22
October
2007
|
04:40 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Newswatch 10.22.07: Waiting for AAPL earnings

Would you like your spam as an MP3?

[AP] The latest in unwanted electronic communication is an MP3 file that began landing in inboxes around the world last week. It features a spooky, synthesized Darth-Vader-sounding female voice touting the stock of Exit Only Inc., traded on the lower-standard Pink Sheets.

Are regulators dragging feet on Intel probe?

[AP] In August, Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand asked the FTC to probe Intel. A letter to the FTC from the New York Democrats said: "If the allegations against Intel are true, the potential harm to consumers could be profound." In a response in September, the FTC told legislators the agency is barred by law from disclosing investigations. On Monday, Brian Fallon, a Schumer spokesman, said the agency appears to be "slow-walking" the issue.

IBM chipset promises superfast downloads

[InfoWeek] IBM disclosed Monday that it has teamed up with Taiwanese vendor MediaTek to develop computer chipsets that the companies say will allow consumers to wirelessly zap high definition content to televisions and other devices at push-button speeds. Dubbed mmWave, the chipsets -- which comprise computer chips and high-speed interconnects -- will use so-called millimeter wave radio technology to transmit the data.

Jobs envisions a decade of annual OS upgrades

[NYT] “I’m quite pleased with the pace of new operating systems every 12 to 18 months for the foreseeable future,” he said. “We’ve put out major releases on the average of one a year, and it’s given us the ability to polish and polish and improve and improve.”


UN agency gives boost to WiMax


[NYT] The United Nations telecommunications agency in Geneva gave the upstart technology called WiMax a vote of approval, providing a sizable victory for Intel and something of a defeat for competing technologies from Qualcomm and Ericsson.

Chemical group says iPhone environmentally sound

[PCW] The Bromine Science and Environmental Forum BSEF), the international organization of the bromine chemical industry, points out that none of the substances Greenpeace is criticizing Apple for deploying in the device are banned under existing environmental law.

Libraries rebuff GOOG, MSFT

[NYT] Several major research libraries have rebuffed offers from Google and Microsoft to scan their books into computer databases, saying they were put off by restrictions these companies wanted to place on the new digital collections. The research libraries, including a large consortium in the Boston area, are instead signing on with the Open Content Alliance, a nonprofit effort to make digital material as widely accessible as possible.