Best Apple Spoof of 2008 - Grand Theft Auto IV

As 2008 comes to an end, we thought we’d look back at one of the best Apple spoofs from the last year. And the winner, hands down, is Grand Theft Auto IV.

GTA IV hit like a bombshell when it was released in April, received a ton of accolades, and subsequently won a few “Game of the Year” awards. But even in the midst of all the killing and violence, GTA IV came through with the great biting social commentary that we’ve come to expect from Rockstar. Check out these pics from the game (from an Internet cafe) which do a great job of mocking Apple and users of Apple products.

Check out the iMac, and the browsers close resemblance to Safari. But the real ‘gold’ lies in the description of this fictional company called “Fruit”:

Think Simple. Think Minimalism. Think Overpriced.

YOU ARE FINALLY LIVING. DESIGN HAS EVOLVED TO MAKE YOUR LIFE WORTH LIVING.

Funny shit. But it doesn’t end there.

The new IFRUIT Phone is advertised with the following tagline

“No buttons. No reception. No Storage Capacity. All Ego”

Who would have thought GTA IV would have predicted the iPhone 3G reception fiasco a full 3 months ahead of time!

Google's New Year Logo - 2009

iPhone Final Fantasy: Huge Control Pad and Tiny Game Screen

Final Fantasy: Crystal Defenders has arrived for the iPhone/iPod in the App store just in time for Christmas. There are demo version and full version available. The demo version is getting poor user reviews primarily because of poor user interface. The primary game screen consists of a huge virtual keypad and the tiny game screen, each taking half of screen space on the iPhone. Although players can tilt the iPhone game screen to landscape mode and get a larger game screen, they can’t add defenders or level up defenders while in the landscape mode. It is awkward to be tilting the iPhone back and forth just to play the game. The demo also only allows for 3 job classes. That makes the demo substantially less enjoyable.

Aside from the poor user interface. Crystal Defenders really is a good Tower Defense game with familiar Final Fantasy characteristics. When combined with a maximum of 8 job classes in a single game, killing those Final Fantasy monsters can be a lot of fun. Soldiers and Monks run around their posts inflicting damage to monsters while thieves join the fray by pillaging fallen enemies for twice the usual gil (gold). Dragoons, Black mages, Time mages, Archers, and other also aid in your task preventing those pesky monsters from getting to the other side. Finally, if those monsters are a little too much, unleash the summons to eliminate those monsters.

There are 3 different play modes in Crystal Defenders, each mode gives you additional maps, jobs, options, and summons. Each map has an easy and an advanced version. In W2 and W3 mode, the ability to use field crystals is added. Those crystals can add attack strength, range, or speed to neighboring defenders.

Crystal Defenders is a fun and challenging game. A fine addition to the Tower Defense category. However, the developers at SquareEnix really should be learning about optimal iPhone user interface for games. Staring at the tiny game screen for so long may make someone go blind! If SquareEnix doesn’t want lawsuits coming their way, fix the tiny gameplay screen and the big virtual keypad! Tap Defense and Fieldrunners are great iPhone tower defense games with excellent user interface!

Wal-Mart to start selling iPhones on Sunday

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it will start selling Apple Inc's iPhone on Sunday, but the popular cell phones that can surf the web will not be priced as low as some anticipated.

Wal-Mart plans to sell the black 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G model, which also holds about 2,000 songs, for $197. The 16-gigabyte model, in black or white, will be priced at $297. All of the phones require a new two-year service agreement from AT&T Inc or a qualified upgrade, Wal-Mart said.

The move gives Apple the chance to reach millions of Wal-Mart shoppers who may not be as familiar with the company's products.

Wal-Mart typically appeals to a lower-income group of shoppers than those who buy Apple's Macintosh computers, iPods and iPhones, which are typically more expensive that other PCs and music players. But the world's largest retailer has also lured new customers seeking low prices in a recession.

Wal-Mart used discounts to draw in millions of cash-strapped shoppers during the holiday season. It was among the first to advertise its deals this fall, including hot electronics such as flat-screen televisions.

Numerous websites had previously speculated that Apple would offer a 4-gigabyte model of the iPhone for $99 at Wal-Mart stores. But the phones being sold at Wal-Mart are the same ones already on the market, for about $2 below the prices offered at other locations.

AT&T, the exclusive U.S. wireless service provider for iPhone, currently sells the cheapest version for $199 for a model with 8 gigabytes of storage, and $299 for the 16-gigabyte version. AT&T declined to comment.

KEEPING THE TRAFFIC

Wal-Mart was one of few U.S. retailers whose sales fared well in the weeks after U.S. Thanksgiving and it is trying to keep shoppers coming back to its stores after Christmas. It ran a commercial on Friday morning showing a mother taking her son to Wal-Mart to spend the gift card he got for the holiday.

While the commercial did not refer to iPhones, it did show the pair heading into the electronics section of a Wal-Mart store.

Wal-Mart's move may put pressure on Best Buy Co Inc, the largest consumer electronics retailer. Until now, Best Buy had been the only retailer besides Apple's own stores and AT&T stores selling the iPhone.

Best Buy currently the 8-gigabyte iPhone on sale for $189.99 and the 16-gigabyte version for $289.99, each priced $10 less than their usual price at Best Buy.

Wal-Mart also said its stores could match local competitors' advertised prices during a promotional period.

The phones will be available in nearly 2,500 stores beginning Sunday, December 28.

Apple posted a stronger-than-expected 26 percent rise in fiscal fourth-quarter profit in October, spurred by strong sales of the faster, next-generation iPhones. Apple sold 6.89 million iPhones during the quarter, which ended on September 27.

Shares of Apple rose 81 cents to $85.85 in morning trading, while Wal-Mart rose 2 cents to $55.46. Best Buy was flat at $26.70.

International web services improve after cable cut (AFP)

PARIS (AFP) - A French ship on Saturday took experts to repair broken undersea Mediterranean cables that caused severe disruption to telephone and Internet services across the Middle East and Asia, France Telecom said.

But many operators said communications services had improved as alternative routes had been used to carry calls and Internet information.

The France Telecom cable ship Raymond Croze left Seyne-sur-Mer, southern France, on Friday night and was expected to be on the scene of the damage, between Sicily and Tunisia, on Monday, a spokesman said.

Egypt was one of countries worst affected by Friday's incident, but state news agency MENA reported that Internet communications there would be restored to more than half of normal capacity on Saturday.

Egypt announced on Friday that it was re-routing Internet services to back-up cables and satellite.

The disruption also affected countries as far away as Singapore, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, but most reported services returning to normal on Saturday.

The cables are jointly owned by several dozen different countries. One cable is 40,000 kilometres (25,000 miles) long and links 33 different countries while a second is 20,000 kilometres long and serves 14 states.

An official of Mumbai-based Reliance Communications blamed a ship's anchor dragging off the Egyptian port of Alexandria. France Telecom also said this was a "probable" cause of the disruption.

One cable appeared to be fully severed, while the other two seemed to be only partially cut, he added.

France Telecom said that temporary re-routing of communications had reduced the disruption for clients, especially as traffic was lower at the weekend. Business communication links between Europe and India had been diverted via the United States.

YouTube launches HD video page

YouTube announced Thursday that it has launched a new landing page to corral all the high-definition video uploaded to the site.

Along with the new page, YouTube's HD player now launches in a widescreen window that takes up the majority of the browser window. YouTube posted an FAQ on how to how to encode HD videos and how to avoid "windowboxing"--images that are surrounded by black bars.

The video-sharing site quietly rolled out HD-enabled videos earlier this month by adding a "watch in HD" option where the "watch in high quality" option usually appears. Last month, the site began expanding the viewable width of all videos appearing on the site, creating an image like that of a movie theater screen or high-definition television.

The site is also testing three new landing pages dedicated to the popular categories of news, movies, and music. Each page will be populated with the most popular content on the site related to that category, YouTube explained on a company blog:

The news page will be populated with breaking stories from around the world as well as news drawn from the Google News service; music will feature rising videos alongside playlists dedicated to different genres; movies will showcase some of the most popular short and full-length movies on YouTube today.

The popular "Where the hell is Matt?" video looks stunning in HD.

(Credit: YouTube)

iPhone users love their Wi-Fi

A new report from the mobile advertising company Admob says that 42 percent of iPhone Internet requests came from Wi-Fi hot spots rather than AT&T's 3G wireless network in November. This is quite a bit higher than most Wi-Fi capable phones, which typically average about 10 to 20 percent.

(Credit: Apple)

Several bloggers say they think iPhone users are gravitating toward Wi-Fi more because AT&T's 3G network is not up to snuff. Om Malik at GigaOm said AT&T's 3G service was as unpredictable as Lindsay Lohan's mood.

But I don't really think that is the issue. Personally, I haven't had many problems accessing the data network from my iPhone in New York City. I have had dropped calls. But for the most part, whether I'm on Wi-Fi or AT&T's 3G network, downloading e-mail or accessing the Web from my phone works pretty well.

I think there are two reasons why iPhone users are opting for Wi-Fi when it's available. And these reasons could provide some interesting lessons for phone manufacturers and wireless carriers.

For one, accessing a Wi-Fi access point on the iPhone is easy. I have Wi-Fi access turned on on my phone. Whenever I fire up the browser or download e-mail, a list of available networks pops up. If I'm home or in a network I've already been on, most times the phone will automatically connect via Wi-Fi instead of the 3G network. I don't have to really think about it. It just happens. So most times, as a user, I'm not consciously deciding to use Wi-Fi or not.

But whether I choose a Wi-Fi network or not, downloads from the Wi-Fi network are noticeably faster, which is why I have the Wi-Fi option turned on in the first place.

So what does this really mean for wireless operators? I think it's pretty obvious. Wireless users want fast networks, especially when they're using a device like the iPhone, which is made for the Internet. They want to browse Web pages and download e-mails quickly. If Wi-Fi is the fastest network available, then people will use it. If AT&T is able to significantly increase the speeds on its network, which the company promises it will do soon, then people will use that network.

I also think Admob's findings might serve as a cautionary signal to Verizon Wireless, which has opted not to support Wi-Fi on some of its hottest phones, such as the BlackBerry Storm. Verizon said the Storm, which is a touch screen smartphone that competes head-to-head with the iPhone, didn't include Wi-Fi support because it would eat up too much battery life and make the device too bulky.

But I think the lack of Wi-Fi may prove to be a negative for the Strorm, as it could be one factor that pushes some consumers toward the iPhone, if they're considering both devices. The thing is I'm not really sure why Verizon is resisting Wi-Fi. It's true that a device with Wi-Fi capability may access free hot spots rather than the 3G cellular network, but since AT&T and Verizon Wireless require customers sign up for data plans when they purchase these devices, I don't see the carriers really losing any money if consumers use free Wi-Fi hot spots for data downloads. In fact, the carriers may actually benefit from their customers using Wi-Fi more, because it puts less strain on their wireless data networks.

The real issue could be that Verizon is afraid of voice over IP services like Skype and Truphone, which allow users to bypass the carrier network to make free and low-cost phone calls.

Apple sued over Apple TV

A maker of wireless set-top boxes has filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company hired away three employees with knowledge of technology that would be included in Apple TV.

In a six-page complaint filed Tuesday with the Illinois Northern Federal District Court, EZ4Media claims Apple TV, AirPort Express, and Macintosh computers infringe on patents owned by the set-top box maker. The patents--specifically 7,130,616, 7,142,934, 7,142,935, and 7,167,765--were obtained in March by EZ4Media from Universal Electronics, according to a report in InformationWeek, which first reported the suit.

In its suit, Bannockburn, Ill.-based EZ4Media claims Apple hired three former Universal Electronics employees-- Nick Kalayjian, Bruce Edwards, and Wendy Goh--during the development of Apple TV.

"Each of these employees had access to (Universal's) confidential and proprietary information and left (Universal) for Apple within 30 days of each other in the second quarter of 2005," the complaint says. "Apple TV was commercially introduced in September 2006."

Kalayjian, who now works at Tesla Motors, told InformationWeek that he wasn't involved in the development of Apple TV and declined to comment further.

EZ4Media seeking an injunction prohibiting Apple from further acts of infringement, as well as "damages adequate to compensate it for the infringement that has occurred, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty."

This is not the first lawsuit EZ4Media has filed over these patents. In June, the company filed two suits, the first against Logitech, Netgear, and D-Link, and the second against Samsung, Pioneer, Yamaha, D&M Holdings, and Denon. Samsung was dropped from the lawsuit after an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.

Apple representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Universal Music seeing 'tens of millions' from YouTube

YouTube's traffic machine may finally be turning into a cash machine.

For the first time, there are signs that YouTube is driving significant revenue for itself and some of the video site's partners. In an interview with CNET News this week, Rio Caraeff, executive vice president of Universal Music Group's eLabs, said the largest of the top recording companies is bringing in "tens of millions of dollars" from YouTube.

"(YouTube) is not like radio, where it's just promotional," said Caraeff, who heads up Universal's digital group. "It's a revenue stream, a commercial business. It's growing tremendously. It's up almost 80 percent for us year-over-year in the U.S. in terms of our revenue from this category."
"Doug Morris, Universal's CEO, has led the industry to set up videos as a revenue stream. Since 2005, Universal has gone from making zero dollars on music videos to nearly $100 million."

Universal, the home of such acts as Akon, the Black Eyed Peas, and U2, has a two-part licensing deal with YouTube, as do the other major labels. Under the deal, the recording companies post music videos on the site and share advertising revenue with YouTube. The two companies also share ad revenue for music posted to the site by users.

"YouTube is the ideal place for labels to promote music and for fans to discover new artists and old favorites," said Chris Maxcy, YouTube's partner development director. "We're committed to being a good partner to music labels and are pleased they're having success on the site."

Caraeff declined to give specifics on Universal's deal with YouTube, but a music industry source close to the label said Universal will likely book nearly $100 million in revenue from video streaming this year. That figure includes video-streaming money from all of the company's partners, such as iMeem, MTV, and MySpace. The source said, however, that most of the cash comes from YouTube.

Universal is starting to see some significant cash from its deal with the video-sharing site for two reasons: first, YouTube's recent efforts to find a business model are working. The other is that music, by far the strongest single segment on YouTube, has always been a major draw.

"It's really coming to fruition I think in part due to YouTube's recent focus on monetization," Caraeff said, "and really trying to drive revenue around premium content more so than they have in the history of their short existence. They have finally turned their spotlight on 'How do we turn this into a business?' And that's benefiting the entire ecosystem of content owners as well."

This year, Google CEO Eric Schmidt pledged to wring more profits out of YouTube. Google paid $1.65 billion for the video-sharing powerhouse in October 2006. In the two years since, YouTube appeared to take tentative steps toward generating revenue while trying to avoid alienating users with too many ads.

This year, the company has become more aggressive. Among the long list of changes was last month's announcement that YouTube would sell keyword search terms. To make the site more attractive to advertisers as well as video producers, YouTube has improved the quality of video and rolled out a test version of a wide-screen player. More importantly, YouTube has improved the quality of its filtering technology so unauthorized copies of television shows and films can be removed quickly by copyright owners.

But the big question is whether the growth in music-video revenue says more about the music industry than it does about YouTube.

Universal's YouTube channel is overwhelmingly the largest on the video site. The record label is the all-time most viewed channel, with nearly 3 billion views. Second-place Sony BMG, the second largest recording company, trails by more than 2 billion views with 485 million total views.

Of the top 10 channels on YouTube, 7 are music related. They include channels from Warner Bros. Records, Soulja Boy, and Disney's Hollywood Records.

Only a few years ago, the record labels saw music videos as promotional vehicles only. Some argue one of the music industry's biggest mistakes was giving videos away to MTV nearly 30 years ago. Doug Morris, Universal's CEO, has led the industry to set up videos as a revenue stream. Since 2005, Universal has gone from making zero dollars on music videos to nearly $100 million.

"Certainly, in the last year the rise of free to consumer ad-supported video has become a very significant part of our business coming from a variety of areas," Caraeff said. "YouTube is driving a very large quantity of that... We have a great relationship with YouTube, and the future for us will be more than with YouTube than we're doing today.

"We're working with them on a variety of new concepts and new businesses to take the groundwork we've done in the last year and half and do a lot more with it," he added. "I wouldn't expect to see us just do business with YouTube like we used to do."

Oracle still looks strong despite 2Q earnings dip (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO - Oracle Corp.'s earnings are weakening for the first time in years, but the business software maker still may be in reasonably good shape despite the economy's terrible condition.

After buying dozens of smaller rivals since 2004, Oracle has assembled a lucrative line of recurring revenue from product updates to help tide it over even if its sales of new software licenses deteriorate in the deepening recession.

Oracle's maintenance contracts account for about half of its business, generating more than $11 billion in annual revenue — a cushion that so for has enabled Oracle to avoid the mass layoffs and other austerity measures being imposed at many other technology companies.

"From an investment perspective, I can't think of a better place to be hiding out than Oracle in this uncertain technology environment," said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle.

Some investors seemed to agree late Thursday after Oracle's second quarter earnings mirrored analyst estimates and management felt confident enough about the next few months to provide guidance in line with Wall Street's projections. Oracle shares gained 49 cents, or nearly 3 percent, in extended trading after finishing the regular session at $16.61, down 13 cents.

The Redwood Shores-based company said it earned $1.3 billion, or 25 cents per share in the three months ended in November. The net income dipped by $7 million from the same time last year while the earnings per share remained the same.

Although it was negligible, the erosion marked Oracle's first quarterly profit decline in three years.

But Oracle's profit in the latest quarter would have risen by 10 percent, if not for wild currency swings driven by the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Investors focus on another number anyway — Oracle's earnings after subtracting expenses for employee stock compensation and its acquisition spree.

Excluding those factors, Oracle said it would made 34 cents per share, matching the average estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Oracle's revenue of $5.61 billion, up 6 percent from last year, didn't live up to analyst expectations. On average, analysts had projected revenue of $5.84 billion.

Oracle's sales of new product licenses — a key measure of a software maker's health — also slipped. Software sales totaled $1.63 billion, down 3 percent from last year.

In September, management had predicted that its software license would rise anywhere from 2 percent to 12 percent.

But that forecast didn't envision the dollar rising as rapidly as it did against the euro and other key currencies during October and November after a string of failures and other troubles at major banks triggered a financial panic.

Besides hurting its international sales, the stronger dollar had the effect of exposing more of Oracle's sales to higher U.S. tax rates — a factor that deflated the company's earnings.

"Now, of course, obviously currency was not the only news going on in the quarter in the outside world and yet we feel just extremely good about our results," Safra Catz, Oracle's co-president, told analysts in a Thursday conference call.

Oracle projected adjusted earnings of 34 cents to 36 cents per share in the current quarter ending in February. Analysts, on average, expect 34 cents per share. The company anticipates its revenue in the current quarter will rise 8 percent to 11 percent, also falling within the range of analyst expectations.

If currencies remain at the same level in the current quarter as they were in the prior year, Oracle believes its sales of new licenses should range anywhere from a 2 percent decrease to an 8 percent increase.

Other major technology companies have been laying off workers and trimming expenses in other areas to shore up profits, but Oracle isn't making any radical changes yet. In another bullish sign, Oracle is still expanding its payroll. The company ended November with 86,657 employees, adding about 1,500 workers since August.

Mobile phone market to shrink in 2009

HELSINKI: Mobile phone sales will shrink next year at their fastest pace ever as consumers cut spending, a Reuters poll showed, with analysts increasingly concerned about unsold phones piling up in stores.

On average, the poll of 36 analysts shows global market volumes shrinking 6.6 per cent next year and 5.7 per cent in the fourth quarter -- traditionally the strongest period for the industry due to holiday sales.

In a similar poll in early November analysts on average forecast the market to rise 2.6 per cent in 2009.

But since then Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, has warned twice on market growth, saying on December 4 its best guess was for sales to fall 5 per cent or more next year.

"Fear and uncertainty are causing many suppliers and consumers to delay purchasing their next handsets," said Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston.

Consumer electronics demand has slumped in the run-up to the key Christmas sales season, triggering the loss of 16,000 jobs at Sony Corp and profit warnings from Samsung Electronics Co and Texas Instruments Inc.

British electronics group Laird Plc, a component supplier for Nokia and others, on Tuesday announced the loss of 5,000 jobs, or nearly half its staff, and said it sees global handset volumes declining 10 per cent next year.

Analyst estimates varied significantly due to the uncertainties over economic growth, with 2009 forecasts ranging from a market contraction of 13 per cent to growth of 3 per cent. Only two analysts polled expect growth next year.

"A 5-10 per cent decline is the best guess at the moment," said Nordea analyst Martti Larjo. "This can move either way: if the economy continues to go downward the numbers could be worse. But while growth is not impossible, it's unlikely."

Inventories worry
The $190 billion handset market, which was born in the 1980s and became a major growth industry after a surge in t
he late 1990s, had a brief shock in 2001 when the market fell 6 per cent, its only contraction thus far.

Analysts said mobile phone makers may feel more pain this time around. When the market crashed in 2001, replacement sales tumbled but sales to first subscribers continued to grow due to the low penetration of mobile phones.

The European market -- where almost everybody has a phone and margins are fatter thanks to higher sales of technologically advanced phones -- is set to fall sharply this year and analysts say the trend will continue next year.

Sales volumes in emerging markets surpassed developed markets in 2005, and this year around two-thirds of sales are in emerging markets.

Mobile phone makers have had time to prepare for the market slowdown, but analysts said they were increasingly worried over the possible build-up of large inventories, just like in 2001.

"We fear that inventories could really exacerbate problems in the first quarter," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber.

"A number of vendors look set to try and reach targets set at the start of the year in a very different climate. That could result in a significant oversupply moving into the first quarter," Blaber said.

Analysts pointed to LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics as the most likely candidates to build-up inventories as they try to reach respective annual sales targets of 100 million and 200 million phones.

"We will reach 100 million units at all costs," the head of LG's telecom division said earlier this month.

LG is expected to sell fewer phones next year, but grab the No 3 spot in the market from Sony Ericsson.

The two largest vendors, Nokia and Samsung Electronics, are set to exit 2009 stronger than before, increasing their market shares to 39.6 percent and 17.3 per cent respectively.

Motorola is seen losing the most market share, with the wide range of estimates, from 55 million to 100.7 million phones, reflecting the uncertainties over the company's future.

Big video game fans prove crucial to the industry (AP)

NEW YORK - They stand in line outside stores waiting for midnight launches of new video games. When they get home after a long day, they plop down in front of the TV not to sit back and watch, but to play.

They're known as "core gamers." They are people like Greg Wilcox, who writes about video games and has bought roughly 100 this year, and people like Mark Hengst, who's in law enforcement and says daily gaming gives him an "interactive form of escapism." And there's Wyatt Du Frane, a geology graduate student who's been playing since he was a little boy.

"I like their scope," said Du Frane, 28, a student at Arizona State University. "A movie is only a couple of hours. A video game is more like a book or a TV series, where you can kind of continue the story."

For the video game industry, core gamers are proving crucial. Their willingness to regularly, loyally buy new titles — no matter what — gives the industry a better chance of success than other businesses that rely on discretionary spending vulnerable to the recession.

"As long as hard-core gamers have a job, they will continue to buy games," said IDC video games analyst Billy Pidgeon.

The industry's ability to lean on core gamers is a bit of a twist, because video game makers have been working hard to grow by expanding their mainstream appeal.

Families and people who haven't picked up a game controller in ages, or ever, have flocked to the easy-to-master Nintendo Wii since its 2006 launch. Taking note, Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have been expanding what their game consoles offer, adding movies and TV shows, to attract people whose idea of the perfect Sunday afternoon doesn't involve shooting aliens. Software publishers like Ubisoft Entertainment, Activision Blizzard Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. have boosted their titles aimed at young girls, families and women over 35, who have helped push game sales higher.

Yet some analysts believe it will turn out to be core gamers — who might be more reliable consumers of their favorite form of entertainment than movie buffs or sports fans, for example — who keep the industry afloat as the rest of us cut back.

Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan, estimates that core gamers buy roughly half of all video games.

"They may be wealthy, they may be poor, but they have no clue we are in a recession," Pachter said.

Wilcox — who does know we are in a recession — said he's trimmed how much he spends on video games because of it. Still, he said, "people will always be buying games." After all, added the 44-year-old New York City resident, people need entertainment.

New blockbuster titles, like the post-apocalyptic "Fallout 3," the choose-your-own-adventure epic "Fable II" and alien shooter "Gears of War 2," go for $60 each. So if they don't have a lot of cash, core gamers have to get creative by renting, trading or selling used games. Du Frane uses this strategy to often avoid paying full price for games. But at least he's still buying them: In the economic downturn, instead of pulling back on games, he's cut back on going to bars and restaurants.

"For the same price I can get a game to occupy me," he said.

Similarly, while the game industry appears to be weathering the recession better than many businesses, it certainly has felt the effects. GameStop Corp., the world's largest video game retailer, has cut its earnings targets for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in January.

Core gamers, however, were not to blame. Chief Executive Daniel Dematteo said the company reduced its outlook to reflect an uncertainty inherent in the business this time of year. For most of the year, GameStop's main customers are reliable video game fans. Around the holidays, the company's customer base briefly shifts, as gamers' friends and families start poking around GameStop shelves looking for gifts. This is when things get more unpredictable, especially in the current economy.

In fact, in a recent conference call with analysts, Dematteo pointed to the success of new games such as "Call of Duty: World at War," "Gears of War 2" and "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King." All three are targeted at game enthusiasts.

"World of Warcraft," the world's most popular online game, brings in about half of the operating profit for its publisher, Activision Blizzard, according to analysts.

"If the core gamers and the avid gamers are with us through these very unpredictable times, that's a very, very good sign for us," said R. Richard Fontaine, GameStop's chairman, during the call.

So far, so good. Americans are spending more money than ever on video games — nearly $3 billion in November, according to the NPD Group. That was a 10 percent increase from the same month last year.

In 2007, people bought $18 billion worth of games, consoles and accessories. Even with discretionary budgets shrinking, the NPD Group expects this number to grow to at least $22 billion this year.

In contrast, U.S. consumer spending on home video is going down. Spending declined 2.4 percent for the first three quarters of the year, to $14.2 billion, according to industry tracker Video Business. The decline reflects lower purchases as well as a dip in rentals. Meanwhile, major pro sports leagues have begun cutting jobs and expenses, fearing that ticket sales will drop next year.

Hengst, 31, who lives in Los Angeles, recently bought the new "Prince of Persia" and the latest "Call of Duty" video games and estimates he spends a couple of thousand dollars a year on games.

"For me it's much like why I enjoy reading so much," Hengst said. "It's a form of escapism."

Portable devices give "cloud" computing new clout (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) - Chances are the mobile phone tucked in your pocket, the lightweight laptop in your backpack, or the navigation system in your car are under a cloud.

That means much of your vital data is not just at your home, at the office or in your wallet, but can easily be accessed by hooking up to the huge memory of the Internet "cloud" with portable devices.

"There's a lot of buzz about this. Everybody wants to be connected to everything everywhere," said Laura DiDio, an analyst with Information Technology Intelligence Corp.

Cloud computing for mobile devices is taking off with the expansion of high-speed wireless networks around the world.

"You're in a car driving someplace. Not only do you want directions, you want weather reports. You want know what are the best hotels around, where are the restaurants," DiDio said.

That kind of information is available in cars -- and most other places -- via mobile phones, "netbook" laptops hooked up to wireless air cards and even high-end navigation systems.

The cloud has been around since the mid-1990s when Web pioneers such as Hotmail, Yahoo Inc and Amazon.com Inc started letting consumers manage communications, appointments and shopping via the Internet.

Expansion came after companies such as Google Inc offered free programs similar to Microsoft's Word and PowerPoint, using an ordinary PC hooked up to the Internet, or a wireless handheld computer, or phone such as Apple Inc's iPhone. Nowadays you can shoot a photo with your mobile phone and email it to a free photo-editing site such as Picnik.com. Rearden Commerce offers a "personal assistant" that manages airline bookings and restaurant reservations via Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry device.

NETBOOKS

The Internet cloud, which also stores photos, music and documents that could be lost if a mobile device or PC were damaged, also supports huge social networks such as Facebook and News Corp's MySpace.

"Cloud computing is going to accelerate. It's a no brainer," said Roger Entner, an analyst with Nielsen IAG. "The stronger the wireless networks become and the more ubiquitous they become, the easier it is to put things on the cloud."

PC makers including Dell Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Asustek Computer Inc have been successful in promoting "netbooks" -- a class of PCs introduced over the past two years that are essentially stripped down laptops, but smaller and less expensive. They are designed primarily to access the Web.

Nine of Amazon's 10 top-selling laptops are netbooks, which have little storage capacity and generally do not come with DVD drives. In the past, consumers paid a premium for smaller laptops, which often were high-end models.

"Netbooks hit an immediate sweet spot because of the price point," said Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle.

A NEW TWIST

Back in the mid-1990s, Hotmail, now owned by Microsoft Corp, pioneered the use of a Web-based service.

Today Web-based email is one of the most widely used and easily accessible cloud services.

It works on ordinary laptops and netbooks. But it is rapidly gaining traction on "smart" mobile phones that share many functions with PCs. They include sophisticated devices such as the Blackberry and iPhone, as well as a new generation of handhelds from companies that include HTC Corp, Nokia and Palm Inc.

Analysts expect Internet companies to focus more attention on cloud-based applications for consumers in 2009.

"There's no way to stop it," said Enderle of the Enderle Group. "It's just a case of getting more and more consumer offerings based in the cloud."

Scientists find hole in Earth's magnetic field

LOS ANGELES – Recent satellite observations have revealed the largest breach yet seen in the magnetic field that protects Earth from most of the sun's violent blasts, researchers reported Tuesday. The discovery was made last summer by Themis, a fleet of five small NASA satellites.

Scientists have long known that the Earth's magnetic field, which guards against severe space weather, is similar to a drafty old house that sometimes lets in violent eruptions of charged particles from the sun. Such a breach can cause brilliant auroras or disrupt satellite and ground communications.

Observations from Themis show the Earth's magnetic field occasionally develops two cracks, allowing solar wind — a stream of charged particles spewing from the sun at 1 million mph — to penetrate the Earth's upper atmosphere.

Last summer, Themis calculated a layer of solar particles to be at least 4,000 miles thick in the outermost part of the Earth's magnetosphere, the largest tear of the protective shield found so far.

"It was growing rather fast," Themis scientist Marit Oieroset of the University of California, Berkeley told an American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

Such breaches are temporary, and the one observed last year lasted about an hour, Oieroset said.

Solar flares are a potential danger to astronauts in orbit but generally are not a risk to people on the surface of the Earth.

The research was funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Scientists initially believed the greatest solar breach occured when the Earth's and sun's magnetic fields are pointed in opposite directions. But data from Themis found the opposite to be true. Twenty times more solar wind passed into the Earth's protective shield when the magnetic fields were aligned, Oieroset said.

The Themis results could have bearing on how scientists predict the severity of solar storms and their effects on power grids, airline and military communications and satellite signals.

The Themis satellites were launched to find the source of brief powerful geomagnetic disturbances in the Earth's atmosphere.

Qualcomm to launch Rs 10,000 laptop

NEW DELHI: San Diego-based wireless communications major Qualcomm will introduce its small laptop, Kayak, primarily used for accessing Internet services, in India priced at Rs 10,000 in the second half of next year.

"We will introduce Kayak Internet access platform in second half of next year and this device leverages 3G chipsets as well. The main USP is it can compute in low power scenario like India. It will cost about Rs 10, 000," Qualcomm Senior Vice-President and India head Kanwalinder Singh told PTI.

In Kayak prototype Qualcomm has designed a device capable of bringing the Internet over cell phone data networks to areas that may lack wired Internet service from cable and telephone providers.

The US-based firm, pioneer of CDMA technology, has already launched Kayak PC alternative globally.

Kayak is a reference design for building low-cost wireless-computing devices designed to fill the niche that exists between desktop PCs, which require landlines or separate accessories for connectivity and Internet-capable wireless devices.

Kayak uses Qualcomm's dual-core mobile station modem chipsets to provide both computing and connectivity, he said.

"We see developing markets like India seeking connectivity as inevitable and believe that concepts such as Kayak that leverage 3G wireless will be a key to success in helping these areas join the global online community, Singh added.

Qualcomm is pushing its phone processors into PC territories such as desktop computers after adding computing features like e-mail and web browsing onto cell phones.

Microsoft launches broken iPhone app

NEW DELHI: Microsoft has made its entry in the iPhone application market with the launch of its Seadragon Mobile image browsing software.

But alas, the company's first product for iPhone has shipped broken. In a blog a company employee informed, "The 'Browse Photosynth' functionality broke right after we submitted the app to the AppStore. Hopefully we'll get a new version with this fixed submitted to Apple in the next few days. Photosynth search and adding a user to view their Synths still works. Sorry!"

As for what the application can do: The app enables users to navigate through large images, or image collections, using the Apple iPhone's touch-screen interface.

"Want to see giga-pixel images on your iPhone? Now you can--with Seadragon mobile," wrote a company employee on Microsoft's Live Labs site, in a blog post. "Seadragon Mobile brings the same smooth image browsing you get on the PC to the mobile platform," the blogger claims.


Incidentally, so far Microsoft had held back from introducing apps for iPhone, preferring instead to focus on its own Windows Mobile platform.

So, little doubt that the software giant has left even its own employees wondering why the company did not first release Seadragon Mobile for Windows Mobile.
As Steve Clayton, a Microsoft technology manager who works on software and services projects wrote in his blog post, "It's terrific to see this innovation coming out but I have to ask myself where is the Windows Mobile version?" "Surely phones like the touch HD from HTC would benefit from this too?" wrote Clayton.

Formation of OHA and Android Open Mobile-Device platform

On November 5 2007, several technology and wireless companies jointly announced the formation of the OHA and the development of Android, a new software platform for mobile devices that includes an operating system (OS), middleware and key applications based on the Linux OS and open-source principles.

This was quickly followed on November 12 2007, with a preliminary release of the Android SDK, as part of Google's $10 million developer challenge. This will help ensure that application and access openness is maintained on the mobile Internet as effectively as on the wired network to enable Google's ad model to spread as successfully as it has on the wired Internet; to open up the "closed" mobile industry ecosystem to Google's applications; and to enable Google to exert a strong influence over the development of the next-generation mobile OS.

Fuelling the network neutrality debate

Since the US regulator (FCC) adopted four network neutrality principles designed "to encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet," Google and other Web-centric companies have been lobbying the US Congress to codify these rules in favour of something called non-discrimination in network design between the public and private Internet.

In short, Google wants regulation to ensure that the public Internet remains free from potential discrimination and content blocking but also wants equality between the public and private Internet at no cost to customers or Web companies (in essence, no quality of service).

Looking to own both static and dynamic location information

Google has been investing heavily to develop the world's most complete storehouse of geographic and mapping data supported by innovative applications that can detect mobile devices.

Google wants to be "the most-trusted source" and the best at matching up unique geographic location-based data so it can take advantage of just-in-time advertising opportunities derived from location-aware applications and bypass device manufacturers and carriers as the gatekeepers of location data.

How Google is a threat to telcos

Google's influence and market power with key telecommunications industry stakeholders is having a significant impact on the industry, says research firm Gartner.

According to Alex Winogradoff, research vice president, Gartner, Google will continue to be a market disruptor and disintermediator, especially in the communications market. "Carriers should selectively partner with Google rather than trying to compete, especially in areas where they don't have differentiated and core assets," he said. "However, carriers should also find common ground with Google (for example, on network neutrality) and, if necessary, look for creative ways to oppose Google on issues critical to their survival."

Gartner said that coming late to the operating-system and mobile markets has not been a problem for Google and that its Android and Open Handset Alliance (OHA) activities have already had a profound effect on the mobile industry. In addition to disrupting the traditional telecom ecosystem, Google's actions are diluting the market potential and the service providers' ability to profitably monetise their investments in new markets (such as entertainment and software as a service (SaaS) applications).

The research firm highlighted six critical actions by Google that have already had, or will have, the greatest impact on the telecom industry.

Google pressured the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to set aside the "C" Block (22MHz to 11MHz in the uplink and 11MHz in the downlink within the US 700MHz spectrum auctions) as an open-access spectrum. All winning "C" Block bidders would be required to provide open access to applications (which cannot be blocked) and devices (which cannot be locked).

Google's primary motivation was to encourage the development of open broadband network platforms to ensure they will be able to deliver bandwidth-intense over-the-air services and applications.

Cyber sex: Did you know this?

Internet has changed everything around us, including sex and sexual behaviour. By adding the prefix cyber to it, Internet has given a new connotation and meaning to the activity.

Having largely blossomed in Internet chat rooms, the word cyber sex today evokes a strong dislike in some, fantasy in others, and is a nuisance to many others. Some call it fun, others term it cheating, but the fact of the matter is it still remains among the top online activities for surfers.

'Cost cutting starts at Google'

SAN FRANCISCO: Internet search giant Google Inc is known for hosting the most extravagant holiday parties in Silicon Valley, often drawing crowd
s of over 10,000 and prompting some employees to post ads for party dates on classifieds website Craigslist.

But even Google has decided to scale back its holiday celebrations this year due to a global economic downturn and an ever-expanding workforce that had grown to 20,000 in October, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Silicon Valley has few reasons to celebrate this year as companies, including Hewlett Packard Co, Yahoo Inc, Sun Microsystems Inc and Applied Materials Inc, have cut over 140,000 jobs in the last few months because of the bleak economy, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas consulting group.

Google has fared better than most tech companies, but departments at the Internet company will have smaller events this year to encourage camaraderie between employees and celebrate more economically, said the source. Team holiday activities will include spending an afternoon volunteering followed by evening social activities such as dinner parties and museum outings in San Francisco.

This is a striking difference from previous years, when Google holiday parties included ice sculptures of the company's logo, virtual reality video game stations, karaoke booths, sushi buffets and burlesque dancers.

Last year a party crowd of 10,000 spread throughout the Shoreline Amphitheater, near Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, said workers -- called Googlers. A handful used the Web to find dates.

But this year only one looked for a companion in a recent search on Craigslist. Google declined to comment on this year's change.

iPhone hurt Palm cutting jobs

SAN FRANCISCO: Struggling smartphone maker Palm Inc said that it is cutting its workforce, a move the company takes as it loses market share to
rivals Apple Inc and Research in Motion Ltd.

Spokeswoman Lynn Fox said the layoffs began this week, but she declined to say how many jobs would be cut.

Palm, which employs 1,050 workers, makes the Centro and Treo smartphones. The company's marketshare has been shrinking, with RIM's BlackBerry becoming the device of choice for the business set and Apple's iPhone a consumer phenomenon.

"The goal is to consolidate resources and focus our efforts more effectively," Fox said.

Palm has been staking its future on the launch of a yet-to-be-named operating system and device. Fox said the OS is on track to be released this year, and the device in the second half of 2009.

The company has hired top talent as it tries to right itself, poaching both chairman John Rubinstein, who helped create the iPod, and senior vice president of product development Mike Bell from Apple.

But the smartphone market seems to grow more competitive by the day. News of Palm's layoffs emerged as hundreds of people lined up at stores on Friday to buy the BlackBerry’s new touchscreen phone Storm.

According to data released by ChangeWave, only 5 per cent of companies plan to buy a Palm smartphone in the next quarter, half the figure from a year ago. By contrast, 78 per cent of corporations planned to buy a RIM device and 22 per cent an iPhone.

Last week, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Palm with a sell rating, citing increasing competition and marketshare losses.

DoCoMo, KTF to sell Google phone next year: report (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc and South Korean partner KTF Co will jointly develop a smartphone using Google Inc software for launch next year, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.

DoCoMo, Japan's top mobile phone operator, is part of a global alliance to develop phones based on Google's Android platform and has been eyeing a launch in 2009.

DoCoMo owns 10 percent of KTF and the two companies have been jointly procuring handsets to cut costs.

Smartphones, which combine the capabilities of personal computers and mobile phones, have been gaining popularity in Japan, in part led by the July introduction of Apple Inc's iPhone.

DoCoMo aims to introduce the Google phone at a price about 20 percent lower than existing smartphones, as it will save costs on software development using the Android software, the report said. Google is offering the software for free.

The new phone would be the first Google phone to be sold by Japanese and South Korean carriers.

A DoCoMo spokesman said the company had not yet decided to launch an Android-based phone next year.

Japan's second-ranked wireless carrier KDDI Corp is also in the Open Handset Alliance that includes Intel Corp, eBay, LG, Motorola, Qualcomm and Samsung.

T-Mobile has already rolled out an Android-based phone called G1, made by Taiwan's HTC Corp, featuring a tough-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard, and Wi-Fi connections.

DoCoMo shares were up 1.5 percent at 160,400 yen as of 0107 GMT, while KTF shares were down 0.9 percent at 27,700 won. Japan's Nikkei average was down 1.1 percent.

iPhone sex: Google application baffled by British accents (AFP)

UK-A new voice-recognition search tool for the iPhone has problems understanding British accents, leading to some bizarre answers to spoken queries, a newspaper report and users said Wednesday.

The free application, which allows iPhone owners to use the Google search engine with their voice, mistook the word "iPhone" variously for "sex," "Einstein" and "kitchen sink," said the Daily Telegraph.

Comments left by users on the application's website seemed to confirm the problem. "Awesome job google. only problem is every time I say the word 'fish' it registers as 'sex'," wrote one, identified as Kevin.

A video demonstration of the Google Mobile App on the online giant's website shows an American engineer successfully asking for pictures of the Golden Gate as well as cinema timetables and temperature conversions.

The website also includes a link to a video showing people with Irish, British and Chinese accents asking for relatively complicated searches, with apparent success.

But British iPhone owners had less luck when speaking the word "iPhone" into the application -- a Scottish user was offered a porn website after it mistook his search for "sex," the Telegraph reported.

A user from Surrey, south of London, had his request mistaken for "myspace" and "Einstein" was another option offered for "iPhone" spoken with a Kent accent, it said.

The only British accent which correctly understood the request was for a user from Yorkshire, northern England, although he was also offered "bonfire."

A Welsh accent gave the suggestions "gorillas" and "kitchen sink."

"I've got a traditional Kentish accent and the thing kept on spitting back ridiculous things," said Roger Ellinson, 26, from Maidstone in Kent, southeastern England.

"I asked it to find my nearest pizza take away and it came back with something about volcanoes," he added.

"I asked it to find my nearest pub and it gave me a link to some kind of weird dating website," said Ellinson. "I'll have to try to put on my best American accent to get it to work."

On its website, Google points out that the new voice search system "is currently available only in U.S. English."

One British user, Edward Parsons, says on the site's comments board: "This is fantastic, except for the North American accent bias.

"It actually works pretty well, but I have to disguise my (North London) accent with a terrible folksy Texan tourist voice to get results. I can see this is going to be the source of much amusement and confusion."

HP to extend holidays to cut costs

SAN FRANCISCO: Hewlett-Packard Co has notified employees that it will extend its planned one-week holiday shutdown by an additional week as a cost-cutting measure, it said.

The majority of employees will be paid during their time off, the company said.

"Shutting down during a period when many employees traditionally take vacation helps company achieve operational savings and allows employees to enjoy more time with their family," a spokeswoman said.

The global financial crisis and slowing economy have roiled the prospects for PC makers, which are scrambling to rein in costs.

Many analysts now predict that PC shipments will fall in 2009. Some analysts have said HP was better insulated than some of its competitors from the impact of the economic downturn, because of its recurring revenue streams from services and software and limited exposure to the PC market.

The company said in September it would lay off 24,600 employees following its acquisition of Electronic Data Systems.

Earlier this month HP rival Dell Inc asked employees to consider taking up to five days of unpaid vacation as it works to cut costs.

Silicon Valley was hit with a slew of layoff announcements last week from big names such as Sun Microsystems and Applied Materials Inc.

Shares of Palo Alto, California-based HP closed down $1.12, or 3.7 per cent, at $29.34 on the New York Stock Exchange.

What went wrong with Yahoo!

Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo has announced his decision to step down from his position as chief executive officer as soon as a replacement has been appointed.

Yang's departure comes after less than 18 months at the helm. Over the past few months, Yang drew intense criticism from shareholders for failing to agree an acquisition by Microsoft early this year.

Since then, Yahoo's fortunes have continued to deteriorate. A planned search deal with Google, its best hope of getting a quick boost, fell apart after regulators objected, and the company's shares have slumped as its core display advertising market has deteriorated.

So, where did Yahoo actually go wrong?

But many of its firsts have not panned out -- Yahoo was early among major companies to seize on the social network trend popularised by MySpace and Facebook, in which Web users share messages, photos and videos with select friends. But it remained too wedded to a decade-old idea of being a one-stop Web portal to embrace the new wave.

Promised changes, from new Web search advertising technology to do battle with rival Google Inc to the hiring of Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang as CEO, have failed to yield any promising changes.

Sun to boost Microsoft's Web search

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp said that it reached a Web search deal with Sun Microsystems Inc, the latest partnership struck by Microsoft aimed at ch
ipping away at the dominance of Google Inc.

As part of this agreement, users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser who download Sun's Java technology platform will be given the option to also download the MSN Toolbar from where users can directly access the company's search engine.

Earlier this year, Microsoft also reached an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Co, the world's largest personal computer maker, to place a toolbar on new PCs in the United States and Canada starting in January.

"This deal will expose Live Search to millions more Internet users and drive increased volume for our search advertisers," said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of the Online Audience Business at Microsoft, in a statement.

Striking distribution deals are one part of Microsoft's strategy to close the gap on market leader Google. Microsoft said competition for these types of deals is intense and that the company had to outbid several rivals for the Sun deal.

Sun said the Java platform sits on more than 800 million personal computers around the world, or on 91 per cent of Internet-connected PCs worldwide. The Java Runtime Environment is downloaded tens of millions times every month, Sun said.

Google's US Web search market share reached 63 per cent in August versus a 19.6 per cent for Yahoo Inc and 8.3 per cent for Microsoft, according to comScore.

Indian IT industry is safe: Nasscom

India's IT industry does not need to worry about the current economic downturn as "we have a strong knowledge base" and the establis
hed market players here would not be affected, a top industry body official said.

"We need not worry about the slowdown in the US economy. It is all a temporary phase and very soon, the US dollar will reach a stable position," said Ganesh Natarajan, chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).

Addressing a chief executives' meeting here, he said despite the global meltdown, the Indian software business is growing at the rate of 21-24 per cent every year.

He, however, urged the IT industry leaders to look beyond the US market. "Plenty of opportunities are available in Latin America, Japan, China, Europe and also in some African nations," Natarajan said.

"By 2020, India can alone fulfil the need of technical talent of the whole world. By that time the whole world would need 43 billion technocrats while India will have 47 billion surplus technocrats," he said.

He added that huge investments have to be made to train the available talent.

According to Natarajan, the estate and retail business would feel the heat of the economic downturn. "But our IT sector is safe and would continue to grow," he said.

Web addiction a 'clinical disorder'

BEIJING: China could become the first country to classify internet addiction as a clinical disorder amid growing concern over compulsive web use
by millions of Chinese, state media said on Monday.

The health ministry is likely to adopt a new manual on Internet addiction next year drawn up by Chinese psychologists that recognises it as a condition similar to compulsive gambling or alcohol addiction, the China Daily reported.

It cited psychologists involved in drafting the diagnostic manual.

China has the world’s largest online population at 253 million people, according to official figures, and is growing rapidly as computer use rises along with income levels.

But that has also fed growing concerns over compulsive internet use.

A top Chinese legislator said in August that about 10% of China’s web users under the age of 18, or four million people, were addicted to the internet, mainly to “unhealthy” online games, state media said at the time.

Recent research by internet media company InterActiveCorp showed that 42% of Chinese youngsters polled felt “addicted” to the web, compared to 18% in the US. China has tried various measures to regulate the booming online gaming market and curb Web use by teens.

In 2006, it ordered all Chinese internet game manufacturers to install technology in their games that demands players reveal their real name and identification number.

Apple, IBM spat over exec turns ugly

SAN FRANCISCO: US District Court judge in New York ordered a newly hired Apple Inc executive to stop work immediately because he might be violat
ing an agreement with his former employer, IBM.

Federal District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains ordered that Mark Papermaster "immediately cease his employment with Apple Inc until further order of this court."

Apple announced on Tuesday that Papermaster would lead the engineering teams making Apple's highly successful iPods and iPhones and that he would report directly to Chief Executive Steve Jobs. On Friday it said he would cease work for now.

"We will comply with the court's order but are confident that Mark Papermaster will be able to ultimately join Apple when the dust settles," a spokesman said.

Karas said Papermaster could submit any objections to his order by Tuesday and he set another hearing for November 18.

Papermaster had worked for IBM for 25 years. IBM said in a court filing that, before Papermaster left, he agreed to avoid working for any competitor for a year.

Papermaster's lawyers argued that forcing him "to 'sit out' of the electronics industry for a year would be incredibly damaging to his career."

They said that Apple was an "once-in-a-lifetime 'dream job'" and that Papermaster would be unable to return to IBM, given the litigation.

Papermaster also argued that there were significant differences between the two companies because IBM makes big machines for big business and Apple makes little devices for consumers.

IBM disagreed.

"Electronic devices large and small are powered by the same type of intelligence, the microprocessor," IBM argued.

Dell stalls music player launch

Dell has decided not to launch its ambitious digital music player tied to online entertainment software before the holidays, the Wall
Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Dell could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters. Earlier this year, Dell was testing prototypes of a mini MP3 player based on entertainment software called Zing, for an expected fall release, the WSJ said citing people familiar with the matter.

Dell's foray would have put it into an Apple-led market that has defied assaults.

The WSJ cited a source as saying Dell had finally decided to hold off on the music player indefinitely but to proceed with the Zing software. Zing software organises downloaded music and movies on PCs.

Dell's first foray into the music market in 2003 was a huge disappointment. It withdrew from the music-player market after its DJ Ditty player failed to make major inroads.

Internet startups to get MS aid

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft has launched a programme to help fledgling Internet companies by giving them free access to software, tech support and
introductions to its business partners around the world.

BizSpark is intended to "accelerate the success of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups" using, of course, Microsoft technology, according to the Redmond, Washington-based software colossus.

"Microsoft BizSpark is an exciting way for us to help provide business startups with the development tools, advice and exposure they need," said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"We look forward to working with organisations and development agencies around the globe to foster entrepreneurship and help new companies succeed."

To be eligible for the programme, companies must be privately owned; less than three years old, and have annual revenues of no more than a million dollars.

Startups must be "nominated" by BizSpark Network Partners including economic development agencies, venture capitalists, business incubators, and groups such as global nonprofit The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).

"We think Microsoft BizSpark addresses a fundamental challenge startups face: access to current, full-featured tools and technologies that help turn ideas into a thriving business," said TiE chief executive Suren Dutia.

"We are excited to be part of this new effort to propagate entrepreneurship globally, cultivating the future generation of highly successful entrepreneurs."

Consumer Reports' Top Products of 2008

During the past year, Consumer Reports' testers have rated literally thousands of products, some of which earned a near-perfect score and others which performed extremely poorly. Here is a sampling of our 100 standouts in electronics, cars, appliances, and dozens of other categories. To see Consumer Reports' full list of Top 100 products, subscribe to ConsumerReports.org.

Laptop computer
Apple MacBook Air
The lightest, thinnest notebook around, just 3 pounds and less than an inch thick. It has excellent ergonomics and a 13.3-inch display, plus a 4.5-hour battery life. It's shy on features, but hey, it's super skinny. See more on laptops from ConsumerReports.org.
Apple MacBook Air 1.6 GHz Laptop Computer
$1,379.95 - $1,644.00

Without Google's help, Yahoo's options limited (AP)

Without Google's muscle behind it, Yahoo's chances for digging out of a long slump are looking even poorer, making it appear more likely that the company will turn to Microsoft or AOL to help weather the economic downturn.

Yahoo Inc., which runs the No. 2 search engine, agreed in June to let No. 1 Google Inc. sell some of the ads shown next to Yahoo's search results. The deal was intended as a lifeline for the struggling Internet pioneer after it spurned Microsoft's rich $47.5 billion takeover bid less than a month before.

Now that Google has scrapped the Yahoo partnership rather than challenge the Justice Department over its antitrust objections to the deal, Yahoo is back where it began the year, scrambling to engineer a turnaround under a management team on shaky ground with shareholders.

Except now, the climate is much worse. The crumbling economy is discouraging advertisers from spending online, particularly on the billboard-style display ads that are Yahoo's bread and butter. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, already adjusting, announced it would lay off 10 percent of its work force after profits plunged 64 percent in the most recent quarter.

Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang may have wrung the last drops of shareholder goodwill by betting on a Google deal instead of taking Microsoft's offer. To avoid getting pushed out by Yahoo's board, which now includes activist investor Carl Icahn, Yang is under intense pressure to boost the company's bottom line.

In an appearance Wednesday night, Yang said Microsoft Corp. would be wise to make another bid for his company, though he didn't suggest a price. Yang turned down Microsoft's offer of $33 a share in the spring, and now finds Yahoo trading around $13.

"To this day, I believe the best thing for Microsoft to do is to buy Yahoo," Yang said Wednesday.

Barring that, his list of options is limited, and the most obvious moves have been on the table for months.

Imran Khan, an analyst for JP Morgan, said he believes it would make sense for Yahoo to sell its search operations to Microsoft — an idea that Microsoft proposed this spring but Yahoo rejected.

The result would be cost savings for Yahoo, and more energy to focus on the display ad business. Khan estimates $1.4 billion in cost savings or, after factoring out $694 million in lost annual revenue, a net gain of $725 million. Yahoo could use the cash to buy back stock, make smart acquisitions and "more strategic, targeted head count reductions," Khan argues.

"We think continued investment in search, at the expense of display investment, has given competitors the opportunity to bite into Yahoo's leading display ad market share," Khan wrote in a recent research note.

Yahoo shareholders are still interested in some sort of Microsoft deal, and despite Microsoft's current stance that it doesn't need Yahoo to challenge Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, many industry watchers think the software maker is still interested, to a point.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst for the independent research group Directions on Microsoft, said he can't see Microsoft buying all of Yahoo, for the same reasons talks fell apart in the first place: Microsoft was hoping for a quick and painless integration, but Yahoo resisted.

Rosoff said he does think Microsoft will consider buying Yahoo's search business, but not in the next few months.

"At this point, given how the online ad market has changed and how the overall economy has changed, they might just wait for Yahoo's situation to get worse," the analyst said. Microsoft may also wait to "see what happens to Google and their revenue. Perhaps Google won't look like a threat, and Internet advertising won't quite look like such a good business."

Rosoff said he could also see Microsoft trading its MSN Web portal for Yahoo's search engine, or configuring a similar swap.

Rob Sanderson, an analyst for American Technology Research, noted that giving up its search business to Microsoft would undercut one of the pillars of Yahoo's go-it-alone strategy, that having both search and display ads will eventually pay off more than keeping just one.

So for Yahoo to benefit from selling its search engine to Microsoft, the price would have to be a lot sweeter than the $1 billion Microsoft offered last time, Sanderson said.

But Microsoft made that offer knowing Yahoo's Google partnership was in the works. Now that the deal is off the table and Yahoo's shares are foundering, the software maker has little incentive to raise its bid.

Last week, the Redmond-based software maker reiterated the message that it's no longer interested in acquiring Yahoo. The company would not address whether it would consider buying Yahoo's search operations separately.

An alternate possibility for Yahoo: acquiring at least a slice of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL. Melding two companies seen as dot-com has-beens is unlikely to yield a new powerhouse, but if Yahoo has the stomach to eliminate scores of redundant jobs, the combined company could be more efficient and profitable.

The idea is less popular with Yahoo shareholders, but such a deal could augment Yahoo's display advertising business. AOL operates Platform-A, the largest ad network in the U.S., which lets advertisers buy display ads across AOL's own sites, like gossip news source TMZ.com, and those of outside publishers like Merriam-Webster.

In September, 91 percent of U.S. Web surfers visited a page on the Platform-A network, according to research group comScore Inc. That's more than the 86 percent who visited a Yahoo ad network page or the 83 percent who landed on a Google ad network page.

However, AOL's online advertising business isn't as lucrative as Google's or Yahoo's despite its wider reach. Time Warner said AOL's ad revenue fell 6 percent in the third quarter.

On the search-advertising side, Yahoo's potential gains from an AOL acquisition are also unclear. For one thing, Google, which owns a 5 percent stake in AOL, currently operates AOL's search — presumably raking in more money than Yahoo could get if it took over.

Mark May, a Needham Co. analyst, argues that a deal between AOL would be fraught with problems, from the companies' disparate cultures to their different technology platforms.

Buying AOL could, ironically, make Yahoo a more appealing target for Microsoft, especially if the buyout goes badly. Microsoft could wait a few months, then vacuum up two competitors, which still attract large online audiences, at a bargain rate.

Yahoo does have another choice: slash costs and accept its lot as a distant second to Google. The company's recent layoff announcements indicates to Sanderson that Yahoo is more willing to do so than it was in the past.

"Their aspirations for being a huge player," he said, "were a little bit too lofty."

Firefox 3.1 will Have a Private Browsing Mode

Mozilla is adding a private browser feature to its forthcoming Firefox 3.1 release. Private browsing aims to help users make sure their Web browsing doesn't leave traces on their computers, said the function's developer, Ehsan Akhgari.

"It is very important to note that private browsing is not a tool to keep you anonymous from Web sites or your ISP or, for example, protect you from all kinds of spyware applications which use sophisticated techniques to intercept your online traffic," Akhgari said. "Private browsing is only about making sure that Firefox doesn't store any data which can be used to trace your online activities -- no more, no less."

Maintaining An Edge

According to new data from Net Applications, Firefox increased its global market share to about 20 percent last month. Since private browsing capabilities are heading to Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8, Mozilla decided it needs similar capabilities to maintain its growth.

To start a private session in Firefox 3.1, the user selects private browsing from the browser's tools menu. Not much is different in the Firefox window in private browsing mode other than an unobtrusive text notification added to the title bar at the top of the window, Akhgari said.

"After all, if you're doing something online that you don't want your coworkers to know about, you don't want to raise their attention with a big sign saying 'private' as they pass by and glance over your shoulder," Akhgari said.

To close a private session, the user unchecks the same item in the tools menu. "This action discards all of the data from your private session, and will restore your nonprivate browsing session, just like it was before entering the private browsing mode," Akhgari said.

Private browsing is already available in the nightly builds that Firefox developers use to identify bugs from the previous day's work. The new technology destined for Firefox 3.1 will reach a wider audience when the browser's beta 2 release becomes available for download later this month.

In the interim, Firefox aficionados can use Mozilla's Stealther plug-in for Firefox 3.0 to surf the Web without leaving any trace of the journey on their PCs. The add-on program has already generated just under a million downloads.

Not Quite Incognito

Still, some observers think stealth browsing technology has a long way to go before it can claim to truly protect the privacy of Web surfers. Consumer Watchdog recently singled out the Incognito mode in Google's Chrome for some criticism. According to the consumer advocacy group, Incognito may actually lull consumers into a false sense of security that their actions are completely private and free from prying eyes.

"Despite users' reasonable belief that they can surf the Web anonymously when they select Incognito, Chrome continues to send some information back to Google," the nonprofit organization said. "In Incognito mode, we assume -- and Google should, too -- that the user doesn't want anyone watching or having a record of their computing, including searches."

Consumer Watchdog wants Google to provide a clear disclosure on the Google search-engine home pages so Web surfers can easily prevent communication with Google before pressing the search button or affirmatively requesting an action. The disclosure, it noted, should also be made clear throughout all Google applications -- including GMail, Google Talk, and the Google Toolbar.

"It should be a convenient, actionable feature so that the user can exercise informed choice," the group said.

VeriSign quarterly earnings beat estimates

BANGALORE (Reuters) – U.S. internet security provider VeriSign Inc (VRSN.O) reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street expectations on the strength at its core businesses and said it was on track to meet its full-year forecast.

But the Mountain View, California company, which is being affected by a slowdown in online advertising growth, gave a fourth-quarter revenue outlook that fell short of market estimates.

The outlook also reflects the impact of the slowing economy, Interim Chief Executive James Bidzos said in an interview with Reuters.

"We're less sensitive to the economic downturn, but we're not immune to it," Bidzos said.

VeriSign, which provides naming and authentication online services, had a strong cash position, with $650 million in cash and cash equivalents and the roughly $200 million from the sale of a unit, he said.

The company has been divesting slower-growing units and focusing on its website-naming and Internet security services.

VeriSign sold its remaining 49 percent stake in Jamba, a ringtone provider, to News Corp (NWSa.N) for about $200 million in the quarter.

Bidzos told analysts the divestiture process has slowed. He told Reuters that his company had finished negotiations for the sale of a sale of a bundle, a term VeriSign uses to group its non-core units. But it has not been able to complete the transaction because of high interest rates, he said.

It has three major bundles left, including communications. The potential sale of the non-core units is expected to strengthen its cash position.

In the third quarter, VeriSign posted a net loss of $200 million, or $1.02 a share, compared with a profit of $15 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 14 percent to $246.1 million.

According to Reuters Estimates, the company earned 28 cents a share, excluding items, for the latest quarter, topping analysts' consensus view of 26 cents.

Revenue at its core businesses was up 18 percent to $240 million.

"For a company to deliver 18 percent growth in this environment, it is one of the better growth stories out there in the market," Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Scott Sutherland said in a phone interview.

VeriSign shares closed down 7 percent at $19.55 Thursday on Nasdaq. The stock has lost nearly half of its value since the start of the year.

Apple's iPhone Tops BlackBerry as Smartphones Soar

Apple's iPhone is emerging as king of the corporate world as global shipments of smartphones reached a new peak. Defying speculation about a global recession, worldwide smartphone shipments climbed to just shy of 40 million units in the third quarter, according to the latest estimates from Canalys. That means smartphones now represent about 13 percent of the total mobile-phone market, up from 11 percent in the second quarter.

The iPhone 3G's introduction in July led the charge.

Apple's expansion into many countries around the globe helped the company scale to second place worldwide, outshining Research In Motion in the quarter and boasting higher shipments than all Microsoft-based smartphones combined. Nokia remained the market leader despite a sales decline.

Corporations Don't Overlook Apple

It was expected that Apple would figure among the smartphone leaders for the quarter, with a huge initial new-product shipment; it was just a question of how high it would be, according to Pete Cunningham, Canalys senior analyst. Despite RIM being nudged into third place, he said, its growth of more than 80 percent shouldn't be overlooked.

"This is also a tremendous performance, especially considering the delays it experienced in rolling out the BlackBerry Bold," Cunningham said. "Some customers will also have been waiting for the Storm to arrive. With these new products and the clamshell Pearl 8220 available in Q4, it is quite feasible that RIM will return to the number-two position."

Apple has done well in its efforts to unseat entrenched players like RIM and Microsoft Windows Mobile solutions that have owned the business market for years, said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy for Jupitermedia. But one of the most interesting aspects of the iPhone is J.D. Power's recent report that the device had the "highest satisfaction of any business device."

"There's a keyword in there: Business device," Gartenberg said. "The iPhone started off with a very strong consumer reputation and focus. Apple has done a good job positioning the device not as a business device, not as a consumer device, but as a device that appeals to individuals that are going to use it for both parts of their life."

Nokia's Disadvantage

The success of Apple and RIM, as well as fifth-placed HTC with its Windows Mobile devices, has eaten into Nokia's share of the smartphone market, according to Canalys. The research firm noted, however, that Nokia's broad portfolio of models, and the wider audience it attracts, leaves it more exposed to the trends affecting the overall handset market. Year on year, its smartphone shipments fell in the third quarter for the first time.

"Nokia is also transitioning from some very successful volume drivers, like the N95 and E65, to a number of successors, such as the flagship N96, and shipments of these new models have not yet ramped up," Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd said.

"And Nokia has taken time to bring a touchscreen product to market in the wake of the iPhone's success, despite having had the experience of producing the Series 90-based 7710 four years ago. Conversely, vendors such as HTC with its Touch Diamond have capitalized on customer demand for this type of product."

Motorola's Place in the Mix

Motorola is hanging onto fourth place in smartphones thanks largely to its Linux-based models, according to Canalys. Motorola recently announced it would move away from using the Symbian OS and focus more on Google's Android platform.

Canalys' conclusion: Competition in the smartphone space is heating up, and being able to introduce technology and user-interface enhancements quickly is critical.

"You also need to be able to integrate them seamlessly into the device to provide a great total user experience. And that means having sufficient control of development of the operating system, which Apple and RIM clearly have already," Shepherd said. "Nokia's acquisition of Symbian should help it in this regard, regardless of what other Symbian Foundation members choose to do."