Does the Netbook Have a Life?

The continued growth in cloud adoption may radically change netbook adoption rates. "As more organizations explore a virtualized desktop and cloud-based productivity options, the netbook could be an interesting conduit to a world featuring 'Everything as a Service' -- providing traditional I/O to enable productivity tasks, but at a lower-cost, more portable profile," explained Deloitte analyst William Briggs.
Trends have always come and gone, but when it comes to all-things-tech, the speed of change is faster than an Internet minute. It isn't that tech users are all that fickle; it's that the environment around them is constantly changing. Take the "smartphones vs. laptops war" for example. It isn't that either won; rather, the war left the battlefield.
No one bothers to rant for one side or the other any more. By the time netbooks and tablets made a debut on the mobile scene, no one thought to ask which of all these devices would be the winner-take-all king of the WiFi hill. That's because this is clearly not a strictly hardware contest anymore.
"The most important effect we have seen is that content matters more than screen size," Brian Levine, president and cofounder of Innerscope Research, told TechNewsWorld. "A simple thought experiment would be this: Which is more engaging, CSPAN on a 3D IMAX, or "Avatar" on a mobile phone? Obviously, unless you are a political junky and don't like the color blue, Avatar wins."
Considering content is king and netbooks lack both the power of laptops for content creation and the appeal of tablets for content consumption, will they now disappear into oblivion?
The Story Told in Numbers
Intel reports that all leading PC makers -- including Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, MSI and Toshiba -- offer Intel-based netbooks, with more than 100 designs in market.
"Currently, there are about 40 million netbooks shipped in 2010, which is roughly three to four times more than tablets," Intel spokesperson Suzy Ramirez told TechNewsWorld. "Since its launch, Intel Atom processors for netbooks alone have shipped more than 80 million chips with 100s of millions expected in the future. In fact, netbooks are one of the fastest-ramping consumer products ever."
If one were to judge the popularity of netbooks and tablets according to media mentions alone, Intel's reported numbers would appear suspicious. But no, independent sources do confirm that netbooks are outselling tablets four to one. To be precise, just over 11 million media tablets and 43 million netbooks will ship worldwide this year, according to ABI Research.
"Apple has sold a few million iPads in its first quarter, which is great for creating a new market," said ABI Research Principal Analyst Jeff Orr, "but early adoption of media tablets is not outpacing netbooks."
Indeed, tablet costs are a bit pricey for the average recession-battered consumer. "The iPad average selling price above US$650 isn't driving mass adoption," said Orr. "Competition, especially on price, is needed." And so it is that netbook sales continue to climb, albeit at a slower pace than was predicted just a year ago.
"Nonetheless, 43 million netbook shipments are good growth -- just not the meteoric pace of the past couple of years," said Orr.
The Cloud as a Netbook Ally
Most of the criticism of netbooks is centered on its shallow performance compared to a full-sized laptop. But this drawback may disappear as the cloud grows larger. That could potentially mean that laptops, rather than netbooks, may fall by the wayside.
"Netbooks remain an interesting play for productivity tasks at a lower price point," Deloitte Consulting director William Briggs told TechNewsWorld. "But full-featured laptops will continue to persist -- basically until the cloud vision is fully realized, which is a number of years away."
Enterprises have been lukewarm toward netbook adoption. Interest doesn't appear to be growing despite the escalation in cloud adoption and desktop virtualization -- two developments one would think would favor netbook use, as they leverage its lighter weight and cost while fortifying its processing and storage weaknesses.
"What we are seeing with enterprise customers using netbooks at the moment is primarily as test pilots and proof of concept demos," Lawrence Imeish, principal consultant of Dimension Data's North America converged communications group, told TechNewsWorld.
Indeed, tablets are running into the same situation -- slow adoption on the enterprise front. The tablets' use-case is "almost entirely consumer-based," reports ABI, and the enterprise market for tablets as a real replacement for laptops and smartphones is "virtually nonexistent."
The continued growth in cloud adoption may radically change the adoption rates of both netbooks and tablets, although netbooks have a decided advantage in that regard.
"As more organizations explore a virtualized desktop and cloud-based productivity options, the netbook could be an interesting conduit to a world featuring 'Everything as a Service' -- providing traditional I/O (keyboard, touchpad) to enable productivity tasks, but at a lower-cost, more portable profile," explained Deloitte's Briggs.
However, the cloud is unlikely to be an advantage of netbooks over laptops.
"As traditional productivity and enterprise technology suites persist, so will the full-featured laptop," Briggs added.
Indeed, the cloud may not be a sufficient edge for netbooks, as the cloud will most likely power all devices more or less equally.
"In the coming years, I see netbook marketing being squeezed between ever more powerful tablets and smaller, lighter, faster, cheaper laptops," predicted Dimension Data's Imeish.
Netbook manufacturers, however, are not just sitting idly by to find out.
Between Tolerated and Banned
"Netbooks continue to see great momentum, and Intel expects this to continue with new hybrid and convertible designs planned for CES and throughout 2011, with examples such as the Dell Inspiron duo," noted Intel's Ramirez.
HP also recently released a line of "business" netbooks in an attempt to break through enterprise resistance in time to sync with cloud momentum. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is pushing its new Macbook Air, which runs a full OS rather than a glorified smartphone OS, into the fold -- even though it loses the price advantage of a traditional netbook in the process.
Enterprises meanwhile, are pushing back some on the commercialization of IT and blocking adoption on some of the newer mobile toys.
"Most organizations have created lists of blessed, tolerated and banned devices to help control the sprawl," said Deloitte's Briggs. "Netbooks today typically find themselves between 'tolerated' and 'banned' categories."
How does such a classification bode for the future of netbooks in the enterprise? Turns out, it likely has no bearing at all.
"Consumer demand will drive the level and pace of netbook adoption," said Briggs. "As tablet support has increased exponentially, based on the iPad's sales, netbooks could achieve more strategic dispositions if stakeholders demanded it."

By Pam Baker
TechNewsWorld

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LG iPhone Looks Fat and Dull

Leaked photos of an LG Android smartphone supposedly called the "B" reveal what could be the slimmest smartphone yet -- even skinnier than the iPhone 4. The screen also appears to be extremely bright. "Everybody's searching for ways, however big or small, to one-up the iPhone, which is supposed to be the slimmest device," Laura DiDio, principal at ITIC, told LinuxInsider.
Hot on the heels of its announcement of the Optimus 2X smartphone this week, LG is reported to be working on yet another Android mobile phone. The new, ulta-thin phone will be known as the "B," according to Phandroid. LG itself has been somewhat coy regarding the smartphone. After Phandroid's story broke, LG posted a message on Twitter via an account dubbed "LGmobileCES11" inviting attendees of the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show to see the LG B at the conference in person. Later, that tweet was apparently removed and replaced with a message and a link directing the account's followers to check out an article about the LG B on UnwiredView.com -- which sources its information from the original Phandroid news item.
LG did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Alphabet Soup The B, according to Phandroid's report, appears slimmer than the iPhone 4. A photograph posted in the story also shows a device presumed to be the B providing much greater luminosity than either the iPhone 4 or the Galaxy S smartphone from LG's Korean archrival, Samsung.
However, some of the specs put up on Phandroid's page are confusing, as they refer to three devices, the B, the S and the R. The B and R have IPS LCD screens, while the S has an AMOLED screen.
The B has the brightest screen, followed by the R, while the S is less than half as bright as the B, according to the specs.Whether or not there is such a smartphone as the B is open to question. However, if it does exist, its slimness could be its most attractive feature."The device looks interesting, but I haven't heard of it," Chris Hazelton, a research director at the 451 Group, told LinuxInsider. "If it does exist, LG's focused on the thinness of the device, which is interesting." If the B does exist, its slimness may be one way LG's targeting the iPhone. "Everybody's searching for ways, however big or small, to one-up the iPhone, which is supposed to be the slimmest device," Laura DiDio, principal at ITIC, told LinuxInsider. However, she hasn't really heard anything about the B. However, the brightness of the device's screen may be "the big differentiator in terms of the features that we've seen so far," DiDio said. "Assuming we can believe what we're reading and hearing, the brightness could be a real differentiator because there's a lot of people who might be looking at these things in dim light or in the dark," DiDio explained. Changing the Market
If claims about its slimness and the brightness of its screen are true, the B could shape the smartphone industry. "I'd expect that the iPhone, the BlackBerry and the Droid would have to follow suit, if the reports about the slimness and screen brightness are correct," DiDio said. The B might be what LG needs to fight off Samsung, which has a big lead over it in the smartphone market. "If the reports abut the B we're seeing are true and this thing is out there, it fits what LG needs to do," Will Stofega, a program director at IDC, told LinuxInsider. LG is lagging behind Samsung, and it reorganized its mobile division a few weeks ago, Stofega pointed out. "If the B is there, it would fit in with LG's strategy of trying to ramp up its smartphone business," Stofega added. Gartner's (NYSE: IT) report on Q3 2010 worldwide mobile deice sales figures shows LG in third place behind Samsung and market leader Nokia (NYSE: NOK).
LG's market share dropped from 10.3 percent in Q3 2009 to 6.6 percent, while Samsung's share fell from 19.6 percent to 17.2 percent. LG is strong in stylish, mid-tier devices, but mature markets are moving toward smartphones, which is impacting its market share, Gartner said. LG lacks a flagship smartphone.
However, making smartphones slimmer than they already are is a technical challenge, Stofega pointed out. "There are physical limitations, and we'll have to see and hear a little more about the B than what's been reported so far," he stated.

By Richard Adhikari
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network

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UK Plan to Filter Porn

UK Communications Minister Ed Vaizey plans to ask for ISPs' help in keeping pornographic content on the Internet out of reach of minors. However, his plans, which could involve requiring users to opt in if they want access to the Web's adult side, have been questioned on technical grounds. Critics see a wide array of shortcomings, from defining pornography to imperfect automatic tools for weeding it out.
The British government has joined China, Iran and Australia in seeking to actively restrict access to certain portions of the Internet.
Communications officials have revealed plans to ask Internet service providers in the UK to restrict access to pornographic websites, especially for minors.
However, ISPs have given that idea the thumbs-down on the grounds that it's up to parents and caregivers to deal with the issue.
It will be difficult to restrict access to online porn, say the plan's critics, and it's almost impossible to detect and prevent minors from doing so once they get on the Internet.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service?
Ed Vaizey, the communications minister for the U.K., told the Sunday Times that he planned to meet with the country's major broadband providers to discuss blocking access to online porn at the source.
That would mean adults would have to request their ISPs let them access certain restricted sites.
ISPs would have to come up with solutions to protect children from online porn sites, Vaizey reportedly said.
He warned that if a solution wasn't forthcoming, the government might come up with a new communications bill in the next couple of years.
According to the report, Vaizey wants to set up an age verification scheme to control access to online porn sites.
Talk to Mom and Dad, ISPs say
The U.K. Internet Service Providers' Association responded by saying it's the responsibility of parents and caregivers to manage Internet access. It also warned that restrictions on access might have unintended consequences. Mainstream sites like Flickr, for instance, carry some material officials might deem pornographic.
"The proliferation of adult content makes it nearly impossible to filter them out completely," Ben Butler, director of network abuse at GoDaddy.com, told TechNewsWorld.
Age verification systems are also limited because there's no way for an ISP to verify the real age of someone on a PC, Butler pointed out.
"Kids don't tell the truth about their age and can likely get around most age-based restrictions," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, stated. "These kinds of provisions generally are more tied to making a government look like it's doing something than actually accomplishing anything," he told TechNewsWorld.
Sometimes Technology Is Only Technology
Blocking or filtering access to websites is easier said than done.
"There are some technical means, such as the 'looks like skin' filter that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) uses in its image search; and you could require registration through email, sometimes with credit cards, for sites that might house adult content," Jonathan Eunice, principal IT analyst at Illuminata, told TechNewsWorld.
"But even putting all these together it's extremely porous protection at best," Eunice pointed out. Further, there's no way to identify adult content with full certainty, and often adult content slips through while terms that might be adult in context, such as the words 'breast,' 'suck' or 'rape,' might be blocked even if the context in which the user is searching is non-sexual.
Further, "millions" of non-commercial sources of Internet pornography are available. "Amazon and Tumblr, for example, host a huge number of images and videos, many of them sexual" Eunice pointed out.
"ISPs do see all the traffic that flows through their networks," Leon Rishniw, vice president of engineering at CloudMark, told TechNewsWorld. "The challenge at ISP level is finding what technology you can implement and whether it scales up to the volume of data you're processing."
Further, the technologies currently available to detect adult content on local PCs are slow, which is a deterrent to ISPs, Rishniw pointed out. Finally, the cost of building infrastructure for detecting adult content into an ISP's network "are prohibitive, especially when you consider that there's no value add to the ISP," Rishniw remarked.
The best solution will likely consist of a combination of technology and supervision by parents, caregivers and the kids themselves, GoDaddy.com's Butler suggested.
"In order for any technological solution to have the greatest chance of success, it needs to be used in conjunction with increased education for parents, caregivers and children," Butler stated.

By Richard Adhikari
TechNewsWorld

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Microsoft launches a new online multiplayer game

Microsoft has kicked off an open beta of a new multiplayer game called Neosaurs, which it is attempting to propogate virally via Twitter and Facebook.The open beta commenced on December 9, according to the Web site for the game.
“Neosaurs is a new massively multiplayer RPG (MMORPG) adventure that you can play, right here in your browser for free! No downloads, no wait times. Click ‘Play Now’ to jump in the game and start playing right away with your existing Facebook or Windows Live account,” according to the Web page.I asked Microsoft about Neosaurs and received the following statement from a spokesperson:
“Neosaurs is a new game under development at Microsoft Game Studios in partnership with Camelot Media Investments (CMI), a global leader in the casual MMO space. The game is actively under development and currently in beta. We will have more to announce soon.”
Camelot Media Investments is part of the Al Ahli Gaming Division, “now in final launch stages with one of the top gaming studios and Internet engine partners in Korea,” according to a quick Web search.
“Al Ahli Gaming has invested directly with the launching of Camelot Media Investments and will have first look opportunities to the line-up of coming games about to be released. Industry experts have classified these new games as ‘the new face of gaming,’ according to Al Ahli’s site.Neosaurs is interesting on a couple of fronts. For one, it is evidence of Microsoft’s growing interest in the casual gaming/social gaming space.Microsoft quietly purchased the assets (though not not the people) associated with Vivaty, a 3D virtual world gaming vendor, earlier in 2010. And there’ve been rumors that Microsoft wanted more leverage in the virtual-world and/or social gaming space and that the company was making overtures to various companies in order to get a foot in the door.

By Mary Jo Foley - ZDNet

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Dell precision workstation

Usually tucked under the desk in a tiny cubicle, the humble workstation gets no love when it comes to industrial design. But the last bastion of the beige box may be getting a rather nice face lift, courtesy of Dell, if some images found on the Internet and supplied to Engadget are the real deal.
As the above image shows, Dell has designed a workstation that looks like it borrowed some touches from sister company Alienware’s gaming PCs — a healthy dollop of red accents and some streamlined styling. It may not qualify as looking full-out “sexy,” but for a corporate machine, it’s about as close as it gets.
The image are apparently updates to Dell’s Precision family, which are its line of performance-oriented workstations. Engadget speculates that the presumed T3600, T5600, and T7600 refreshes would be prime candidates for Intel’s forthcoming Sandy Bridge CPUs, but there’s no word from Dell about specs or designs or anything related to new Precisions. However, the potential new look would go along with the company’s conversion to sleek design evidenced by its Streak and Venue Pro mobile devices.

By Sean Portnoy - ZDNet

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Google and its Chrome OS users

Google isn’t telling me any secrets about its plans for Chrome OS. Indeed, I’m not even one of the 60,000 or so people that Google has given a Cr-48 Chromebook prototype to play with. Even so, unlike my good friend Mary Jo Foley, I think I know exactly who Google has in mind for its Chrome OS Linux desktop system.
I see Google as targeting two different, very different, audiences with Chrome OS. The first group are office workers. The other is those hundreds of millions, perhaps a billion plus, users who really don’t know the first thing about to use a computer safely even as they use them every day.
In this set-up, a company would pay Google a fee, just as some do now for Google Apps for Business. In return, the company gets the 21st century version of a thin-client desktop.This is an idea that goes all the way back to terminals to mainframe computers. While PCs put this idea into a niche market for decades now, some CIOs and administrators still yearn for it. The reasons for this are quite simple: It puts IT back in charge of the office desktop.The security is set-up from a central control, the management decides what applications users will run and so on. This idea comes back over and over and… well you get the idea. If you’ve been in IT for a while, you’ve seen this notion from Oracle as network computers; and from who knows how many vendors as the diskless workstation or as thin-clients.In the past, it’s never taken off for several reasons. From an IT standpoint, one of the big problems has always been that the server proved to be a single point-of-failure. Google will try to get around this by using its cloud services in place of a server.Users, of course, given a choice between a PC, where they get to set up the wall-paper just so, add their favorite application and a smart-terminal where they have no control over the system always went for PCs. Chrome OS will give users more control over their environment than some earlier thin-client approaches. Whether that will be enough to make users happy is another matter.The other audience is Jason Perlow’s grandpa. There are hundreds of millions of users just like him and not all of them are old. They have no more clue about to use a computer safely than I know how to land a 747. If you read ZDNet regularly, you may not realize just how many people there are like that who think that their computer is a magic box. Forget about knowing the difference between Windows and Linux, they can’t tell the difference between the Web browser and the operating system. That’s where Google Chrome OS comes in.
With Chrome OS the operating system and the browser really are one. If they can use a Web browser, and almost anyone can do that these days, they’ll be able to use Chrome OS.More to the point, as Perlow pointed out, Chrome OS is “totally maintenance free, all the apps and the data are cloud driven, and you can’t break the OS even if you try.” Well actually you can but it’s beyond the ability of most tech illiterates. Chrome OS also uses a sandbox security system that goes a long way towards making sure that no matter what an idiot user clicks on he or she can’t install malware or otherwise get into trouble.Put it all together and you have a Linux-based operating system that’s ideal for either office-workers or people who need a computer but don’t know the first thing about how to use one safely. Is that you? Probably not. It’s certainly not me. But, it does describe hundreds-of-millions of users. For them, Chrome may be all the operating system they’ll ever need.
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols - ZDNet

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Hacks and the Linux-Free PS3

It's not clear why Linux fans would even want to run it on a PS3, "when a console is NOTHING but 'DRM... in a box'" says Slashdot blogger hairyfeet. "Even when [Sony] allowed Linux you didn't get access to the full machine -- no GPU access -- which left it an underpowered POWER based PC."
"Never get between a geek and a processor" would be an excellent maxim for tech companies to live by, but it's one that gets ignored again and again.
Take Sony's (NYSE: SNE) latest misguided move. Not only is it what inspired Montreal consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack to utter those sage words, but it's also what has now prompted George Hotz -- author of the original hack into the PS3 -- to vow he'll craft yet another hack to get around its latest firmware update.
"A note to people interested in the exploit and retaining OtherOS support, DO NOT UPDATE," Hotz wrote in a follow-up post last week. "I will look into a safe way of updating to retain OtherOS support, perhaps something like Hellcat's Recovery Flasher."
Apparently addressing Sony, Hotz added, "I never intended to touch CFW, but if that's how you want to play... "
In the meantime, "my investigation into 3.21 has begun," he wrote.
'This Has Me Seeing Red'
Indeed, the more-or-less forced Thursday update has sparked an ire whose equal has not been seen in a long, long time.
"This really has me seeing red," wrote Anonymous Coward among the 700-plus comments on Slashdot, for example. "I realize Sony is a business and they are simply trying to protect their rights. But this is removing functionality I paid for and own.
"They are taking away something that belongs to me," Anonymous Coward added. "I am really pissed that they couldn't figure out a better way to thwart hackers."
Similar sentiments could be heard all over Linux Devices, as well as on Digg, on SlashGear and on LXer, among many others.
Determined to dig deeper, Linux Girl conducted a small poll at the blogosphere's once-thriving Other OS Saloon.
'Sure to Attract the Ire of All'
"I've been following this story with some interest, as Sony is one of my favorite companies to hate," Hyperlogos blogger Martin Espinoza began. "Since the CD rootkit debacle, Sony has been on every hacker's mind."
With the Linux install option, "Sony successfully increased the cachet of the PS3 among the geek set," Espinoza noted. "Its removal is sure to attract the ire of all.
"Even cluster managers will in some cases be sorry to see this come to pass," he added. "Though they do not need firmware updates for game support, those same firmware updates have ramifications for system stability."
It's not even clear the move is a legal one, Espinoza told LinuxInsider.
"Eliminating functionality of the online service would be one thing, but altering the console itself eliminates functionality that may have swayed the purchaser's decision," he pointed out.
'It Was Always Running in a Hypervisor'
The move is disappointing, Slashdot blogger David Masover agreed. "Then again, it was always running in a hypervisor, always deliberately crippled to some extent in the name of preventing piracy -- or independent game manufacturers who don't want to pay Sony's licensing fees.
"I took one look at the PS3, read 'hypervisor,' and decided not to buy one," Masover recalled.
In fact, "I don't know that anyone who bought such a tightly controlled device in the first place deserves anything other than a hearty 'I told you so,'" Masover concluded. "Same goes for anyone with an iPhone, by the way."
'DRM in a Box'
"What did everybody expect?" Slashdot blogger hairyfeet agreed.
"While I have avoided Sony products since the rootkit fiasco, in this case I can understand their position," he told LinuxInsider. "They allow a way to run Linux on the PS3 and what happens? Some script kiddie hacker cooks up a way to compromise the hypervisor by using Linux."
It's also not clear why Linux fans would even want to run the OS on a console, "when a console is NOTHING but 'DRM... in a box'" hairyfeet pointed out. "Even when they allowed Linux you didn't get access to the full machine -- no GPU access -- which left it an underpowered POWER based PC."
It's possible Sony only implemented the Linux install option "to keep hobbyists from wanting to break their DRM," Mack suggested. "Now that the option is gone, expect more holes to be punched in their DRM."
'Off-Target Since Day One'
The situation "reminds me of the old adage, 'The big print giveth, and the fine print taketh away'," said Barbara Hudson, a blogger on Slashdot who goes by "Tom" on the site.
"The big print was, 'Price Cut on PS3'; the fine print was, 'and so were the features,'" she explained.
The marketing of the PS3 has been "off-target since day one," Hudson told LinuxInsider.
"Hugely overpriced at the beginning, Sony was always playing catch-up," she said. "Paying a (US)$100 premium so you can get a game console that also doubles as a noisy, heat-generating Blu-ray player doesn't cut it now that quieter, much more energy-efficient Blu-ray players are hitting the $100 price point."
Cutting features, then, "is the last thing they should want to do," she added. "Then again, it's not the first such move -- they also removed PS1 and PS2 compatibility, presumably not just to cut chip counts and cost, but to force consumers to buy new games."
'Penalizing Loyalty'
The real issue, of course, is whether the move will affect sales, Hudson pointed out.
"When I went shopping for a game console, it was a toss between a PS3 or a Wii," she recounted. "After trying my daughter's Wii, there was no way I was going to buy a PS3. Sony needs to focus on planning to make their next-generation product more attractive to everyone, or they'll never catch up."
Toward that end, there are a few lessons the company could learn from Nintendo, Hudson suggested:
1. "Lose the hard drive."
2. "Cut the energy bill. The PS3 uses 180 watts to play a Blu-Ray movie, while standalone players use less than 20 watts."
3. "Don't toss out backwards compatibility -- you're penalizing loyalty."
4. "Better controllers."
5. "Lose the 'hard-core-gamer, boyz-in-basements' sexist image."
In the meantime? "If you want to use GNU/Linux on some gadget, buy it from someone else," blogger Robert Pogson recommended. "That will make Sony and you both happy."

By Katherine Noyes
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network

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PO'ed PS3 User Sues Sony for Nixing Linux

When the PlayStation 3 originally went to market more than three years ago, users had the option of installing an alternate OS, like Linux, if they so chose. Lately, however, Sony decided to dump that feature on grounds that it enabled piracy. Now Anthony Ventura, a user from California, has launched a proposed class-action suit against Sony alleging deceptive business practices.
Less than a month after Sony (NYSE: SNE) dropped Linux support from its PlayStation 3  gaming console, a disgruntled customer has filed a lawsuit, charging that the move was a deceptive business practice. He's seeking class-action status.
Sony Computer Entertainment America's disablement of the "Install Other OS" feature was "not only a breach of the sales contract between Sony and its customers and a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing," but also "an unfair and deceptive business practice perpetrated on millions of unsuspecting customers," according to the suit, filed Tuesday by Anthony Ventura of California.
Filed on behalf of users nationwide in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the suit seeks damages of more than US$5 million, including compensatory damages, restitution, injunctive relief, attorneys' fees and the cost of the suit.
'An Inferior Product'
When the PlayStation3 was launched in North America in late 2006, Sony used the "Install Other OS" feature to distinguish the relatively expensive device from competitors, the suit charges, citing numerous statements by company executives and on the PlayStation website to that effect.
The feature, which was eliminated in newer PS3 "slim" models, allowed users to install Linux or other compatible operating systems on the console, effectively transforming it into a PC.
Ventura himself "chose to purchase a PS3, as opposed to an Xbox or a Wii, because it offered the Other OS feature," the filings note.
While Sony said security concerns prompted its move, Ventura disputes that assertion. Rather, the filings charge, it "reflected Sony's concerns that the Other OS feature might be used by 'hackers' to copy and/or steal gaming or other content."
In short, "Sony is effectively downgrading PS3s already sold," the suit asserts. "After April 1, it is an inferior product."
BBB, FTC Complaints
Ventura also filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission; the BBB has since forwarded the case to Sony for response.
Sony, for its part, declined to provide comment at this point.
"We do not discuss pending litigation," Julie Han, a spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment America, told LinuxInsider.
Refunds and Workarounds
Shortly after Sony disabled the Other OS feature, reports emerged that Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) gave at least one European consumer a 20 percent refund on a PS3 without requiring that the device be returned.
Not long afterwards, however, Sony said it would not sanction such refunds.
Notable hacker George Hotz, meanwhile -- blamed by many for Sony's decision to disable the feature in the first place -- has promised to develop custom firmware that gets around the problem.
Sony's EULA
"We all knew that a class-action suit was going to happen," Pietro Macchiarella, a research analyst with Parks Associates, told LinuxInsider. "I am sure that Sony knew as well, and I think that they took it into account when removing Linux."
In fact, "the cost of litigation and, potentially, damage compensation might still be lower than the cost of increased piracy, allegedly made possible by Linux functionalities," Macchiarella suggested. "I guess that the net benefit will depend on how effective removing Linux is in fighting piracy on the PS3. Some people have expressed doubts that this will stop hackers from finding their way into the PS3."
Sony's end-user license agreement (EULA) does state that "'(...) automatic updates or upgrades (...) may change your current operating system, cause a loss of data or content or cause a loss of functionalities or utilities,'" he pointed out. "I guess that removing Linux would count as a loss of functionality. On the other hand, I wonder how strong a EULA is from a legal point of view, since it is accepted by users only after purchase."
Potentially Widespread Consequences
Either way, "it will be interesting to see who prevails in this lawsuit," Macchiarella concluded.
Considering the growing numbers of connected devices in homes today, "this lawsuit might have consequences beyond this specific case," he added. "Blu-ray players, TVs, etc., will increasingly have regular firmware upgrades over the Internet. Cases like this might happen again for other types of devices."
Gamers as a group "don't like their mojo interrupted, especially gamers that love open source," Raymond Van Dyke, a technology lawyer in Washington, D.C., told LinuxInsider. "Sony's great PS3 system, having considerable horsepower, also has a lot of bells and whistles to accommodate their tech-savvy customer base."
'Questions of Damages and Actual Harm'
Still, "protection of the underlying code is a grave concern to a high-end gaming company, and walling off an avenue of intruder entry seems a logical course of action," Van Dyke noted. "Companies are allowed to update their products and work to prevent harm to consumers, as well as the company's good name."
They do, however, also "need to be mindful that some customers will become irate if desired product functionalities are removed from their purchased system," he added.
Looking ahead, "it is unclear if the class action will be instituted," Van Dyke concluded. "Questions of damages and actual harm will predominate at the court arguments to come."

By Katherine Noyes
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network

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Switching from PC to Mac and back

We live in a cross-platform world. Windows-powered PCs still dominate in the workplace, but Macs have captured substantial market share and even greater mind share among the affluent and well connected.
As I explained two weeks ago, I’m running a PC and a Mac side by side as part of a long-term commitment to developing more expertise in Apple’s platform and, along the way, helping my readers bridge the Mac-PC gap more smoothly.
So far, it’s been a mostly delightful, if occasionally challenging experience. Although I’ve owned a Mac for several years, I’ve probably used this one more in the past two weeks than I have in the past six months combined. In this post, I’ll share three of the lessons I’ve learned from switching between platforms, including insights about old habits, new hardware, and the joys of cross-platform software and services.
The software that has made this setup possible for me is an open-source package called Synergy, which allows two or more computers (running Windows, OS X, or Linux) to share a single keyboard and mouse. I finally broke down and spent some quality RTFM time with the program’s documentation, a process that gave me a series of small headaches but solved a few bigger ones.
The Synergy software has an unfortunate interaction with Internet Explorer. When Synergy is running, it causes the New Tab button in Internet Explorer to stop working in some circumstances and can even temporarily freeze IE. I first encountered these symptoms a week or so ago and I assumed it was a bug in Internet Explorer 9, but the problems persisted even after I uninstalled the IE9 beta and went back to IE8 on Windows 7.

After much troubleshooting, including resetting IE to its default configuration and uninstalling every add-on, I finally concluded that the Synergy software was to blame. This Stack Overflow thread confirmed that I’m not the only person experiencing this issue, and it also offered what appears so far to be an effective workaround—running Synergy as a standard user rather than as a system service.
I’ve made a conscious effort to spend roughly half my time in each OS over the past two weeks, a task made easier now that Office 2011 for Mac is finally released and available through TechNet.
Overall, I find more similarities than differences between PCs and Macs these days. Both Windows 7 and OS X Snow Leopard are mature, highly usable operating systems with an ample selection of quality third-party software and hardware to choose from. Aside from a few PC-only features like Blu-ray playback and built-in support for TV tuner hardware, I haven’t found any task that I can’t accomplish on either platform. The difference is the degree of difficulty, which varies depending on your experience and personal preferences.
I suspect a lot of my readers can relate to what I’m trying to do here. If you use Windows at the office and a Mac at home, you know what I’m talking about. If you have a desktop PC running Windows 7 and a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air running OS X, you’ve probably run into some of the same issues I have.
On the next three pages, I call out the three biggest lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Page 2: The keyboard is the biggest pain point. Nagging inconsistencies in basic keyboard operation have been, without question, my greatest source of frustration as I’ve switched between PCs and Macs. It’s a little like learning a new language.
Page 3: Cross-platform tools and services are a blessing. It helps immensely to have some tools that look and act the same in both places. Here are some of the tools I’ve found indispensable so far.
Page 4: Hardware matters. There’s no question that a Mac is easier to maintain than an equivalent PC. But a lot of that simplicity comes as a direct result of a lack of choices. Here’s how I’m resolving those trade-offs.

By Ed Bott

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Could Wikileaks cause World War III

It’s a simple, one syllable word. If you think about it, trust is all that stands between us and terrible circumstance, whether that’s the breakup of a family or total, nuclear Armageddon.
Trust is vitally important to the operations of nations and governments, as well. Not everyone, for example, is entrusted with America’s nuclear codes. Not everyone is entrusted with the command of virtually independent nuclear ballistic missile submarines. And not everyone is entrusted with secret government documents.
For many things, trust has to be selective. It’s not a good idea, as an example, to put controlling nuclear weapons on the honor system. My friends worry enough when I get around a good fireworks store or wax poetic about plasma torches — they wouldn’t feel comfortable if I had nukes.
Yet, we have to trust some people. It’s not possible to do everything yourself. Working parents must trust someone to watch their newborn. Bosses who can’t do everything themselves, or be in multiple places at once must put some trust in their employees.
Because the United States is a large nation with many interests all over the world, our military and diplomatic leadership must put some trust into the lower-level men and women who move and analyze tremendous amounts of information the world over. Even if they’re only 22.
And so it came to be that the great nation of the United States of America entrusted Bradley Manning — a young Private First Class of the U.S. 10th Mountain Division in Iraq, a former school dropout and pizza greeter — with handling message traffic considered confidential and not for foreign eyes.
While most American soldiers are more than worthy of our trust, respect, and thanks, young Bradley was not. Manning, without any formal training or education in geopolitical affairs, without the ability to see all the national security ramifications, and without the ability to understand (or possibly even care) about the lives that would inevitably be lost, took it upon himself to betray the sacred trust granted him by the United States military.
There are always people willing to take advantage of naive young people in positions of trust.  So it came to pass that Manning’s betrayal had an outlet, in the person of an ambitious foreign narcissist named Julian Assange, a man so amoral he tried to blackmail Amnesty International.
But naivety and audience can’t act alone.
There must also be opportunity.  Beyond the need to entrust our diplomatic security to 22-year-old dropouts — we have another serious security flaw. We allow removable media, iPods, smartphones, and thumb drives behind the firewall.
I have been banging on this drum for years now. Over and over, I have told politicians, military leaders, homeland security professionals*, and the American people that these tiny handheld devices pose a tremendous security risk.
For a while, it seemed like the Pentagon, at least, was going to take some action. They put a ban on USB drives in the military. But then, after only a year, they substantially reduced the ban’s effectiveness.
I’m telling you this because, according to The Guardian, Manning stole more than 250,000 confidential diplomatic cables (all of 1.6 gigabytes of data) by smuggling a thumb drive and a re-writable CD labeled “Lady Gaga” into work, filled them, and then forwarded them to a waiting Assange.
While it’s not clear whether or not Manning’s betrayal could have been prevented by better security procedures, it certainly could have been made more difficult. Even so, now we’re left with the fallout.
I’m not going to recount the sordid details of what was contained in those not-for-foreign-eyes diplomatic cables. First, I don’t believe they should be public and, second, many other publications, including The New York Times, are publishing the leaks.
I’m also not going to tell you that nothing contained in those cables was disturbing. Instead, I’ll tell you why we (and every other nation) keep some information to ourselves, or release information only in carefully controlled circumstances.
International diplomacy is a precise dance.
Although some nations are vastly larger and vastly wealthier than others, it is a facade of diplomatic protocol that all nations and all leaders are treated as equals — at least in public. Many nations (and the U.S., in particular) maintain protocol offices to make sure that every diplomatic interaction goes according to plan, stays on message, and doesn’t offend (unless, of course, it’s time to not be nice).
Internal national politics, on the other hand, is a gutter fight.
Nations must communicate with other nations according to an established protocol, but the leaders who make that national policy must always answer to their constituents. If the leaders can’t seem to maintain an upper hand, can’t demand respect, and aren’t seen to be getting things done, those leaders are usually replaced.
The challenge is that diplomacy is always a give-and-take sort of thing. When nations bargain with other nations, sometimes it goes smoothly, sometimes there’s horse-trading, and sometimes there’s pressure to be applied. Whenever two leaders negotiate, each wants to come back to his or her country and brag about how he won the negotiation. Neither wants to lose face.
As we all know, people will do incredibly idiotic things to protect their honor. So will leaders.
I’ve written previously about how the documents leaked by Wikileaks could cause people to die. Wikileaks hasn’t redacted the information about confidential informants, and it’s likely that these informants — in large numbers — will be executed by their factions over the coming weeks and months.
That’s bad enough. But many national leaders would prefer to project bravado, send people to war, and engage in years-long conflicts with other nations rather than lose face or admit a mistake.
Here is where the Wikileaks risk is extreme. Manning and Assange “outed” confidential negotiations (and, yes, pressure) about nuclear defense issues. They “outed” defensive tactics America was taking against cyberwarfare advances by certain other nations. They “outed” the procedures we’re going through to find “homes” for Guantanamo prisoners. They “outed” discussions about protecting Americans from terrorists.
Each of these disclosures will likely cause leaders to do damage control. Because diplomacy always involves more than one player, the damage control will be different from nation to nation. Nations that were in some level of agreement (whether coerced or not) will now find that, for political reasons, they must agree to not agree.
For some nations, the fact that this information is now public will prevent them from being able to compromise. For some nations, the fact that this information is now public will prevent them from being able to trust.
If you think about it, trust can be all that stands between us and terrible circumstance, whether that’s the breakup of a family or total, nuclear Armageddon.

By David Gewirtz

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Leveraging Linux for Supercomputing

Thus, aggregation provides an affordable, virtual x86 platform with large, shared memory. Server virtualization for aggregation replaces the functionality of custom and proprietary chipsets with software and utilizes only a tiny fraction of a system's CPUs and RAM to provide chipset-level services without sacrificing system performance.
High-performance computing (HPC) applications such as numerical simulation -- whether for forecasting, mechanical and structure simulation, or computational chemistry -- require a large number of CPUs  for processing. To meet these needs, customers must buy a large-scale system that enables parallel processing so that the simulation can be completed in the shortest possible time. Such solutions are available in two forms: scale-up and scale-out.
Traditionally, scale-up customers have had no choice but to purchase high-cost, proprietary shared-memory symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems for HPC needs with proprietary operating systems such as AIX, Solaris, HPUX and others. These SMP systems require significant investment in system-level architecture by computer manufacturers.
While SMP systems with up to eight processors can use off-the-shelf chipsets to provide most of the required system aspects, systems with more processors require significant investment in R&D. The result of the high R&D investment has been an expensive solution that uses proprietary technology based on custom hardware and components. Most of the SMP systems with eight processors or more utilize non-x86 processors, which has greatly contributed to the high price of SMP systems.
Then came the Beowulf project, which helped pave the path to an entirely new approach to the SMP.
Chase Paymentech
Linux Helps Pioneer a Cluster Revolution
As x86 server systems became the commodity server infrastructure, users began to look for other, more accessible and affordable ways to handle their large workloads. They applied cluster technology to unify computers so that they could handle compute-intensive operations.
The Beowulf cluster project pioneered the use of off-the-shelf, commodity computers running open source, Unix-like operating systems such as BSD and GNU /Linux for HPC. It wasn't long before this concept was adapted for clusters instead of traditional SMPs by companies like IBM (NYSE: IBM) and HP (NYSE: HPQ), which began to sell their own cluster systems, and for good reason: With Beowulf clusters, there was a lower initial purchase price, open architecture and better performance than SMP systems running proprietary Unix.
Despite Linux's market penetration, ease of use and portability, proprietary Unix coupled with traditional SMP systems still maintained a significant footprint in the market. The reason for this was that large-memory applications, as well as multi-threaded applications, could not fit into off-the-shelf and small-scale x86 servers running Linux. Linux clusters, however, captured a significant portion of the market where Message-Passing Interface (MPI) applications were used.
Even so, regardless of their pervasiveness in the market, clusters still pose some key challenges to users, including complexity of installation and management of multiple nodes, as well as requiring distributed storage and job scheduling, which can generally be handled only by highly trained IT personnel.
That's where virtualization for aggregation comes in.
Virtualization for Aggregation
Server virtualization and its purpose are familiar to the industry by now: By decoupling the hardware from the operating environment, users can convert one single server into multiple virtual servers to increase hardware utilization.
Virtualization for aggregation does the reverse: It combines a number of commodity x86 servers into one virtual server, providing a larger, single system resource (CPU, RAM, I/O, etc.). Users are able to manage a single operating system while leveraging virtualization for aggregation's ability to enable a high number of processors with large, contiguous shared memory.
One of the great benefits of a system built with virtualization for aggregation is that it eliminates the complexity of managing a cluster, allowing for users to manage their systems more easily and reduce management time overall. This is especially helpful for projects that have no dedicated IT staff.
Thus, aggregation provides an affordable, virtual x86 platform with large, shared memory. Server virtualization for aggregation replaces the functionality of custom and proprietary chipsets with software and utilizes only a tiny fraction of a system's CPUs and RAM to provide chipset-level services without sacrificing system performance.
Virtualization for aggregation can be implemented in a completely transparent manner and does not require additional device drivers or modifications to the Linux OS.
Using this technology to create a virtual machine (VM), customers can run both distributed applications as well as large-memory applications optimally, using the same physical infrastructure and open source Linux. With x86, Linux can scale-up like traditional, large-scale proprietary servers.
Linux scalability to support these large VMs is critical for the success of aggregated VMs. Recent enhancements to the Linux kernel, such as support for large NUMA systems, make it possible.
Now that Linux provides a scalable OS infrastructure, applications requiring more processing or memory for better performance can implement virtualization for aggregation, while taking advantage of the price and performance advantages of commodity components.
Even more exciting is that virtualization for aggregation can create the largest SMP systems in the world. These systems are so large that current workloads do not even use their memory and CPU capacity -- meaning that in the future, users with compute-intensive needs can begin coding applications without worrying about these limitations.

By Shai Fultheim
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network 

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The Inevitability of the Apple SIM Card

There has been an assortment of news concerning iOS updates, jailbreaks and carrier hacks recently. To make sense of it all, you have to put yourself in the other people's shoes. Personally, sandals are preferred, so allow me to flop around.
Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) new iPhone 5, expected out June of 2011, won't have one piece of gear that's common in other phones: a subscriber identity module (SIM) card.
This was big news for several phone carriers, particularly in the UK and Europe, who worried that SIM cards would give users more versatility and provide a medium for SIM-based applications and features. There is a long list of digital equipment that utilizes this technology already.
If it integrates SIM card technology into the iPhone 5, Apple would be limiting the power of the carriers, essentially telling them their relationship is not all that needed for promotion, anyway.
Coloring Inside the Lines
On the other end of the spectrum, the latest release of the iPhone operating system (iOS 4.2.1) took the iPhone Dev Team about 24 hours to jailbreak, which means for the iPhone 3G and 3GS, "restrictions" are nothing more than small hurdles if you simply shell out some cash or do some research to accomplish the feat yourself.
Even though carriers know this, they are banking on the fact that people are lazy and/or don't like to break the rules. Even though it is perfectly legal, some people don't like to venture outside of the parameters set by Apple and others. Or perhaps they have the money to pay whatever and don't really care one way or the other. The above thought processes are in clear opposition to my day-to-day life, but they're the reality for many.
What people don't know can clearly hurt them. As someone who has been traveling recently, I discovered the Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Voice app is a great way to make calls internationally without spending crazy amounts of money. The alternatives for people in regard to the carriers they use are abundant.
Back to focus -- Apple does not need a partnership with any certain carrier. This is not to say the company wants to burn bridges, but it is fully aware of the options at hand for any users who want to reach their hack goals, so by not simply opening up the floodgates, Apple is basically telling carriers, "You are welcome, (insert insult here)."
The European Way
The threats by European phone networks to stop subsidizing the cost of the iPhone if Apple should continue with the plan no doubt played a role in the decision to stop (delay) the SIM card.
Europeans treat their phones a bit different than those in the United States, sometimes owning multiple phones and often switching out cards with other phones.
Should American customers pay for European control? The United States is moving to LTE 4G networks, and a programmable SIM card is the way to go. The programmable SIM card opens up competition and, as a result, will bring down some of the outrageous costs that currently exist.
According to U.S. antitrust laws, companies can not impede on innovation that would threaten their current leverage. Essentially, the programmable SIM card is inevitable, and the current decision will be reversed by Apple because long-term, it will be best for Apple and the consumer -- and legally, it should be allowed without strong-arm tactics.
Large corporate overlords flexing their proverbial muscles at the expense of consumers is hardly a new concept, but in this case, it should not last for long.

By Jesse Herman
MacNewsWorld

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HID Proximity Card Technology

HID Proximity Card Technology
Smart cards or HID access cards are plastic ID cards just like the size of your driver's license or credit card. The thickness of an HID access card may vary depending on whether it has an embedded integrated circuit like a microchip, magnetic stripe or bar code. There is stored data within that makes it more than a typical company ID. Although it is used for identification purposes, HID cards can be used for access control and even for time-keeping functions.
An HID proximity card works together with a card reader, control panel and your computer system. By swiping the card through the reader, a code is extracted from it, which is sent to the computer for processing. The code is a unique sequence of numbers and must match the authorization information stored in the computer system. If it has the right authorization, a signal is sent to the control panel, which then opens the door allowing entrance to the holder of the card. With no authorization, the door remains inaccessible. This ID card system has been in placed in most businesses that need extra levels of security like military facilities.
The use of an access card or HID proximity card is also common in software companies. This will help safeguard the numerous computer programs they are developing. Computer security is important to reduce the risk of sabotage or theft. Logging on in the computer network would require the use of a proximity card. Employees likewise can only edit, copy or print data if they have the right authorization after swiping the card. Management can use this ID card system to restrict access to certain computer data as well as track or monitor the activities of those who are logged on in the network.
This ID card system is also widely used in hospitals and other health care facilities. An HID access card can restrict unauthorized personnel from the operating room, pharmacy and other highly sensitive areas. This way not anyone can just get access to medicines preventing theft and tampering of drugs. This can also help reduce the risks of endangering patients who are under their care. The use of access cards can also limit the access of confidential records of patients to a select few thereby safeguarding the patient's right to privacy. Research facilities and pharmaceutical companies are also taking advantage of the benefits derived from using HID cards.
Proximity or access cards are not only for big companies. Setting the system up maybe quite expensive but the technology is also available to small and medium-size companies. Portable printers with advanced features are affordable making it easier for smaller businesses and organization to enjoy the benefits that this system provides. With the right kind of printer and software, you can make your own HID access card and not depend on printing companies for this need. You can get great savings thereby reducing the cost of installing this type of ID card system. With all the advantages it can bring your company, this is certainly an investment worth taking on.

Author: William Gabriel

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Samsung C3050 – Flip Handset At Reasonable Prices

Samsung has released its Samsung C3050 in the market that is available in all online mobile stores with many exiting deal.Samsung is a biggest name in the mobile World that has given many handsets to the market. You will find a wide variety of budget and expensive handsets in its mobile phone series. This mobile is popular for giving trendy looks to its handsets and this time again Samsung has manufactured another attractive slide handset. Samsung has released this handset with the name of Samsung C3050. This handset has all required features that must be in a good budget handset.
This slim handset has 97 x 47.3 x 14.9 mm dimensions that can adjust in your pocket very easily. You will feel proud while carrying this handset as it looks very attractive and stylish. This handset is available in black color only. This Samsung handset comes with 15 MB internal memory that you can extend up to 8 GB using its micro SD card. This handset also allow you high speed internet access as it has many latest internet connectivity features such as GPRS, EDGE and bluetooth.
This budget handset also has VGA camera that provide you a resolution of 640x480 pixels. You can use this VGA camera for capturing your memorable moments. This handset also has FM radio with RDS that will entertain you in your ideal time. This is the best handset for music lovers as you will also find many media players in this handset that can support various audio and video formats. Samsung has also provided many inbuilt games with this handset that you can play in your ideal time or while traveling. This handset also allow you to download many games of your choice. You can buy this handset from any online mobile store. These online stores also provide you many Samsung C3050 deals such as contract deal, pay as you go and Sim free deals. These deals are very beneficial for you as these deals provide you this handset at comparatively low prices.
The most common deal among all these Samsung C3050 deals is contract deal that provide you many benefits and free gifts with this handset. All the leading networks such as Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, T Mobile, Three Mobile, Orange and O2 are providing these contract deals for this hadnset.So dears, just visit any online mobile store and buy this Samsung C3050 with any of your favorite network.
Author:adam caitlin

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How To Program Your Direct TV Remote

Contemporary remote controls have become quite complex. In the old days, it used to be that a remote control was a simple electronic device- one power button, a volume up and down button, channel selections and perhaps a mute control. Remote controls today have become more universal, programming the user's television, satellite receiver, VCR, DVD player, stereo and any other part of the user's home entertainment system.
The problem arises when the viewer is not able to understand the options on the remote control and it becomes useless. DirecTv's remote control can be simply understood if these directions are followed. DirecTV incorporates specific features and special options. A four-position slide switch for easy component selection , code library for popular video and stereo components, code search to help program control of older or discontinued components and memory protection to ensure that the user will not have to reprogram the remote when the batteries are replaced.
1. The user chooses the Device
The first thing the user is required to do is choose which device is desired for programming. Most remotes have separate buttons that correspond to the various devices:
SAT - controls the satellite receiver
TV - controls the television set
VCR - controls the VCR
AUX - controls one of several additional units, such as a home stereo
The user presses the button of the device to program until the corresponding light on the remote control begins to flash.
2. The user finds the Code
Once the device desired for programming is chosen, the appropriate code for the particular unit is needed.
Codes for most manufacturers and brands can be found in the back of the remote control user manual. Satellite subscribers can also typically go online to their provider's website and if all else fails, contact the manufacturer of your remote to get the necessary codes.
3. Program the Device
Using the keypad on the remote control, enter the number that's listed first for the device. When this is finished, enter the appropriate key to indicate completion of input. For some remotes, this might be the asterisk (*) while other remotes might use the pound key (#). The mode light on the remote control will flash again and, if the code was correct, the device can now be controlled with the remote control. The user should test the results by turning the power on and off. Does it work? If so, the device is now programmed.
There is no cause for alarm if the code doesn't work the first time.
Remotes come with several codes for the various device brands. If the first code doesn't work, start over using the next code and the next and the next until the right one is discovered and the device is programmed.
What if the device isn't listed at all? Look through the list for "general" codes. If those codes are not found, then try scanning for the device. The user manual should have specific advice for devices without a listed code.
Written by David Johnson

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The New Nikon D700

The Nikon D700 is the newest addition to the Nikon D series digital cameras. The primary distinction between the D700 and its earlier D series digital cousins is the size of the sensor. The D700 is really a true 35mm format with a digital sensor that's a 23.9mm by 36mm. Nikon has designated the new format as FX as opposed to DX for its earlier digital SLR cameras.
Whenever you take into consideration all of the features obtainable plus the truth that the D700 will use nearly any Nikon lens produced since 1974, the D700 offers considerable bang for the serious amateur or working professional's buck.
If your stable of Nikon lens contains both FX and DX lens, both might be utilized on the D700 even though if a DX lens is utilized, the camera will sense this and if Auto DX crop is selected inside the Image Region menu, the camera will automatically set the correct picture region for that lens.
Some plus elements of the Nikon D700 are these:
1. It'll permit you to use your older 35mm Nikon lens in their true format.
2. Most of the camera's control functions are similiar to earlier Nikon D series cameras. Thus, in the event you own or have owned a D100, D200 or D300 for instance, most of the controls might be familiar.
three. It's considered to be an advanced amateur's or professional user's camera and simply because of its size and weight, the D700 is considered by a lot of to be ideal for the wedding photographer.
4. If the user is so inclined, the camera might be utilized with the settings as shipped from the factory and for most circumstances the D700 will do an exceptional job.
5. The camera is shipped with an exceptional user's manual.
Cons: none! To date, my D700 has taken 2000+ photographs and has functioned flawlessly.
This article only scratches the surface of the features readily available on the D700 and its predecessor the D300. I might be exploring some of these features in future articles and presenting my findings.
Author: BartNortonn

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The R4 SDHC card

Team R4 SDHC R4 SDHC card is the first memory card corner to accept greater than 2GB. It ds tt card can accept more high capacity (HC) memory cards, hence the name of R4 SDHC. It is now a standard set of memory cards high capacity to accept, but the R4 SDHC is the card has taken the lead.
At the time, 8GB Micro-SDHC credit history cards experienced been just commencing to emerge inside the industry also to the quantity of customers that flooded in the direction of R4 to hold benefit of the produced it a specific contender to the quickest marketing DS card in the time, alongside the reliable R4v2 also to the DSTT card. The only obvious downside in the direction of R4 SDHC card was that merely because within of the heightened memory space capacity, loading instances inside the card experienced been around 6 to 8 seconds, a whole whole lot slower compared to a few of to three seconds generally witnessed inside the R4v2 also to the DSTT.
Recently, in the commencing of June in 2010, the R4 SDHC celebration unveiled a producer new iteration using the card, dubbed the 2.10T version. The card at first baffled some using the neighborhood primarily since the packaging altered to some gold color not as opposed to the infamous clone "R4i Gold" card. The wording near to the card was also deliberately dstt card altered from "R4 Revolution" to "R4 Renovation". The guide to for these modifications was the fact that structure using the card alone was totally re-done so the celebration preferred to distinguish the more mature dark box away from your new one as considerably as possible.
Loading instances concerning the card experienced been slashed to an amazing 3-4 seconds along using the card alone is produced from the stronger, slightly lighter plastic material with factors rearranged to provide the card even even more mechanised stability. The interface was also altered to closely mimic the standard R4i SDHC (the sister card in the R4 that is compatible on newer Nintendo DSi and DSi XL consoles). The operation in the card alone has remained the same, but comer the app is now compatible with newer software programs and dstt card film games on top of that to getting faster.
Author: cattyboy

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Dreambox Receiver

Linux based DVB receivers are a rare phenomenon. The first of its kind is the Dreambox DM 500-S. This is the only customizable DVB receiver and is a user friendly option for the customer. There is also a feature by which it can be connected to an Ethernet modem R232. The receiver has now become quite famous across the country with many offers for the same. There is a decrease in the sales of the other DVB receivers with this advent. Here, we can have a short technical discussion about the Dreambox 500-S and some of its major features.
With an astounding 250 Mega Hertz Power PC processor, the Dreambox 500-S supports a wide range of video text. There is even support given for the electronic program guide which aids the functionality of the LNB switching control system. The Linux operating system makes the Dreambox a unique one and also provides an option of Smart Card reader. The Smart card functions with the usual routine to receive the signal with SIM present inside it. The Smart Card needs to be inserted into the Dreambox 500-S slot which is provided.
The Dreambox 500-S has a 32 Mega Byte of RAM which is considered to be the fastest one for any of the satellite receivers. The previous editions of the satellite receivers had 16 to 22 Mega Byte of the Random Access Memory which can process a whole lot of data at a very rapid rate. The Dreambox also has the usual support for a wireless radio within it which can be operated with the help of remote control. The customization can be made in order to support an unlimited range of channels in the Dreambox.
The next advancement is the Dreambox 800 which projects itself as the Dreambox HD - High Definition in the picture clarity. There is a whole lot of expectation for the same and hence the release of the same is spectacular. The Dreambox 800 has a suitable pair up with the LCD and the LED televisions which can project the high definition in the right output as expected.
The Dreambox 500 is the smallest digital Linux SetTopBox receiver with a card reader. Dreambox hd is the first Linux receiver to have High definition and a PVR capability.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Steyferd

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Dreambox Wifi Adapter

The Dreambox WiFi Bridge is the perfect accessory for every dreambox owner. Make you dreambox instantly wireless with our unique product. It works also with many other recievers including Azbox, Ipbox, Starview, Humax, Vu+ Duo, etc. It work on any Satellite Receiver that has power of between DC5V-15V Power.
Key Features:

    * It Supports WEP (64 bit), WEP (128 bit), WPA, WPA2 security.
    * Easy Setup – 5 Minute Setup
    * Very small and compact (9cm x 5cm x 1.5cm).
    * Full Support available.
    * Works on all STB’s
    * Works on Xbox 360 via USB to Power Converter.

Box Contents:

    * Dreambox Wifi Bridge
    * Driver CD

Specification:

    * 1 x 10/100 base Ethernet cable header
    * 1 x USB Port for power in
    * 1 x DC-2.0 female power port for power in
    * 1 x DC-2.0 male power port for power out
    * Input Voltage: DC5V-15V
    * Consumed Power: Less than 1.5W
    * Transmission Distance Indoor: 30m

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Multimedia's Dreambox Receiver

The Dreambox 500 is the smallest receiver that was made back in 2005-2006 but have now been discontinued due to the huge amount of Chinese dreambox clones available on the market. DM500 is also the most popular dreambox today. The Dreambox 500 runs on open source software found on various CVS site and compiling an image is fairly easy, the hard part is the programming of extra panels such as the blue button on Gemini Images. Fake dreamboxs are flooding the satellite tv market and you have to be careful when purchasing a dreambox online in the event it could be a fake! Make sure you check it it has the new hologram.
The Second most popular dreambox is the DM800 HD, which is of course Dream Multimedia's first High Definition receiver on the market and currently the best seller "original" receiver from Dream. A few months after its release it was stormed with bad reviews from people saying problems such as "overheating" or "The graphics interface keeps freezing", all these failures made it a poor build. The Original DM800 HD costs an average of £299 in the UK, €350 in Europe and $399 in the United States. Clone DM800 HD would be have the price of Original's.
The dreambox is an easily adaptable satellite TV, cable TV or terrestrial TV receiver which runs on open source and supported by thousands of forums throughout the world, in particular in Europe. There are custom firmware's such as Gemini, Pli-Images, Nabilosat, Peterpan, oZooN and many more which make it possible for users to install emulators such as CCcam or OSCam to watch encrypted satellite TV by sharing keys through the internet.
Another well-liked dreambox model may be the DM8000 HD, the top of the range dreambox. The DM 8000 supports multiple High definition HD TV standards, including MPEG4/H.264. A better power supply device is actually incorporated that will finally solve all previous PSU-related difficulties for good. The USB 2 hardware port is also included as well as the regular RS232 serial port as well as Fast Ethernet interface. It appears like the front of the box may house a multi-function (ten) greeting card readers to be able to very easily load/access data, photos, mp3 etc. The Lcd display has increased in dimensions to 3,5x five.five centimetres. Open Linux system remains the operating system, however it will likely be packaged within an 'easier to use form'.

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Channels Through Satellite TV on the Web

Have you just moved from the city to a country house with no satellite TV connection? Or maybe you're a university student stuck in a dorm or shared flat without a satellite dish and you're stuck with just 5 regular channels. If you're a sports fan in a home without your regular live update channels or a soap opera fanatic without reruns then life can become incredibly tedious, but you do have a choice. You could spend a few hundred dollars to buy your own satellite TV setup and pay the monthly fees on all of your favorite channels or you could simply pay a one off payment and download the latest entertainment package, satellite TV for PC software. So what is this? As long as you have a relatively good internet connection you can have completely free access to over 3000+ channels from around the globe, including all the major sports, movie and news channels for your viewing pleasure.But how is this possible? Well the developers have taken advantage of a loop hole in the system, so you'll never have to pay a monthly subscription fee to receive all that exclusive viewing and best of all it is completely legal.
Advantages of a Satellite TV for PC software - If you're reading this then you've probably had a standard satellite TV connection of your own at some point in the past, you'll also know that these connections require setting up and the occasional maintenance. A regular satellite TV package will set you back a few hundred dollars and that's not including the price of your monthly channel subscriptions. This is where a PC satellite TV connection benefits you the most, there are no additional extras included or a hefty monthly fee; all you need to pay is a one off price for the software and you'll get thousands of major channels broadcasted to your desktop.
Just think about it your regular satellite TV connection gives you a selection of about 600 – 800 different channels, many of which are plain rubbish; the PC alternative gives you all your favorite channels as well as local and cable channels from 78 different countries.
The great thing about using a PC as your viewing platform is the extra flexibility that it gives you, for example you could easily set it up to record your favorite movie, which could then be burnt onto DVD for your own personal viewing later on. Also if you're not a fan of viewing programs on the computer screen, simply connect the graphics card out to your TV's video in port; this can be done using a standard video connector. When searching for the best satellite TV to PC software type a good tip is to pick those that offer high definition video streaming, this means that the picture will be closer to DVD quality than any of the others.
IF you're thinking of switching to the new satellite TV for PC then it will pay to do a little research before settling on one brand. As with all other popular products there are several rogue traders out their who are selling low quality satellite TV for PC software types, you don't want to start the program only to find that all the channels are spoken in a language that you don't understand. Search for customer testimonials and user reviews, weighing up the good and bad comments.
Conclusion - With things being the way they are more people are looking to cut costs in terms of leisure activities, the satellite TV for PC software appears to offer a service that is the same as and in some ways better than the traditional satellite TV packages. Currently you are legally allowed to purchase and download this software and use it to access thousands of paid for channels from around the world for a very low cost, but who knows whether this will change once the large networks catch wind of what is going on.

Submitted By: Robert Kokoska - Isnare Articles

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Sharp flat-panel TVs

SEATTLE – If you're in the market for a new flat-panel TV, it's a good time to buy.
TV prices usually drop from year to year, and the decline will be sharp this season thanks to a supply glut. Consumers have been holding out all year for better deals, leaving lots of unsold televisions on the shelves. Prices for high-definition LCD TVs will fall more than twice as fast as they have so far this year as manufacturers and retailers clear out inventory, analysts predict.
New sets will also be cheaper because TV makers have been getting great deals on the most expensive parts, the glass LCD panels.
However, DisplaySearch analyst Paul Gagnon expects prices for those components to level off early next year, so discounts won't be this steep again until the holidays next year, or even later.
For the consumer, that means that if you pull the trigger on a new set in the next few months, you probably won't be kicking yourself next year for not waiting a little longer.
The law of supply and demand is at work here:
• A TV-buying spree in late 2009 led to component shortages, which kept prices high in early 2010. That discouraged consumers.
• Makers of LCD panels invested profits from last year's buying spree in more manufacturing capacity. Thinking 2010 would be as strong as 2009, they flooded the market. But the economy didn't improve as expected.
• As a result, there's an oversupply of panels, and prices started dropping over the summer. That means cheaper sets should be making their way to stores now.
Already, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has slashed prices for some older models. Among the deals: a 32-inch Vizio set that went to $298 from $348. Amazon.com Inc. and Best Buy Co. are starting to advertise deals, too.
Some of the best deals this season will be on 32-inch LCD TVs, the most popular size. They will sell for rock-bottom rates of $300 or less, compared with about $400 last year. That's because manufacturers are selling raw panels of that size for only slightly more than the cost of making them — $160 to $170 each, far less than the $210 to $220 they fetched earlier this year.
Prices for 40-inch and 42-inch sets will drop about 20 percent, approaching $500, said Gagnon, the DisplaySearch analyst.
Deep price cuts also are coming for higher-end models, including LCD TVs with LED backlights, which use less energy than regular sets and can be thinner or provide improved picture quality. Manufacturers have increased production capacity for parts specific to LED sets; that will drive down prices for components and, ultimately, the TVs themselves.
Overall, good deals will be 15 percent to 20 percent lower than holiday 2009 prices for regular LCD TVs. The price drop had been slimmer at 7 percent earlier this year, Gagnon says, and the decline should return to the single digits by spring.
Of course, the longer a buyer waits, the lower the prices go. But that has to be weighed against the value of having a new TV. If a 32-inch set turns out to be $20 cheaper next summer, the buyer could have gotten six months of better TV for $20.
"In this industry you always know that in the future, you will buy new technology at a lower price. That's not the point," said Sweta Dash, an analyst at iSuppli Corp. "Especially this holiday, the price you will see is very good."

By JESSICA MINTZ, AP Technology

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Phones Worth the Purchase

The invention of mobile phones is probably one of the best things that have ever happened to mankind. Today the world of communication has become a cake walk process only because of these phones. The latest mobile phones in UK  are now brought in so as to provide you with a larger variety of phones that are capable of performing any kind of functions you desire. The handsets come with great looks and spectacular features that make it worth the purchase.
The mobile phone market is flooded with a number of brands and companies that thrive in order to provide great satisfaction to the customers. They manufacture phones that please the buyer so that more and more people are magnetized. This helps them fight tough competition. Some of the very well known brands are Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Blackberry, Samsung, Apple and HTC. All these brands have worked hard and long to earn a stable and good name amongst the crowd. These companies today can provide you with any kind of phone simply because they have sufficient funds and resources to do so.
The phones of today can great specification and features like a camera, music player, internet access, FM radio, organizer, calculator, convertor, touch screen display, sensors, QWERTY keypads and many such features that enhance its performance and usage. These phones can be used economically with the help of service providers like those of Vodafone, Virgin, orange, T mobile, O2 and 3. These companies offer deals and contracts that can be undertaken by the user so that he can avail all eh additional perks and benefits offered to him.
The latest phones can also be bought over the internet. One can easily do his research by surfing through various websites and buy any phone through the online portals that suits his liking.
Anne Frank is associated with contract mobile phones. Please Visit here to know more about mobile Phone deals, mobile phones, mobile phone free gifts.
Author: Anne

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iPhone App Development

I think it is now a fact that Apple's iPhone was the pioneer in making the mobile application development a huge success globally. iPhone developers have developed some incredible applications for the growing iPhone consumer base (more than 100,000 applications and still counting). There is now doubt that the iPhone sales have crossed 4 million and is one of the highest selling smart phones ever. With such a big user base already out there, you know it makes sense to build apps for this platform. Developers developing app for this platform will generally have a good sales figure because of the organized app store, iTunes, which has already sold 1 billion apps.
Every mobile application developer wants a stable inflow of cash from the apps they have developed. One of the best bets would be to develop iPhone applications by yourself and upload it in the iTunes store. There are several advantages of having your own iPhone app in the app store, such as:
1. Widely accepted platform: The operating system on which iPhone applications run are tried and tested by the majority of developers around the world. Developers working with iPhone apps are easily available too. As such, finding the right developer for your app would be an easy task comparing between the available choices based on their skill set and the development charge for their services.
2. Availability of huge variety of apps: Browse through the categories on the iTunes store and you will know why iPhone users say, "There's an app for that", for almost any task that one can perform using the iPhone. It is sure to leave your mind-boggled. You can get applications just for anything and that's one of the reason of the popularity of the iPhone apps. From currency converters to interactive games, you can have apps of almost any kind developed for this platform.
3. Cost Effective: Any type of iPhone application you develop are bound to get sold because you will always get users looking for just that type of app. If you can market your app, then its icing on the cake! Whenever your app gets downloaded from the store, you will earn a good amount as commissions (rest of the amount Apple gets). This is a sure shot profitable investment for iPhone developers.
So if you have any application idea, you need to get a good iPhone application development company. Get hold of a reputed iPhone development company so you get the best quality in the developed apps.

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