Monthly Archives: December 2009

Canadian Start-up Sticks it to Google, Wins Domain Name Dispute

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Going up against Google over a domain name dispute is like facing the Boston Celtics in the NBA championship. In other words, there's a good chance you're going to lose. Out of the 65 domain name disputes Google has filed to date, it has only lost twice, the most recent coming today.

The latest dispute involved Groovle.com, which Google claims is "confusingly similar" to its own trademark. The was was brought forward to the National Arbitration Forum, an international arbitration service accredited by ICANN and trusted to provide resolution services for domain name disputes around the globe. Only this time, Google's track record for winning these sort of disputes provided false hope for the search giant.

"We were stunned when Google launched the domain name dispute as we have great respect for Google and have always had a good relationship with them," said Ryan Fitzgibbon, one of the two Canadian co-founders of Groovle.com. Jacob Fuller, the other co-founder, added that "Google never had anything to fear from our web site. The arbitrators' decision that the two domain names are sufficiently different should put Google at ease and we look forward to a renewed positive relationship with Google."

We imagine Google is probably stunned too, because not one of the three person panel ruled in the search giant's favor.

Image Credit: Flickr Joe Gratz

DirecTV to Launch First-Ever Satellite 3D-HD Channel

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We always take rumors with a large grain of salt, but as far as pre-release speculation goes, news and rumor site Fudzilla has a knack for being right on the money. And if their latest claim turns out to be true, DirecTV will announce the world's first satellite 3D-HD channel next month during CES.

What isn't known is when the channel will actually go online, though it's likely to coincide with the next DirecTV satellite the company plans to launch into space early next year. If all goes to plan, that satellite will be online and operational by March 2010.

That means new 3D hardware if the fad is to take off, which would be a tough pill to swallow for anyone who just plunked down a wad a cash for a flat-screen LCD TV. But if it's any consolation, Fudzilla says it's been hearing chatter that most of DirecTV's recent HD and HD DVR receivers will support the 3D-HD standard with a simple firmware update.

Image Credit: Ubergizmo

Microsoft Hopes to Turn Windows Mobile Into a Potent Gaming Platform

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Even Windows Mobile's most militant admirer will find it difficult to rate the mobile OS as a competent gaming platform. Microsoft is hoping that it will soon be able to restore parity between WinMo and other contemporary smartphones. For WinMo to compete with the Androids and the iPhones, it will need to provide a vastly improved gaming experience than it currently offers. Two new job postings suggest that Microsoft has finally made up its mind to touch upon an untouched aspect of Windows Mobile: gaming.

“We need a Principle Program Manager who can help drive the platform and bring Xbox LIVE enabled games to Windows Mobile. This person will focus specifically on what makes gaming experiences 'LIVE Enabled' through aspects such as avatar integration, social interactions, and multi-screen experiences,” Microsoft announced in one of the listings.

The company is also on the lookout for a Software Test Engineer to join its Windows Mobile division. The person chosen for the job “will report to the Gaming Test Lead in the Windows Mobile Entertainment team and have the opportunity to make a critical impact the next release of Windows Mobile.” The company clearly wants to offer a unified gaming experience across various device platforms. It will be interesting to see how exactly Microsoft integrates Windows Mobile 7 and Xbox Live.

Image Credit: Int13

National Geographic Packs “120 Years of Amazing Discovers” into a 160GB Hard Drive

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Don't worry if you're part of the dead tree fan club, we've seen the future, and paper-based books aren't going anywhere. Still, you may want to make some room on your bookshelf for portable hard drives, just in case National Geographic is on to something.

The non-profit science and nature nuts managed to cram "120 years of amazing discoveries, fascinating maps, and the world's best photography" into a portable 160GB hard drive. The Complete National Geographic collection includes every issue of the popular magazine digitally reproduced in high resolution.

At $200, it's also the most you're ever likely to spend on a 160GB external drive, and if that's too steep, you can kick it old school (and risk being labeled an old fart) with the 6-DVD version for $60.

Image Credit: National Geographic

HP’s Next-Gen Netbook “In Stock”

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Someone on eCost's staff deserves a raise, and that someone is whoever managed to score a shipment of HP's unannounced Mini 210 Netbook sporting a next-gen Atom processor.

Those looking for the latest in netbook hardware, this is it. While HP hasn't yet launched the Mini 210, the popular e-tailer lists the item as "in stock," and according to Brooke Crothers over at CNet, "a call to a sales representative confirmed this." The new netbook comes built around Intel's Pine Trail platform consisting of an Atom N450 processor which, according to Intel, is the first monolithic processor with both the graphics and memory controller built in.

While several configurations are available, other hardware listed in the in-stock models includes a 10.1-inch display, 1GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive spinning at 7200RPM, 802.11b/g/n, webcam, a 6-cell battery, and Windows 7 Starter.

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HP Support Page

Image Credit: HP

Computer Hacker Pleads Guilty, Faces up to 25 Years in the Slammer

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At one point in his life, Albert Gonzalez used to serve as a federal informant in Miami. And now? Gonzalez will serve anywhere between 17 and 25 years in prison under terms of separate plea agreements for his role in orchestrating the theft of millions of credit and debit card numbers by hacking into computers of prominent retailers, according to an AP report.

"This is a young kid who did some reckless things and he's going to pay a price for it," said Gonzalez's attorney, Martin Weinberg, after his 28-year-old client calmly answered guilty to charges of conspiracy and wire fraud.

According to authorities, Gonzalez worked as a computer security consultant and was the ringleader of a group that targeted large retailers. Gonzalez had a chance to set his life straight when, in 2003, he was arrested for hacking but not charged because he agreed to become an informant. But over the next five years, authorities say he still hacked into computer systems of retailers, collecting $2.8 million for his illegal efforts. As part of the plea deal, Gonzalez will forfeit more than $2.7 million in cash, plus several assets, including his condo, his car, a Tiffany ring, and several Rolex watches.

Music Industry Has Had Enough of Muziic

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Muziic developer Dan Nelson still isn't a household name. But this 16-year-old may be pitchforked into the limelight, in case the music industry chooses to confront him over his creation, Muziic, an app that streams YouTube music directly to the user's desktop. He and his dad, Mark Nelson, had launched the media player on February 25, 2009. The Muziic player, to its credit, not only spares users an otherwise mandatory visit to YouTube's website but also lets them search YouTube's vast music library, create playlists, and browse them with ample ease.

While Google gave the nod for Muziic to continue after the latter agreed to expand the size of its video player, the music industry has hitherto chosen to turn its sight away from the father-son duo and Muziic. All that changed on Monday, though, when Muziic expanded its service to include content from label-backed video service Vevo, and that too without any annoying ads. Vevo is operated by YouTube for the companies that own the service: Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI and Abu Dhabi Media Company. As if blocking ads usually displayed along with Vevo content wasn't enough, Muziic circumvents the site's North America-only limitation to add insult to injury.

Push has come to shove for the music industry and the consortium behind Vevo is in the mood for some action. Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff has asked Dan Nelson to pull the plug on Muziic's use of Vevo's content. "I kindly advise you to immediately cease the use of the Vevo Logo, trademark and any other references to our corporate name," Caraeff wrote in an e-mail meant for the Muziic founder. "With regards to the use of Vevo licensed videos...they are also being used directly without our consent...You can be assured that changes are being deployed to the API in question immediately, however I am still going to ask you directly to cease the use of Vevo videos from within your service." Nelson remains adamant that he has done nothing wrong. He insists that he hasn't taken “any actions to circumvent the delivery of 'pre-roll' advertisements.” He further contends that it is the Youtube API, which currently does not deliver any ads to Vevo content, that is at fault.

Panel Makers “Investing Heavily” in LED-backlit LCD TVs

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You've probably seen a handful of big screen LED-backlit LCD televisions the last time you strolled through the TV section in your local electronics store, and in 2010, you'll be seeing a lot more of them, says iSupply.

More specifically, the market research firm says global LED-backlit TV shipments for 40-inch and larger models will jump nearly 8x in 2010 to 18.8 million units, up from 2.5 million units in 2009. iSupply attributes the nearly eight-fold increase to consumer demand, a push for green technologies, and a willingness by various parts of the TV supply chain to oblige on both of these accounts.

"Panel makers have been investing heavily in LED chip makers or have been developing their own internal technologies in order to take advantage of what they believe LED-backlit TVs bring to the table: differentiation, innovation, low power consumption, and of course the potential to reap the benefits of higher revenues," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for TV systems at iSupply.

Looking beyond next year, iSupply says LED-backlit LCD TVs in the 40-inch or larger category will explode to 112.1 million units in 2013, by then claiming 83.2 percent of the market. By comparison, large screen LED-backlit LCD TVs claim just 6 percent of the market currently.

Image Credit: tech2.in.com

Say Goodbye To Your BIOS: Hello, UEFI!

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Alright, so it's not as simple as waving the BIOS away. While the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface is ready to replace the old and inflexible BIOS, most platform vendors aren't prepared, even though we’re about to run into a new storage barrier.

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Say Goodbye To Your BIOS: Hello, UEFI!