John Lister

Thu
02
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft to Challenge Cable TV with MS TV Service

Microsoft is reportedly planning to become a "virtual cable TV operator" through a broadband service. It's seen by many as an attempt to challenge Google TV. The plan, which wouldn't take effect for at least a year, would be to team up with cable TV ... networks towards offering channels directly to users via the Xbox 360 games console, with the content delivered through a broadband connection. The service would work along the same lines as traditional cable TV, with a basic tier-based package and then a premium fee for some individual channels. There will also be interactive, options such as the ... (view more)

Thu
02
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Heads To Supreme Court Over MS Word Patent

In a bid to avoid an enormous $290 million fine, Microsoft is challenging the Supreme Court's handling of patent infringement cases. The company was hit with the financial penalty after it was found that Microsoft Word violated an XML tag patent ... owned by Canadian company i4i. Having failed in a federal appeal, Microsoft is no longer able to challenge the ruling that it did indeed violate the patent. However, Microsoft has continued to argue that the patent is not valid. It claims to have evidence that products using the technology patented by i4i were on sale more than a year before the ... (view more)

Wed
01
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Wikileak Docs: Chinese Gov't Coordinated Google Attack

Recently leaked US State department documents make the strongest claims yet that the Chinese government was behind attacks on Google systems late last year. The claims appear in a collection of 250,000 cables: confidential messages between the State ... department and the various United States consulates and embassies around the world. The collection appears on the controversial Wikileaks.org site, which publishes a wide variety of leaked material relating to many countries and from many sources, but has hit the headlines with large-scale leaks relating to military conflicts in Iraq and ... (view more)

Tue
30
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Facebook Brings Enhanced Messaging, @facebook.com Emails

Facebook recently confirmed its enhanced messaging system, Facebook Messages. Officially launched November 15th, the system is designed to channel email, instant messaging and SMS text messages (cell phone messages) into a single @facebook.com email ... address so that users can manage their communications through a single inbox. (Source: eweek.com ) @Facebook.Com On-the-Way The idea of the service, which builds on the existing Facebook messaging feature, is to break down the barriers between different forms of communication such as email, site messaging, live chat, instant-messaging and the text ... (view more)

Tue
30
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft to Drop Drive Extender from Windows Home Server

Home users have expressed dismay at news that Microsoft is to remove a key feature from its Windows Home Server software. Drive Extender, a handy options that allows users to add extra hard drives, will be axed from Windows Home Server's next ... edition. Share Files Easily with Windows Home Server Windows Home Server is designed as an easy way for with multiple computers to share files. One of the computers is designated a server, and the others are classified as clients, in much the same way as many large businesses operate their networks. However, the system is specially designed to be easy to ... (view more)

Fri
26
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Video Game Violence Case Reaches Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is re-examining the hotly disputed issue of video game violence. In an ongoing case, it's deciding whether to uphold a California law that would ban violent games being sold to kids under 18 years of age. The law, passed in 2005, ... would have introduced a $1,000 fine for any retailer caught selling "violent" games to minors. However, it wouldn't have stopped parents or other adults buying games and letting children play them. The law soon came under challenge and in 2009 California's highest court rejected it. That ruling said that there was no conclusive evidence that playing ... (view more)

Tue
23
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Mixed Picture For Windows Phone 7 Launch

With Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system (OS) recent debut, experts are already debating whether or not it's a success. One source claims first-day sales were nowhere close to the release of other high-profile phone systems, ... while others report significant stock shortages. The sales figures come from an unnamed market research source speaking to a financial news website. The source claims a total of 40,000 handsets running Windows Phone 7 were sold the first day it went on sale. That compares poorly to the 1.7 million sales of the iPhone 4 in the first three days it was on ... (view more)

Tue
23
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Netflix Customers Move Online; ISPs Overwhelmed

It's likely going to be many years before people stop buying movies on DVD. But rental giant Netflix is not only preparing for that day, but attempting to bring it closer. The company has announced that it will, for the first time in the US, be ... offering a special package that only allows users to stream rented titles over the Internet, with no option to obtain discs. To encourage users to make the switch, the new package will be $7.99 a month (the lowest ever offered by the company), while the price of the packages that include getting discs by mail will rise by at least $1 a month. The price ... (view more)

Mon
22
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

China Denies Claims of Hijacking Internet Traffic

For eighteen minutes in April, around 15 per cent of all Internet traffic was incorrectly routed through Chinese-controlled servers. Nobody knows what was behind the move, but a US government agency suspects foul play. According to the US-China ... Economic and Security Review Commission, the incident involves servers belonging to China Telecom. That's the largest telecommunications company in China; it used to be government controlled but is now partially independent. The incident, which the commission described as "hijacking", involves the way Internet traffic travels between the computers ... (view more)

Thu
18
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Stuxnet Virus May Be Most Threatening Malware Ever

A group of cyber-security experts told US lawmakers Wednesday that American facilities could be the next target of the Stuxnet virus . The Stuxnet virus made headlines this past summer when it infected USB memory sticks and attacked Siemens ... industrial automation systems. Security experts believe that the virus went beyond the work of an individual prankster and was instead a sinister "game changer". That's because unlike most viruses, which aim either to merely cause disruption or to make money through stealing data or by redirecting web browsers to pay-per-click ads, Stuxnet is ... (view more)

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