28
August
2007
|
03:40 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Newswatch 8.28.07: More gPhone rumors ...

A phone to go with all that spectrum

[CrunchGear] A HTC insider sent us a tip this weekend about an upcoming gPhone coming out of Taiwan that should launch Q1 2008. Google is currently assessing over twenty HTC models and refining its final handset design and will create a special version of Google Maps, compatible with built-in GPS, and compatibility with Gmail and the calendar app.

YHOO to parents: You can text too

[Toronto Star] Yahoo Inc., the most popular provider of Web-based email in the United States, has added a feature that lets users send free messages directly to mobile phones. The enhancements make it easier to send email, instant messages or text messages from a single website – no need to launch or toggle between separate applications or devices.

Status 'criminal' has been reset to 'customer'

[CMP] Microsoft over the weekend fixed a glitch with the validation scheme for Windows XP and Vista that angered users by flagging their legitimate versions of the OS as pirated.

Forget gPhone, YTphone is here

[PC World] Both cameras share some common features, such as the ability to record H.264 movies. The cameras also feature "YouTube Shooting Mode," which records movies at the optimum size, quality and other settings for uploading to YouTube. They utilize face detection auto focus technology and an auto-tracking autofocus mechanism that employs motion analysis.

Sony back to rootkit tricks?

[PC World] A line of USB drives sold by Sony Electronics installs files in a hidden folder that can be accessed and used by hackers, a Finnish security company charged Monday, raising the specter of a replay of the fiasco that hit Sony's music arm two years ago when researchers discovered that its copy protection software used rootkit-like technologies.

Microsoft's OpenXML to get stamp of approval despite open source whiners

[Computerworld] With ISO's Sept. 2 voting deadline looming, the recently retired secretary general of Ecma International defended Microsoft Corp.'s Office Open XML document format against fierce technical criticism. "Give me any standard, and I bet you I can find an error," said Jan Van Den Beld, who retired in April after 16 years running Geneva-based Ecma, in a telephone interview on Monday with Computerworld. Ecma is shepherding Open XML, the default format used by Office 2007 documents, through ISO's traditionally difficult approval process.

The Man is burning early

[Wired] Flames engulfed Burning Man's giant namesake sculpture five days early during a rare total lunar eclipse early Tuesday. Fire crews put the fire out, while onlookers cheered. Details remain sketchy at this time, although there have been unconfirmed reports of arson or a possible electrical malfunction. One person was arrested, according to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal. The Man was only partially damaged, and Saturday's planned big burn is still on, the paper said.