NewsFactor Network

Comcast Challenges FCC's Authority To Order Neutrality

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:59:18 -0500

Comcast fired back at the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday in its long-running duel with the agency. The cable-TV and Internet service provider filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

The filing is the result of a FCC hearing last month in which Comcast was sanctioned for throttling back the broadband speed of customers using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing application. The FCC ordered Comcast to provide plans for equitably managing its bandwidth and to make its network-management policies public.

Comcast's View

Comcast had already agreed to the FCC's demands and rapidly put into place a management program that capped home Internet users -- regardless of the application used -- at 250GB per month. The cap was widely reported in media outlets, bill inserts to Comcast customers, and banner announcements on Comcast's Web site.

The suit is not about the nature of the commission's sanction, but whether the FCC has the authority to make such a ruling.

"We filed this appeal in order to protect our legal rights and to challenge the basis on which the commission found that Comcast violated federal policy in the absence of preexisting legally enforceable standards or rules," Comcast said. "We continue to recognize that the commission has jurisdiction over Internet service providers and may regulate them in appropriate circumstances and in accordance with appropriate procedures. However, we are compelled to appeal because we strongly believe that, in this particular case, the commission's action was legally inappropriate and its findings were not justified by the record."

The FCC's Position

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has said the agency could not have a specific guideline in place regarding network management before the Comcast hearing, since the commission wants to keep the Internet as unregulated as possible. The FCC also believes, according to Martin, that the existing Broadband Policy Statement...

Vodafone To Resell Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:14:10 -0500

Just one day after Dell announced it was moving into the market of netbooks by introducing its new Inspiron Mini 9, which weighs less than 2.3 pounds and has an 8.9-inch LED display, the company said it is partnering with Vodafone to resell the Mini 9 in Europe.

The two companies said Friday that the Mini 9 would be sold with a Vodafone built-in mobile broadband connection, which supports High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA). Sales will be exclusively through Vodafone stores and online, and directly from Dell, later this month in key markets in Europe.

"Dell and Vodafone have teamed up to offer 3G/mobile broadband support in the Inspiron Mini -- a device that is built for Internet connectivity on the go," said Anne Camden, a spokesperson for Dell, in an e-mail. "Dell and Vodafone initially teamed up in 2006 to offer integrated HSPA support across Dell's commercial and consumer laptops and continue to do so today."

"Vodafone will also offer the Inspiron Mini through its retail outlets, which fits our retail strategy: develop the right products that will appeal to our retail partners' customers, and expose Dell products to customers we may not have typically reached in the past," Camden added.

Dell's other retail partners in Europe include Carrefour, Tesco and DSGi.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell and Vodafone would not disclose in exactly which markets the Mini 9 would be available or how much it will cost. "Details around specific market availability will follow in the next few weeks," Camden said.

Key Features

The Vodafone-equipped netbook will allow owners to surf the Web, share photos on social-networking sites, and connect any place and any time, according to Dell and Vodafone. Features include an solid-state drive that holds up to 16GB compared to a traditional laptop hard drive.

"The recent acceleration in the...

Microsoft Boasts One Million Office Live Workspace Users

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:46:09 -0500

The beta version of Office Live Workspace has one million users just six months after launch, Microsoft announced Wednesday as it released some minor improvements to the service.

"It takes companies years to attract a strong customer base such as this," boasted Microsoft Office product manager Kirk Gregersen. The rapid pace of adoption is a sign of a pent-up market for online access to documents, Gregersen said. Users are "looking for ways to resolve the complexities of their work, school and home projects through a range of choices," he said.

Office Live Workspace is not an online version of Microsoft's shrink-wrapped Office suite but a way for owners of the desktop software to upload, share and collaborate on documents.

Office 2.0 Conference

The announcement came on the eve of the Office 2.0 Conference though Friday in San Francisco, where productivity consultant David Allen was the keynote speaker and more than a dozen startups are demonstrating their products.

Among Microsoft's enhancements are an activity panel, the ability to get e-mail notifications of changes, unique URLs so documents can be bookmarked and linked, and improved support for the Firefox browser.

But many proponents of online office-productivity applications remain underwhelmed with Microsoft's offering, which is expected to leave beta status by the end of the year. A typical comment comes from Cnet's Rafe Needleman: "Yay, Microsoft. Now go back and build the service we want, please."

Ironically, given Microsoft's dominance in the desktop productivity space, the burden now appears to be on Redmond to catch up with Google Docs, which, although it can't compete with the sophistication of Microsoft Office, provides real-time online collaboration in a browser for free.

In the Enterprise

"I believe Microsoft could make an honest Google Docs competitor without killing its Microsoft Office business," Needleman wrote. "Eventually, Microsoft will have to. So it might be...

Microsoft Slashes Prices of Xbox 360 Models

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:11:10 -0500

There is something for everyone, according to Microsoft officials who are touting the company's new prices for all three models of its video game console, the Xbox 360.

On Wednesday, U.S. consumers saw the Xbox 360 Arcade base model drop from $279 to $199 just a day after the software giant cut prices by 30 percent for the Xbox in Japan. And beginning on Friday, prices for additional Xbox models will drop. The 60GB Xbox Pro model will drop from $349 to $299, and the 120GB Xbox Elite will have a new $399 price tag compared to its old price of $449.

Microsoft also said that beginning this fall, the Xbox 360 would be the only console offering instant streaming of 12,000 films and television shows from Netflix. In order to view those films and shows, consumers need an Xbox Live Gold membership and need to have an unlimited Netflix subscription plan. Analysts say this kind of innovation may thrust Xbox ahead of its game-console competitors, Nintendo and Sony.

Historic Indicators

The move to offer the Xbox 360 for less than $200 is spurred by increased competition from Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Wii both in the United States and across the globe.

Microsoft, however, said it is just following historic indicators. History shows that more than 75 percent of all console sales occur after the price falls below the $200 mark, according to Don Mattrick, senior vice president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business. "The majority of consumers make the decision to buy consoles once the price falls to this mark, making this an important milestone for consumers in the industry," Mattrick said.

Nintendo's Wii, in comparison, is priced at $249, while Sony's 80GB PlayStation 3 is $399.

Taking the Lead

Electronic Arts, a publisher of interactive games and software, came out last December with its predictions...

TiVo Releases 1TB DVR, Inks a Deal with DirecTV

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:20:31 -0500

TiVo dropped two big announcements Thursday at CEDIA, the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association trade show that opened Wednesday in Denver, Colo.

First up was TiVo's one-terabyte high-definition DVR box, the HD XL. Next was a deal to bring the TiVo experience to DirecTV subscribers.

Massive Storage for the Masses

There's never been a 1TB DVR until now. But with terabyte drives at bargain prices, it was inevitable. Add the fact that high-definition content chews up storage at a rate nearly three times that of traditional video, and the capacity doesn't seem excessive.

TiVo claims the HD XL will hold more than 150 hours of high-definition content -- about 70 movies. The DVR is also THX sound certified and includes a premium backlit remote, a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and a cable.

"Our user interface lets users search and program recording from their satellite or cable, off-air, the Internet -- it's an 'all-in' solution -- with great capacity for high-definition programming," said Jim Denney, vice president of product marketing at TiVo. The box retails for $599, and a TiVo service subscription starts at $12.95 a month.

DirecTiVo

Perhaps bigger news in the long term for TiVo was its joint announcement with DirecTV. Under the terms of their agreement, TiVo will work with DirecTV to deliver set-top boxes for DirecTV customers.

"TiVo's partnership with DirecTV is a win for both of them. TiVo has a good name, good product, and the user interface is better than most DVRs," said Joshua Martin, senior analyst for consumer products at the Yankee Group. "And DirecTV gets a great user interface for an HD DVR."

In fact, the DVR hardware will be produced by DirecTV. TiVo's Denney said, "We're working closely with them on the design, but it's their hardware and the TiVo software."

Analysts have seen the stand-alone DVR market, which...

Red Hat Snaps Up Qumranet in $107 Million Deal

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:47:13 -0500

Red Hat on Thursday announced the acquisition of Qumranet, paying about $107 million in cash for the privately held company.

Qumranet is a virtualization company that is best known for its KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) platform and SolidICE offering, a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). In combination, these two Qumranet products offer a virtualization platform for enterprise customers.

Red Hat will also pick up Qumranet's talent. The company's team of professionals that develop, test and support Qumranet solutions, as well as leaders of the open-source community KVM project, will join Red Hat.

"Red Hat customers enjoy highly responsive, flexible and cost-effective IT infrastructures," said Jim Whitehurst, president and CEO of Red Hat. "This acquisition furthers our capability to widen the gap between open source and proprietary infrastructure software."

The Next Generation of Virtualization

Whitehurst went on to say that Qumranet's KVM and VDI technologies are at the forefront of the next generation of virtualization. He's convinced these technologies represent an opportunity to raise the bar and meet the market's demand for virtualization solutions.

Red Hat said it acquired Qumranet to forward its efforts to transform the virtualization market and drive end-to-end virtualization technology and management solutions into every system, from servers to desktops, on both Linux and Windows. With Qumranet in its portfolio, the company can offer a solution that integrates with the operating system. That brings with it a promise to drive down IT costs and enhance the flexibility and responsiveness of the IT infrastructure.

"With this acquisition, Red Hat has clearly positioned itself as a competitor within the virtual desktop market," said Michael Rose, a research analyst at IDC. "KVM not only represents a competent platform for hosting virtual desktops and other workloads, but protocols such as SPICE will increase the performance that users can expect to experience from their server-based computing environments, making the...

iPod and iTunes Lead Apple Announcement Speculation

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:15:18 -0500

The drumbeat of expectations for Apple's Sept. 9 announcements continues. Fueled by Apple's cryptic "Let's Rock" and "playing soon" e-mails to reporters, the blogosphere has lit up with opinions on what will be announced. One blog is even holding a contest for readers -- whoever gets the most announcements right, wins.

Joshua Martin, an analyst at the Yankee Group, said, "ITunes upgrades and iPod innovations are inevitable. Apple has done a great job distancing themselves from the competition, so they don't necessarily need to have major new introductions, but don't put it past [CEO Steve] Jobs to do something big nonetheless."

The Obvious

With a "Let's Rock" theme, the announcements would indeed appear to focus on the iPod and iTunes. Wired's blog claims to have blueprints of a new 4GB iPod touch and iPod nano. The touch looks slimmer and appears to have external, mechanical volume controls, something users have requested.

A price drop also should be a no-brainer as the current iPod touch costs $100 more than the latest iPhone 3G. A 2GB iPod nano with a bigger screen and better video is also an odds-on favorite. And there could be more behind the nano screens than music files.

"Look for Wi-Fi to be added to more iPod devices and possibly some social-networking features. I know that was tried by another company a while back on their portable Wi-Fi MP3 players, but they didn't have a big enough market," Martin said in an obvious reference to Microsoft's Zune and its failed Zune-to-Zune Wi-Fi music sharing.

There's also some speculation that a new nano model might run some applications from Apple's App Store.

The iTunes Store is reportedly getting a refresh with music CD-like liner notes, still photographs, and music video content for participating artists. Snow Patrol, the Scottish pop-rock phenom, is expected to be the first...

Cablevision Completes First Phase of Wi-Fi Buildout

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:07:48 -0500

Cablevision Systems Corp. said Thursday it has finished the first phase of its wireless network buildout in New York and remains on track to complete the project in two years.

The diversified cable operator is offering the Wi-Fi service at no charge to its 2.4 million Internet customers at speeds of up to 1.5 Megabits per second, similar to DSL at home.

The company currently doesn't have plans to offer the service to non-subscribers.

The Wi-Fi network, which is expected to cost about $310 million overall, is Cablevision's answer to a wireless option being pursued by other cable operators.

Bethpage, N.Y.-based Cablevision announced the Wi-Fi project in May, soon after cable operators Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks joined chipmaker Intel Corp., Google Inc., Clearwire Corp. and Sprint Nextel Corp. in a joint venture to offer a wireless Internet service.

Cablevision's first phase of Wi-Fi deployment comprised parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties and commuter rail platforms and station parking lots in Long Island.

The cable operator already has Wi-Fi pockets in other parts of New York, as well as in New Jersey and Connecticut. These will be folded into the Wi-Fi buildout announced in May.

Consumers seeking more information should log onto http://www.optimumwifi.com.

HP Notebook Will Be Packaged in a Reusable Bag

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:10:34 -0500

Hewlett-Packard, responding to a challenge by Wal-Mart Stores to offer more ecologically friendly products, said Wednesday that it was selling a new notebook computer in a fabric messenger bag instead of packaging it in a box.

The change reduced by 97 percent the foam, cardboard and plastic used in packaging, Hewlett-Packard, which is based in Palo Alto, California, said in a statement.

The new computer, the Pavilion PC, went on sale for $798 Wednesday at almost 1,700 Wal-Mart outlets and 594 Sam's Club stores in the United States.

Hewlett-Packard, the largest maker of personal computers, has been trying to win over environmentally conscious customers by promoting its recycling programs for printers and PCs and by improving the energy efficiency of its machines.

With the new packaging, the company also can ship 25 percent more computers in each truck, reducing transportation costs, said Dana Harrold, marketing manager for consumer notebook products.

Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, started a contest in May 2007 that asked 30 consumer-electronics suppliers to rethink product design and packaging. Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, will gauge customers' interest in the packaging, Shannon Frederick, a spokeswoman, said.

Lexmark International, Sanyo Electric and Philips Electronics were among the other companies that entered the Wal-Mart contest. Frederick declined to disclose the full list of companies that submitted entries.

Wal-Mart judged the products on three criteria: design, product innovation that reduces environmental impact, and packaging design that reduces waste and the use of toxic materials.

Because of its size, Wal-Mart is considered one of the few retailers with enough clout to directly change global energy consumption.

The company has set a long-term goal of using only renewable energy and creating zero waste. It has challenged its suppliers to cut back on packaging and to increase energy efficiency in their products.

EU Preparing Sharp Cuts in Fees for Text Messages

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:12:49 -0500

The European Union's telecommunications minister plans to propose a new set of price controls that would sharply cut the roaming fees charged by mobile operators to send short text messages while also reducing the cost of surfing the Internet on a cell phone.

Details of the proposal, obtained by the International Herald Tribune on Wednesday, show that the minister, Viviane Reding, will seek to cap retail roaming fees for short text messages, or SMS, within the European Union at 11 euro cents, or 16 U.S. cents, a message.

That would be a 62 percent reduction from the current average of 29 cents, according to the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU.

Reding also intends to recommend a cap on the wholesale cost of using mobile phones to access the Internet -- the fees operators charge each other -- that would halve the average cost to euro 1 a megabyte from euro 2.

SMS roaming prices range from 6 cents in Estonia to 80 cents in Belgium, according to the European Regulators Group, a panel of the European Union's 27 national telecommunications regulators.

"SMS prices are really too high so bringing them down is best thing that can happen for consumers," said Monique Goyens, the director general of the European Consumers' Organization, a Brussels group representing 41 consumer organizations in Europe.

In 2007, Europeans spent euro 800 million in SMS roaming charges and euro 560 million on data roaming services, according to the commission. They also spent euro 5.2 billion in voice roaming charges that year. Over all, euro 300 billion was spent on telecommunications in Europe, the European Information Technology Observatory said.

Reding devised the EU's limits on charges for voice roaming, which took effect a year ago and have, according to her, saved European consumers an average of 60 percent for the service.

Her new...

Sony Recalls VAIO Laptops To Avoid Overheating

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:24:53 -0500

Sony has issued a recall for thousands of its VAIO laptop computers in the U.S. because of possible overheating or short-circuits.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday that Sony's recall is voluntary, and it recommended that VAIO owners stop using the products unless otherwise instructed. The recall affects about 73,000 Vaio TZ-series computers in the U.S. The Kyodo news agency in Japan is reporting that the recall applies to 440,000 units worldwide.

15 Reports of Overheating

The safety commission said the reason for the recall is because "irregularly positioned wires near the computer's hinge and/or a dislodged screw inside the hinge can cause a short-circuit and overheating."

It added that this hazard could result in burns to consumers. In fact, the commission reported that Sony has received 15 reports of overheating, including one person who received a minor burn.

The affected models are the VAIO VGN-TZ100 series, VGN-TZ200 series, VGN-TZ300 series, and VGN-TZ2000 series. The commission said owners of these models should stop using the computers "immediately" and get in touch with Sony to see if their unit is affected. Sony will arrange for any needed inspection or repair.

Sony posted a statement on its eSupport site that said "the issues involve a small number of units which may overheat due to a wiring problem."

Sony's Efforts

It added that consumers with VAIO notebooks should visit http://esupport.sony.com/fixmypc. At that site, users will be asked to input their product code and serial number from the bottom of the notebook. If a consumer has an affected model, there are instructions on the site about how to set up an inspection. A hotline number is also posted.

Sony said it would not charge for inspections, and, if necessary, it would arrange for on-site repairs at the owner's home or office -- or owners can ship their unit to...

Google's Chrome Grabs Market, But It's Not Finished

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:34:11 -0500

Google Chrome. It's a browser that was admittedly still in the development oven when Google released it, so are Internet Explorer 8-killer comments premature? Some analysts think so.

On Tuesday, Google launched its latest innovation: a new open-source browser intended to create a better Web experience. Chrome is now available in more than 40 languages for the Windows operating system.

Flanked by promises on one side and hype on the other, Chrome took one percent of the global browser market within a day of launch, according to Web traffic-analysis company StatCounter.

"This is a phenomenal performance," said Aodhan Cullen of StatCounter. "This is war on Microsoft, but the big loser could be Firefox." StatCounter's analysis also revealed that Internet Explorer holds 70 percent of the global browser market, followed by Firefox with 22 percent.

A New Approach To Browsing?

Firefox isn't worried, according to blog posts from Mozilla's CEO welcoming Chrome to the competitive browser landscape. Chrome does offer some new takes on the browsing experience. Chrome combines the search and address bar, and when users open a new tab they'll see a page that includes snapshots of their most-visited sites, recent searches, and bookmarks.

What's more, each browser tab operates as a separate process. By isolating tabs, Google said, if one tab crashes or misbehaves, the others remain stable and users can continue working without having to restart the browser. Google also built a new JavaScript engine, V8, which not only speeds up Web applications but enables a whole new class of applications that can't run in other browsers, according to the search titan.

"While we see this as a fundamental shift in the way people think about browsers, we realize that we couldn't have created Google Chrome on our own," said Linus Upson, director of engineering at Google. "Google Chrome was built upon other...

Demand Grows for Used Apple iPhones

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:34:10 -0500

As the head of a company that sells used consumer electronics, David Chen follows sales of the iPhone with the precision of a mathematician. At the outset, the price of the first version of Apple's music-playing wireless device behaved as expected: When the newer iPhone 3G hit store shelves, demand for the earlier iteration plummeted. Then the unexpected happened.

Within days of the iPhone 3G launch, demand for used, older iPhone models began rising, and prices began a steady climb. "We've been raising our prices over the past few weeks," says Chen, who runs NextWorth.com, a Web site that buys and resells used iPhones and iPods. "It's an anomaly, but there's still a lot of demand for the first-generation [device]." As of Aug. 26, NextWorth Solutions was paying $200 and $300 respectively for gently-used, 8-Gigabyte and 16-GB original iPhone models. That's up $50 from what his company paid a month earlier -- and at the high end, on par with the price of a new 16-GB version of iPhone 3G -- for the latest iteration of the iPhone, with more features and faster download speeds.

The used devices fetch an even higher price, of course, when they're sold to a consumer. On e-commerce site eBay, where NextWorth peddles many of its wares, a 16-GB version of the first-generation iPhone goes for about $600, and an 8-GB model in good condition commands $500. When it was new, the 16-GB phone sold for $499; the 8-GB model went for $399. Today, AT&T's most expensive iPhone 3G model sells for $300 with a two-year service contract. "The old iPhone [in mint condition] is very hard to find," says Shawn Zade, who sells mobile phones through New York-based WirelessImports.com. "There's a lot of demand."

Bustling Competition

Why pay a premium for an older, less advanced model? Some users...