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Tech News by NewsFactor Network (http://www.newsfactor.com).

Sony, Samsung Join Campaign To Push 3-D TV Sets

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:29:49 -0500 - 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.

'World's First HDTV App Store'

Under a new promotion, buyers of a Samsung 3-D TV and 3-D Blu-ray player or home theater system will get a "3-D starter kit" with two pairs of 3-D glasses and a 3-D version of DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs Aliens. The manufacturer also said it plans to make available a 3-D version of the studio's popular Shrek film series.

Samsung's 3-D offerings include 46- and 55-inch LED TVs being released this month, and others to be rolled out over the next several months. It also touted the 240-Hz refresh rate and Internet connectivity in the new models, as well as access to the "world's first HDTV app store," Samsung Apps.

On Wednesday, Panasonic will start selling its first 3-D TV in the U.S. in a partnership with Best Buy, while Samsung is also launching a 3-D TV and Blu-ray player offer with that retailer. LG said Tuesday it will begin offering its new 3-D sets in India.

Sony's first sales will be in June in Japan, and the company hasn't announced launch plans for the new products in the U.S. It has also said it will be releasing a software update for the PlayStation 3,...

HP Swipes at iPad as 'Watered Down' as Rivals Line Up

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:23:07 -0500 - 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.

'Not a Watered-Down Internet'

The positioning by tablet makers comes a few weeks before the iPad goes on sale in early April. On Sunday night, Apple showed its first iPad TV ad during the Academy Awards. It showcased the device's ease of use for e-mails, movies, music, photos, news reading, and web searching.

But the iPad is being criticized for several shortcomings, and the posting on the HP blog by Personal Systems Group Chief Technology Officer Phil McKinney emphasized some of those differences.

The HP slate product, McKinney wrote, gives "a full web browsing experience in the palm of your hand," not a "watered-down Internet." In particular, he noted, it has full support for Adobe's ubiquitous Flash technology.

Not coincidentally, Apple's mobile devices do not support Flash, which is used for most of the animation and much of the video shown on the web. In addition to being Flash-less, the iPad also doesn't have a webcam, HDMI high-definition output, GPS or multitasking.

Tablets from Smartphone Makers?

Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for consumer technology at the NPD Group, noted that the apparent rush of competition following the iPad announcement in January is really the latest in a "long history of tablet-based computing devices." To date, no tablet product has been particularly successful, so...

Google Testing Personalized Search for TV Programs

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:05:38 -0500 - 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.

Consumer Experience and Advertising

As Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, sees it, there are two overlapping angles here: Consumer experience and advertising.

"Obviously online Google satisfies consumer search queries and serves targeted ads against those. This would appear to extend the same model to TV," Sterling said. "But the ad component would also feature a behavioral element -- viewing history -- as part of the targeting."

Television seems like a natural extension of Google ads, especially as set-top boxes combine the ability to search and view content from traditional and Internet broadcasters. Google is intent on pushing its Android operating system beyond mobile devices to set-top boxes, buddy boxes, and TVs, a Journal interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt in January suggested.

A New Search Frontier

Google has the lion's share of Internet search and is actively battling for mobile search. Can Google succeed in translating its search dominance to yet another screen? That remains to be seen, especially in an ultracompetitive market for set-top boxes. But Google sees the potential -- and so does Sterling.

"As the...

Energizer USB Charger Software Contains Malware

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:06:28 -0500 - 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.

"An attacker is able to remotely control a system, including the ability to list directories, send and receive files, and execute programs. The backdoor operates with the privileges of the logged-on user," US-CERT said. "Removing the Energizer USB charger software will also remove the registry value that causes the backdoor to execute automatically when Windows starts."

A Trusted Source

Although the fix seems relatively easy for consumers who are aware they have been infected, the path in was also straightforward. Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, said consumers were probably not expecting the Energizer software to carry a malicious payload.

"Typically in a Windows 7 or even a Windows Vista install, if you mess around with ports you should get a warning," Enderle said. "Because consumers got the software from a trusted source, chances are you'll bypass the warning and go ahead and install it because you think you are only installing the battery monitor. This is a nasty piece of work."

Enderle questioned the origin of the software, noting that Trojans seem to make their way into programs when the software is developed outside the U.S. Chances are, he said, the software was developed in China or some other foreign country.

What's So Unusual?

Symantec also investigated the Energizer malware and discovered that the Trojan listens for commands on port 7777. That by itself is not so unusual, the company said, but Symantec researchers were surprised that...

Verizon Reports Faster Speeds in 4G LTE Network Tests

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:27:33 -0500 - 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.

Verizon's development of LTE began in August in response to consumer demands for more bandwidth and richer applications. Since then, engineers have been testing the LTE network in both cities with voice calls, web browsing, file uploads and downloads, and voice calls using Voice over Internet Protocol.

A Faster, Richer, Experience

The next-generation 4G cellular technology is more than 10 times faster than 3G and has enhanced security.

Verizon said it will be the first to roll out LTE this year, and boasted that the new network will have superior coverage and performance, thanks to its 700-MHz national deployment in 49 states, including Hawaii.

The company has an aggressive rollout plan for its LTE network, according to CTO Tony Melone, who said Verizon plans to deploy the network to approximately 100 million people in 25 to 30 markets by the end of the year.

The company already is in the process of installing LTE equipment at switching centers and cell sites throughout the nation as part of its investment in its voice and data infrastructure.

Analysts expect LTE to grow faster than past mobile standards. LTE is expected to take four years to reach 100 million subscriptions, which is two years less than it took for High Speed Packet Access to reach the same number of subscriptions.

LTE subscriptions worldwide will grow at...

Panasonic and Best Buy Plan To Push 3-D TV Sets

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:17:15 -0500 - In one of the funnier moments of Sunday's Academy Awards, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin thought they spotted Avatar director James Cameron in the audience. The hosts whipped out 3-D glasses to scan the audience for the man whose top-grossing film has fueled more interest in 3-D viewing.

Common Sight

While the gag got some laughs, it may not be unusual for more people to carry around 3-D glasses this year. All the top manufacturers are planning 3-D television models.

And on Wednesday, Panasonic and Best Buy will kick off a partnership to put more of the struggling Japanese electronics manufacturer's TV sets in U.S. living rooms.

While neither company had posted a news release about the venture as of Monday afternoon, The Wall Street Journal said Monday that Panasonic hopes to revive flagging sales of its plasma sets with the 3-D push, and will offer a large discount for its 50-inch model at $2,500. The same set sells for about $4,800 in Japan. Best Buy will add more than 1,000 display centers in its stores to highlight the experience, the report said.

Panasonic, which trails Samsung, LG Electronics, and Sony in worldwide TV sales, unveiled its VT25 3-D set at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. That set comes with a battery-operated pair of glasses with shutters that create the 3-D effect, unlike previous 3-D technology that relied on color filters and glasses with red and blue lenses.

A Tough Sell?

But with the economy still teetering precipitously, is this a good time for new luxury goods?

"Absolutely," said Avi Greengart, a consumer devices specialist at Current Analysis. "Vendors are always searching for premium features that keep them from competing solely on cost. While it is true that unemployment is high and there is still a stigma attached to extravagant luxuries, a $2,500 price tag hardly...

Rivals Report Boost from Microsoft's Browser Ballot

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:05:57 -0500 - Mozilla and Opera Software say they are seeing an uptick in demand for their browsers in the wake of Microsoft's launch of a choice ballot in Europe. Mozilla CEO John Lilly told The New York Times over the weekend that more than 50,000 Firefox downloads have already occurred via direct links from the new choice screen that the European Commission mandated last year as part of its antitrust settlement with Microsoft.

Though Microsoft has said it won't complete its ballot rollout in Europe until May, demand for Opera's rival browser has already grown, noted Opera Software Communications Manager Falguni Bhuta.

"Since the browser screen rollout, we have seen downloads of our desktop browser more than triple in major European countries such as Belgium, France, Spain, Poland and the U.K.," Bhuta said.

Increased Visibility

Microsoft's browser rivals hope to see a further rise in demand once more European PC users gain access to the choice screen. Still, there is a world of difference between the amount of software downloads and the number of users who actually adopt a browser as their preferred surfing application.

For example, the maker of the Maxthon browser boasts of 300 million downloads worldwide, yet the product barely registers a blip on the latest web metrics. However, Opera believes that once users have had a chance to try out Opera 10.50, they will quickly see the advantages -- particularly when browsing the web in bandwidth-constrained online environments.

As Bhuta points out, users will be able to set up the browser's Opera Turbo engine to dramatically cut the amount of time it takes for any web page to load. Even better, the turbo function can be set to automatically engage whenever it detects a slow network connection.

"On your browser window, on the bottom left you will see an icon that looks like...

Motorola Releases Two New Android Smartphones

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:49:25 -0500 - 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."

Big Selling Point -- MOTOBLUR

By flipping the keyboard backward, the device can be set up in tabletop mode for listening to music, looking at videos and photos, or acting as a digital alarm clock. There's also a five-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, a full HTML browser, and AT&T's Backtrack. The carrier describes Backtrack as "a new way to scroll through the web, texts, e-mails, and news feeds," which the user can do without clogging up the home screen.

MOTOBLUR, available on both the Backflip and the Devour, has also become a differentiating factor for Motorola. It's a social-networking service that streams the user's messages, posts, tweets, pictures and contacts so multiple applications don't need to be opened.

Socially active users can also send broadcast messages to multiple friends at once through multiple apps. The social information is delivered automatically to customizable, live widgets on the home screen, where Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are synced together.

MOTOBLUR 'Somewhat Polarizing'

Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said Backflip's form factor and hyper-social MOTOBLUR will attract more attention from the average consumer than its use of Android.

The keyboard, he said, "opens the wrong way," and it "takes a little time to get used to." But, he added, the benefits of this design include a trackpad on the back of the keyboard, so a user can navigate...

Smartphones Transforming Business Travel

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:14:13 -0500 - Business traveler Mike Monroe no longer rummages through his bag at the airline counter fishing for his flight ticket or confirmation number.

The consultant from Lakeland, Fla., has gone paperless, thanks to Continental Airlines' electronic boarding passes. Once he checks in online, the carrier e-mails a bar code to his phone. That code is scanned at security checkpoints and gates instead of a boarding pass. "It takes away a lot of annoyances."

Monroe also uses his BlackBerry for airlines' flight-change alerts, routing all calls into one number provided by Google Voice, turn-by-turn driving directions when he's behind the wheel and watching TV on Slingbox when he has downtime. He also carries an iPod Touch -- like an iPhone but without the phone -- to make international calls using Skype, get the latest sports scores and weather from Viigo and access Urbanspoon's reviews of nearby restaurants. "Nothing really cutting edge," Monroe says, "but I'm just trying every day to reduce the stress."

Monroe is a member of a growing army of tech-savvy travelers whose smartphones are transforming their travel habits. Beyond online maps and travel guides, travelers are turning to their phones to look up aircraft seat configuration, track taxis, reply to early hotel check-in requests, order room service and locate nearby colleagues.

Few Americans remain untouched by the effects of the mobile Internet. But the tech industry's core mission of getting people to lead untethered lives inevitably invites road warriors such as Monroe as early adopters of all their bells and whistles. The travel industry has responded with some of the most innovative applications available on smartphones. And more are coming.

Airlines and hotels are refining their mobile Web sites and creating applications, or "apps," for downloading to popular phone models, such as iPhones, BlackBerrys and Google Android phones. Entrepreneurial software developers are rolling out...

Tech Titans Create Content-Gadget Ecosystems

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:09:58 -0500 - You may not know it, but your gadgets have a hidden agenda. Think about the electronics you own. No doubt there's a digital music player such as an Apple iPod or a Microsoft Zune. Then there's a smartphone -- perhaps an iPhone or a Droid that sports the Google-inspired Android operating system. For games, your family may have an Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Wii. For books, there's the Kindle from Amazon, among others. When the iPad hits stores on Apr. 3, you'll want that, too.

Each device contains its own widening universe of services and applications, many delivered via the Internet. They are designed to keep you wedded to a particular company's ecosystem and set of products.

A battle looms, and it's not about selling new gadgets -- it's about using devices to lock you into a content ecosystem. In an ironic evolution of the World Wide Web that once promised consistent access to all of the globe's information, corporate giants are now striving to wall off sections of content and charge you for access.

Apple's Issue with Adobe's Flash

The Internet is splitting into a series of content portals. The front door is your iPod. Consider some of the current gadget trends:

-- iPad versus Flash. When Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled his sexy tablet in January, it soon was clear that the iPad wouldn't support Adobe Systems Flash software. That might seem a remarkable oversight, since Flash supports most videos on the Web -- until you realize that Jobs might prefer you to pay for videos at his iTunes store.

-- Kindle in Color. On its Lab126 career board, Amazon recently placed ads in search of engineers who have design expertise in color LCD screens and Wi-Fi. The listings suggest Amazon may be planning a color upgrade for...

Building Your Own Computer: Not Just for Nerds

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:12:21 -0500 - Buy a standard off-the-shelf computer and you're probably making compromises. It's rare to find a pre-configured system that meets your needs to a tee.

The simplest way to make sure that every piece of technology in a new desktop PC fits your requirements is to build it yourself. You don't have to be a nerd to manage the task anymore, either. The key thing is to enter into the planning stage by ensuring that the individual pieces -- the components -- are compatible with one another.

The key components of any PC are the case, power supply, motherboard and processor (including fans and heat conductive paste), memory, graphics cards, optical drive, and hard drive.

"Once you have these components, you can create a PC system that would suffice for most users," says Christian Kissinger from German electronics specialists Conrad Elektronik.

Each one of the components listed above is available in hundreds of variants. Deciding which one should grace the inside of your new creation is largely a matter of determining what kind of tasks the computer will be performing. A computer being used just for email messages and surfing the net doesn't require the horsepower under the hood that a gaming PC needs, for example.

Evaluating the individual components is thus a relatively important part of the process, says Josef Reitberger from the computer magazine Chip, but it can also be fun. He suggests checking the top products lists in well-known magazines.

Reitberger feels the challenge of physically constructing the PC itself is often overblown. "Good cases are constructed so that amateur tinkerers just have to tighten a few screws," he notes. And those even usually come included with delivery.

The process is a key part of the PC.

If you've already decided on a specific model, then the next step is finding a suitable motherboard. Once that...

IT Workers on Leave Amid School Webcam Probe

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:10:44 -0500 - Two information-technology workers at a suburban Philadelphia school district that secretly activated webcams on students' school-issued laptops are on paid leave amid an FBI wiretap investigation.

Lower Merion School District officials have said the webcams were only activated to locate missing laptops, and not for any rogue purpose.

"Placing them on administrative leave with pay is not a reflection of any wrongdoing on their part. It is a standard, prudent step in an investigation such as this one," the district said in a statement Friday, confirming a Philadelphia Inquirer report.

Technician Michael Perbix and systems coordinator Carol Cafiero went on leave two weeks ago, after a student's lawsuit revealed the district practice of taking webcam photos and screen shots when laptops were reported lost or stolen.

The district remotely activated 42 webcams in the last 14 months, successfully locating 18 of the computers. School officials have declined to describe the resulting photographs, or say if any were taken inside student homes. The district has halted the practice amid the lawsuit and resulting state and federal criminal probes.

In the civil suit, Harriton High School student Blake Robbins accuses school officials of invading his privacy by photographing him in his bedroom without permission. A vice principal later approached him, he said, and warned that school officials -- based on webcam photos -- suspected him of selling drugs.

Robbins, 15, denies the drug allegation. He claims Vice Principal Lindy Matsko mistook Mike & Ike candies for illicit pills.

Lower Merion, a wealthy district on Philadelphia's Main Line, spent $21,600 per student in 2008-2009, the most in the Philadelphia region and nearly twice the $11,426 spent on Philadelphia children. The district issues the $1,000 Macintosh laptops to each of the 2,300 students at two high schools.

Robbins' lawyer hopes to win class-action certification, but nearly 500 district parents have signed on...

AMD Slashes CEO's Pay Package

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:11:57 -0500 - Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the world's No. 2 maker of computer microprocessors, reduced its CEO's pay package 14 percent last year. The company cut executives' pay in response to falling sales.

CEO Dirk Meyer received a package for the 2009 fiscal year that AMD valued at $4.5 million. That's according to Associated Press calculations based on a regulatory filing late Friday. For 2008, his pay package was valued at $5.3 million.

In AMD's 2009 fiscal year, which ended Dec. 26, Meyer received restricted stock and options of $3.7 million. In 2008, his stock-and-options package was $4.4 million.

Meyer, 48, has held AMD's top job for the past year and a half. He became CEO after Hector Ruiz left to become chairman of the spinoff company made up of AMD's chip-making plants.

In 2009, besides restricted stock and options of $3.7 million, Meyer received:

- A salary of $792,685.

- A bonus of $45,000 to restore his salary for three months of 2009 to its level before AMD cut salaries for its executives.

- Other compensation of $7,478, made up mainly of AMD's matching contributions to Meyer's 401(k) retirement account.

In 2009, $605,280 worth of Meyer's stock also vested.

In February, AMD cut Meyer's salary 20 percent in light of the sour economy. Other executives' pay was cut 15 percent. No bonuses were paid in 2009 to executives because of what the company called the "challenging business environment."

After customer demand and the company's finances improved later in the year, the salary cuts were restored. All AMD employees whose salaries had been cut received one-time payments that restored their full salaries for the September-November 2009 period.

When Ruiz left AMD in March of last year to head AMD's factory spinoff, GlobalFoundries, he received a retirement payment of $4.4 million. He also received $3 million for finishing the spinoff successfully.

In 2009, AMD's revenue...