Pc News

[Rasputin]

PlayStation 3 Launches in Japan

Electronics stores in Tokyo and other cities began selling Sony's Playstation 3 console at 7 a.m. At the Bic Camera outlet in Tokyo's Yurakucho district, Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO of SCEI, turned up to hand a console to the first customer in line.

Shortages Expected
The celebratory scene was different from that an hour earlier, when pushing and shoving threatened safety and shop officials had a hard time keeping customers calm. The shop had refused to let customers queue for the console until 4 a.m., so a large and unorganized crowd of about 1,000 people had built up by 3 hours ahead of the launch.

Competition to buy the PlayStation 3 is particularly fierce because of the small number of consoles that have been shipped to retailers across Japan for launch. Sony originally planned to have 2 million consoles ready for launches in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia over the next seven days, but component shortages forced the company to slash launch shipments to 500,000 consoles. It also postponed the European and Australian launches until March next year.

Specifications
The component in question is the laser that sits at the heart of the Blu-ray Disc drive in the PlayStation 3. Sony decided early on to outfit the new console with a Blu-ray Disc drive for two main reasons: The first is extra data storage capacity offered by Blu-ray Disc, which is five times that of DVD at 25G bytes. The second is the kick it could give the Blu-ray Disc format as a medium for high-definition movies. By the end of the year, the Sony-backed Blu-ray Disc will undoubtedly be in more homes than the rival HD DVD thanks to its place in the PlayStation 3, although whether a significant number of gamers make use of the HD movie function remains to be seen.

At the heart of the console is the Cell processor. The product of several years of development by Sony, Toshiba and IBM, the chip provides the processing power to deliver the stunning graphics that are the main selling point of the console. Other improvements over Sony's current console, the PlayStation 2, include the addition of a hard-disk drive and an upgraded network gaming and communication function. Users can browse the Web on the PS3 and also add other users to a buddy list and see when they are online. It's also possible to send short messages to other users.

Game On
With the launch of Sony's product, the high-definition console battle has officially begun. Microsoft launched its Xbox 360, which is also high definition, just under a year ago, and Microsoft expects worldwide shipments to reach 10 million units by the end of this year. The company recently announced an HD DVD drive add-on and this week said it would offer TV shows and movies for download to the unit's hard-disk drive.

Also taking part in the competition is Nintendo, which will launch its Wii console first in North America next week. The Wii doesn't do high definition but is attracting a lot of attention for an innovative wireless remote control that can be swung like a baseball bat or jabbed like a fist to interact with games.

It will be some time before a winner emerges, although some analysts expect that Microsoft's year-long lead in the market and Nintendo's new controller will mean Sony concedes some market share to its competitors.

What's almost certain is that the PlayStation 3 won't be the top selling piece of games hardware during its launch week in Japan. That crown is likely to remain with Nintendo's handheld DS machine. The DS, which is a fraction of the price of the PlayStation 3, sold 180,000 units during the week from Oct. 23 to 29, according to data compiled by Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. The top console was the PlayStation 2, which sold 22,000 units.

[Rasputin]

Symbol Waves Good-Bye to Palm OS - For Now

Symbol Technologies has decided to discontinue its two Palm OS-based devices worldwide, bowing to European Union environmental regulations and a growing demand for Windows Mobile devices.

The decision to scrap the Palm-based devices came late last year when Symbol began an overhaul of its product line, spurred by new European environmental regulations that took effect in July. The hardware of the two Palm products, along with other Symbol products, didn't comply with the regulations. Rather than cut some products in Europe while supporting them elsewhere, Symbol decided to discontinue the products across its line, said Marco Landi, a Symbol spokesman.

Windows Mobile Dominates
Symbol hasn't ruled out future products based on the OS, however. "Windows Mobile is taking the dominant part of production but I don't think we've completely shut the door down on Palm," said Landi.

Palm's SPT1550 and SPT1800 were introduced six or seven years ago and in the meantime have received Palm OS upgrades, Landi said. It made sense to discontinue them now because they didn't comply with the European regulations and because their ergonomics had become outdated, he said.

Symbol has already stopped selling the products in Europe and customers in other regions will have until around the end of the year to buy them. In line with Symbol's policy for discontinuing products, the company gave customers a six month warning during which they could stock up if they wanted to. Symbol will also support and repair the devices for another two or three years, depending on component availability, Landi said.

Motorola Takeover
While currently Symbol has no Palm-based products in its future road map, that could change, he said. "A lot of people like Palm so that's why I don't think we've closed the door," he said.

Access now owns PalmSource, the company that developed the Palm OS. In February, Access introduced the latest version of the OS, for the first time based on Linux.

The entrance of Windows Mobile to the smart-devices market has begun to threaten some of the established device operating system developers, such as Palm and Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry. Windows Mobile includes push e-mail from Exchange servers and is compatible with Microsoft software.

The E.U.'s RoHS Directive limits the amount of acceptable hazardous substances in electronics goods. All products sold in the E.U. after June 30 have had to comply with the directive.

In September, Motorola announced plans to purchase Symbol for $3.9 billion. The deal is expected to close this year or early next.

[Rasputin]

Google Downplays Video Lawsuit

Google downplayed a lawsuit against its video service, two days after the search giant revealed the legal action.

"This is a small lawsuit over a single video that appeared briefly," a Google spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.

More Lawsuits to Come?
In a quarterly document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Google revealed that Google Video, a video-sharing Web site, has been the subject of a copyright infringement case. Google did not disclose additional details about the suit, and the U.S. District Court for Northern California, where the company is based, doesn't list any cases relevant to the video service.

Google could not offer any additional details about the suit, according to the spokesperson.

The lawsuit has caught the attention of industry observers who have already been wondering if Google might become the target of expensive lawsuits after it digests its planned acquisition of YouTube, the online video-sharing service.

YouTube Acquisition
Google launched Google Video earlier this year but the popularity of its offering has paled compared to that of industry leader YouTube. In October, Google announced its plans to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock.

The same day the companies announced the acquisition, they both separately announced deals with a few content publishers to ensure their content is legally posted on the sites and to prevent the posting of illegal content.

Both sites enable users to post videos that may not be properly licensed and they both have launched initiatives to try to combat illegal content.

Google Video has a procedure by which copyright owners can alert Google that their content has been illegally posted. Google responds by quickly removing the content from the site, the spokesperson said.

[Rasputin]

New HDTVs Bring Higher Def, Better Color

Falling prices aren't the only positive news for HDTV shoppers: New and upcoming sets boast higher resolution and improved image and sound quality. Here's what to look for.

1080p TVs
Photograph: Robert CardinLCD televisions that can display images in 1080 progressive resolution (or 1080p, as opposed to the 720p capability of most HDTVs in our roundup) are increasingly common; and the format is getting support in such peripherals as Blu-ray drives, HD DVD drives (like Toshiba's HD-XA2), Sony's PlayStation 3, and Microsoft's Xbox 360 (via an accessory HD DVD drive). Also at hand is a growing collection of 1080p content on Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

Plasma has been slow to reach 1080p because cramming lots of tiny pixels into a plasma panel is a manufacturing challenge. Big-screen 1080p plasmas are finally appearing, but they don't come cheap. Pioneer's 50-inch Pro-FHD1 retails for $8000, and Panasonic's 65-inch TH-65PX600U goes for an even heftier $10,000.

HDMI 1.3
The Playstation 3 and Toshiba HD-XA2 are also the first two devices to deliver 1080p content through the new HDMI 1.3 interface, which enables "Deep Color," meaning up to 48-bit color depth (the current high is 24 bits). "More colors allow for better gradation and color shading," says Eric Haruki, research director for TV markets and technologies with IDC. HDMI 1.3 also supports new 7.1-channel audio formats, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD.

To experience HDMI 1.3's benefits, however, all your components--including the TV--must support the standard. "You don't need it to do 1080p, but it's still a good thing," says Scott Ramirez, vice president of marketing for Toshiba. LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sharp, and others have promised HDMI 1.3 sets next year.

[Rasputin]

Motorola Buys Mobile App Company

Motorola said today it would acquire Good Technology, the software firm that provides the mobile e-mail application on Motorola's Q smartphone and on many competing devices.

Motorola hopes the move can help it gain more customers among mobile professionals, who need enterprise-level security and management. Good Technology sells software for wireless messaging, data access and handheld security.

Pressure On Rivals
Motorola, the world's second-largest cell phone manufacturer, could also use the acquisition to pressure its rivals that also use this popular technology. In addition to Motorola, handset vendors licensing Good's software include High Tech Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Palm, Samsung Electronics and Symbol (which was also acquired in September by Motorola).

Spokesmen from Palm and HP declined to comment on the implications of the move, but Motorola insisted it would continue to work with its customers.

"Good Technology's offerings will not be limited to Motorola. Motorola will build upon Good Technology's customer and carrier relationships by maintaining its multi-device strategy," said Juli Burda, a Motorola spokeswoman.

Likewise, Good Technology quickly moved to reassure its customers that their software licenses would remain valid.

"Please be assured that you will continue to receive the same high standard of service and support you receive from us today. You can also continue to purchase Good through our carrier reseller partners or from Good directly, and activate users just as you do now," Good said in a letter to customers.

New Customers
Motorola did not disclose how much it paid for the Santa Clara, California, company, but said it expected the deal to close in early 2007. Motorola plans to offer jobs to all 470 employees, Burda said.

In the long run, Motorola could reach new customers outside its usual business users by extending Good Technology's software to power mobile applications beyond e-mail, according to a statement from Ron Garriques, president of Motorola's mobile devices business.

Good Technology's current flagship products are Good Mobile Messaging, Good Mobile Intranet and Good Mobile Defense. Together, they allow corporations to link their enterprise networks to employees' smartphones, working with platforms such as IBM's Lotus Domino and Microsoft's Exchange.

Companies using Good Mobile Messaging as their wireless messaging standard include Dell, Electronic Data Systems and Visa International Service Association. Good Technology supports wireless handheld platforms using the Palm, Symbian or Windows Mobile operating systems.

[Rasputin]

Yahoo VP: Blogging Service May Get Makeover

Yahoo may remake its blogging and social networking service Yahoo 360, the company said Thursday.

"Yahoo 360 may be doing a 180 [degree turn]," said Bradley Horowitz, Yahoo's vice president of product strategy at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

Horowitz's statement followed a comment from an audience member, who questioned why Yahoo didn't have a better blogging authoring and hosting service.

Yahoo 360 was launched in beta in March of last year, and it remains in beta.

Yahoo In Sixth Place
In September, the leading blog hosting and authoring service in the U.S. was Google's Blogger with 21 million unique visitors, according to comScore Networks. MySpace.com's blogs came in second with 16 million unique visitors, while Microsoft's Windows Live Spaces came in third with 9.8 million. Six Apart's various services landed it on fourth place with almost 9.3 million while Xanga nabbed fifth place with almost 7 million. Yahoo 360 came in sixth with 5.7 million unique visitors.

Social media is a key focus for Yahoo, and blogging is a big part of that, so the company will be a major player in blogging no later than five years from now, said co-founder David Filo, who also participated in the discussion in which he and Horowitz answered questions from the audience and from conference chair John Battelle. The company will look at Yahoo 360, at internal projects and also acquisitions, Filo said.

Merger Rumors Hearsay
Asked to comment about persistent rumors Yahoo may merge with a major competitor like Microsoft, Filo dismissed the comment, saying that type of hearsay is common.

Regarding its rival Google, Filo said that it is certainly a major competitor but that Yahoo worries about all of its competitors, large and small, and that small startups can be "as much a threat to our business as Microsoft or Google."

[Rasputin]

First Look: Microsoft's Zune Won't Make You Dump Your iPod

Microsoft's first portable MP3 and video player has finally arrived. The Zune goes on sale Tuesday, and though I doubt many people are lining up PlayStation 3-style to get their hands on one, its slick interface and vaunted wireless song- and photo-sharing are sure to shake up the market.

I've taken a quick look at the player. It shows impressive polish for a first effort, but the Zune's features don't seem compelling enough to make it a serious threat to take a big chunk out of iPod sales.

The Expected Specs
At $250 for 30GB of storage, the Zune costs exactly as much as the latest 30GB video-capable iPod and the Zen Vision:M. Like most non-iPod players, it includes an FM tuner and supports MP3 and WMA music files, as well as WMV, MPEG-4, and H.264 video files.

Unlike many Windows-based players, the Zune also supports unprotected AAC files--a nice touch for anyone who's been ripping CDs using iTunes' default settings. On the other hand, Microsoft's player lacks a built-in voice recorder, which most Windows-based players include.

The Zune is a bit larger and heavier than the latest 30GB iPod, but its bright, beautiful color screen is a half-inch larger (measured diagonally) than the iPod's. When you're watching videos on a screen that small, every extra bit of real estate counts.

Rounding out the package are a USB cable, a carrying case, headphones, and a 14-day trial membership in Zune Pass, Microsoft's $15-per-month, all-you-can eat music subscription service.

No Wires, Plenty of Restrictions
Of course, Zune's true appeal rests in its built-in Wi-Fi access. Meet up with friends who have a Zune, and you can beam tracks, playlists, or photos to their players, so they can listen to or view them on their own time. Beamed tracks appear in the inbox of the recipient's Zune, where they'll remain for a maximum of three days or three plays. If you like a track, you can flag it for purchase through the Zune Marketplace, an online music store associated with the player.

Unfortunately, that's it for wireless connectivity. There's no wireless syncing with your Wi-Fi-equipped PC at home and no wireless access to the Zune store. I'll have more to say about how well wireless sharing works in the next few days; but like many who've evaluated the Zune, I can't help thinking that this type of wireless sharing is not enough.

Still, the Zune is a decent music and video player, as I found out once I got past a few initial problems.

Early Glitches
The first time I synced the Zune (after installing the included desktop software, which is basically a customized version of Media Player 11), a dialog box popped up, searching for updates and then announcing that a firmware update was available (a day before the player was officially released, no less). After I downloaded the software and installed the update, my Zune player was ready for its inaugural syncing.

Unfortunately, the early firmware update I obtained fell short of solving all of the synchronization glitches: When I transferred my first group of files, several just wouldn't sync. Worse yet, the Zune desktop software refused to simply skip those files. Instead it hung until I clicked Stop Sync, unplugged my Zune, and deleted the offending file.

A Player With Promise
Once I got past those early annoyances, the Zune proved to be an interesting device. Its interface takes full advantage of the player's great-looking 3-inch, 320-by-240-pixel color screen. The portrait-oriented display permitted Microsoft to build an interface that combines horizontal and vertical scrolling, with many top-level menus displaying horizontally across the top of the screen, while lists of tracks or track information run vertically.

When you browse through albums, Zune displays thumbnails of the associated album art--a nice touch, but one whose usefulness is limited. Rather than proceeding via the album view, I prefer to drill down through artists first, so I would have preferred that Microsoft take a cue from Media Player 11 and add some visuals to the artist list by replicating WMP's stacks-of-album-covers look.

Album art takes up two-thirds of the display during normal music playback, with the standard status indicators and track information filling the bottom third.

You might expect the graphical embellishments to slow things down as you navigate through the interface, but I found the Zune remarkably snappy. It skipped nearly instantaneously through tracks in a playlist or during shuffle play, even while loading the associated album art. And though the Zune's circular main control looks like the iPod's touch-sensitive ClickWheel, it's actually a four-position directional control with a central select button.

The Zune's audio sounds quite nice, too, on a par with that of the latest iPods and Creative players. On PC World's objective tests of audio quality, this player earned the best score we've seen among hard-drive-based devices for total harmonic distortion and a very good mark for signal-to-noise ratio. Still, I kept wishing that it had a more granular volume control: With only 15 steps to choose from, I kept getting stuck with one level being too soft and the adjacent one being too loud.

Videos looked crisp and clear on the 3-inch screen--and again, the extra bit of display space makes an appreciable difference over the course of extended viewing.

More to Come
So far, the Zune looks like a solid addition to the MP3 player market. It's a nice-looking player and appears to be a decent value. At this point, we're still hard at work putting the Zune through its paces. We'll be back with some updates and a full PCW Rating once we've had a chance to complete our battery-life tests and dig a little deeper into the player's wireless features.

[Rasputin]

Flat-Panel TV Showdown Seen

SINGAPORE -- Samsung Electronics wants to see TVs made using LCD panels compete more closely against plasma display panel screens, a company executive said Monday.

PDP and LCD TVs occupy different segments of the flat-panel television market, with PDPs generally used for larger screens, or those that measure more than 40 inches across the diagonal. However, Samsung hopes that a new factory set to start production late next year will permit volume production of LCD TVs with screens that measure 50 inches or more across the diagonal.

"If they lose the final battlefield at 50 inches, I think the future is very cloudy for PDPs," said Jun Souk, the executive vice president of Samsung's LCD research and development (R&D) center, speaking at a conference in Singapore. "It's a big problem."

To push PDPs out of the market for TVs in the 50-inch range, LCD makers such as Samsung and Sony have to show they can bring down the costs of larger panels, Souk said. PDP makers face their own challenges, including proving they can produce screens with full 1080p high-definition in volume, he said.

Teaming With Sony
Samsung is counting on a new joint-venture factory it's building with Sony to produce larger panels that can compete against PDP screens at sizes above 50 inches. That factory, being built in Tangjeong, South Korea, is an eighth-generation (8G) factory, using sheets of glass that measure roughly 6.5 by 8 feet to produce LCD panels--larger than the panels used by existing plants.

The larger sheets and improvements to the manufacturing process will help Samsung and Sony produce larger panels more efficiently, Souk he said. The partners also expects to get high yields from the plant, making volume production of 52-inch LCD TVs possible at lower costs, he said.

"Samsung is concentrating on large-size panels," Souk said, noting that the company's most advanced plant currently in operation produces 40-inch panels in volume. The same plant--which produces 1 million panels for LCD TVs every month--also produces larger sizes in smaller quantities, including panels that measure 70 inches across the diagonal, he said.

When the 8G factory enters production in late 2007, it will lead Samsung's efforts to make TVs that use 46-inch and 52-inch panels a standard in the market place. "We're working very hard to make this happen," Souk said.

[Rasputin]

Google Gathers Hosted Apps

Google's Apps for Your Domain has a new component: an entry Web page that organizations can use as a central point for users to access this suite of hosted applications.

Launched in August, Google Apps for Your Domain is a set of browser-based collaboration and communication applications for an organization to provide to its employees using its own brand and Internet address.

Today, Google is adding the Start page option, with technology and a user interface based on the Personalized Home Page service Google offers to consumers.

Custom Configuration
The Start page lets organizations package links to Google Apps services and to other relevant content that they want their users to take note of, like weather, news stories and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) syndicated feeds. The Start page, whose layout and design can be customized via point-and-click interfaces, is intended as a more dynamic alternative to static home pages, which are more difficult to refresh and update.

With the new feature, Google continues beefing up this suite, which is one of several software offerings the company has for organizations. Others include Google Analytics, a hosted service for tracking Web sites' usage and traffic, and Google Docs & Spreadsheets, which consists of hosted word processing and spreadsheet applications. The company recently bought hosted wiki provider JotSpot.

Google executives have been clear about their intention to have the company play in the hosted applications market for consumers and businesses, a model that many see as a big threat to the packaged-software model upon which Microsoft has built its empire.

Google's Hosting Plans
At the recently-concluded Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt again championed this software-as-service model in which users access applications remotely via the Internet. Hosted applications are more robust, reliable and simpler to maintain, he said. In the hosted model, it is also easier to search for data across applications and share documents, he said.

Of course, the hosted model isn't a panacea. For example, users of Google's Blogger have complained about persistent performance problems that have hobbled that popular blog hosting and authoring service in recent weeks. Likewise, Google Analytics suffered crippling performance problems when demand for it surged after Google made it a free service in November. After being unable to stabilize the service for a week, Google temporarily shut the door on new sign-ups for Analytics.

Suite Specs
The Google Apps for Your Domain suite includes the Gmail Web mail service, the Google Talk instant messaging and voice chat service, the Google Calendar scheduling service, and the Google Page Creator Web page design service.

Google Apps for Your Domain is free, but Google is preparing an advanced fee-based version for larger businesses with more sophisticated needs. More information about the revamped services is available from Google.

[Rasputin]

Internet Explorer Auto-Updates Begin

Microsoft has slowly begun shipping automatic updates of Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) to all users of the English language version of the browser.

Microsoft had rolled out automatic updates of the new browser to beta testers, beginning shortly after IE 7's October 18 launch, but it had been telling the rest of IE 6 users to be ready for these updates, effective November 1.

In fact, these automatic updates started going out a few days ago, said Gary Schare, a director of product management with the Internet Explorer team. On last Wednesday, "we began a very slow distribution through automatic updates, throttled way down so a very few users would see it," Schare said.

Microsoft has been sending the updates to 1 percent of English language IE 6 users--about one million PCs--per day, Schare said.

Though these automatic updates are sent without any interaction from the Windows user, the software asks customers whether they want to install IE 7 before proceeding with the installation.

Pacing the Rollout
Schare's team is allowing three months to roll out the automatic updates to all users, but they hope that the process will move more quickly than that. "We'd like to get the software out to as many people as quickly as possible, because we think there's a lot of security value," he said.

The IE team has been keeping the pace of the rollout low to prevent Microsoft's technical support center from being overwhelmed, and to prevent administrators who are not blocking the update from being crushed with software updates next week when Microsoft will release six sets of security patches.

"We keep the IE throttle low, so when the security updates come out next Tuesday, they still have priority over IE," he said.

To date the IE 7 updates have been going "quite smooth," Schare said. But he declined to say whether he now thought the rollout would finish ahead of the self-imposed three-month deadline.

Update Schedule
According to Microsoft's schedule, European and Arabic-speaking users should begin to see automatic updates of IE 7 in the next few weeks.

German, French, Spanish, Brazilian, and Arabic versions expected as soon as November 15. The last versions to be distributed will be the Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Hebrew versions of the browser, which are due by the end of June 2007.

[Rasputin]

Samsung Tells Future of Cell Phones

SINGAPORE -- Mobile phones will undergo a dramatic transformation over the next few years, incorporating more powerful processors and more storage, as well as new technologies, a Samsung Electronics research and development executive said today.

The addition of these technologies will dramatically expand the capability of mobile handsets, which will have sensors to monitor a user's health and offer a wider range of entertainment and online services, such as shopping, said Kang-Hun Lee, vice president of Samsung's Next-Generation Terminals Team. Voice will remain a "basic capability" of these devices, he said.

"We are pretty much focusing on the multimedia capabilities," Lee said.

Cell Phone Holograms
By 2010 or so, handsets will use flexible or holographic displays and could have processors that run at clock speeds up to 5GHz, Lee said. In addition, they may pack up to 10GB of flash memory or hard disks that can hold 20GB of data or more, he said.

Future handsets will also include more advanced cameras, capable of capturing 3-D and holographic images, and rely on fuel cells or solar panels for power, Lee said. Future handsets will switch seamlessly from one network to another, moving between cellular networks, mobile WiMax, and other networks, he said.

Next Releases
While much of the new technologies have yet to move beyond the R&sD lab, Samsung anticipates the gradual addition of new technologies and capabilities into its handsets. For example, Samsung will next year put a 1GHz StrongArm processor inside a mobile phone, Lee said.

In June, Samsung revealed it plans to add mobile Wimax support to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) handset. That handset is due to hit the market during the first half of 2007, said Hwan Woo Chung, a vice president at Samsung's Mobile WiMax Group, speaking at that time.

[abadani69]

گوگل، خشم مقامات هميشه مشکوک ايراني را با زير سوال بردن استقلال استان آذربايجان در وب سايت گوگل ويدئو، بر انگيخته است. در اين وب سايت گفته شده است که "تبريز شهري است در آذربايجان جنوبي که اخيرا جزو خاک ايران محسوب مي شود"، و همين موضوع باعث جريحه دار شدن حس وطن پرستي وايجاد موج شديد اعتراض در ميان ايراني ها شده است. اين وب سايت براي اينکه نمک بيشتري روي زخم بپاشد، شهر تبريز را در فهرست شهر هاي جمهوري آذربايجان آورده است و نه ايران. تبريز و جنوب آذربايجان، بيش از 4000 هزار سال است که به ايران تعلق دارند.

متن اين فيلم توريستي، اين اتهام را متوجه موتور جستجوگر آمريکايي گوگل مي کند که با تحريک احساسات جدايي طلبانه در اين استان ترک زبان، تلاش مي کند تا حقانيت ايران را در مورد آذربايجان، کم رنگ کند.

ولي الله آذروش، نماينده مجلس گفت: "يک ايراني هرگز چنين توهيني را تحمل نمي کند. تبريز و آذربايجان شرقي از دو هزار سال پيش ازميلاد مسيح، از کشور ايران جدا نبوده. چطور ممکن است که به جاي ديگري تعلق داشته باشد؟"

وزارت فن آوري ارتباطات، اقدام وب سايت را مداخله در امور داخلي ايران دانست و ايراني ها را تشويق کرد تا به گوگل ايميل بزنند. نماينده وزارت فن آوري ارتباطات در مجلس گفت: "اين اقدام نمونه مشخصي از مداخله در امور داخلي يک کشور است. ساده ترين راه و موثر ترين پاسخ به اين اقدام اين است که کاربران ايراني، اعتراض خود را به گوش مديريت گوگل برسانند."

روزنامه اصلاح طلب *اعتماد* هم شرکت گوگل را به "دست زدن به اقدامي عجيب، مشکوک و ترديد آميز" که بوضوح سعي کرده است تا تبريز- يکي از مراکز اصلي ظهور انقلاب اسلامي سال 1979- را متعلق به آذربايجان، جمهوري تازه استقلال يافته شوروي سابق در شمال ايران، بداند، متهم کرد.

در قرار دادي بين ايران و شوروي در سال 1813، قسمتي از ايران جدا شد و به شوروي پيوست. ژوزف استالين، بعد از جنگ جهاني دوم تلاش کرد تا مابقي آذربايجان را تصرف کند که با اعتراض انگليس و آمريکا از اين اقدام منصرف شد.

تبريز و ساير شهر هاي اين استان، در اوايل امسال و بعد از چاپ کاريکاتوري در روزنامه فارسي زبان که سوسکي را به تصوير کشيده بود که به زبان آذري حرف مي زد، شاهد اعتراضات وسيعي بود.

مقامات ايران در مقابل جنبش هاي خودجوش منطقه اي، تحمل زيادي از خود نشان مي دهند و انگشت اتهام را به سوي آمريکا و انگليس نشانه مي روند و معتقدند که اين کشورها تلاش مي کنند تا در استان هاي مختلف که شامل کردستان و خوزستان هم مي شود، احساسات شوونيستي را تحريک کنند.

دو سال پيش، زماني که مجله نشنال جئوگرافيک، درياي بين جنوب ايران و کشورهاي عرب همسايه را خليج عربي و نه خليج فارس ناميده بود، هم با اعتراض شديد ايراني ها مواجه شد. اين مجله در ايران ممنوع شد و خبرنگارانش حق ورود به ايران را از دست دادند. کاربران اينترنتي با فرستادن "بمب هاي گوگلي" باعث شدند تا در مقابل جستجوي کلمه " خليج عربي" جمله زير پديدار شود: "خليجي که به دنبال آن مي گرديد، وجود ندارد، کلمه خليج فارس را جستجو کنيد."

[Rasputin]

AOL Announces New AIM 6.0

AOL today announced an upgrade to its popular AIM instant messaging service, with new features such as the ability to send messages to offline users and to store IM sessions in a PC.

In AIM 6.0, AOL also has doubled the number of contacts a user can have in his "buddy" list to 1,000 people.

AOL is involved in a red hot competition in the consumer IM market with rivals Microsoft and Yahoo, which recently established a basic level of interoperability between their IM networks.

AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo operate the three most popular consumer IM networks, but AIM users can't communicate with Microsoft and Yahoo users because each network operates with proprietary communication protocols. Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) leads with 29 percent of users worldwide, followed by AIM with 27 percent, and Yahoo Messenger with 21 percent, according to The Radicati Group.

AIM 6.0, which requires either the Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating systems, can be downloaded for free.

Working with Google
AOL is working with Google to link AIM with the Google Talk IM service. AIM already has interoperability with other IM platforms, such as Apple Computer's iChat, Reuters Group's system, and AOL's own ICQ, a sister IM network to AIM.

As one of the most popular online communication tools, instant messaging has evolved from offering users only the ability to exchange text messages in real time to providing an ever-expanding suite of services, like Internet telephony, video chats, games, and integration with e-mail systems and other online services. Because IM services are so popular, they are also attractive vehicles for delivering online advertising.

AOL will actively encourage all of its AIM users to upgrade to 6.0, since two-thirds of them are on AIM 5.9 and the rest on a more advanced version called Triton, launched last year, said Ann Santorios, AIM's director of product management. AIM has about 70 million active users worldwide, 42 million of them in the U.S., she said.

AIM 6.0 has been built using Triton's code base and software architecture, and will thus retain Triton's communication features, but with a redesigned user interface, she said. "This is Triton with a facelift," she said.

New Features in AIM 6.0
The new offline messaging feature lets users send messages to people on their "buddy" list who aren't logged on at the time. They will receive the messages as soon as they sign on to AIM. Meanwhile, with the conversation logging option, users will be able to save text chats as HTML files on their computers.

Other enhancements in 6.0 include:

-- A new "dashboard" intended to make it easier for users to access existing mobile features, like setting up mobile alerts and IM forwarding;

-- Deeper integration with the new AIM Pages blogging and social networking service, including one-click access from the AIM interface;

-- A redesigned AIM Today welcome Web page, expected to launch next week, with access to users' Web mail accounts from AOL, Google's Gmail and Yahoo's Mail Plus;

-- Single sign-on to a variety of AIM-related services, like the AIM Mail Web mail service.

While not revolutionary, AIM 6.0 is a strong update, with enhancements that might be compelling enough to motivate users to upgrade, said analyst Michael Osterman of Osterman Research. Sending offline messages and storing IM sessions seem like useful features, he said.

The upgrade may be particularly interesting for AIM 5.9 users, who can get the best Triton features and a new set of enhancements, Osterman said. Triton's relatively low adoption is due to several reasons, including misgivings about its user interface and users' perception that Triton lacks "must-have" new features, Osterman said.

[Rasputin]

Digital World Insider: Sony PlayStation 3 Games and Goodies

Hey, for all three of you who have secured yourselves a PlayStation 3 at launch, looks like you have a nice array of games to choose from. According to GamePro, Sony has announced 21 launch titles--though some reports I've read put that number at 22. (Of course, you'll be lucky to be able to afford one game after shelling out for a PS3.)

Big titles include Genji: Days of the Blade, Resistance: Fall of Man, and NBA 07; games will cost $60. Oh, and for a little extra bonus, Sony has also announced that it will be bundling the Blu-ray Disc version of Talladega Nights with the first 500,000 systems. Sweet.
--Cathy Lu

PS3's Online Capabilities
Eurogamer's Rob Fahey got to spend some time with a working PS3 at Sony's Soho office in London, and provides a detailed account of his experiences using the beta version of the PlayStation Network online service. A few tidbits:

Booting up the PS3 gives you a Cross Media Bar, just like the PSP. In fact, there are many similarities between the two interfaces.
The PS3 supports multiple user profiles, each with personalized settings.
The Web browser is fully functional, including support for "a wide variety of standards right up to the complex Web 2.0 stuff you find places like Gmail using."
Parents can use master accounts to control associated accounts, providing spending limits for their kids (and presumably other limits as well).
Everything is free, except for items you purchase in the store.
--Emru Townsend

A Few More PS3 Tidbits
With all of the bits and bobs of information trickling out about the Sony PS3, it can be hard to keep track of what the system is all about. GamePro has a helpful piece that sums up a lot of details about Sony's next-gen console. Here are some highlights:

Although the system supports 1080p, not all games will display in that resolution either because the developers didn't have time, or the game is so complex that it requires extra horsepower.
The Power and Eject buttons are touch-sensitive.
You can use your PSP to access the PS3's system menus over Wi-Fi.
You'll get about 30 hours of battery life from the wireless controller on one charge. A new controller will cost $50.
The Blu-ray Disc drive is slot-loading.
You can surf the Internet on the PS3, and even plug in a USB keyboard to help out with those unwieldy URLs.
The power supply is integrated into the main unit.

[Rasputin]

Digital Gear: Gadget Gifts for the 2006 Holidays

Looking for gifts that come in small packages? Mobile headsets such as Cardo Systems' new Scala 700 could turn up on many wish lists as more and more states require drivers with mobile phones to use hands-free kits when they're behind the wheel. Careful chefs and germ enthusiasts might enjoy Food Quality Sensor International's SensorfreshQ, a gadget that detects bacteria levels in meat and poultry and indicates their safety for consumption. GuardID System's ID Vault addresses identity theft concerns by storing and securely transmitting log-in information from a USB smart card to Web sites. And frequent flyers can juice up with Compact Power Systems' Cellboost iRecharge for Laptops.

Phone Headset for the Road
The Scala 700 from Cardo Systems is a Bluetooth cell-phone headset with a few innovative treats. In addition to the usual run of headset features, such as voice-command and sound-cancellation technology, it provides spiffy phone-swapping and headset-locator capabilities.

The phone-swapping technology--called SWAP--allows you to switch the headset's connection from one mobile phone to another by pressing a wheel button twice. This feature is handy for people who use two mobile products, like a personal cell phone and a BlackBerry for business. Unfortunately, the swap can occur only when both phones are on standby; you can't swap during phone calls.

Another cool feature is the "buzzer locator." When activated, it makes the Scala 700 emit a buzzing noise so you find it if you've misplaced it. To use this feature, you initiate a call on the cell phone that the headset is partnered with, and then you press the volume button up and down to keep the headset buzzing. This method will work if the headset is located somewhere within 30 feet of the phone.

An indicator on the exterior of the well-designed Scala 700 shows remaining battery life. The headset weighs less than 0.5 ounce, fits snugly around the ear, and supports a talk time of 10 hours and a standby time of 40 hours. At $70, it's pricy, but its strong features may justify the cost. The Scala 700 is available worldwide through retail stores and Cardo's Web site.

Take Charge of Your Laptop
Compact Power Systems rose to prominence with its Cellboost instant cell-phone chargers, and now it markets a universal rechargeable laptop battery, too. The lithium-ion Cellboost iRecharge for Notebooks can power a laptop--in much the same way as an AC adapter--and recharge its own internal battery.

At optimum efficiency, the iRecharge can supply a notebook with up to 4 hours of power, the company claims. But if you run the notebook while using the iRecharge to reinvigorate the battery, the booster's efficiency will decline, the company says.

The Cellboost iRecharge for Notebooks weighs less than a pound, making it fairly portable. The $150 charger supports laptops from Dell, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Toshiba, among others. You can find a full list of supported laptops on the company's Web site.

Lock Up Your ID
Your identity is a valuable commodity in today's connected world, but a number of hardware and software products help minimize the risk of bad guys' stealing it. GuardID Systems' ID Vault is a secure USB smart card that serves as a repository for sign-in credentials to many major financial and e-mail Web sites, newsgroups, and forums.

The product is easy to use. Insert the odd-shaped smart card into an available USB port, and start to navigate as usual to a supported site using Internet Explorer. When you do so, an ID Vault window pops up, asking for your personal identification number (PIN), which you enter. After verifying the PIN, ID Vault connects to the site and passes your log-in information along to the site's authentication system. You still have to type in the PIN, but that's less time-consuming than finding and manually entering the log-in information.

By default, you have to re-enter the PIN for each supported site you visit. A timer built into the software alleviates this problem to an extent by allowing you to suspend the PIN service for a short period of time(for instance, 10 or 20 minutes) that you specify.

Because the smart card performs the actual log-in, hackers and keystroke loggers are walled off from those credentials. "It is safer than storing [sign-in credentials] on your browser," says Bill Loesch, GuardID's chairman and COO.

ID Vault can securely log a user onto any of more than 6000 financial sites, according to Loesch. To prevent users from being directed to malicious Web sites, GuardID validates the IP address of the requested site. A warning dialog box pops up if a user is not connected to the proper Web site.

The smart card works with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 6, and IE 7. GuardID hopes to add Firefox support soon. At $50 for the first year and $20 per year thereafter, ID Vault is a bit expensive, but it could be worth the price of admission if you're seriously concerned about keeping your identity safe. The $20-a-year subscription charge helps defray the cost of keeping the database of valid IP addresses current, a company spokesperson says.

The Bacteria Detector
The longer a piece of meat or poultry sits in a refrigerator, the more bacteria it accumulates and the more it is likely to spoil. Food Quality Sensor International's SensorfreshQ lets you determine the levels of bacteria in these foods, with signal lights to indicate whether they are safe to eat.

The size of an electronic toothbrush, this $90 gadget takes less than a minute to measure levels of bacteria responsible for meat and poultry spoilage. Analogously to a traffic signal, a green light means that it's safe for the meat or poultry to proceed down the little red lane; a yellow light indicates that the SensorfreshQ has detected a small amount of bacteria but that the food is still fresh enough to eat; and a red light is a stop sign warning that freshness cannot be assured: The meat may still be edible, but it hosts elevated levels of bacteria, according to FQSI. Before taking readings, you must install a sensor cartridge, or QCard, in the gadget; each QCard lasts for about 200 readings, and a two-pack of replacement QCards costs $10.