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Latest by Geoff Duncan

Freescale Brings MRAM to Market

Ever heard of MRAM? It's as fast as traditional RAM memory but retains its contents indefinitely without power. And Freescale says they're got it ready.

Facebook Opens its Pages To More Users

Campus-oriented online social networking site Facebook announced today that it's opened its pages to anyone with a valid email address.

Malware Writers Riding European Storms

Even as severe storms were battering Europe, malware-bearing email claiming to offer details of the storms buffeted Internet users' mailboxes.

FCC Mulls Regulating Network Practices

At an agency hearing at Stanford, FCC chairman Kevin Martin said the FCC should carefully examine what constitutes "reasonable" network management for ISPs.

RIAA File Sharing Verdict Thrown Out

U.S. District Judge Michael Davis has declared a mistrial in the case of Jammie Thomas, who was fined $220,000 for allegedly making music available via Kazaa.

Ex-Samsung Head Gets 3-Year Suspended Term

Former Samsung chief Lee Kun-hee has been given a suspended three-year jail term for tax evasion.

RealDVD Promises Legal DVD Copying

RealNetworks' new RealDVD promises to let people legally rip their movie DVDs...by wrapping them in DRM that limits where the copies can be played.

Active Video Games Aren’t Exercise

Some kids (and maybe some parents) might think active games like Wii Sports are better than sitting around on a couch...and they are. Just barely.

Survey Finds Half HDTV Owners Kinda Fuzzy

A telephone survey conducted by Scientific-Atlanta finds 49 percent of HDTV owners either aren't receiving HD channels or aren't set up to watch them.

Use a Blog, Go to Jail

A new report from researchers at the University of Washington finds that authoritarian regimes are arresting bloggers more often than ever.

Jobs Outlines Plan for ‘Greener’ Apple

In an open letter on the company's Web site, Apple's Steve Jobs has outlined plans to eliminate toxic substances in Apple products and increase recycling.

Sony MediaMax Patch Opens Vulnerabilities

Researchers are now warning of security vulnerabilities opened by Sony's recent patch to the SunComm MediaMax music copy protection software. Sound familiar?

Apple Recalling 1.8 Mln Sony-made Batteries

Apple has announced a recall of 1.8 million Sony-made laptop batteries which shipped in its iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 notebooks.

Google Makes Privacy Page One

Bowing to pressure from privacy groups - and potentially California law - Google has put a link to its privacy policy right on its home page.

Apple Draws Ire Pushing Safari to Windows

Windows users with iTunes or QuickTime installed may have noticed Apple's Software Update utility offering the Safari 3.1 Web browser...set to download by default.

Averatec Rolls Out Atom-powered All-in-One

Averatec has introduced an Atom-powered version of its all-in-one desktop PC, featuring an 18.4-inch display and Windows XP.

Circuit City Facing Tough Times

The Wall Street Journal reports that Circuit City is facing a touch choice: close up to 150 stores, or declare bankruptcy.

Slacker Radio Goes Premium, Debuts Players

Self-styled "personal radio" operator Slacker has introduced a new ad-free premium services, and a line of Slacker portable players.

Viacom to Get YouTube User Histories

Google has been ordered to turn over the viewing history of every YouTube user...to Viacom.

High-End Features Don’t Sell Cell Phones

A new survey from J.D. Power and Associates suggests price and design are the main reasons U.S. consumers choose a particular phone, rather than high-end features.

Microsoft Taking Long View with Zune

Microsoft acknowledges Zune is years late to the party and plans to spend years investing in the project - but it'll be available this fall.

Microsoft Seeking Zune-Exclusive Content

Microsoft is looking to raise the profile of its Zune media players with exclusive content deals - particularly content that can leverage its social features.

Yahoo in Talks to Acquire Facebook?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that social networking site Facebook is talking about selling itself to Yahoo - for a price as high as $1 billion.

Acer Announces Blu ray-Equipped Gemstones

Acer has added Blu-ray drives to its media-centric Gemstone notebook computers - and they also sport 18.4-inch screens and up to two 320 hard disk drives.

iLuv i180 iPod Video Recording Dock

If you think the whole problem with video-capable iPods is that you can't record straight off your TV or camcorder with them, iLuv's got something for you.

Xbox 360 Rollout To Be Slow but Steady

Microsoft hopes to launch its forthcoming Xbox 360 console slowly, avoiding shortages, and increase supply as more Xbox 360 games come on the market. Why? More money for Redmond!

Canon Delays SED TVs

Canon has pushed back the launch of their first SED flat panels TVs, citing production costs and fallout from its lawsuit with Nano-Proprietary.

Niveus Announces HD DVD Media Centers

High-end media device maker Niveus Media has announced it'll be rolling HD DVD support into its Viiv-driven Niveus Media Centers.

Microsoft Brings Computing to the Surface

Microsoft has unveiled a new coffee table-like surface computer which enables users to manipulate content and data simply by touching its 30-inch, tabletop display.

Consumers Prefer Movie Rentals to Downloads

A new survey from ABI Research finds only five percent of people who watch video on the Internet have rented or purchased a digital movie download.

Kazaa Owners Facing Contempt, Jail Time

Executives at Sharman Networks, which operates the Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing network, may face jail time if an Australian judge finds them in violation of court orders.

Gateway Plans Gamer Notebooks

Gateway's new owner Acer may want to revamp Gateway's notebook offerings, but the next set of notebooks will still be Gateway's in-house designs.

Gates Derides MIT’s $100 OLPC Laptop

Microsoft founder Bill Gates takes potshots at MIT's $100 OLPC project, which aims to provide inexpensive computers to children in developing countries.

Final Judgement: SCO Owes Novell $2.5 Mln

In what (we hope!) will be the final word on SCO's dolorous infringement case over Unix, SCO must pay Novell more than $2.54 million...plus interest.

Nielsen: YouTube Rules Online Video

Figures from Nielsen Online show Google's YouTube is still the king of online video, with more then three times the viewers of its closest competitor.

More Automakers to Hook Up with iPod

Ford, General Motors, and Mazda have announced they'll offer iPod integration on most of their 2007 models.

Samsung’s Q1 Ultra Gives UMPC One More Try

Samsung has unveiled an upgraded version of its Q1 ultra-mobile computer in the slimmer form of the Q1 Ultra, with better connectivity and an improved keyboard.

Digital Home Entertainment Costs to Peak?

Research firm The Diffusion Group is forecasting that expenses for digital home entertainment will peak in 2008 as commoditization and competition level the market.