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<title>Haaze.com / Sharmeen / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
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<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Nintendo: Wii successor coming in 2012]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nintendo-wii-successor-coming-in-2012</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nintendo-wii-successor-coming-in-2012</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bimraspnogtryn</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nintendo-wii-successor-coming-in-2012</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Nintendo Wii.(Credit:Nintendo)Nintendo today confirmed that it plans to release aWii successor in 2012.In a three-paragraph note (PDF) issued this morning, the game company said it &quot;has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii.&quot; Nintendo said it had sold 86.01 million Wiis since the console's launch in 2006.A playable version of the new system, as well as its specs, will be unveiled at the giant E3 video game show in Los Angeles in June, Nintendo said.The news should not come as a shock to industry observers. Rumors have been circulating for some time about a potential new Wii that could cost between $350 and $400. It was thought that the console could hit shelves as early as October. But Nintendo's announcement would seem to throw cold water on that potential date.On Thursday, the game-focused site IGN reported that its sources were telling it that the next Wii was being code-named Project Cafe:According to sources with knowledge of the project, Nintendo's next console could have a retail price of anywhere between $350 and $400 based on manufacturing costs, and will ship from Taiwanese manufacturer, Foxconn, this October, putting the earliest possible retail release anywhere between mid-October and early November.However, Nintendo could also opt to build up a sizable supply of the system and allocate more time for software and games development by launching in early 2012. Similarly, Nintendo could attempt to lower the retail price of the system with lower profit margins to make the price more alluring. Clearly, the company seems to have chosen the latter route, at least as far as the release date. If IGN's reasoning is correct, that decision could be because Nintendo doesn't want customers to repeat the experience of previous years, when a Wii was nearly impossible to find in stores during the holiday season. On the other hand, it would be interesting for Nintendo to launch the Wii's successor in early 2012. The original Wii was released in the fall (of 2006) as was Sony'sPlayStation 3. Microsoft'sXbox 360 also came out in the fall, albeit of 2005. All three of those releases were timed to the holidays, and led to significant sales of the respective consoles.In its announcement today, Nintendo did not address the specifications for the new system. But IGN seems to believe that the console will have a lot more horsepower than the existing Wii. &quot;The system will be based on a revamped version of AMD's R700 GPU architecture, not AMD's Fusion technology as previously believed,&quot; IGN wrote, &quot;which will, as previously reported, out perform the PlayStation 3's Nvidia 7800GTX-based processor. Like the Xbox 360, the system's CPU will be a custom-built triple-core IBM PowerPC chipset, but the clocking speeds will be faster. The system will support 1080p output with the potential for stereoscopic 3D as well, though it has not been determined whether that will be a staple feature.&quot;  Related links &amp;149' Major retailers cut price of Wii to $169.99 &amp;149' iOS, Android gobbling Nintendo DS market share &amp;149' Xbox birthday signals death of 5-year console cycle  Many people have been wondering when, or if, Nintendo would put out a system rivaling the performance of the PS3 or the Xbox 360. If IGN's sources are correct, 2012 would appear to be the answer. Of course, Microsoft and Sony are hardly going to stand still and let their consoles be overtaken by a rival that has sold 86 million systems in large part because of its ease of use, not its appeal to core gamers. But if either Sony or Microsoft is to step up their games, as it were, it's most likely going to be after Nintendo makes its next move. A report last week suggested that neither Sony nor Microsoft will come out with a new console until 2014. &quot;Both companies are hoping to wait out the current generation, and extending an already elongated console life-cycle despite clear signs that Nintendo will launch its next machine by the end of 2012,&quot; cited the report from the video game blog Kotaku. &quot;Both MS and Sony are telegraphing to each other that they're delaying, to milk the current [generation] and fill in previous craters better,&quot; one insider who has worked with the first-party companies like Sony and Microsoft told us.&quot;No matter what happens, of course, the idea of the five-year console generation--which was the industry standard for years--has gone out the window. If it hadn't, Microsoft would have put out the next Xbox in 2010, while both Sony and Nintendo would have followed suit this year. On the other hand, as Kotaku suggested, all three of the current-generation consoles are still selling well, and there's no immediate reason for any of the companies to supersede their existing hardware. That's particularly true for both Microsoft and Sony, which have breathed new life into the current-gen machines with the release of new motion control systems, Kinect for Xbox, and Move for PS3.          Daniel Terdiman     Full Profile E-mail Daniel Terdiman   E-mail Daniel Terdiman If you have a question or comment for Daniel Terdiman, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.   Submit your question or comment here: 0 of 1500 characters       Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Algae oil could dent U.S. oil imports, report says]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=algae-oil-could-dent-u-s--oil-imports-report-says</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=algae-oil-could-dent-u-s--oil-imports-report-says</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:11:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>cash21</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=algae-oil-could-dent-u-s--oil-imports-report-says</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Unrefined algae oil is also known as &amp;39'green crude&amp;39'.(Credit:Sapphire Energy)The U.S. has enough land in the right climate to produce homegrown algae oil that would replace a significant amount of foreign oil imported for transportation use--without endangering its water supply.The Gulf Coast region, the Southeastern seaboard, and the Great Lakes areas are ideally suited to grow algae in outdoor freshwater ponds with minimal water usage.That's according to a study released today by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in the journal Water Resources Research.Biofuel made from refined algae oils, while showing promise, is still in the early stages of development. In addition to the usual scalability questions put to the developers of any new technology, algae developers have been under even closer scrutiny because a lot of water is required to grow it.Related links &amp;149' Algae fuel crosses paths with Monsanto, cancer research &amp;149' Study: Algae biofuels need 10 years of R&amp;D to compete &amp;149' In the lab, designing the ultimate biofuel bugThe PNNL says its study is the first comprehensive land-use and water-use assessment of a potential algae oil industry in the U.S. PNNL researchers found that if you compare algae and corn hectare to hectare, algae grown in outdoor ponds annually produces 80 times more oil than corn. Theoretically, they said, the U.S. has enough available land to produce &quot;48 percent of the current transportation oil imports&quot; with algae. However, that level of production across the U.S. would require too much water--an average of 350 gallons of water to grow and produce one gallon of algae oil.Raceway algae ponds in Southern California.(Credit:Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/QuickBird)Instead, the PNNL researchers, led by hydrologist Mark Wigmosta, recommend producing algae only in regions of the country with both the right land and high humidity. They found that if algae are grown in a climate already high in humidity, much less water is needed. The group also identified the regions mentioned above as the best places to grow it.This would still give the U.S. the ability to produce 21 billion gallons of algal oil a year' roughly 17 percent of the amount of oil that was imported for transportation in 2008.The study involved the creation of a massive database that used 30 years of meteorological data and comprehensive geological surveys of the U.S. in addition to algae oil research data. Mathematical modeling of algae growth rates, and processing, drew on that database for its outcome.&quot;That database contained information spaced every 100 feet throughout the U.S., which is a much more detailed view than previous research. This data allowed them to identify available areas that are better suited for algae growth, such as those with flat land that isn't used for farming and isn't near cities or environmentally sensitive areas like wetlands or national parks,&quot; the PNNL said in a statement.The study concentrated on freshwater algae. The PNNL researchers of the study announced that there next project is a comprehensive study on the feasibility of using salt water and waste water to grow algae.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[VC funding off to strong start in 2011]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vc-funding-off-to-strong-start-in-2011</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vc-funding-off-to-strong-start-in-2011</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nina01</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vc-funding-off-to-strong-start-in-2011</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Private company research firm CB Insights is set to release a new report today on the state of venture capital financing for the first quarter of 2011. The short version: things are looking good, if a bit frothy, with Q1 registering $7.5 billion of venture capital funding invested in 738 deals.Q1 2011 Venture Financing(Credit:CB Insights)In relation to the last quarter of 2010, there were only three more deals in Q1 of 2011, and both quarters included roughly half of Groupon's $1 billion funding, which doesn't quite explain how Q1 saw roughly $1 billion more in financing for roughly the same number of deals.In order to make sense of the data, I asked CB Insights co-founder Anand Sanwal to explain. According to Sanwal, first and foremost, it didn't have to do with a handful of megadeals at the top of the first quarter. The 10 largest deals during the last quarter of 2010 added up to $1.44 billion, while the 10 largest deals in the first quarter of 2011 added up to a nearly identical total of $1.49 billion.The simple answer lies in the median. The overall median deal size for the fourth quarter was $4.2 million, while for the first quarter it was $5 million, or 19 percent higher. This doesn't fully account for the 15 percent difference between Q4 2010's total of $6.5 billion versus Q1 2011's total of $7.5 billion, but it accounts for most. The rest of the discrepancy has to do with nuances in the overall distribution of deal sizes between the quarters. Here's a chart that illustrates that difference:Venture deal size distribution(Credit:CB Insights)Other interesting notes from the report:Over the last six quarters, New York has seen 261 tech deals vs. 250 for Massachusetts. Funding to New York tech companies came in at $1.60 billion vs. $1.44 billion for Massachusetts.Deals in the health care space were down 13 percent year over year while funding grew 11 percent.Seed VC still represented 10 percent of overall deal-flow. Its consistency over the last four quarters suggests it may have found the right level of total VC deals (9 to 11 percent). Early stage deal activity was nearly 50 percent of total deals.California took 39 percent of deals and more than 50 percent of funding. Deal count was down 7 percent sequentially and 3 percent year over year.Halfway into the second quarter of 2010, there is still a huge amount of venture activity going on, with very competitive deals. While, I'm certainly glad that this isn't looking like a bubble, only time will tell.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Security firm Barracuda hit by cyberattack]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=security-firm-barracuda-hit-by-cyberattack</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=security-firm-barracuda-hit-by-cyberattack</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>eraviomia</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=security-firm-barracuda-hit-by-cyberattack</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Security company Barracuda Networks was itself hit by a security breach over the weekend that exposed certain information from its databases.An unknown hacker, who apparently took credit for the break-in, launched an attack that exposed a list of Barracuda databases along with the names, phone numbers, and e-mail address of various Barracuda partners.The attack also uncovered the e-mail addresses of different Barracuda employees along with their passwords. Though the passwords were encrypted, they were done so using a hashing algorithm called MD5, which is considered by many to be a flawed and outdated encryption method.The attacker grabbed the information using an SQL injection script, which can exploit security holes in a database to retrieve or modify data.In a blog posted yesterday, Barracuda Executive Vice President Michael Perone acknowledged the breach of the corporate Web site data. Perone confirmed that only names and e-mail addresses were captured and that no financial information was stored in the databases that were hacked. Even though no vital or secure data was stolen, the incident is still an embarrassment for Barracuda, which is in the business of providing security to its corporate customers. And in allowing such a cyberattack, the company admitted that it made a mistake.Pointing to a series of events that led to the breach, Perone explained that Barracuda's firewall was accidentally put into a passive monitoring mode and had essentially been offline during maintenance since Friday night. That gave the attacker an open door to sniff around the site in search of security holes. The attacker eventually found one in the form of an SQL injection weakness in a PHP database script, which allowed the data to be exposed.The incident reminded Barracuda of a few key points, explained Perone: 1) You can't leave a Web site exposed for even a day or less' 2) Vulnerabilities in code can happen far away from the data you're trying to protect' and 3) Companies can't be complacent about coding practices or other operations, even with a firewall in place.Perone added that Barracuda has been notifying people whose e-mail addresses were exposed and that the company apologizes for the incident.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple, Nokia, others targeted in camera patent suit]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-nokia-others-targeted-in-camera-patent-suit</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-nokia-others-targeted-in-camera-patent-suit</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:10:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>phitipkahh</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-nokia-others-targeted-in-camera-patent-suit</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A lawsuit filed last week in Texas by a group named Imperium Holdings claims that Apple along with Kyocera, LG, Motorola Mobility, Nokia, Research in Motion (RIM), and Sony-Ericsson are infringing on five patents related to the cameras and imaging equipment found in phones and other mobile devices.The suit, which was reported Friday by Patently Apple, picks on five patents in particular:Patent 6,271,884: Image flicker reduction with fluorescent lighting.Patent 6,838,651: High sensitivity snap shot CMOS image sensor. Patent 6,838,715: CMOS image sensor arrangement with reduced pixel light shadowing. Patent 7,064,768: Bad pixel correction while preserving features. Patent 7,109,535: Semiconductor device for isolating a photodiode to reduce junction leakage. As noted by Patently Apple, the mix of patents are actually owned by two different companies: 6,271,884, which deals with image flicker reduction, is owned by Conexant System of Newport Beach, Calif., while the remaining four have the assignee listed as ESS Technology, based in Fremont, Calif. The earliest of those was filed in 1999, with the most recent being in 2005.This is just the latest in a long list of patent suits against Apple, though the second in the last year or so to center on imaging. One filed against Apple in January 2010 by Kodak took aim at image previewing, and the capability to process images at different resolutions. Apple ended up counter-suing the company just three months later.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Japanese quake not the curse of the super moon]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=japanese-quake-not-the-curse-of-the-super-moon</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=japanese-quake-not-the-curse-of-the-super-moon</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Mar 2011 08:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>winpnozi6sm</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=japanese-quake-not-the-curse-of-the-super-moon</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There are those who believe that a full moon puts them in a strange mood and even causes them to behave in a peculiar manner.Some, though, want to credit the moon with even greater powers. A week before the earthquake in Japan, there was already consternation in some quarters about the so-called super moon. This will occur on March 19 when the moon comes extremely close to the earth. In relative terms, that is 221,567 miles, to be a little more precise.Headlines were already being written featuring the evocative word &quot;Moonageddon&quot; relying on the prognostications of astronomers or, perhaps, astrologists.Some astronomers such as David Reneke wanted to dampen the fears.&quot;If you try hard enough, you can chronologically associate almost any natural disaster/event to anything in the night sky...comet, planet, sun,&quot; he told news.com.au.(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)However, Victor Gostin, planetary and environmental geoscientist at Adelaide University, offered the thought that there might be some kind of link between moons and earthquakes.&quot;This is because the Earth-tides (analogous to ocean tides) may be the final trigger that sets off the earthquake,&quot; he told news.com.au.Moreover, 11 days ago, Mark Paquette--on the Accuweather blog--also suggested there might be some connection. He wrote that there were super moons in 1955, 1974, 1992, and 2005 and, in each of these years, there were extreme events of nature--of one kind or another.Within days of the 2005 super moon, for example, a 9.0 earthquake struck Indonesia. Then there was Hurricane Katrina later that year.Last week, just nine days before another super moon, came the Japanese earthquake, killing perhaps thousands of people and triggering a horrific tsunami. It is said to be the fifth largest earthquake ever recorded.The Discover blog Bad Astronomy offers that it is simply impossible for any moon, super or otherwise, to have caused the Japanese earthquake. For the very simple reason that the Earth was last week nowhere near its closest point to the moon, technically called its perigee. Indeed, it was actually further away that average.Yes, the blog says, the moon can affect tides but not in some gargantuan manner.John S. Whalley, geoscience program manager at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K., also suggested an important argument to the Daily Mail: &quot;The real test is to look at the vast numbers of earthquakes of all magnitudes that occur on a daily basis worldwide.&quot;In essence, if you want to believe that the moon caused this earthquake, how do you explain earthquakes in Chile or HaitiNASA astronomer Dave Williams told ABC News that all talk of super moons was obvious nonsense: &quot;It was basically a normal day on Earth as far as the lunar gravity and tidal forces were concerned. Unless the Earth somehow 'knew' the super moon was coming, I can't imagine any scientific connection between the two events.&quot; However, Richard Nolle, who created the term &quot;super moon,&quot; still believes they have a considerable influence on major natural events on Earth.On his Twitter feed, Nolle posted March 9 this--to some, no doubt, ominous tweet: &quot;SuperMoon - the truth, straight from the source - http://www.astropro.com/forecast/predict/2011-all.htmlSuperMoon - get ready for 3/16-3/22.&quot;In the post to which he linked, he offered that precise dates were, in practice, inaccurate. He suggested a certain leeway should always be given.He has not, so far as I can find, tweeted or posted to his blog after the Japanese quake. And I cannot find anyone with any scientific credibility who would support the notion that moons, super or not, caused the Japanese quake.Indeed, some put it even more starkly. Space.com, having spoken to U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist John Bellini offered the opinion that talk of an influential super moon merely proves that astrology is simply not a science.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google probing lost Gmail messages, contacts]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-probing-lost-gmail-messages-contacts</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-probing-lost-gmail-messages-contacts</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 27 Feb 2011 08:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>enrtunrrut</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-probing-lost-gmail-messages-contacts</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Gmail users complained today of suddenly and mysteriously having lost old e-mail, folders, and contacts, and Google said it was looking into the issue but that the problem did not appear to be widespread.At 12:09 p.m. PT, Google said on its Apps status dashboard that it was aware of the issue and was investigating. At 5:02 p.m., the company said it was &quot;continuing to investigate this issue. Google engineers are working to restore full access. Affected users may be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts.&quot; Less than 0.08 percent of the Gmail user base is affected, Google said.The issue came to Google's attention when users started lighting up the company's support forums with complaints of lost e-mails. &quot;I have lost ALL on my emails/folders etc. from gmail. Why would this happen How can I restore everything&quot; wrote user bkishan wrote in the forum. &quot;This morning when I woke up I only saw two mails in my gmal box that were sent last night. All mail was gone,&quot; user Wienke wrote to the forum. &quot;I also got some notifications which you will get when you have a new account. Seems somehting must have been reset.&quot;Google representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Researchers unveil first mm-scale computing system]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=researchers-unveil-first-mm-scale-computing-system</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=researchers-unveil-first-mm-scale-computing-system</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:11:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>domingalom</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=researchers-unveil-first-mm-scale-computing-system</guid>
<description><![CDATA[University of Michigan computer scientists and engineers are at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco today presenting papers on two systems: a prototype implantable eye pressure monitor for glaucoma patients and a compact radio for wireless sensor networks.This prototype implantable eye pressure monitor is 1 cubic millimeter.(Credit:Greg Chen)What makes their presentation so remarkable is that both systems involve what is believed to be the first complete millimeter-scale computing system.The near-invisible package is just over 1 cubic millimeter in size and includes an ultra-low-power microprocessor, a thin-film battery, a solar cell, memory, a pressure sensor, and a wireless radio with an antenna.&quot;Millimeter-scale systems...have a host of new applications for monitoring our bodies, our environment, and our buildings,&quot; said Professor David Blaauw in a news release. &quot;Because they're so small, you could manufacture hundreds of thousands on one wafer. There could be 10s to 100s of them per person, and it's this per capita increase that fuels the semiconductor industry's growth.&quot;The team points to Bell's Law, formulated by computer engineer Gordon Bell in 1972, which says that a new class of smaller and cheaper computers is developed roughly every decade. This is considered to be a partial corollary to Moore's Law, established in 1970 and named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore (first names coincidental), which describes the now 50-plus-year trend that the number of transistors able to be placed on an integrated circuit doubles every two years.The new system out of Michigan is being hailed as the first in a new class of millimeter-scale computing, and while the researchers are specifically targeting the medical side of body sensor networks, other potential applications include tracking such things as pollution, weapons, structural integrity, and more.The eye pressure monitor is designed not only for direct implantation but also continuous tracking of glaucoma, a disease that can lead to blindness. It incorporates the team's third-gen Phoenix Processor, which combines an extreme sleep mode and a unique power-gating system for ultra-low-power usage (averaging 5.3 nanowatts).The system wakes every 15 minutes to take measurements and relies on 10 hours of indoor light or 1.5 hours of sunlight every day for full battery recharging. The team says the device could be commercially available in the next several years.The researchers are also working on a radio with an on-chip antenna using an advanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process that allows them to control the antenna's shape and size, and thus its response to electrical signals. Because of this control, they can do away with the bulky external crystals that keep time and select radio frequency bands for communication between two isolated devices, thereby drastically reducing the size of the radio system.The university hopes to patent these tiny-yet-huge developments, and is looking for commercial partners to help bring the tech to market.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Report: Canadian cyberattack traced to China]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-canadian-cyberattack-traced-to-china</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-canadian-cyberattack-traced-to-china</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>doqmexe</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-canadian-cyberattack-traced-to-china</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A cyberattack against Canada that tried to access classified government information and forced two key departments to go offline has been traced back to China, according to a story today from CBC News.Sources told the CBC that the attacks were initially discovered in early January but that it's unknown whether the attackers themselves were in China or just directed their attacks through the country to hide their true source.Specifically, the attacks reached computer systems at the Canadian government's Finance Department and Treasury Board in an attempt to capture passwords for government databases. In response, the government was forced to shut down all Internet access for the two departments, according to the CBC, and only now are public employees slowly getting that access back.In a brief statement released by the Treasury Board, the Canadian government did confirm an &quot;unauthorized attempt to access its networks,&quot; but provided few other details beyond that, according to AFP.In response to a request for comment, Canada's Public Safety Department e-mailed CNET the following statement on behalf of its minister, Vic Toews:&quot;We do not comment on the details of security related incidents. That said, our government takes threats seriously and has measures in place to address them. The next phase of our economic action plan is still in development and we have no indication that Budget security has been compromised.&quot;On its end, China has denied any involvement in the attacks.&quot;What you mentioned is purely fictitious and has an ulterior motive,&quot; Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a new briefing in Beijing, according to Reuters. &quot;China attaches great importance to computer security and consistently opposes and cracks down on hacking activities according to relative laws and regulations.&quot;Though cyberattacks are used as weapons today by many different countries and organizations, China has often been fingered as a major source of online attacks against other nations. A report released in November by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission pointed to Chinese government involvement in a number of hacking attempts and computer exploits.Specifically, the USCC found that a Chinese state-run telecommunications provider had redirected traffic for U.S. military and corporate data in April. The group also reported that a China-based spy network was accused of targeting government departments and other groups in India in an attempt to steal sensitive information.And China was traced as the source behind the cyberattacks launched against Google and other companies in 2009 as a way of targeting human rights activists.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA['Leaked' Dell plans date Windows 7, 8 tablets]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leaked-dell-plans-date-windows-7-8-tablets</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leaked-dell-plans-date-windows-7-8-tablets</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>abriamanaccessories</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leaked-dell-plans-date-windows-7-8-tablets</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Dell's recently unveiledWindows 7tablet could be in the hands of consumers as soon as mid-May, with a follow-up device in January that would run the next version of Windows.That's according to Android Central, which, along with sister site WP Central, says it has acquired from a tipster rough release plans for Dell's portable devices. The plans--which include information on a handful of Android devices, including four tablets--also tease a version of Dell's Venue ProWindows Phone 7 device, which will bring &quot;additional features and enhancements&quot; and arrive in mid-April. That's followed in July by &quot;Wrigley,&quot; a Windows Phone 7 slider that will sport a &quot;Next Gen&quot; version of the OS, which could simply be referring to Microsoft's planned update that will bring multitasking and a beefed up version of the IE9 browser.Plans shown on the Android Central blog, with a mysterious &amp;34'Windows 8&amp;34' tablet slated for January.(Credit:Android Central) As for the Windows tablets, there's &quot;Rosemount&quot; which is the 10-inch, Windows 7 tablet Dell unveiled in wooden mock-up form just last week. That's slated for arrival in mid-May, with &quot;Peju,&quot; a &quot;Windows 8&quot; version, arriving in January 2012. Microsoft, of course, has made no announcements on the date, planned features, or even the name of the next version of Windows. The most recent nugget of information given out by the company was at CES back in January, when it took the cover off plans to support ARM architecture so the OS could run on a wider range of devices. When asked about the Android Central and WP Central reports, a Dell representative said the company does not comment on speculation or unannounced product plans. Plans shown on the WP Central blog.(Credit:WP Central) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[EEG headset makes surfing brain's waves easier]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=eeg-headset-makes-surfing-brains-waves-easier</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=eeg-headset-makes-surfing-brains-waves-easier</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>straigertir</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=eeg-headset-makes-surfing-brains-waves-easier</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Don&amp;39't stare--she&amp;39's just recording her brain activity.(Credit:IMEC)A prototype wireless electroencephalogram (EEG) headset debuts this week at the Medical Device and Manufacturing conference and exhibition in Anaheim, Calif., and European developers IMEC and Holst Centre say it could lead to not just neuro-feedback but improved safety (no more sleeping behind the wheel) and entertainment (real-time video game adjustments based on the user's mood).Currently, recording the brain's electrical activity involves having subjects sit in a lab or hospital room and perform activities over 20 or so minutes with electrodes placed via gel all over their scalp.So as strange as this prototype headgear may look, the advantages are numerous: ultralow power electronics, dry electrodes, wireless real-time transmission of high-quality EEG signals to a receiver within 10 meters, and the ability to record activity in real-life scenarios.Side effects may include, but are not limited to, people staring and asking unsolicited questions, which may or may not interfere with EEG results.The EEG system is 22x35x5 millimeters, so it could be embedded in helmets, headsets, and so on. With power usage at just 3.3mW for continuous recording and transmitting of one channel (i.e., a waveform representing the difference between two adjacent electrodes) and 9.3mW for eight channels, the device can run on a small 100mAh Li-ion battery for up to four days.The European developers admit in their news release that this EEG system is still in development: &quot;Industry can get access to this technology by joining the Human++ program as research partner or by licensing agreements for further product development.&quot;In late 2009, IMEC and Holst Centre unveiled a creative ECG monitor whose heartbeat detection algorithm was embedded in a processor worn like a necklace around the user's neck. Whether an EEG system can ever be so well disguised remains to be seen, but at least this initial design is nice and shiny.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Holidays drive record-breaking e-commerce]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=holidays-drive-record-breaking-e-commerce</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=holidays-drive-record-breaking-e-commerce</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:10:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rasparuck768</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=holidays-drive-record-breaking-e-commerce</guid>
<description><![CDATA[U.S. online retail spending reached a record-breaking $43.4 billion in the fourth quarter, fueled by strong holiday spending, Comscore reports.Spending in the fourth quarter was up 11 percent over a year ago, representing the fifth consecutive quarter of positive annual growth and the second quarter of double-digit growth rates in the past year.In 2010, holiday spending online was bolstered by the first-ever billion-dollar day on record, and others surpassing $900 million. The strong growth rates are a huge swing from two years ago, when fourth-quarter sales fell by 3 percent.The bulk of online sales occur among the top 25 online retailers, which accounted for 68.4 percent of dollars spent.As the largest e-commerce provider, Amazon turned in a fourth-quarter performance that mirrored Comscore's findings. Amazon reported its first $10 billion quarter ever and saw year-over-year growth rates of 40 percent (its best growth rate since 2000).In a release, Comscore Chairman Gian Fulgoni predicted that the increased spending levels will continue this year: &quot;We anticipate that the progress we've seen in the past year as we climbed out of the recession will continue with sustained double-digit growth rates in 2011.&quot;Other highlights:The top categories were computer software, consumer electronics, digital books and magazines, computers and peripherals, and toys and hobbies.84 percent of U.S. Internet users conducted an online transaction in the period, up from 78 percent last year.(Credit:Comscore)Story Copyright (c) 2010 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[To avert Internet crisis, the IPv6 scramble begins]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-avert-internet-crisis-the-ipv6-scramble-begins</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-avert-internet-crisis-the-ipv6-scramble-begins</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:11:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>belimsirkak</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-avert-internet-crisis-the-ipv6-scramble-begins</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Remember Y2K The Internet today is facing a similarly big problem all over again, but nobody knew exactly when it would hit--until now.The problem is the day the conventional Internet runs out of room for new computers because the world has used up the supply of Internet addresses that computers need to communicate over the Net.It's likely that this week or next, the central supplier of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses will dole out the last ones at the wholesale level. That will set the clock ticking for the moment in coming months when those addresses will all be snapped by corporate Web sites, Internet service providers, or other eventual owners.And that means it's now a necessity, not a luxury, to rebuild the Net on a more modern foundation called IPv6.It's taken a long time because there was little immediate payback for companies spending money and time to build IPv6 support. But even though the carrot to motivate people has been pretty small, the stick now is getting bigger with each passing week.&quot;Many are waiting for a 'killer application' for IPv6. This is a misconception,&quot; said Lorenzo Colitti, the Google engineer overseeing the search giant's years-long transition to IPv6, in a 2010 talk. &quot;The killer application of IPv6 is the survival of the open Internet as we know it.&quot;Only a tiny fraction of Google users--about 0.2 percent--are equipped to use the next-generation IPv6 technology that will relieve growth pressures on the Internet.(Credit:Google)Minimizing disruptionsMany expect some disruptions as the IPv6 shift takes place. Web sites could be slow or inaccessible, companies could have a harder time setting up new services, Internet service providers could have a hard time keeping up with subscriber growth, and security will have to adapt to the new technology.The Net won't collapse, though.Leslie Daigle, chief technology officer of the Internet Society, a standards and advocacy group, likens the situation to a changing separation of railroad tracks. Trains for one can't travel on tracks for the other, and moving data between the networks is, in effect, as onerous as unloading and reloading traincars' cargo.&quot;If you have a Web site, you are basically going to have some customers coming on wide gauge and on narrow gauge,&quot; Daigle said. &quot;Narrow gauge is going away.&quot;To give the world a chance to wrestle the IPv6 bull directly by the horns, the Internet Society is helping to organize the World IPv6 Day. On June 8, content providers such as Google and Yahoo and content distributors such as Akamai and Limelight Networks will offer their services over IPv6 for 24 hours for a collective evaluation and troubleshooting session.That means, for example, that Google will enable IPv6 service on its primary domains, not just in a dedicated corner such as today's ipv6.google.com (that link won't work for most folks today). Those with IPv6 connectivity will help to stress test a tender new Internet.People who want to get an earlier start can point their browser to an IPv6 readiness test page to see how far along they are. All modern personal computer operating systems can handle IPv6 with no trouble, but the connection to the Internet is another question entirely.The end in sight--for yearsExperts have known for ages that the limit of 4.3 billion IP addresses would be a problem with the prevailing Internet Protocol version 4. The problem stemmed from a 1977 decision by Vint Cerf, who now is an Internet evangelist at Google.At the time, just a few years into the Internet's history, he decided to use 32-bit Internet addresses. But 2 to the 32nd power, about 4.3 billion, looks a lot smaller in 2011 than in 1977.&quot;Who the hell knew how much address space we needed&quot; Cerf told journalists in Sydney, Australia, recently.It didn't take until today to figure out an answer to that question, though. That's why in the 1990s, Internet engineers developed IPv6, which has a practically inexhaustible supply. To be precise, 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 addresses.The big problem, though: IPv6 isn't compatible with IPv4, so making the transition is painful for a wide spectrum of the computing industry.The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which doles out IPv4 addresses in blocks of 16.8 million called slash-eights or /8s to five organizations called regional Internet registries (RIRs), only has seven of the 256 &quot;slash-8&quot; blocksoriginal 256 /8s left. And after the next two are handed out, the remaining five will automatically be distributed to each of the RIRs, which in turn will offer them to Internet service providers, hosting companies, and others with an appetite.Yahoo Japan&amp;39's broadband service has been evaluating the best ways to offer IPv6 connections. It&amp;39's not simple.(Credit:Yahoo Japan/Softbank)The imminent exhaustion of IANA's IPv4 addresses helps put a timetable on the IPv6 transition. That's a big change from the last decade, when IPv4 exhaustion was clearly going to happen but not on some specific schedule.Setting a deadlineThe timing is helpful for getting planning in gear. In fact, it makes makes the IPv6 transition look more like Y2K, the expensive problem that peaked on January 1, 2000, when computers storing dates with only two digits could confuse 2000 with 1900. Like Y2K, the IPv6 transition requires companies to spend money on mundane infrastructure upgrades rather than exciting new revenue-generating services.But there's a big difference between the Y2K and IPv6 challenges. Y2K was mostly limited to isolated computing systems. With the exhaustion of IPv4 Internet addresses, the entire Internet needs to be upgraded to IPv6--everything from Web sites to smartphones, from networked gaming consoles to routers that pass information across the Internet.That means regular folks are going to be dragged into the IPv6 transition, said Martin Levy, director of IPv6 strategy at Hurricane Electric, a back-end Internet service provider that has had a concentrated IPv6 program for years.&quot;When you walk into [electronics stores such as] Fry's, Dickson's, or Comet, you look at the shelves and pick the wireless gateway you want for your home. You may want 802.11n or a printer port or storage,&quot; Levy said. &quot;But at what point do you say, 'I want v6 enabled' You don't have a realization as a consumer that this is important.&quot;And as with Y2K, when companies bought a glut of new servers to replace aging systems, there's money to be made from the IPv6 transition. Hurricane Electric isn't the only one with a sales pitch.NTT America has had a specialized service for helping companies through the change. And AT&amp;T, which &quot;has invested millions of dollars to ensure that its own network and services are ready to make the transition to the new Internet Protocol,&quot; yesterday announced a consulting service for businesses facing the change.Early adoptersNot everyone is scrambling, though. Google is perhaps the best example of a company that's been working to adjust to IPv6 before crunch time. It's used IPv6 both for internal operations and, increasingly, external sites.In 2008 came Google search over IPv6, with a public launch in January 2009. In March 2009 came Google Maps, then in August the first IPv6-enabled Android phones. In Feburary 2010, YouTube showed up, leading to an overnight surge in Google's outgoing IPv6 traffic.&quot;The key lesson that we learned was starting early and taking the transition slowly. It was cheap and relatively easy,&quot; Colitti told CNET. &quot;We also found that an incremental approach was key: by bringing IPv6 to one service at a time and using shim layers when communicating with back-ends, it's possible to achieve slow but steady progress rather than have to tackle the whole code base at once. Unfortunately, it's getting late for that approach now.&quot;Facebook, too, has been working on the problem, and like Google, has been avoiding the idea of separate internal infrastructure for IPv4 and IPv6. &quot;Since last summer, we've offered Facebook over IPv6 at www.v6.facebook.com,&quot; said Donn Lee, a Facebook network engineer. We leverage as much of the existing systems in our data centers to minimize separate paths and functions for v6. We are not unique in this practice. Others are following similar strategies. Having a parallel Facebook for v6 won't scale.&quot;Where's the appetite for IPv6 data A huge amount, at least for Google in 2010, was France. That's because, Free.fr, a French Internet service provider that offers phone and TV service as well, made the jump to IPv6 in 2008.They're still a rarity. Google statistics show that a little over 0.2 percent of Google visitors today would get Google services over IPv6 if they were offered on the company's primary domains rather than IPv6-specific addresses.Unfortunately for early adopters, there can be an IPv6 penalty. IPv6 routes across the Internet can meander through distant, sometimes overloaded gateways rather than connect computers more directly, Yahoo IPv6 expert Jason Fesler said in a presentation last year. &quot;A small percentage of the users will, when given the chance to connect to an IPv6 address, time out instead of quickly and transparently failing over to IPv4,&quot; he said.In other words, at times, IPv6 servers will appear to be offline--something that makes Yahoo &quot;a bit timid&quot; about serving content over IPv6. It lags Google and Facebook, in part because of higher priority engineering projects, and plans to begin offering its services over IPv6 in late 2011, Fesler said.That's changing, though. Gradually, nodes on the Internet will start getting wired into the IPv6 Internet, relieving congestion. Right now, by Hurricane Electric's measurements, 8 percent of those nodes are on IPv6.&quot;More and more networks are going v6' but that's a measurement in the core of the networks, not the end user connections,&quot; Levy said. &quot;We see that improving day over day.&quot;Worth it in the endPerhaps the best news about the IPv6 transition is that, once it's mostly over, the Internet will be a qualitatively different place. With vast tracts of IP addresses available, individual ones can be assigned to phones, computers, cars, stereo components, living-room thermostats, heads-up display glasses, wristwatches, home solar panels--you name it. Where a case can be made for networking, these devices will be able to communicate directly without the network topology shenanigans such as network address translation necessary today.One consequence of that more direct connection is the elevation of peer-to-peer communications in the network. Central servers will remain important, but no longer necessarily a gateway.Less revolutionary but probably more persuasive for those in the computing trenches, IPv6 makes the more mundane business of networking easier, too. There, perhaps, people can relish a little taste of the carrot even as they smart from the stick .&quot;Direct connections between users and sites...allows for faster, more reliable, more secure, and less costly Internet service,&quot; Facebook's Lee said. &quot;Almost everyone in the Internet ecosystem is motivated along these lines.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[More watching Netflix on Apple TV than iPad]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-watching-netflix-on-apple-tv-than-ipad</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-watching-netflix-on-apple-tv-than-ipad</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yutrew77</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-watching-netflix-on-apple-tv-than-ipad</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Netflix running on the new Apple TV.(Credit:Apple)The Apple TV has eclipsed theiPad in overall viewership of Netflix content, the movie-rental company said yesterday.&quot;Apple TV has done very well for us, and in just four months has passed the also-growing iPad in Netflix viewing hours,&quot; the company wrote in its letter to shareholders.Netflix stopped short of providing exact viewer figures for the two Apple devices, but the very fact that the Apple TV is now leading the iPad is impressive. Apple has sold millions of iPads since the device launched last year, and it sold 7.33 million units in its last-reported quarter alone. In December, Apple announced that it was nearing 1 million units sold of its set-top box since that device's launch at the end of September.Apple'siPhone is also &quot;very popular&quot; among Netflix streaming customers, but the company reported that &quot;Windows andMac laptops, Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo Wii&quot; are the most popular Netflix-streaming options. Netflix enjoyed a strong 2010. The company reported that it added 7.7 million customers on the year, easily besting its estimated 3.6 million additions. It now has over 20 million customers. Netflix generated a $47 million profit during the fourth quarter on $596 million of revenue. (Via TUAW) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Woz wishes Jobs well during leave]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=woz-wishes-jobs-well-during-leave</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=woz-wishes-jobs-well-during-leave</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nisha</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=woz-wishes-jobs-well-during-leave</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Steve Wozniak, an Apple co-founder and one of the company&amp;39's biggest fans. (Credit:Scott Ard/CNET)At first, Steve Wozniak was spooked by today's news that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is taking another leave of absence for health reasons, but now the co-founder of Apple says he supports Jobs' decision to take a break. &quot;I haven't contacted Jobs yet,&quot; Wozniak wrote CNET in an e-mail. &quot;The news actually frightened me because I did not expect it. If Steve is tired and wants a bit more normal life, more power to him.&quot;Apple revealed earlier today that Jobs had notified Apple employees about the new leave of absence. Jobs said that he was leaving to focus on his health and that he would still be involved in the company's &quot;major strategic decisions,&quot; with COO Tim Cook handling day-to-day operations. Jobs did not say when he would be back. In 2009, Jobs took a six-month leave to deal with issues related to his battle with pancreatic cancer.Wozniak not only helped create Apple, along with Jobs and Ronald Wayne in 1976, but holds the unofficial title of being the company's No. 1 fan and one of the tech sector's most beloved elder statesmen. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Verizon Wireless adds 16 New York cell sites]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-wireless-adds-16-new-york-cell-sites</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-wireless-adds-16-new-york-cell-sites</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>joeysyjeoy</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-wireless-adds-16-new-york-cell-sites</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Verizon Wireless is beefing up its service in and around New York City.The carrier announced today that it has added 16 new sites around the Big Apple, including one in the city. Verizon customers in Yonkers, Bronxville, and other locations can also take advantage of the improved service. The cell sites will provide better access to the company's 3G network, Verizon said.&quot;It is important for our customers to know that we are also committed to holding our position as the most reliable 3G network in the nation,&quot; Verizon's New York Metro region president, Pat Devlin, said in a statement. &quot;As it stands now, the 3G network is what most of our customers are using now.&quot;The timing of Verizon's service improvements may lead some to speculate that it's related to yesterday's announcement of theiPhone finally being made available on the carrier's network. The smartphone is scheduled to launch on February 10, and could pelt Verizon's network with heavy calling and data usage.However, Verizon isn't so quick to admit that. A company spokesperson told CNET in an e-mail that Verizon doesn't &quot;add cell sites based on any one factor, but on overall great engineering, planning, and forecasting.&quot; He went on to say that &quot;new cell sites add both coverage and capacity, and ensure we are always ahead of the network needs of our current and future customers.&quot;Even if the cell site additions have nothing to do with the iPhone, the Verizon spokesperson did bring up criticism about AT&amp;T's network.&quot;I would note, though, that AT&amp;T has had the loudest waves of protests from their customers in two specific areas of the country: New York and San Francisco,&quot; the spokesperson said.Verizon added several new cell sites in San Francisco last month.As Verizon points out, AT&amp;T had been taking heavy criticism from customers for poor service, including dropped calls and lagging 3G speeds in New York and San Francisco, as well as other areas around the U.S. But those complaints didn't fall on deaf ears, and prompted the company to invest heavily in its network in 2010.During its fourth-quarter 2009 earnings call last January, AT&amp;T said that it planned to spend between $18 billion and $19 billion in 2010 to improve wireless service around the country. The carrier followed that up with an announcement in June, saying that it had completed its 3G upgrade in New York City.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Verizon iPhone First Take]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-first-take</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-first-take</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:10:14 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>limresufcom</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-first-take</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft's server and tools boss steps down]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-server-and-tools-boss-steps-down</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-server-and-tools-boss-steps-down</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Santmier</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-server-and-tools-boss-steps-down</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Muglia talking up the Windows Azure platform to attendees of Microsoft&amp;39's PDC conference in 2010.(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)Microsoft today announced that Bob Muglia, the president of its server and tools business, is stepping down and will be leaving the company sometime this summer. In a memo to Microsoft employees, CEO Steve Ballmer said that Muglia will stick around for the transition as Ballmer does &quot;an internal and external search for the new leader,&quot; and that Muglia would &quot;complete additional projects for me.&quot; The company would not comment on what Muglia plans to do next.Muglia joined Microsoft in 1988. Before heading up the company's server and tools business, he was its senior vice president and had leadership roles in Microsoft's Office, mobile, and developer units. Muglia also sat on Microsoft's Business Leadership and Technical Senior Leadership Teams, both of which play a part in shaping the company's ongoing software and marketplace strategies.During his tenure in the server group, Muglia helped the company launch and hone the direction of its Azure platform, which lets developers write applications that run on Microsoft's hardware. Muglia's team's most recent effort has been the next major version of Windows Home Server, as well as Windows Small Business Server, the latter of which was released to manufacturing last month.Muglia bounced back from a demotion following Microsoft's late-'90s foray into e-commerce, called Hailstorm. As part of the rise of the server and tools business, which has become an increasingly larger part of Microsoft's revenues, Muglia was promoted to president in early 2009.Muglia's departure is just the latest in a long string of executives who have left the company in just the past year. During 2010, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie bid adieu, as did Business Division President Stephen Elop, who left the company to become the CEO of Nokia. Entertainment and Devices Unit President Robbie Bach and Chief Technology Officer J. Allard also left the company back in May of last year. The full copy of Ballmer's memo can be found below:From: Steve BallmerSent: Monday, January 10, 2011To: Microsoft - All EmployeesSubject: STB - Building on Success, Moving ForwardThere are very few $15B businesses in the software industry, and Microsoft is the only company that has built three of them. While Windows and Office are household words, our Server and Tools Business has quietly and steadily grown to be the unquestioned leader in server computing. We have driven the industry forward and established the foundation for an entire generation of business applications. We have overcome significant competitive challenges. Over the past twenty years, the outstanding leadership from everyone involved in STB has made it a $15B business today.We are now ready to build on our success and move forward into the era of cloud computing. Once again, Microsoft and our STB team are defining the future of business computing. In October, we completed an incredibly successful PDC where we detailed the future of the cloud, outlining Platform as a Service and demonstrating the rapid advancement of Windows Azure.The best time to think about change is when you are in a position of strength, and that's where we are today with STB - leading the server business, successful with our developer tools, and poised to lead the rapidly emerging cloud future. Bob Muglia and I have been talking about the overall business and what is needed to accelerate our growth. In this context, I have decided that now is the time to put new leadership in place for STB. This is simply recognition that all businesses go through cycles and need new and different talent to manage through those cycles. Bob has been a phenomenal partner throughout this process, and he and his leadership team have the right strategy in place.In conjunction with this leadership change, Bob has decided to leave Microsoft this summer. He will continue to actively run STB as I conduct an internal and external search for the new leader. Bob will onboard the new leader and will also complete additional projects for me.Bob has been a founder and leader of our server business from its earliest inception. He has led our Developer, Office, and Mobile Devices Divisions, and key parts of Windows NT and our Online Services business. I've worked with him in many capacities over the years and I've always appreciated his customer focus, technical depth, people leadership skills, and his positive energy. I want to thank Bob for his hard work, many accomplishments, and his focus on putting Microsoft first for 23 years.We enter this new decade with STB providing the platform for today's business solutions, and uniquely well-positioned to drive the future of cloud computing. I believe STB will continue to lead the industry with outstanding products and services for our customers and exceptional results for our business. Thanks,SteveUpdate at 2:45 p.m.: Mary Jo Foley has included the text of Bob Muglia's departure e-mail here.Previously: Microsoft's server boss talks Azure and more (Q&amp;A)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[To fight spam, Google Apps adds e-mail signing]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-fight-spam-google-apps-adds-e-mail-signing</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-fight-spam-google-apps-adds-e-mail-signing</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>edhardyclothes0</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-fight-spam-google-apps-adds-e-mail-signing</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google has made it possible for Google Apps customers to sign their outgoing e-mail using a technology called DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) that makes it easier to ensure a sender is who he or she says he is.Google has been using DKIM since 2008 to show Gmail users when incoming mail really is from PayPal and eBay--two major brand names often caught up in spoofed e-mails used in phishing attacks. Now the technology is available more broadly and for the e-mail Google Apps users send.An e-mail signed by its sender with DKIM gets a &amp;34'signed by&amp;34' line in Gmail as an assurance it&amp;39's authentic.(Credit:Google)&quot;Today...we're making it possible for all Google Apps customers to sign their outgoing messages with DKIM, so their sent mail is less likely to get caught up in recipients' spam filters. Google Apps is the first major e-mail platform--including on-premises providers--to offer simple DKIM signing at no extra cost,&quot; said Adam Dawes, a Google Enterprise product manager, in a blog post.&quot;As more e-mail providers around the world support DKIM signing, spam fighters will have an even more reliable signal to separate unwanted mail from good mail,&quot; he added. &quot;E-mail authentication is an important mechanism to verify senders' identities, giving users a tool to recognize potential spam messages. In addition, many mail systems can display whether a received message is DKIM-verified, which helps spam filters verify and assess the overall reputation of the sender's domain: messages from untrusted senders are treated more skeptically than those from good senders.&quot;In addition, Google yesterday added an option to Google Apps that lets administrators restrict who may send e-mail and to whom. &quot;For example, school faculty and staff can have unrestricted e-mail access while students have the freedom to send and receive e-mails within the school community but are protected from unwanted e-mail interactions with outsiders,&quot; Dawes said.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[More privacy suits against Apple may be coming]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-privacy-suits-against-apple-may-be-coming</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-privacy-suits-against-apple-may-be-coming</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>kodhitymail</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-privacy-suits-against-apple-may-be-coming</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Earlier this week Apple was sued, along with several app developers, for allegedly sending personal information to ad networks without the users' knowledge or consent. According to one industry lawyer, there could be more lawsuits on the way.Speaking with InformationWeek on Wednesday, attorney Kevin Pomfret said the trend of consumers turning to the courts to protect their privacy is likely to continue. &quot;I would not be surprise if there were more lawsuits,&quot; said Pomfret.A lawyer who advises businesses on privacy issues, Pomfret said the law is &quot;unclear&quot; in this area.Apple is no stranger to lawsuits over theiPhone. The company has been sued by big companies like Nokia, Motorola, and HTC. Apple has also been sued by individuals for not revealing that the battery was not user-replaceable and, in 2009, for MMS not being available on the iPhone.This is also not the first time Apple has been named in a lawsuit against an app developer. In 2009, Tune Hunter sued music-finding service Shazam of patent infringement and named Apple, as well as a host of other companies, in its lawsuit.The latest privacy lawsuit claims ad networks are able to trace an iPhone oriPad using the unique device identifier. The suit says the practice violates federal computer fraud and privacy laws.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Report: Apple ups iPhone shipment target]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-apple-ups-iphone-shipment-target</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-apple-ups-iphone-shipment-target</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>liesourse</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-apple-ups-iphone-shipment-target</guid>
<description><![CDATA[DigiTimes says Apple is looking to ship 5-6 million CDMA iPhones next quarter.(Credit:Kent German/CNET)Apple reportedly expects to ship 20 million to 21 million iPhones around the world next quarter, with almost 25 percent of them CDMA phones.At least, that's the latest from the folks at DigiTimes. Citing the usual sources from Taiwan-based component suppliers, DigiTimes says Apple bumped its first-quarter 2011 shipment goal to the 20 million to 21 million range from 19 million units previously, telling its component suppliers to get ready to fill that new target.If true, that'll be a healthy jump from the 15.5 million units that will have shipped during the fourth quarter, according to estimates indicated by the sources. For the full year, the sources say Apple will have shipped 47 million iPhones around the world.But the juiciest bit of information unveiled by DigiTimes focuses specifically on CDMA phones.For the first quarter, Apple is eyeing a shipment target of 5 million to 6 million CDMA iPhones. Verizon's network runs on CDMA. The sources say all those phones will ship to North America and Asia Pacific during the first quarter, adding fuel to the fire behind reports calling for Verizon to get theiPhone next quarter.We e-mailed Apple for confirmation/comment about the DigiTimes report, but the company did not immediately respond. We'll update this story if we hear anything back.Hitting markets outside North America and Asia Pacific, Apple has also increased its first-quarter shipment goal of WCDMA iPhones to 14 million to 15 million, up from 13 million, according to the sources cited by DigiTimes.Though rumors of a Verizon iPhone have persisted for a couple of years, more news sources and analysts have chimed in lately trying to give some credence to those claims. In October, the Wall Street Journal said Apple was prepping to make a CDMA iPhone. Fortune soon followed by citing sources who said that a Verizon iPhone was a &quot;fait accompli.&quot;Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster also offered his take recently, calling for Verizon to launch the iPhone about midway through the first quarter of next year.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Film theaters fight premium video-on-demand]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=film-theaters-fight-premium-video-on-demand</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=film-theaters-fight-premium-video-on-demand</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ahmadmmaam</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=film-theaters-fight-premium-video-on-demand</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Theater owners don't want digital distributors breaking into their windows.The big film studios may begin to pipe movies to consumers' homes via premium video-on-demand services (PVOD) at the same time the films are up on the big screen, thereby crashing the theatrical window. A &quot;window&quot; is the term used to describe the period of time a film distributor--such as a theater, cable company, or traditional TV broadcaster--has access to a particular movie. The large theater chains are signaling right back that they won't sit still for it, according to a story in today's Los Angeles Times. The theaters are lobbying the studios, prominent filmmakers, and Wall Street to scrap the plan. Their message is that forcing the theaters to compete with home delivery is only going to damage one of the studios' most lucrative sources of revenue--one of the few they still have that isn't ailing. Theater owners say Hollywood is casting about for ways to defeat piracy, and make up for plummeting DVD sales and rentals. According to Patrick Corcoran, a spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, the studios' PVOD plans aren't going to help solve the problems. &quot;We understand that the studios have a problem in the home market,&quot; Corcoran said. &quot;It's down, like, 13 percent when you look at DVD sales and rentals. We understand they need to fix that, and we're all for them experimenting. What we're not for is their importing those problems into the theatrical window.&quot; Price and piracyEarly reports about the studios' PVOD plans say the price to consumers would be at least $30 per movie, and subscribers would get access about a month after it hit theaters. On average, movie theaters have exclusive access to films for three months, Corcoran said. PVOD would be made available in high definition and would be distributed by cable pay-TV services. Corcoran says history has proven that the prices the studios charge for home viewing will always tumble. He said they did for VHS and DVD, as well as for cable video-on-demand movies, which began at about $15 but are now in the $5 range. He also noted that the studios predicted that PVOD would be a safer way to distribute movies and help prevent piracy. He doubts that is the case any longer. Last spring, the Federal Communications Commission authorized Hollywood studios to block analog video signals from coming out of cable and satellite set-top boxes during the broadcasts of newly released movies. The studios designed this to prevent copying and to secure the release of new movies into homes. &quot;Technological locks can always be defeated by technological crow bars,&quot; Corcoran said. &quot;[The anticopying protection software on HD movies] has already been cracked.&quot;Below: Movie theaters saw a record-breaking $10.6 billion in revenue in 2009, and if they get any help from films opening this Christmas, such as &quot;True Grit,&quot; they expect to take in about the same this year.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Gartner: Enterprise SaaS $9.2 billion and growing]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gartner-enterprise-saas-9-2-billion-and-growing</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gartner-enterprise-saas-9-2-billion-and-growing</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>EffoxDeek</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gartner-enterprise-saas-9-2-billion-and-growing</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Analyst firm Gartner today released a forecast of revenue associated with software as a service (SaaS) within the enterprise application software market and it shows that cloud and hosted services are growing at a rapid pace in the enterprise.For the sake of clarity, Gartner estimates that 75 percent of the current SaaS delivery revenue could be considered a cloud service, and that figure could exceed 90 percent by 2014 as the SaaS model matures and converges with cloud services models.Gartner forecasts that SaaS revenue will reach $9.2 billion in 2010, up 15.7 percent from 2009 revenue of $7.9 billion. The market is projected for stronger growth in 2011 with worldwide SaaS revenue totaling $10.7 billion, a 16.2 percent increase from 2010 revenue.There are a number of interesting aspects that Gartner noted in a recent blog post:An increasing number of enterprises are using a variety of SaaS applications from multiple vendors that were procured and deployed without participation from IT, creating management issues and challenges.SaaS deployments are becoming larger, with deals more frequently appearing in the range of thousands to tens of thousands of users within large enterprises.Social media and social software are becoming increasingly integrated with SaaS solutions, as social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are leveraging customer service, sales and marketing initiatives. In contrast, recent research indicates that social software has the lowest adoption rate by buyers of SaaS solutions.Content, communications, and collaboration (CCC) continues to lead the enterprise SaaS market with worldwide CCC revenue on pace to reach $2.9 billion in 2010, followed by customer relationship management revenue of $2.6 billion.As SaaS and cloud services continue to proliferate, there is a clear risk that enterprises could be lulled into a false understanding of what they are actually buying. And as Gartner notes, hosting and application management are not synonymous with SaaS, nor do they necessarily comply with the definition of cloud computing. Whether or not applications are truly &quot;cloud&quot; probably doesn't matter at the moment, but the time will come when enterprise use cases will require more specificity around how and where applications and systems are deployed and managed.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Nexus S first impressions]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nexus-s-first-impressions</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nexus-s-first-impressions</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>CowsUnoms</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nexus-s-first-impressions</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[DivX plug-in does Flash video better than Adobe]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=divx-plug-in-does-flash-video-better-than-adobe</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=divx-plug-in-does-flash-video-better-than-adobe</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>artwhale</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=divx-plug-in-does-flash-video-better-than-adobe</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Who says Flash video has to monopolize your laptop and drain its battery at scary rate Aside from Steve Jobs, that isDivx, the video technology company whose software is in dozens of Blu-ray players and other devices, is releasing today a browser plug-in, DivX HiQ, that replaces the video engine in Adobe's own Flash player with what they say is its own, lighter, faster, better, stronger player. The pitch: now you can get a good video experience even on your underpowered old computer, or your Netbook.Once installed -- it comes as part of the DivX Plus Web Player, available on Download.com -- when you hit a video on a site that the player knows about, like YouTube, you get a second &quot;play&quot; button under the usual player. I tested the beta of HiQ on a few systems--a worn-out old ThinkPad, a 2-year-old MacBook, and a screaming fast desktop--and found the biggest gain on the ThinkPad. Videos played more smoothly, especially when I selected high-definition streams (720p or 1080p). I was able to play all videos in full-screen mode, too, something I haven't attempted on this PC for a while. I didn't notice much of a performance difference on my MacBook or my desktop PC. The DivX HiQ add-on gives you a supplementary Play button on selected sites. YouTube shown.(Credit:Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET) DivX rep Ryan Taylor told me that his company's video decoding technology is just better, which means devices running it can do more video with less horsepower, leading to better-looking movies, better battery life, and cooler laps. The HiQ product can also use the graphics processor of the computer it's running on, to put the video decoding on the chip best designed to do it.  Adobe, though, is currently beta-testing its own Flash Player 10.2, which also uses the graphical processing unit. Why Adobe is still, in 2010, in beta on GPU-accelerated video decoding is an open question' this feature should have been baked into the player at least a year ago. DivX's little freebie add-on is a bit of a marketing play. The download will come with an optional codec pack and a converter tool. But mostly, as Taylor says, &quot;it identifies and links our brand the highest-quality playback possible.&quot; The company has not discussed this add-on with Adobe or with Apple. You can get DivX technology running on several tablet computers today, including the hot new Galaxy Tab. But it won't work as an end-run around Apple's Flash block for theiPhone oriPad. (It also won't work on sites that apply DRM to streams, like NetFlix or Hulu.) If you want to watch full-screen videos on your Netbook today, the DivX HiQ player is a good bet. I'd recommend it over the Flash 10.2 beta, since it's released code, and since as an add-on to your already-installed Flash player it can easily be ignored if it doesn't work better. But once Adobe pushes the 10.2 update out of beta, DivX will have to rely on the attraction of the other parts of the download bundle to get people to even know about it. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Rumor: Blizzard leak reveals 5-year product plan]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-blizzard-leak-reveals-5-year-product-plan</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-blizzard-leak-reveals-5-year-product-plan</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:10:35 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bxikamilia</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-blizzard-leak-reveals-5-year-product-plan</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Video game giant Blizzard could be releasing Diablo 3 and a version of Starcraft 2 called &quot;Phoenix&quot; next year, if rumors about leaks of the company's five-year product road map are true.First reported last week by MMOGameSite.com, the word seems to be that the leak, if it happened, could be tied to the recent and abrupt resignation of Blizzard China's general manager. Blizzard told CNET that it would not comment on the rumors and that it is focused on the release today of the latest version, known as Cataclysm, of its megahit World of Warcraft.Although no one has gotten a confirmation about the leak, there seems to be widespread agreement that the purported Blizzard product road map is realistic. Of course, even if it is real, any number of normal business circumstances could derail it during the five-year period.Either way, the purported road map indicates that Blizzard plans on releasing Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 Phoenix, as well as a separate Starcraft 2 expansion in 2011' a major World of Warcraft expansion--and a World of Warcraft movie--in 2012' and in 2013, a second Starcraft 2 expansion, a Diablo 3 expansion, the fifth major WoW expansion, and an entirely new project, known as &quot;Titan.&quot; Finally, the road map predicts a second Diablo 3 expansion for 2014.According to MMOGameSite.com, the leak took place on November 29, and shortly thereafter, Blizzard China's general manager, Ye Weilun, was said to have been fired, or at least to have resigned. However, the Marbridge Daily reported that some Blizzard sources have suggested that Weilun's departure was long in the works and was unrelated to any data leak.At the same time, MMOGameSite.com also reported that &quot;leaked internal confidential documents...contain details of Blizzard Games' subscribers, revenue, advertising budgets, and media plans.&quot;In situations like this, of course, it's always difficult to know how much stock to put in rumors. But there seems to be fairly widespread agreement that the information seems plausible, given the level of detail about the various products and the time frames for each potential release, and given the recent staffing changes at Blizzard China. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Online activists fighting to keep WikiLeaks alive]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=online-activists-fighting-to-keep-wikileaks-alive</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=online-activists-fighting-to-keep-wikileaks-alive</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>limzibugjenyial</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=online-activists-fighting-to-keep-wikileaks-alive</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Though it's in hot water with the U.S. government, WikiLeaks is being supported by online activists fighting to keep the site alive.WikiLeaks is being propped up by a barrage of mirror sites created by activists following moves by Amazon to stop hosting its site and Domain Name System provider EveryDNS.net to cut off its DNS services, according to The New York Times. Such mirrors can replicate an entire Web site, ensuring that all content and documents remain online and accessible even if WikiLeaks' own site is taken down.But some of WikiLeaks supporters are adopting a more hostile tone. On Saturday PayPal restricted access to WikiLeaks' account to prevent fund raisers from donating money to help the site. In return, the PayPal blog page that announced the decision to shut off WikiLeaks' account was taken offline for around eight hours last night by a distributed denial- of-service (DDoS) attack.Experts at Panda Labs pointed to a statement from the &quot;hacktivist&quot; group Anonymous, which said that the PayPal blog would be the target of its first DDoS counterattack on behalf of WikiLeaks. Panda also cited comments from a Twitter account named AnonyWatcher, which released several statements related to the attack.The offensive against PayPal could be a sign of bigger things yet to come. A poster on a file upload site has issued a rallying cry for further action on Anonymous' DDoS campaigns.Twitter has also come under criticism from some who believe the microblogging site may be censoring trends devoted to WikiLeaks. Twitter trends reveal the most popular topics being tweeted. But Web site blogs such as OSNews, OSDir, Safety First, and StudentActivism.net have reported findings that terms such as wikileaks and Assange have not been trending nearly as heavily as they should given the amount of news and discussions surrounding WikiLeaks. In response to such criticism, someone identifying himself as Twitter engineer Josh Elman e-mailed Angus Johnston of the StudentActivism.net site to defend his company saying that &quot;Twitter hasn't modified trends in any way to help or prevent WikiLeaks from trending.&quot;Trying to explain the absence of WikiLeaks in the top trends, Elman said that topics related to WikiLeaks are showing up in the company's trends dashboard, but aren't hitting the top ten. &quot;While I personally feel this is a very important topic, that doesn't mean it's as widespread across the Twitter user base,&quot; Elman told Johnston by e-mail.WikiLeaks, which has been in trouble with the U.S. government before, has come under intense fire lately over its release of classified and in some cases embarrassing U.S. State Department documents. While activists have been spurred to fight for the site, government officials have been up in arms, with several calling for WikiLeaks to be classified as a terrorist group.And what of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange The U.S. government is demanding his head on a platter over the leaks of sensitive information, while Sweden still wants him on charges of sex crimes. But he may yet find refuge in his own country of Australia. The country's attorney general Robert McClelland said today that Assange would be allowed back in Australia and would be accorded the same protections given to any other citizen, according to CNN.In making the offer public, McClelland was responding to comments from Assange last week that Australia would not only prevent him from returning home, but that the nation was working with the U.S. government to attack WikiLeaks.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GE selling 'omnidirectional' LED bulb online]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-selling-omnidirectional-led-bulb-online</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-selling-omnidirectional-led-bulb-online</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 Dec 2010 08:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>lawerenceb</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-selling-omnidirectional-led-bulb-online</guid>
<description><![CDATA[General Electric has released an Energy Star-compliant LED light designed as a long-lasting and efficient replacement for a 40-watt incandescent bulb.The General Electric 9 Watt Energy Smart became available online for $50 earlier this week and will be available through GE's existing retail channel in January, according to the company. The A19-shape bulb uses 9 watts and is rated to last 25,000 hours, or 22 years at three hours of daily use. It gives off 471 lumens, has a white light at 3,000 Kelvin, and does not contain mercury or lead.GE said it is the first incandescent-shape LED bulb to meet the new Energy Star tests for this category.GE&amp;39's Energy Smart LED A19 Lamp is a 40-watt incandescent equivalent which uses 9 watts. (Credit:Martin LaMonica/CNET)Both incumbent lighting companies and newcomers are introducing incandescent-shape LED bulbs, which are available online and now in big box retail stories. In terms of price, other LED bulb manufacturers are offering products that give off more light and are cheaper at retail. Lighting Science Group, for example, has a 40-watt equivalent available through Home Depot which now costs under $18. A GE representative said that retailers, which GE will name in coming weeks, will set the price of GE's Energy Smart bulb.GE is trying to distinguish its product with good light dispersal, saying the bulb works for lighting applications typically not well suited for LED lights, such as desk lamps and overhead lamps. LEDs give off light in one direction and some of early incandescent-shaped LED bulbs give off most light on one side, rather than evenly.GE's bulb has eight fins that run down the side of what looks like a thin bulb. That design allows it to disperse light more evenly and take away heat, which is important for the promised long life of LEDs.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Reback rehearses for the case against Google]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=reback-rehearses-for-the-case-against-google</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=reback-rehearses-for-the-case-against-google</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Dec 2010 08:10:41 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>darmoweGryK5</dc:creator>
<category>Politics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=reback-rehearses-for-the-case-against-google</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Antitrust expert Gary Reback outlines how regulators might one day try to take down Google.(Credit:Tom Krazit/CNET)WASHINGTON--Fresh off the news that Europe is formally investigating Google, a Silicon Valley antitrust expert today laid out the hypothetical case against Google that might play out should U.S. regulators decide to get involved.Gary Reback, an attorney with Carr &amp; Ferrell and a prominent figure in the antitrust trials involving Microsoft, told attendees at Consumer Watchdog's Future of Online Consumer Protections conference here that the European case, built off complaints by a comparison shopping engine, could demonstrate that Google has improperly penalized specialty search engines in its quest to maintain its leading search engine market share. The refrain is a familiar one among Google critics: that Google's Universal Search unfairly promotes its own content over that of competitors. In a new twist, Reback discussed the results of a study he concluded on over 40,000 shopping-related search queries. Nearly all of those queries displayed Google's shopping pages as either the first or third result' curiously, not a single query resulted in a Google Web page showing up in the second spot. &quot;As the dominant supplier of search, are they running something that's neutral Or are they providing manipulated results for their own benefit&quot; Reback wondered. In the past Google has strongly denied any suggestion that employees pick and choose winners within search results, but it does make frequent changes to the algorithm that powers those results for various reasons, usually to combat what it considers spam. Foundem, a price-comparison search engine based in the U.K., is leading the charge against Google in Europe. It has complained that Google made changes to its algorithm that unfairly penalized the site, knocking it way down Google's rankings until it was eventually restored after the company protested the decision. Reback also addressed a recurring question about how exactly a regulated Google would continue to provide relevant search results if it had to disclose its algorithm as a result of a successful prosecution. Microsoft was required to disclose its source code to a technical committee to evaluate whether it was playing by the rules, and Reback said Google could be forced to do something similar that would allow regulators to verify it was operating properly without having to air the algorithm in public, which would quickly result in a spam-filled search engine. Like many of the panelists at Consumer Watchdog's conference--including the organizers themselves--Reback has been a noted critic of Google for several years. He is a member of the Open Book Alliance, which opposes Google's proposed settlement with authors and publishers over publishing rights to certain out-of-print but copyright-protected books.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Secretary Chu: Global energy race is 'Sputnik' moment]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=secretary-chu-global-energy-race-is-sputnik-moment</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=secretary-chu-global-energy-race-is-sputnik-moment</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Celina01</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=secretary-chu-global-energy-race-is-sputnik-moment</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Energy Secretary Steven Chu today warned that &quot;time is running out&quot; for the U.S. to be the global leader in clean-energy technologies because China and other countries are racing ahead.Chu gave a speech at the National Press Club where he suggested that the U.S. is reaching a &quot;Sputnik moment&quot; where political leaders and the general population will realize how the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in science and technology. (Credit:DOE)In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite to orbit the Earth, one of the seminal moments in launching the government-led space program in the U.S. The space program captured the imagination of engineers and scientists at the time and yielded advances in many fields.Chu said that the U.S. needs to fund research in clean-energy technologies in order to stay apace and take advantage of the economic opportunity that cleaner energy technologies represent globally.&quot;America still has the opportunity to lead in a world that will need a new industrial revolution to give us energy we want inexpensively and carbon free,&quot; he said during his presentation, which was Webcast. (Click for PDF of slides.) &quot;I think time is running out.&quot;The stimulus package provided a one-time investment bulge in a range of fields, including research to invent new technologies and loan guarantees to scale up existing products. Before the stimulus, though, the percentage of money dedicated to energy research and development has trended down since 1979, Chu said.He said there are risks in the status quo which were detailed in a report called Business Plan for America's Future which was authored by business leaders including Bill Gates, venture capital investor John Doerr, GE CEO Jeff Immelt, and former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine. The report said there are many benefits to moving to a cleaner energy system in the U.S., including public health, protection from climate change, and cleaner air, but none of these are recognized by the free market. Also, the scale of investment required in new energy technologies in beyond the scope of commercial companies, which is why the government should fund research and development.Cutting research and development during the a slow economic period is &quot;like removing an engine from an overloaded aircraft,&quot; Chu said, quoting former Lockheed Martin CEO Augustine.Chu said the Energy Department has established two new research channels: ARPA-E, which is focused on breakthrough technology research within three to five years, and Energy Innovation Hubs, where larger groups of people at universities focus on specific areas, such as bio energy and building efficiency, for several years.One lesson that the U.S. can learn from China is the importance of long-term planning and investment, Chu said. The ARPA-E program, which is taking on challenges such as cheap electric-car batteries capable of a 500-mile range, could suffer from short-term policies. Although it was created as an agency a few years ago, it was first funded through the stimulus package and it is now in danger of not being renewed. He added that the U.S. can collaborate with China and India in development and testing out new energy technologies. Continuing energy-related policies pursued by the Obama administration faces a tougher time after the November elections where Republicans gained control of the House. But even politicians who are skeptical of climate change should recognize that investing in green-technology research and development is an economic decision, he said. &quot;I am hoping that the United States can recognize the economic opportunity that virtually all the western European companies have recognized, that countries in Asia have recognized, and that developing countries have recognized,&quot; he said. &quot;I am an optimist we will wake up and seize the opportunity...The U.S. still has the greatest innovation engine in the world.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Does playing video games help reduce pain]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=does-playing-video-games-help-reduce-pain</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=does-playing-video-games-help-reduce-pain</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Julia01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=does-playing-video-games-help-reduce-pain</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Playing 3D virtual reality games can significantly help reduce pain, one study says.(Credit:Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)If you're looking forward to playing lots of video games this holiday season (and deep down feeling kind of guilty about it), try this excuse. And it's a good one. Apparently, games offer more benefits than just vast entertainment.According to a study from the American Pain Society, a multidisciplinary community of scientists and clinicians who work to reduce pain-related suffering, video games, and more specifically those that incorporate 3D virtual reality, could help reduce physical pain.Generally, it's believed that as we play games, our focus shifts away from the pain and therefore we temporarily forget about it. But the study finds that the mechanism of pain relief in gaming is actually a lot more complicated than common distraction and can deal with even greater, more serious pain. For example, the study shows that when immersed in the virtual world of gaming, those who are undergoing serious procedures, like chemotherapy, report significantly less stress and trepidation. For burn wound care, it's also reported that patients' pain ratings decreased by 30 to 50 percent. Dr. Charles Friedman of the Pain Relief Centers explained that when playing 3D games in a virtual reality, the brain busies itself using other senses, like vision and touch, and releases endorphins, a chemical that generally makes us feel good. At the same time, the virtual experience helps produce a numbing response in brain regions associated with pain. According to the researchers, there are biochemical changes that occur when a patient is in the full virtual-reality environment. Basically they decrease signals in areas of the brain associated with pain. Note, however, these effects require a fully engrossing virtual-reality gaming system, such as the Kinect from Microsoft, a large TV, and surround sound. According to Friedman, though, existing products like theXbox andWii with a moderate TV and sound system can &quot;certainly play a role in relieving some pain with distraction.&quot; So there you go: it might not be a bad idea to ask for an awesome gaming system for Christmas or just bring your PSP along with you when you go get a novacaine shot next time. Remember, though, that gaming can only help with the physical pain. With pain that's associated with lack of social skills, friends, or a partner, you'd need to brush up on a totally different kind of gaming.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Samsung Galaxy S makes it to Cellular South]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-galaxy-s-makes-it-to-cellular-south</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-galaxy-s-makes-it-to-cellular-south</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>parwinrestalk</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-galaxy-s-makes-it-to-cellular-south</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Samsung Galaxy S(Credit:Cellular South)It seems that almost every carrier in the U.S. has a Samsung Galaxy S handset now. Cellular South has recently announced that it, too, will carry a Samsung Galaxy S phone after Verizon, AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular. Unlike those five, though, Cellular South will retain the original Galaxy S look and feel that is closest to its global counterpart. It has the usual TouchWiz interface on top of Android 2.1, a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, 2GB of internal storage along with a 16GB microSD card, and more. The Samsung Galaxy S is available for $199.99 after a $50 rebate and a contract with Cellular South. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Computer chip sales cool down in summer]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=computer-chip-sales-cool-down-in-summer</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=computer-chip-sales-cool-down-in-summer</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marmonju34</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=computer-chip-sales-cool-down-in-summer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sluggish demand took a bite out of chip sales and shipments toward the end of the summer, says a new study out today from research firm IDC.For the third quarter, worldwide microprocessor sales rose only 2.5 percent from the second quarter, while shipments inched up just 2.1 percent from the prior quarter. On a year-over-year basis, results were healthier, with chip sales rising 24.1 percent and shipments 8.6 percent over the third quarter of 2009.Typically, global chip sales jump around 9 percent from the second to the third quarter, while shipments increase 10.6 percent. This year's lackluster growth was unusual, according to IDC, and triggered by weaker demand that affected the entire supply chain.&quot;Market demand for processors was weak in July and in August,&quot; Shane Rau director of Semiconductors: Personal Computing research at IDC, said in a statement. &quot;OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have become very reactive to any hint of slackening end demand. And, when they cut their PC build orders, like they did in late 2Q10 and the first half of 3Q10, not only did they cut their processor orders, they caused their contract manufacturers to cut orders for commodity components. The whole supply chain is skittish.&quot;Drilling down into the chip market for the third quarter, shipments of mobile PC processors edged up just 1.6 percent over the second quarter, server processors rose 4.1 percent, and desktop processors advanced 2.4 percent. But again, year-over-year growth was stronger, at least for two segments.Shipments of mobile PC chips rose 13.3 percent from the third quarter of 2009, while those of server processors jumped 24.4 percent. But shipments of desktop chips grew just 1.7 percent from a year ago.Among the major chip players, Intel took home an 80.4 percent chunk of the market, a loss of 0.3 of a percentage point from the second quarter, while AMD earned a 19.2 percent share, up 0.2 of a percentage point from the prior quarter. Overall growth for the second half of 2010 is expected to be sluggish compared with the first half, but the chip market should revive next year.&quot;For 2011, we believe that, even though the consumer segment will remain stalled in developed regions, IT executives will see PC upgrades as a priority over the next 12 months, which should result in double-digit growth in PC systems and PC processors units next year,&quot; Rau said.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Next iPhone to enable remote computing]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=next-iphone-to-enable-remote-computing</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=next-iphone-to-enable-remote-computing</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sufreter365</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=next-iphone-to-enable-remote-computing</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Cult of Mac says an NFC-equipped iPhone could transfer home desktop data and settings to a remote Mac.(Credit:Tom Krazit/CNET)Could the NFC chips rumored to be inside a futureiPhone be used for more than just mobile paymentsThat's what a source tells Apple blog Cult of Mac. The unnamed source asserts that Apple is researching ways to use near-field communication (NFC) for enabling remote computing.According to Cult ofMac, here's how it would work:If users wave a NFC-equipped iPhone at a NFC Mac (they need to be in close proximity to interact), the Mac will load all their applications, settings and data. It will be as though they are sitting at their own machine at home or work. When the user leaves, and the NFC-equipped iPhone is out of range, the host machine returns to its previous state. Essentially, the Mac would use NFC to authenticate with the phone. A user's bookmarks, address book, passwords, preferences, and settings would be stored on the phone so that when they sat down to any Mac it functioned as if they were using their home computer. As soon as the connection was lost between the Mac and the iPhone--as in, by moving the devices farther than half a foot away from each other--the Mac's original settings would be restored.Cult of Mac's source cautions that this is still very much in the research phase. But it does line up with previous rumors and an actual Apple hire this summer.In August it was first rumored that Apple had placed a large order for NFC chips from NXP Semiconductor. Those chips allow data to be sent wirelessly over very short distances, around 4 inches. It sends data from a chip inside a device like an iPhone, to a payment terminal, or another device.Apple's subsequent hire of an expert in mobile payments led to assumptions that it was that use the company had in mind. But while mobile payments is an obvious application of NFC, it's not the only one. It could also be used to transfer data between devices very near each other, say an iPhone and an NFC-equipped Mac.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Utility NRG buys into giant California solar plant]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=utility-nrg-buys-into-giant-california-solar-plant</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=utility-nrg-buys-into-giant-california-solar-plant</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Oct 2010 07:10:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anjali01</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=utility-nrg-buys-into-giant-california-solar-plant</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Heliostats track and focus sunlight directly onto BrightSource&amp;39's Luz Power Tower solar boiler, which contains a steam turbine to generate electricity.(Credit:BrightSource/Eilon Paz Studio EPP)California will soon lay claim to having the world's largest commercial solar thermal energy project in the world.BrightSource Energy and NRG Energy subsidiary NRG Solar announced today that they're partnering on a 392-megawatt solar thermal project called the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System.All the other moving parts to make the plant a go also seem to be in place.NRG Solar has signed a memorandum of understanding to partner with BrightSource, and plans to invest over $300 million in Ivanpah. Ivanpah has signed power of purchase agreements with Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas &amp; Electric. The U.S. Department of Energy meanwhile has given a &quot;conditional commitment&quot; for a $1.375 billion loan guarantee. All necessary federal and state permits for the project have been granted.The Ivanpah thermal solar project actually consists of three interconnected solar thermal plants located on federally protected desert land roughly 50 miles northwest of Needles, Calif., close to the Nevada border, according to the California Energy Commission. The power plants will use BrightSource's system of heliostats concentrating light onto a central Luz Power Tower, wherein a solar boiler atop a central tower contains a steam turbine that generates electricity.The deal is part of the push on the part of the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management to approve public land for large-scale solar-energy development.The Ivanpah project when complete will double commercial solar thermal production capacity in the U.S., according to BrightSource.Of course, that's not hard to do considering the U.S. currently has little thermal solar energy capacity for the commercial market. While there are some hybrid natural gas and solar thermal plants, as well as solar thermal plants like the 50-megawatt Nevada Solar One, mega plants simply have not yet been built.In August, for example, the 250-megawatt Beacon Solar Energy plant near the Mojave Desert was approved. Arizona also has the 280-megawatt Solana Generating Station set to be operational by 2012. There are also several other solar thermal mega plants with 250-, 500-, and even 1,000-megawatt capacities in various development stages.And while the Ivanpah might be able to claim a commercial first, it's the U.S. Army that is likely to have the largest thermal solar plant in the world. It's building a 500-megawatt solar thermal plant for Fort Irwin, Calif., but construction is not set to begin until 2012.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Lawsuit targets Google over Web referrals]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lawsuit-targets-google-over-web-referrals</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lawsuit-targets-google-over-web-referrals</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>lawan</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lawsuit-targets-google-over-web-referrals</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google search-results pages include the search terms in the URL, which gets passed along by Web browsers to the next page clicked.(Credit:Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)Google has been targeted in a class-action lawsuit that accuses the company of violating user privacy by passing along search queries in referral links. The suit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that Google's practice of including search terms in the URL for search-results pages violates user privacy when that URL is passed onto the publisher of the Web site clicked on by a Google user. For example, when a Google user searches for &quot;sushi restaurants in San Francisco,&quot; Google generates a search results page with a URL along the lines of &quot;http://www.google.com/searchsourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=sushi+restaurants+in+san+francisco,&quot; and that URL gets passed along by your Web browser when you click on one of the results. This is almost ubiquitous on the Web, as it allows Web publishers to see which sites are sending them traffic and which search terms are generating most of that traffic. However, Paloma Gaos, a resident of San Francisco, argued the practice allows third-party data mining companies to assemble a wealth of sensitive and personal information on searchers by aggregating their queries and linking them to personally identifying information, such as IP addresses or even their names should they do a vanity search coupled with another search term. &quot;Because Google's financial success depends on, among other things, the symbiotic relationship it shares with SEOs (search-engine optimization consultants) and the ability for third parties to engage in Web analytics, Google has placed a high priority on revealing individual user search queries to third parties,&quot; the plaintiffs argued in the complaint. The plaintiffs want the suit extended to include anyone who did a search on Google and clicked on a result after October 25, 2006. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Search Engine Land's Greg Sterling and Danny Sullivan noted that the plaintiff is singling out Google for a practice followed by countless Web sites. Both Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing also include search terms in their search-results page URLs, and other Web pages can contain even more sensitive information within the URL that can be passed along by the browser when a user navigates to the next page. While it's possible that search queries, names, and IP addresses could be linked, it would take no small amount of effort to capture enough queries to make it worth someone's time. AOL showed the world just how possible this was in 2006 by releasing a large amount of anonymized data that had enough specific query information to paint pictures of specific individuals. Still, it's clear that should this practice be outlawed or discontinued, the world of Internet marketing would change drastically. &quot;Referrers are part of the reason that Internet marketing is so successful, because results are trackable. Without referrers, it becomes more like the offline world where people spend on marketing with relatively little (compared to the Internet) insight as to what works,&quot; Sullivan wrote in a blog post today.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Waiting for Superman pledge turns up $5M for change in schools]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=waiting-for-superman-pledge-turns-up-5m-for-change-in-schools</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=waiting-for-superman-pledge-turns-up-5m-for-change-in-schools</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>deshawnste21</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=waiting-for-superman-pledge-turns-up-5m-for-change-in-schools</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Waiting for Superman, a popular documentary about Americaa4a4s public school woes which drew particular attention from Silicon Valley&amp;'s entrepreneurial class, comes out on DVD today, February 15. In September, Paramount Pictures announced that NewSchools Venture Fund had committed to investing $5 million in entrepreneurial education organizations if over 150,000 pledged to watch the film.That target was reached in October, and New Schools is now announcing the first three recipients.NewSchools partner Jonathan Schorr said that to qualify, the early-stage organizations had to have a a4Adirect impact on kids plus scalability, sustainability, and the potential for catalytic impact on the wider system.a4With massive amounts of tech talent dedicated to producing FarmVille knockoffs, ita4a4s nice to see some entrepreneurial chutzpah going towards education solutions.Herea4a4s a rundown of the investments:Next Story: How far can Apple push developers Previous Story: Who invented cloud gaming T5 Labs tangles with OnLive (exclusive)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Waiting for SupermanCompanies: Beyond 12, New Schools Venture Fund, Presence TeleCare, Rocketship EducationPeople: Jonathan Schorr          Tags: Waiting for SupermanCompanies: Beyond 12, New Schools Venture Fund, Presence TeleCare, Rocketship EducationPeople: Jonathan SchorrMatt Bowman is a freelance event producer and writer covering the global Silicon Valley and formerly served in the Teach For America Corp. 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[Hulu&'s owners at odds over future of television]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hulursquos-owners-at-odds-over-future-of-television</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hulursquos-owners-at-odds-over-future-of-television</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>paultupppu</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hulursquos-owners-at-odds-over-future-of-television</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Here&amp;'s a shock: the three main corporate owners of Hulu are at odds with each other and with Hulu management over the online TV service&amp;'s basic strategy. Who could have guessedThe Wall Street Journal reports that News Corp. (owner of Fox) and Disney (owner of ABC) want to pull some of the ad-supported shows they make available free via Hulu. They complain that the streamed shows are biting into their other, more lucrative (for now) modes of distribution a4&quot; traditional TV, video on demand, reruns, DVDs. They also want to make their shows available to other online distributors like Netflix and Apple.Meanwhile, Hulu&amp;'s management is considering turning the service into an online cable-TV network, offering live television channels, bundled channels, and video on demand.&amp;''Hulu&amp;'s managers say tumult is natural in such a fast-changing industry,&amp;'' the Wall Street Journal says. It&amp;'s even more natural when you have three different, competing networks as owners, each with different ideas about how to fit their businesses into the highly uncertain future of television.One thing is clear: no matter how stridently some TV executives might argue that there is little or no &amp;''cord cutting&amp;'' going on, people are starting to drop cable in favor of watching TV over the Internet. The question is, how do the networks make money online while still drawing revenue from their traditional venues The Journal&amp;'s painstakingly reported account shows that the answer is far from clear, but it most likely won&amp;'t involve a distribution system owned by several competing networks.[image via Flickr/justin]Next Story: Tesla to recycle electric car batteries in Belgium Previous Story: Eric Schmidt&amp;'s talk on age of &amp;''augmented humanity&amp;'' at DLD (video)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Streaming media, television, TVCompanies: Disney, Hulu, News Corp          Tags: Streaming media, television, TVCompanies: Disney, Hulu, News CorpDan Mitchell covers media and technology for VentureBeat,  Fortune.com, and anyone else who will pay him. He previously covered the rise of the Internet for Wired, Cnet News.com, Red Herring, the Industry Standard, Business 2.0 and other  publications and was a Web producer for National Public  Radio. For three years he wrote the column &quot;What's Online&quot; for The New  York Times' Business Day. His popular blog &quot;Daily Bread,&quot; about the  business and political economics of food, ran for two years on Slate's  business site, The Big Money. 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[Ex-Voodoo PC chief Rahul Sood joins Microsoft to design cool stuff]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ex-voodoo-pc-chief-rahul-sood-joins-microsoft-to-design-cool-stuff</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ex-voodoo-pc-chief-rahul-sood-joins-microsoft-to-design-cool-stuff</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ulrseballe</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ex-voodoo-pc-chief-rahul-sood-joins-microsoft-to-design-cool-stuff</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Rahul Sood, a product wunderkind at Hewlett-Packard, left his job last month and has reappeared as the general manager of &amp;''system experience&amp;'' within the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. He announced the new gig on his blog today.His hire is sure to set off speculation. Is he working on a new game console to replace the five-year-old Xbox 360 Will he replace product design wizard J Allard, who left Microsoft this year It&amp;'s a reminder to me that, for all the vast number of employees at big tech companies, one or two key people can make all the difference in the world.One thing is for sure. Microsoft wouldn&amp;'t hire a guy like Sood and put him on something unimportant, like making sure a fan fits inside a game box. Whenever Sood showed a new HP product to me, he held the thing like it was his own baby.Sood has had a storied career as a computer designer. At a time when everyone was designing beige box PCs, he started Voodoo PC in Calgary, Canada, in 1991. Joined much later by his brother Ravi, the Sood business created screaming-fast computers for gamers with liquid cooling, the fastest graphics cards, and custom paint jobs. Voodoo PC made a hundred or so a month and sold them for $5,000 to $10,000 each.The company caught the eye of Mark Hurd, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, who wanted to bring in the right people to revamp HP&amp;'s product design and create magical technology experiences that rivaled Apple&amp;'s. For a time, it worked. HP designed the Blackbird gaming PC and created the Envy laptop, which was HP&amp;'s answer to the MacBook Air.But somehow, HP didn&amp;'t seem to make the best use of Voodoo&amp;'s crew. It pretty much dropped out of the gaming PC business and focused on trying to make its mainstream products sexy and edgy. Designing good products may come easy for Steve Jobs at Apple. But doing that at HP can&amp;'t be easy. As former CEO Carly Fiorina once said, if HP marketed sushi, it would call it &amp;''cold dead fish.&amp;''Sood left not long after Hurd went out the door this fall. At Microsoft, Sood said, &amp;''Ia4a4ll be working on some really&amp;8230' really &amp;8230' really cool stuff come  January 2011. If you need to get in touch with me feel free to find me  on Facebook or Twitter. I may or may not attend CES, but if you have  something really cool to show let me know soon!&amp;''It&amp;'s exciting to see that Sood has gone to Microsoft. He may very well be working as a janitor, for all I know. But I get the feeling that Microsoft is working on something important.Next Story: Fancy &amp;''iOne&amp;'' camera chips will enable Android photo-sharing devices Previous Story: Facebook testing new filters for News FeedPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Companies: HP, Microsoft, VoodooPeople: Rahul Sood, Ravi Sood          Companies: HP, Microsoft, VoodooPeople: Rahul Sood, Ravi SoodDean 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[Yahoo may ax 650 jobs tomorrow (report)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yahoo-may-ax-650-jobs-tomorrow-report</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yahoo-may-ax-650-jobs-tomorrow-report</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>login123</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yahoo-may-ax-650-jobs-tomorrow-report</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Struggling Web portal Yahoo may cut up to 650 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce, as early as Tuesday, according to the New York Times.The layoffs come as the company struggles to reduce costs and grow revenues in its online advertising business. A spokeswoman at Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., declined to comment to the New York Times, which cited sources with knowledge of the situation.Yahoo&amp;'s product units are expected to take a lot of the hit. The group designs and builds consumer services, largely supported by advertising, and is run by Blake Irving, a former Microsoft executive.At the end of October, Yahoo had 14,100 employees. Carol Bartz, the tough-talking chief executive at Yahoo, has been trying to reinvigorate Yahoo. But she is still continuously hit with questions such as &amp;''What is Yahoo&amp;'' as posted by Web 2.0 Summit host John Battelle. Bartz replied at the event in November that Yahoo&amp;'s focused on five areas: &amp;''content, communications, media, technology and innovation.&amp;'' How any company can compete in five distinct areas of business is a little vague, and that&amp;'s part of why the stock hasn&amp;'t been doing that well. Investors feel that Yahoo is treading water while rivals such as Google and Facebook are racing ahead in growth.Under Bartz, Yahoo has exited search and is relying upon Microsoft for its search engine and related ad system. It remains a large player in display advertising, serving something on the order of 18 billion ads per day.Previous Story: Does the slate computer work for MicrosoftPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: web portalCompanies: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, YahooPeople: Carol Bartz          Tags: web portalCompanies: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, YahooPeople: Carol BartzDean 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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