With the stakes high in Microsoft’s bid to add its search engine to the iPhone, a few words of praise by the software giant’s CEO have drawn a considerable amount of attention.
“Apple’s done a very nice job that allows people to monetize and commercialize their intellectual property” in the App Store, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a University of Washington audience last week.
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Older versions of Internet Explorer are under attack. Microsoft warned Tuesday afternoon that cybercriminals are actively exploiting a security vulnerability that lets attackers execute malicious code from remote locations.
Microsoft’s internal investigation reveals that the latest version of the browser, Internet Explorer 8, is not affected. Likewise, Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is not affected.
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The wait is over. Cisco Systems on Tuesday finally took the lid off its hype machine to reveal … a new router. Cisco is positioning its CRS-3 Carrier Routing System as the foundation of the next-generation Internet that will pave the way for rapid growth of video transmissions, mobile devices, and new online services.
The CRS-3 offers three times the traffic capacity of the its predecessor, the CRS-1, Cisco said, and promises to accelerate the delivery of new experiences for consumers, new revenue opportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in the workplace. That’s a lot of hyperbole, but analysts said it’s believable.
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On the heels of the big 3-D television presence at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Sony and Samsung are joining Panasonic, LG Electronics, and others in promoting the new technology. On Tuesday, Sony said it is aiming for 10 percent of its TV sales within the next year to be 3-D models, and Samsung announced a range of HDTV sets and Blu-ray players will ship later this month.
At a press conference Tuesday in New York City, Samsung announced what it described as the “world’s first available full HD 3D LED TV,” as well as a variety of related 3-D home entertainment products.
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Competitors in the fast-moving tablet-computer category are lining up to take on Apple’s iPad. Hewlett-Packard is the latest to preview its upcoming slate product, and other companies like Lenovo, Sony, Dell and Acer are similarly positioning their products.
The HP tablet runs Windows 7, and was first previewed by Microsoft at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. HP published some details on its company blog last month and updated the information with a posting Monday that includes two promotional videos. The videos show a tablet device running Flash and responding to hand gestures.
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As Internet and television continue to converge, Google is actively testing a new television-programming search service with Dish Network, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The service reportedly runs on TV set-top boxes that host Google software and enable viewers to find shows on Dish and video on web sites like YouTube. The Journal cited people familiar with the matter who said the service will allow viewers to personalize a lineup of shows.
The report follows TiVo’s launch last week of digital video recorders that combine broadcast and web content. Microsoft and Apple are also looking for their place in the hybrid broadcast-web space. Google’s experiment offers the search giant access to 14 million Dish viewers, signaling the potential to yield valuable results.
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Some Windows PC users may hope the Energizer bunny didn’t keep going and going. It turns out the Energizer DUO USB battery charger is a vehicle for attacks on PCs, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team.
US-CERT researchers said Friday that the software that installs with the Energizer charger contains a Trojan horse that gives malicious hackers a back door into Windows machines.
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Four out of five adults view Internet access as their fundamental right. So says a new BBC World Service global poll of 27,000 adults across 26 countries.
Conducted by GlobeScan, the poll reveals that 87 percent of survey participants who use the Internet feel web access should be the “fundamental right of all people.” Seventy-one percent of non-Internet users agreed with that statement. South Korea, Mexico and China saw the highest percentage of users who feel Net access is a fundamental right.
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Six months after launching trials of its new 4G Long Term Evolution network, Verizon Wireless has reported wireless data speeds faster than its own and competitors’ existing networks. The recorded speeds are also faster than any competitors’ promised 3G network speeds.
Trials in Boston and Seattle show the LTE network is able to hold peak download speeds of 40 to 50 megabits per second and peak upload speeds of 20 to 25 megabits per second, the New Jersey-based wireless carrier announced Monday.
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Motorola is placing two new bets on the open-source Android operating system with the release of its Backflip and Devour smartphones. The uniquely designed Backflip began selling through AT&T Wireless late last week, and the Detour is now available from Verizon Wireless.
The 3G/Wi-Fi Backflip, at $99 after rebate and with a two-year contract, is gaining a lot of attention for its unique flip-out QWERTY keyboard, which AT&T has described as “an original reverse flip design.”
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Rivals of Microsoft’s market-leading Web browser have attracted a flurry of interest since the company, fulfilling a regulatory requirement, started making it easier for European users of its Windows operating system to switch.
Mozilla, whose Firefox browser is the strongest competitor to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer worldwide, said that more than 50,000 people had downloaded Firefox via a “choice screen” that has been popping up on Windows-equipped computers in Europe since the end of last month. The screen displays links to a dozen browsers, including Explorer, Firefox, Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Opera.
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Apple ran its first iPad commercial during the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The 30-second advertisement shows the tablet computer sitting on an unidentified man’s lap as he whisks through the features and functions in veteran style.
Apple’s latest computing innovation will hit store shelves on April 3, but the commercial offered a closer look at what Apple CEO Steve Jobs calls “something completely new” and “magical” and “revolutionary.” The iPad will start at $499 and lets users browse the web, read and send e-mail, view and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read books, and more.
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Apple is attempting to put the brakes on one of the first Windows Phone 7 Series smartphones. Apple’s suit against HTC would block the company from releasing its HD2 mobile phone equipped with Microsoft’s new mobile operating system in the U.S.
Apple’s complaint before the U.S. International Trade Commission would stop the Taiwan-based HTC from importing some of its 7 Series phones into the U.S.
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Google delivered the latest salvo in its battle to wrest control from Microsoft over office productivity with its purchase of DocVerse, a Microsoft Office collaboration startup. The Wall Street Journal reported the purchase price was $25 million.
DocVerse was founded in 2007 by former Microsoft executives Shan Sinha and Alex DeNeui. The first product is a plug-in for Microsoft Office that allows users of the desktop software to collaborate on Office documents.
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With its search-engine deal with Yahoo approved by regulators, Microsoft is gearing up for another run at challenging Google’s commanding market lead. But with comScore reporting Yahoo and Microsoft had 17 percent and 11.3 percent shares of the U.S. search market in January, the partnership will need to do some heavy lifting to dent Google’s 65.4 percent share.
Still, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he thinks the deal with Yahoo will greatly improve the relevance of advertising placed next to search results, which benefits advertisers and users alike.
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