12
May
2009
|
19:55 PM
America/Los_Angeles

Newswatch: Sun's Other Suitor; Google Updates Search; Microsoft's 3-D Camera

Wednesday 8am Silicon Valley news report:

Sun Had Another Interested Suitor Besides IBM and Oracle -WSJ


Sun Microsystems wasn’t just courted by IBM and Oracle before the latter agreed to buy the computer maker. A new regulatory filing by Sun also describes a mysterious “Party B” that remained in the bidding–though an apparent longshot–until Friday, April 17, two days before Sun and Oracle signed the purchase agreement.



Unofficial Software Incurs Apple’s Wrath -NYTimes


“They’re worried about malware being distributed and third-party developers interfering with the stability of their product,” he said. “We just feel users should be able to decide for themselves if they want to deal with that.”


Google shows new search tools for computer, phone -Reuters


Google said it will search blogs and news sites, as well as the general information available online, to provide a fresher picture of certain subjects.


Intel CEO: `So far, so good' in 2Q -AP


Otellini said he stands by his remark last month that personal computer sales have "bottomed out" and are recovering from their worst slump in six years. He said he's convinced things are returning to normal seasonal patterns, and that Intel's results have been "so far, so good" in the second quarter.


What Is Google Squared? It Is How Google Will Crush Wolfram Alpha (Exclusive Video) -TechCrunchIT


Google Squared is an early attempt to take the messy data which exists on the Web and place it into simple tables. It is still very experimental and isn’t always on target, but you can see where this is going. Turning the Web into a giant database will crush any attempt to segregate the “best” information into a separate database so that it can be processed and searched more deeply.


SF Giants save big with new tech -ZDNet


He said that the iPhone debuted the same weekend as the Giants hosted the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and that since then, usage of the park's Wi-Fi network has gone up 537 percent.


Microsoft Swings at Wii With Videocam -WSJ


Unlike the Wii, the Microsoft camera won't require users to hold any hardware to control on-screen action, the people familiar with the matter said. The camera would sit near the television and capture when players move their hands, legs or head.


The Problem With Cable Is Television -NYTimes


There are two takeaways from all this. The broadband business is doing fine, as costs are coming down. Cable executives do worry that if costs rise as they expect because of surging online video use, they will need to find some way to get prices going up the way they are used to in their video business.


Google's Street View halted in Greece over privacy -SFGate


In rejecting Google's bid to roam Greek streets with cameras mounted on vehicles, Greece's Data Protection Authority, or DPA, said it wanted clarification from the U.S. Internet company on how it will store and process the original images and safeguard them from privacy abuses.


Make Room for the Wide Load Ads -NYTimes


“When you are getting robust photos or videos within the story itself, then you can afford to have large ad units because you are not totally hijacking the user experience,” Mr. Kim said. “It’s a value exchange.”


Facebook, Warner team on "Watchmen" promo -Reuters


The studio partnership with the social network Web site will use the BD-Live interactive feature on high-def discs, allowing "Watchmen" purchasers to view the film simultaneously and share comments with their Facebook friends.


Microsoft says hackers seek to attack PowerPoint users -Reuters


The world's No. 1 software maker said that a version of PowerPoint for Apple Inc's Mac computers is also vulnerable, though it has yet to find any evidence that hackers are actively seeking to exploit it.