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<title>Haaze.com / Eleen / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Report: iPhone collects location data, even with Location Services turned off]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-iphone-collects-location-data-even-with-location-services-turned-off</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-iphone-collects-location-data-even-with-location-services-turned-off</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mkapahuuuh</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-iphone-collects-location-data-even-with-location-services-turned-off</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Apple)The Wall Street Journal is reporting that despite Apple's Location Services being in the off position, iPhones are still collecting your general location data. National media outlets have been analyzing recent reports that Apple's iPhones and iPads with 3G are tracking location data and storing it in an unsecured location on theiPhone.According to tests performed by The Wall Street journal, those location data collection practices are not disabled even if all the Location Services (which are turned on by default) are completely turned off.Related links&amp;149' Your iPhone's watching you. Should you care&amp;149' Tools wipe location data from (some) iPhonesThe data is stored in a tracking log file named &quot;consolidated.db&quot; and stored on your iPhone. The Wall Street Journal report notes that while the information is collected and stored on your iPhone, it does not appear to be transmitted to Apple (or any other recipient). The controversy still exists, however, prompting several governmental inquiries into the file and how its information is used. Many analysts and tech bloggers claim that the file is an oversight in iOS, likely used to test Location Services, but not removed before the public release of the software.Though that may be the case, the existence of the &quot;consolidated.db&quot; file was publicly revealed in 2010--curiously to little response from anyone and with no action by Apple. Now, with the new attention on the situation, expect to see quick and decisive action from Apple, likely in the form of an update to iOS that would remove the file.Calls to action from Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and a letter from Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) have been joined by investigations from South Korea and some European countries concerned about Apple's intentions for tracking the data. Though many news stories are reporting this file stores &quot;detailed tracking information,&quot; it is important to understand what is actually stored in the file.The &quot;consolidated.db&quot; file only contains approximations concerning the location of your iPhone oriPad 3G. It attempts to find nearby Wi-Fi towers and cell towers and stores the locations of those towers. It does not track specific movement, GPS location information, or latitude and longitude of the device. In fact, the information can have miles of variance depending on the number of tower locations in your area.Still, until the file is removed and Apple comes up with a good bit of PR writing to explain why it was there in the first place, news outlets and bloggers will likely continue to raise suspicions. As CNET's Josh Lowensohn wrote in an earlier blog post, according to a report from MacRumors, one user attempting to contact Steve Jobs received an alleged e-mail from him. At this time, we have no further information on the legitimacy of the e-mail response.Q: Steve,Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone It's kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don't track me. A: Oh yes they do. We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false.Sent from my iPhoneIt has been uncovered that indeed Google tracks its Android phones as well, though its tracking system is more of a cache that is constantly cleaned, whereas the &quot;consolidated.db&quot; file is a running log.Are you concerned about the &quot;consolidated.db&quot; file and the information stored in it Let me know your thoughts in the comments!<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Verizon: More breaches but less data lost. Huh!]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-more-breaches-but-less-data-lost--huh</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-more-breaches-but-less-data-lost--huh</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:10:51 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>paulanarad</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-more-breaches-but-less-data-lost--huh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Verizon&amp;39's report found that hacking, malware, and physical attacks were the most common in data breaches.(Credit:Verizon)Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report for last year is a bit of a head scratcher. It shows that while the number of data breaches from cyber attacks rose, the amount of compromised records lost has fallen.  While there were 760 data breaches recorded by Verizon and the U.S. Secret Service in 2010 (up from about 140 in 2009), there were only 4 million compromised records involved (way down from 144 million in 2009), according to the Verizon 2011 Data Breach Investigations Report scheduled to be released on Tuesday. The figures represent both a record high number of incidents and a record low records lost amount for any of the seven years Verizon has been keeping track.  The seeming contradiction between the low number of records lost and the high number of breaches could relate to the fact that there were fewer massive data breaches as there have been in the past as criminals focus on opportunistic attacks on smaller companies (with 11 to 100 employees) that may not have the best security measures in place, Alex Hutton, principal for research and intelligence at Verizon, told CNET in an interview.  The increase in those types of smaller, highly-automated external attacks could explain why outsiders were responsible for most of the breaches (92 percent), up 22 percent from the previous year.  &quot;There has been a shift in the threat landscape, and organized crime is targeting medium to small-sized businesses in the U.S.,&quot; Hutton said. &quot;What we're seeing is the bad guys exploiting people who haven't taken basic security considerations into account in their small business. An attacker is running an automated attack, basically looking for people who have let their guards down. They are introducing malware into the environment, and if it's credit cards they are after they'll just scoop up a handful at a time.&quot; But why just a handful &quot;A couple of reasons,&quot; he said. &quot;First, they probably want to evade detection. Stealing lots of credit cards attracts unwanted attention. Also the resale value of credit cards is low on the black market, so criminals could just be trying to make a quick buck before the data becomes worthless.&quot;  Next year's report will likely get a hit from the recent data breach at e-mail marketing services firm Epsilon that prompted several dozen companies, including Citibank, Chase, Capital One, Walgreens, Target, and Best Buy, to notify customers that their names and e-mail addresses were exposed. Epsilon has not explained how the breach happened.  Hutton said he could not comment on a particular case, but said that incidents are included in the report for the year in which they are concluded, regardless of when they began.  The most common types of attacks were hacking (50 percent) and malware (49 percent), and many of those involved use of weak or stolen credentials and passwords. Malware was responsible for nearly 80 percent of the lost data, with attackers using malicious software to send data to outside servers, open up back doors on compromised computers, and install keyloggers.  Most of the breaches could have been avoided with basic, affordable security measures, the report said. Nearly two-thirds of the malware investigated in the Verizon caseload, not including the statistics from the U.S. Secret Service, was customized. Tampering with ATMs, gas terminals For the first time ever, physical attacks--such as compromising ATMs and gas pump payment terminals--appeared as one of the three most popular data theft methods, representing nearly 30 percent of all cases investigated and typically conducted by organized crime. ATM skimmers are getting more sophisticated, with some including Bluetooth technology and allowing criminals to retrieve the stolen data wirelessly, without having to go back to the machine and risk getting caught, according to the report.  &quot;The latest evolution in data retrieval is the use of technology, again embedded in the skimmer, that utilizes GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standards and will text captured data in real-time to the criminal's cell phone,&quot; the report said.  Less common because they are harder to accomplish are device tampering of point-of-sale terminals at checkout counters inside stores. Criminals are replacing the terminals with devices of their own that capture and store payment card data as it is passed from the swipe reader to the terminal. To get the devices in the stores, criminals are dressing in uniforms and pretending to be technicians doing scheduled maintenance, according to the report. The report did not go into detail about what type of data was compromised. A report from The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) in January listed 662 breaches last year with 62 percent exposing Social Security numbers and 26 percent representing credit or debit card numbers. &quot;The nation needs a centralized, publicly available, data breach reporting site,&quot; the ITRC said. &quot;It should be comprehensive enough to allow readers to find out what happened, what information was compromised, and why the breach happened.&quot;  The data used in the Verizon report, which is believed to be the most comprehensive breach database, comes from investigations and reports around the world. This is the first year the report includes statistics from a non-U.S. source, Verizon said. Information from the National High Tech Crimes Unit of the Netherlands Policy Agency added insight into the analysis of cases from Europe. However, the Dutch figures were not mixed in with the incident and records loss figures compiled by Verizon and the U.S. Secret Service but separated out as an appendix. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Personal jetpack one step closer to launch]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=personal-jetpack-one-step-closer-to-launch</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=personal-jetpack-one-step-closer-to-launch</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:11:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Rom467Britney</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=personal-jetpack-one-step-closer-to-launch</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Martin Aircraft)The three-year wait for a recreational jetpack may be almost over--assuming regulators give their approval. New Zealand's Martin Aircraft said that its Martin Jetpack--which has a 200-horsepower piston gasoline engine that powers a couple of ducted fans--remained aloft for more than seven minutes in its latest test. That may not be enough time to get you to the store and back, but it represents a record.  A man on the ground flew the Martin Jetpack by radio control' a weighted dummy, &quot;Jetson,&quot; served as the pilot. No mention yet on an updated timetable for putting a human through a rigorous series of test runs, though the company has previously said that it's on track to do just that sometime in the current quarter. The jetpack itself is 5 feet tall and 5.5 feet wide and made of a carbon fiber composite with a pinch of Kevlar for the rotor. It uses regular gasoline and will travel a grand distance of 31.5 miles at a maximum speed of 63 mph, which should comfortably take you from home to office (and back) in a jiffy, and with a lot of noise. Since its coming-out party at the Oshkosh air show in the summer of 2008, Martin Aircraft has garnered more than the usual amount of attention lavished on a tech start-up. Given the associations that the concept of a jet pack conjures up with futuristic space-age travel--think George Jetson and his flying saucer--that's easy to understand.  Still, a note of caution is worthwhile. It remains unclear how the Federal Aviation Administration will respond. Although the agency did not answer a request for comment by the time this article was posted, the last time the FAA weighed in, it classified the jetpack as an experimental ultralight airplane. That description may suggest that any approval would be contingent upon first establishing the kind of technology that allows for this kind of traffic--especially if we're talking about a &quot;jet ski for the sky,&quot; in the description once put forward by its inventor.Although it is not bringing in any revenue, Martin Aircraft, which is based in New Zealand, has enlisted financial and legal advisers to bring it public. Last year, the per-unit price tag of the device it sells was estimated at a whopping $90,000, a figure that has since climbed by $10,000.This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com' Damian Koh of Crave Asia contributed to this report. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[FCC approves controversial data roaming rules]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-approves-controversial-data-roaming-rules</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-approves-controversial-data-roaming-rules</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:10:41 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>donovansld</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-approves-controversial-data-roaming-rules</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules today at its monthly public meeting that will require wireless service providers, such as AT&amp;T and Verizon Wireless, to negotiate wireless data roaming deals with competitors.As expected, the FCC voted along party lines, with the three Democrats including Chairman Julius Genachowski voting in favor of the measure. Meanwhile, Republicans Robert McDowell and Meredith Atwell-Baker voted against the new rules, stating they don't believe the FCC has the authority or a reason to adopt such rules. The new rules will require wireless operators that own their infrastructure and spectrum to &quot;offer data roaming arrangements to other such providers on commercially reasonable terms and conditions, subject to certain limitations.&quot; The FCC said that the new rules are designed to allow consumers to access mobile data services anywhere they are. The idea is that consumers will still be able to get coverage even when they travel outside their carrier's territory by using another wireless operator's network. The FCC said this will help promote competition. To resolve any data roaming disputes, parties may file a petition to the FCC. Disputes will be resolved on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration the unique facts and circumstances in each instance, the FCC said. Commission staff may require both parties to provide their best and final offers.Genachowski said that rules adopted in 2007 mandating voice roaming have been very successful and laid the framework for adopting similar rules for mobile data services. He said the key benefit of the rules is that it will &quot;spur investment.&quot;&quot;Roaming obligations have helped fuel competition, investment and consumer choice in America's wireless marketplace since the first cellular voice service in 1981,&quot; Genachowski said in a statement. &quot;Today, we take a vital step to update this framework for the 21st century, as Americans increasingly use their mobile devices for data as well as voice.&quot;Commissioner Michael Copps, who voted in favor of the new rules, said that he is &quot;pleased that data roaming's time has arrived.&quot; He said that the rules advance &quot;two key goals of his and the commission's in protecting wireless consumers and promoting competition.&quot;Related links&amp;149' FCC to vote on mandatory wireless-data roaming&amp;149' AT&amp;T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion&amp;149' FAQ: What is Brand X really aboutThe Republican commissioners agreed that data roaming among wireless operators is a good thing for the industry, but they disagreed that the FCC needs rules that will force wireless operators to negotiate with competitors and offer &quot;reasonable rates.&quot;McDowell said that the commission does not have the authority to adopt such rules, since he believes the rules would impose Title II &quot;common carrier&quot; regulation onto a service that the FCC has specifically deemed in the past to not be considered something regulated under Title II.&quot;I also agree with my colleagues that many benefits flow from the widespread availability of data roaming,&quot; he said. &quot;Nonetheless, the commission simply does not have the legal authority to adopt the regulatory regime mandated by this order.&quot;Baker also said she feels the FCC is overstepping its authority. But she added that she feels the regulation is unnecessary. AT&amp;T and Verizon Wireless, the two largest wireless operators in the U.S., already offer data roaming agreements. Instead, she wondered if roaming agreements that have not been made between carriers had more to do with terms and commercial rates rather than an unwillingness on the part of bigger wireless operators to not allow access to their networks.&quot;Overall, our record shows that there are not generalized or categorical refusals to deal by wireless providers,&quot; she said. &quot;Instead, there is a fundamental inability to agree on financial terms and conditions, primarily rates. This is a compelling difference to me. It raises not only the issue of whether the commission is best equipped to determine a &quot;commercially reasonable&quot; market rate., but also is an area that Congress has specifically told the commission to avoid.&quot;Vonya B. McCann, senior vice president of government affairs for Sprint Nextel, said that the FCC's vote would spur investment and protect smaller competitors as the wireless market consolidates to fewer competitors. Last month AT&amp;T announced it plans to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, a move that will reduce the number of national wireless carriers from four to three. Sprint opposes the merger.&quot;The FCC must be congratulated for taking this action despite the opposition of the two largest U.S. wireless carriers who have lobbied against this pro-consumer, pro-competitive item,&quot; she said in a statement. &quot;With AT&amp;T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile and the corresponding threat it poses to continued wireless competition, it is absolutely critical that the FCC take steps to promote competition and level the playing field.&quot;AT&amp;T and Verizon, which are the only two wireless operators to oppose this measure, each voiced their disappointment with the outcome of the vote.AT&amp;T accused its competitors, who supported the new rules, of looking for the government to step in to set cheaper roaming rates.&quot;Roaming agreements for both voice and data are in place throughout the country, and were reached through normal commercial negotiations, Bob Quinn, AT&amp;T's senior vice president of regulatory affairs, said in a statement. &quot;The evidence presented in this proceeding demonstrated conclusively that proponents of a roaming mandate were seeking government intervention, not to obtain agreements-- which are plentiful--but rather to regulate rates downward. &quot;Verizon's executive vice president of public affairs, Tom Tauke, said in a statement that his company is more than willing to enter into roaming agreements with other wireless carriers. And he pointed to the fact that Verizon now has 40 such relationships in place for data services.&quot;Today's action represents a new level of unwarranted government intervention in the wireless marketplace,&quot; he said in a statement. &quot;By forcing carriers that have invested in wireless infrastructure to make those networks available to competitors that avoid this investment, at a price ultimately determined by the FCC, today's order discourages network investment in less profitable areas.&quot;Tauke also added that he is &quot;concerned that the FCC is taking this action even though it does not have the statutory authority to do so.&quot;Even though AT&amp;T and Verizon Wireless each claim that they are willing to negotiate data roaming agreements with competitors on their own, Genachowski said that the record assembled by the FCC showed that these companies were reluctant to do so.&quot;The record makes clear that some providers have refused to negotiate 3G or 4G data roaming agreements, have created long delays, or have taken other steps to impede competition,&quot; he said. He also said that rural carriers in particular had informed the FCC that their &quot;attempts to enter into data roaming negotiations with nationwide providers are 'many times rejected out of hand.' One company reported that 'even our requests for an assurance to negotiate at some point in the future have been refused.'&quot;Genachowski also argued that the FCC is well within its authority to set these rules. He called the argument that the commission is regulating the wireless data roaming services as common carrier services &quot;flat wrong: the framework we adopt leaves mobile service providers free to negotiate and determine, on an individualized case-by-case basis, the commercially reasonable terms of data roaming agreements. Under the law, this is the very opposite of common carriage.&quot; &quot;Very often when we act here at the commission, someone says we've exceeded our authority,&quot; he continued. &quot;But the truth is that these claims of overreaching are themselves an overreach. During the last four years, the federal courts have issued 16 published merits decisions addressing direct statutory challenges to FCC orders. The FCC prevailed in 15 of the 16 challenges--94 percent of the time. I am confident that the same result will pertain here, if this order is challenged.&quot;The FCC also unanimously adopted new rules that will make it easier for broadband providers to use utility poles and other government rights of way to install infrastructure for broadband service. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Why is Google doodling about ice cream sundaes]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=why-is-google-doodling-about-ice-cream-sundaes</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=why-is-google-doodling-about-ice-cream-sundaes</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 03 Apr 2011 07:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>suzigoosey</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=why-is-google-doodling-about-ice-cream-sundaes</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I had barely woken this morning when I discovered that someone had spilled last night's dessert all over my MacBook.Looking a little more closely (it helped to open the eyes a little after a night on the petite sirah), I discovered that it was the Google logo that had been adorned with an ice cream sundae.Rolling over in my bed--and then rolling over the logo--I discovered that Google was celebrating the 119th anniversary of the first documented ice cream sundae.Somehow, this didn't seem the most obvious thing to be celebrating, though Google seems to believe that the ice cream sundae was invented first by someone in Ithaca, N.Y.That someone is alleged to have been a pharmacist. (Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)However, this all seems so randomly obscure that some, naturally, have attempted to claim an insider's knowledge of this Google ruse.Search Engine Watch, for example, is sniffing that &quot;Sunday's sundae is Google's way of whetting the world's appetite for the latest Android update, nicknamed Ice Cream.&quot;Yes, of course. The world can barely contain its breakfast, given its fevered feelings over the latest Android update.But might this doodle have other intentionsMight it, for example, be the work of worried Google staffers, encouraging new CEO Larry Page to eat a little more as he attempts to drive Google beyond its current, slightly static stateMight it also be worried Google staffers expressing their need for a little cherry atop their lives, as the drive to become a new Google is taking its toll on their fun quotientMy own view is that this is a symbolic recruiting tool. Google is trying to tell engineers out there that it is tired of its vanilla image. What is the company now looking for Engineers with a little more sauce. Oh, and more nuts.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AT&T cracks down on unauthorized tetherers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=att-cracks-down-on-unauthorized-tetherers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=att-cracks-down-on-unauthorized-tetherers</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>karadim3z</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=att-cracks-down-on-unauthorized-tetherers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AT&amp;T is cracking down on unauthorized smartphone tethering. This week the company has been sending out e-mails and text messages to wireless subscribers who have been using their smartphones as modems to connect laptops and other devices to AT&amp;T's wireless data network without paying the additional $20 tethering fee. Letters and text messages that have been sent to offending subscribers have been posted on various Web sites. In short, AT&amp;T is telling these customers to pay up or stop using their devices as modems.&quot;Our records show that you use this capability (tethering), but are not subscribed to our tethering plan,&quot; the e-mail reads. &quot;If you would like to continue tethering, please log into your account online at www.wireless.att.com, or call us...If you discontinue tethering, no changes to your current plan will be required. &quot;If AT&amp;T doesn't hear from the offending subscriber and he or she continues to use tethering without paying for it, the company will automatically begin charging customers for the usage, the letters indicate. AT&amp;T requires smartphone customers who use the tethering feature to subscribe to its 2GB data service for $25 a month and pay a $20 a month tethering fee. Customers who tether are given 4GB of data to use during the month. Customers who exceed that limit are charged $10 a GB thereafter.&quot;This is all part of ensuring that we can manage our network,&quot; said Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&amp;T. &quot;We are simply letting customers know that we have a tethering plan in place, and we're inviting them to get on the plan.&quot;Siegel said that AT&amp;T is able to detect how devices are being used. But he wouldn't explain how the company determines whether a smartphone is being used to connect to the Internet or whether it's used to provide Internet connectivity to other devices. Siegel said the company has always been able to monitor subscribers' activity, but it has just recently begun sending notifications to a small number of customers. &quot;We have to be able to tell what is happening on the network to manage it properly,&quot; he said. &quot;So if someone is tethering, then they need to be on a tethering plan.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google wakes up to new photo reality]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-wakes-up-to-new-photo-reality</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-wakes-up-to-new-photo-reality</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:10:14 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Michle</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-wakes-up-to-new-photo-reality</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google is adding Picasa Web Albums photos to its Profiles page, lending more social heft to its online hub for people to record their online identity.(Credit:Google)Google is showing some signs it understands how photography is changing on the Net.In the olden days, people posted batches of digital photos on the Web in photo albums their friends would look at occasionally. Often half the point of uploading the shots was getting them to a place like Snapfish or Shutterfly that could create prints.Picasa Web Albums, Google's photo-sharing site, was born in this era. Now, though, photos are becoming an in-the-moment part of people's online social lives, notably with Net-connected smartphones and Facebook sharing with friends. Picasa Web Albums--never a product that advanced at blazing speed--is beginning to adapt to this era. Perhaps Google's success with its Android operating system has made the company more aware of just how far the world has moved from the shoebox-of-prints-in-the-closet days.First up is a more social interface to Picasa Web Albums that shows what your contacts on the site are up to. Google has struggled for a couple years now to build social connections into its products, nevertheless falling ever further behind Facebook in the area, but this change could help people branch out.Yahoo's Flickr, of course, has had social connections built in from the start with groups, comments, and sharing, and Yahoo has been trying to promote those aspects by spotlighting this activity at log-in. But here, too, Facebook's key asset--the active participation of many of your social connections--is a more powerful draw when it comes to using photos to stay in the loop. Also, Facebook can share text, but Picasa and Flickr really don't do well for sharing anything besides photos or videos.Second for Picasa Web Albums is a photo and video price break. The site previously was free to use for up to 1GB of data, but that amount of space could quickly be gobbled up, especially with videos.The new pricing means photos smaller than 800 pixels on a side or videos shorter than 15 minutes don't count toward the 1GB freebie limit. Given the dropping cost of storage, it's a reasonable way to lower a barrier that might keep people from using Picasa. (Buying more storage space costs $5 a year for 20GB, but other sizes are available too--$50 annually for 200GB or $4,096 for 16 terabytes, for example.)Most new smartphones take shots more than 800 pixels on an edge, though, so until &quot;share a smaller version&quot; becomes a common option, people might still be reluctant to build Picasa into their online daily lives.Last is the addition of Picasa Web Albums photos to people's Google Profile. People often care how they appear and don't care to express that with just a little thumbnail' but more to the point, this change makes the Profiles page a more fleshed-out hub for whatever online social activity Google plans to launch next.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Warner Bros. to deliver movies on Facebook]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=warner-bros--to-deliver-movies-on-facebook</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=warner-bros--to-deliver-movies-on-facebook</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:11:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bioujungnya</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=warner-bros--to-deliver-movies-on-facebook</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Warner Bros. plans to let fans rent movies such as &amp;39'The Dark Knight&amp;39' via their Facebook accounts.(Credit:Warner Bros.)Warner Bros. is apparently hoping to attract new fans by offering movies for viewing on Facebook.The movie studio announced this evening it would begin testing a program that would offer movies for sale or rental for a brief period through its fan pages on the social-networking giant.Beginning tomorrow, Facebook users can use Facebook Credits to rent &quot;The Dark Knight&quot; through the movie's official fan page on the social-networking site, Warner said in statement. The movie can be rented for 30 Facebook credits or $3, and Facebook users will have access to the movie for 48 hours through their accounts on the social network.Facebook Credits is an alternative payment option for more than 150 games and applications on the social network. It's supported by games such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars, as well as Bejeweled Blitz and Madden NFL Superstars. Most titles still allow gamers to pay with credit cards, but it's Facebook's hope that eventually, users will buy all virtual goods with Credits.The studio sees the social network as fertile ground for video on demand--considered a key revenue source for Hollywood studios grappling with falling box office receipts.&quot;Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people,&quot; Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, said in a statement. &quot;Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world's largest social network.&quot;Facebook representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In addition to being able to pause the movie and resume it at their leisure when they log back in to Facebook, Warner Bros. said users will still be able to post comments on the movie and interact with friends on the network while watching their selection.The program is currently available only in the U.S., and additional titles will be added on a regular basis over the coming months, Warner Bros. said.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft to fix four holes in Windows, Office]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-to-fix-four-holes-in-windows-office</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-to-fix-four-holes-in-windows-office</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 08:11:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>winlimlim4</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-to-fix-four-holes-in-windows-office</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Microsoft)Contrary to last month when Microsoft plugged 22 holes on Patch Tuesday, only four holes will be fixed in the company's monthly security update roundup next week. There will be three bulletins, one of them rated &quot;critical&quot; for Microsoft Windows and the other two rated &quot;important&quot; and affecting Windows and Office, according to the preview advisory released today.  While they are few in number, they are not to be ignored. They all involve remote code execution, which means an attacker could force code to run on a target's machine and could lead to a complete takeover of the computer.  &quot;The upcoming Patch Tuesday includes a fix for a DLL (dynamic-link library) hijacking vulnerability in the Microsoft Groove application,&quot; said HD Moore, chief security officer at Rapid7 and chief architect at Metasploit. &quot;This was one of the hundreds of flaws discovered last year by both Rapid7 and another security firm. I am glad to see that Microsoft is making progress on these vulnerabilities and continuing to fix affected applications.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[E-mail innovator pitches self-deleting e-mails]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=e-mail-innovator-pitches-self-deleting-e-mails</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=e-mail-innovator-pitches-self-deleting-e-mails</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>drug</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=e-mail-innovator-pitches-self-deleting-e-mails</guid>
<description><![CDATA[OtherInBox CEO Joshua Baer wants e-mail messages to carry with them the dates of their own deaths.(Credit:Rafe Needleman/CNET)MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Joshua Baer, CEO of the e-mail company OtherInBox, agitated for a new addition to e-mail standards at the Inbox Love e-mail conference today. He's proposing a standard that would let e-mail messages carry with them the date of their own irrelevance. E-mails could use the the &quot;x-expires&quot; header to tell the receiving in-box that they become outdated after a certain absolute date, or a certain time relative to when they're sent or received. Baer says this idea has been &quot;bouncing around&quot; for 10 years, but he's learned, &quot;the best way to get a standard adopted is to work with individual companies first, and make it a de facto standard.&quot; That's what he's trying to do here.  This concept could help keep users' e-mail boxes cleaner and more relevant. Offers for discounts on Valentines' Day flowers could automatically vanish on February 15. Companies that blast out time-limited coupons (Groupon, LivingSocial) could serve users better by removing expired offers from in-boxes.  Other messages that become unnecessary after a period of time, such as notifications of activity in groups, shipping notices from online retailers, or system alerts (like mailbox-full alerts, one hopes), that often clutter up in-boxes could clean themselves out.  Baer hopes that the audience members at this conference, all of whom are in the e-mail business, start supporting his proposal. In the meantime, he says, his own e-mail organizing service (which I use and recommend) will start watching for and honoring expiration flags in e-mails it processes.  There's a Google group for the proposal. See also this Reporters' Roundtable with Baer: Does e-mail get the message. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Chart: Netflix shares crush S&P, Nasdaq indexes]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chart-netflix-shares-crush-sp-nasdaq-indexes</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chart-netflix-shares-crush-sp-nasdaq-indexes</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:11:23 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>danieeeenn</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chart-netflix-shares-crush-sp-nasdaq-indexes</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Netflix)In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Netflix just released a graph that looks at how the company's stock has treated shareholders over the past five years. The No. 1 video rental service compared its total cumulative stockholder return for the past five years with those from the Nasdaq Composite Index, the S&amp;P 500 Index, and the S&amp;P North American Technology Internet Index.Simply said, Netflix tore it up. The company's shares jumped beyond $247 this week, setting an all-time high for the stock. After stomping brick-and-mortar rivals Blockbuster and Movie Gallery into jelly, CEO Reed Hastings sped the company into Internet distribution. Netflix is available on more than 200 different Web-connected devices with no competitor even close to that kind of broad distribution. Wall Street has lapped it up. But everyone is keeping an eye on the company's expenses, which could go through the roof if the major film studios demand huge licensing fees. Here's what Netflix said about the chart: The measurement points are from the last day of trading for each of the past five years. &quot;Total cumulative stockholder return assumes $100 invested at the beginning of the period&quot; for Netflix as well as for the indexes. The company also included the reinvestment of any dividends. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[FBI to announce new Net-wiretapping push]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fbi-to-announce-new-net-wiretapping-push</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fbi-to-announce-new-net-wiretapping-push</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:10:41 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Cheery</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fbi-to-announce-new-net-wiretapping-push</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The FBI is expected to reveal tomorrow that because of the rise of Web-based e-mail and social networks, it's &quot;increasingly unable&quot; to conduct certain types of surveillance that would be possible on cellular and traditional telephones.FBI general counsel Valerie Caproni will outline what the bureau is calling the &quot;Going Dark&quot; problem, meaning that police can be thwarted when conducting court-authorized eavesdropping because Internet companies aren't required to build in back doors in advance, or because technology doesn't permit it.Any solution, according to a copy of Caproni's prepared comments obtained by CNET, should include a way for police armed with wiretap orders to conduct surveillance of &quot;Web-based e-mail, social networking sites, and peer-to-peer communications technology.&quot;The last example, which was floated last fall, is likely to be the most contentious. When an encrypted voice application like Phil Zimmermann's Zfone is used, the entire conversation is scrambled from end to end. It's like handing a letter directly to its recipient--bypassing workers at the neighborhood post office, who could be required to forward a copy to the FBI.Forcing companies like Zfone and Skype, which also uses encryption for peer-to-peer calls, to build in back doors for police access was rejected in the 1990s and would mark a dramatic departure from current practice. And anyone hoping to foil the FBI could download encrypted VoIP software from European firms like Lichtenstein-based Secfone, which sells it for Android phones.Caproni's remarks don't, however, include a specific proposal. &quot;Most our interception challenges could be solved using existing technologies,&quot; she says, &quot;that can be deployed without re-designing the Internet and without exposing the provider's system to outside malicious activity.&quot; In addition, she says, &quot;the Going Dark problem does not require fundamental changes in encryption technology.&quot;The FBI's announcement comes amid two countervailing trends: a coalition of advocacy groups and technology companies including AT&amp;T and Google is pressing to rewrite federal law to include additional privacy protections for cloud computing and mobile devices. Meanwhile, the Justice Department and some conservative Republicans have proposed that Internet service providers (and perhaps Web companies as well) be required to keep records of what their customers are doing, a concept called data retention.Yesterday some members of that same coalition--the American Library Association, the Center for Democracy and Technology, NetCoalition (Google, Yahoo, and CNET are members), and TechFreedom--released an open letter expressing concerns about the FBI's push to broaden wiretapping laws. At the very least, the letter says, the bureau must &quot;identify the particular services or technologies most in need of additional surveillance capability&quot; and demonstrate that alternatives to new laws won't work.The FBI is couching its arguments in broad terms, saying it's only trying to preserve the ability to conduct wiretaps as technology advances. &quot;Any solution to the Going Dark problem should ensure&quot; that once a judge has approved a wiretap request, Caproni is expected to tell a House of Representatives committee tomorrow, &quot;the government is technologically able to execute that court order in a timely fashion.&quot;Today's capabilitiesElectronic Frontier Foundation attorney Kevin Bankston said this evening that the FBI already can intercept messages on social-networking sites and Web-based e-mail services with existing law. (This was the purpose of the FBI surveillance system known as Carnivore, later renamed DCS1000.)&quot;Facebook messages and Gmail messages travel in plain text over those same broadband wires for which the FBI demanded wiretapping capability just a few years ago,&quot; Bankston said. &quot;Why has that new capability not been sufficient&quot;Congress should investigate exactly how the FBI has used its existing interception capabilities, he said, before contemplating &quot;adding to that capability and forcing online communications service providers to redesign their systems to introduce new security vulnerabilities to facilitate government wiretapping.&quot;Under a 1994 federal law called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, telecommunications carriers are required to build in back doors into their networks to assist police with authorized interception of conversations and &quot;call-identifying information.&quot; As CNET was the first to report in 2003, representatives of the FBI's Electronic Surveillance Technology Section in Chantilly, Va., began quietly lobbying the FCC to force broadband providers to provide more-efficient, standardized surveillance facilities. The Federal Communications Commission approved that requirement a year later, sweeping in Internet phone companies that tie into the existing telecommunications system. It was upheld in 2006 by a federal appeals court.But the FCC never granted the FBI's request to rewrite CALEA to cover instant messaging and VoIP programs that are not &quot;managed&quot;--meaning peer-to-peer programs like Apple's Facetime, iChat/AIM, Gmail's video chat, andXbox Live's in-game chat that do not use the public telephone network. In the last few years, according to Caproni's prepared remarks, investigations have been hindered because of the lack of built-in back doors. Examples she cites include a two-year Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into cocaine importation that was thwarted because an unnamed communications provider lacked intercept ability, and a 2009 child pornography prosecution where neither the (unnamed) social networking site nor the (unnamed) communication provider could intercept the communications.&quot;On a regular basis, the government is unable to obtain communications and related data, even when authorized by a court to do so,&quot; Caproni's statement says. It adds, however, that the Obama administration does not have an official position on whether any legislative changes are necessary.If Congress does nothing, law enforcement still has options. Police can obtain a special warrant allowing them to sneak into someone's house or office, install keystroke-logging software, and record passphrases. The Drug Enforcement Agency adopted this technique in a case where suspects used PGP and the encrypted Web e-mail service Hushmail.com. And the FBI did the same thing in an investigation of an alleged PGP-using mobster named Nicodemo Scarfo.Another option is to send the suspect spyware, which documents obtained by CNET through the Freedom of Information Act in 2009 showed the FBI has done in cases involving extortionists, database-deleting hackers, child molesters, and hitmen. The FBI's spyware is called CIPAV, for Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier. Update 12:00 a.m. PT Thursday: I should have noted that the EFF obtained some relevant documents via FOIA a few weeks ago that they posted on Wednesday, just in time for the House hearing. Among the high points: the FBI's Operational Technology Division says that the Going Dark program is one of the FBI's &quot;top initiatives.&quot; There's a five-pronged Going Dark program that includes extending existing laws and seeking new federal funding to bolster lawful intercept capabilities. Going Dark has been an FBI initiative since at least 2006 and has involved writing checks to consultants at RAND Corporation and Booz, Allen and Hamilton to come up with solutions.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Samsung unveils dual-core Galaxy Tab 10.1]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-unveils-dual-core-galaxy-tab-10-1</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-unveils-dual-core-galaxy-tab-10-1</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 13 Feb 2011 08:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>nuresbim1</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-unveils-dual-core-galaxy-tab-10-1</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1(Credit:Bonnie Cha/CNET)BARCELONA, Spain--Along with the Galaxy S II, Samsung introduced its secondAndroid tablet today on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2011.Joining the 7-inch Galaxy Tab, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 features a larger 10.1-inch WXGA (1,280x800-pixel resolution) TFT touch screen and runs the latest Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. In addition, it's a Google Experience device, so the tablet will feature the stock Android user interface instead of Samsung's custom UI, TouchWiz. This should, hopefully, prevent any delays with future OS updates.In other good news, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be powered by a dual-core processor (Nvidia's Tegra 2 chipset, to be exact), so you should experience faster browsing, an improved gaming experience, and better overall performance, among other things. Another benefit of the new chipset is that it supports 1080p HD video recording (at 24 frames per second) and playback (30fps), which you can take using the back-facing 8-megapixel camera. There's also a 2-megapixel camera on front for video calls. The quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) tablet supports HSPA+, which is capable of 21Mbps, and also has Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1. Physically, the Tab 10.1 measures 9.69 inches by 6.71 inches by 0.43 inch and weighing 1.32 pounds. Samsung says it's one of the thinnest and lightest 10-inch tablets on the market. The company also added a texture to the backside and grooves where you can place your hands when holding the tablet in landscape mode. It's a much improved experience compared with that of the original Galaxy Tab, which felt quite slick and plasticky.The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available in a 16GB and a 32GB model. Both are expected to ship this spring in Europe and Asia, with Vodafone as one of its carrier partners. Samsung said there is no current plan for a CDMA model, and U.S. availability, as well as pricing, were not announced at this time. Below you can find our hands-on photos of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. We'll be adding more of our first impressions soon, but let us know what you think. Does the Motorola Xoom have a serious competitor on its hands Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on (photos) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Blasts from the past: iPhone apps of the week]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blasts-from-the-past-iphone-apps-of-the-week</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blasts-from-the-past-iphone-apps-of-the-week</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>lingInibunk</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blasts-from-the-past-iphone-apps-of-the-week</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:CNET)I grew up playing video games and was part of the era of going to arcades and dropping quarter after quarter into my favorite games. Back then, if you would have told me that one day I could play the same games on a mobile phone I would probably have said, &quot;I doubt it, and who would want to lug one of those giant things around anyway&quot; In the '80s, mobile phones were huge. In other words, I would never have believed it.Now, there are hundreds of games in the iTunes App Store that bring old classics to your touch screen. Not all of them are perfect, certainly. Sometimes the controls don't translate well to the touch screen, for example. But even with mediocre controls, it's still fun to be able to play a game you loved as a kid while you're commuting to work.This week, two games were released that were favorites of mine in the arcades, and both work relatively well on the touch screen. My question to you is, What games from the old days should be made for iOS What games should not Let's talk about it in the comments. This week's apps are a classic gory fighting game and an arcade basketball remake that might already be one of my favorite games of 2011.The graphics look great on both the iPhone 4 Retina display and the iPad.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for iPhone (99 cents) and iPad ($4.99) brings the legendarily gory and addictive fighting game to iOS, and it mostly hits the mark with only a couple of problems. What was formerly a smash hit (and somewhat controversial) stand-up arcade game went through a complete facelift for theiPhone version. Gone are the stop-motion character animations from the original arcade game, replaced with beautiful 3D animations that recreate all your favorite characters' fighting moves. For the most part, this game looks and plays great, as long as you can get past the limited character set and the lack of tactile controls.Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 lets you choose from nine characters, with two you can unlock by beating the game twice in the Arcade mode on different skill levels. While the characters included work great, characters with more complex animation requirements (like Cyrax and Kabal) were not included in the iOS version of the game. Hopefully EA will add these characters in later versions of the game, but perhaps they are waiting for a future, more powerful iOS device.Even without the remaining characters, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a great game. The control system includes a directional pad on the left and punch, kick, run, and block buttons on the right. What's interesting here is you can use the original six-button layout from the arcade version or you can use a modified control system that saves you from the difficult joystick motions required for some of the more complex fighting moves. (Instead of a complex set of commands, you simply hit the Special Attack button and a direction to use a character's signature moves.) While the purist in me initially thought this made the game too easy, I began to appreciate not having to remember the complex moves and just seeing the cool results.The Mortal Kombat franchise has always been controversial for its violent &quot;Fatality&quot; moves, and you'll get to do them all in the iOS version. Along with the modified control system giving you a break on the more complex moves, you also can pause the game at any time to see a list of moves and special attacks for your character, as well as Fatality moves, Babalities and Friendship. While some fans of the original game may think this makes the special moves too easy, fight game novices will appreciate being able to jump right into the game and use every advantage at their disposal.You get a few game modes to play, including Arcade, Survival, and Local multiplayer. The Arcade mode challenges you to fight your way to the top of a group of random opponents with four different difficulty levels adding extra challenge along with more opponents to fight through at harder difficulties. Survival lets you take on an endless stream of opponents to see how long you can last with one character. Local Multiplayer lets you play against a friend over a shared Wi-Fi connection. There is no online multiplayer at this time, but perhaps that is another feature that will come in later versions.Overall, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a beautiful game and plenty of fun in spite of its various issues. If you are a fan of the franchise, you will enjoy being able to bring the game with you on your iOS device and the graphics look great on both the iPhone andiPad. It's important to note that this game is probably not for kids with a high level of animated violence and some pretty gruesome finishing moves.Monta Ellis sizes up the defense before taking it to the bucket.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)NBA Jam is an updated and faithful recreation of probably the most popular standup arcade basketball game of all time. For those who never went through several dollars in quarters at the local arcade playing this fun classic many years ago, NBA Jam is not your standard five-on-five simulation you see on consoles. This game is all about two-vs.-two high-flying dunk basketball, where just about every play is worthy of a highlight reel.The control system for NBA Jam on offense includes a directional pad on the lower left part of the screen, and pass, shoot, and speed boost buttons on the lower right. On defense you have the D-pad, but your options are steal, jump (for blocks), and speed boost buttons.Each team of the full 30-team NBA lineup uses the currently biggest stars on each team as your default starters. But the game gives you a couple of options for other players on the team should you decide to go with a different strategy. You also decide which player you control on your chosen team, but be aware that you will control that player the entire game--there is no player switching in NBA Jam as you have on consoles.The gameplay in NBA Jam is excellent--just like the arcade classic. You get a couple of game mode options including a standard exhibition game so you can start playing immediately in a single game, and a longer classic campaign mode in which you play games against all 30 teams for the championship. NBA Jam also has a number of achievements you can earn--all of which are listed in the Challenges section.Probably best of all for those of us who played the original arcade game, NBA Jam offers unlockable classic players for each team. Some expansion teams will only let you play as the mascot, but most teams have classic players many NBA fans will remember from the original arcade game. Once it's unlocked you can play past greats Magic Johnson and James Worthy from the Los Angeles Lakers, Dominique Wilkins and Kenny Smith from the Hawks, and Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin from the Golden State Warriors, as examples. Also, to add to the nostalgia, EA has used the same announcer from the original game who still says &quot;Boom Shakalaka!&quot; among other things when you make a particularly nasty dunk.Our only problem with this otherwise solid iOS game is that it doesn't include a multiplayer mode, because part of the fun in the classic arcade game was smack-talking as you dunked on your friends. We hope later releases will add online multiplayer games, but even just the ability to play locally would be a huge improvement because this game needs to be played head-to-head.Overall, even if you just play this single-player game with the current rosters, NBA Jam has enough excitement and challenge with four skill settings to keep you coming back for more. Anyone who played the original arcade game, or anyone with even a passing interest in basketball or sports games, will love this game.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Blame me: Mozy scraps unlimited backups]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blame-me-mozy-scraps-unlimited-backups</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blame-me-mozy-scraps-unlimited-backups</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>CarPsyday</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blame-me-mozy-scraps-unlimited-backups</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Mozy, the online backup service provider and EMC subsidiary, plans to announce today that it's dumping its subscription permitting customers to store unlimited data.The reason is not hard to guess: with ever-growing quantities of photos and videos, the unlimited plan is financially unsustainable, the company said. In other words, it's my fault.You see, I'm a Mozy customer. I spent $82 for a two-year subscription and started inflicting my hundreds of gigabytes of photos and increasingly videos as well. I'm a photo nerd, so each 21-megapixel photo in raw format sucks up something like 20MB or 25MB, and each video is shot in 1080p so even shortish clips can occupy a half a gigabyte.I'm somewhere in the top 0.3 percent in terms of my data use, but I'm also a leading indicator, and that's why Mozy is altering course.&quot;There has been a change in consumer behavior,&quot; said Russ Stockdale, Mozy's vice president of product management. &quot;What we have seen since we launched an unlimited service five years ago is there has been an explosion in digital content, specifically digital photos and video.&quot;In my case, with just under 600GB of data, the $3.40 per month I pay now will explode to just about $60 per month when my subscription runs its course in a few months.That's because Mozy will begin charging $5.99 per month for up to 50GB of data, with more costing $2 per month per 20GB after that. And, recognizing that more and more people have multiple computers to back up, it's added a new multi-machine option costing $9.99 a month for up to 125GB and three computers. More computers or further 20GB increments add another $2 per month each.Good-bye unlimitedNeedless to say, I'm now looking at Mozy alternatives. But I don't feel resentful--just sad at the disappearance of yet another uncapped part of the Net.I'm grandfathered into an unlimited-data plan with T-Mobile UK, but if I leave to try to find a carrier with better service, they don't have an unlimited plan for me, and I can't go back to the T-Mobile plan. Likewise, my unlimited home broadband account actually has fair-use limits, as is customary in the U.K. My $25 a year at Flickr gets me unlimited photo storage, but it's something of a holdout in an increasingly pay-as-you-go world.And Mozy isn't alone. Google Docs costs $1,400 a year for 400GB, for example, and Google's Picasa Web Albums costs $100 per year for 400GB. Jungle Disk, which provides a front end to storage using Amazon's S3 service, charges $3.15 per gigabyte per month. Carbonite, perhaps Mozy's best-known competitor, throttles down bandwidth for big-data users. And up-and-comer Dropbox charges $20 per month for 100GB.Here's Mozy's rationale for the change: the average storage per user increased more than 50 percent last year. More than half of the growth, though, was with the top 10 percent of the users, as measured by how much data that they have.&quot;The great majority of customers are growing at manageable levels, while the heaviest users bring up the average for the entire group,&quot; Stockdale said.Mozy braces itselfThe company knows it's in for some ill will.&quot;We do not take this on lightly...I don't expect everybody to be happy about it. But if they take a look at what we're doing and why, it'll at least be understandable,&quot; he said. Mozy is trying to make the change so it can provide sustainable high-quality backup in the long term&quot; and not resort to fine-print shenanigans hoping few will notice.The unlimited plans come to an end starting March 1, but last through the end of each customer's paid subscription.Not all of Mozy's costs are going up. Hard drives can hold ever more data for a given price (2-terabyte drives can be had for $100 these days). But that's not enough to deal with Mozy's financial plight, Stockdale said.&quot;The cost of storage is an element, but it is not even the majority of cost of providing the service,&quot; Stockdale said. &quot;The bandwidth, the data centers, the people who manage that--those costs are a larger part of the cost of providing this.&quot;Mozy, though a subsidiary of storage powerhouse EMC, uses its own software running on commodity storage systems. Later this year, though, to it'll start moving users to EMC hardware and eventually migrate everyone, Stockdale said.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[More photos of PlayStation phone leaked]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-photos-of-playstation-phone-leaked</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-photos-of-playstation-phone-leaked</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:10:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marwannuyeah</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-photos-of-playstation-phone-leaked</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The purported PlayStation phone next to the PSP Go(Credit:IT168)Sony's as-yet-unannouncedPlayStation phone could be one of the worst-kept secrets in the technology industry.Just a couple of days after images of what appears to be a PlayStation phone leaked on a Hong Kong forum, several more photos have been published on a Chinese Web site, called IT168.The images appear to show a PlayStation phone in full working condition. According to Engadget, which first discovered the leak, the device in the images features a 4-inch touch display, 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash, a microSD slot, and a micro-USB port, among other features.The smartphone in the images boasts slide-out PlayStation controls, including Sony's familiar D-pad and controller buttons. The smartphone and gaming device is branded with Sony Ericsson's Xperia logo.The phone closely resembles devices featured in previous videos and images that have hit the Web.Speculation abounds that Sony will unveil the device in February at Mobile World Congress. However, Sony Ericsson has been tight-lipped about the PlayStation phone. There's currently no telling what games the device will accommodate, and pricing and availability are a question mark. The company hasn't even offered any concrete clues that it will be announcing the smartphone anytime soon.Regardless, Sony Computer Entertainment needs something to jump-start its ailing PSP business, and working with Sony Ericsson might be the best way to do it.In August, the last month NPD reported sales figures, Sony sold just 79,400 PSP units, down nearly 50 percent from the 140,300 units it sold in August 2009. Moreover, GameStop said in November that the PSP has been &quot;a disappointment&quot; for the company at retail.But that hasn't caused Sony to consider dumping the PSP entirely. Last month, Sony Computer Entertainment chief Kaz Hirai indicated that his company might soon offer a PSP with a touch screen.&quot;Depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel,&quot; Hirai told The New York Times. &quot;But you can definitely play immersive games better with physical buttons and pads. I think there could be games where you're able to use both in combination.&quot;Considering the leaked images show the PlayStation phone with both a touch panel and PSP controls, it's possible that Hirai was referencing the device in the interview.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: The 404 733: Where we do it without glasses (podcast)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-the-404-733-where-we-do-it-without-glasses-podcast</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-the-404-733-where-we-do-it-without-glasses-podcast</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marbuglatae</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-the-404-733-where-we-do-it-without-glasses-podcast</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It's the first official day ofCES 2011 and we're joined by our buddy Clayton Morris of Fox and Friends who takes a moment out of his busy day to show us a couple cool gadgets he saw today. We always enjoy a game of show and tell, and Clayton doesn't disappoint with the Steadicam Smoothee, a handheld steadicam that you can use with anApple iPhone, a Motorola DROID, or a Flip Mino video camera.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: New Roomba, Scooba models get to work]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-new-roomba-scooba-models-get-to-work</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-new-roomba-scooba-models-get-to-work</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hyipmonitoring</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-new-roomba-scooba-models-get-to-work</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Floor bots: The new Roomba 760 (back) for vacuuming and Scooba 230 (front) for scrubbing. (Credit:Tim Hornyak/CNET)LAS VEGAS--iRobot demoed its updated line of robot floor cleaners at CES 2011, showing off a more powerful Roomba vacuum bot and a much more compact Scooba floor scrubber. Roomba hoovered some crushed Cheerios, while Scooba got to work on a coffee-stained tile floor. Both robots go on sale this spring. They're similar to their predecessors, but have important differences. Both updates have the iAdapt cleaning tech, a sensor and software system that monitors the floor more than 60 times per second and chooses from dozens of robot behaviors to get the job done, the company says. I played around with the Scooba 350 last year, and wasn't crazy about its bulk, which proved a bit of a pain when emptying the cleaning fluid tanks. At only 6.5 inches across and 3.5 inches tall, the new Scooba 230 has a much smaller footprint, making maintenance easier, and it can be grabbed with one hand. The new size, however, is mainly designed to allow the robot to get into tight corners around toilets, which was never a delightful chore anyway. The 230 can scrub up to 150 square feet of sealed hardwood, tile, or linoleum floors, and has edge-detect sensors to keep it away from stairs and drop-offs while working. The company says it can neutralize up to 97 percent of common household bacteria. A neat feature is how the reservoirs work: An active reservoir system separates the cleaning solution from the dirty water. The active reservoir shrinks as more cleaning fluid is put down on the floor, allowing it to suck up more dirty water. iRobot says this eliminates dirty water from the cleaning area so the robot isn't just moving dirt around like a mop can. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Facebook placenta pose gets student expelled]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-placenta-pose-gets-student-expelled</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-placenta-pose-gets-student-expelled</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>haywoodros</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-placenta-pose-gets-student-expelled</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Kids do the sweetest things. And sometimes, well, it gets them into a little trouble.Take Doyle Byrnes, a nursing student at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. Or, should I say, former nursing student.According to the Kansas City Star, Byrnes was due to graduate in May and, perhaps because she was feeling sentimental, she was part of a group that allegedly asked their nursing instructor, Amber Delphia, whether they could pose for a picture with a human placenta.Oh, is it really so different than the Winkelvoss twins posing with their oars Some think it might be. For Byrnes then posted her placenta pic on her Facebook page. And, though she claims Delphia didn't forbid the placenta picture-taking (Byrnes claims Delphia merely said: &quot;Oh, you girls&quot;), Byrnes found herself in critical condition a few hours later.For, she says, Delphia called her and told her to take the placenta pose down.(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)You may temporarily lose sensations in your upper extremities when I tell you that Byrnes was then kicked out of school, together with the three other students who had posed with the maroon-colored organ. (No one is sure whether they posted their pictures anywhere that might be deemed public.)Your heart will, now, not even emit a flicker when I tell you that Byrnes (who has now closed her Facebook account) is taking the school to court, asking to be immediately reinstated.Her attorney, Clifford Cohen, told the Star: &quot;They're not giggly teenagers. They are mature, I would say serious, professionals. I've interviewed the other women. They all impress me as serious, career-minded women who are utterly stunned at what's happened to them.&quot;Byrnes wrote a letter to Jeanne Walsh, the school's director of nursing, in which she said: &quot;In my excitement to be able to share with my loved ones the phenomenal learning experience in which I had been blessed enough to take part, I did not consider that others might view this photograph as unprofessional, offensive to the school I was representing and more importantly the sanctity of human life.&quot;One should say at this point that the placenta in the picture was not identifiable. There is also no evidence that the students were doing this for the sake of amusement. This does seem more an act of (perhaps peculiar) pride, rather than, say, anything an NFL quarterback might think of photographing.The school, though, seems insistent on its disciplinary diagnosis.So now a court will have to decide whether the three hours that Byrnes' placenta picture was up on Facebook demeaned the school more than the decision to expel a committed student.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google's 2010 report card and 3 new resolutions]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-2010-report-card-and-3-new-resolutions</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-2010-report-card-and-3-new-resolutions</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>paulsmith385</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-2010-report-card-and-3-new-resolutions</guid>
<description><![CDATA[As another year dawns, life is still pretty good for Google but ever more complicated. With that, let's reexamine the five New Year's resolutions we outlined for Google at the start of 2010 to see how the company lived up to that unsolicited advice, and offer more of the same for 2011.Google&amp;39's search team kept the gravy train rolling in 2010 with products like Google Instant, introduced in September by Marissa Mayer.(Credit:James Martin/CNET) First, last year's report card:1. Don't forget where you came from: This resolution involved priority No. 1 at Google: remain the world's leading provider of Internet searches by a comfortable margin. It passed this test with ease: despite significant investment on Microsoft's part into Bing, and Yahoo's declaration that its back-end outsourcing strategy would lead to front-end breakthroughs, Google ended 2010 pretty much where it started, actually gaining a slight amount of market share according to ComScore's November 2009 to November 2010 comparison.2. Get control of the engineers: Google probably wishes it had paid a little more attention to this one. Two 2010 incidents involving Google engineers gone wild--the now-infamous Wi-Fi Street View case and the quieter (and creepier) firing of David Barksdale--showed that Google's power to amass and organize vast amounts of data can be seductive to those with poor oversight or ulterior motives. Google also stepped on its foot in launching Google Buzz with the assumption that users always wanted their most-frequently e-mailed contacts to also be their friends in a social-networking setting. Privacy training has been increased and Alma Whitten was tapped to put a public face on Google's commitment to privacy, making it fair to say that keeping the trust of an increasing wary public in 2011 is essential to Google's well-being.3. Get HTML5 standards finalized: This one isn't really Google's fault, but its vision of the Web as the premier development platform of our time is still a ways off. Standards bodies are famously contemplative, but Google also struggled to prove its own case that the Web can be king by missing a deadline to ship a productive version of Chrome OS.4. Live up to the promise of Google Books: Amazingly, the Google Books saga will drag on into yet another year as Google's settlement with authors and publishers remains in legal limbo. By the end of the year Google did manage to launch its e-book store and release an interesting project on word usage over centuries, but is no closer to lifting the cloud of uncertainty over Google Books at the end of 2010 than it was at the beginning of the year.5. Clarify your mobile strategy: Google definitely got the message on this one, scaling back its ambitiousNexus One project after it proved unpopular with both phone buyers and its business partners alike. Freed from such distractions, Android is now poised to grow even more in 2011 than it did over the past year as theiPhone alternative, and Google is about to make nearly $1 billion a year on mobile advertising through Android and mobile search, it revealed toward the end of the year. Here are three more things Google might want to think about in 2011.Fight the government--and win Google is at the point in its story arc where nearly everything it will do in 2011 will be scrutinized by some branch of the U.S. government, although it's arguable it has already been there for years. Still, there's little doubt the supervision is taking a toll and these concerns are already on the table in Europe. The main problem--beyond the outcome of any potential regulation--is that larger start-ups aren't going to be as interested in joining Google if they have to put their life on hold for six months while the government dithers over whether or not the deal is kosher. A great deal of Google's success in 2010 came from larger acquisitions that might not have been approved if they were proposed in 2011, such as DoubleClick, AdMob, or YouTube. Groupon, the darling of the daily deals department, was said to harbor such concerns as acquisition talks broke down between it and Google. AdMob was also reported to have sought an enormous &quot;breakup fee&quot; should its acquisition by Google have been squashed by federal regulators. At some point, doing business with those larger start-ups will stop making economic sense. The hassle and distraction that a public government trial could present for Google executives is not exactly something to be welcomed. But at the same time, the uncertainty over what Google might and might not be allowed to do isn't good for business either, and it also makes regulators look silly: either put your cards on the table and prove an unchecked Google is bad for the country or stop listening to whining from its competitors. Google and the U.S. government are going to clash in a big way at some point: might as well break that ice in 2011.Find your soul--and your scheduler For many years, it was pretty simple to understand Google: it operated the best Internet search engine the world had yet seen, able to match quickly queries on virtually anything conceivable with relevant Web pages.Google and its partners have come a long way since the G1, but Google still needs to work on making software for everyone, not just geeks.(Credit:CNET) Google is so much more than that now. Search hasn't gone away, but Google is increasingly a consumer software company, with products that are used in mobile phones, televisions, offices, and an ever-increasing array of gadgets. One challenge highlighted by that growth is that Google needs to make prettier things. Google's products in these markets tend to come off to average consumers as geeky and over-complicated, as even Google's Andy Rubin, leader of the Android project, admitted late in 2010. For some reason, Google's Web design aesthetic--simple, uncluttered, and usable--doesn't always surface in its consumer software products. It's a little unfair to compare Google directly to Apple in this regard, since Apple has so much more control over how iOS software is presented to the end user, but fairly or unfairly, that's the benchmark for mobile consumer software at the moment and Google doesn't always measure up to that standard. Also, while &quot;launch and iterate&quot; is a fabulous product development strategy for the Web--where subtle changes can be made extremely quickly and your customers pay nothing for the experience--it doesn't always work in consumer electronics. The initial experience needs to be right--or at least not awful--the first time the buyer uses the product or negative associations start to set in no matter how quickly a patch is released. Google therefore needs to release beefier versions of its software more consistently to give users and partners a chance to catch their breath. For example, the dizzying pace of Android development has been great for consumers and phone makers in one sense but can also cause confusion regarding which version of Android runs the fancy whiz-bang app that was just advertised by Verizon, and when their phone maker might approve that version for their device. Likewise, a more fully baked Google TV might have prevented some of early criticism of the software.Be social or change the playing field Few companies are really trying to compete against Google in Internet search these days. Instead, those bent on capturing eyeballs and advertising dollars on the Web are organizing their users in social groups, building Web versions of coffee shops and night clubs where people enjoy spending time and learning about new things from their friends as opposed to building the libraries people need for research purposes but would rather not wind up on a Saturday night. Google is clearly aware of this trend but has little to show for efforts in 2010 to be more social. The Web is not a zero-sum game: people will always turn to the search box for things they can't or would rather not ask their friends, but they'll also ask their group of Web contacts for information about a lot of things that Google's bots can't quite duplicate, like whether or not the boutique on the corner has something that matches the colors in my living room, or that the one bar on the corner has a bartender who went to college with my sister and can totally hook us up with free drinks. Google needs to figure out a way to get people to share that kind of information on its domain or convince Facebook and its users to open much of that information to its search bots. It might be easier to do just enough in social to keep Facebook on its toes while getting busy developing the next Web organization matrix. Just as social networking has started to reshape how information is collected and stored on the Internet, something will come along to reshape how social networking operates. If Google wants to be a Web influencer for decades it can't miss out on that next development.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[FCC gets closer to approving Comcast-NBC deal]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-gets-closer-to-approving-comcast-nbc-deal</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-gets-closer-to-approving-comcast-nbc-deal</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mharpsterr</dc:creator>
<category>Politics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-gets-closer-to-approving-comcast-nbc-deal</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Federal Communications Commission is a step closer to approving the $37 billion joint venture between Comcast and General Electric's NBC Universal. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski gave his blessing today to the new joint venture, which was announced a year ago. He circulated an order among the four other FCC commissioners stating that he believes the venture, which will be controlled by cable giant Comcast, will be in the public interest, paving the way for the full FCC to approve the marriage between the two companies. That full FCC approval isn't expected until January. The deal must also be approved by the Department of Justice, which is still examining the deal. Genachowski noted that he only approves of the deal if Comcast and General Electric, which owns NBC Universal, can agree on certain conditions. These conditions are meant to protect consumers from Comcast asserting too much control over content and distribution services. Once the deal is completed, Comcast will own 51 percent of the new joint venture.There is particular concern that Comcast, loaded with NBC Universal content, will have too much power in determining how the Internet develops as a video medium. Consumer groups and other critics fear that Comcast will stifle this emerging medium. They are also fearful that Comcast will use its strong content position, with cable channels, such as MSNBC, USA, and Bravo, to harm its existing paid TV competitors.Earlier this week, the FCC pushed through controversial rules meant to prevent the owners of high-speed lines and airwaves, such as Comcast, from favoring their services and content over competitors' content and services. The FCC chairman's office has not released details of the proposed conditions it hopes to put on the deal, but during a call with journalists today, representatives gave a sense of areas that the agency is examining. First, the agency is looking at ways to ensure that Comcast will not be able to favor its own video content over content of its rivals. For example, the conditions would likely make it difficult for Comcast to withhold content from its paid TV competitors. And it will not be able to slow or block traffic from online video providers such as Netflix.The FCC is also examining the role that Comcast should play in Hulu, the online video service that is partly owned by NBC Universal. Walt Disney Co. and News Corp. are also co-owners of Hulu. Comcast has its own online video site and some opponents of the merger are worried that Comcast may cripple the service in some way, because it is seen as a competitor to its existing cable service or its online video services.Eventual approval of the merger could require Comcast to share its NBC programming with online video providers, who have reached similar deals with Hulu partners and competitors Walt Disney and News Corp.The agency is also considering measures that would put conditions on where Comcast can place the NBC channels on its cable TV lineup. In addition, it is likely to require Comcast to keep similar channels, such as sports or news channels, close to its rivals' similar channels. Any conditions that the FCC puts on Comcast could eventually expire or be reviewed on a regular basis to see if the government still thinks they are necessary.Genachowski's recommendation must be approved by the other four FCC commissioners, who could change aspects of the conditions. The two Republicans on the FCC are likely to want fewer conditions, while the two Democrats are likely to ask for more conditions, or at the very least stricter conditions.Regulators have spent roughly nine months reviewing the deal antitrust issues and to ascertain whether the deal is in the public interest. Comcast executives had expected regulators to conclude their review and approve the deal by the end of the year. But yesterday, Comcast issued a statement saying it doesn't expect to close the transaction until January at the earliest.Comcast said in the statement that it would continue to &quot;work with the commissioners so that the FCC order will not undermine our business combinations and will ensure that consumers will benefit and that competitors are treated fairly.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Skype outage affecting users around the globe]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=skype-outage-affecting-users-around-the-globe</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=skype-outage-affecting-users-around-the-globe</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>groogsvaria</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=skype-outage-affecting-users-around-the-globe</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The message Skype displays after attempting to place a call.(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Skype appears to be suffering an outage.Twitter users around the globe are taking to the social network to report that Skype is down for them. The tweets started hitting Twitter this morning and continue as of this writing. Users are also reporting that their mobile applications, including those on Android and on theiPhone, are inoperable.I tested the Skype app on myMac and it is down as of this writing. My Skype iPhone app is also down. CNET's Rafe Needleman had been experiencing outage issues this morning, but said that his service was soon restored.Update 9:18 a.m. PT: Skype wrote in an e-mail to CNET this morning that it's &quot;assessing the matter now and its extent. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our users.&quot;Update 11:12 a.m. PT: Skype then followed that up with a blog post shedding more light on the outage.According to the company, it &quot;noticed that the number of people online on Skype was falling, which wasn't typical or expected.&quot; After investigating the issue, Skype found that &quot;a large number of supernodes,&quot; which act as the service's phone directory of sorts, &quot;were taken offline by a problem affecting some versions of Skype.&quot;To fix the issue, Skype's engineers are currently &quot;creating new 'mega-supernodes'&quot; that should get the service running normally in &quot;a few hours.&quot; Skype's group video chatting feature could take even longer to be fixed.Update 2:27 p.m. PT: As promised, Skype says that its service is &quot;now returning to normal.&quot; However, the company also noted on its Twitter account that it could still &quot;take several hours for everyone to be able to sign in again.&quot;We will continue to share details as we hear more.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[3-in-1 iPad Connection Kit: SD, microSD, and USB]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=3-in-1-ipad-connection-kit-sd-microsd-and-usb</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=3-in-1-ipad-connection-kit-sd-microsd-and-usb</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kavita01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=3-in-1-ipad-connection-kit-sd-microsd-and-usb</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Why juggle two Apple dongles when the 3-in-1 iPad Camera Connection Kit provides three connectivity options in a single dongle(Credit:M.I.C Store)Viewing photos on youriPad is a beautiful thing. Getting photos onto your iPad: not so much.The traditional method requires copying snapshots from your camera to your PC, then from your PC to your iPad. That's one irksome extra step, and not exactly practical if you're traveling.Hence Apple's iPad Camera Connection Kit, which for $29 gives you two dongles: one for reading SD media, another for connecting your camera directly via USB.It's bad enough you have to pack a dongle at all, but two of them Bleh. That's why I'm jazzed about the 3-in-1 iPad Camera Connection Kit, which for $29 combines three connectivity options in one dongle: SD, microSD, and USB.Granted, not many cameras use microSD cards, but every Android phone does--so if you've ever wanted an easy way to copy photos from, say, your Droid to your iPad, here's your answer.The 3-in-1 kit comes in either black or white. It's available now for preorder from the M.I.C Store, with delivery expected &quot;after Christmas.&quot; (Sorry if you had this in mind as a stocking stuffer.) Shipping will run you $6.60.While this could be a killer accessory for current-gen iPad owners, I fully expect we'll see a USB connector built into the iPad 2--and maybe even a card reader as well. (It's just my hunch' I have no real-world data to back that up.)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Are video games art 2010 Edition]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=are-video-games-art-2010-edition</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=are-video-games-art-2010-edition</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>kohlline142</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=are-video-games-art-2010-edition</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Playdead)While the role of the professional critic in the realm of books, film, music, or art is well-established, for interactive entertainment the lines are less clear. As a (relatively) young medium, questions about how to actually write about video games are still being hashed out, by consumers, fans, bloggers, established media critics, and others. Are video games art 2010 Edition The default to date has been to consider a work of interactive entertainment as a packaged consumer product -- hence game reviews that focus on the number of levels, hours of gameplay, and other technical details. I am more inclined to consider a game as a cultural or artistic effort -- which is hopefully how even a very mainstream entertainment-minded audience sees it, consciously or not (to not do so would be akin to judging a film such as &quot;Apocalypse Now&quot; by the number of explosions per minute). Over the course of this year, as part of CNET's revolving brain trust of gaming experts (typically alongside my colleagues Scott Stein and Jeff Bakalar) I've endeavored to take that broader view, looking at how these games fit into the larger cultural landscape, and hopefully providing some useful context and analysis along the way. Whether I have or not is up to you to decide, and to that end, I've collected some of the more interesting (and perhaps self-indulgent at times) excerpts of my year-long attempt to discern the artistic and cultural value, if any, of the games of 2010. Film critic Roger Ebert has approached the issue from the other end, at first famously declaring that &quot;video games can never be art,&quot; and later amending that to say, &quot;in principle, video games cannot be art.&quot; Despite the torrent of replies Ebert has received, ranging from calm and rational to angry and hyperbolic, he's actually more correct than his detractors. Just because we can provide some cultural or artistic context for some games, doesn't mean the medium has done more than scratch the surface (or as Ebert describes it, these are primitive cave paintings compared to Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.)Click through the accompanying slideshow to see the worlds of Bioshock, God of War, and Fallout filtered through Ayn Rand, Joseph Campbell, and Cormac McCarthy, then add your voice to the debate by commenting below.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[State regulators approve Cape Wind power contract]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=state-regulators-approve-cape-wind-power-contract</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=state-regulators-approve-cape-wind-power-contract</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:10:46 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mary-Cherry8</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=state-regulators-approve-cape-wind-power-contract</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Massachusetts utility regulators today approved the initial power purchase agreement for Cape Wind, bringing the controversial offshore wind farm product closer to construction. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved a 15-year power purchase agreement between Cape Wind and utility National Grid to buy half of the electricity produced at the proposed farm in the Nantucket Sound off the coast of Cape Cod.The rates at which National Grid agreed to purchase power from Cape Wind are above market rates. But the Department of Public Utilities concluded that Cape Wind is in the public interest and the prices are acceptable in light of the benefits. It projected that consumer electricity bills will go up between 1.3 percent and 1.7 percent, and bills for commercial and industrial customers will go up between 1.7 percent and 2.2 percent.A simulation from Cape Wind on how the 130 wind turbines will look from the closest point onshore. The state has mandated that utilities generate a certain percentage of its electricity from renewable energy sources. There are other, less expensive renewable energy sources, but they face permitting hurdles in the short term, making it clear that offshore wind is need to meet that mandate, regulators said in the 374-page decision (click for PDF). Cape Wind has been under development for 10 years and has met all federal reviews.In addition to helping meet the state renewable energy mandate, Cape Wind will have a downward effect on wholesale electricity prices because Cape Wind will bid into daily energy markets at no or low fuel costs. The wind farm, which will be between 5.6 and 13.8 miles offshore from Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, will also moderate peak load on the grid.&quot;This is the moment for the state and the region to begin to capture the potential of offshore wind by approving the long-term contract that will help the country's largest proposed offshore wind facility become a reality,&quot; according to the regulators' order.The decision, which was expected to be favorable, positions Cape Wind to seek out financing to start building the project, said Cape Wind representative Mark Rodgers. Project developers hope to begin construction next year and begin operating within a year or two. Opponents of the project, meanwhile, are expected to appeal the decision to the state supreme court. &quot;It is obvious that the DPU [Department of Public Utilities] made this decision based on politics rather than facts,&quot; said Audra Parker, CEO of the opposition group Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.With 130 turbines, Cape Wind is projected to have a capacity of 468 megawatts, and National Grid agreed to a power purchase agreement of $187 per megawatt-hour for 15 years with a planned 3.5 percent yearly rate increase. The utility commission said that rate is &quot;expensive in light of today's energy prices. It may also be expensive in light of forecasted energy prices--although less so than its critics suggest.&quot;The Department of Public Utilities denied National Grid's request for a second power purchase agreement to acquire the second half of Cape Wind's total output, which National Grid could have assigned to another party. Regulators said that power purchase agreements for the remainder of Cape Wind's output need to be approved separately. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[5 car video game crossovers we want to see]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=5-car-video-game-crossovers-we-want-to-see</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=5-car-video-game-crossovers-we-want-to-see</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=5-car-video-game-crossovers-we-want-to-see</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In light of the Jeep Wrangler making an appearance in the new Call of Duty: Black Ops, and the associated Wrangler Black Ops edition offered by Jeep, we came up with five other video gamecar crossovers we would like to see. We looked at the top games either available now or coming soon on GameSpot, and picked five likely candidates for a crossover deal.&amp;nbsp'Game&amp;nbsp'CarFallout: New VegasFord Shelby GT500If we're roaming the post-apocalyptic wastelands around New Vegas, we want to do it Mad Max-style. The Shelby GT500 has the mean looks and high horsepower to deal with missions in the Fallout world, and, most importantly, the engine has a blower. A Fallout edition Shelby GT500 should be primer black with gloss stripes.Fable IIIMitsubishi i-MievWith its pumpkin shape, the i-Miev would best fit in the fairytale world of Fable. These adventure games often require a lot of tedious walking from place to place, so we would rather drive. And the i-Miev's silent power train won't disturb the mythological creatures in the world. A Fable edition i-Miev would need appropriate livery, a heraldic design with plugs and lightning bolts.Halo: Reach Infiniti FX50Let's face it, the Warthog has been around for a long time. It's time for an update, and we can think of no more space-age-looking vehicle than the Infiniti FX50. With its big, powerful V-8 and all-wheel drive, it can tear across the landscape, mowing down anything that gets in your way. Of course, the game version will need a .50-caliber gun mounted out of the sunroof.Kinect Joy Ride Mazda MX-5 MiataOn the cartoony racetracks of Kinect Joy Ride, no car would fit in better than the Miata. Mazda's newest styling language gives the front of the Miata a big, silly grin. The car is pretty much a cartoon already. For the Joy Ride edition, it will need some CarLashes.Assassin's Creed: BrotherhoodLexus GX 460The main character in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood leads his revolution, occasionally using wagons to strike at opponents. But a Lexus GX 460 would give him the ability for quick drive-bys. Imagine this big SUV pulling up fast to the curb, loaded with assassins wielding crossbows and unleashing a volley at the bad guys. The Assassin's Creed edition of the GX 460 would need wood paneling, of course, for a better fit in this world.What cars would you like to see in video games, outside of the obvious Need for Speed and Gran Turismo franchises Tell us in the comments.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cook with the pros and play ball as one: iPhone apps of the week]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cook-with-the-pros-and-play-ball-as-one-iphone-apps-of-the-week</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cook-with-the-pros-and-play-ball-as-one-iphone-apps-of-the-week</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:11:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zainab01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cook-with-the-pros-and-play-ball-as-one-iphone-apps-of-the-week</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:CNET)The bigApple iPhone news this week involved a new app approved in the iTunes App Store called Skyfire Web Browser (link will open iTunes). This new Web browser's claim to fame is that it can display Flash content by using an interesting workaround. The browser sends Flash content to its own server, converts it to HTML5, then streams the content back to your iPhone. Jessica Dolcourt wrote about Skyfire's shaky launch here.Apparently, within 5 hours, Skyfire's servers were overloaded (imagine that!) as people swarmed to a new way to view Flash on the iPhone. To be honest, I haven't run into many problems with not having Flash, but I definitely hope that Apple and Adobe or someone can come to an agreement so any smartphone user can get ALL the Web content available.As of right now, Skyfire is still available at the iTunes App Store, but I have to wonder how it could not know there would be an onslaught of traffic and prepare accordingly. It also makes me wonder if it's really worth the trouble.What do you think Are you content waiting for developers to convert everything to HTML5 (if that's even possible) Should Apple just throw caution to the wind and make it so Flash works (and open the platform to those alleged dangers) Let me know in the comments!This week, get cooking with chefs from the Food Network and play a fun arcade baseball game.Once you find a recipe, use the top buttons to see a list of ingredients and how to cook the dish.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)In The Kitchen ($1.99) gives you a recipe database made up of delicious recipes from all your favorite chefs from the Food Network. The interface offers a number of ways to find a good recipe, either by using a search tool or by touching the image of a chef from the Food Network.Browse through thousands of recipes from popular chefs including Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, and Rachael Ray, and get reviews for recipes from other users. Once you decide on a dish to make, you can have In The Kitchen create a shopping list for you so you can check off ingredients as you walk around the store. The shopping list is particularly helpful because you can add just the items you need or all the items from multiple dishes. Even if you don't want to make a particular recipe today, you can store favorites in a Recipe Box so you can get back to them later.Along with tons of recipes from your favorite Food Network chefs, handy tools for shopping, and a Recipe Box for your favorites, In The Kitchen offers timers so you don't even need to set a separate one. With all these features and the addition of special seasonal recipe collections, anyone who wants to add to his or her cooking repertoire should definitely download this app.You&amp;39'll need to use your all stars (pitchers mound) to get out of difficult game time situations.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Baseball Superstars 2011 ($4.99) lets you play a cartoony, but surprisingly deep version of America's favorite pastime on your iPhone. You can choose from 10 teams initially with varying skills (some have better batting, whereas others might offer faster runners, for example) and play a standard baseball game. The graphics are more cartoonlike than realistic, and you won't be able to choose your favorite team (Baseball Superstars is not licensed by MLB), but you'll quickly forget your team is &quot;The Dolphins&quot; once you start playing in an exhibition game, home run hitting derby, or even a 45-game season.Baseball Superstars 2011 offers plenty of depth and replay value by allowing you to customize a batter or a pitcher with items you can buy in-game. You also have special pitches and a super-hitting button with special players you can unlock as you play. Though you don't have full control like you would in a console baseball game, Baseball Superstars 2011 manages to use the iPhone touch screen very well. Fielding the ball is done automatically, but you have full control over the type of pitches you throw and ball placement.Even though Baseball Superstars 2011 is not a realistic-looking baseball game, and doesn't come with our favorite players and teams from the pros, this title will still appeal to baseball fans offering some RPG elements and plenty of extras to keep the game interesting. My only question is, why did they release this game after the World Series was over (go Giants!)What's your favorite iPhone app Are you excited that you finally have the recipes from Food Network favorites on your iPhone What do you think of the arcadelike but surprisingly deep gameplay in Baseball Superstars 2011 Let me know in the comments!<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple's tough iTunes note meant for indie labels]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apples-tough-itunes-note-meant-for-indie-labels</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apples-tough-itunes-note-meant-for-indie-labels</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 07:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Dhoni</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apples-tough-itunes-note-meant-for-indie-labels</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple's letter to music labels about the company's adoption of 90-second song samples sounded brash and uncompromising, reminiscent of how the company once seemed to negotiate with the music industry.Rick Carnes, president of the Songwriters Guild of America, said he&amp;39's in favor of longer samples. He just thinks artists should be compensated for them. (Credit:Rick Carnes)Apple wrote in e-mails to an undisclosed number of music industry executives--made public on Tuesday--that it would soon offer longer samples for songs that are at least two-and-a-half minutes in length. For shorter songs, iTunes would continue to offer 30-second previews, the company wrote. CNET broke the news in August that Apple planned to offer longer samples. What raised eyebrows about Apple's note was that it appeared that the company was offering an ultimatum to the entire record industry. But the largest stakeholders, the four top labels--Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music--signed off on Apple's plan to boost the length of iTunes' song previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds in August, according to multiple music industry sources. Apple has also penned individual deals with some of the top publishing companies. Instead of the big guys, Apple's notice appears to be directed at the scores of independent record labels, industry insiders said. Apple stated in the letter that it would roll out longer samples soon at iTunes and that anybody who left their music up at the Web store was automatically agreeing to give Apple the right to offer the longer song samples &quot;gratis,&quot; or for free. The message is pretty clear: accept the longer previews for longer songs, or pull them off iTunes. An Apple representative confirmed that the note was sent but declined to comment for this story. Managers at some of the bigger indie labels were reluctant to comment today, saying they hadn't seen Apple's letter or hadn't had time to analyze it. Two did acknowledge that it seemed that Apple was playing hardball. There's a reason for the tough approach. Apple is in a hurry to get the deals done so it can offer the longer samples for holiday shopping. Time is running out. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was expected to announce the longer samples at a press event on September 1, music industry sources told CNET. Before that could happen, the National Music Publishers Association notified the company that it would need to negotiate a deal with the publishers before going ahead with its plans. Sources said the NMPA is still in negotiations with Apple, as is Broadcast Music Inc.. (BMI), a group that collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers. Hanna Pantle, a BMI spokeswoman, told CNET today, &quot;We are in active and positive negotiations with Apple for the performance right of our repertoire.&quot; At a time when many iTunes users favor YouTube to sample and discover music, a longer sample seems like a no-brainer. In its note, Apple said, &quot;We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases.&quot;But some in the music industry have grumbled in the past that Apple should compensate rights owners for the previews. &quot;It's like giving away ice cream samples--someone has to pay the cost,&quot; said Rick Carnes, president of the Songwriters Guild of America. &quot;I think it would be a good thing for consumers to go to 90 seconds. But they're tripling the amount of time, and they want it for free. I think there ought to be compensation. I believe anytime you use music, you ought to reward the people making the music.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Intel creating first chip for outside manufacturer]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=intel-creating-first-chip-for-outside-manufacturer</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=intel-creating-first-chip-for-outside-manufacturer</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lilly01</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=intel-creating-first-chip-for-outside-manufacturer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Intel traditionally builds chips for its own use, but it's now branching out to create one for another manufacturer.Intel will create chips based on its 22-nanometer technology for Achronix Semiconductor, Achronix announced today. This marks the first time Intel is designing a chip for another manufacturer and may indicate that the chip giant is looking to do some contract manufacturing for outside customers.Based in San Jose, Calif., Achronix will use Intel's 22-nanometer chips to develop its own Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). FPGAs are integrated circuits that can be programmed after they've been manufactured, allowing customers to adapt them for their own needs. Known as the Achronix Speedster22i, the new FPGA will see as much as a 300 percent gain in performance, 50 percent lower power drain, and 40 percent less cost than FPGAs build on 28-nanometer technology, Achronix said. Geared for telecommunications, networking, industrial, and consumer markets, the FPGA is expected to drive such applications as 100G and 400G Ethernet networking and LTE mobile communications, added Achronix.The Speedster22i will also be the first commercial FPGA family that can be made in the U.S., setting it up for military and aerospace customers, which require that such chips be made domestically for security reasons.&quot;Intel has the best process technology in the world and we are privileged to have formed this strategic relationship, which enables simultaneous improvements in speed, power, density, and cost,&quot; Achronix CEO John Holt said in a statement. &quot;The combination of the advanced 22nm process from Intel and the advanced FPGA technology from Achronix enables Speedster22i to eclipse other FPGA solutions expected to hit the market in the next few years.&quot;Though Intel has downplayed the new deal as a sign of things to come, some analysts see it as an indication that the company is jumping into the contract manufacturing business, according to The New York Times.&quot;I think this is only the beginning of Intel manufacturing for others,&quot; said Gus Richard, a microprocessor industry analyst with Piper Jaffray, as quoted by the Times.The deal will get off the ground sometime next year, according to the Times, when Intel will begin making the chips for Achronix.First demoed by CEO Paul Otellini at the Intel Developers Forum a little more than a year ago, the 22-nanometer microprocessors are the latest chips being pushed to the market. Squeezing 2.9 billion individual transistors in an area the size of a fingernail, the 22-nanometer chip has challenged traditional manufacturing processes, which use conventional photolithography, a method by which circuits are printed onto semiconductor chips.Intel recently announced that it would spend between $6 billion and $8 billion to build a new chip manufacturing plant and upgrade its existing fabrication plants in Arizona and Oregon. The new and existing plants will be put to work making the 22-nanometer processors, which are being designed to provide higher performance and longer battery life at a cheaper cost.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Could Kodak&'s patents threaten photo-sharing sites]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=could-kodakrsquos-patents-threaten-photo-sharing-sites</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=could-kodakrsquos-patents-threaten-photo-sharing-sites</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mamonria</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=could-kodakrsquos-patents-threaten-photo-sharing-sites</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A patent dispute is unfolding between Kodak and photo-sharing site Shutterfly that could haveramificationsfor some of the broader photo-sharing sites on the web, such as Yahoo&amp;'s Flickr, the widely-used Picasa by Google, and Facebook&amp;'s Photos feature.Kodak has filed a lawsuit against Shutterfly over five patents it claims Shutterfly&amp;'s online services are infringing on. Shutterfly is a popular way for people to purchase print photo books, stationery, and calendars out of their personal photos. Shutterfly has denied the claims and filed a counter-suit against Kodak over the company&amp;'s own Kodak Gallery Software.Kodak claims to have over 400 patents in the space and has possibly made Shutterfly its initial target because it makes for an ideal opponent &amp;8212' the publicly-traded Shutterfly is much bigger than a private-owned startup in the space but doesn&amp;'t have the deep pockets of giants like Google and Facebook to fully challenge such a lawsuit.The company hasn&amp;'t stated outright whether it intends to go after other players at this point, but says it is confident in the value of its patents. Most likely, it&amp;'s picking a single contender to prove a point before it marks out for an open-fire across the slew of other photo-sharing websites.How will Google, Yahoo, and Facebook respond if the patent bug gets to them Theo Savvides, head of intellectual property at Osborne Clarke, told BBC News that he predicts smaller firms are more likely to license Kodak&amp;'s technology than fight claims, but the giants may be more likely to fight the claims.&amp;''The case may hinge on Kodak&amp;'s ability to show that when it filed the patents they covered technology that was genuinely innovative,&amp;'' added Deborah Bould, a specialist in intellectual property at law firm Pinsent Masons.Back in January, Kodak also filed a suit against Apple and Blackberry-maker RIM over patents on the displaying and previewing of images on their cellphone devices.Previous Story: Hulu gets more YouTube-like with playlistsPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: intellectual property, lawsuit, patent, photo sharingCompanies: flickr, Kodak, Picasa, Shutterfly          Tags: intellectual property, lawsuit, patent, photo sharingCompanies: flickr, Kodak, Picasa, ShutterflySid Yadav is a contributor to VentureBeat. He currently studies computer science and psychology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He is also the creator of Memiary, a micro-diary utility. You can reach him at sidyadav@gmail.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @sidyadav.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[DEMO does San Francisco (photos)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=demo-does-san-francisco-photos</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=demo-does-san-francisco-photos</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stephen001</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=demo-does-san-francisco-photos</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Didn&amp;'t make it to the DEMO party tonight a Mighty Really Even though it featured entrepreneur boy band Cover Flow  Well, it was sold out, so I guess I can let it go this time. But to give you a taste of what you missed, we have a collection of images that will be constantly updated through the night and tomorrow.The party is part of a wider effort to meet with entrepreneurs. DEMO, which VentureBeat co-produces, is arguably the leading event where technology companies launch their products, and wea4a4re trying to meet the best companies out there. The next DEMO takes place February 27 a4&quot; March 1 in Palm Springs, Calif.Next Story: Amazon debuts Kindle for the Web on heels of Google eBooks Previous Story: Panzura scores $12M to make cloud apps better, faster, more productivePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: DEMO          Tags: DEMOVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Polish programmers are joining U.S. startups &8211' but staying in Poland]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=polish-programmers-are-joining-u-s--startups-8211-but-staying-in-poland</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=polish-programmers-are-joining-u-s--startups-8211-but-staying-in-poland</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Elsa</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=polish-programmers-are-joining-u-s--startups-8211-but-staying-in-poland</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This is a guest post by Julia Krysztofiak-Szopa, product manager at Inflavo and former community manager at Adtaily. On Twitter she is @julencjaIf you happen to be a smart, English-speaking programmer in Poland, there is a good chance you will work in a start-up. An American one.Ryan Janssen, CEO of New York based SetJam.com started his company 18 months ago. His first challenge was to build a team of quality developers but, according to how he sees the tech scene in New York, finding the developers who work in lighter, agile frameworks was not so easy. The startup-oriented Django/Python/Scrum skill sets are hard to find in a city where majority of programmers work in more enterprise-friendly methodologies, with .NET, Java and C++ as core languages.Today SetJam employs six full-time developers and three quality assurance specialists, all of them based in Poland (pictured), while the CEO, business people and project manager are located in the New York office, 6 hours away in terms of time zone difference. Though it might sound odd for a young company to delegate its entire product development to people found somewhere in the Internet who live 4300 miles away, Janssen says he is extremely happy about the way the work gets done in the team.Finding the first programmers took him about 40 emails sent to various coders of which about 30 replied. After Skype talks and evaluating their online presence (blogs, open source contributions, Github and Djangopeople profiles) he decided to give three of them a shot. Since the very beginning the company maintains high bandwidth internal communication, with daily stand-ups on Campfire, issue tracking on Lighthouse and two Mac Minis with Skype video turned on 24/7 which serve as a window between the two offices, just to feel a little closer.Asked about the downsides of having a remote team he says they are really losing out the social aspect of working together, with all the normal working communications expressed only via Skype talks. But for the investors at least, as Janssen claims after several serious talks, the Polish team is not an issue at all and the two offices situation has never been seen as a problem. The obvious advantage of keeping development in Central Europe is a much better access to quality programmers fluent in modern frameworks and their competitive rates, comparable to what is offered by regular outsource companies in India. Also, when you deal with western TV productions, like SetJam does, you really need developers who understand the American culture. With Polish programmers who probably watch more American than Polish TV series there are practically no cultural gaps.I was curious if the Polish developers who work for American start-ups share the same &amp;''perfect match&amp;'' enthusiasm. Michaa4a4s Ka4a4sujszo and Maciej Cielecki of 10clouds.com, run a development house in Warsaw, Poland. The team has been developing several software projects in agile methodologies based on scrum. One of their biggest current projects is Numote.com, a San Francisco based social TV start-up, where they have been coding an iPhone app and backend for it.Before Numote&amp;'s CEO, Vijay Kailas, hired 10clouds, he had been outsourcing iPhone app development to India. He sums up this experience in one sentence: &amp;''when you hire an Indian team, you need to hire two to be sure you&amp;'ll get the product shipped.&amp;'' He switched then to Polish developers and they have been working together with 10clouds for 10 months now.Although 10clouds can&amp;'t complain about a lack of clients in Poland, they clearly prefer to take projects from the US. &amp;''It&amp;'s just the cultural difference between Polish and American entrepreneurs. The Americans are faster in making decisions, don&amp;'t get upset about prices and have more faith in people&amp;'', say Michaa4a4s and Maciej. While it&amp;'s usually completely OK for an American entrepreneur to be charged in the cost per hour model, Polish companies would rather pay a fixed rate for entire projects, which clearly makes the development less flexible.10clouds have more to say about drawbacks of working remotely. The biggest problem is communication, and with Warsaw and San Francisco being 9 hours apart it forces product owners to plan ahead all the specification and implementation.  10clouds&amp;' founders say the biggest difference between working via Skype and physically sharing an office is that you can&amp;'t compensate for any mess made just talking over Skype. Outsourcing development requires big discipline while expressing and planning the software specification. And you can&amp;'t just call a developer at 2 AM to tell him to make an ad hoc quick fix just right now.For its own part, the Polish start-up scene superficially looks pretty healthy for a country that only 20 years ago was behind the Iron Curtain. Each year there are a number of start-up expos, start-up competitions, start-up schools, and whatever else start-upish comes to mind. Practically every bigger city in Poland has its own tech event held on a regular basis. These barcamps and meetups create vibrant local communities of bloggers, nerds, tech people, and all kinds of consultants.The problem is, however, that all these events seldom give birth to many real start-up companies. The number of VCs and angels in Poland is minimal and the standards of investor/start-up relations haven&amp;'t been formed yet, to put it diplomatically. Hence the result:  each year a handful of quality programmers graduate from several good universities in Warsaw, Krakw, or Wroca4a4saw, but the under-developed community of investors makes them think twice before they set up their own start-ups. When you look at the country rankings of TopCoder, the world&amp;'s largest competitive software development community, Poland, the only country in top five that uses the Latin alphabet, is just behind Russia and China.Without an easy access to American visas Polish programmers do stay in Poland. And perhaps it&amp;'s only a matter of time until, as the SetJam&amp;'s dev team half-jokingly calls it, &amp;''outsourcing CEOs to the US&amp;'' hits the Polish mainstream.CrunchBase InformationJulia Krysztofiak-SzopaInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Green car makers uses social media to hawk new models]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=green-car-makers-uses-social-media-to-hawk-new-models</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=green-car-makers-uses-social-media-to-hawk-new-models</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wanreswin3</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=green-car-makers-uses-social-media-to-hawk-new-models</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Toyota, maker of the best-known hybrid to date,announced today a new family of its Priuses, including a plug-in version slated for release in 2012.Not unexpectedly, considering that a major industry auto show is happening this week in Detroit, Toyota took the announcement an extra step by using social media as part of its pitch. Executives answered questions about the new models of Priuses via a Twitter chat, and an announcement was also made available via livestream on the company&amp;'s website.Ita4a4s not the first time Toyota and others have experimented with social media to build hype for new offerings. The carmaker chose to announce its release of six new hybrids by 2012 via atweet last year. Nissan has set up a Twitter account for its all-electric Leaf, where it retweets opinions of new Leaf owners and test drivers.Last year, Ford launched an aggressive, nationwide social mediacampaign for its well-reviewed, high gas-mileage Fiesta that had industry watchers declaring it a a4Awinnera4 in social media awareness, ranking it above its competitors.Earlier this month, electric car company Tesla chose to announce via blog the completion of a working prototype of the company&amp;'s 2012 all-electric Model S sedan. The companyreleased a trio of high-quality videos that showed a walk-through of the car&amp;'s engineering, rather than opting for a traditional press release. (A Vimeo is worth a thousand words, perhaps)But social media can also lead to hiccups. VentureBeatreported the news two days ahead of Tesla&amp;'s announcement because a company employee let the news slip via a comment he penned on a Model S story.And electric cars appear to still betough to produce and sell en masse, as the Prius Plug-In is slated for limited release, like the Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus Electric. The Prius Plug-In will initially be offered in the 14 states where 60 percent of existing Priuses have been sold: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Virginia and New Hampshire. Toyota says the plug-in Prius will become available to the rest of the U.S. a year after initial rollout.While social media is clearly an increasingly integral part of car marketing, it doesn&amp;'t change the fact that the Toyota Prius Plug-In will be up against more green car competition than it had when the original Prius launched 10 years ago. The company website states battery range will cover 13 miles of emissions-free driving, less than the 25 to 50 miles of battery-powered driving the partially electric hybrid Chevrolet Volt offers.[Image via army.mil]Next Story: Hands on with the Verizon iPhone&amp;'s 3G hotspot (video) Previous Story: Toyota Prius Plug-In: Can it measure up to Chevrolet, Ford and Nissan&amp;'s offeringsPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Chevrolet Volt, electric cars, electric vehicles, Fiesta, Leaf, Nissan Leaf, Prius, Prius PHEV, Prius Plug-In, VoltCompanies: Chevrolet, ford, Nissan, Tesla, Toyota          Tags: Chevrolet Volt, electric cars, electric vehicles, Fiesta, Leaf, Nissan Leaf, Prius, Prius PHEV, Prius Plug-In, VoltCompanies: Chevrolet, ford, Nissan, Tesla, ToyotaIris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you  pronounce her last name).VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google&'s big, but is that bad]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googlersquos-big-but-is-that-bad</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googlersquos-big-but-is-that-bad</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bepnozi254</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googlersquos-big-but-is-that-bad</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Is Google getting too big Yes, argues Steven Pearlstein, a Washington Post business columnist &amp;8212' so big, he says, that the government should start reviewing every one of the company&amp;'s acquisitions on antitrust grounds.But big doesn&amp;'t necessarily mean anticompetitive. With a cash hoard of $33 billion, a market cap of $189 billion, and a money-minting search franchise, Google is going to keep growing, whether critics such as Pearlstein like it or not. The only question is whether it will do so organically a4&quot;- developing technologies and services in-house a4&quot;- or whether it will buy its way into growth. It will likely continue doing both. Though Pearlstein is content with Google&amp;'s &amp;''near-monopoly&amp;'' in search and online advertising, he doesn&amp;'t believe that the company should be allowed to &amp;''buy its way into new markets and new technologies, particularly when the firms being bought already have a dominant position in their respective market niches.&amp;''Google mounted its own defense on Wednesday, not long after the column appeared. All big companies routinely make &amp;''build vs. buy&amp;'' decisions, noted deputy general counsel Don Harrison on Google&amp;'s Public Policy Blog. And he shot down Pearlstein&amp;'s argument that Google&amp;'s size squeezes out deal competitors by citing several deals on which other companies competed against Google.On that second point, Harrison could have been much more scathing. Pearlstein argued that thanks to Google&amp;'s big cash pile, other companies can&amp;'t hope to offer the kinds of premiums that Google does. The deal competitors he cites: Microsoft and Facebook. Need I point you to Microsoft&amp;'s balance sheet, to the many reports about Facebook&amp;'s ever-soaring valuation, or to the recent history of either company&amp;'s acquisitions Tellingly, he doesn&amp;'t mention Apple, which has tangled with Google on several deals (like AdMob). Maybe he left Apple out because it has $50 billion in cash &amp;8212' 50 percent more than Google &amp;8212' and a larger market cap besides. Or because Apple does tend to emphasize organic growth over acquisitions, a strategy which for whatever reason, Pearlstein seems to favor.The main problem with Pearlstein&amp;'s argument is that he cites not a single case where Google&amp;'s dominance of a market has hurt anyone, either through price-gouging or through barriers to entry. He seems to simply be uncomfortable with Google&amp;'s size. And that alone is not enough to block a deal.There are plenty of reasons to consider scrutinizing Google on antitrust grounds. In 2008, it struck a deal with Yahoo on advertising, later pulling the plug in the face of Justice Department scrutiny. Leaving aside the details of the proposed agreement, such deals generallyshould face close scrutiny because they are horizontal a4&quot;- the pact would have strengthened Google&amp;'s already dominant position in online advertising through an agreement with a direct competitor.But the deals Pearlstein cites are different. He bemoans the &amp;''recent acquisitions&amp;'' of YouTube (four years ago) DoubleClick (three and a half years ago) and AdMob (last year). It was &amp;''certainly the case&amp;'' that all three of these companies had dominant positions in their markets when Google snapped them up, he says. That&amp;'s true, although in AdMob&amp;'s case, it&amp;'s hard to say what &amp;''dominant&amp;'' means in a fast-moving, fast-growing market like mobile advertising. And in YouTube&amp;'s case, it&amp;'s hard to say there was much of a market there, since YouTube had a large audience but not much of a business at the point Google bought it.Pearlstein doesn&amp;'t even try to show who these deals have harmed. He cites not a single customer or competitor who suffered from these deals, even theoretically.To take YouTube as an example: Which companies were doing what YouTube was doing before Google bought the company Essentially, there were none. YouTube invented its market, so of course it dominated that market a4&quot;- nobody else had thought of providing such a service. Even more to the point, how can you say Google&amp;'s acquisition hurt the market when the company spent the first several years of its ownership trying to figure out how to make money from the thing What market was it dominating The market for paying for bandwidth to allow people to post video for freeThere are other possible reasons to examine Google on antitrust grounds. Gary Reback, famous for mounting an antitrust case against Microsoft a decade ago, told the New York Times&amp;' DealBook that Google is behaving much like Microsoft did back then -a4&quot; leveraging its power in the search market to foist its content into the marketplace, and to squeeze out competitors. He says Google tweaks its search algorithm to emphasize its own content above that of competitors.For instance, European officials are investigating whether Google lowered the rankings on competitors&amp;' rankings in its search service. And Yelp has complained that Google not only took content from its pages without permission for use on Google Places, the local search directory, but also that Yelp&amp;'s reviews were pushed to the bottom in favor of content from partners licensed by Google.And the Justice Department is probing Google&amp;'s proposed $700 million takeover of ITA Software, which would give Google access to airlines&amp;' flight information. That could take advertising dollars out of the hands of sites like Orbitz and Kayak. Critics say that although Google would ultimately send travelers to such sites to buy their tickets, the actual searches would be run on Google.None of this means, however, that every deal should be probed based on the vague notion that Google is &amp;''too big.&amp;''&amp;''Since Google generally has little existing presence in the market segments of the companies it buys,&amp;'' Pearlstein writes, &amp;''regulators fear that they will be unable to prove to skeptical judges that any one transaction will substantially lessen competition.&amp;''In other words, because regulators have little evidence to present, their ability to make cases is limited.The closest Pearlstein comes to citing the harm done by Google&amp;'s acquisitions is when he writes that, taken in isolation, each deal &amp;''might appear to be relatively benign,&amp;'' but &amp;''taken together, they allow Google to increase the scale and scope of its activities and to further enhance its controlling position across a range of sectors.&amp;''But increasing scale and scope is what businesses do. If the increase reaches the point of being potentially anticompetitive, then regulators can deal with it. But there has to be evidence first.Ultimately, Pearlstein does in his own argument. He notes how it is natural for economies of scale to occur in the technology business. The &amp;''companies with the most customers are able to use that advantage to lower prices, improve quality and increase their lead even further.&amp;''Lower prices and improved quality &amp;8212' who in their right mind would ever want thoseHe describes how network effects and high fixed and low variable costs lead naturally to a few big firms dominating certain markets (lowering prices, improving quality). But he wants the government to put a stop to these &amp;''economic realities.&amp;''He even notes that scale and dominance in the tech business usually doesn&amp;'t last because of the ever-shifting dynamics of innovation. He cites the shrinkage of both Microsoft and IBM in markets they once dominated, or potentially could have, but it doesn&amp;'t appear to dawn on him that the histories of both companies show that tech monopolies tend not to last.Simply because he perceives Google as being &amp;''too big,&amp;'' he&amp;'d rather have a bunch of small companies operating inefficiently and expensively, leaving customers far less satisfied &amp;8212' and, it should be noted, leaving many struggling startups without a profitable exit.Previous Story: iPad social magazine Flipboard adds Google Reader, Flickr and morePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: antitrust, competition, justice department, technology industryCompanies: AdMob, Apple, Facebook, Google, IBM, ITA Software, MicrosoftPeople: Evelyn Rusli, steven pearlstein          Tags: antitrust, competition, justice department, technology industryCompanies: AdMob, Apple, Facebook, Google, IBM, ITA Software, MicrosoftPeople: Evelyn Rusli, steven pearlsteinVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[iPad social magazine Flipboard adds Google Reader, Flickr and more]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-social-magazine-flipboard-adds-google-reader-flickr-and-more</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-social-magazine-flipboard-adds-google-reader-flickr-and-more</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>robozevalo</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-social-magazine-flipboard-adds-google-reader-flickr-and-more</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Despite continued questions over its legality, the hot iPad social magazine Flipboard shows no signs of slowing down. The company announced the latest update to its app last night, bringing with it support for Google Reader, Flickr, live previews and more.Flipboard made waves when it launched in July with its unique ability to turn any web page into an elegant reading  experience. But publishers weren&amp;'t so enthusiastic. Flipboard first  started off scraping content directly from websites, which brought up  major copyright concerns from publishers. Now the app is pulling content  from RSS feeds &amp;8212' which is better than scraping content, but is still  questionable legally.With this latest update, Flipboard automatically loads a story&amp;'s  original website underneath its optimized magazine view, instead of  having users click a &amp;''read on Web&amp;'' button manually. By doing so,  Flipboard readers now count as normal website pageviews on analytics  systems &amp;8212' which should make publishers happy.The company says that Google Reader support was the feature users requested most. Flipboard has added a &amp;''deep implementation&amp;'' of the service &amp;8212' meaning it supports pretty much every aspect of Google Reader. You can browse your Reader folders and your friends&amp;' shared folders, and of course you can star, comment and share stories as well. With this update, Flipboard is now a legitimate feed reader competitor to the likes of Reeder, the current king of iPad feed reading.Flipboard says it also added Flickr support due to high user demand. It makes sense &amp;8212' Flickr photos combined with Flipboard&amp;'s elegant layouts makes for a winning combination. Now you can view your Flickr photostream, your favorites, groups and more from within Flipboard.There are also a number of social networking upgrades within the app. It gives you easy access to your Facebook groups, fan pages and photos. You can also get access to your Tweets, favorites, @mentions and lists. Not only can you read content from social networks, you can contribute too: Flipboard lets you post status updates, photos and share links across Twitter, Facebook and Google Reader.The company says it has also added deeper integration for Flipboard Pages, its magazine-style layout that it&amp;'s currently testing with nine publishers.Flipboard has released a short video showing off the new features, which you can view below:Next Story: Google&amp;'s big, but is that bad Previous Story: Groupon looks for additional funding after striking Google&amp;'s $6B offerPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: feeds, flickr, Google Reader, iPad, RSSCompanies: Flipboard          Tags: feeds, flickr, Google Reader, iPad, RSSCompanies: FlipboardDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Twitter Users Make Snowstorm Map&nbsp'UKSnow]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-users-make-snowstorm-mapnbspuksnow</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-users-make-snowstorm-mapnbspuksnow</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>longge111</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-users-make-snowstorm-mapnbspuksnow</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Industrious Briton Ben Marsh has taken advantage of the epic ten inches of snow forecast in the UK this weekend to bring his fellow citizens together. On his sitea4sUKSnow,a4susers who tweet about the weather in realtime can now have their location coordinates and snow descriptions plotted on a map, as well as streaming in a sidebar. Many are including photos (like the one above) for an even richer experience.Yes people, it&amp;039's snowing. It does that in winter. Now stop making such a fuss uksnow<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AMD ships its first Fusion microprocessor-graphics combo chips]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ships-its-first-fusion-microprocessor-graphics-combo-chips</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ships-its-first-fusion-microprocessor-graphics-combo-chips</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Appewernpsync</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ships-its-first-fusion-microprocessor-graphics-combo-chips</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Advanced Micro Devices kicked off its &amp;''Fusion era&amp;'' today with the announcement that it has shipped its first chips that combine graphics and microprocessor capability in a single chip.Normally, those functions are built into two separate chips in a computer. By combining them, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD can eliminate the cost of an extra chip in a PC without a huge sacrifice in computing performance. Some aspects of computing actually can happen faster in so-called APUs, or accelerated processing units.The announcement could lead to new kinds of computing devices with high performance and to smaller devices. Computer makers adopting the Fusion chips are expected to debut their machines early next year. AMD rival Intel also has a combo chip, code-named Sandybridge, coming at the same time. But Intel&amp;'s graphics processing capability isn&amp;'t likely to be as good.Nvidia, meanwhile, doesn&amp;'t have an Intel-compatible microprocessor. So it is wedded to the path of making stand-alone graphics chips, which it says will deliver much better performance than a combo chip can. On that front, Nvidia launched its fastest new graphics chip today.Rick Bergman (pictured), senior vice president at AMD, said at AMD&amp;'s analyst meeting today that Fusion chips will deliver a better internet experience, high-definition video, cool graphics, and high-quality 3D games. The Fusion processors will be able to run DirectX 11 games, or those based on Microsoft&amp;'s DirectX graphics standard. DX11 is the most current version of the standard.The Zacate version of the APU can operate on 18 watts and is based on AMD&amp;'s new Bobcat Intel-compatible processing core. The Ontario APU platform is aimed at netbooks and operates on 9 watts of power. Systems using the chips are expected to be announced in January at the Consumer Electronics Show. Bergman said the first Fusion products are shipping many months ahead of schedule.A second Fusion family, code-named Llano, has four processing cores on one chip and will ship later in 2011. The highest performance Zambezi Fusion chips, with four to eight cores, will use the Bulldozer core and ship in 2011. In 2012, more AMD Fusion chips will be shipped as well.Next Story: On the GreenBeat: Oil supply could run out before replacements ready, Solazyme signs JV Previous Story: Samsung hearts Android: Ships 3M Galaxy S phones in US, announces dual-display ContinuumPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: FusionCompanies: advanced micro devices, Intel, NvidiaPeople: Rick Bergman          Tags: FusionCompanies: advanced micro devices, Intel, NvidiaPeople: Rick BergmanDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Q&038'A site Formspring scores $11.5M]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=q038a-site-formspring-scores-11-5m</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=q038a-site-formspring-scores-11-5m</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dotali</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=q038a-site-formspring-scores-11-5m</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Formspring, the online question/answer service, has raised $11.5 million in Series A financing, bringing its total to $14 million. Now all the company has to do is figure out how to make money.&amp;''$14 million is a ton of money, especially for a site thata4a4s only a year old with no revenue,&amp;'' notes Liz Gannes at All Things Digital.It not only has no revenue, but no business model. CEO Ade Olonoh &amp;''has not yet figured that out,&amp;'' reports CNET&amp;'s Caroline McCarthy.Along with the financing, Formspring announced the creation of a &amp;''Respond&amp;'' button that can be incorporated on outside Web sites, allowing the service to be distributed across the Web rather than centralized on Formspring&amp;'s own site. Sites such as Huffington Post and AskMen.com are already incorporating the button, which works somewhat like Facebook&amp;'s &amp;''like&amp;'' button. Answers to questions are housed on the publishers&amp;' own sites.Again, there&amp;'s no indication on how this will yield returns for the company&amp;'s investors. Redpoint Partners and Baseline Ventures led the new round. In March, the company raised $2.5 million from a group of angels along with Polaris Ventures.Most of the attention the company has drawn has been negative: The site, which allows people to ask each other questions anonymously, became a hive spam and nasty insults and bullying among its teen users.Next Story: Skype founder develops a passion for fashion via Fashiolista Previous Story: Online game company Gazillion promotes former Blizzard exec to No. 2 jobPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Q&amp;amp'ACompanies: Formspring          Tags: Q&amp;amp'ACompanies: FormspringVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[A channel change: Will Apple start selling televisions]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=a-channel-change-will-apple-start-selling-televisions</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=a-channel-change-will-apple-start-selling-televisions</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>abresmon5</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=a-channel-change-will-apple-start-selling-televisions</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple has had modest success with its Apple TV set-top box for streaming movies and music into homes. But the company might be exploring getting into the business of selling televisions.If Apple does it right, it could disrupt yet another category of consumer electronics, in addition to the smartphone and tablet categories where it has succeeded beyond its wildest hopes.But we&amp;'re getting ahead of ourselves here. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company recently posted a job listing on its web site for an AC/DC power supply design engineer.The engineer will work &amp;''on the forefront of new power management designs and technologies &amp;8230' for Apple&amp;'s next generation Macintosh platforms spanning from notebook computers, desktop computers, servers, standalone displays and TV.&amp;''It&amp;'s going to need a lot more than one engineer to design the company&amp;'s own TVs. But the topic has been one of speculation since Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple, said at a conference that it makes more sense to embed a product like Apple TV into a television than to try to sell a set-top box. Apple has launched its second-generation Apple TV set-top box for $99. It competes with other boxes such as the Boxee Box, Roku, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.The TV business also has fierce competition, from Sony to Samsung. Computer makers such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell have tried to enter the TV business, to no avail.It could be very difficult to enter the TV business at such a late stage, since TVs are already going through great changes, with manufacturers shipping 3D TVs and internet-connected TVs. The best time to enter a market is before the disruptions take place, as Apple did with smartphones and tablets.If Apple has any advantages, it might be in trying to get apps to run on a big screen, as I have written before. Apple has more than 330,000 apps in the App Store. If it got apps to run on the TV, it could offer lots of free or 99 cent apps. That would disrupt traditional TV content, such as $60 video games.How Apple enters the business also makes a difference. If it wants to make apps run on the TV, it will likely have to beef up the memory, processing power, and media storage capabilities of a TV. But it can&amp;'t jack up the price to crazy levels, considering the fierce price competition in the TV market.One approach to bypass those extra costs is to use a server-based technology such as OnLive, which can stream high-quality games to a TV screen. OnLive announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that it will stream games to TVs made by Vizio. While that requires a fast broadband connection, it does not require extra hardware in a TV. The advantage of server-based apps on the TV is that the TV doesn&amp;'t have to be upgraded over time to handle beefier apps.Next Story: Engadget editor quits, slams the new a4AAOL waya4 Previous Story: Adify founder raises $8M for new startup Dynamic SignalPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Apple TV, televisionCompanies: Apple, OnLive, Samsung, Sony, VizioPeople: Steve Jobs          Tags: Apple TV, televisionCompanies: Apple, OnLive, Samsung, Sony, VizioPeople: Steve JobsDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Intel&'s billion-dollar mistake: Why chip flaws are so hard to fix]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=intelrsquos-billion-dollar-mistake-why-chip-flaws-are-so-hard-to-fix</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=intelrsquos-billion-dollar-mistake-why-chip-flaws-are-so-hard-to-fix</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ziminsircom</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=intelrsquos-billion-dollar-mistake-why-chip-flaws-are-so-hard-to-fix</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Chips are the brains of everything electronic. And like anything generated by software programs and high-tech factories, they can have flaws. Intel learned this the hard way today as it announced that it had a bug in a companion chip for its popular Sandy Bridge graphics-processor chips for PCs. The mistake will cost the company $300 million in lost sales and $700 million in repairs &amp;8212' making it the biggest such problem the company has ever seen.It&amp;'s certainly a huge shock to the supply chain for personal computers, and it shows just how vulnerable the electronics industry is, given its reliance on a small number of very large suppliers. If this happened to any other company in the supply chain, it could have caused some serious disruption. But Intel has been able to figure out the problem and recover quickly from it. Still, it raises the question: Why are these chip flaws so deadlyOne reason is that Intel&amp;'s sheer size. The company makes about 80 percent of the processors used in personal computers. It has three major chip factories manufacturing its mainstay chips at any given time, and is in the process of adding a fourth. Those chips can churn out the chips by the millions per quarter. If there is a mistake in the chip design and it isn&amp;'t caught early, the flaw can propagate through tens of millions of chips very quickly. The sheer volume of shipments is the reason why this $1 billion flaw is the biggest in Intel&amp;'s history, compared to the $400 million Pentium bug in 1994.Intel dodged a bullet in a big way here. The flaw is in a chipset &amp;8212' a companion chip that handles input-output functions in a PC &amp;8212' that is made in one of the company&amp;'s five-year-old factories, not one of its brand-new ones. The chipset goes with Sandy Bridge, which combines microprocessor and graphics functions in a single chip. Sandy Bridge has been hugely successful for Intel and has been designed into 500 PCs. Luckily, the company caught the problem relatively early. By comparison, the Pentium chip had already been shipping for some time before a math bug was brought to Intel&amp;'s attention back in 1994. Stephen Smith, an Intel vice president, said in an interview that about 8 million of the flawed chips have already been shipped to PC manufacturer customers and perhaps only 500,000 are in the hands of users. That&amp;'s actually less than a day&amp;'s worth of PC shipments, in the grand scheme of things.Another reason that chip flaws can be disastrous is that it takes so long to make each chip from beginning to end. The typical process takes about two to three months, starting with a bare circular wafer of silicon. Chip makers build structures on top of the wafers by adding and erasing layers. The chips are baked at high temperatures, cleaned, and washed. Then they are shipped to another assembly factory where they are sliced into individual chips and packaged. The process involves dozens of steps.Smith (pictured right) said that Intel lucked out in another sense. The flaw can be fixed in the upper metal layers of the process. That means that it can make the changes in chips in the midst of the factory &amp;8212' only by changing some of the last layers added to the chips in the process &amp;8212' and still get those chips shipping to customers within about four weeks.&amp;''When we looked at the issue and the engineers understood the problem, we saw we could make an easy fix in the upper metal layers, rather than deal with changes to the entire production line,&amp;'' Smith said.Since there are hundreds of millions or sometimes billions of electronic components on each multi-layer chip, the complexity of today&amp;'s modern chips is enormous. A typical design will look like a multi-level city on the scale of Manhattan. Each chip takes the work of hundreds of skilled engineers, each working with design software that automates the processing of design.In this case, Smith said there was a circuit-level error in a couple of the connections between a couple of transistors, which are the basic building blocks of electronic circuitry. Intel discovered the flaw fairly quickly, after receiving returned units from a PC maker which saw failures in some machines shipped to customers.Anandtech described the flaw in more detail here: &amp;''The problem in the chipset was traced back to a transistor in the 3 gigabit per second PLL clocking tree. The aforementioned transistor has a very thin gate oxide, which allows you to turn it on with a very low voltage. Unfortunately in this case Intel biased the transistor with too high of a voltage, resulting in higher than expected leakage current. Depending on the physical characteristics of the transistor the leakage current here can increase over time which can ultimately result in this failure on the 3Gbps ports. The fact that the 3Gbps and 6Gbps circuits have their own independent clocking trees is what ensures that this problem is limited to only ports 2 &amp;8211' 5 off the controller.&amp;''Sometimes, changing software will enable programs to get around the flaw. But that still takes a lot of work, since it means software companies have to issue patches for every piece of software that runs on the chips. Some types of chips allow for software updates as well, making changes to the micro code of that runs on a chip or in the BIOS (startup software) of a PC already out in the field. But that&amp;'s not the case with the Intel chip set, code-named Cougar Point.A chip set serves as a traffic cop for the PC, handling tasks that the main Sandy Bridge chip doesn&amp;'t, such as input-output functions. In this case, the Cougar Point chip set had a flaw. The chip set&amp;'s ability to handle Serial-ATA (SATA) ports could potentially degrade over time. That would mess up hard disk drives or DVD drives in the PC. Since those systems are critical, Intel had to fix the hardware.To fix the problem, Intel&amp;'s engineers have to fix the design with their automated design software. They then simulate the new design to make sure they don&amp;'t create any new errors. Then the circuit design has to be re-translated to a physical layout, which is like going from a construction blueprint to an actual guide for a tool handler. After that translation is done and checked for errors, the changes have to propagate through the production system, including changing the masks, or templates, that are used to print patterns on the surfaces of chips. Intel had to change some of its masks here, but it didn&amp;'t have to start over from scratch.The reason that the delay is so expensive, amounting to $300 million in lost revenue for the quarter, is that Intel can&amp;'t ship its Sandy Bridge microprocessors &amp;8212' which have been designed into more than 500 computers &amp;8212' if it can&amp;'t ship the chip sets that go with them. Currently, Intel is making quad-core Sandy Bridge processors and the company is delaying the launch of its dual-core Sandy Bridge processors as it works through the fix. Also, Intel has to gradually ramp up production for a period of time before it starts running on all cylinders again.The $700 million repair cost suggests there is a lot of inventory already in the hands of PC customers. But manufacturers have a few options in how they fix the problem. The Series 6 Serial-ATA ports degrade over time. In three years, there&amp;'s a five percent chance a failure will happen. If the PC manufacturer only uses ports 0 and 1 in their machine designs, they can actually ship PCs with the flawed chips, since only ports 2 through 5 are subject to failure. If the PC manufacturers want to replace their chip sets entirely, then that is where Intel incurs replacement costs.It could have been much worse for Intel, given how many chips it ships. The company is lucky that the problem was discovered early. The bottom line is that fixing a chip design error is like remaking a stone carving, since changing hardware isn&amp;'t nearly so easy as fixing software.Next Story: Affectiva wins government backing to measure your emotions online Previous Story: On the GreenBeat: Think&amp;'s electric car gets recalled, Khosla bets against lithium-ion car batteriesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: chip, chip factory, maskCompanies: IntelPeople: Stephen Smith          Tags: chip, chip factory, maskCompanies: IntelPeople: Stephen SmithDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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