Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » février 13, 2009

BetaNews.Com (13 non lus)

Moonlight 1.0 means more Silverlight apps run smoothly on Linux

Publié: février 13, 2009, 10:20pm CET

Microsoft had always promised interoperability as one of its key goals for Silverlight. The way it's accomplishing this on the Linux side of the scale is by empowering Miguel de Icaza to take the project and run with it.
Is text-to-speech on Kindle 2 a threat to audiobooks?

Publié: février 13, 2009, 6:57pm CET

Yesterday, the Author's Guild aired complaints about the Kindle 2's new onboard text-to-speech function from predictive text specialists Nuance Communications, warning that the function could eventually cut into the audiobook market.
Nvidia: First Ion PC to ship by summer, might use Vista

Publié: février 13, 2009, 6:46pm CET

PC makers are working on both netbooks and small desktop systems using Ion, but the first Ion PC, expected by this summer, will probably be a desktop model, an Nvidia spokesperson said today.
Google: now making you even more visible

Publié: février 13, 2009, 5:14pm CET

This week, Google cranked out several tools that exploit the search company's strength in the LBS (location based service) model. Betanews took a look at one for Android, and one for Gmail.
Facebook's '$65m settliement' might be worth a lot less

Publié: février 13, 2009, 4:16pm CET

A settlement by Facebook's founder to college classmates, pegged by lawyers at $65 million, contained only $20 million in cash, according to an AP report this week which also revives the issue of Facebook's real stock value.
More specs, photos turn up for next Sidekick

Publié: février 13, 2009, 9:54am CET

T-Mobile tends to keep the wraps on each new iteration of the Sidekick for as long as it can, but that doesn't keep details on (and photos of) the 2009 iteration of the cult-fave smartphone from making their way to the fan sites.
Paul Allen's cable company charts Chapter 11 course

Publié: février 13, 2009, 5:54am CET

Charter Communications, the nation's fourth-largest cable company and a major component of Paul Allen's Vulcan, has turnaround experts on board and is prepping a Chapter 11 filing to restructure approximately $8 billion in debt. The purchase of the St. Louis-based company in 1988 was a big component of Allen's "wired world" vision -- "I will finally have some wires for my wired world," he said back when he was purchasing both Charter and the quickly ingested Marcus Cable -- but the provider's had a hard time in the marketplace, ranking at or near the bottom of various customer-satisfaction polls over the years and getting a rare public warning from the Better Business Bureau in 2006. Charter's Internet division also had the signal dishonor of ranking #114 -- dead last -- on Forrester Research's 2008 Customer Experience Rankings, released in December. (The video-service division shone at #110.) The operator currently serves 27 states and 5.5 million customers.
Microsoft offers $250,000 for capture of Conficker writer

Publié: février 13, 2009, 4:25am CET

The Conficker situation has to be maddening for Microsoft. The vulnerability was patched months ago, but as the infection spreads through unpatched systems, it's hitting some very high-profile networks. And so the company's offering a remarkable reward for what could be a very fragile peace of mind.
Windows 7 build 7022 leaks to torrent sites

Publié: février 13, 2009, 4:03am CET

After Microsoft ended the Windows 7 Beta 1 downloads this week, reports of the appearance of a new leaked build quickly began to roll in. Users who didn't get a chance to download Beta 1 are now turning to BitTorrent sites to get the newer, leaked release. Though reportedly "nothing major," the 7022 build is dated January 15, and includes Internet Explorer 8 RC 1. Windows 7 Beta 1 was build 7000.
Microsoft follows Apple with retail stores, but will people line up for a Zune?

Publié: février 13, 2009, 3:48am CET

Planning a foray into standalone retail stores is risky business for a tech company not named Apple, but if Microsoft's going to take a shot, it could have done worse than hiring David Porter, the former DreamWorks and Wal-Mart exec.
Youtube goes downloadable

Publié: février 13, 2009, 3:27am CET

So begins a new day for the venerable YouTube, the popular video streaming site is testing downloadable videos which include both a free and a for-pay model. Thai Tran, Product Manager at YouTube announced today in the site's official blog that YouTube is "going offline." That is to say, it is giving video owners the option to make their videos downloadable under the Creative Commons License. Also, the option to make the videos available through a Google Checkout purchase is being tested. Videos available for purchase currently have a small link under the left corner, across from where the "Watch in High Quality" tab is currently placed. Clicking there will expose the Google Checkout gadget that carries the user through the transaction. Videos are in the MP4 file format with H.264 video and AAC audio, suitable for play on most portable media devices including the iPod and iPhone.
Sprint announces aggressive phone-recycling plans

Publié: février 13, 2009, 2:00am CET

With an estimated 44% of all mobile phones sitting around unused, many handset and service providers are working to keep gear from landing in landfills. On Thursday, Sprint announced an initiative to, by 2017, recycle or reuse 90% of all mobile phones compared with annual wireless device sales.
Celebrity gadget notes from all over

Publié: février 13, 2009, 1:10am CET

Hard to imagine that Apple will be falling over themselves to celebrate this "celebrity" sighting, but a doozy in Al-Jazeera does have interesting implications for understanding how the Taliban has changed since the war started.