's an iPAQ out there for everyone. Which one suits you?"
By Jennifer M. DeFeo
Analysts continue to predict the demise of the PDA, frequently citing Sony's exit from the market, but HP is moving in a different direction. The company is introducing six new iPAQ models in its Pocket PC line. The new devices include the high-end iPAQ hx4700with a VGA screen ($649.99 direct), the mid-level rx3715 multimedia companion; and the slim entry-level iPAQ rz1710 organizer. HP is also offering its first phone/PDA combo, the iPAQ h6315, in partnership with T-Mobile; even better, it has three wireless-network options, GPRS, 802.11b, and Bluetooth.
We got our hands on preproduction units of the aforementioned models, so we could give you the inside track on what to expect from the latest batch of iPAQs. We tested their batteries, ran our benchmark tests, and worked them silly. And we found that there's an iPAQ out there for everyone. Which one suits you?"
The new iPAQ Pocket PCs are official - Engadget - www.engadget.com
The new iPAQ Pocket PCs are official - Engadget - www.engadget.com: "The new iPAQ Pocket PCs are official
Posted Jul 26, 2004, 12:00 AM ET by Peter Rojas
Those long-rumored new iPAQ Pocket PCs from HP are officially official now, and you gotta give it up to HP for not freaking out when leaked specs and pics turned up all over they obviously get that this kind of buzz is good for them, unlike some other companies. The details aren't exactly a surprise for anyone who has been following this, but because we hardly expect anyone else to be as obsessively geeky as us, we'll run over the line-up again:"
Posted Jul 26, 2004, 12:00 AM ET by Peter Rojas
Those long-rumored new iPAQ Pocket PCs from HP are officially official now, and you gotta give it up to HP for not freaking out when leaked specs and pics turned up all over they obviously get that this kind of buzz is good for them, unlike some other companies. The details aren't exactly a surprise for anyone who has been following this, but because we hardly expect anyone else to be as obsessively geeky as us, we'll run over the line-up again:"
Dave's iPAQ - HP iPAQ h6300 By David Ciccone
By David Ciccone, posted 6 hours ago Reader Comments: 36 Pageviews: 7,991 Wifi/GSM/GPRS/Bluetooth HP delivers a monster of a phone It is Monday July 26th at 6:00am in the morning and my new iPAQ h6300 alarm goes off as I hit the snooze for another 15 minutes. Before I knew it my alarm went off again and I was delighted to lay comfortably in my bed, as I make a connection via wirelessly on my 802.11 network. I immediately connect into my corporate network via VPN and log into my Microsoft Exchange email. Seeing that my assistant made a change to my Power Point presentation, I download the presentation and opened it in the ClearView Presentation software bundled in my iPAQ h6300 in which I noticed my assistant spelled the customer name wrong and made the change. I hop out of bed and jump into the shower, get dressed and I am off to my work. As I am driving to work I turn on my iPAQ h6300 and log into AOL Instant Messenger which is bundled with the unit and send an instant message to my assistant telling her about the mistake and that I made the change and not to worry. Since I didn? need to go to my office I drove directly to my customer? location. I grabbed my portable projector which works with my iPAQ and was ready to make my presentation for the customer. During my presentation with the customer they had requested some literature on some products I spoke about during my presentation and told me they would make a decision once they received the literature. After leaving the customers site I got into my car and started to respond to their request immediately. Since I have all my product literature saved as a PDF I was able to connect via GSM/GPRS on T-Mobile? network and log into my corporate email. I typed my message using the attachable keyboard supplied with my iPAQ h6300 and attach the PDF and sent i"
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