John Lister

Google is set to challenge online retail giant Amazon by selling contemporary electronic books. And unlike Amazon, it will let publishers set the prices. The move is a new development for the Google Book Search scheme, in which the firm scans texts ... so that users can search for particular phrases. While Google does intend to bring in paid access for full editions of some books covered by Book Search, the vast majority of titles in the scheme are either out of print or out of copyright. At the moment, most modern books included in the scheme only have 20 per cent of their pages available for ... (view more)

Microsoft has officially unveiled the replacement for its Live Search tool. However, the new instrument will be known as "Bing" rather than "Kumo," and is billed as a 'decision engine' rather than a search engine. The working name for the new ... service had been Kumo, but Microsoft eventually settled on Bing despite some problems trade marking the name. The firm appeared to be looking for an active name which could be used as both a verb and a noun, in the same way as 'to Google' has become another way of saying 'to search online'. As we've noted before, the main difference ... (view more)

Unconfirmed reports suggest Microsoft will drop a limitation on the Starter Edition of Windows 7 that would prevent users from running more than three applications at a time. This comes amidst speculation that guidelines for the Starter Edition have ... been rigged to benefit particular manufacturers. The Starter Edition, aimed at netbook users, will not be available for consumers to buy separately. Instead, only manufacturers are allowed to license it and install it on their machines. In the originally published specifications for the Starter Edition, users could only run three programs at any ... (view more)

Circuit City has reopened as an online-only business under new management. However, it's brought in a tough, new returns policy which many consumers will consider a gamble. One of the first major victims of the economic downturn , Circuit City went ... into liquidation last November. Its woes were cause by a combination of poor sales and bad timing: the firm's struggling business prompted wary creditors to offer much less generous terms. This stretched its cash flow to the point where it could no longer operate. Circuit City had already received threats that if its stock price continued to hover ... (view more)

There's been a mixed response to a new search tool aiming to answer questions rather than index the web. Wolfram Alpha has earned praise for its ability to solve specific problems, but it's become clear it's no replacement for the wider capabilities ... of Google and friends. The site, which has been in testing for a few weeks but is now fully operational, is the work of British physicist Stephen Wolfram. He's best known for developing the argument that the wider universe runs on logical rules, just like the language of computer programs. Solutions, Not Guidance The major difference with Wolfram ... (view more)

Microsoft has withdrawn its demand for a hearing after it was found guilty of anti-competitive behavior in Europe. The firm says it could not hope for a fair hearing because many officials will be unable to attend. The European Commission, the EU's ... administrative wing, issued a 'ruling in principle' in January that Microsoft had breached competition laws by bundling Internet Explorer with Windows while not allowing other browsers to be included with the system on new machines. Nobody's Listening The hearing on this issue had been scheduled for June 3rd through June 5th, but Microsoft says it ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced it will stream movies from Netflix through its Windows Media Center software. It's a major breakthrough in the firm's attempt to make sure that PCs can compete with game consoles and dedicated devices in the streaming market. ... Netflix already provides Xbox 360 DVD rentals , allowing customers to watch directly on their TV sets. Until now, PC users had only been able to watch streaming movies from Netfix on their computer screens. Streaming it to a TV set could only be done through "unofficial" methods and copy protection meant the resulting image would be of a ... (view more)

A website designed for document sharing will soon allow authors to sell electronic copies of their books. The endeavor could mark a dramatic evolution in the publishing industry. Scribd.com will take advantage of its iPaper technology, designed to ... show any document format on any computer. The iPaper format works similarly to Adobe's PDF (portable document format), but is purpose-built for the web and does not require the user have any software installed. Readers can also download the entire file in its original format. At the moment, the site exists for a variety of purposes, such as allowing ... (view more)

Windows users have received a patch meant to fix a potentially serious security loophole in PowerPoint. However, Microsoft has earned criticism for not simultaneously issuing a patch for the Mac edition. Microsoft has been aware of the problem for ... weeks. The issue could let hackers trick users into opening an infected PowerPoint file, and would then be able to take control of a system. Microsoft figured out a solution for Windows, but hasn't yet done so for the Mac edition. This left the firm in an unenviable dilemma about whether to wait until it had a Mac patch ready or issue the Windows ... (view more)

Microsoft says it's working with 10,000 software and hardware manufacturers to maximize the compatibility of Windows 7, in an attempt to avoid one of the most critical issues with Windows Vista. Bill Veghte, the Microsoft executive who oversees ... Windows development, says the work of 10,000 firms towards optimum compatibility is evidence that his company is serious about making the Windows 7 experience a convenient, easy, and enjoyable one. Veghte went on to say that the current efforts are unprecedented for the release candidate stage and Microsoft normally doesn't get to the 10,000 firm ... (view more)