eHomeUpgrade | Top NBC Universal Content On Demand through DIRECTV for $0.99

eHomeUpgrade | Top NBC Universal Content On Demand through DIRECTV for $0.99Top NBC Universal Content On Demand through DIRECTV for $0.99
Category: Content Providers - November 07, 2005
By NEWS RELEASE [196 Reads]
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directv_plus_r15_dvr.jpg

NBC Universal and DIRECTV, Inc., today announced a first of its kind agreement that will give consumers access to the top programs of NBC and its cable entertainment networks, USA, SCI FI and Bravo, within hours after they air, commercial free, for just 99 cents. The programs will be available on demand through the new DIRECTV Plus interactive DVR.

This multi-year agreement will give the primetime on demand rights to NBC Universal TV programs, such as "Law & Order: SVU," "Law & Order: CI," "The Office," "Monk," "Surface" and "Battlestar Galactica." The programs will be available until the following week's episode airs. NBC Universal's movies and TV events will also be available through DIRECTV Plus, and on pay-per-view (PPV).

"The way people are consuming content is changing," said David Zaslav, President, NBC Universal Cable. "Through this agreement with DIRECTV, consumers will be able to watch top NBC content on demand for just $0.99, when they want, without commercials. It's a huge sea change. This deal is the first of its kind and we value DIRECTV's partnership in rolling it out."

"We are thrilled to be able to make some of the best and most watched programs in all of television, both network and cable, even more readily available to viewers," said Jeff Zucker, President, NBC Universal Television Group. "We are extremely aware that viewers can't always watch these programs when they're originally scheduled, and this will give them far more control over when they're able to see these shows."

"DIRECTV and NBC are the first to offer viewers primetime programming on demand, and this agreement furthers DIRECTV's position as a technology and programming leader supporting our commitment to deliver the best television experience available anywhere," said Chase Carey, president and CEO, DIRECTV, Inc. "DVRs have fundamentally changed the way people watch television, giving viewers greater choice, control and convenience. We will take the DVR experience to new levels by offering the widest array of network primetime programming available on demand."

The DIRECTV Plus DVR will be available at retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City this month. DIRECTV Plus will be the most advanced DVR available with features such as 100 hours of recording capacity, interactive functionality, one-touch recording and Viewmarks, which enable viewers to mark favorite places in recorded programs and jump directly to them.

The NBC TV programs that are available are some of the highest rated shows on television. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" opened its seventh season on NBC with its highest season-premiere numbers ever. This season, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is building on its "West Wing" lead-in by 52 percent in adults 18-49. "Surface" is averaging a 3.9 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49 and 8.0 million viewers this season to keep it a solid #2 in 18-49 in the competitive Monday 8-9 p.m. ET hour. "Battlestar Galactica" leads SCI FI Channel's high-powered Friday lineup, which consistently wins the night among all cable networks when the SCI FI schedule is in first-run. "Monk" was cable's #1 Friday series last summer and its July 8 season premiere was the #2 basic-cable original-series telecast of the entire third quarter. In its second season, "The Office" continues to deliver some of the most upscale audiences for any comedy on network television.

About NBC Universal
NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.

About DIRECTV, Inc.
DIRECTV, Inc. is the nation's leading digital multichannel television service with more than 15 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc. DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV) is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment services. DIRECTV is approximately 34 percent owned by News Corporation.

Brighthand — HTC Preparing 4 GB Windows Mobile Phone

Brighthand — HTC Preparing 4 GB Windows Mobile PhoneHTC Preparing 4 GB Windows Mobile Phone
RumorMill
By Ed Hardy | Editor-in-Chief
Nov 8, 2005

Although many people like the idea of having gigabytes of storage capacity in their handheld or smartphone, quite a few of these people are nervous about having a miniature hard drive in a mobile device.

According to information that was leaked to msmobiles.com, HTC is developing a Windows Mobile phone that will have 4 GB of solid-state Flash storage, not a microdrive.

This device, codenamed the HTC Muse, will clearly be focused on music, as it will also include an FM tuner and built-in stereo speakers.

HTC Muse It will even have a set of buttons on the front for controlling the Windows Media Player.

While it will, of course, also be capable of storing hours of video, users will have to watch it on a 240-by-240-pixel display.

This Pocket PC will have two cameras: one VGA and another 2.1 megapixel with flash.

The HTC Muse will supposedly run Windows Mobile 5.0 on a 416 MHz processor.

It will have 64 MB of ROM and 64 MB of RAM. If 4 GB of internal storage isn't enough, it will also have a microSD memory card slot.

Reportedly, it will support GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS, and possibly even HSDPA. This device will also include WiFi and Bluetooth.

The HTC Muse is expected to be out next summer for an undisclosed price.

msmobiles.com - Top Management of Microsoft in panic - visionary memos sent to Microsoft employees

msmobiles.com - Top Management of Microsoft in panic - visionary memos sent to Microsoft employeesTop Management of Microsoft in panic - visionary memos sent to Microsoft employees
November 09, 2005 [General]
While we were complaining here for several years already that Microsoft lacks innovativeness and thus is missing out on many major business opportunities, it looks like Bill Gates (de facto boss of Microsoft) and Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft) have noticed it just now! Major changes at Microsoft coming! Read on!

Lately Steve and Bill have promoted Ray Ozzie to a position of CTO - Chief Technical Officer. With this catchy name and visionary statements something should be changing now at Microsoft. After all many companies with disruptive technologies and already implemented ideas, have managed to beat Microsoft: Google is offering server side e-mail and increasingly more and more functionality on the server making Windows XP and MS Office totally irrelevant, Skype has managed to dwarf any efforts of Microsot in Voice over IP (VoIP) area and RIM Blackberry overtaken push email market practically eliminating the need for MS Exchange Server.

Now once again Microsoft is playing catch-up game - i.e. trying to release the same products as competition but 2-3 years after they did that. However such primitive catch-up strategy may not be enough because adversaries this time are much more agile in the past.

To motivate troops (i.e. Microsoft employees) both Bill Gates and Ray Ozzie have sent out memos to employees (click their names in this sentence to see these memos).

While Bill Gates once again completely fails to mention (or even to understand) mobility in his memo, Ray Ozzie indeed refers to Windows Mobile issues, here are some quotes:

While we’ve led with great capabilities in Messenger & Communicator, it was Skype, not us, who made VoIP broadly popular and created a new category. We have long understood the importance of mobile messaging scenarios and have made significant investment in device software, yet only now are we surpassing the Blackberry.

[...]

Entertainment & Devices Division

a. CONNECTED ENTERTAINMENT - How can XBox Live benefit from interconnection with other services assets, such as PC-based and mobile-based IM and VoIP? How might both the PC and XBox mutually benefit from a common marketplace? Might PC users act as spectators/participants in XBox games, and vice-versa?

b. GRASSROOTS MOBILE SERVICES – How might the Windows Mobile device experience be transformed by for consumers by connection to a services infrastructure – in particular one enabled by RTC-based unified communications? How might unmediated connection to a rich services infrastructure transform mobile phones into a mass market messaging, media and commerce phenomenon?

c. DEVICE/SERVICE FUSION – What new devices might emerge if we envision hardware/software/service fusion? What new kinds of devices might be enabled by the presence of a service?

As you can see above Ozzie is pushing deeper integration of services with products. In other words: not just selling stand alone products but binding them better with server side services.

Conclusion: while it is still difficult to predict what will be influence of these major changes at Microsoft on Windows Mobile platform and products, probably integration of VoIP into Windows Mobile version of MSN Messenger will occur and Pocket MSN will be extended to cover more services.

Generally we think that these changes can only bring good results for Windows Mobile, however still Microsoft lacks any vision for clearing the situation with MVP program - still many unworthy people get this title while many worthy community contributors are blocked. One final example that Microsoft's MVP program is broken is David Ciccone, who was running Dave's iPAQ website for many years (not just news but huge forum part too) and has contributed to Windows Mobile community thousand times more than many existing MVPs. Microsoft however continued to deny him MVP title and yesterday he closed his Windows Mobile community site and moved to generic one - Mobility Today. Yes, changes are coming at Microsoft, but these changes are not deep enough yet. Microsoft must try harder!

CBS 46 Atlanta - CBS, NBC to Offer TV Shows for 99 Cents

CBS 46 Atlanta - CBS, NBC to Offer TV Shows for 99 CentsCBS, NBC to Offer TV Shows for 99 Cents
Nov 8, 2005, 09:11 AM

NEW YORK (AP) -- CBS and NBC have announced deals to offer replays of prime-time programs for 99 cents per episode, shifting television toward a sales model that gained popularity with downloaded music.

CBS is teaming up with Comcast Corp. and NBC with satellite operator DirecTV to offer the on-demand replays.

NBC Universal will offer commercial-free episodes of "Law & Order: SVU" and other shows to subscribers of DirecTV Group Inc. who use the satellite company's new digital video recorder.

Comcast's on-demand customers in some markets will be able to view "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" at their convenience.

Terms of the deals, which were announced Monday, were not disclosed.

"This is an incredibly exciting evolution for CBS and network television - video on demand is the next frontier for our industry," CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves said of the deal with Philadelphia-based Comcast, the nation's largest cable systems operator. CBS, which is owned by Viacom Inc., announced last week it would stream episodes of its show "Threshold" over CBS.com.

The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network offers downloads of several programs, including "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," for $1.99 each via iTunes software from Apple Computer Inc.

Less than three years ago, Apple helped spur the explosion of legally downloaded music with its iTunes Music Store and iPod portable players - the latest versions of which now play video.

Comcast's service will be available starting in January to customers in markets with a CBS owned-and-operated television station, which includes the nation's seven largest media markets. The episodes will be available as early as midnight following a broadcast and will include commercials.

The DirecTV agreement includes shows that air on NBC, USA, Bravo and the Sci-Fi Channel, including "The Office" and "Monk." Episodes of the shows will remain available for one week after their broadcast. NBC Universal is a unit of General Electric Co.

DirecTV, which is based in El Segundo, Calif., and controlled by the media conglomerate News Corp., began shipping its new DVR this week. The device uses interactive software from NDS Group Ltd., another News Corp. unit, and is designed to transition the company from dependence on similar devices made by TiVo Inc.

"We are talking to the other networks and hope to reach similar agreements soon," DirecTV spokesman Robert Marsocci said Monday.

The new DirecTV DVR comes with a hard drive that holds 160 hours of programming. One hundred hours are available for subscribers to record and store programs. The remaining 60 hours will be used by DirecTV to download programs that can be viewed on demand for an extra fee.

The ThinkPad is returning to retail - Engadget - www.engadget.com

The ThinkPad is returning to retail - Engadget - www.engadget.comThe ThinkPad is returning to retail

Posted Nov 4, 2005, 12:01 AM ET by Paul Miller
Related entries: Laptops, Tablet PCs

thinkpad z60t

Just in case you’ve been holding off on those Lenovo ThinkPads until you could score one all brick and mortar style, now you can; and for a considerable discount too. Lenovo has just announced that Office Depot is picking up the ThinkPad line, with the Z60t widescreen and the T43 (with a biometric fingerprint reader) going on sale Sunday, and they’re selling the laptops with a pretty sweet discount: $699 instead of their usual $1399 pricepoint. They’ll also be busting out the X and R series along with that 12-inch Tablet, the X41, but no word on pricing for those yet. This will be the first time since 1999 that you’ll be able to buy a ThinkPad in the flesh.

From Gunpowder to the Next Big Bang - New York Times

From Gunpowder to the Next Big Bang - New York TimesNovember 4, 2005
Op-Ed Contributor
From Gunpowder to the Next Big Bang
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

BEIJING

There is a techie adage that goes like this: In China or Japan the nail that stands up gets hammered, while in Silicon Valley the nail that stands up drives a Ferrari and has stock options. Underlying that adage is a certain American confidence that whatever we lack in preparing our kids with strong fundamentals in math and science, we make up for by encouraging our best students to be independent, creative thinkers.

There is a lot of truth to that. Even the Chinese will tell you that they've been good at making the next new thing, and copying the next new thing, but not imagining the next new thing. That may be about to change. Confident that its best K-12 students will usually outperform America's in math and science, China is focusing on how to transform its classrooms so students become more innovative.

"Although we are enjoying a very fast growth of our economy, we own very little intellectual property," Wu Qidi, China's vice minister of education, told me. "We are so proud of China's four great inventions [in the past]: the compass, paper-making, printing and gunpowder. But in the following centuries we did not keep up that pace of invention. Those inventions fully prove what the Chinese people are capable of doing - so why not now? We need to get back to that nature." Nurturing more "creative thinking and entrepreneurship are the exact issues we are putting attention to today." But this bumps head-on against Chinese culture and politics, which still emphasize conformity.

But for how much longer? Check out Microsoft Research Asia, the research center Bill Gates set up in Beijing to draw on Chinese brainpower. In 1998, Microsoft gave IQ tests to some 2,000 top Chinese engineers and scientists and hired 20. Today it has 200 full-time Chinese researchers. Harry Shum, a Carnegie Mellon-trained computer engineer who runs the lab, has a very clear view of what Chinese innovators can do, given the right environment. The Siggraph convention is the premier global conference for computer graphics and interactive technologies. At Siggraph 2005, 98 papers were published from research institutes all over the world.

Nine of them - almost 10 percent - came from Microsoft's Chinese research center, beating out M.I.T. and Stanford. Dr. Shum said: "In 1999 we had one paper published. In 2000, we had one. In 2001, we had two. In 2002, we had four. In 2003 we had three. In 2004, we had five, and this year we are very lucky to have nine." Do you see a pattern?

In addition, Microsoft Beijing has contributed more than 100 new technologies for current Microsoft products - from the Xbox to Windows. That's a huge leap in seven years, although, outside the hothouses like Microsoft, China still has a way to go.

Dr. Shum said: "A Chinese journalist once asked me, 'Harry, tell me honestly, what is the difference between China and the U.S.? How far is China behind?' I joked, 'Well, you know, the difference between China high-tech and American high-tech is only three months - if you don't count creativity.' When I was a student in China 20 years ago, we didn't even know what was happening in the U.S. Now, anytime an M.I.T. guy puts up something on the Internet, students in China can absorb it in three months.

"But could someone here create it? That is a whole other issue. I learned mostly about how to do research right at Carnegie Mellon. ... Before you create anything new, you need to understand what is already there. Once you have this foundation, being creative can be trainable. China is building that foundation. So very soon, in 10 or 20 years, you will see a flood of top-quality research papers from China."

Once more original ideas emerge, though, China will need more venture capital and the rule of law to get them to market. "Some aspects of Chinese culture did not encourage independent thinking," Dr. Shum said. "But with venture capital coming into this country, it will definitely inspire a new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs. I will be teaching a class at Tsinghua University next year on how to do technology-based ventures. ... You have technology in Chinese universities, but people don't know what to do with it - how to marketize it."

A few of his young Chinese inventors demonstrated their new products for me. I noticed that several of them had little granite trophies lined up on their shelves. I asked one of them, who had seven or eight blocks on her shelf, "What are those?" She said the researchers got them from Microsoft every time they invented something that got patented.

How do you say "Ferrari" in Chinese?

msmobiles.com - It is official: HTC 2100 / 2125 smartphone and HTC 8100 / 8125 Pocket PC phone are coming to Cingular USA

msmobiles.com - It is official: HTC 2100 / 2125 smartphone and HTC 8100 / 8125 Pocket PC phone are coming to Cingular USAIt is official: HTC 2100 / 2125 smartphone and HTC 8100 / 8125 Pocket PC phone are coming to Cingular USA
October 23, 2005 [General]
HTC 2100 / 2125 smartphone is a smartphone (HTC Tornado) and looks exactly like Orange SPV C600 and HTC 8100 / 8125 is Pocket PC phone (HTC Wizard) that doesn't look like i-mate K-JAM but has the same hardware.



It is unclear whether HTC 2100 / 2125 will be similarly crippled like Orange SPV C600: i.e. Wi-Fi will not be enabled.

Regarding HTC 8100 / 8125 it looks like it (i.e. HTC Wizard) will become quickly (in various incarnations) the most popular Pocket PC phone in the world. It even has fast Wi-Fi (802.11g) and has big chances to be very popular - similarly like HTC Magician was by now...

To learn more click here (website of Cingular).

Sharp releases W-ZERO3 / WS003SH qwerty Pocket PC - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Sharp releases W-ZERO3 / WS003SH qwerty Pocket PC - Engadget - www.engadget.comSharp releases W-ZERO3 / WS003SH qwerty Pocket PC

Posted Oct 20, 2005, 9:40 AM ET by Ryan Block
Related entries: Cellphones, Handhelds

Sharp W-ZERO3 / WS003SHSharp W-ZERO3 / WS003SH

Take one dash HTC Wizard / Apache, a heaping spoonful of HTC Universal, a pinch of Zaurus, mix liberally with Japanese engineering, bake at 375°, and you’ve got Sharp’s new Universal killer, the W-ZERO3 / WS003SH being released on Willcom. Hm, “Universal killer,” didn’t think we’d be saying those words so soon, eh? But this sucker runs Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC, and has a 3.7-inch VGA touchscreen, 416MHz Xscale processor, 128MB of flash, 64MB of RAM, a MiniSD slot, mini-USB, 802.11b, W-SIM, and a 1.33 megapixel camera. Ah, this fickle heart, how easily swayed we are. Oh, and if you thought the Universal was hugemongous, well, the W-ZERO3 is still freaking ginormous at 70 x 130 x 26mm (2.75 x 5.1 x 1.0-inches) and 220g (7.75oz), but that’s a bit less than the 127 x 81 x 25mm/285g size n’ weight on the HTC, so chew on that.

An iPod Worth Keeping an Eye On - New York Times

An iPod Worth Keeping an Eye On - New York TimesOctober 18, 2005
An iPod Worth Keeping an Eye On
By DAVID POGUE

Call it the iPod Paradox: with each successive version, Apple’s 30-million-selling music player gets thinner and thinner, but its feature list grows longer and longer. By next year, no doubt, the iPod will act as a radio, remote control and coffee stirrer, but will be thin enough to roll up into a tube.

The latest model, unveiled last week, is deliciously thin (4.2 by 2.4 by about 0.5 inches). In addition to its usual repertoire (presenting music, digital photos, calendar, address book and song lyrics), it can now play video.

Now, there’s no such thing as a Video iPod. The new model is simply called the iPod; its thicker, videoless predecessors have gone off to the great eBay in the sky.

All the debate about “Will anyone buy a video iPod?” is suddenly moot, because the new model is the same excellent music player plus video.

The biggest surprise: watching video on the tiny, 2.5-inch screen (320 by 240 pixels) is completely immersive. Three unexpected factors are at work. First, the picture itself is sharp and vivid, with crisp action that never smears; the screen is noticeably brighter than on previous iPods. Second, because the audio is piped directly into your ear sockets, it has much higher fidelity and presence than most people’s TV sets. Finally, remember that a 2.5-inch screen a foot from your face fills as much of your vision as a much larger screen that’s across the room.

Many people — including Apple’s chief, Steve Jobs — have predicted that video on the iPod would never be as popular as music. One crucial reason is that watching requires your full attention. You can’t do something else simultaneously, like driving or working.

In practice, these predictions turn out to be absolutely accurate. (I established this fact through scientific hands-on testing. Unintentionally absorbed in an episode of “Lost” while walking through Grand Central Terminal, I marched directly into a steel support girder.)

Watching iPodvision also requires one free hand to hold the device, which feels awkward after a while. Remember, too, that in urban settings, where iPods are muggers’ favorite delicacies, you have to hold the thing out in full view.

You feel like you’re wearing a bumper sticker that says: “I’m an idiot. Rob me.”

In less public situations, though, pocket video is a delight; it’s escapism on demand. Waiting for the plane, waiting for the doctor and waiting for the waiter come to mind. Long car rides are a natural, too (passengers only, please).

Plane rides are somewhat less successful candidates for video, because the battery life is so poor. The 30-gigabyte model ($300), which can hold 75 hours of video or 7,500 songs, plays video for just over two hours on a charge. The 60-gigabyte model ($400) holds twice as much, but manages three hours of video playback. (Apple says that battery life is far better when playing music: 14 and 20 hours, an iPod record.)

With a $19 video cable, you can connect the iPod to a TV for a bigger picture, but don’t expect high definition. The 320 by 240 pixels of video quality, which look so pristine on the iPod’s screen, get magnified four times on a TV. The result is blurry and VHS-ish, barely tolerable from couch distance.

You load up the new iPod the same way you loaded up the old ones: by connecting it to a Mac or PC that’s running Apple’s free iTunes jukebox software, which now handles videos.

And where are you supposed to get the video in the proper file format (H.264 or MPEG-4)? You can export home movies directly from Apple’s iMovie video-editing program.

You can convert existing video files using software like QuickTime Player Pro ($30, for Mac or Windows). You can even convert commercial DVD movies, if certain Web sites are to be believed.

You can also download videos from the iTunes Music Store, which is suddenly in need of a name makeover. And here’s where things get much, much more interesting — maybe even more interesting, in fact, than the video iPod itself.

This music store offers free video podcasts, which are short, usually homemade Internet broadcasts. Pixar animated shorts cost $1.99 each. You can also buy any of 2,000 music videos for $1.99 apiece; of course, the price includes the song itself (which costs 99 cents when sold separately).

There are plenty of places online to watch music videos, but Apple has assembled the first legal centralized place to download and keep them.

But the biggest news is that Apple now sells TV shows: name-brand, day-old, network TV shows.

Incredibly, Apple has persuaded Disney, which owns ABC, to make available all episodes of five TV series, including “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives” and “That’s So Raven.” Each show costs $1.99 — an easy impulse buy if you missed an episode.

They play back beautifully, with no network logo in the corner, no yearlong wait for the DVD, and no commercials. (One 43-minute “hour” of TV takes 12 minutes to download with my cable modem, and about two minutes to transfer to the iPod over its U.S.B. 2.0 cable. The TV shows, music videos and short films are lightly copy-protected: you can play them on up to five computers and an unlimited number of iPods, but can’t burn them to a CD or DVD.)

Selling shows the day after they’ve been broadcast may seem like an obvious money-recouper for the TV networks. But until now, TV and movie companies have been terrified by the prospect of Internet distribution; their executives still wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares of file-swapping teenagers. That Mr. Jobs persuaded Disney to dip its pinky toe into these waters is an impressive development — and a very promising sign.

Now, the new iPod is the smallest, simplest and best-looking pocket video player, but certain people should steer clear. Don’t buy the iPod if you want to buy pop music at online stores other than Apple’s; their tunes won’t play on it.

Don’t buy the iPod, either, if you’re convinced that video cries out for a bigger screen; Archos, Creative Technology, iRiver and Samsung make music/video players with 3.8- to 7-inch screens and better battery life. As a bonus, most Archos players can record directly from a DVD, TiVo or cable box, and you can load up the other brands with shows recorded from a TiVo.

But that’s not an apples-to-Apple comparison. Those players are more expensive, much bulkier, two-handers that don’t slip into a pocket unless you’re a kangaroo. (The Archos GMini 402 is only slightly larger than the iPod, and also costs $300 — but offers a smaller screen and much less capacious hard drive.) And loading them up with TV shows is infinitely more technical and awkward than Apple’s nearly effortless, one-click procedure.

Of course, most people aren’t likely to be bowled over by the breadth of Apple’s video catalog at the moment. Five TV series only? United States only? Big deal, right? Then again, the iTunes Music Store itself was an equally tiny experiment once (Macintosh only, United States only). Today, it’s a wildly successful international phenomenon.

Here’s hoping that Apple’s video trial is similarly successful — not for Apple’s sake, but for TV and movie fans. If so, the new video-capable iPod might turn out to be the crowbar that cracked what was once an uncrackable problem: how to deliver cheap, fast, convenient, economically feasible, piracy-resistant, Internet-based movies and network TV shows, on demand, to the masses.

Forbes.com - Magazine Article

Forbes.com - Magazine Article'Breathtaking': Gates Gives $15M To Tech Museum
Greg Levine, 10.17.05, 1:03 PM ET

Two coasts divided by a common country.

Boston has the eclectic Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. New York City has "the Met," the Museum of Natural History and, of course, the Museum of Sex.

But the U.S.' Pacific coast is not without its cultural monuments, too.

The Computer History Museum, in Mountain View, Calif., was opened in 1996. Perhaps the cataloging of silicon chips doesn't move you as does, say, the enormity of a brontosaurus' skeleton, the eerie awe of an Egyptian tomb or even a clinical exegesis on the importance of leather apparel in pre-WWII bawdiness.

Well, Bill Gates wants to change your outlook. The chairman of Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) naturally takes all things cybernetic to heart. And the billionaire--ranked No. 1 on our Forbes 400 Richest Americans list--is taking action.

The charitable group he founded with his wife, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has pledged a $15 million gift to the museum. Officials of the Silicon Valley-based shrine to zeroes and ones, said the foundation's gift was the largest donation the museum has yet received. Further, they said the generous gift means the Computer History Museum now requires only an additional $50 million to reach its goal of $125 million--enough to allow the creation of a full range of educational programs and exhibits and establish a long-term endowment.

"The impact on our society of the computing revolution is simply breathtaking--it has changed the way we work, play, learn and communicate," The Associated Press quoted Gates as enthusing. "It's our responsibility to collect the artifacts and stories today that will explain this incredible change to future generations."

"Breathtaking" may be an adverbial description in the eye of the beholder. But hey, while we were all gasping at the tyrannosaurus rex or that special-someone's curvaceousness, Gates was busy becoming the world's richest man: $46.5 billion can make you hyperventilate.

Palm Inc. and BlackBerry Maker Will Sign a Licensing Agreement - New York Times

Palm Inc. and BlackBerry Maker Will Sign a Licensing Agreement - New York TimesOctober 17, 2005
Palm Inc. and BlackBerry Maker Will Sign a Licensing Agreement
By LAURIE J. FLYNN

SAN FRANCISO, Oct. 16 - Palm Inc., maker of the Treo smartphone, and its rival Research In Motion, the maker of the wireless BlackBerry device, are expected to announce on Monday a licensing agreement that could alter competition in the market for phones that offer e-mail and other functions, one of the fastest-growing segments of the cellphone industry.

As part of a broad strategy to become a software company as well as a device maker, Research In Motion, or R.I.M., will allow Treos to use its e-mail and communications technology, called BlackBerry Connect.

The deal is significant because it gives Palm, a 10-year-old Silicon Valley company, a greater opportunity to sell Treos to corporations that have spent substantial sums outfitting their workers with BlackBerrys, which are still big sellers among business users.

Treo has gained momentum in the corporate market because thousands of business software programs can run on its devices. Over the last several months, some cellphone makers, like Nokia and Sony Ericsson, have also licensed BlackBerry Connect, but they have only recently started promoting that service.

For R.I.M., the deal with Palm takes the company further down the strategic path it announced more than two years ago, after it became clear that the company needed to reinvent itself if it wanted to maintain its growth rate.

While R.I.M. continues to sign up new subscribers - in its last quarter it added 620,000 accounts, for a total of 3.65 million, its growth is starting to slow.

"It would have been a bigger deal if they hadn't done it," said John Jackson, an analyst with the Yankee Group in Boston. "It's a must-have."

In 2004, the makers of smartphones - cellphones with advanced e-mail, calendar and other computing functions - sold about 3.2 million units.

This year, that figure is expected to nearly double, to 6 million, and to reach 11 million units in 2009, according to Jupiter Media, a research group.

"It's a highly lucrative market that is widely perceived as being under-addressed," Mr. Jackson said. R.I.M., based in Waterloo, Ontario, was one of the first companies to introduce a hand-held e-mail device, and throughout the late 1990's the name BlackBerry became synonymous with mobile e-mail.

But in recent years, Palm, Dell and other device makers, along with phone companies like Nokia and Motorola, have entered that market.

At the same time, R.I.M. has been under pressure from cellular carriers and its corporate customers to strike a deal with Palm so that they can offer a variety of devices with the BlackBerry software.

"Quite frankly, we've had a very strong demand for BlackBerry on Treos," said James L. Balsillie, chief executive of R.I.M. "Our biggest interest is going in and fulfilling that pent-up demand."

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Media, said, "It's a good idea for them to let the market decide" what software and hardware combinations customers can have. "You don't want to back your customers into a corner."

A big challenge for smartphone companies is to make sure that their products can communicate with other companies' handsets. This is particularly important for corporate customers, whose employees need to be on compatible systems.

According to Ed Colligan, Palm's chief executive, the deal with R.I.M. shows that companies must form partnerships with their rivals to meet their customers' needs. In late September, Palm announced an agreement with Microsoft to use the Windows operating system on a version of the Treo to be offered by Verizon.

Initially, BlackBerry Connect will be available only on the Treo 650, a popular version of the Treo that runs the Palm operating system. Palm plans to make it available later this year or early next year, as soon as it completes deals with cellular carriers to sell it.

One challenge that could thwart R.I.M.'s plans, however, is a legal battle that the company has been fighting with NTP Inc. for nearly four years.

NTP, a patent holding company based in Arlington, Va., says that some R.I.M. products infringe on patents held by NTP that cover the use of radio frequency communications in e-mail systems.

A federal jury found R.I.M. in violation of several of NTP's patents, and earlier this month a federal appeals court denied R.I.M.'s request to reconsider the ruling. R.I.M. executives say they are appealing the case to the Supreme Court.

Which one to pick: HTC Apache, HTC Wizard or HTC Universal?

Which one to pick: HTC Apache, HTC Wizard or HTC Universal?I imagine cellular connectivity and price are the two points users will have problems deciding between these new Pocket PC devices.

I am just testing the HTC Universal and I have now a HTC Apache for testing too. I have just played a little with a HTC Wizard as well.

What are the differences?

First, connectivity options. Users will have to decide between GSM/GPRS/3G UMTS (HTC Universal), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (HTC Wizard) or CDMA 1xRTT/EV-DO (HTC Apache). Where available this is easy: the CDMA EV-DO is faster, but for tasks such as Exchange ActiveSync even GPRS will do ok, meaning that for OTA (over-the-air) synchronisation any of these devices will work just fine.

The problem is that EDGE is available in the USA only, and a few countries in Europe. It means that anyone deciding on a HTC Wizard will have big chances of being stuck in GPRS (slow) land and the next option up for these users is the pricey HTC Universal.

In terms of prices, the HTC Universal, here in New Zealand distributed by Vodafone New Zealand as i-mate Jasjar, will cost NZ$1999 (US$1395), while the HTC Apache (via Telecom New Zealand as "Apache") will cost NZ$1199 (US$836). Granted, neither are cheap, but consumers will probably tend to the choose the HTC Apache on this criteria (if the HTC Wizard is out due to data speed limits).

For comparison, the HTC Wizard (i-mate K-Jam) will be available through Vodafone New Zealand for NZ$1599 (US$1116), but it will be an option I wouldn't look at if fast cellular connections are something that interests you.

I think the HTC Universal will be purchased by companies that want to give executives an easy to use, with fast mobile data alternative to laptops.

But don't go too fast: at least the models I've tested don't come with the new Messaging and Security Feature Pack in ROM (at the time I am writing this, check the date). This software is an add-on announced by Microsoft that, when used together with Microsoft Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2, allows push e-mail and remote device management.

It means that while OTA Exchange ActiveSync works (and I tested it fine) and the SMS-initiated AUTD is also an option, users will not be able to use the new push e-mail system introduced to eliminate the dependency on SMS-initiated mechanisms.

This will be added later by the manufacturer, but it will depend on the mobile operator or distributor to actually release the update. So check with your distributor first if this functionality is a requirement.

And by the way, just using the HTC Apache for a few hours, and it's so much faster than the HTC Universal!

PS. Just to make it clear: the HTC Apache will be sold as TNZ Apache, Sprint PPC-6700. The HTC Universal is the Dopod 900, i-mate Jasjar, O2 Xda Exec, SPV M5000, QTEK 9000, T-Mobile MDA Pro, Vodafone VPA IV. Confused? Yes, that's why we created the Smart Devices Database.

Columbian.com - Serving Clark County, Washington

Columbian.com - Serving Clark County, WashingtonSamsung Profit Slumps on Price-Fixing Fine
Oct 14, 6:12 AM EDT
By KELLY OLSEN
AP Business Writer

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A hefty, multi-million dollar price-fixing fine and lower chip prices took a big bite out of Samsung's third-quarter earnings, with net profits plunging 30 percent from the same period the year before, the South Korean company said Friday.

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip maker and a major consumer electronics firm, said it earned 1.88 trillion won, or $1.8 billion, in the three months through Sept. 30, down from 2.69 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

The results for South Korea's biggest company by market capitalization were worse than expectations. A survey of 10 analysts by Dow Jones Newswires predicted Samsung's profit would total 1.97 trillion won ($1.89 billion).

The earnings result came a day after U.S. federal officials in Washington said Samsung will pay a US$300 million (euro250 million) fine to settle accusations it secretly conspired with industry rivals to fix prices and cheat customers.

Samsung Senior Vice President Chu Woosik told investors on a conference call in Seoul on Friday that net profit would have been higher were it not for setting aside about 200 billion won ($192 million) to pay the fine. The company last year already set aside $100 million.

"If you exclude that, net profit would have gone over 2 trillion (won)," he said.

Sales during the quarter rose 1.4 percent to 14.54 trillion won ($13.94 billion) from 14.34 trillion won a year earlier, the company said.

Prices for Samsung's mainstay businesses - chips, mobile phones and liquid crystal displays used in computer monitors and televisions - peaked in the first half of last year. Profit margins in the industry have since been eroded by a global oversupply of dynamic random access, or DRAM, chips and LCDs, and stiffer competition in the mobile phone business.

Samsung is the world's biggest producer of DRAM and NAND flash memory chips. It is the second-largest semiconductor maker after Intel Corp. and is also one of the largest makers of LCDs along with domestic rival LG.Philips LCD Co.

DRAM chips are most widely used in personal computers, while NAND flash chips are used in electronic devices such as MP3 players and digital cameras.

Prices of DRAM chips fell 35 percent from the same quarter last year, while those for NAND dropped 50 percent, according to industry analysts.

From the previous quarter, however, Samsung said the declines were far less, with DRAM prices down just 3 percent and those for NAND 19 percent lower, helping net profit gain 11 percent from the second quarter.

That and expectations of continued strong demand for flash memory chips used in products like Apple Computer Inc.'s hot-selling iPod digital music player made Samsung officials optimistic about the future.

"We see very strong momentum continuing in the NAND business," Samsung's Chu said.

While Samsung officials acknowledge supplying flash memory chips to Apple, they and the Cupertino, California-based company have remained mum on details, including how much and at what price.

The company, the world's third-largest maker of handsets after Nokia Corp. and Motorola Corp., said it sold a record 26.8 million mobile phones during the quarter, with Europe remaining its biggest market at 36 percent of the total, compared with 33 percent in the previous quarter.

"The handset market is expected to remain very strong," Chu said.

Samsung's guilty plea to a felony price-fixing charge caps a three-year investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into makers of the chips, a $7.7 billion market in the United States.

Samsung said in a statement the company "strongly supports fair competition and ethical practices and forbids anticompetitive behavior."

Two of Samsung's leading rivals - South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and Germany's Infineon Technologies AG - earlier paid fines totaling $345 million and pleaded guilty to involvement in a scheme the government said boosted prices consumers paid for computers between 1999 and 2002.

Samsung Electronics shares closed unchanged Friday at 562,000 won ($538).

BBC NEWS | Technology | Apple iPod sets sights on video

BBC NEWS | Technology | Apple iPod sets sights on video Apple iPod sets sights on video
By Alfred Hermida
Technology editor, BBC News website

Apple has set its sights on conquering the world of portable video with the launch of a sound and vision version of its iconic iPod.

It is looking to build on the success of its digital music player, having sold 28 million music-playing iPods since 2001.

"Because millions of people around the world will buy this new iPod to play music, it will quickly become the most popular portable video player in history," said Apple boss Steve Jobs at the launch of the device.

But the computer maker is coming late to the world of video on the go. There are several media players available from Microsoft and its hardware partners, as well as gadgets from rivals Creative and Archos.

And the Japanese electronic giant Sony recently entered the fray with its PlayStation Portable (PSP), which sports a large screen to play films on its UMD discs.

"Sony has the design skills to match its devices and, the PSP, with its added gaming appeal, could rival Apple," said Salman Momen, technology analyst at Capgemini.

Question of content

So far, portable video players have failed to make much of an impact. Many of the devices have been bulky and getting TV shows or films onto them has often proved frustrating.

While there are dozens of legitimate online music services, finding portable video is another story. Most video online is streaming media which means it cannot be downloaded, and copy protection on DVDs makes it hard to transfer the content to a portable player.

This is video as a feature on an iPod. When Apple are ready to do video, you will see something more complete and more video-focused
Nate Elliott, Jupiter Research
Instead many have turned to illegal file-sharing sites, where thousands trade copies of popular TV shows and Hollywood blockbusters.

Apple is addressing some of these shortcomings by providing more than 2,000 music videos through its popular iTunes online music store.

The deal with ABC and Disney means it can offer legal downloads in the US of TV hits like Lost and Desperate Housewives for $1.99 a day after the shows air.

"This is a learning process for Apple," said Nate Elliott, digital home analyst at Jupiter Research. "There is no mass market for portable video today and they understand that.

"That market will exist at some point in the future. It is never a bad idea to start learning about the technology and how consumers want to use video on the go, and start the relationships with the content providers."

"This isn't a video device," insisted Mr Elliott. "This is video as a feature on an iPod. When Apple are ready to do video, you will see something more complete and more video-focused. "

Familiar feel

The new iPod is thinner than previous models and sports a 2.5 inch (6.35cm) colour screen that is 320 by 240 pixels in size.

In the UK the 30GB version should cost £219 ($299 in the US) and the 60GB version £299 ($399).

"It is the first step towards what will become a proper portable video player but it is not there yet," said Graham Barlow, editor of MacFormat magazine.

"Ideally I would have liked a screen the size of the PSP. But Apple have kept the look and feel of the iPod and the screen is big enough to watch TV programmes on."

"As soon as you hold it, you have this feeling 'I want one of these', especially with the black one. The next step is to come out with different colours, especially for the female market," said Mr Barlow.

As well as launching the new iPod, Apple has also unveiled a new iMac G5 computer. It comes with a remote control and a software package called Front Row to let people use the machine as a digital entertainment hub in the home.

"For the iPod generation, the flexibility of being able to watch TV programmes on their own terms means broadcasters need to rethink what we do," said the BBC's head of new media, Ashley Highfield.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Apple unveils video iPod, new iMac | CNET News.com

Apple unveils video iPod, new iMac | CNET News.com

By John Borland

Story last modified Wed Oct 12 10:12:00 PDT 2005

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Apple Computer on Wednesday unveiled its long-rumored video iPod, as well as a new iMac and an updated version of iTunes that lets users buy music videos, TV shows and movies.

The iPod has "been a huge hit for us, so it's time to replace it," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said as he showed off the new video-capable MP3 player at an event here. "Yes, it does video."

The music players, which come in black or white with a 2.5-inch screen, will be available in a 30GB model for $299 and a 60GB version for $399. The new devices hold up to 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos or more than 150 hours of video, Apple said.
Apple products

Jobs kicked off the event by revealing a new iMac G5 desktop computer that will be similar to the current model but thinner. The 17-inch 1.9GHz goes for $1,299; the 20-inch 2.1GHz model is $1,699. The iMacs will come with a built-in, Webcam-style iSight camera with still and video capabilities, and a new Apple remote that lets consumers control music, photos and video from 30 feet away.

At the gathering, Jobs used the tiny white remote control like an oversize iPod Shuffle to play a Black Eyed Peas video and an "Incredibles" DVD and also to play home movies and photos.

The new lineup of features for iMac and iPod finally point the company more directly at the living-room space that Microsoft has attempted to carve out with its Media Center edition of Windows. Jobs introduced the iMac's new remote control and multimedia functions, called Front Row, saying they would enable people to experience music, video and photos "from the sofa."

However, the differences between the two platforms remain striking. Media Center PCs plug directly into a television or a television input device such as a cable TV box, allowing the devices to record television shows much like a TiVo digital video recorder, for example.
FAQ
Some details behind Apple's announcement
Following the announcement of new iMacs and a video-capable iPod, CNET News.com responds to some questions.

Many of today's Macs (and the new iPod) have a TV-out connection, but not a TV-in connection. Jobs highlighted only the ability to watch video on the iMac and iPod, without mentioning watching the programming on a television.

Indeed, for now, the video highlighted by Jobs is best suited for small screens, although Apple's software enhances the quality significantly for watching on a large screen. The 320-by-240 resolution can be expanded for a full-screen LCD (liquid-crystal display) TV or computer monitor, but will not have the quality of a DVD.

The cost of content
Then there's cost. With the new version of iTunes, unveiled five weeks after the debut of iTunes 5, consumers can buy non-burnable music videos for $1.99.

Tim Deal, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said he's unsure how consumers will take to the per-video cost.

"While I can appreciate the cool factor of portable video content, the price is a little difficult to digest," he said. "I think consumers are accustomed to seeing music videos for free from services such as Yahoo Launch and Comcast On Demand. Apple should give the videos away and charge for exclusive content only.
Related video
Steve Jobs shows off iPod with video
Music videos, Pixar short films and ABC TV shows to be sold on iTunes.

"This will, however," Deal added, "be a real boon for video podcasting and provides another distribution channel for independent content."

In addition to music videos, consumers will be able to purchase TV shows one day after their initial broadcast. Offerings will include ABC television's "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" and the Disney Channel's "That's So Raven." It will take 10 to 20 minutes to download an episode, Jobs said. Each will cost $1.99 and will be ad-free.

Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger took the stage with Jobs to introduce the sales of Disney- and ABC-owned TV shows through iTunes.

"We believe this is a breakthrough," Iger said. "This provides a great opportunity for consumers to stay connected to their favorite programs."

Six short films from Pixar Animation Studios also will be available for $1.99 each.

Apple last week sent invitations that included the words "One more thing..." Wednesday's announcements took place at the California Theatre, where Apple introduced the U2 iPod and the first color-screen iPod Photo last year.

The video iPod arrives just one month after Apple unveiled its pencil-thin iPod Nano. Company executives said Tuesday that demand for the Nano is strongly outstripping Apple's ability to supply the flash-memory-based music players.

Still a music machine
While highlighting the new iPod's video features, Jobs appeared careful to stress several times that it was still fundamentally a music-playing device, with video features added as a "bonus."

The careful language may have been aimed at avoiding a repeat of the introduction of the Photo edition of the iPod, which was not initially a top seller despite the addition of the color screen and photo features.

However, Jobs did show a new iPod ad, focused wholly on the new video features, with the tagline "Watch your music."

Sam Bhavnani, an analyst at Current Analysis, noted that the appeal of video is more limited than music. "You can't use it when running. You can't use it while working. You can't use it while driving," he said. However, downloading a TV show to use on an airplane flight, for example, will appeal to some consumers.

Apple "did a small step," Bhavnani said. "It doesn't take Einstein to know the next step is more shows. Maybe ultimately you get to where the next 'Toy Story' is going to be downloaded through iTunes."

Apple's video device isn't the first to hit the market. Studios currently market a handheld computer in Japan called the Type U that can be used to watch videos. Consumers can also watch movies (with a tiny Universal Media Disc) on the PlayStation Portable.

Intel and Microsoft designed a portable media player in 2002 that some manufacturers brought to market last year. (First it was known as Media2Go and later as the Portable Media Center.) In addition, Samsung and others have released phones that can receive TV signals, thereby allowing commuters to watch shows on their cell phones.

So far, though, portable video hasn't been a big seller. The screens on these devices are far smaller than those on TVs. Video also can sap battery life. Watching TV over cellular signals, some Korean consumers have found out, can rack up high bills. (New versions of the cell-phone televisions use a TV tuner card, rather than deliver TV over the cellular network.)

Sony executives, though, recently said sales of Universal Media Disc movies for the PSP are a little better than expected.

CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos contributed to this report.

BBC NEWS | Business | IPod helps Apple quadruple profit

BBC NEWS | Business | IPod helps Apple quadruple profit IPod helps Apple quadruple profit
Apple has quadrupled its quarterly profits, thanks to global sales of more than 6.5 million of its iPod music players over the past three months.

Its net profits for its fiscal fourth quarter rose to $430m (£246m), or 50 cents per share, up from $106m for the same period last year.

This beat market expectations of 36 cents a share, but quarterly turnover disappointed investors.

Although revenues rose 56% to $3.68bn, analysts had expected $3.74bn.

As a result, Apple's shares fell in after-hours trading in New York.

More iPods

Apple, which recently launched its new super-small iPod Nano, has three quarters of the entire global digital music player market.

During the fourth quarter Apple also sold 1.2 million of its Macintosh computers, a year-on-year rise of 48%.

Sales of iPods were up 220%, also compared to the same period a year earlier.

"We're thrilled to have concluded the best year in Apple's history," said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive.

"This is the direct result of our focus on innovation and the immense talent and creativity at Apple. We could not be more excited about the new products we're working on for 2006."

According to media speculation, Mr Jobs may on Wednesday launch yet another new version of the iPod, this time a model that can play videos.
Story from BBC NEWS:

NPR : Microsoft, Real Networks Settle Antitrust Case

NPR : Microsoft, Real Networks Settle Antitrust CaseMicrosoft, Real Networks Settle Antitrust Case

Listen to this story...

by Wendy Kaufman

All Things Considered, October 11, 2005 · Microsoft agrees to pay Real Networks $760 million in cash and other benefits to settle a long-running antitrust suit. The two companies also plan a partnership in digital music and games. Real is the maker of the Rhapsody music service.

DirecTV introducing new DVR tomorrow - Engadget - www.engadget.com

DirecTV introducing new DVR tomorrow - Engadget - www.engadget.comDirecTV introducing new DVR tomorrow

Posted Oct 9, 2005, 2:42 PM ET by Peter Rojas
Related entries: Home Entertainment

It’s the day TiVo hoped would never come: tomorrow DirecTV is launching a $30 million advertising campaign to introduce its new in-house digital video recorder, the R15 DirecTV Plus DVR. The DVR, which should be available before the end of the month, will be able to record up to 100 hours of programming and will cost $5.99 a month (which is the same as what they’re charging for DirecTV with TiVo); a version capable of recording HDTV should be available sometime in the middle of next year.

You’ll still be able to get DirecTV with TiVo until an agreement between the two companies runs out in early 2007, but DirecTV has already stopped all marketing TiVo to its subscribers (if you want it, you have to ask) and will almost certainly do their damnedest to convince as many people as possible to sign up for their DVR rather than for TiVo’s (dropping the monthly price a bit would probably help). This doesn’t by any means spell the end of TiVo. DirecTV users account for only a small percentage of the company’s overall revenue — they’re only making about a buck a month off of every DirecTV with TiVo subscribe, which is way less than they’re making from standalone subscribers — but this arrangement did help them pump up their subcriber base in a pretty significant way. They better hope their deal with Comcast gets rolling right quick.