Semimonthly Tech News - August 16-31, 2009

Semimonthly Tech News - August 16-31, 2009

Semimonthly Tech News - August 16-31, 2009

Headlines

• Ex-Informant Charged With Largest Credit Card Heist in US - If you don't know what SQL injection is, here is a good comic that illustrates it.
  
• Google must ID 'anonymous' blogger, Unmasked blogger plans to sue Google

Upcoming

• BlockBuster Bringing Movies To Motorola Phones
  
• Dell Mini 3i smartphone gets official outing in China
• Twitter Developing Location-Based API

Releases / New Features

• Apple released Max OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard", which is focused more on performance and 64-bit support than on delivering new end-user features
  
• Sony Launches Slim PS3, Cuts Older PS3's Price - I like how the older model is now referred to as the "PS3 Fat"
  
• Facebook 3.0 for iPhone pours on the features
• Logitech debuts glass-friendly mice - I have a Logitech MX Revolution, Logitech VX Revolution, and Logitech VX Nano, and I love them all. The "hyper-fast" scroll wheel with free spin mode is unbeatable.
• Dell Launches Inspiron 11z - I am seriously thinking about buying one of these. I want a thin and light notebook for use as a secondary laptop, but the 10 inch screen on typical netbooks is too small for me. With a larger, hi-def screen, and more powerful processor, this model may just fit the bill.
  
• New Verbatim Drives Feature Built-in Status Display
• Google adds translation to Docs

Partnerships

• YouTube strikes a deal with Time Warner for content
• What Wolfram Alpha Really Did This Summer: Struck A Deal With Bing
• Yfrog and Bit.ly Team Up for Image Sharing

Liquidation Events (Mergers, Acquisitions, IPOs)

• Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion
• MySpace Buys iLike in Effort to Best Rivals
• MSNBC.com Buys EveryBlock for Several Million Dollars
• RIM Fires Up Browser Development with Torch Mobile Buy
• Intel acquires two software firms

Milestones

• Yahoo Mail still king as Gmail lurks - Yahoo Mail reached 100 million users. Meanwhile Gmail grew at the fastest percentage rate, overtaking AOL for 3rd place.

Call the Irony Police

• Hacker Mitnick may sue AT&T over data breach
• World of Warcraft: The Magazine

Misc.

• Two great articles on Facebook's employee stock buyback program: Why 'Joe Facebook' wants to cash out and The Mercenaries in Facebook's Midst - Both have excellent points, but I have to side with Caroline McCarthy on this one. I'm sure there are tons of people who wish they had diversified their holdings when they had the opportunity to during the dot-com boom/bust and before the latest economic downturn.
  
• AT&T: Data Plans Now Required For All Smartphones - I think this is really horrendous. Once the customer has bought a phone, they shouldn't have to pay for more things than the next customer, if they don't need it or want it.
  
• San Francisco Opens The City’s Data

Semimonthly Tech News - August 1-15, 2009

Semimonthly Tech News - August 1-15, 2009

Semimonthly Tech News - August 1-15, 2009

Google

• Google's Schmidt Resigns Apple's Board
• Google Woos Business Users With Billboard Ad Campaign: An editorial on the Motley Fool
  called the strategy "just dumb", "worst idea yet", and "downright nonsensical". I definitely wouldn't go that far. I think the move makes sense, it makes Google Apps seem more mainstream and recognizable, which is necessary for it to gain adoption in businesses and large enterprises while competing against Microsoft. Anyway, all the press and buzz about the irony of the ad campaign has probably already gotten more attention than the actual billboard ads themselves.

Twitter

• Twitter had two outages due to denial-of-service attacks
  
• ESPN, NFL And U.S. Marines Crack Down On Twitter Use: Seems like an overreaction to me, but as with any new technology it takes some adjustments and getting used to. I think it should be treated like any other communication tool. Obviously if you are bashing your boss/team/company, they won't be happy about it, regardless of whether if it's on Twitter, Facebook, a blog, a web site, on a phone call, or in a public place. Likewise, discretion and professionalism should be used when discussing any rumors or potentially confidential/sensitive information.
  
• Study: Twitter is 40 percent 'pointless babble'

Facebook

• Or as Conan O'Brien called it on the Tonight Show, "FaceBox": I thought this episode was hilarious!
• Facebook Acquires FriendFeed: Admittedly, I never did sign up and use it, but I always had a good impression of FriendFeed. I saw co-founder Paul Buchheit speak at Startup School a couple years ago, and I liked his talk. From what I saw the product looked like it had really good features, a clean design, and a usable interface. Part of me wishes they had gone farther before being acquired.
  
• Facebook Begins Testing Facebook Lite, A Faster Simpler Version Of The Service

GM

• General Motors to sell used cars on eBay
  
• GM Claims Chevrolet Volt Will Get 230 MPG: Many others have already questioned/criticized the MPG claim, google it if you want full details. Basically the 230 number is not particularly meaningful because actual gas usage will depend entirely on the usage pattern and how much the electric power can be utilized (i.e. short trips with recharging in between vs. long trips).
  

Shot Down

• Microsoft Word Sales Banned In 60 Days
• RealNetworks DVD Copier Nixed

Launches, Releases, New Features

• Zune HD available for pre-order: See my post for details, including a list of features comparing it to the 2nd generation iPod Touch.
  
• iLike's download store debuts: It will be interesting to see how they will fare competing against larger companies (Apple, Amazon). The social aspect of their application will be an advantage.
  
• Samsung has unveiled dual-screen digital cameras that make it easier for people to take pictures of themselves alone or with friends
  
• Sony officially unveils new Readers, drops price of e-books
• New Nikon Coolpix Has a Built-In Projector
• Toshiba ships 512GB SSD
  

Milestones

• Tesla turns profit in July for the first time: I think that is great news. This is impressive with the current state of the economy, considering they have only been selling the high-end roadster, while the less expensive sedan is still under development.
  

Liquidation Events (Mergers, Acquisitions, IPOs)

• Facebook Acquires FriendFeed
• VMware To Buy SpringSource For $362 Million: I remember when Spring started as an open source framework, before SpringSource the company. I'm glad - I don't know what kind of revenue they generated, but it seems like a strong valuation, especially for an open source company.
  
• Publicis Buying Microsoft's Razorfish For $500-600 Million: Razorfish was a big name back in the dot-com boom times. I always find it interesting to see how those companies fare now, especially after managing to survive the dot-com bust.
  
• Ancestry.com Files for IPO
• Google Acquires Video Compression Technology Company On2 For $106 Million
  

Deadpool

• URL Shortening Service Tr.im is Back From the Dead: Well, it's not quite dead yet, but for a while there it seemed like it would be a cautionary tale on relying on web services in the cloud.
  
• Dell's Mini 12 bites the dust (but the Mini 9 is still hanging on): Sound like they will have another laptop model fill the void left behind by the Mini 12, so this is probably not a big deal. Alternatives include the Lenovo IdeaPad S12, Samsung NC20, and Acer Aspire One 751h.
  
• Social broadcasting tool SplashCast to shut down
• Windows Live Events dies next year, Calendar named successor

Zune HD available for pre-order, iPod Touch feature comparison

Zune HD available for pre-order, iPod Touch feature comparison

The Microsoft Zune HD digital media player is now available for pre-order on Amazon and other retail sites (Best Buy, Walmart). The release date is September 15, 2009.

Pricing is as follows:

$219.99 for the 16 GB model (Black)

$289.99 for the 32 GB model (Platinum)

New features include:

• 3.3 inch OLED display with 16:9 aspect ratio and 480x272 resolution
• Touch screen with multi-touch navigation and onscreen keyboard
• Internet Explorer web browser
• HD radio tuner
• HD video output (720p)
• Nvidia Tegra chipset

Here is a comparison between the Zune HD and iPod Touch (2nd Generation).

. Zune HD 16GB - Black Zune HD 32GB - Platinum iPod Touch 8GB (2nd Generation) iPod Touch 16GB (2nd Generation) iPod Touch 32GB (2nd Generation) . Price $219.99 $289.99 $229 $299 $399 . Price on Amazon $219.99 $289.99 $214.99 $274.95 $369.00 . Capacity 16GB 32GB 8GB 16GB 32GB . Size / Dimensions 4.0 x 2.1 x 0.35 inches 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.33 inches . 102.1 x 52.7 x 8.9 mm 110 x 61.8 x 8.5 mm . Weight 2.6 ounces 4.05 ounces . 74 grams 115 grams . Screen OLED LCD . Screen Size 3.3-inch 3.5-inch . Screen Resolution 480x272 480x320 . Multi-touch Navigation Yes Yes . Touchscreen Keyboard Yes Yes . Audio Formats Supported MP3, AAC, WMA, WMA Pro 2-channel, WMA Lossless MP3, AAC, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV . Podcast Support Yes Yes . Radio HD Radio Receiver Built-in No . Image File Types Supported JPEG JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only), PNG . Video Formats Supported H.264, MPEG-4, WMV H.264, MPEG-4 . Video Output Yes, 720p HD (AV Dock sold separately) Yes (AV cable / dock sold separately) . Games Yes Yes

. Wi-fi Yes Yes . Internet Browser Internet Explorer Safari . Wireless Sync Yes No . Wireless Streaming Yes, audio only? No . Wireless Downloads Yes, Zune Marketplace Yes, iTunes Store . Battery Life 33 hours for music, or 8.5 hours of video 36 hours for music, or 6 hours of video . Accelerometer Yes Yes . Volume Controls Yes, hardware volume rocker, left side Yes, left side . Built-in Speaker Unknown Yes . Bluetooth Unknown Yes, Stereo (with iPhone OS 3.0) . Included Apps E-mail, calendar, contacts, notes, clock, calculator, weather, maps, stocks, YouTube . App Store Yes . Smart Playlists Yes, plus Genius feature