NewsFactor Network

Google Cries Wolf as Outage Disrupts China Operations

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:01:12 -0500

After assuming the worst with its China operations, Google on Thursday evening backed off accusations of censorship in the communist nation. Google said earlier Thursday that the Chinese government was blocking its search engine, Google Mobile, and Google Ad products. Google also said its news and image services were being "partially blocked."

However, Google apparently rushed to judgment. Later in the day, Google officials said the blockage levels were misreported by the company's internal tracking system.

"Because of the way we measure accessibility in China, it's possible that our machines can overestimate the level of blockage," Google said Friday. "That appears to be what happened last night when there was a relatively small blockage. It appears now that users in China are accessing our properties normally."

The Dramatic History

Thursday's snafu is the latest twist in the ongoing saga featuring Google and China. It all began in January, when Google made a strong move against communist China by refusing to continue censoring search results on its Chinese site. In the wake of cyberattacks it linked to China, Google also said it would consider shutting down operations in the Asian nation.

Google revealed a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on its corporate infrastructure that originated from China in December. That attack, Google said, resulted in theft of the search giant's intellectual property. In its internal investigations, Google discovered it wasn't the only target. Large companies from many industries were also hit. Google is working to notify those companies and is working with U.S. authorities.

The cyberattacks, which largely targeted the Gmail accounts of Chinese human-rights activists, seem to have fueled Google's decision to stand up for freedom of speech in the communist nation. Two days after Google threatened to stop doing business in China, the nation's leadership signaled it would not compromise.

Google's response was to redirect...

FCC Approves First LTE Phone for MetroPCS

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:02:43 -0500

The Federal Communications Commission has approved what could be the first phone in the U.S. market compatible with a Long Term Evolution network for high-speed, 4G data. But there are more questions than answers about the handset and when it will reach consumers.

About all that is known so far is that the Samsung SCH-r900 will be offered by MetroPCS, use the standard CDMA voice network as a backup when 4G is unavailable, be Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capable, and be able to browse the Internet and download music. It will operate at the spectrum of 1700/1900 megahertz.

When South Korea-based Samsung announced the phone at the CTIA Wireless show in March, it said "Samsung Mobile's commercial LTE network products leverage years of 4G orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) commercial network experience and have flexible bandwidth support of 1.4 to 20 MHz standards."

Details Are Secret

Neither Samsung nor MetroPCS has revealed which operating system will power the SCH-r900, how much memory it will have, or what kind of processor, keyboard and camera it will use.

"It's all being shrouded in secrecy," said IDC Research wireless analyst Ramon Llamas, who has tried in vain to get more details about the phone. "They've been tight-lipped about this. I've tried numerous ways to get some read on it, but we still don't know if it's a feature phone or a smartphone, or where the coverage will be. Since it's not coming out until December, why tip your hand now?"

One of the biggest questions, Llamas said, is how MetroPCS -- known for flat-rate voice-calling plans -- will handle data-hungry 4G users. "This is a totally different ball of wax," said Llamas. "How do you price a phone that is all data?"

Richardson, Tex.,-based MetroPCS, formerly General Wireless, is the fifth largest cellular carrier in the United States...

RIM BlackPad Expected To Compete with Apple's iPad

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:03:02 -0500

Research In Motion will introduce its own tablet computer, called BlackPad, in November, according to news sources. The BlackBerry maker is moving to compete with rival Apple, which currently dominates the tablet market with its iPad.

RIM is also expected to introduce the BlackBerry Bold 9800 smartphone with a sliding QWERTY keyboard next month to recover market share lost to Apple's iPhone. According to IDC, RIM's share of the global smartphone market was 19.4 percent in the first quarter, down from 20.9 percent a year earlier, while Apple rose to 16.1 percent from 10.9 percent.

News sources said RIM's BlackPad will be about the same size as the iPad and include both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth so users can connect to the Internet through smartphones. The price is expected to be close to the iPad, which currently starts at $499.

The operating system for the BlackPad is not known, but could be the upcoming BlackBerry 6. RIM and AT&T could discuss that operating system at a press conference next week expected to focus on the Bold 9800.

Canada-based RIM recently acquired the domain blackpad.com.

Even with a tablet, RIM will have to scramble to compete with the more than 225,000 apps available for the iPad and iPhone on Apple's App Store. RIM's BlackBerry App World had a bit more than 9,000 apps as of Friday.

The BlackPad will reportedly have front and back cameras for videoconferencing. News sources said it will also be tied to the BlackBerry e-mail system used by many enterprises.

With more than three million iPads sold, Apple has a tremendous market lead and RIM will be playing catch-up along with tablets expected from Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, and Samsung. Dell has already introduced its Android-powered Dell Streak tablet and smartphone in the United Kingdom and has a large volume of pre-orders for its U.S. debut.

Windows 7 Is Being Retooled for Tablet Market

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:46:06 -0500

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told industry analysts Thursday that the software giant is working in cooperation with device manufacturers to develop a customized version of Windows 7 for tablets. Although Apple has created an entirely new tablet market without Microsoft's participation, Ballmer noted that much the same thing happened with netbooks.

Microsoft went from having no Windows penetration on netbooks in the early days to seeing Windows become "the guiding piece of software" in a market subsegment that now accounts for 15 percent or so of all PCs shipped worldwide, Ballmer observed.

"Just like we had to make things happen on netbooks, we've got to make things happen with Windows 7 on slates" in cooperation with Microsoft's hardware partners, Ballmer said. "We are in the process of doing that as we speak."

Developing Unique Apps

It's clear that Microsoft understands both the threat and opportunity presented by Apple's iPad, but the company's consideration of all the outstanding issues still appears to be in the early stages, said Al Hilwa, director of applications development software at IDC.

"The idea of devices based on Windows is a good one, as we see a world of many form factors competing," Hilwa said. "But if the machine looks and smells too much like Windows, it will mostly cannibalize Windows PC sales and not necessarily affect the growth of phone-derived tablets."

From a competitive perspective, Microsoft has a lot of good software relevant to the emerging tablet market, and has already done a considerable amount of work on relevant technologies like touch, Ballmer said. "We've got the application base, we've got the user familiarity, we've got everything on our side if we do things really right," he added.

To hit the iPad market squarely, however, Microsoft will need a content-consumption strategy that is iTunes-like, an application development...

YouTube Videos Now Give Users 15 Minutes of Fame

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:11:41 -0500

In what appears to be a competitive move against emerging video sites, YouTube on Thursday announced an unexpected improvement to its video platform. The Google-owned company is increasing the upload limit from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

Joshua Siegel, product manager for YouTube's Upload and Video Management department, said the company made the change because "without question, the number-one requested feature by our creators is to upload videos longer than 10 minutes."

The Copyright Connection

The upload limit for non-partners was 10 minutes for many years, so why is YouTube making this change now? Beyond the "because you've been asking for it" answer, Siegel offered a deeper explanation of the timing.

"We've spent significant resources on creating and improving our state-of-the-art content ID system and many other powerful tools for copyright owners," Siegel said. "Now all of the major U.S. movie studios, music labels, and over 1,000 other global partners use content ID to manage their content on YouTube. Because of the success of these ongoing technological efforts, we are able to increase the upload limit today."

Loosely translated, that means Google has a better handle on determining who owns the video clip, so it has loosened the restrictions on the length of the videos. Siegel said YouTube will continue to provide advanced technology tools for copyright holders and work on incremental improvements to the site.

The Twitter Threat

That's YouTube's official stance. But Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis, suggested the video site's timing could be a quiet response to speculation swirling around Twitter's rumored video plans.

"Timing-wise, my wonderment here is that this follows pretty close on the heels of Twitter opening up its own data center in Utah so they could handle video and image uploads more completely. I am sure Google would see that as a threat," Shimmin said.

"Upping the video length...

HP Confirms Plans for Both Windows and webOS Tablets

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:52 -0500

Hewlett-Packard has confirmed it plans separate tablet computers running Microsoft's Windows and Palm's webOS. HP says it will use Windows for a business device and webOS for a consumer-oriented machine.

No release dates, product specs, or prices have been named, but HP spokesperson Marlene Somsak told us in an e-mail that a Slate-type computer is coming soon.

Slated For Fall

"We aren't saying anything beyond 'fall' for a Windows-based slate," she wrote. "And we have not set an official name or set pricing. We are aiming that product at the commercial market. webOS from Palm is the platform for our consumer slate -- no timing, name or pricing revealed there."

Somsak declined further comment.

Speculation abounded last week about the technology giant's tablet plans when the HP Slate made a brief appearance on the company's web site, listed as the Slate 500-1002TU, with no release date or price. First unveiled by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, the Slate was assumed to be dead when HP purchased the failing Palm, creator of webOS.

The Slate 500-1002TU was described in product specs as a fun device for social media, photos and videos, which means it's not likely the upcoming HP Windows device geared toward enterprises. It had an 8.9-inch screen, video and still cameras, a gigabyte of memory, a 1.6-gigahertz processor, and support for input from an electronic pen "to write or draw as if on a piece of paper," HP said.

That device disappeared from the web site after it prompted numerous articles in the technology media.

A Two-Pronged Approach

Taking advantage of Microsoft's strong desire to be in the burgeoning tablet market -- Ballmer on July 12 said it is "one of the most important things we'll do in the smart-device category" -- while also promoting webOS for tablets...

Amazon Offers New $189 Kindle, with a $139 Model Coming

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:18:31 -0500

In a move to compete with Apple's iPad and emerging e-reader alternatives, Amazon.com on Wednesday unveiled the next-generation Kindle. The new-look Kindle comes equipped with a new electronic-ink screen that offers better contrast in a 21 percent smaller body that holds fast to its six-inch reading area. The new Kindle is also 15 percent lighter than its predecessor.

The made-over Kindle promises to turn pages 20 percent faster, offers up to one month of battery life, pulls content in Wi-Fi and free 3G, and doubles storage to accommodate 3,500 books. The price is $189. If you don't need the 3G capability, a Wi-Fi-only Kindle is expected Aug. 27 for $139.

At a $139 price point, some analysts are seeing commoditization of the Kindle. But Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis, disagrees: "I'm not calling it a commoditization because it's not a commodity. This is tied very closely to Amazon's bookstore, so it defies commoditization. This is getting into impulse-buy territory."

Just Buy the E-Books

Along with the new Kindle, Amazon is making sure the e-book-buying world knows that Kindle e-books can be read on other devices, including the iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC and Android-based devices. The bookseller also pointed to its Whispersync technology that keeps track of where a reader left off reading an e-book on one device so it picks up in the same place when the reader resumes reading on another device.

"The Kindle is a delivery mechanism for Amazon. Amazon is perfectly happy if you buy Kindle books and read them on the iPad or the PC," Greengart said. "But if you want a dedicated e-book reader, they are going to provide you with several different models at extremely aggressive prices so that you join the Amazon family rather than the Barnes & Noble family, the Sony family, or the...

Internet Crooks Craft Creative Check-Fraud Scam

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:33:07 -0500

Think of it as one more reason not to write checks.

Hackers believed to be operating out of Russia have figured out a high-tech way to carry out the decidedly low-tech crime of check fraud, a computer security company says -- writing at least $9 million in fakes against more than 1,200 legitimate accounts.

But these hackers got the account information in an unusual way: They broke into three Web sites that specialize in a little-known type of business -- archiving check images online.

Check counterfeiting is a crime that savvy Internet criminals usually pass up. After all, it's far easier for them to make money by stealing credit cards and online banking passwords.

The scam was discovered by SecureWorks Inc., an Atlanta computer security company. The organization says it is working with the FBI and says the hackers have not been caught.

Retailers and other businesses use the sites to store records of all the checks they write. Check-cashing operations use them to sock away images of checks they receive. And some banks pay them to store images of customers' checks, so the customers can see them when they log in to their online banking accounts.

The criminals downloaded all the images they could find, grabbing bank routing numbers, names and addresses and even signatures of legitimate account holders. They used the information to create their own checks using easy-to-acquire software and printers.

Because all the account information is real and the victims don't know their accounts have been compromised, the odds of the checks going through are high.

SecureWorks notified the three sites and said they have closed their security holes, but warned that the scam is ongoing and targeting other, similar sites.

"It's not the standard kind of criminal operation," Joe Stewart, director of malware research for SecureWorks' Counter Threat Unit, told The Associated Press...

Panasonic Unveils 3-D Camcorder for Consumers

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:31:24 -0500

The problem of what to watch on a 3-D TV will be yours to solve with Panasonic's camcorder for families to film birthdays, baby's first walk and weddings, all in 3-D.

Numerous global electronics companies are racing 3-D televisions into the shops, hoping a revival of interest in the technology sparked by blockbuster movies such as the sci-fi epic "Avatar" will translate into the public wanting the 3-D experience at home. But the relative scarcity of three dimensional content is a stumbling block for the products catching on.

The whole camcorder and lens setup, shown Wednesday, starts at about 170,000 yen ($2,000), far more affordable than professional 3-D camcorders, which have been the only types available up to now for 3-D filming. The camera looks much like a regular digital camcorder but needs a slightly bigger 3-D "conversion" lens that's sold separately.

The 3-D camcorders go on sale in Japan Aug. 20, and will be available in overseas markets later this year, according to the Osaka-based maker of Viera TVs and Lumix digital cameras.

Executive Officer Shiro Nishiguchi said Panasonic sees this year as the opening year for "the 3-D era." Panasonic has led in introducing 3-D products this year, now offering eight 3-D TV models, three 3-D recorders and four designs in 3-D glasses.

"Content you create yourself is going to be what you want to watch, and so it's going to be a killer content," Nishiguchi told reporters at a Tokyo hall.

The 3-D camcorder is expected to help 3-D products for homes spread quickly, he said, adding that Panasonic will start selling a 3-D lens for digital cameras for still photos later this year.

Panasonic demonstrated how the camcorder can film a girl playing on swings, and had reporters check out the film through 3-D glasses.

The image was colorful, clear and 3-D but, as...

Review: DeathSpank and Limbo Bring Summer Heat

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:31:55 -0500

This summer has been so oppressive throughout most of the United States that even driving to the video-game store feels like an ordeal. Fortunately, you don't have to leave home to experience some of the season's most interesting games -- you can download them directly to your console.

That's assuming you have an Internet-connected Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Wii owners are less fortunate. While Nintendo has produced a steady stream of downloadable "WiiWare" games, there's nothing distinctive or original in its roster of recent releases.

The quality control on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Store is far more reliable. Let's start with a game you can play on either of the high-definition systems.

-"DeathSpank" (Electronic Arts Inc., for the Xbox 360, PS3, $15): Dying in video games is easy; comedy is hard. "DeathSpank" has plenty of both. Its titular hero is a blockheaded slab of beef who stabs first and asks questions later. His search for a powerful artifact (called "The Artifact") leads to a series of increasingly absurd missions, like rescuing a bunch of kidnapped orphans -- not for their own sake, but so the mayor can use them as political props.

"DeathSpank" was created by Ron Gilbert, best known for the hilarious "Monkey Island" games, and Hothead Games, which developed "Penny Arcade Adventures." It's a savvy parody of the kill-everyone-and-take-all-their-loot mechanics of "Diablo," with silly monsters (from "stoopid" chickens to vicious unicorns) and more ridiculous weapons (like the Fist of Super Bashing). If you like your mayhem mixed with a little Monty Python, don't miss "DeathSpank." Three-and-a-half stars out of four.

-"Limbo" (Playdead, for the Xbox 360, $15) is a much darker affair. Your character, a nameless boy, is dropped without explanation into a world that's been completely drained of color. If you've ever played a two-dimensional platform game, you know...

Google Ripe for a Stock Buyback or Dividend

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:32:35 -0500

Google is a prime candidate to return some of its $30.1 billion in cash to investors through a stock buyback or dividend, according to shareholders and data compiled by Bloomberg.

"I don't think Google or anyone else can make a strong argument that they need $30 billion," says Ken Smith, a portfolio manager at Munder Capital Management in Birmingham, Mich., which holds Google shares. "I'd rather have the cash in my own pocket than have all of it sitting on the balance sheet."

Google, owner of the world's most popular Web search engine, tops a list compiled by Bloomberg of large companies best positioned to pay a first-time dividend, based on such measures as sales growth and return on equity and assets. The decision to hang on to cash instead of using it to reduce the number of outstanding shares is a "drag on earnings growth," Benchmark Co. analyst Clayton Moran wrote to investors last week.

With a dividend or buyback, Google would join other U.S. technology companies that have returned cash to shareholders. The company has never declared a dividend, though it has repurchased shares. Microsoft, which had $36.8 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of June, is in the midst of a $40 billion repurchase program that runs through 2013. The software maker, based in Redmond, Wash., started paying a dividend in 2003 and since 2008 has paid 13 cents a quarter. Cisco Systems, with a $39.1 billion cash pile, in November boosted a share buyback program by $10 billion.

No. 1 Dividend Prospect

In a Bloomberg ranking of 118 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index that have never declared a dividend, Google ranks as most well-positioned to issue one, based on metrics including sales growth and return on assets and equity. Starbucks, which appeared in the ranking...

Review: Fluenz Software Better at Teaching Italian

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:29:52 -0500

On a trip through southern Italy years ago, I was embarrassed to discover that all along, I had been mispronouncing "tabacchi" -- tobacco shops that sell bus tickets and other sundry. I'd been saying "ta-ba-chee" rather than "ta-ba-kee" until a storekeeper impatiently corrected me.

Determined not to make the same faux pas, I brushed up on Italian using two language-lesson programs ahead of my visit to Cinque Terre and Tuscany in early July. I found the Fluenz software from a relatively new company by that name better than the venerable Rosetta Stone Totale program in helping me retain Italian.

The two programs had opposite approaches. Rosetta Stone Ltd.'s software believes in fully immersing the student in the language, without using any English to explain phrases. By contrast, Fluenz believes that while full immersion might work with children, adults don't learn languages as instinctively. Fluenz believes that adults learn best when they can relate the grammar and syntax of a foreign language to the structure of the tongue they already know -- in my case, English.

I like Fluenz's approach much better. I like the comfort of hearing English as I go through Italian words, to help me pronounce them and understand what they mean.

Fluenz helped me make the word associations I needed to learn the language faster. For instance, in learning the word "lui," which means "he," the smiling female instructor on the computer screen told me to think of a guy named "Louis."

The instructor also gave tips on how to pronounce Italian properly. For "Sandra," which is pronounced "sun-drah," she told me to open up my mouth for the first syllable.

These were the tips and mental bridges to the Italian language that were missing in Rosetta Stone.

Rosetta Stone's lessons used all Italian words and sentences, which you match to pictures -- of...

App Programmers' Daunting Task: Finding New App Ideas

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:34:07 -0500

There are 225,000 applications in the iPhone store, 60,000 in Google's Android store. But what hasn't been created yet?

The original 2007 iPhone had only one screenful of software icons, believe it or not. You could not install new ones of your own. It took a whole year for Apple to open the App Store, making it possible for the masses to download and install new applications -- or programs -- in the process, creating a whole new gadget category.

The store changed everything. Why just make calls, when you could auto-tune your singing voice, play virtual Ping-Pong or summon bodily sounds on command?

There are 225,000 applications in the iPhone store and 60,000 in Google's Android store. But those statistics will be out of date by the end of this week, or even the end of this sentence.

You may find it hard to comprehend a selection that vast, let alone navigate it in search of the good stuff. But it could be worse: You could be the aspiring application programmer who has to come up with a fresh idea. (Google has the idea that anyone can be an application developer with its new Google App Inventor software.)

There is an application that reproduces mooing sounds (Hello Cow), one that dials someone from your address book at random (iDrunkTxt), a game in which you score points by licking the screen (iLickiet). What could possibly be left?

In the past, I challenged my Twitter followers (I'm @pogue) to invent iPhone or Android applications that do not exist but should.

I will spare you the wishful-thinking responses: "an app that puts my kids to bed at night," "an app that gives my wife the 'right answer."'

In general, I will also omit the great ideas that do, in fact, have existing applications. (One popular idea: a To Do-list program...