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Microsoft flips the switch on remote TV recording

Microsoft has quietly enabled the MSN Remote Record feature for its Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system, a customised version of Windows XP that enabled users to watch and record television shows on their computers.

Users now can instruct the software to record a show through the internet. That feature should appeal to TV junkies who are travelling and don't want to miss their favorite shows, but more importantly allows them to search the electronic programming guide with MSN's search engine.

February 28, 2005 at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

VC massacre postponed

The predicted massacre among the over-confident and over-financed venture capital investors in Silicon Valley isn't happening.

"Why not?" asked Silicon Beat. Because most firms are still hanging in there. They cut costs by laying off some of their staff and sold some of the companies they invested in at a decent, although not spectacular, profit.

In another sign that the sector has weathered the storm, Shasta Ventures has raised $210 m from investors. Shasta specialises in technology for the consumer market.

February 28, 2005 at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Blinded by Microsoft hate

Microsoft might have an image of being fiercely competitive, but in their eagerness to catch the world's largest software company with it's hand in the cookie jar, the blogosphere has made an embarrassing mistake.

On Saturday an image started circulating on the internet that "proved" that Microsoft's anti-spyware was enticing users to uninstall Firefox, an open source competitor of Internet Explorer. The image was an hoax, but many bloggers and websites, including Slashdot didn't bother to check, putting all their faith in the JPG-image.

This is what happens if you let your anti-Microsoft religion stand in the way of old school fact checking.

Microsoft's anti-spyware software  did come under fire recently when it turned out that is  prevented users from setting the Dutch Startpagina.nl as their homepage, suggesting that users switch to MSN.nl instead. Startpagina.nl is the number one website in the Netherlands and a major competitor for MSN.nl. Microsoft has since apologized for the mistake and adjusted the software.

February 28, 2005 at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Firefox update not for the mom and pop user

Users looking to apply the latest security upgrade of the open source Firefox browser have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them.

They are advised to manually uninstall the software before they can get the new security features. There is no simple patch for them to apply.

In terms of ease of use, Microsoft's Internet Explorer outshines Firefox – for now at least.

February 25, 2005 at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

Fuel cells not your thing? Help's on the way

Forget my previous post about fuel cell technology coming to mobile phones by 2008. Students at the Department of Industrial Design at the Indian Institute of Technology have designed a portable turbine that generates sufficient electricity to charge a mobile phone. The device would be ideal for people travelling on trains: just hold it out of the window you've got instant power.

In areas where electricity is a scarcity and where there is a constant wind source, it could also be used to power a radio or to run lights.

The device will cost 200 Rupees, or $4.59.

February 25, 2005 at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Internet over powerlines gets real at last

The year 2005 will mark the breakthrough of broadband over powerline technology in the US, claims the New Millennium Research Council.

The NMRC is a group of scholars and policy makers, aiming to "develop workable, real-world solutions to the issues and challenges confronting policymakers" in the fields of telecommunications and technology.

Due to interference issues, internet over powerlines test projects have been as abundant as they have been big failures. But there are some real world deployments now, notes the NMRC. Homes in sections of New York City as well as Manassas, Virginia are being hooked up to the internet through the power grid. The provider in Manassas already had to put 1,300 prospective customers on a waiting list.

Internet over the powerline might have to compete with cable and DSL connections, but those wires are getting used less and less. Copper phonelines are being cut in favour of mobile plans, and cable TV is losing ground to satellite, the NMRC point out. The power line in the future might very well become the only wire that still comes into the home from the outside.

Meanwhile NMRC conveniently leaves out the possibility that the WiMAX wireless technology in the future replaces wired internet altogether. But hey, they have a whitepaper to promote here. And in their defence, the surge of WiMAX seems all but certain.

February 25, 2005 at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mobile phone to go liquid by 2008

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone has developed a fuel cell that will provide 3G telephone sets with up to 9 hours of talk time. The catch is that it'll take until 2008 before the technology will be able to deliver on its promises.

One could argue that the two days of battery life that we get out of our mobile phones at this moment is sufficient, but 3G models will suck up a significant larger amount of power, requiring for a major overhaul in battery technology.

Fuel cells could provide that technology. They use liquid hydrogen or methanol to create electricity. The big advantage is that the technology allows for rapid recharging (refuelling to be exact) and has a larger storage capacity than traditional batteries.

Fuel cell technology might deal with the jungle of power adapters that reside under our desks, consumers instead will get a hydrogen storage unit the size of a car battery in their homes to refuel their devices – just forget about carrying that thing with you on a business trip.

February 25, 2005 at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The iPod shuffle is display-ready

The iPod shuffle might cost only $99 for the 512 Mb version, that still leaves Apple $35 to $40 in profit, according to an estimate by research firm IDC.

About two thirds of the costs are gobbled up by the 512 Mb flash memory chip that the portable media player uses to store its music.

The iPod shuffle uses the STMP3550 digital music decoder chip from SigmaTel Inc. Those willing to speculate should pay attention to the fact that the chip also supports the decoding of Windows Media audio files, although Apple has it programmed for AAC and Audible music formats.

The chip also offers support for an LCD display (!!!), voice recording and FM tuner.

Especially the lack of a display in the iPod shuffle has been a major point of criticism. The decoder chip supporting such a display however gives Apple the option to easily add one in future models.

February 25, 2005 at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Will Microsoft kill Longhorn's security?

Microsoft has become awfully quiet about its Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) initiative. NGSCB is a set of new security technologies that will be part of Windows Longhorn.

The technology promised to greatly increase the level of security in Windows. But at the same time it sparked concerns about fair use and the need for hardware and software developers to adjust their products in order to profit from the new security technology.

Microsoft unveiled NGSCB, formerly codenamed Palladium, in 2002, and published a beta October 2003. Last year May, the company disclosed that it had severely watered down the programme based on user feedback. Microsoft missed a deadline for late 2004 to publish an update to the programme.

The project's website currently appears abandoned and the company won't comment on the direction the technology is taking.

The evidence that a major catastrophe has hit the NGSCB project is overwhelming. If Microsoft kills the technology and doesn't come up with a proper alternative, it sends a strong signal that it doesn't care about security, and has no intention to offer secure products to its customers.

For all that NGSCB had going against it, it did promise to offer a dramatic increase in security for the average user. It would be sad to see Microsoft make this mistake.

February 24, 2005 at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Computer users demand liability at last

Enterprise computer users including General Motors, AT&T and Alcoa (an aluminium producer) are bundling their forces to have software vendors accept liability for the software that they sell, reports The Wall Street Journal (paid subscription).

If successful, the lobby would mean the end of an era in which companies like Microsoft, Apple, IBM and Oracle can hide behind software licenses that severely limit a user's right to expect a product that does what it promises to do.

It's always struck me as amazing, but the software industry so far has gotten away with providing abysmal service without taking even a bit of responsibility.

"Can you imagine if GM produced a vehicle and said, 'We did a pretty good job of engineering this. It worked in the laboratory. Here it is, consumer, you go crash-test it,'" asks Eric Litt, chief information-security officer in GM's information-systems and services unit in the Wall Street journal story. "We wouldn't accept that as a society."

As a result of the limited liabilities, we have created the weirdest of situations: if a software vendor messes up, he can force his customer to buy an upgrade to correct his mistake. Economics 101tells you that this picture is plainly wrong because it gives the vendor an incentive to create crappy code.

Change here is long overdue.

February 24, 2005 at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)