showrecentposts({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-11-09T08:37:33.020-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Technology Updates"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":""},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default?alt\u003djson-in-script\u0026orderby\u003dpublished"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default?alt\u003djson-in-script\u0026start-index\u003d26\u0026max-results\u003d25\u0026orderby\u003dpublished"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"35"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-1435136178707817754"},"published":{"$t":"2008-12-22T02:31:00.001-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-12-22T02:31:55.118-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"YouTube"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Greeting Cards"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Second Year"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"YouTube lets you turn videos into greeting cards"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003e For the second year, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/\"\u003eYouTube\u003c/a\u003e on Friday unveiled a holiday feature that lets users create hosted video cards to send to friends and family. Users can select this option from any YouTube video, or from \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/greetings\"\u003ea special page\u003c/a\u003e that houses selected community videos and links to a user's own clips.  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e There's also an option to make a more personalized greeting straight from a connected Webcam. For now, only one video can be attached to a given greeting card.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e When users are finished picking a video for use in a greeting card, they can choose from a handful of themes that house the video player, then add up to 230 characters of text and send the complete card to up to 25 e-mail recipients. \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e According to YouTube's \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry\u003dnK-36WSlu-o\"\u003ecompany blog\u003c/a\u003e, more than a million of these greetings were sent out last year, before the feature disappeared in January. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-large float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 610px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081212/YouTube-greeting_610x473.png\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"473\" width\u003d\"610\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eTurn any YouTube video into a greeting card for the holidays.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: CNET Networks)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-1435136178707817754?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/1435136178707817754/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d1435136178707817754","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/1435136178707817754"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/1435136178707817754"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/youtube-lets-you-turn-videos-into.html","title":"YouTube lets you turn videos into greeting cards"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-399584838874548832"},"published":{"$t":"2008-12-22T02:28:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-12-22T02:30:02.454-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Flickr"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Yahoo Mail"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Yahoo"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Open Strategy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mail"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Yahoo puts meat on Open Strategy bones"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003e SAN FRANCISCO--After months of preamble, Yahoo on Monday flipped the on switch for a massive project to increase activity--and advertising--on its Internet sites through social connections and online applications. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The company has been working mostly behind the scenes to build what it calls the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10039742-93.html\"\u003eYahoo Open Strategy\u003c/a\u003e, but now the strategy's changes will become evident to U.S. users of some of Yahoo's main properties such as Yahoo Mail, My Yahoo, and Yahoo's music and TV sites. In addition, the company will begin previewing a new Yahoo Toolbar later this week. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-medium float-right\" style\u003d\"width: 270px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081215/John_Kremer_credSTS_270x408.jpg\" alt\u003d\"John Kremer, vice president of Yahoo Mail\" height\u003d\"408\" width\u003d\"270\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eJohn Kremer, vice president of Yahoo Mail\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"We wanted to establish a social dimension,\" Ash Patel, executive vice president of Yahoo's audience products division, said of the Yahoo Open Strategy goals. And to attract programmers who can build applications on Yahoo properties, \"We wanted to engage with the developer community and to open up the power of Yahoo's products and platforms.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYahoo Mail, which according to ComScore has about 275 million active users each month, gets some significant changes, with more to come. First is a new welcome page that now spotlights messages from people in a person's Yahoo social network and invitations from others to join their networks. And the in-box page now includes a new \"from connections\" button that shows e-mail only from those social connections. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSecond is the arrival of online applications tied to Yahoo Mail. One inaugural program from Xoopit lets you view all the photos in your e-mail archive, even expanding links to online galleries. Another lets you convert an e-mail message into a WordPress blog post in two clicks. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The opening of the mail platform is a huge benefit to users in terms of the additional forms of sharing and communication we can build in and to the developers who can build applications,\" said John Kremer, vice president of Yahoo Mail, speaking to reporters at a launch event here. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore mail changes are coming, he said. Among them will be birthday reminders and the ability to exchange large files, Kremer said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe new mail abilities require a the cooperation of Yahoo users' contacts: they must agree to be listed as your contact before they can become a part of Yahoo social activities. That's because of privacy considerations, Kremer said. For example, the right-hand side of the new Yahoo Mail welcome page also shows contacts' activity such as photos posted, movies recommended, or applications added, and that's information those people might not want to share with just anyone. \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-custom float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 612px;\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081215/01_mail_main.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081215/01_mail_main_612x563.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Yahoo Mail\u0026#39;s new welcome page spotlights activity from a person\u0026#39;s social connections.\" height\u003d\"563\" width\u003d\"612\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eYahoo Mail's new welcome page spotlights activity from a person's social connections. (Click to enlarge.)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Yahoo)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eLeapfrogging the Joneses\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIt's not all fun and games. Building use of Yahoo into members' social lives and letting them use applications housed on Yahoo sites means more advertising for Yahoo. That was important earlier this year when the company was stagnating financially, but it's even more important now that the recession has put extreme pressure on the ad market. And Patel believes the ads that can be delivered with the social context--for example clicking on the Yahoo Music page for an album a friend just rated highly--will provide valuable context for advertisers. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"Targeted (ad) inventory sells better than untargeted inventory,\" Patel said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Yahoo Open Strategy theoretically could help Yahoo not just keep up with the Joneses, but leapfrog them. Although Yahoo capitalized on the first generation of online social activity, e-mail and instant messaging, it lagged rivals such as Facebook when it comes to letting people build online communities of friends and business contacts. Yahoo's new strategy, though, is tuned to its own assets. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGoogle has got a powerful search engine, but its online community is nascent compared to Yahoo's. Facebook and MySpace have got social ties, but not Yahoo's breadth of finance, sports, entertainment, news, and communications. Yahoo Open Strategy is a recipe not easily reproduced in full by Yahoo competitors. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The hard part will be bringing the transformation to fruition fast enough. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the Yahoo Open Strategy to pay off, the company must encourage its members to register new profiles and to link their friends into their social network. And it will have to coax a lot of programmers to build good applications then coax Yahoo members to activate them. All this takes time, and Yahoo, with Microsoft and Google breathing down its neck, doesn't have the luxury of time. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGetting people to sign up for yet another social service--Yahoo strenuously objects to calling its work just another social network--is another hurdle. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"There is going to be some fatigue on that process,\" Kremer said of people getting inundated with a new round of online service invitations. \"It may slow down the virality of what we're doing.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the company believes it will spread because people will find it useful. And unlike some services, Yahoo hopes people only set up their service with a small number of important contacts rather than compete for the biggest networks. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I don't want my users to sign up for 500 connections,\" Kremer said. \"I want this to be for the tight inner circle--those five or ten or fifteen people they scan for\" when checking their in-box. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-custom float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 612px;\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081215/03_flickr.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081215/03_flickr_612x564.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Yahoo Mail is getting a Flickr application that lets people upload photos from the e-mail application.\" height\u003d\"564\" width\u003d\"612\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eYahoo Mail is getting a Flickr application that lets people upload photos from the e-mail application. (Click to enlarge.)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Yahoo)\u003cbr /\u003eSource : CNet News\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-399584838874548832?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/399584838874548832/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d399584838874548832","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/399584838874548832"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/399584838874548832"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/yahoo-puts-meat-on-open-strategy-bones.html","title":"Yahoo puts meat on Open Strategy bones"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-7479734166925074293"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:50:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:52:47.671-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Facebook"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Scrabulous"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Scrabulous scrapped from Facebook"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The long awaited decision on the fight between Facebook and the makers of the game - Scrabble has come to an end finally with the later emerging as the winners.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe legal proceedings against the app had started in January when Mattel (the makers of the game) decided that Scrabulous was infringing on copyright and trademarks.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe makers of the game are Rjat and Jayant Agarwalla based in India and if you are in India you can still play the game as the Indian courts are still deciding on this issue.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe will keep you informed on the Indian court rulings, but for the moment it looks very much like the end of Scrabulous. BDV-234049-BDV\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-7479734166925074293?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/7479734166925074293/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d7479734166925074293","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/7479734166925074293"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/7479734166925074293"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/scrabulous-scrapped-from-facebook.html","title":"Scrabulous scrapped from Facebook"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-8291316157497868044"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:44:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:45:28.241-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dying"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"iPod"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"iPod dying? It's already dead"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"postBody\"\u003e         \u003cp\u003e There has been \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/apple-co-founde.html\"\u003emuch\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10059976-17.html\"\u003eblogorrhea\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/07/woz-says-the-ipod-will-die-out-after-a-while-like-radios-and-w/\"\u003eon Tuesday\u003c/a\u003e over Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's offhand \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3145691/Steve-Wozniak-interview-iconic-co-founder-on-the-iPod-iPhone-and-future-for-Apple.html\"\u003ecomment to the \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/a\u003e that the iPod would go the way of the transistor radio and the Sony Walkman, becoming a cheap and eventually boring commodity product. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-medium float-right\" style\u003d\"width: 128px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081007/ipodicon.png\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"128\" width\u003d\"128\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eiPod? Isn't that the music application for the iPhone?\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003cp\u003e News flash: it's already there. Sure, Apple will still sell millions of units every quarter, and it might even continue to grow unit sales and revenue for a while. But it's clear from Apple's \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/underwhelmed-by-ipod-announcements\"\u003emost recent announcements\u003c/a\u003e that the company no longer views the iPod as its main vehicle for innovation--new (old) form factors, colors, and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10039744-27.html\"\u003eone interesting update\u003c/a\u003e are the kind of incremental tweaks you make to a cash cow product line, not the groundbreaking innovations that move markets forward. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Apple passed its mantle of innovation to the first iPhone a year ago, and that's where the action's going to be, from now on--multifunction devices with interesting new interfaces (touch is just the beginning) that act more like tiny computers than single-purpose devices. iPod? That's just another application icon on the iPhone deck. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e (And here's something you'll never hear in a presidential debate: \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-9735572-27.html\"\u003eI was wrong\u003c/a\u003e. Specifically, I was wrong when I suggested that consumers would continue to favor single-function devices and that the iPhone's bet on convergence would sink it. I underestimated the power of the touch screen and Apple's relentless focus on ease of use, which have made the iPhone the first ultraportable computer for mere mortals.) \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I appreciate Microsoft's \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10034885-27.html\"\u003elatest Zune innovations\u003c/a\u003e, but they needed to be in the product when it launched two years ago. MP3 players are becoming a commodity in which low price overrides new features--especially given how tight consumer spending is likely to be this holiday season. Microsoft isn't into commodities, unless it's got dominant market share, so look for the company to turn its attention to building a more competitive version of Windows Mobile. Zune will live on--as the music playback application for Microsoft's mobile phones.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource :Cnet News\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e     \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-8291316157497868044?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/8291316157497868044/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d8291316157497868044","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8291316157497868044"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8291316157497868044"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/ipod-dying-its-already-dead.html","title":"iPod dying? It's already dead"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-450062497692057929"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:43:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:44:24.142-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Downturn"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Video technology"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The tech downturn: How long and how bad?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003eSilicon Valley venture capitalist Ron Conway sent a sobering e-mail Tuesday to the 130 start-up companies he's invested in: now is the time to hunker down.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003c!-- photo --\u003e \u003cnewselement\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"float: right;\"\u003e \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20081008/Ron_Conway_Crop.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Ron Conway\" style\u003d\"border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"150\" width\u003d\"125\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 7px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: left; font-size: 70%; font-weight: normal;\"\u003e Credit: \u003ca href\u003d\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/\"\u003eJoi Ito\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 10px; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; text-align: right; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-size: 105%; font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\"You better rely\u003cbr /\u003eon your own\u003cbr /\u003eproactive action.\"\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"font-weight: bold; text-align: right;\"\u003e-Ron Conway\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/newselement\u003e \u003c!-- end photo --\u003e    \u003cp\u003e\"In 2000 and 2001, the companies that hunkered the fastest were the companies that survived,\" said Conway in an interview with CNET News. \"Get costs under control; make sure you have plenty of runway.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eWhile that admonition from Conway, a noted investor who over the years has put early money into tech giants like Google and up-and-comers like Digg, was timely, it's hard to imagine that any tech executive who's been paying attention to the news needs to be reminded that rough economic conditions are most definitely ahead.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eHow bad those conditions will be and how long they'll last is anyone's guess. The \u003ca href\u003d\"http://investor.news.com/cnet\"\u003eCNET Technology Index\u003c/a\u003e, which tracks 66 publicly traded tech companies, dropped for the third straight day Wednesday to hit its lowest level in more than three years. Even the healthiest of companies are \u003ca title\u003d\"Tech stocks and broader markets edge downward -- Wednesday, Oct 8, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10061696-93.html\"\u003eseeing their stocks being sold en masse\u003c/a\u003e. Google, for example, finished trading Wednesday down 2.28 percent to $338.11 per share; that's a new 52-week low and less than half the asking price for a Google share in November 2007\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eBad news persists in the overall economy as well, despite continued attempts at \u003ca href\u003d\"http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/07/markets/bondcenter/credit_markets/?postversion\u003d2008100713\"\u003egovernment intervention\u003c/a\u003e. The Dow, Nasdaq, and S\u0026amp;P 500 indexes all continued to slide Wednesday; the Dow has now \u003ca href\u003d\"http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081008/wall_street.html\"\u003edropped 35 percent\u003c/a\u003e from its high a year ago.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eCNET contacted more than 20 tech executives, venture capitalists, and industry gurus Wednesday to ask \"How long and how bad this will be for the tech industry, and what should companies do about it?\" Not so surprisingly, there was no consensus. While nearly everyone interviewed is concerned about the economy, their reaction to it and their plans to deal with it are across the map. Experienced investors like Conway and venture capitalist Larry Augustin of Azure Capital Partners are cautious, while some executives (at least in their public comments) are downplaying the risks to their businesses.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003c!-- photo --\u003e \u003cnewselement\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 10px; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; float: none;\"\u003e \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ne/p/2008/techstocks_R9_550x557.gif\" alt\u003d\"Tech stocks\" style\u003d\"border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"557\" width\u003d\"550\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eCredit: Susan Dove/CNET News \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/newselement\u003e \u003c!-- end photo --\u003e  \u003c!--pagebreak--\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"We think there will be some impact on our business,\" Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse \u003ca title\u003d\"With WiMax, Sprint cuts the cord in Baltimore -- Wednesday, Oct 8, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10061520-94.html\"\u003esaid during an event to launch the company's new 4G wireless broadband network\u003c/a\u003e in Baltimore on Wednesday. \"But compared to most other industries, we are relatively well insulated.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c!-- photo --\u003e \u003cnewselement\u003e \u003c/newselement\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"float: left;\"\u003e \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20081008/Geoffrey_Moore_Crop.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Geoffrey Moore\" style\u003d\"border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"155\" width\u003d\"125\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 10px; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; text-align: left; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-size: 105%; font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\"This is categorically\u003cbr /\u003edifferent from prior\u003cbr /\u003edownturns... There\u003cbr /\u003eis no place to flee.\"\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"font-weight: bold; text-align: left;\"\u003e-Geoffrey Moore\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003c!-- end photo --\u003e   \u003cp\u003eSo who's right? \u003ca title\u003d\"Making sense of the tech meltdown on Wall Street -- Monday, Oct 6, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10059402-92.html\"\u003eEnterprise software maker SAP\u003c/a\u003e, which is particularly vulnerable to end-of-quarter deal cancellations, has already run into trouble, as have other notables such as Sun Microsystems and Netflix.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eBut it's not yet clear what will happen to consumer sales and online advertising. The monthly \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ceacnetindexes.org/index.htm\"\u003eCNET-Consumer Electronics Association consumer confidence index\u003c/a\u003e showed surprising bullishness in late September. \u003ca title\u003d\"Search-ad revenues grow amid market malaise  -- Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10060222-93.html\"\u003eInternet Advertising Bureau\u003c/a\u003e statistics for the first half of the year showed surprising strength, but the IAB data did little to shed light on what will happen in the fourth quarter.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThis should give people in tech reason to pause: the normally upbeat Geoffrey Moore, author of popular tech industry books such as \u003ci\u003eCrossing the Chasm\u003c/i\u003e, worries it could take years to restore some sense of \"equilibrium\" to the economy. That's bad news for the tech industry.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"This is categorically different from prior downturns because the industry going into the tank supplies a fundamental staple to all other industries. There is no place to flee. It is not about tech at all,\" Moore said. \"Established franchises with strong cash flow have a huge competitive advantage in downturns. But even these folks better plan for a major overhaul before we reach the other side of this chasm.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe money men\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eNonetheless, where there's chaos, there's also opportunity. Azure Capital's Augustin expects a faster pace of acquisitions because start-ups right now don't have initial public offerings, or IPOs, as an exit strategy, and smaller companies may not have enough cash on their balance sheets to weather the storm. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c!-- photo --\u003e \u003cnewselement\u003e \u003c/newselement\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"float: right;\"\u003e \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20081008/Larry_Augustin_Crop.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Larry Augustin\" style\u003d\"border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"194\" width\u003d\"140\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 10px; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; text-align: left; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-size: 105%; font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\"I think there\u003cbr /\u003eprobably are some\u003cbr /\u003ebargains to be had\u003cbr /\u003ehere.\"\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"font-weight: bold; text-align: right;\"\u003e-Larry Augustin\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003c!-- end photo --\u003e    \u003cp\u003e \"I think there probably are some bargains to be had here,\" Augustin said. Having an IPO option can help increase start-ups' valuation, and without that option, acquisition price tags will be lower. \"If you have a strong balance sheet, maybe you want to spend some there... I think tech companies will be in a good position to leverage this downturn.\" \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe present climate also means venture capital will be harder to find, Augustin said. \"Without an IPO market in the venture capital world, you don't have any exits. And if you don't have any exits and you're not returning any capital to people (who've invested), you don't have new capital flowing in. That means the venture financing climate is going to slow down,\" Augustin said \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e But the cautious Augustin declined to forecast how long the downturn will last. \"It's already deeper than I thought it would be,\" he said. \"I thought maybe two weeks ago we had seen some of the worst and the rescue plans the government had put together would stabilize financial services, and it hasn't.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eRon Conway said he has spent time on the phone with probably six CEOs in the past 24 hours. \"They say, 'I'm not as prepared as I should be; walk me through the steps I should be taking,'\" Conway said. Conserving cash and cutting costs are a must, he said, because bigger companies aren't acquiring as aggressively as many would hope.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"It would be great if more companies were acquisitive, but a lot of people are frozen in place, so you can't rely on M\u0026amp;A to bail you out,\" he said. \"You better rely on your own proactive action. You should seek M\u0026amp;A, but not count on it.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThere is some reason for confidence. So far, when it comes to employment, American business has yet to fall off the cliff, said Stephen Mader, vice chairman and managing director of recruiting giant Korn/Ferry International in Boston. But the health of jobs across the country depends greatly on the ability of the federal government to restore confidence in the short-term credit market, he said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"All you're hearing today in boardrooms across the country is we just don't know. And when you just don't know, you act cautiously,\" Mader said. If the situation doesn't improve, he expects businesses to \"aggressively\" cut payrolls heading into the new year to adjust to the new credit conditions.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe start-ups\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGina Bianchini and Marc Andreessen, the chief executive and chairman of the social networking company Ning, have reason to say \"I told you so.\" Earlier this year, Andreessen (the Netscape co-founder who knows a thing or two about tech booms and busts) predicted the industry could be headed for a \"nuclear winter\" and needed to prepare for it. Ning landed an \u003ca title\u003d\"History lessons with Marc Andreessen -- Thursday, Apr 24, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9927898-36.html\"\u003eadditional $60 million\u003c/a\u003e in venture funding to wait out whatever bad news should come down the pipe.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c!-- photo --\u003e \u003cnewselement\u003e \u003c/newselement\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"float: left;\"\u003e \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20081008/Bianchini_Gina_Crop.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Gina Bianchini\" style\u003d\"border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"140\" width\u003d\"100\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 7px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: right; font-size: 70%; font-weight: normal;\"\u003eCredit: SXSW\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 10px; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; text-align: left; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-size: 105%; font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\"Do I think a\u003cbr /\u003enuclear winter is\u003cbr /\u003egoing to happen\u003cbr /\u003ein the market?\u003cbr /\u003eYes. Do I think\u003cbr /\u003ethat has a\u003cbr /\u003enegative impact\u003cbr /\u003eon us today? No.\"\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"font-weight: bold; text-align: left;\"\u003e-Gina Bianchini\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003c!-- end photo --\u003e    \u003cp\u003eAndreessen was jeered by many as a hyperbolic killjoy at the Web 2.0 party. (It didn't help that he \u003ca title\u003d\"Time to get over the Web 2.0 inferiority complex -- Thursday, Apr 24, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-10787_3-9928223-60.html\"\u003erepeated the comments\u003c/a\u003e on stage at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.) Few should be jeering now. \"We're great. That's why we actually went and raised the money that we raised. We are well positioned, and I would say well stocked for the coming months,\" said Bianchini. \"Do I think that (a nuclear winter) is going to happen generally in the market? Yes. Do I think that has a negative impact on us today? No.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eConway likely would say raising that money was a fine idea. \"Any company that doesn't have one year of cash burn in the bank could be in trouble,\" he said.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eOther start-up execs, such as Corey Bridges, the co-founder of virtual worlds platform developer Multiverse Network, says the best thing to do is plan conservatively for 2009 and watch your cash--because anyone who has to go to the venture capitalists for money will find the terms have dramatically swung in favor of the money men. Bridges said he could see conditions worsening for the last few months.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"There have been a number of leading economic indicators, for some months, that things were going to get rough,\" he said. \"We do a lot of work with big media companies, and \u003ci\u003esotto voce\u003c/i\u003e, the big media companies have been saying that the 'Big Three' car companies are cutting back on their advertising on TV, and that's going to affect them.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eJonathan Kaplan, CEO of Pure Digital, which makes the Flip Video Camcorder, said his company is approaching the current economic climate with a \"cautious but optimistic\" business plan, especially in light of the upcoming holidays. He does say it helps that his most popular product is a less expensive alternative compared to the competition.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eBut the retail outlook this holiday isn't great. \"There's no doubt in my mind this will be bad for everyone. It's a consumer-centric decline, and consumer spending is going to change considerably,\" said Kaplan. \"I think Christmas will be hit very hard, and it will be a difficult one for many retail partners and consumers.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCan big companies steer clear of trouble? \u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSAP's problems are well known by now. But what about other big tech companies? Microsoft executives have so far tried to alleviate panic about the downturn, while at the same time \u003ca title\u003d\"Employment outlook gets murkier at tech companies -- Friday, Oct 3, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10057993-56.html\"\u003ebattening down expenses\u003c/a\u003e. And though their stocks have been pummeled, there's no indication (yet) of trouble from many of tech's bellwethers, ranging from Hewlett-Packard to Google.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c!-- photo --\u003e \u003cnewselement\u003e \u003c/newselement\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"float: right;\"\u003e \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/i/ne/mugs/story/benioff_mark_100x140.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Marc Benioff\" style\u003d\"border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"140\" width\u003d\"100\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 10px; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; text-align: right; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-size: 105%; font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\"This is an\u003cbr /\u003eunprecedented time\u003cbr /\u003ein the economy...\u003cbr /\u003eMost of the experts\u003cbr /\u003eI see talking about\u003cbr /\u003ethis are at a loss\u003cbr /\u003eto make a\u003cbr /\u003emeaningful\u003cbr /\u003eprediction.\"\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv style\u003d\"font-weight: bold; text-align: right;\"\u003e-Marc Benioff\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003c!-- end photo --\u003e    \u003cp\u003eMarc Benioff, CEO of on-demand software company Salesforce.com, would say watching your dollars is a wise idea. In an e-mail exchange, he quickly pointed out that Salesforce finished the second quarter with $823 million in cash--enough to weather the worst of downturns. But even the oft-loquacious Benioff is stopping short of predicting how bad conditions will get for tech.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"This is an uncertain and unprecedented time in the economy,\" wrote Benioff. \"I am not an expert, and most of the experts I see talking about this are at a loss to make a meaningful prediction. So we are focusing on what we good at: making customers succeed.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eClean tech's funding challenge\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn the clean-tech arena, investors and entrepreneurs expect the most pain to be felt with firms on the cusp of commercialization, where large amounts of money are needed to build a biofuels or solar manufacturing plant, for example. Many of these expansion projects are typically financed in part with debt. But with the credit crisis, those deals are far more likely to be funded through private equity or project finance, investors said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"The debt market is in the ER (emergency room) in a terrible way,\" said Jon Bonanno, president of renewable energy developer Principle Power. \"Us, as power plant builders, in the next 24 months, we are doing all equity (financing). If there's a will, there's a way, even in the worst market.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Valuations of clean-tech start-ups trying to raise capital will likely shrink as part of the overall economic downturn. But the level of activity in green tech--an area flush with venture capital--appears to be holding steady, for now at least. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"We're still seeing a lot of companies looking for financing. The deal flow still seems to be active,\" said John Cote, a vice president at General Electric's financial services arm. \"But you have to expect that it's going to slow down.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Some investors speculated that there could be a wave of mergers and acquisitions, as start-ups struggle to find sources for funding. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"Our assumption is that we will probably exit (from start-up investments) through sale to strategic investors,\" said Steve Goldby from early-stage venture capital firm Venrock. \"There is no IPO whatsoever.\" \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAsking the futurist for answers\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAgain, so who's right? We turned to Silicon Valley technology forecaster Paul Saffo for some answers. In the short term, the economic downturn will make it harder for tech companies to attract private equity and venture financing, as well as the lines of credit that are often needed to pay the bills, Saffo said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's too early to tell how bad the financial panic will be and how long it will last, but the economic meltdown signals a shift to a new type of economic model in which tech companies are well positioned to thrive, he said. It just may take some time to get there.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource : Cnet News\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-450062497692057929?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/450062497692057929/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d450062497692057929","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/450062497692057929"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/450062497692057929"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/tech-downturn-how-long-and-how-bad.html","title":"The tech downturn: How long and how bad?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-6869376860604364624"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:39:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-09T05:42:49.818-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Xbox"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Live Experience"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Microsoft unveils new Xbox Live 'experience'"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-large float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 540px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081008/ss-games_540x303.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"303\" width\u003d\"540\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eIn the new Xbox Live experience, much of the interface is designed to cascade horizontally across the screen, allowing users to see a wide selection of choices. On HD TVs, users will be able to see even more information, given the wider screen.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Microsoft)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cp\u003e Whether you're one of the legions of hard-core Xbox players or someone who's only played with the game console casually, get ready for an all-new Xbox Live. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Since the first announcement of the new approach to the massively popular service \u003ca title\u003d\"Microsoft opens up E3 with loud, energetic press conference -- Monday, Jul 14, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9990517-52.html\"\u003eat E3 in July\u003c/a\u003e, some longtime fans have fretted that Microsoft is morphing it into a place for purely casual players at the expense of those for whom Xbox Live is nearly as much a home as where they actually live. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Well, based on a demo I got recently of the (not quite finished) new version of Xbox Live, I'd have to say, fret no more. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Dubbed the new \"Xbox Live Experience,\" this re-launched service--which is \u003ca title\u003d\"Xbox Live ad hints at November relaunch -- Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10050110-1.html\"\u003erumored to be launching in November\u003c/a\u003e, but which Microsoft will only say is due \"before Christmas\"--really does seem to have something for everyone: an easy-to-use graphical interface complete with deeply customizable avatars that casual players will enjoy, and all kinds of new functionality that will actually reward the dedication of the hard-core Xbox player. \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-large float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 540px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081008/Marketing14_540x303.bmp\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"303\" width\u003d\"540\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eWith the new Xbox Live interface, users will be able to see all information relevant to their account in a simpler, easier-to-understand format.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Microsoft)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cp\u003e Microsoft readily admits that there may be a bit of a transition period for those core players--a time during which a lot of griping might be heard--but the company fully expects a gradual realization on the part of those players that the new service takes the existing Xbox Live and adds all kinds of new community and interactive functions to it. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e And, again, I would have to agree. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo date, the Xbox Live interface has been based on what are called blades, essentially pages of information stacked on top of each other in such as way as to maximize the number of choices Xbox Live players have and the directions in which they can go. They can see lists of games to play, choose to watch a movie, go into a section to buy add-ons for games, and so on. The new interface largely does away with the blades era and moves into a more advanced motif of full windows that spread out on the screen and stretch off into the distance, allowing users to shuttle through them, left to right or right to left. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e But that's getting a little too far ahead. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003c!--pagebreak--\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll about avatars\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eClearly, with this new interface, Microsoft is going for both Sony's and Nintendo's jugulars, hoping to create a community experience that lures gamers of every level of experience, every age group, both genders, and even those for whom watching movies through the Netflix option that Microsoft will make available at some point is as close as they come to playing games. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Any discussion of the new Xbox Live, though, has to start with the service's new avatars function.  \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-large float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 540px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081008/02avatar-editor_540x303.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"303\" width\u003d\"540\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eThe avatar editor in the new Xbox Live lets users choose many different styles, and to modify those styles as often as they like.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Microsoft)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cp\u003e To begin with, players can choose an avatar from a large selection that run onto the screen looking like a group of school kids, each dressed differently and sporting diverse hair styles and skin color. Don't like that group? Move on to the next one. And on and on, until you find one you like. Each group is presented randomly, and within the group, individual avatars seem to try to get your attention by jumping up and down and raising their hand. Don't worry, they won't be too disappointed if you choose someone else. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce you pick your avatar, you go into a low-end character editor where you can outfit your new persona with new clothing, hair, accessories and the like. To those familiar with Nintendo's Mii avatars or those from the countless virtual worlds out there, this will feel like old hat. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e But Microsoft doesn't think it is copying Nintendo or anyone else. Rather, it takes the view that it is just adjusting to what the marketplace wants. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd customizable avatars creates an opening for an extension to the traditional Xbox achievements system, in that games can now give out things like clothes, tattoos and other add-ons that will help users distinguish their avatars from the millions of others on the system. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Either way, once you've picked your avatar, you are ready to jump into the new Xbox Live. \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-large float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 540px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081008/Avatar_Selection_2_540x303.bmp\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"303\" width\u003d\"540\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eWhen choosing an avatar, the choices come running onto the screen, one group at a time. Some will jump up and down to try to get users' attention.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Microsoft)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cp\u003e It's not clear yet, according to Albert Penello, director of marketing for Microsoft's platform and Xbox Live group, whether the avatars will find their way into games. Even if they do, it would likely be something that would happen at the more casual end of the spectrum. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"I doubt \u003ci\u003eHalo\u003c/i\u003e would incorporate avatars,\" Penello said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Still, one obvious question is whether games like \u003ci\u003eHalo\u003c/i\u003e will reward players with things like Master Chief's armor as new avatar accessories, and Penello acknowledged that that is a frequent query from users. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e With the existing Xbox Live, a big fan favorite was what are called themes, essentially imagery from games like \u003ci\u003eHalo 3\u003c/i\u003e or \u003ci\u003eGears of War\u003c/i\u003e that are used to customize the Live experience. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, these themes will be incorporated in a new way, said Rob Gruhl, a senior strategist with Microsoft's game platform strategy team, who showed me how players can essentially have large game-themed wallpaper that sits in the background of their Xbox Live screen. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eParty time\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAnother big element of the new iteration of Xbox Live is what are called \"parties.\" This, it turns out, is a crucial piece of the whole puzzle, because it's what will allow players to maximize the way they play games together with their friends. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e One feature will be that parties will make it easy for players to communicate with a group of friends, using a voice or text messaging system. And even if a group isn't actively playing together, friends can see others' profiles, showing what they're playing and whether it's possible to join games in progress. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It's an example of a feature that doesn't feel core,\" said Penello, addressing more concerns from longtime Xbox users that the parties feature is an attempt to turn the service over to casual users, \"but I think it's something that core gamers are really going\" to like. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat's in part, Gruhl added, because of what is known as party channels, which actually enable the communications between members of a party, regardless of whether they're playing the same game or not. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e One benefit of this is that friends can set up a party channel that will allow them to, say, jointly go into a multiplayer game and communicate amongst themselves, even as they play against other players. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The party channel is just one example of a larger channels system that is now an important piece of the larger system, and which makes up what is known as Spotlight. This is basically a view into the very wide range of things that are going on within Xbox Live at any time as viewed through a series of channels. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese channels, then, will show things like events that are coming up in the system, as well as the marketplace, where players can buy all kinds of new things--including a new community games channel that appears in the marketplace. These are games made by the community using Microsoft's \u003ca title\u003d\"Microsoft to distribute community-created games on Xbox Live -- Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9875363-52.html\"\u003eXNA Studio\u003c/a\u003e development software. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e There's also a way, using Spotlight, to search for games, and to sort by genre, so that players can easily see, for example, all the racing games currently in their system or currently available through the marketplace. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd the system is optimized so that all information surrounding a single game will appear on a single game page, where players will be able to see who's playing, what live features are offered, any videos that are available, and any new downloads that have come out. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll told, these game pages will show everything related to the individual games, including material that players don't yet have, allowing them to easily buy those new things--and making it easier for Microsoft to generate revenue through additional transactions. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet another new feature is that Xbox Live users will be able to instigate changes to their system through Xbox.com. That means that if players see some new accessory or game update they want while they are away from their Xbox console, but are using the Internet on a computer, they can order what they want and it will queue up. When they return to their Xboxes, they don't have to try to remember what it was they wanted. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis will also allow content developers to create a long tail, said Gruhl, because it will allow them to promote their content on Web sites and drive people to Xbox.com, where they can order it. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e And lastly, the new Xbox Live features a simple guide mechanism that gives very quick access to almost everything the system has to offer, and which mimics the blade motif of the existing Xbox Live. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is basically a quick start dashboard that allows players to jump instantly to what they want, obviating the need, if they're in a hurry, to go through the larger Xbox Live experience. Choices are more limited in what they can do, but most of what they need to navigate is available here. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor Microsoft, then, the new Xbox Live is an attempt to bridge the entire gaming audience, from the most casual, fortysomething woman, to the most hard-core, teen male \u003ci\u003eHalo\u003c/i\u003e addict.  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-6869376860604364624?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/6869376860604364624/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d6869376860604364624","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/6869376860604364624"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/6869376860604364624"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/microsoft-unveils-new-xbox-live.html","title":"Microsoft unveils new Xbox Live 'experience'"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-1948030737812796881"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:51:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:53:36.118-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"YouTube"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"HD"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Theater View"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"YouTube 'theater view'"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"postBody\"\u003e         \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-regular float-none\" style\u003d\"width: 615px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081006/YouTube-theatermode.png\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"388\" width\u003d\"615\" /\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eThe new theater view adds curtains to the side of your video and 'lowers the lights' to hide distracting page elements while you watch.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/10/youtube-theather-view.html\"\u003eGoogle Blogoscoped has unearthed a new YouTube feature\u003c/a\u003e that's pretty neat. Called \"theater view,\" when clicked it both darkens the screen and increases the size of the player, centering it on the page and adding red curtains. For a leaned back viewing experience it's certainly not as useful as hitting the full-screen button, but I'd consider it a nice alternative--especially if you don't want to watch larger version of a grainy video just to cut out distracting page elements.\u003c/div\u003e    \u003cp\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.hulu.com/\"\u003eHulu\u003c/a\u003e launched with a similar feature called \"lower lights,\" which could be toggled on and off, something that YouTube has provided that simply darkens the rest of the screen.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eSo far the theater view option appears only on a small percentage on long-form content from specific providers, meaning the three-minute clip you shot of your dog on the trampoline will not have it. Going forward I'm thinking it could only be an option on educational segments, since it temporarily hides advertisements, which could mean a drop in ad clicks. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eIt could also be the groundwork for a more advanced YouTube viewing experience. The curtains on the player make for a neat decoration, but could also be placeholders for a more advanced 16:9 player that takes advantage of the increasing number of clips uploaded from shiny new HD video cameras.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eI couldn't find any theater view-compatible content to try this theory out with, but the extra width on the player is a good sign. As is the huge mass of content that's been uploaded in 16:9 HD, only to be squished into the service's 4:3 player. Last week's \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10053504-2.html\"\u003e1GB upload limit increase\u003c/a\u003e is a good sign, too.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eSource : Cnet News\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id\u003d\"contentAux\" section\u003d\"rtcol\"\u003e\u003cdiv id\u003d\"bottomMPU\" class\u003d\"mpu\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://adlog.com.com/adlog/i/r\u003d12704\u0026amp;s\u003d819616\u0026amp;o\u003d17939:B2:2000:\u0026amp;h\u003dcn\u0026amp;p\u003d2\u0026amp;b\u003d6\u0026amp;l\u003den_US\u0026amp;site\u003d109\u0026amp;pt\u003d8301\u0026amp;nd\u003d17939\u0026amp;pid\u003d\u0026amp;cid\u003d10059382\u0026amp;pp\u003d100\u0026amp;e\u003d3\u0026amp;rqid\u003d00c18-ad-e248E8C967E63773\u0026amp;orh\u003d\u0026amp;ort\u003d\u0026amp;oepartner\u003d\u0026amp;epartner\u003d\u0026amp;ppartner\u003d\u0026amp;pdom\u003dnews.cnet.com\u0026amp;cpnmodule\u003d\u0026amp;count\u003d\u0026amp;ra\u003d151.193.120.17\u0026amp;dvar\u003ddvar%255fversion%253d2008\u0026amp;ucat_rsi\u003d\u0026amp;pg\u003d@iewR9jveB4AAEj7tLAAAABP\u0026amp;t\u003d2008.10.07.07.45.01/http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/Ads/common/dotclear.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" style\u003d\"position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px;\" height\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c!-- MAC ad --\u003e                 \u003c/div\u003e\u003c!-- /contentAux --\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-1948030737812796881?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/1948030737812796881/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d1948030737812796881","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/1948030737812796881"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/1948030737812796881"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/youtube-theater-view.html","title":"YouTube 'theater view'"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-7647180239562409180"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:50:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:51:50.263-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"geotagging"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"geographic Web"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"plug-ins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"open-source software"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"geography"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Firefox"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Mozilla's Geode brings geographic Web to Firefox"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"postBody\"\u003e         \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-regular float-left\" style\u003d\"width: 96px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081006/firefox-logo_small.png\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"96\" width\u003d\"96\" /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003ca href\u003d\"http://labs.mozilla.com/\"\u003eMozilla Labs\u003c/a\u003e plans to announce a plug-in called Geode on Tuesday that gives the Firefox Web browser a better ability to understand and use geographic information on the Web. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeode details at this stage remain sketchy, but here's the example used in the alert about the project: \"With Geode, a user who is looking for restaurants while they are out of town will be able load up their favorite review site and find suggestions a couple blocks away and plot directions there.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title\u003d\"Geotagging links photos to locales -- Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007\" context\u003d\"com.caucho.jsp.PageContextImpl@65cd4995\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/Geotagging-links-photos-to-locales/2100-1041_3-6205734.html\"\u003eGeotagging\u003c/a\u003e most commonly refers to photos with geographic data stored within the file, but there are plenty of other cases, too. Many Wikipedia entries have geographic information encoded, and YouTube users also can geotag their videos. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere also are plenty of cases in which Web sites have geographic information such as a business address that's not formally encoded as geographic data. The gradual arrival of the semantic Web, in which descriptive elements help computers understand the data on a Web site, could expand that significantly. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe quintessential tools that make the geographic Web useful today are online maps. Those applications are getting more useful as mobile phones--especially GPS-enabled mobile phones--incorporate their use. \u003c/p\u003e     \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-7647180239562409180?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/7647180239562409180/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d7647180239562409180","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/7647180239562409180"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/7647180239562409180"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/mozillas-geode-brings-geographic-web-to.html","title":"Mozilla's Geode brings geographic Web to Firefox"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-184693455661572097"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:47:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:50:47.404-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Surface"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PDC08"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PDC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AT"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Surface developer tools coming this month"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cul class\u003d\"pageTools\"\u003e\u003c!-- MAC T E3.E3.E5.E5 --\u003e\u003c!-- MAC [r20080728-1030-msm-1-13-10-HttpFetchFix:1.13.10] c18-rb-tron-xw6.cnet.com::1482844512 2008.10.07.07.44.52 --\u003e\u003c!-- NO AD TEXT: _QUERY_STRING\u003d\"POSTHTML\u003d%3C%2Fli%3E\u0026POS\u003d100\u0026SP\u003d2\u0026PREHTML\u003d%3Cstyle%20type%3D%22text%2Fcss%22%3E.pageTools%20li%7Bmargin%3A0px%2015px%200px%200px%3B_margin%3A0px%208px%200px%200px%3Bpadding-top%3A29px%3B*padding-top%3A23px%3B%7D.pageTools%20li.buttonAd%7Bpadding%3A0%3B%7D.pageTools%20li%23shareLinks%20ul%7Btop%3A42px%3B%7D%3C%2Fstyle%3E%3Cli%20class%3D%22buttonAd%22%3E\" _REQ_NUM\u003d\"0\"  --\u003e\u003c!-- default ad --\u003e\u003c!-- MAC ad --\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e                      \u003cimg src\u003d\"file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/SG0205%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" /\u003e                      \u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081006/IMG_1232_270x404.JPG\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"404\" width\u003d\"270\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe long-awaited software developer it for the Surface tabletop computerwill be made available to those attending Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference at the end of the month.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eMicrosoft made that pledge on its PDC Web site, as part of a listing for a session focused on writing Surface applications.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\"Hear about the unique attributes of Microsoft Surface computing, dive into vision-based object recognition and core controls like ScatterView, and learn how the Surface SDK aligns with the multitouch developer roadmap for Windows 7,\" Microsoft said, in promoting the session. \"Attendees will receive access to the Microsoft Surface SDK.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eMicrosoft has been promising for some time to open up Surface development beyond the select group of companies that have been working with early launch partners such as AT\u0026amp;T and Starwood hotels.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe company has also promised multitouch will be a part of the Windows 7 interface, but has yet to detail how that will work.\u003cbr /\u003eSource:News.CNet\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-184693455661572097?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/184693455661572097/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d184693455661572097","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/184693455661572097"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/184693455661572097"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/surface-developer-tools-coming-this.html","title":"Surface developer tools coming this month"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-8492304919666816526"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:46:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:47:05.985-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"USA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SAP"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"earnings news"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"revenue"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"economy"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Making sense of the tech meltdown on Wall Street"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"postBody\"\u003e         \u003cp\u003eDespite the inscrutable language people often use when talking about the dynamics of the high-tech market, predicting when the industry is about to run into trouble isn't that difficult.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eHere's how you do it: Start with companies like Applied Materials that make chip manufacturing equipment; when their orders are down, that means the chipmakers like Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, and Texas Instruments figure they don't need to increase their manufacturing capacity. That, in turn, means the PC and server makers are seeing demand slip. That means demand for consumer electronics and consumer software is also going to slip.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAs the big guys run into trouble, the start-ups that haven't turned a profit will disappear, either into the arms of another company or into bankruptcy. Finally, the big corporate software makers like SAP and Oracle--the last refuges of tech investing--will take their hits as buyers put off long-term software projects.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAt least, that's how it usually works.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-regular float-right\" style\u003d\"width: 445px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081006/techstocksfinal_R3_445x521.gif\" alt\u003d\"tech stock meltdown\" height\u003d\"521\" width\u003d\"445\" /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: Susan Dove/CNET Networks)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe formula may have been \u003ca title\u003d\"Another brutal day for tech stocks -- Monday, Oct 6, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10059063-56.html\"\u003eturned upside down Monday\u003c/a\u003e, with the big tech stocks leading the way into the cellar. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://investor.news.com/cnet?Page\u003dQUOTE\u0026amp;Ticker\u003d%24CNET\"\u003eCNET's Technology Index\u003c/a\u003e, which tracks 66 publicly traded tech companies, dropped 4.08 percent to 1,276.67 Monday, its lowest close in more than two years. And it could have been worse: At one point in the day, the CNET Index was at its lowest point since May 2005. A late rally brought some stocks back just before trading ended. The drop in the CNET Index was similar to a 3.08 percent drop in the Dow and 4.34 percent decline in the Nasdaq index.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eDon't blame the start-ups for this one, though they may end up suffering the most for it. The tech crash Monday was led by one of the most sober names in tech, \u003ca title\u003d\"SAP shares free-fall on third quarter warning -- Monday, Oct 6, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10058889-92.html\"\u003eGerman corporate software maker SAP\u003c/a\u003e. SAP announced Monday that it would miss third-quarter expectations, sending its stock into a tailspin. SAP shares closed at $39.68 per share, down 13.08 percent for the day and a new 52-week low. (For more on Monday's meltdown, check out \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-50003972.html\"\u003eCNET TV's Daily Debrief.\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe rest of the enterprise software industry went down with the Germans. Shares at archrival Oracle closed the day down more than 6 percent to $18.30 per share. On-demand software provider Salesforce.com saw its shares drop 2.81 percent to $40.40 (a 52-week low) on both the SAP news and an analyst's report that intimated that demand may be slackening.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAmong big Internet companies, the news wasn't much better. \u003ca title\u003d\"eBay buys Bill Me Later, lays off 1,000 -- Monday, Oct 6, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10058660-92.html\"\u003eeBay led declines\u003c/a\u003e, with shares down 5.54 percent to $17.89 per share at the end of the day. That's more than $1 below the company's previous 52-week low. eBay said it was laying off 1,000, but, oh yeah, was still flush enough to spend more than $1.3 billion on three acquisitions. Google dropped 4 percent to close at $371.21, also a new 52-week low. And \u003ca title\u003d\"Yahoo price target cut to $21 a share -- Monday, Oct 6, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10058673-93.html\"\u003eYahoo ended the day\u003c/a\u003e down 4.31 percent to $15.31 per share, yet another 52-week low. (That kaput Microsoft offer must be looking awfully nice to some aggravated investors right about now.)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e SAP and other enterprise software companies aren't supposed to be leading indicators for the tech industry--they're usually laggards. During the dot-com boom, big software companies like Oracle and SAP were among the last to fall victim to the downturn. At one point, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison surveyed the tech industry wreckage and enthusiastically speculated whether his company was counter-cyclical. (The idea was, companies would invest in Oracle software to save money through automation.)\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eTurns out, Oracle wasn't counter-cyclical, nor was anyone not in the business of auctioning abandoned dot-com office supplies.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eA case of the jitters\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSo what happened Monday? Though it's been in the making for some time, the speed at which the financial industry has unraveled has been stunning, and its impact on spending plans at big corporations is likely significant. SAP was particularly vulnerable because of the way enterprise software is typically sold--in a rush at the end of the quarter. The quarter that just ended, unfortunately, happened to coincide with the near-collapse of the American banking system.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eSo what about all those tanking Internet stocks? So far, the sell-off appears to be based more on fear than reality. eBay said it would come in near the bottom of its earnings expectations, and there's been no word so far out of Yahoo and Google. But investors clearly aren't thrilled with eBay's acquisitive ways in the face of a bad economy, and they're worried about online advertising slowing down. \u003ca title\u003d\"Netflix shares plummet on lower quarterly outlook -- Monday, Oct 6, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10058765-93.html\"\u003eNetflix\u003c/a\u003e had bad news, too, casting doubt on online consumer spending heading into the holiday season.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThere are other question marks before we can really make sense of what happened Monday. Shares of Apple, for example, were down as much as 7 percent at one point in the afternoon, but ended the day up 1.1 percent at $98.14 per share (that's about $4 above Apple's 52-week low). But Apple was one of only seven companies on the CNET Index to see gains for the day. Other big companies like Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco Systems saw significant losses.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eCompanies that aren't as reliant on selling multimillion-dollar software at the end of the quarter (and instead rely on lower-priced items sold more evenly through the quarter) aren't likely to see an impact from the souring economy quite as quickly as SAP. But they won't avoid it for long, with consumer confidence slipping and unemployment rising. Translation: the results of the current quarter will unquestionably be the most closely watched numbers since the tech industry crawled back from the dot-com bust.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003ePeople say SAP is indicative of the health of corporate software sales. But the rest of tech should hope it's not a canary in the coal mine for the entire industry.\u003c/p\u003e     \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-8492304919666816526?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/8492304919666816526/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d8492304919666816526","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8492304919666816526"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8492304919666816526"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/making-sense-of-tech-meltdown-on-wall.html","title":"Making sense of the tech meltdown on Wall Street"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-556758921996637074"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:45:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-07T00:46:07.382-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"IBM"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manufacturing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AMD"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Spin off"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"AMD to spin off manufacturing"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"postBody\"\u003e         \u003cp\u003eOn Tuesday, Advanced Micro Devices will announce a long-expected restructuring, according to sources familiar with the deal.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-regular float-left\" style\u003d\"width: 216px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081006/amd-logo.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"82\" width\u003d\"216\" /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003ca title\u003d\"Report: AMD will split into separate companies -- Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-9997776-64.html\"\u003eAs expected\u003c/a\u003e, the No. 2 supplier of PC processors will split into two companies: one for designing chips, the other for manufacturing them. The capital-intensive business of manufacturing chips is weighing on AMD as it reels under a $5 billion debt load. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe investment is expected to allow AMD to remain directly involved in chip manufacturing--crucial for competing with Intel, which has used its manufacturing prowess to great advantage. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAMD would not comment Monday. \u003c/p\u003e    \u003cp\u003eThe company has secured about $5.7 billion of  \"confirmed, pledged investment,\" with some of the money earmarked \u003ca title\u003d\"AMD walks fine line with $3 billion NY plant -- Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10027026-64.html\"\u003efor a future manufacturing facility in Malta, New York\u003c/a\u003e, according to sources.  \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAMD will own part of the new manufacturing entity, called The Foundry Company, while Advanced Technology Investment Co. (ATIC) will own the rest. One of the investors, Abu Dhabi-based \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.mubadala.ae/\"\u003eMubadala Development Co.\u003c/a\u003e, invested approximately $622 million in AMD last November.     \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMubadala already holds an 8.1 percent stake in AMD. Upon closing the deal, Mubadala will own 19.3 percent of AMD, according to sources. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eATIC--also based in Abu Dhabi--will have equal voting rights with AMD in The Foundry Company and own 55.6 percent of the new entity. ATIC will invest an initial $2.1 billion, of which $1.4 billion will be invested directly in the new company and $700 million will be paid directly to AMD, according to sources close to the deal. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eIn addition, ATIC will commit a minimum of $3.6 billion and up to $6 billion in additional funds over the next five years for the upgrade and expansion of fabrication facilities in Dresden, Germany, and construction of a new facility in upstate New York, near the town of Malta.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eMubadala, for its part, will purchase 58 million newly issued AMD shares valued at $314 million and warrants for 30 million additional shares, giving it a total stake in AMD of approximately 19.3 percent on a fully diluted basis, sources said. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eMubadala will also have the right to designate a representative for election as a member of the board of directors of AMD.  \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAll of this is expected to greatly improve AMD's liquidity.  \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAMD CEO Dirk Meyer and other company executives are expected to make the announcement Tuesday. \u003c/p\u003e    \u003cp\u003eThe investment is characterized by one source as coming from investors with \"a long-term vision, who want to help (AMD) scale the foundry operations to compete globally.\" A foundry is a manufacturing facility. \u003c/p\u003e   \u003cp\u003eAMD has been laboring for months over details of the restructuring, which it has termed \"Asset Smart.\" AMD Chief Financial Officer Bob Rivet said during AMD's second-quarter earnings conference call that Asset Smart would be \"a major reformation of the company.\" \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAlso, at that time, AMD announced that \u003ca title\u003d\"Ruiz out at AMD, Dirk Meyer new CEO -- Thursday, Jul 17, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-9993621-92.html\"\u003eMeyer would take over as CEO\u003c/a\u003e and Hector Ruiz would relinquish that post but remain as chairman to oversee AMD's transition to Asset Smart.  \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAMD already has a relationship with IBM in which AMD uses IBM's advanced test manufacturing facilities. \u003c/p\u003e     \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-556758921996637074?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/556758921996637074/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d556758921996637074","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/556758921996637074"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/556758921996637074"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/amd-to-spin-off-manufacturing.html","title":"AMD to spin off manufacturing"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-5223394795131014199"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-06T02:43:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-06T02:45:10.810-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"cyberbullying"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"parent"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"child"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"bullying"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Kids keep parents in the dark about cyberbullying"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"postBody\"\u003e         \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-medium float-right\" style\u003d\"width: 184px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20081004/people2.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"138\" width\u003d\"184\" /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e   \u003cp\u003eOnline bullying could be more pervasive than you think.\u003c/p\u003e       \u003cp\u003e Three out of four teens were bullied online over the last year, according to a \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/bullying-of-teenagers-online-is-64265.aspx\"\u003estudy released this week\u003c/a\u003e by psychologists at the University of California at Los Angeles. And while that number may seem high at the outset, only 1 in 10 of those kids told their parents or another adult about it, the study showed.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe anonymous Web-based study surveyed 1,454 kids between the ages of 12 and 17. Of those, 41 percent reported between one and three \u003ca href\u003d\"http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/parents-often-unaware-of-cyber-bullying/?hp\"\u003ecyberbullying incidents\u003c/a\u003e during the year; 13 percent reported four to six incidents; and 19 percent reported seven or more. In other words, no longer are victims of bullying relegated to the geeks and nerds of yore when it comes to the Internet. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The psychologists published the results of their research in the September issue of the \u003ci\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121371836/abstract?CRETRY\u003d1\u0026amp;SRETRY\u003d0\"\u003eJournal of School Health\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/i\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Many teens neglected to tell their parents about the incidents because they believed they \"need to learn to deal with it,\" according to the research. Others kept it to themselves because they feared that their parents would cut back on their Internet access. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Many parents do not understand how vital the Internet is to their social lives,\" said Jaana Juvonen, lead study author and a professor of psychology and chair of UCLA's developmental psychology program. \"Parents can take detrimental action with good intentions, such as trying to protect their children by not letting them use the Internet at all. That is not likely to help parent-teen relationships or the social lives of their children.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJuvonen said it's important that parents talk with their kids about bullying well before it happens, as well as look for changes in teens' behavior. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, it's also equally important to teach children the importance of not becoming bullies themselves, is it not? Surely if bullying is this prevalent online, it's not always a one-sided affair.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource:cnet.news\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e     \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-5223394795131014199?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/5223394795131014199/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d5223394795131014199","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/5223394795131014199"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/5223394795131014199"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kids-keep-parents-in-dark-about.html","title":"Kids keep parents in the dark about cyberbullying"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-8496285857925122807"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-06T02:41:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-06T02:43:33.408-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"advertising"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"ads"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"search"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Google"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Yahoo"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Yahoogle"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"'Brief delay' for Yahoo-Google search-ad deal"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080613/Yahoo_day-6_300x224.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080613/Yahoo_day-6_300x224.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cp\u003e Yahoo and Google are delaying implementation of their search-ad deal to give Justice Department antitrust investigators more time to look into the deal, according to published reports. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca href\u003d\"http://kara.allthingsd.com/20081003/yahoogle-delayed/\"\u003eKara Swisher (of All Things D)\u003c/a\u003e and Bloomberg reported the delay Friday afternoon. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e A Yahoo representative said the company is preparing a statement; Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Under the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9967369-7.html\"\u003eYahoo search-ad deal with Google\u003c/a\u003e, which had been set to go into effect this month, Yahoo plans to display some Google search ads where its own ad-delivery technology doesn't work as well. Yahoo expects $800 million in new revenue in the first year of the deal. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003cb\u003eUpdate 2:57 p.m. PDT:\u003c/b\u003e Yahoo and Google confirmed what they characterized as a \"brief delay.\"  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"The companies have agreed to a brief delay in implementing this agreement to continue our ongoing discussions with the Department of Justice. We have had discussions with regulators and look forward to responding to their questions about this agreement,\" Yahoo said in its statement. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Google added this: \"When we announced our advertising agreement with Yahoo in June, we agreed to delay its implementation until October to give regulators time to look at the details. As we are still in conversation with the Department of Justice we have agreed to a brief delay in implementing the agreement while those discussions continue.\" \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eUpdate 4:01 p.m. PDT\u003c/b\u003e: Yahoo wouldn't clarify how long the brief delay would last, but the companies likely want it done before a new administration is elected one month from now and major changes could take place within the Justice Department. The \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN0336219920081003?rpc\u003d44\"\u003eReuters\u003c/a\u003e news agency quoted an unnamed source who said the companies still expect to begin in October. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The companies gave themselves three and a half months to implement the deal, saying they wanted to give antitrust regulators time to review it. With the June announcement date, that would have put them in early October. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, the companies haven't been specific about when they planned to flip the switch. In a September meeting with the press, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt wouldn't be pinned down beyond \"roughly the beginning of October.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The partnership has come under antitrust criticism from Microsoft--whose \u003ca title\u003d\"Microsoft's big bid for Yahoo -- Thursday, Aug 14, 2008\" context\u003d\"com.caucho.jsp.PageContextImpl@577c5683\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/Microsofts-big-bid-for-Yahoo/2009-1028_3-6228762.html\"\u003eunwelcome attempt to acquire Yahoo\u003c/a\u003e helped fuel the Yahoo-Google partnership--and from the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ana.net/news/content/1388\"\u003eAssociation of National Advertisers (ANA)\u003c/a\u003e, the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10041820-93.html\"\u003eWorld Association of Newspapers (WAN)\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10050916-93.html\"\u003eCenter for Digital Democracy\u003c/a\u003e. The \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10041820-93.html\"\u003eEuropean Union is investigating the partnership\u003c/a\u003e, too. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Some Democratic lawmakers from California, though, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10053804-93.html\"\u003eurged the DOJ not to block the deal\u003c/a\u003e. They criticized in particular the possibility of Justice Department legal action before the deal actually takes effect. \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Facing the criticism, Google and Yahoo both have begun a publicity offensive. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10046824-93.html\"\u003eGoogle published a frequently asked questions site\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10053365-93.html\"\u003eYahoo President Sue Decker weighed in with her own defense\u003c/a\u003e last week. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/ysm/sps/ysmmanage/permlinks/yahoo-openad/\"\u003eYahoo has also published a site with partnership details\u003c/a\u003e to try to make its case. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eUpdate 4:22 p.m. PDT\u003c/b\u003e: Several states are reviewing the deal, too, and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said there's been a two-week extension of the antitrust review. The deadline for review moved from October 8 to October 22, Blumenthal said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"We are doing our review in conjunction with the DOJ, so I'd think our timetables are aligned,\" Blumenthal said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough it's notable that Yahoo and Google are giving antitrust regulators more time to review the deal, it's a step that other companies have taken in the past, as well, former DOJ antitrust attorneys said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeadlines can be pushed back as needed. One former attorney said companies usually are happy to give regulators more time to evaluate a transaction rather than push the issue for fear it will back the regulators into a corner and cause them to file a lawsuit to block the deal. Another source said delays are part of the natural ebb and flow of negotiations. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe top brass of the Justice Department's antitrust unit met with Google and Yahoo months ago, a departure from the more traditional path in which the DOJ staff issue a recommendation to the department's front office about whether a deal should be rejected. Traditionally, only then do the companies make their case before antitrust chieftains.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource:news.cnet.com\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-8496285857925122807?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/8496285857925122807/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d8496285857925122807","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8496285857925122807"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8496285857925122807"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/brief-delay-for-yahoo-google-search-ad.html","title":"'Brief delay' for Yahoo-Google search-ad deal"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-3128106896065656322"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:54:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:55:25.901-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cut-down"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dell"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Market"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laptop at Kids"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Dell joins cut-down laptop market"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\"\u003e    \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e    \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44698000/gif/_44698463_dell226.gif\" alt\u003d\"Dell netbook\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"170\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\" /\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cap\"\u003eDell enters the netbook market with this unnamed machin\u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e   \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e         \u003c!-- E IIMA --\u003e \u003c!-- S SF --\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"first\"\u003e \u003cb\u003eDell is joining the burgeoning ranks of companies offering cut-down laptops, called netbooks, aimed at the developing world and general consumers.\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The laptop was shown by Michael Dell to the editor of website Gizmodo at the All Things Digital Conference. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e According to the official Dell blog, Michael Dell \"positioned it as the perfect device for the next billion internet users\". \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Dell has not released pricing or specifications for its first netbook. \u003c!-- E SF --\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e A number of firms  are expected to enter the netbook market this year. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The market is being driven in part by the work of the One Laptop Per Child programme, the success of the Asus Eee PC and the availability of chips, made by companies like Intel and Via, designed for low-cost, low power consumption devices. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Hewlett-Packard has announced a cut-down laptop which will be powered by Via's processors, and Acer is also entering the market. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e More than 3.6 million netbooks, which cost less than $500, are expected to be sold this year. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAsus believes it will sell almost two million of its Eee PCs, which cost between $299 and $549, in the first six months of this year. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003c!-- S IIMA --\u003e     \u003c/p\u003e\u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\"\u003e    \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e    \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44698000/gif/_44698476_xo226.gif\" alt\u003d\"OLPC\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"170\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\" /\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cap\"\u003eOLPC has unveiled a new design for the developing world\u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e   \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e         \u003c!-- E IIMA --\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAt the Computex show in Taiwan next week Intel is expected to unveil a number of manufacturer partners that are using its Atom chip. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Intel chief executive Paul Otellini said the market was growing fast. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"I've not seen energy like this from our customers in a long, long time,\" Mr Otellini told The Associated Press.  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"Everyone views this as being sort of hyper expansive to the existing market.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Intel is also pushing a range of even smaller machines, called Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs).  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e                     \u003c!-- S IBOX --\u003e     \u003c/p\u003e\u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"208\"\u003e     \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e                \u003ctd width\u003d\"5\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"1\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"5\" /\u003e\u003c/td\u003e                \u003ctd class\u003d\"sibtbg\"\u003e                                                                                               \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"mva\"\u003e    \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"13\" width\u003d\"24\" /\u003e    \u003cb\u003eVista has a larger memory footprint, a larger graphics requirement and a higher price point. This is all about low-cost computing\u003c/b\u003e   \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"13\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"23\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e \u003c/div\u003e         \u003c/div\u003e                                                                     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"mva\"\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003ePaul Otellini, Intel\u003c/div\u003e   \u003c/div\u003e                                    \u003c/td\u003e            \u003c/tr\u003e     \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e             \u003c!-- E IBOX --\u003e           \u003cp\u003e Mr Otellini said he was not concerned that low-power processors could \"cannibalise,\" or steal sales from Intel's high-end products. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"If a higher-priced notebook isn't substantially better and doesn't offer more utility, shame on us,\" he said.  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"If there's cannibalisation, I'd rather be the cannibal than someone else.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Mr Otellini said he expected MIDs to be powered by Linux rather than Microsoft's operating systems. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Vista has a larger memory footprint, a larger graphics requirement and a higher price point. This is all about low-cost computing,\" Mr Otellini said. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The success of the Eee PC and the rush by many companies to release similar products has seen a recent about-turn by Microsoft. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe company has said it will extend support of its XP OS on sub-notebooks, in an effort to thwart the growing use of Linux on such machines. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e It has also slashed the cost of a licence for XP running on netbook machines to just $32 (£17) and £14 in developing countries. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn an effort to grab a slice of the market Via has announced a new hardware design for low-cost laptop computers, called OpenBook, making it available under an open source license. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The company hopes manufacturers will use the design, which incorporates Via's chipset, to build netbooks. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Last week the One Laptop Per Child program also unveiled a reference design for a future netbook, called the XO2.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource : BBC News\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-3128106896065656322?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/3128106896065656322/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d3128106896065656322","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/3128106896065656322"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/3128106896065656322"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/dell-joins-cut-down-laptop-market.html","title":"Dell joins cut-down laptop market"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-1874976598540145355"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:52:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:53:47.855-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Digital"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laptop at Kids"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Brazil"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Bridging Brazil's digital divide"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003c!-- E IBYL --\u003e    \u003cp\u003e \u003c!-- S IIMA --\u003e     \u003c/p\u003e\u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\"\u003e    \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e    \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45071000/jpg/_45071509_olpcpic1_226x170.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Children from the Ernani School in Sao Paulo\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"170\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\" /\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cap\"\u003e59% of Brazilians have never accessed the internet or used a computer\u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e   \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e         \u003c!-- E IIMA --\u003e \u003cb\u003eThis week the BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme is in Brazil. Here the show investigates how the country's enthusiasm for technology is now reaching schoolchildren from all backgrounds.\u003c/b\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere are an estimated 45m PCs in Brazil, making it the world's fifth biggest market for computers. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe more striking number, however, is the fraction of the population that does not have access to technology. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Last year's figures showed that 59% of Brazilians have never accessed the internet or used a computer,\" said Rodrigo Assumpcao, head of a committee that advises President Lula's government on what they call 'digital inclusion'. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut measures are underway to change all that, Mr Assumpcao told the BBC's Gareth Mitchell. He feels that being technologically educated is just as important as the basics of numeracy and literacy. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA digital or social divide?\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"When you think of Brazil, you think of country that is extremely divided between rich and poor and areas that are developed and under-developed,\" said Mr Assumpcao. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe feels that the class divide within Brazilian society is to blame for the technological divide. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In the 50's there was a brilliant Brazilian educator who said that public schools were meant to provide for poor children - everything that the rich children had in their homes.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost middle-class children are brought up with computers, so it becomes second nature to them, Mr Assumpcao asserts. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It's like a Swiss army knife, a tool with multiple uses that serves him, that's the experience of a middle-class child in Brazil.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e                    \u003c!-- S IBOX --\u003e     \u003c/p\u003e\u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"208\"\u003e     \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e                \u003ctd width\u003d\"5\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"1\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"5\" /\u003e\u003c/td\u003e                \u003ctd class\u003d\"sibtbg\"\u003e                                                                                               \u003cdiv class\u003d\"mva\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e                                                                     \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"mva\"\u003e    \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"13\" width\u003d\"24\" /\u003e    \u003cb\u003eThis difference between who commands this technology and who is commanded by technology determines in our society who rules and who is ruled\u003c/b\u003e   \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif\" alt\u003d\"\" align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"13\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"23\" /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e \u003c/div\u003e         \u003c/div\u003e                                                                     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"mva\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e                                                                     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"mva\"\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003eRodrigo Assumpcao\u003c/div\u003e   \u003c/div\u003e                                                                     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"mva\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e                                    \u003c/td\u003e            \u003c/tr\u003e     \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e             \u003c!-- E IBOX --\u003e           \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, a poor child may not gain access to a computer until his teenage years, by which time it is a necessity in the working world. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Only by the time he is twelve or fourteen, if he is lucky to live beside a neighbourhood association that has a computer, he will only then be taught on some kind of word-processing or web browser. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"He will be taught that he needs to learn these skills in order to have some rights within the job market,\" added Mr Assumpcao. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"He is taught that he has to comply with technology and this perception, this difference between who commands this technology and who is commanded by technology determines in our society who rules and who is ruled, who has access to money and who hasn't and who has access to rights and who hasn't.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOnline for change\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMr Assumpcao said that 56,000 public schools are presently being fitted with broadband internet, with an aim to have all of the urban public schools in the country connected by 2010. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Brazilian government is also involved with the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project , which provides a basic mobile computer for children in developing countries. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIts makers were able to produce a low-cost machine by using a less powerful processor and stripping out expensive parts like the hard disk drive. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c!-- S IIMA --\u003e     \u003c/p\u003e\u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\"\u003e    \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e    \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45071000/jpg/_45071511_olpc2_226x170.jpg\" alt\u003d\"A child from the Ernani School in Sao Paulo\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"170\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\" /\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cap\"\u003e56,000 public schools will be connected to broadband by 2010\u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e   \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e         \u003c!-- E IIMA --\u003eRoseli Lopes from the University of Sao Paulo has co-ordinated a trial of the OLPC project at the Ernani School, northwest of Sao Paulo, that is now in its second year. \u003cp\u003e\"It's a wonderful experience for the children as they love coming to school and don't want to stay at home,\" said Prof Lopes.  \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe laptop project works well in classes with large numbers of children, as computers enable individuals to go at their own pace and level. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It's active learning, they take part in the search for information and they are not waiting for the teacher,\" said Prof Lopes. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"They are having more fun using this technology, not only to read and write but to make videos and take pictures,\" she added. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChildren in Brazil only spend between four or five hours at school, so being able to take the laptop home extends the time that they have to learn. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"That is the most important thing about this project: when they go home they can continue learning and include their families in the process,\" said Prof Lopes. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Even if the parents can't read and write, they can use the camera to take pictures and make the learning more rich.\" \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOther solutions\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Brazilian government is also trialling a number of other laptop projects in five other cities, employing Intel's Classmate and Encore's Simputer. \u003c!-- S IIMA --\u003e     \u003c/p\u003e\u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\"\u003e    \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e    \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45071000/jpg/_45071513_olpc3_226x170.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Children from the Ernani School in Sao Paulo\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"170\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\" /\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cap\"\u003eChildren in Brazil only spend between four or five hours at school every day\u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e   \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e         \u003c!-- E IIMA --\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe main concern in using different laptops is that they need to be interoperable, so that is one issue that Prof Lopes and her colleagues are constantly evaluating. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, the idea of children being able to access the technological hardware is only part of the solution in bridging this digital divide. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"We thought it was a good idea but immediately we decided that could not be conducted as the search for the next gadget,\" said Mr Assumpcao. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Also, the Brazilian government has a profound conviction that free software is the way to go, so we are demanding that there is a whole suite of free and open-source software installed in these computers. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The whole idea of having closed software on public computers is something which strikes me as wrong,\" he added. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith widely available broadband, laptops on the desk of many of Brazil's youth, and a culture of open-source, free software, Brazil's digital divide looks to be narrowing.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource : BBC News\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-1874976598540145355?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/1874976598540145355/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d1874976598540145355","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/1874976598540145355"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/1874976598540145355"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/bridging-brazils-digital-divide.html","title":"Bridging Brazil's digital divide"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-6964147055103850922"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:50:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:52:33.680-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Silicon_Valley_Girls"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Silicon Valley Girls"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Silicon Valley has a male testosterone driven image. It is a fact pure and simple that the chino brigade outnumbers the fairer sex in the boardroom and on the high tech shop floor.  \u003cp\u003eStudies have shown that about 20% of IT jobs are held by women and an even smaller proportion occupy a C-level office. A report last year by UC Davis showed that despite Silicon Valley's cutting edge image it ranked dead last for female execs. A mere 9% in case you are wondering.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eA while back California Congresswoman Jackie Speier said \"The growth of women in executive offices and board rooms is as slow as molasses.\"\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eWhen I was here in 2000, there were a small number of very able women getting the job done. From Meg Whitman at eBay to Carol Bartz at Autodesk and Carly Fiorina at HP. Though her role was controversial to say the least and she was eventually driven out of her job.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eDespite the dismal results of the UC Davis study, women in senior roles certainly seem to be much more visible than they were back in the dotcom craze. They occupy starring roles at conferences and grace the front pages of magazines and newspapers like never before. But the question still remains as to what kind of dent they have made in that glass ceiling.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe Valley Girls series isn't so much concerned with answering that question as meeting some of the women who are trying to make their mark and shape the culture of the Valley and the industry.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThis is not going to be a crusade. The issue of gender is intrinsic to the series but will not dominate. The aim is to try and lift the veil on who some of those female execs are and understand what drives them. \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image\" style\u003d\"display: inline;\"\u003e\u003cimg alt\u003d\"Padma Warrior\" src\u003d\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/padma.jpg\" class\u003d\"mt-image-none\" style\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"152\" width\u003d\"203\" /\u003e\u003c/span\u003eThis week \u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7643308.stm\"\u003ewe meet Padma Warrior\u003c/a\u003e, a rare breed in the Valley as a female chief technology officer of a global company with more than 66,000 employees.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThis self confessed geek joined \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.cisco.com/\"\u003eCisco\u003c/a\u003e less than a year ago from Motorola and talks to us about her passion for technology, her inspiration and her vision for the future.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource : BBC News\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-6964147055103850922?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/6964147055103850922/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d6964147055103850922","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/6964147055103850922"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/6964147055103850922"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/silicon-valley-girls.html","title":"Silicon Valley Girls"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-2428486677777871853"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:48:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:49:24.028-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"War"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Victim"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"InternetGame"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Internet game for victims of war"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003c!-- S BO --\u003e \u003c!-- S IIMA --\u003e     \u003ctable align\u003d\"right\" border\u003d\"0\" cellpadding\u003d\"0\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\"\u003e    \u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e    \u003cdiv\u003e     \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45056000/jpg/_45056093_poster_226b.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Traces of Hope poster\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"320\" hspace\u003d\"0\" vspace\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"226\" /\u003e     \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cap\"\u003eThe game hopes to highlight the cause of vulnerable people across the world\u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e   \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e         \u003c!-- E IIMA --\u003e \u003c!-- S SF --\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"first\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eA charity has launched an internet game to raise awareness about victims of war, in which the object is to help a displaced Ugandan boy find his mother.\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe British Red Cross game is among the first charity Alternative Reality Games (ARG), with clues on various websites. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTraces of Hope aims to engage players in treasure-hunt style game-play as they use detective skills to compete. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe game is set in northern Uganda, where a 20-year rebellion has forced two million people to flee their homes. \u003c!-- E SF --\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHaving just arrived in a camp for displaced people called \"Hopetown\", Joseph, 16, has 24 hours to track down a Red Cross messenger who might have news from his mother. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Red Cross works to reconnect families separated by conflict. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter signing up for the game, players will have to wait for Joseph to contact them with news of his situation. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe game's designers say they have placed clues and solutions around the internet in order to blur the boundaries between the game and the real world. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlayers go to real websites as they try to help Joseph. \u003c/p\u003eThe game was scripted by one of the creators of KateModern, the UK's biggest online interactive drama series. \u003c!-- E BO --\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSource:  BBC News\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-2428486677777871853?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/2428486677777871853/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d2428486677777871853","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/2428486677777871853"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/2428486677777871853"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/internet-game-for-victims-of-war.html","title":"Internet game for victims of war"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-2434385310652939205"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:41:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-02T10:46:41.502-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Outsourcing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Theft"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Verizon"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Outsourcing aids many data thefts, Verizon says"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://tbn0.google.com/images?q\u003dtbn:nYyYsaAOd0rTeM:http://www.thomasmiltonlee.com/images/main.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://tbn0.google.com/images?q\u003dtbn:nYyYsaAOd0rTeM:http://www.thomasmiltonlee.com/images/main.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eNEW YORK - The reliance of restaurant chains and retail stores on outside companies to handle credit-card processing and other information-technology functions is partly to blame for a rash of consumer data breaches over the last few years, according to data sleuths at \u003cspan class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_0\"\u003eVerizon Communications Inc\u003c/span\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eEven a chain with thousands of restaurants might have only 100 employees in information technology, so it uses outside vendors for many IT functions, said Bryan Sartin, director of the investigative response team at Verizon Business. \u003cp\u003e\"What happens is there's a lack of accountability on the third party,\" Sartin said.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;\" class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_1\"\u003eVerizon\u003c/span\u003e's unit investigates a quarter to a third of the big, publicly announced data breaches that occur each year, and hundreds of smaller cases.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn recent years, restaurant and retail businesses have accounted for more than half of Verizon's 230 to 250 cases per year, according to a report Verizon issued Thursday. It often finds that insiders at service vendors are part of the heists.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrganized data-stealing gangs \"go to the call centers, the Web development companies, the content development companies, the \u003cspan class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_2\"\u003ebusiness partners\u003c/span\u003e, the people who pick up the backup tapes,\" Sartin said. \"They say ... if you hate your boss and you're in financial straits, we're your solution. Give us access to your customers. Better yet, give us your data.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn a typical case Sartin was involved in, the team was approached by a large oil company in Canada, with thousands of \u003cspan style\u003d\"border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;\" class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_3\"\u003egas stations\u003c/span\u003e. Customers were finding spurious charges on their credit cards after using them at the stations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe team soon figured out that someone at a technology vendor was responsible, but couldn't pin it down. So the investigators set a trap in the system, to see who accessed customer data.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The trap went off on \u003cspan class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_4\"\u003eSaturday morning\u003c/span\u003e,\" Sartin said. \"Hackers always think nobody's looking on Saturday mornings.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA \u003cspan class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_5\"\u003epolice car\u003c/span\u003e headed to the vendor's office, and the culprit turned out to be a 21-year-old who supported the software that operated the gas pumps. He had sold lists of customer data to organized crime.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMany breaches don't happen through outsourcing. In one of the largest cases in recent years, the gang that stole 41 million credit and \u003cspan style\u003d\"background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;\" class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_6\"\u003edebit card numbers\u003c/span\u003e from chains including TJX Cos. obtained access through unsecured \u003cspan style\u003d\"background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;\" class\u003d\"yshortcuts\" id\u003d\"lw_1222954979_7\"\u003ewireless networks\u003c/span\u003e, not through subcontractors' systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStill, Verizon's report advises companies to keep a tighter rein on contractors, including by limiting partners' access to only the data they need.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource:Yahoo News\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-2434385310652939205?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/2434385310652939205/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d2434385310652939205","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/2434385310652939205"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/2434385310652939205"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/outsourcing-aids-many-data-thefts.html","title":"Outsourcing aids many data thefts, Verizon says"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-8891447811848786788"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-01T01:01:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-01T01:03:45.298-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SourceCode"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Open source"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sourceforge"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Microsoft Releases Source Code on SourceForge"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://tbn0.google.com/images?q\u003dtbn:xQUqDfCCQkVczM:http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/images/source-code.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://tbn0.google.com/images?q\u003dtbn:xQUqDfCCQkVczM:http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/images/source-code.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOn Monday, Microsoft released some of its code under an open-source license, and posted it on SourceForge, the open-source code repository.  \u003cp\u003eTo date, Microsoft has made its source code available under a variety of licensing mechanisms, all under its \"shared source\" umbrella. But until today, the company had not released code under what is commonly considered a true open-source license.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eMicrosoft made available an internally-developed product called the \"Windows Installer XML\" (WiX) to SourceForge. The code \u003ca href\u003d\"http://sourceforge.net/projects/wix/\"\u003eis downloadable here.\u003c/a\u003e \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eWiX is a toolset for building Windows installation packages from XML source code. It runs on Windows NT and Windows 2000.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"We've been learning from open source about the importance of sharing code with developers,\" said Jason Matusow, manager of Microsoft's shared source initiative. \"We know it's important to have a full-spectrum approach\" to licensing software under shared source, he added.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"Each product team across Microsoft needs to do what makes sense,\" said Matusow. Some are holding source code close to the vest. Others are issuing it under modified BSD licenses. In other cases, teams are releasing it under customized licenses, as with Windows CE Premium, he explained.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eA number of Microsoft teams from across the company — including the Yukon database, Office 12, Exchange \"Kodiak,\" Update Services and Xbox divisions — have employed WiX in building their products, Matusow noted.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eWord that Microsoft might be preparing to release some of its \"non-core\" code via an open-source licensing mechanism \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/36691.html\"\u003efirst leaked last week.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe decision to release WiX on SourceForge isn't as far-fetched as it might seem, Matusow claimed.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eMore than 25 percent of current SourceForge projects are Windows-related, Matusow said. Because WiX isn't a .Net project, per se, Microsoft decided against releasing the WiX code on its own SourceForge alternative, called GotDotNet Workspaces.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1139975,00.asp\"\u003eRead More About GotDotNet Workspaces Here\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAnd Microsoft plans to label its WiX CPL program as one of its \"shared source\" options, Matusow reiterated.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sharedsource/Licensing/default.mspx\"\u003eSee Microsoft's List of Shared Source Licensing Options Here\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-cplfaq.html\"\u003eThe Common Public License\u003c/a\u003e (CPL) was developed by IBM and is an evolution of the IBM Public License (IPL). The CPL was approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) in May 2001. The Eclipse open-source development-tool framework is licensed under CPL.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cziffrelatedlinks\u003e\u003c/ziffrelatedlinks\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eMatusow said that the CPL licensing terms are ideal for WiX. Any size or type of customer can download the code (even though WiX is most useful for teams of 10 developers or more, according to Matusow). CPL bestows commercial rights for modification and distribution. It insures patentability (on a royalty-free basis). It allows individuals to build on top of the technology and use the resulting products commercially and/or proprietarily. And all changes made to the source must be returned to the community, even though the individual(s) who make the changes retain ownership rights to them.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-8891447811848786788?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/8891447811848786788/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d8891447811848786788","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8891447811848786788"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8891447811848786788"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/microsoft-releases-source-code-on.html","title":"Microsoft Releases Source Code on SourceForge"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-3502488553808643975"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-01T00:57:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-01T01:01:20.472-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Academics"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"eSchool"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Microsoft releases new tools for academics"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan class\u003d\"title\"\u003eMicrosoft releases new tools for academics\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan class\u003d\"subtitle\"\u003eFree software applications aim to make research easier\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan class\u003d\"byline\"\u003eFrom eSchool News staff and wire service reports\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv id\u003d\"hbdetmod\"\u003e                  \u003cdiv class\u003d\"picbox\" style\u003d\"float: left; clear: left;\"\u003e          \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.eschoolnews.com/media/images/800px%2DMicrosoft%5Fsign%5Fcloseup.jpg\" style\u003d\"margin: 0px;\" border\u003d\"1\" width\u003d\"150\" /\u003e                    \u003cbr /\u003e         \u003cdiv style\u003d\"width: 150px;\" align\u003d\"left\"\u003eMicrosoft has issued free software tools designed to streamline academic research.\u003c/div\u003e                   \u003c/div\u003e                  \u003c!-- pb --\u003e    \u003cdiv style\u003d\"width: 3px; float: right; clear: right;\" align\u003d\"right\"\u003e\u003ctable width\u003d\"3\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.eschoolnews.com/images/spacer.gif\" height\u003d\"110\" width\u003d\"3\" /\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e   \u003cdiv style\u003d\"margin: 5px; float: right; clear: right; width: 310px;\" align\u003d\"right\"\u003e   \u003ctable style\u003d\"padding: 10px 0px 10px 10px;\" align\u003d\"right\" width\u003d\"310\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e    \u003ciframe noresize\u003d\"\" marginheight\u003d\"0\" marginwidth\u003d\"0\" src\u003d\"http://rotator.adjuggler.com/servlet/ajrotator/173768/0/vh?z\u003deschool\u0026amp;dim\u003d173789\u0026amp;pos\u003d6\" frameborder\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"250\" scrolling\u003d\"no\" width\u003d\"300\"\u003e\u0026amp;amp;lt;script language\u003dJavaScript src\u003d\"http://rotator.adjuggler.com/servlet/ajrotator/173768/0/vj?z\u003deschool\u0026amp;amp;amp;dim\u003d173789\u0026amp;amp;amp;pos\u003d6\u0026amp;amp;amp;abr\u003d$scriptiniframe\"\u0026amp;amp;gt;\u0026amp;amp;lt;/script\u0026amp;amp;gt;\u0026amp;amp;lt;noscript\u0026amp;amp;gt;\u0026amp;amp;lt;a href\u003d\"http://rotator.adjuggler.com/servlet/ajrotator/173768/0/cc?z\u003deschool\u0026amp;amp;amp;pos\u003d6\"\u0026amp;amp;gt;\u0026amp;amp;lt;img src\u003d\"http://rotator.adjuggler.com/servlet/ajrotator/173768/0/vc?z\u003deschool\u0026amp;amp;amp;dim\u003d173789\u0026amp;amp;amp;pos\u003d6\u0026amp;amp;amp;abr\u003d$imginiframe\" width\u003d\"300\" height\u003d\"250\" border\u003d\"0\"\u0026amp;amp;gt;\u0026amp;amp;lt;/a\u0026amp;amp;gt;\u0026amp;amp;lt;/noscript\u0026amp;amp;gt;\u003c/iframe\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e   \u003c/div\u003e   \u003cdiv style\u003d\"width: 1px; float: left; clear: left;\" align\u003d\"left\"\u003e              \u003ctable width\u003d\"1\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e              \u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.eschoolnews.com/images/spacer.gif\" height\u003d\"190\" width\u003d\"1\" /\u003e   \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e                 \u003cdiv style\u003d\"width: 200px; float: left; clear: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e            \u003cdiv style\u003d\"width: 3px; float: right; clear: right;\" align\u003d\"right\"\u003e\u003ctable width\u003d\"3\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.eschoolnews.com/images/spacer.gif\" height\u003d\"155\" width\u003d\"3\" /\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e    \u003c/div\u003e          \u003cspan\u003e\u003cp\u003eMicrosoft’s research group has announced a set of free software tools designed to improve the interoperability of programs that scholars and academics currently use and better meet their research needs.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThese free tools include add-on programs for Microsoft Word that simplify the researching, writing, and publishing of articles for scholarly journals; allow users to plot, graph, and solve functions and equations; and more. They also include a virtual workspace designed to facilitate collaboration among researchers at different institutions.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTony Hey, corporate vice president of Microsoft External Research, announced the free tools at Microsoft Research’s ninth annual Faculty Summit on July 28.  Hey underscored the group’s commitment to providing tools that work with resources already in use by the academic community.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe new applications address all phases of the scholarly communication life cycle, he said—collecting and analyzing data; authoring, publishing, and preserving information—and are designed to help researchers share data and knowledge, ultimately making it easier for them to uncover, publish, disseminate, and preserve their research findings.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eHere are the new tools freely available now:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e•  An add-in that enables authors and editors to open and save Microsoft Word files in the National Library of Medicine’s NLM XML format, a file format that is used in the publishing and archiving of scientific and technical articles. Beyond its core file format capabilities, this add-in allows users to capture additional metadata at the authoring stage and preserve semantic information through the publishing process, which is essential for enabling search and semantic analysis once the articles are archived at information repositories, Microsoft said. The add-in aims to simplify the authoring, submission, and interaction process between authors and journals. \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e•  A Creative Commons add-in for Office 2007 that allows authors to embed Creative Commons licenses directly into an Office document (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) by linking to the Creative Commons site via a web service. \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e•  A Microsoft Math add-in that enhances Microsoft Word 2007 with computational and graphing capabilities. With the add-in, users can plot a function, equation, or inequality; solve an equation or inequality; calculate a numerical result; and simplify an algebraic expression. Users also can employ a linear format for entering equations into Microsoft Word 2007 and Microsoft Math.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e•  The Microsoft eJournal Service, a hosted solution that simplifies the self-publishing of online-only journals to facilitate the availability of conference proceedings and small and medium-sized journals.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e•  The Research Output Repository Platform, which helps capture and leverage semantic relationships among academic objects—such as papers, lectures, presentations, and video—to provide access to these items in exciting new ways.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e•  The Research Information Centre. In close partnership with the British Library, this collaborative workspace will be hosted via Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, allowing researchers to collaborate throughout the entire research process—from locating funding to searching for and collecting information, as well as managing data, papers, and other research objects.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eMicrosoft researchers partnered with scholars throughout the development of these tools to better learn the needs of the academic community, the company said.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“Technology that effectively addresses the increasing need to integrate the research life cycle and provide a holistic, end-to-end perspective has the potential to revolutionize the way academics collect data, publish findings, and preserve information,” said Daniel Pollock, vice president and lead analyst at Outsell Inc., a research and advisory firm specializing in the information and education industries.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“Companies that work closely with academia can understand how their products might benefit the scholarly workflow and so inform their product development.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAlso during the summit, leaders from Microsoft Research outlined their vision for how Microsoft and academics can collaborate on projects to develop technological breakthroughs that will define computing and scientific research in the years ahead.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFor instance, Hey discussed collaborative initiatives intended to unlock the potential of multicore computing. He said his group will provide $1.5 million to seven academic research projects as part of the Safe and Scalable Multicore Computing Program, with the goal of stimulating successful research in multicore software.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eeschoolnews.com\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-3502488553808643975?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/3502488553808643975/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d3502488553808643975","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/3502488553808643975"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/3502488553808643975"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/microsoft-releases-new-tools-for.html","title":"Microsoft releases new tools for academics"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-8941659899549471367"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-01T00:56:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-01T00:57:25.730-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Silverlight 1.0"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Video technology"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Microsoft releases Silverlight 1.0 video technology"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Microsoft is releasing its Silverlight 1.0 plug-in for video on the Web Wednesday and also will participate in Novell’s porting of Silverlight to Linux via the Moonlight project.       \u003cdiv id\u003d\"sidebar\"\u003e            \u003c!-- Tile/JSP: templates.article._default.productbox.jsp --\u003e                         \u003c!-- Tile/JSP: templates._005fshared.content.article_list_simple.jsp --\u003e                   \u003cul class\u003d\"relatedArticles\"\u003e\u003cli class\u003d\"subtitle\"\u003eRelated E-mail and Internet Articles\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e   \u003cdiv class\u003d\"date\"\u003e\u003cscript type\u003d\"text/javascript\"\u003etimestamp(1222780500000,'')\u003c/script\u003eSep 30\u003c/div\u003e      \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.macworld.com/article/135165/2008/09/etiquette.html?t\u003d232\"\u003eGeek Factor: The etiquette of social networking\u003c/a\u003e   \u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e   \u003cdiv class\u003d\"date\"\u003e\u003cscript type\u003d\"text/javascript\"\u003etimestamp(1222726680000,'')\u003c/script\u003eSep 30\u003c/div\u003e      \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.macworld.com/article/135788/2008/09/google_beta.html?t\u003d232\"\u003eGoogle has redefined ‘beta’\u003c/a\u003e   \u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e   \u003cdiv class\u003d\"date\"\u003e\u003cscript type\u003d\"text/javascript\"\u003etimestamp(1222456140000,'')\u003c/script\u003eSep 27\u003c/div\u003e      \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.macworld.com/article/135763/2008/09/clickjacking.html?t\u003d232\"\u003eSecurity researchers warn of new  ‘clickjacking’ browser bugs\u003c/a\u003e   \u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e   \u003cdiv class\u003d\"date\"\u003e\u003cscript type\u003d\"text/javascript\"\u003etimestamp(1222284540000,'')\u003c/script\u003eSep 25\u003c/div\u003e      \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.macworld.com/article/135725/2008/09/firefox.html?t\u003d232\"\u003eMozilla patches 11 bugs in Firefox\u003c/a\u003e   \u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e   \u003cdiv class\u003d\"date\"\u003e\u003cscript type\u003d\"text/javascript\"\u003etimestamp(1221603840000,'')\u003c/script\u003eSep 17\u003c/div\u003e      \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.macworld.com/article/135580/2008/09/chrome.html?t\u003d232\"\u003eCodeWeavers ports Chrome browser for Mac\u003c/a\u003e   \u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e            \u003c/div\u003e   \u003cp\u003eSilverlight represents Microsoft’s efforts to present multimedia experiences on the Web, offering enhanced audio and video streaming and playback using Windows Media Technologies. The technology aims squarely at rival Adobe Systems and its ubiquitous Flash Player for multimedia on the Web.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“We’re finally shipping the plug-in,” said Parimal Desphande, group product manager for the User Experience Platform and Tools team at Microsoft\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  The 1.0 version of Silverlight, which is being released to the Web, is geared to providing video. Accessible  \u003ca href\u003d\"http://silverlight.net/Default.aspx\"\u003eat the Silverlight Web page\u003c/a\u003e, it has been available in a beta release. A more potent successor, Silverlight 1.1, will provide for more interactive content, including support for .Net development and transactional capabilities. It remains only available in an early alpha release format. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile Silverlight currently works with Windows and Macintosh, Microsoft is endorsing Novell’s plan to make Silverlight run on Linux clients via the Moonlight project.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/06/25/moonlight-silverlight_1.html\"\u003eMoonlight 1.0\u003c/a\u003e is expected to be done within six months, said Miguel de Icaza, vice president for the developer platform at Novell, who has been overseeing Moonlight. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“We will be distributing Moonlight for all the major distributions and provide both packages in RPM and DEB [distribution] forms as well as having a Mozilla-based installer for those not familiar with the packaging system in Linux,” de Icaza said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMicrosoft cites several differentiators between Silverlight and Flash. Silverlight, Deshpande said, offers high-definition video at a lower cost and functions with Microsoft’s developer tools. The company also is offering a SaaS-based component, Silverlight Streaming by Windows Live.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[For] customers who want to use our service for streaming video content, we have that as well,” Deshpande said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe touted a list of supporters of Silverlight, including Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment; Entertainment Tonight; Break.com, which shows videos; and the Home Shopping Network.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe ability to use Microsoft tools with Silverlight provides an advantage, said Ross Angert, creative director for interactive media at World Wrestling Entertainment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s the advantages from a development side that Silverlight offers us,” in terms of streaming video costs and displaying multiple video streams, he said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Flash certainly is a great tool, and we have some Flash product on our site, but I think overall as a company to partner with, Microsoft is going to be a great partner going forward,” Angert said. WWE plans to use Silverlight for wrestling videos and broadband content. Current systems will be kept in place without much change, Angert said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[Silverlight] will give users access to our entire library of videos,” said Angert.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDevelopers can use Microsoft’s Visual Studio and Expression tools to develop applications for Silverlight. The company is releasing Expression Encoder 1.0, formerly Expression Media Encoder, a tool for encoding and publishing rich media content to Silverlight, on Wednesday.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMicrosoft also is announcing its Silverlight Partner Initiative on Wednesday, in which more than 35 companies have agreed to support Silverlight. Among the participants are Akamai Technologies, IdentityMine, Electric Rain, and TwoFour Digital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-8941659899549471367?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/8941659899549471367/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d8941659899549471367","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8941659899549471367"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/8941659899549471367"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/microsoft-releases-silverlight-10-video.html","title":"Microsoft releases Silverlight 1.0 video technology"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-143964517834596346"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-01T00:52:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-01T00:55:58.001-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"IE8 beta"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft releases"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Microsoft releases final IE 8 beta"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Microsoft has released the second beta version of its next-gen Internet Explorer web browser.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/image.cfm?c_id\u003d5\u0026amp;gal_objectid\u003d10529466\u0026amp;gallery_id\u003d102184\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"link_popup(this,'location\u003d0,statusbar\u003d0,menubar\u003d0,width\u003d800,height\u003d750'); return false;\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"width: 77px; height: 75px;\" src\u003d\"http://media.apn.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/ie1.jpg\" alt\u003d\"Microsoft has released the second beta version of its next-gen Internet Explorer web browser.\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSEATTLE - The next version of Microsoft web browser makes it easier for people to surf the internet without leaving a trace.\u003cp\u003eCompanies that sell advertisements online - including Microsoft - can electronically gather tidbits about web surfers' habits, and then use that information to help decide what kinds of ads to show.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, in the newest \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/\" target\u003d\"new\"\u003ebeta  test version\u003c/a\u003e of Microsoft's forthcoming Internet Explorer 8, which was made available overnight, a mode called InPrivateBrowsing lets users surf without having a list of sites they visit get stored on their computers.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe program also covers other footprints, including temporary internet files and cookies, the small data files that websites put on visitors' computers to track their activities.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft's current browser, and Mozilla's recently released Firefox 3, already allow users to block cookies. The top two browsers also let users delete private information such as temporary files and browsing history after the fact. But they can't turn off that collection entirely.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe beta also introduces an additional InPrivateBlocking mode, which can block third-party content from appearing on websites. For example, a news site might carry stock quotes from one company and weather information from another. Companies that provide such content may also be collecting and sharing information about what people do online. But users who turn on InPrivateBlocking won't see that content or be exposed to such data collection without their consent.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInPrivateBlocking can also keep some types of ads from appearing - including those served up by Microsoft's own advertising platform, whose success is considered critical to the software maker's future.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJJ Richards, a general manager in Microsoft's advertising division, responded in a statement that consumers understand that they get free content and services in exchange for advertising, but want \"transparency, trust and control with respect to the sites they visit.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"If IE8 helps heighten awareness of this value exchange, that's a step in the right direction,\" he said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUsers surfing with InPrivateBlocking turned on can review a list of which companies are trying to display or collect data. Users also can click a link to read more and decide case by case whether to permit certain ones to go ahead.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Today as a user, we have no visibility or control over how that information is shared and recorded,\" said James Pratt, a product manager for IE8. \"I wouldn't put Microsoft as being the arbiter of what should and shouldn't be tracked.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-143964517834596346?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/143964517834596346/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d143964517834596346","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/143964517834596346"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/143964517834596346"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/microsoft-releases-final-ie-8-beta.html","title":"Microsoft releases final IE 8 beta"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-9011646623804975518"},"published":{"$t":"2008-10-01T00:51:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-10-01T00:52:33.978-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Windows CE 5.0 Beta"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Windows"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Microsoft Releases Windows CE 5.0 Beta"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.technewsworld.com/images/rw5451/ms-windows-ce-5.0.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" class\u003d\"story-image\" align\u003d\"left\" height\u003d\"124\" width\u003d\"172\" /\u003e \u003cp class\u003d\"story-summary\"\u003e  \u003c!--byline--\u003eWhile Microsoft has strong developer and partner networks, Gartner research vice president Martin Reynolds told TechNewsWorld that it is unlikely any company will dominate the embedded market because it is so fragmented. \u003c/p\u003ePromising a more integrated and economical development environment, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.microsoft.com/\" onclick\u003d\"window.open('http://www.microsoft.com'); return false;\"\u003eMicrosoft\u003c/a\u003e (Nasdaq: MSFT) \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/search.pl?query\u003dMicrosoft\u0026amp;scope\u003dnetwork\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.technewsworld.com/images/new/icon-inline-search.gif\" title\u003d\"Latest News about Microsoft\" alt\u003d\"Latest News about Microsoft\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"16\" width\u003d\"17\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e has released a beta of its newest embedded operating system (OS), Windows CE 5.0, at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Francisco. \u003cspan name\u003d\"intelliTxt\" id\u003d\"intelliTxt\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe company touted cost savings that can be achieved using the new OS, thanks to the blending of command-line and graphical integrated development environments (IDE). Microsoft also pointed to increased support \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.technewsworld.com/story/33257.html\" onclick\u003d\" { ENN_wo('http://www.ectnews.com/adsys/link/?crid\u003d5543\u0026amp;ENN_rnd\u003d12228472509488'); return false; }\" onmouseover\u003d\"status\u003d'http://clk.atdmt.com/GDI/go/cmmripr10010000021gdi/direct/01/'; return true;\" onmouseout\u003d\"status\u003d''; return true;\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.technewsworld.com/images/new/icon-inline-shop.gif\" title\u003d\"World Class Managed Hosting from PEER 1, Just $299. Click here.\" alt\u003d\"World Class Managed Hosting from PEER 1, Just $299. Click here.\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"16\" width\u003d\"17\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e for drivers, chipsets and its DirectX desktop programming model, aimed at providing richer graphics and multimedia features that are closer to the desktop experience.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe software giant faces a much different situation in the market for embedded systems -- smaller, lighter operating systems used in set-top boxes, mobile devices and other machines that are simpler than PCs -- compared with its dominant position in the desktop operating-system sector.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Within CE, Microsoft has not been number one,\" \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.yankeegroup.com/\" onclick\u003d\"window.open('http://www.yankeegroup.com'); return false;\"\u003eYankee Group\u003c/a\u003e senior analyst Laura DiDio told TechNewsWorld. \"So, in that situation, they're going to work harder to stay in the game, improve the software and play catch-up. That's what this is about.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ch2 class\u003d\"subhead\"\u003e Unified Development \u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMicrosoft, which distributed preview copies of the new Windows CE 5.0 at this week's embedded conference, said the final release of the software should become available this summer. The preview also will be available for download through the company's developer network beginning April 1st, Microsoft said.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe company is hoping that by enabling developers to use the command line inside the graphical IDE, as opposed to switching between the two development environments, Windows CE 5.0 will save companies time and money.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Unifying the tools capabilities is a brilliant move for Windows CE,\" said Doug Boling of embedded consultancy Boling Consulting. \"Being able to work in one unified development environment where you only need to use that one toolset for building, debugging and deploying an operating system image will save OEMs a lot of time by reducing complex development issues.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMicrosoft also said the new Windows CE 5.0 will feature increased hardware support out of the box, higher security settings, advanced multimedia capabilities and automated testing tools.\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2 class\u003d\"subhead\"\u003e Big Windows, Little Windows \u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor his part, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.gartner.com/\" onclick\u003d\"window.open('http://www.gartner.com/'); return false;\"\u003eGartner\u003c/a\u003e (NYSE: IT) \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/search.pl?query\u003d%22Gartner%22\u0026amp;scope\u003dnetwork\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://www.technewsworld.com/images/new/icon-inline-search.gif\" title\u003d\"Latest News about Gartner\" alt\u003d\"Latest News about Gartner\" border\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"16\" width\u003d\"17\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e research vice president Martin Reynolds said Microsoft is trying to tie its desktop operating systems, such as Windows XP, closer to the embedded OS so that making something for CE also has value in XP.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"They're getting their development environment aligned on big Windows and little Windows,\" Reynolds told TechNewsWorld.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analyst, who referred to the need for less-cumbersome operating systems in embedded devices, said the Windows CE 5.0 release is part of a larger goal to create a common feel in all Windows development, \"from pager to desktop.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2 class\u003d\"subhead\"\u003e Tech Focus with Gates \u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Yankee Group's DiDio credited the CE 5.0 effort in part to the more prominent role Microsoft head Bill Gates has taken since serving as chief scientist for the company.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"I can't tell you how much he's focusing on technology rather than business,\" DiDio said. \"They've done a very credible job at really making their products work better.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eShe added that as developers seek to work with computing environments that will be profitable, they likely will be excited about the new Windows CE. However, DiDio also referred to gains by Linux, which is an attractive opportunity in the embedded space as well.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Linux looks like green fields,\" she said. \"It's getting better, and developers are going for that, too. Right now, you'd have to be a fool to ignore the Linux market.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2 class\u003d\"subhead\"\u003e Fragmented Market \u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eReynolds referred to a large field of competitors in the embedded operating-system market, with Symbian taking hold on mobile phones, Palm succeeding in handhelds and other consumer devices, and Linux, which is most prominent in the TiVO digital video recorder, also being backed by a Japanese consortium.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndicating that the biggest challenge for all embedded players is price because of low profit margins in this space, Reynolds said the price issue has hampered Microsoft's embedded efforts. And while Microsoft does have strong developer and partner networks, he added that it is unlikely any company will dominate the embedded market because it is so fragmented\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan name\u003d\"intelliTxt\" id\u003d\"intelliTxt\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-9011646623804975518?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/9011646623804975518/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d9011646623804975518","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/9011646623804975518"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/9011646623804975518"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/microsoft-releases-windows-ce-50-beta.html","title":"Microsoft Releases Windows CE 5.0 Beta"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-7160403346142740542"},"published":{"$t":"2008-09-30T11:12:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-09-30T11:12:57.535-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Maps"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"LiveHotmail"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Microsoft updates Live Hotmail and Maps"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"postBody\"\u003e         \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-regular float-left\" style\u003d\"width: 138px;\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080929/WindowsLiveSuper.png\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"158\" width\u003d\"138\" /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003cp\u003eOn Monday, Microsoft updated two of its Live services: \u003ca href\u003d\"http://mail.live.com/\"\u003eWindows Live Hotmail\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://maps.live.com/\"\u003eLive Maps\u003c/a\u003e. Of the two, the changes to Hotmail are not yet available to everyone. The company began rolling it out to some of its users this weekend, with everyone else getting their hands on it in the next few weeks. It's the newer, faster version of the service that brings in gains of up to 70 percent compared with older versions of Hotmail. (\u003ca href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10047705-75.html\"\u003eRead more about that here\u003c/a\u003e.) \u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://maps.live.com/\"\u003eLive Search Maps\u003c/a\u003e, Microsoft's online mapping tool has a really neat new way to get directions using local landmarks and local businesses. If the service picks up on one of these landmarks as part of your route, it will use it in addition to the street name. Oftentimes this comes in handy where a business has better signage than the city, which in the case of car dealerships and fast food restaurants is almost always true.\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cdiv class\u003d\"cnet-image-div image-medium float-right\" style\u003d\"width: 270px;\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080929/LiveMaps-direction.png\"\u003e\u003cimg class\u003d\"cnet-image\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080929/LiveMaps-direction_270x275.png\" alt\u003d\"\" height\u003d\"275\" width\u003d\"270\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"image-caption\"\u003eClick to enlarge\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"image-credit\"\u003e(Credit: CNET Networks)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  \u003cp\u003eChris Pendleton, Microsoft Virtual Earth's Tech Evangelist, says \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2008/09/24/new-feature-release-of-live-search-maps.aspx\"\u003ethese landmarks are currently limited\u003c/a\u003e to these six categories:\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cul\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c/i\u003e\u003cli type\u003d\"square\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eGas Stations\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli type\u003d\"square\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eMajor National Chains of Hotels\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli type\u003d\"square\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eRestaurants\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli type\u003d\"square\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eConvenience Stores\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli type\u003d\"square\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eGrocery Stores\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli type\u003d\"square\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eCar Dealerships\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e  \u003cp\u003eTo help get you there, there's a new multistop trip planner--a feature \u003ca href\u003d\"http://maps.google.com/\"\u003eGoogle Maps\u003c/a\u003e has had since late 2006. This means you can add other addresses between the point A and point B of your trip, then print it out to stick in your car.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e The service is also now instantly indexing community maps. Maps that users have created will now be able to be searched by everyone immediately. The user-created items will also be mixed in with business results, which means you or someone else could enter in a business' address and phone number before it's been officially added and have it show up in regular searches. Neat.\u003c/p\u003e     \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-7160403346142740542?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/7160403346142740542/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d7160403346142740542","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/7160403346142740542"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/7160403346142740542"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/microsoft-updates-live-hotmail-and-maps.html","title":"Microsoft updates Live Hotmail and Maps"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-783554127537644161.post-6669740938104896364"},"published":{"$t":"2008-09-30T11:10:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-09-30T11:12:09.885-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"IBM"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"iNotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"iPhone"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"IBM releasing iNotes for iPhone"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080929/dwa-ultralite-2_270x507.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;\" src\u003d\"http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080929/dwa-ultralite-2_270x507.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIBM has released a way to get Lotus Notes e-mail on your iPhone that stops short of full support, but gets the job done.\u003cp\u003e  IBM's iNotes Ultralite (\u003ca title\u003d\"How Apple could fight Cisco -- Friday, Jan 12, 2007\" context\u003d\"com.caucho.jsp.PageContextImpl@59cbab2\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/How-Apple-could-fight-Cisco/2100-1041_3-6149755.html\"\u003eno trademark fight necessary\u003c/a\u003e) will be formally released Tuesday for Notes administrators and iPhone users. The \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/domino-web-access/ultralite/\"\u003esoftware is a Web application\u003c/a\u003e that allows you to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/08/11/ibm-lotus-inotes-for-the-iphone/\"\u003eaccess Notes mail through the Safari mobile browser\u003c/a\u003e on the iPhone. Administrators need to install IBM Lotus Domino Web Access 8.0.2 in order to make the whole thing work.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  One of the more popular additions to the iPhone 3G was \u003ca title\u003d\"With new iPhone software, Apple breaks from the pack -- Thursday, Mar 6, 2008\" href\u003d\"http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9888230-37.html\"\u003ethe support for Microsoft's Exchange technology\u003c/a\u003e, which allows you to get your corporate Exchange e-mail on the iPhone's Mail client. IBM and Apple haven't inked a deal to do the same thing for Notes as of yet, but an IBM representative said the two companies are working to bring the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/notes/traveler.html\"\u003eLotus Notes Traveler\u003c/a\u003e software to the iPhone.\u003c/p\u003e  iNotes Ultralite is a free download from IBM\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://secure.bidvertiser.com/performance/bdv_rss_rd.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026click\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid\u003d174814\u0026bid\u003d425625\u0026PHS\u003d174814425625\u0026rssimage\u003d1\u0026rsrc\u003d3\" border\u003d\"0\"/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/783554127537644161-6669740938104896364?l\u003dtechnologiesweblog.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/feeds/6669740938104896364/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d783554127537644161\u0026postID\u003d6669740938104896364","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/6669740938104896364"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/783554127537644161/posts/default/6669740938104896364"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://technologiesweblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/ibm-releasing-inotes-for-iphone.html","title":"IBM releasing iNotes for iPhone"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Annai Aravindar"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/11912242064628709969"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05563183693398413266"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}}]}});