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Today's Topics:
1. Expensive new U.S. spy satellite not working: sources
(Greg Williams)
2. What's in a Name?: That which we call an iPhone by any other
name would sound as sweet. (Monty Solomon)
3. 'Idol' fatigue? Think again (Monty Solomon)
4. Why Hollywood Snubbed Jobs at Macworld (Monty Solomon)
5. Taming Mac OS X File Systems (Monty Solomon)
6. How Apple kept its iPhone secrets (Monty Solomon)
7. The Future of Apple (Monty Solomon)
8. BlackJack Beats Out Palm 750, but iPhone May Well Top Both
(Monty Solomon)
9. Some Hands-On Time With the iPhone (Monty Solomon)
10. Using Your DVR From Afar (Monty Solomon)
11. Making Voice Mail More Like Email (Monty Solomon)
12. The Ultimate iPhone Frequently Asked Questions (Monty Solomon)
13. Apple's much-anticipated iPhone is 'business as usual' in
Japan (Williams, Gregory S.)
14. Mac flaw puts Safari surfers at risk (Williams, Gregory S.)
15. British agency tells schools to avoid Vista (Williams, Gregory S.)
16. Radio Station Goes Off the Air After Copper Thieves Strike
(Ken Kopp)
17. U.S. Daylight Time changes for 2007 (Monty Solomon)
18. CES: Multimedia Cell Phones Take Center Stage (Rob)
19. NBCU Launches Horror Channel (George Antunes)
20. Nine ways Apple, Inc. just changed the landscape of consumer
electronics (Monty Solomon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:48:09 -0500
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Expensive new U.S. spy satellite not working:
sources
To: Media News <medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-01-11T213943Z_01_N11478762_RTRUKOC_0_US-SATELLITE-MILITARY.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-2
Expensive new U.S. spy satellite not working: sources
By Andrea Shalal-Esa - Exclusive
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials are unable to communicate with an
expensive experimental U.S. spy satellite launched last year by the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a defense official and another
source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Efforts are continuing to reestablish communication with the classified
satellite, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but "the
prognosis is not great at this point," said the defense official, who
asked not to be identified.
"They have not yet declared it a total loss. There are still some
additional steps that can be taken to restore communication," the
official added, noting some satellites had been recovered in similar
situations in the past.
The official said the problems were substantial and involved multiple
systems, adding that U.S. officials were working to reestablish contact
with the satellite because of the importance of the new technology it
was meant to test and demonstrate.
The other source said the satellite had been described to him as "a
comprehensive failure."
There was no suggestion by either of the sources that the satellite had
been purposely damaged as part of a terrorist attack. Another government
official said he had no information about any attacks on U.S. satellites.
The National Reconnaissance Office, which designs, builds and operates
reconnaissance satellites for the U.S. military and intelligence
communities, had no comment.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer with the Harvard- Smithsonian Center
For Astrophysics, said the satellite in question could be a classified
NRO satellite launched into space on December 14 from Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California, which did not appear to be part of any
"existing pattern."
The NRO satellite identified only as L-21 was the first ever launched by
the newly merged rocket launch units of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin
Corp..
The new joint venture announced the successful launch of the satellite,
but neither the company nor the NRO gave any details about the
satellite's mission.
McDowell said the satellite was mysterious to satellite watchers because
it was in a low orbit of about 220 miles, or 350 kilometers, above the
Earth and had not made any move to change its orbital position.
"This is definitely a setback for the NRO, which has had an aggressive
technology development program over the past few years," McDowell said.
"It adds to the problems that the NRO is having transitioning to its
next generation of satellites."
The Pentagon has revamped nearly all its space programs in recent years
due to cost overruns, technical issues and schedule delays, but space
officials say they have made "significant progress" to get those
programs back on track.
Several classified NRO programs, including the Future Imagery
Architecture program run by Boeing, have required infusions of several
billions of dollars.
Mishaps and satellite failures happen occasionally. In August 1998, an
NRO satellite estimated to cost over $1 billion was destroyed when the
Lockheed Titan 4A rocket launching it into space exploded some 20,000
feet above the Atlantic.
One industry official said temporary communications lapses occurred
occasionally, but a lasting loss of communication with a satellite, as
suggested in this case, was rare.
Officials at Boeing, Lockheed and Northrop Grumman Corp., which all
produce national security satellites for the U.S. government, declined
comment given the classified nature of the NRO satellite.
Orbital Sciences Corp., another smaller satellite manufacturer, could
not immediately be reached for comment.
--
Greg Williams
K4HSM
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.etskywarn.net
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:13:22 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] What's in a Name?: That which we call an iPhone
by any other name would sound as sweet.
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
What's in a Name?: That which we call an iPhone by any other name
would sound as sweet.
Robert X. Cringely
JANUARY 11, 2007
There are a couple glaring mysteries surrounding Apple's new iPhone,
announced this week at Macworld -- the name and the Internet
connection speed. I'll get to Google in a moment, but first I'd like
to cover these two points about the iPhone.
If you've been in a coma the last several days, you may not have
heard about Apple's iPhone, which is a combination mobile phone,
iPod, and Internet access device. It isn't in the strictest sense a
Personal Digital Assistant or PDA, both because its
Internet-orientation and whole Web 2.0-iness makes being a PDA pass?,
and because John Sculley invented that term. Steve Jobs, since he
detests anything related to Sculley, who cast Jobs out of Apple back
in 1985, will never make a PDA.
The iPhone is cool; the iPhone is neat; the iPhone is weird in a
couple of ways. You know it isn't even close to being the most
expensive mobile phone on the market, for all the grousing I've read
about the price. My Nokia N.93, which was technically not available
yet in the U.S. until recently, but could be freely found in the
United States of eBay, costs substantially more at around $800.
What's weird about the iPhone is, first, its name, since iPhone is a
registered trademark of Cisco Systems, which sells a variety of
products under that brand. Apple has been negotiating with Cisco
about licensing the iPhone name, so they can hardly claim ignorance
of the trademark, yet this week they announced the product without
such a license and of course Cisco filed a lawsuit in response. As
the trademark holder, Cisco had no choice, because to not file suit
would have been to not defend the trademark, perhaps making it more
vulnerable to poaching by Apple.
What makes these trademark shenanigans all the more peculiar is that
at the same MacWorld show this week Apple introduced another product
called Apple TV, which it first demonstrated last year under the name
iTV. (Just as an aside, one reader pointed out, "Look at the Mac
Mini, the Apple TV, and the new AirPort extreme, all the same size
and Bob's version of Apple's multimedia PC is stacking up, for less
than $1,000.") Well, it turned out that Elgato Systems makes a
product called EyeTV (pronounced "iTV" obviously), which is a line of
Macintosh video capture devices -- some with tuners -- so Apple
backed off and changed the product name to Apple TV.
So Apple changed its marketing, diluting its whole "iThis" and
"iThat" naming strategy in deference to Elgato, a company they could
buy with a weekend's earnings from the iTunes Store, but chose to go
toe-to-toe with Cisco, a company that's bigger, richer, and just as
mean as Apple any day.
If an iTV can become an Apple TV, why can't an iPhone become an Apple Phone?
I think it will.
...
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070111_001476.html
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:20:13 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] 'Idol' fatigue? Think again
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
'Idol' fatigue? Think again
News Corp.'s Fox is in fourth place, last among major networks. But
with ratings monster 'American Idol' coming back, it could easily
leap from worst to first.
By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large
January 11 2007: 9:57 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The calendar may say January. But now the
new TV season can begin in earnest.
Sure, the broadcast networks brought back most of their hit shows in
September and October. But the biggest blockbuster of them all, Fox's
"American Idol," has its season premiere on January 16.
Fox sorely needs "American Idol" to do well. According to data from
Nielsen Media Research, Fox was in fourth place in the overall
prime-time ratings race, as well as in the battle for the critical
18-49-year-old demographic that advertisers crave, through the first
sixteen weeks of the 2006-2007 TV season.
This is familiar territory for Fox, though. The company was in fourth
with 18-49-year-olds at this time last year and still went on to win
the 18-49 ratings race for the second consecutive season, largely
because of "American Idol."
Last season, an average of 31.2 million viewers watched the "American
Idol" performance shows on Tuesday nights, while 30.2 million tuned
in for the results episode on Wednesday nights. That made "American
Idol" the most watched shows on TV by far. (CBS's "CSI" came in third
with an average of 24.6 million viewers.)
...
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/10/commentary/mediabiz/
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:27:51 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Why Hollywood Snubbed Jobs at Macworld
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Why Hollywood Snubbed Jobs at Macworld
Most of Tinseltown won't buy into the Apple chief's digital vision
until he ponies up more money and gets more serious about protecting
content
by Ronald Grover
January 12, 2007, 12:01AM EST
By all accounts, Steve Jobs gave a socko performance, delivered with
his usual charm and controversial style, Jan. 9 at Apple's (AAPL)
annual Macworld gathering. Apple TV, which Jobs says has licked the
problem of linking your TV to content downloaded from the Internet,
was introduced as thousands cheered in San Francisco's Moscone
Center. Among the faithful were some tech companies, Walt Disney Co.
(DIS) Chief Executive Robert Iger, and a smattering of TV executives.
Most of the rest of Hollywood was conspicuously absent. Only four
months back, when Iger announced that Jack Sparrow and the rest of
Disney's movie characters could be downloaded to Apple's video iPod,
it looked like Jobs was on his way toward taming the beast called
Hollywood. A prototype of Apple TV, then code-named iTV, would soon
link to the iPod and ship movies from Steve's world to our TVs-or so
the whiskered one led us to believe.
But no other Hollywood studio has yet joined Disney in giving Jobs
their most precious commodity: new-to-the-home-market movies, which
continue to be the studios' hottest sellers in the still-robust
$32-billion-a-year DVD market. To be fair, Jobs & Co. did manage to
lure a second studio, when Paramount Pictures announced it was
joining the iPod brigade. The Viacom (VIA) unit, eager to overcome
its image as a digital Neanderthal, said it would license to Apple
100 or so of its older movies. You want Breakfast at Tiffany's and
Mean Girls, you can get them. But try to get Dreamgirls when it comes
out on video in a few months, or Shrek 3, which Paramount will
release this summer for DreamWorks Animation (DWA).
...
http://businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jan2007/db20070112_399642.htm
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:36:33 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Taming Mac OS X File Systems
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Taming Mac OS X File Systems
1/11/2007 11:57:00 AM
Posted by Amit Singh, Mac Engineering Manager
Google is a fantastic company to work for. I could cite numerous
reasons why. Take the concept of "20 percent time." Google engineers
are encouraged to spend 20 percent of their time pursuing projects
they're passionate about. I started one such exciting project some
time back, and I'm pleased to announce that Google is releasing the
fruits of this project as an open source contribution to the
Macintosh community. That project is MacFUSE, a Mac OS X version of
the popular FUSE (File System in User Space) mechanism, which was
created for Linux and subsequently ported to FreeBSD.
FUSE makes it possible to implement a very functional file system in
a normal program rather than requiring a complex addition to the
operating system. More importantly, the FUSE API is very easy to
program for. The large number of interesting and/or useful FUSE file
systems out there is a testament to this. An often-cited example of
such a useful file system is sshfs, which until now was not available
on Mac OS X.
One of the missions of the Google Macintosh team is to contribute to
the Mac community and make the Mac OS X experience better for users
and developers. We hope that MacFUSE will not only make several
existing FUSE file systems readily available to Macintosh
users--typically, right out of the box--but will also help Macintosh
developers give vent to their creative fervor and come up with
innovative products and file systems that we have never seen before.
...
http://googlemac.blogspot.com/2007/01/taming-mac-os-x-file-systems.html
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:17:17 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] How Apple kept its iPhone secrets
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
How Apple kept its iPhone secrets
Bogus prototypes, bullying the press, stifling pillow talk - all to
keep iPhone under wraps. Fortune's Peter Lewis goes inside one of the
year's biggest tech launches.
By Peter H. Lewis, Fortune senior editor
January 10 2007: 7:00 PM EST
SAN FRANCISCO (Fortune) -- One of the most astonishing things about
the new Apple iPhone, introduced yesterday by Steve Jobs at the
annual Macworld trade show, is how Apple (Charts) managed to keep it
a secret for nearly two-and-a-half years of development while working
with partners like Cingular, Yahoo (Charts) and Google (Charts).
The iPhone, which won't be available in the United States until June,
represents a close development partnership with America's largest
wireless phone company (Cingular, now a part of AT&T (Charts), has 58
million subscribers), the world's largest e-mail service (Yahoo has a
quarter-billion subscribers worldwide), and the world's dominant
search company. Although speculation was rampant before the
introduction that Apple would introduce a phone with iPod
capabilities, actual details of the device were scarce. Even some
senior Apple managers whispered during the keynote that they were
seeing the iPhone for the first time, along with the 4,000 other
Apple followers who crammed the Moscone meeting center here. Indeed,
Apple's emphasis on secrecy may have influenced Apple's choice of
Cingular to be the exclusive provider for iPhone service in the
United States.
Apple, legendary for the ferocity with which it safeguards new
product announcements, had extraordinary challenges in keeping the
iPhone under wraps for 30 months. Besides involving Cingular, Google
and Yahoo, not to mention the unnamed Asian manufacturer, the project
touched nearly every department within Apple itself, Jobs said, more
so than in any previous Apple creation.
...
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/10/commentary/lewis_fortune_iphone.fortune/
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:03:46 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] The Future of Apple
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
The Future of Apple
With the iPhone, Apple TV, and a name change, Jobs & Co. are setting
a new course for the outfit once known only for its computers
by Arik Hesseldahl
SPECIAL REPORT
January 10, 2007, 12:00AM EST
If there was anything on the minds of higher-ups at wireless handset
manufacturers on Jan. 9, it was very likely what to take for a
headache-a pounding one caused by a new competitor, the company
formerly known as Apple Computer (AAPL).
In unveiling a device called the iPhone-the subject of rumors and
speculation for years-Apple also officially changed its name,
dropping the "Computer" that had been part of the moniker since the
computer maker was founded in 1976. At the same time, the newly
incarnated Apple stormed into new markets, turning the biggest names
in cell phones-Nokia (NOK), Motorola (MOT), Research In Motion
(RIMM), and Samsung-into overnight competitors.
The new name and device represent Apple's strategic shift away from
its origins as a personal computing company that has at points
struggled both to survive and to set the computing world's agenda.
The shift was enabled by the five-year-old iPod line of digital media
products, which have produced enormous sales and profit growth,
propelled Apple into the forefront of the digital media age, and now
leave it poised to set the wireless phone industry on its ear. "This
is a day I've been looking forward to for two and a half years,"
Apple CEO Steve Jobs told the capacity crowd at the MacWorld Expo
trade show in San Francisco. "Every once in a while a new product
comes around that changes everything."
...
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070110_535914.htm
SPECIAL REPORT
The Apple Economy
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/special_reports/20070108theappleec.htm
* Apple's iFuture Depends on Partners
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070108_349212.htm
* Apple's Chinese Supply Lines
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070108_583738.htm
* Apple's Wireless Effect
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070108_255246.htm
* Companies Embrace the Mac-Slowly
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070108_880656.htm
* Apple Sets the Design Standard
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2007/id20070108_046657.htm?chan=tc&chan=technology_the+apple+economy
* Getting to the Core of Apple's Influence
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/01/0107_apple_design/index_01.htm
* Apple's Cinema HD Display Has Star Power
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070110_011023.htm
* iPhone and Apple TV Unleashed
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/01/0109_apple/index_01.htm
* Interactive S&P Stock Report: Apple
http://search.businessweek.com/interactiveStock.jsp?ticker=069064171149228001074054013117180117010254186085
* The Future of Apple
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070110_535914.htm
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:10:21 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] BlackJack Beats Out Palm 750, but iPhone May Well
Top Both
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
BlackJack Beats Out
Palm 750, but iPhone
May Well Top Both
BY WALTER S. MOSSBERG
January 11, 2007
When Apple rocked the cellphone world Tuesday by unveiling its
radical and gorgeous new iPhone, it was bad news for Palm Inc., whose
Treo smart phones will be severely challenged by the new iPhone when
it goes on sale in June.
I attended the iPhone launch event, and was able to use one for a
little while. That's too brief an encounter to allow me to write a
proper review. But I can say that it has the largest and most
beautiful screen I've ever seen on a cellphone, even though it's
incredibly thin. It felt great in my hand. It has a brilliant new
user interface; the handsomest email program and Web browser I've
ever seen on a phone; a full-blown iPod music and video player built
in; and even a cool new voicemail system.
The iPhone has some potential downsides -- it doesn't use a physical
keyboard, instead relying on a virtual keyboard on the screen, which
may put off heavy email users. It runs on the relatively slow EDGE
cellular data network, though that flaw is partly offset by the fact
that it can also use speedy Wi-Fi wireless networking. And, with a
$499 base price, it's expensive.
Still, the iPhone made my relatively new Treo 700p seem primitive in
many respects when I compared them side by side. And the Apple
product isn't Palm's only problem.
...
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20070111.html
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:08:30 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Some Hands-On Time With the iPhone
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Some Hands-On Time With the iPhone
By DAVID POGUE
JANUARY 9, 2007, 9:40 PM
Today, I had meetings with Steve Jobs and then Phil Schiller, Apple's
director of worldwide marketing. I basically played with the iPhone
the entire hour.
Here are some of the things you can't tell without actually handling
and using the iPhone:
...
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/some-hands-on-time-with-the-iphone/
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:14:21 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Using Your DVR From Afar
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
January 10, 2007
Using Your DVR From Afar
BY KATHERINE BOEHRET
The whole point of using a digital video recorder is convenience.
Rather than arranging your schedule around television shows, you
watch what you want when it's best for you. But you may be running
out the door for a weeklong trip, forgetting to plot out which shows
will air while you're gone. Or you might learn of a new series or
show while at work, unable to get home in time to record it.
This week, I was reminded of how setting my TiVo digital video
recorder to record programs can be done more conveniently: through
remote online access. I did so using two methods: TiVo Inc.'s own Web
service, TiVo Central Online at www.Tivo.com, and Sling Media Inc.'s
downloadable SlingPlayer software program, which works when Slingbox
hardware is attached to your television. Other remote recording
solutions also are available using computer-based programs.
...
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20070110.html
------------------------------
Message: 11
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:15:35 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Making Voice Mail More Like Email
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
January 03, 2007
Making Voice Mail More Like Email
BY KATHERINE BOEHRET
Despite spam and other problems, email is highly useful and
effective. You can quickly send and receive messages, delete or
forward them, and save them for reading at a later time. A glance at
your inbox can tell you a lot about each message, including its
subject, sender and the time it was received.
But voice mail lags behind in key ways. A voice mail still doesn't
tell you the caller's name or reason for calling unless you listen to
at least part of it. You usually can't reply to a voice mail with a
message of your own, as with email; instead, you must call the person
back. And you can't easily jump from the most recent voice mail to
the 10th without listening to every message in between.
Still, voice mail has its place. A phone call is much more personal
than an email, and lets you use vocal inflection to express your
point, whereas email expressions can sometimes be misinterpreted. And
it's often easier and faster to speak your message than to type it
out.
This week, I tested Pinger, a free messaging service that tries to
make voice mail more usable by emphasizing its strengths and making
it a little more like email, or like a cellphone text message. This
new service comes from Pinger Inc, a Silicon Valley-based company
started by former Palm Inc. employees.
...
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20070103.html
------------------------------
Message: 12
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:33:26 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] The Ultimate iPhone Frequently Asked Questions
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
The Ultimate iPhone Frequently Asked Questions
David Pogue
JANUARY 11, 2007, 2:40 PM
Wow. Predictably, the torrent - and I do mean torrent - of iPhone
commentary from the citizens of the Web is practically outflooding
spam this week. Most of it comes from people whose shirt fronts are
practically drenched in drool. Plenty is negative and bitter.
Another huge category is iPhone questions. Never mind that many of
these questions either (a) have been answered by Apple, either on its
elaborate, interactive Web site or the free video of Steve Jobs's
speech, or (b) come from people who fantasize about fitting the
iPhone into their own particular wish lists.
(My favorite sarcastic comment, which was a response to these
responses, which were in response to my last blog entry: "Yeah, yeah,
yeah, but can you use it underwater? And can you recharge it using
solar power? And does it have an optical scanner that detects your
eyeball movements so that you merely have to look at a name in your
contacts list and blink in order to choose and call him? Apple, you
have a long way to go?")
Anyway, here it is: the ultimate iPhone Frequently Asked Questions
list, complete with answers.
...
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/the-ultimate-iphone-frequently-asked-questions/
------------------------------
Message: 13
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:40:08 -0800
From: "Williams, Gregory S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Apple's much-anticipated iPhone is 'business as
usual' in Japan
To: <Medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
In Japan, barely a ripple
Apple's much-anticipated iPhone is 'business as usual' in a country
where mobile features already are so advanced.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-japanphone11jan11,0,6424968.stor
y?coll=la-home-headlines
By Bruce Wallace, Times Staff Writer
January 11, 2007
TOKYO - Tomoaki Kurita presides over racks of cellphones lined up
outside his shop on a busy sidewalk in Harajuku, Tokyo's catwalk of
youth street culture where people attracted by the riot of phone options
can stop to flip open and fondle the latest models of what the Japanese
call keitai.
>From behind his busy counter, Kurita giggles when asked about the
excitement in America over the arrival of Apple's iPhone, which can also
be used to download music and surf the Internet.
"Sounds like business as usual," he says.
On the day when stock markets swooned and techies buzzed over Apple Inc.
Chief Executive Steve Jobs' long-awaited entry into the mobile-phone
market, Japanese consumers could be excused for wondering: Why the fuss?
Yes, the iPhone seemed to reaffirm Apple's ability to wow with design.
Its finger-driven navigation might bring a new level of sophistication
to the way cellphones operate. But many Japanese had a harder time
buying Jobs' line about "reinventing" the phone.
"Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes
everything," Jobs said as he unveiled the iPhone on Tuesday at the
Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.
But the revolution is already well underway in Japan, where cellphones
are used for everything. Besides downloading music and surfing the Net,
Japanese use their cellphones to navigate their way home by global
positioning system, to buy movie tickets and to update personal blogs
from wherever they are.
They have been a natural extension of daily life here for the last few
years, spurred by Japan's decision to be the first country to upgrade to
third-generation mobile-phone networks, or 3G, which increase broadband
capabilities and allow for better transmission of voice and data.
Apple's iPhone, by comparison, will operate on a second-generation
network.
It was 3G that sparked the boom in music downloads that makes it common
for phones to be used as portable digital music players here.
And it is 3G that has led the Japanese into a world where they can watch
live TV on their phones and use them as a charge card to ride trains or
buy milk at the corner store or take a taxi. Ticket Pia, Japan's major
entertainment ticketing agency, has been selling e-mail tickets to
cellphones since October 2003. The phones also can be used to conduct
conference calls among as many as five people.
Another widely used 3G feature enables users to point cellphone cameras
at bar codes and be directed to websites. For example, every seat in the
Chiba Lotte Marines baseball stadium has a bar code, which takes a
cellphone to a special home page where users can subscribe to get
"inside" information and columns not available on the regular team site.
Also, every Marine game can be watched, live, on a phone.
As with other Japanese baseball clubs, cellphones can be used to buy
tickets. Teams have examined the possibility of installing turnstiles
that would allow ticket holders to enter stadiums by swiping their
cellphones across the terminal. That technology is already used at some
movie theaters. And cellphones can be loaded with prepaid credit and
then be swiped at terminals to allow access to Japanese trains.
Most observers contend the U.S. has begun to close the gap on
mobile-phone use with Japan, South Korea and Europe.
Music downloads by cellphone are rising in the U.S. The long-term threat
to iTunes' commanding lead in downloads was a major force behind Apple's
entry into mobile phones. Other functions are on the way.
"We plan to introduce one-way videoconferencing in the U.S. this year,"
said spokeswoman Melissa Elkins of LG Electronics MobileCOMM. The
function would allow one person to be visible to another caller over a
cellphone. Two-way videoconferencing has already been available in South
Korea for about 18 months, Elkins said.
But the biggest difference between the U.S. and countries like Japan is
not the array of bells and whistles on cellphones but the cultural
differences the keitai has created.
Keitai form a cyber social network in a highly mobile society. To wait
for a light on a Tokyo street corner or to ride a train is to see crowds
of people with their heads down, thumbs pumping as they send photos,
write text messages or play online games on their phones. Increasingly,
they are reading books and manga, or comic books, on their phones too.
The keitai has also become an extension of personality. There is
software to create a personalized home page for a cellphone. Young men
and women customize their phones by hanging tiny dolls off them and
covering them with stickers and paints.
"I like it because it's cute," says Mami Nawa, 23, as she shows off the
dial pad she has painted in purple and pink tones. "And with my long
nails, the paint gives me a better feel for the phone."
Nawa spent about $170 on her sharp phone, and $25 more to decorate it,
though she says some friends spend much more on decorations. But neither
she nor her friend Makiko Yamada, who are sampling the phones in
Harajuku, would ever pay anything close to $500 for a cellphone. A
hundred dollars, tops, Yamada says.
Apple might find it hard to lead a revolution with iPhone priced as an
elite gadget.
Like other Japanese consumers, Nawa and Yamada pick and choose the
functions they want. They don't use their phones as charge cards - known
here as the "wallet function." But they check train schedules and have
made hotel reservations with their phones. They keep their music on
their phones and subscribe to daily e-mails that deliver news headlines
and daily fortune telling. They use their phones to shop on online sites
and bid in online auctions.
It's a dynamic market. After buying mobile company Vodafone's Japanese
operations, the Internet company Softbank Corp. has made a splash with a
campaign claiming to offer significant savings for customers who switch
to its service.
That process has been made easier by industry changes allowing customers
to take their phone numbers with them when they switch carriers.
Softbank's ad campaign features actress Cameron Diaz. Across Japan, Diaz
stares out from posters and billboards, a Softbank phone pressed to her
ear. In TV ads, she stumbles down a street, struggling to keep her phone
to her ear.
Diaz is talking. Not watching TV or shooting digital video or checking
her horoscope. Just talking.
How American.
Gregory S. Williams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
Message: 14
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:41:34 -0800
From: "Williams, Gregory S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Mac flaw puts Safari surfers at risk
To: <Medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
By Dawn Kawamoto, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News: January 11, 2007, 11:54 AM PT
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6149498.html
A serious security flaw in Mac OS X opens machines with Apple's Safari
Web browser to hijack by outsiders, Secunia has warned.
The vulnerability and "proof of concept" code to exploit it were
released on Wednesday as part of the Month of Apple Bugs project. It
affects Mac OS X 10.4.8, the most recent version of Apple's operating
system and, possibly, previous versions, security researcher LMH said in
the posting on MOAB's Web site.
The flaw can be exploited if the Mac user has enabled an option in
Safari to "open safe files after downloading," Secunia said in an
advisory Thursday. The security company has rated the problem "highly
critical."
"It is never good to have something open automatically when you download
it, so users should disable this automatic feature in Safari," said
Thomas Kristensen, Secunia's chief technology officer.
Over the past year, security experts have scrutinized the "open safe"
feature in Apple's code, and have said that the company hasn't
completely closed up the security holes. The feature automatically opens
files that are deemed to be safe. In March, Apple added a "download
validation" function to the tool to warn people when they may be
downloading a malicious file or disk image.
However, security experts have noted that malicious attackers could
create a file that appears to be safe, such as a movie or image file,
but is actually an application that gets loaded onto a user's system.
Security researchers are advising users to disable the "open safe"
feature in Safari.
In response to the news, an Apple representative said: "Apple takes
security very seriously and has a great track record of addressing
potential vulnerabilities before they can affect users. We always
welcome feedback on how to improve security on the Mac."
Gregory S. Williams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
Message: 15
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:42:18 -0800
From: "Williams, Gregory S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] British agency tells schools to avoid Vista
To: <Medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
By Richard Thurston, ZDNet (UK)
Published on ZDNet News: January 11, 2007, 8:12 AM PT
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6149401.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=z
dnn
The British government's schools computer agency has warned that
deploying Vista carries too much risk and that its benefits are unclear.
The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency said
Wednesday that it "strongly recommends" schools do not deploy
Microsoft's latest operating system within the next 12 months.
In a further dig at Microsoft, the agency asserts that there are no
"must-have" features in Vista and that "technical, financial and
organizational challenges associated with early deployment currently
make this (Vista) a high-risk strategy."
Tom McMullan, a technical consultant at the agency, told ZDNet UK:
"There is not a case for schools to deploy it unless it is
mission-critical stable." Speaking at this week's BETT education trade
show in London, McMullan added: "There are lots of incremental
improvements, but there are no must-haves that justify early
deployment."
The agency was similarly dismissive of Office 2007, which is being
launched alongside Vista. Although it acknowledged that there are many
new features in Office 2007, the agency said most of these were only
useful in the private sector.
Microsoft waved aside such caution.
Steve Beswick, Microsoft's director of education for the U.K., told
ZDNet UK: "Customers should evaluate Vista and test it and decide 'Is
this good for learning?' Roll-out shouldn't be stopped if it aids
learning."
Earlier this month, the government agency renewed its Memorandum of
Understanding with Microsoft for another year. It gives schools
discounts of 20 percent to 37 percent on the company's software
products.
Gregory S. Williams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
Message: 16
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 12:28:08 -0600
From: "Ken Kopp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Radio Station Goes Off the Air After Copper
Thieves Strike
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Medianews@twiar.org
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
A San Antonio radio station on the Northwest Side was shut down after
thieves stole some of the hardware needed to keep the station's signal
on the air.
The station, KAHL 1310 AM, went off the air Wednesday morning after
the copper needed to keep the radio station transmitter going was
literally ripped out of place.
Although the copper was only worth about $200, the theft could cost
the radio station a whole lot more in advertising dollars and a loss
of listeners. A station spokesperson said every second of dead-air
could cost the station thousands of dollars.
Crews are working quickly to make repairs. The station did manage to
get back on the air Wednesday afternoon, but the signal was weak.
Bexar County deputies told News 4 the radio tower was not the only
place hit by copper thieves this week. Less than 5 miles away from the
radio station, thieves struck at a cell tower. Between the value of
the copper stolen and what the thieves had to do to get to the copper,
they caused about $25,000 in damage to the cell tower. A River
Authority location was also robbed. The theft and damages at that site
added up to more than $80,000.
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=58f27581-af98-47cd-84c1-67d70373d5e5
--
Ken Kopp - KK?HF
ARRL DEC Kansas ARES District 1
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Phone: (785) 380-4603
Web Site: http://732u.net
Ham Radio: More than just a hobby!
------------------------------
Message: 17
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:20:18 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] U.S. Daylight Time changes for 2007
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Beginning in 2007, most of the U.S. will begin Daylight Saving Time
at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and revert to standard
time on the first Sunday in November.
http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html
Preparing for daylight saving time changes in 2007
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx
2007 time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928388
How to configure daylight saving time for the United States in 2007
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914387
How to configure daylight saving time for the United States and
Canada in 2007 and in subsequent years on Windows Mobile-based
devices
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923953
How to configure daylight saving time for the United States and
Canada in 2007 and in subsequent years on Windows CE-based devices
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923027/
------------------------------
Message: 18
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:20:40 -0600
From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] CES: Multimedia Cell Phones Take Center Stage
To: medianews@twiar.org, Dean <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Tom and Darryl
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
CES: Multimedia Cell Phones Take Center Stage
Liane Cassavoy
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070112/tc_pcworld/128512
LAS VEGAS-- Remember the days when a cell phone did little more than
make calls? Judging by the latest crop of handsets on display here at
the Consumer Electronics Show--not to mention Apple's new iPhone--those
days are long gone. New handsets do everything from playing music to
capturing DVD-quality video to displaying live TV broadcasts. Here's a
roundup of some of the more interesting cell phones and services at the
show.
Let the Music Play
Phones that include music players are nothing new: Today, even the most
basic handsets often include some sort of audio player. But many new
phones are adding sophisticated music features that could rival those
found in stand-alone digital audio players.
Samsung, for example, is billing its Ultra Music Phone as part MP3
player. The phone features a unique dual-sided design with the cell
phone on one side, and the music player on the other. The device, which
still manages to stay remarkably slim, houses a small LCD screen and
keypad for making calls on the phone side; the other side features a
larger LCD and dedicated music controls. The Ultra Music Phone plays
both MP3 and WMA audio files. Looking at the music player side of the
phone, you'd never know that the device was actually a phone--you could
easily mistake it for an MP3 player. No word on carrier or pricing.
Nokia, meanwhile, is showing off its 5300 Xpress Music phone, which the
company says is its first mass-market music phone for the United States.
While not saying which carrier will offer the phone (which had been
announced late last year), Nokia says it will likely be available in
February or March for about $100. Like the LG Fusic, which we reviewed
last summer, the 5300 features a white case reminiscent of an iPod. The
front of the slider-style phone has a large LCD, with dedicated music
player controls on the left side of the handset and volume controls on
the right. The 5300 comes with Nokia Music Manager software for syncing
tunes to the handset (though you can also use your own jukebox software
to transfer music) and supports most popular music file formats,
including Windows DRM-protected songs. The phone will be bundled with a
1GB microSD card for storing songs, Nokia says.
Motorola also showed a phone that supports Windows DRM-protected songs,
the MotoRizr Z6. In addition, Motorola unveiled what it is calling the
"MotoMusic Experience," a platform that brings the company's previously
announced alliances with Warner Music and Microsoft to fruition for
consumers. The goal is to make it easy for people to transfer music from
their PCs to their phones.
Like the Nokia 5300, the Rizr is a slider-style phone that features
dedicated music controls, which sit directly below the screen. It also
includes a microSD slot for adding storage. The quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
world phone is compatible with all Windows Media Player subscription
music stores, so you can purchase music from a service such as Yahoo
Music, and easily transfer it to your phone via Windows Media Player 11.
A carrier and pricing for the phone have not yet been announced, but
Motorola says it should be available within the next 3 to 6 months.
Sony Ericsson's Walkman line of cell phones has long impressed us with
its music features. The new Sony Ericsson W200 Walkman GSM/GPRS phone
boasts many of the same features as the W810, which at this writing tops
our standard cell phone chart. The W200 features the same candy-bar
design, but is noticeably thinner and more petite than the boxy W810. It
also has similar dedicated music controls and a built-in FM radio tuner.
The company is not saying when the W200 will be available or which
carrier will offer it, but officials say they expect it to be an
entry-level phone with a low price point.
Let the Video Play
While music phones are becoming almost commonplace, video phones are
less ubiquitous. But new handsets shown at CES offer new ways to watch
and capture video.
The Nokia N93i features one of the more impressive camcorders we've seen
on a phone. The device, in fact, looks more like a camcorder than it
does a phone. It's a slightly boxy clamshell-style phone that flips open
and then twists, so that the screen sits perpendicular to the keypad. In
this configuration, you can hold the phone just as you would a
camcorder. The N93i can capture MPEG-4 VGA (640-by-480 resolution) video
at 30 frames per second, and Nokia says it is designed to support direct
video uploads to blogs or video-posting sites. Unfortunately, this
GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone may never be offered--and therefore subsidized--by a
U.S. carrier, but it will be available overseas.
Samsung's Ultra Video Phone, which features the same dual-sided design
as the Ultra Music Phone, is more of a video playback device than a
video capture device, but it features some unique features of its own.
It's said to be the first cell phone that can play back DivX video, in
addition to MPEG-4, H.264, WMV, and AVI files. The video player side of
the phone features a 2.4-inch screen and a swiveling base that can be
used to support the screen so you can view it while it's sitting on a
desk or table.
Another option for viewing video--in this case, live TV broadcasts--is
the new LG VX9400. The handset is one of the first to support Verizon's
new V CAST Mobile TV service, which features live content from broadcast
and cable TV stations on a cell phone.
The VX9400 features a screen you can swivel to watch TV in landscape
mode. The handset and the mobile TV service from Verizon are scheduled
to be available in the first quarter of 2007.
Verizon Wireless isn't the only company delivering live TV signals to
cell phones. Earlier this week Modeo began beta testing its mobile TV
service in New York. HTC, the manufacturer of the Modeo smart phone that
is being used to test the service, showed the device here at CES. The
service allows users to watch live TV from programmers such as Fox News
and the Discovery Channel, but it is unclear when it will become more
widely available.
------------------------------
Message: 19
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:26:47 -0600
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] NBCU Launches Horror Channel
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii
NBCU Launches Horror Channel
By Anne Becker
Broadcasting & Cable
1/12/2007 12:52:00 PM
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6407057.html?display=Breaking+News
At a time when it's near-impossible to launch a new linear cable network,
NBC Universal thinks it has a plan: repurposing old content and programming
it across digital platforms.
The company is planning Chiller, a horror-themed network that will exist as
a standard and HD cable channel, a VOD package and a broadband Website.
Chiller, which is slated to launch March 1 and already has carriage on
DirecTV, will use for its programming old horror TV shows and movies from
the Universal library and others. Titles include the TV shows Twin Peaks
and Tales From the Crypt and movies The Shining, Psycho and The Birds.
NBC has tried this strategy before, last year launching Sleuth, a
crime-focused cable/VOD/broadband channel using mainly content from the
NBCU library. The network is now in 24 million homes.
The company is also entering a crowded field by programming horror. Last
year, Comcast, the country's largest cable operator, launched FearNet, a
VOD/broadband-only channel of horror movies and TV shows, and AOL Video
also programs ample horror content.
The channel comes out of NBCU's Emerging Networks division, which is headed
by Dan Harrison, senior VP, emerging networks, NBC Universal Cable
Entertainment, and overseen by Jeff Gaspin, president, NBC Universal Cable
Entertainment, Digital Content and Cross Network Strategy.
Harrison will oversee Chiller's day to day operations, reporting to Gaspin.
"We continually look at our options for launching new networks," said
Gaspin in a statement. "Horror is one of the most reliably successful
genres in entertainment today, and Chiller seems like a well-timed addition
to our portfolio."
=================================================
George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923
Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3011
------------------------------
Message: 20
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:44:48 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Nine ways Apple, Inc. just changed the landscape
of consumer electronics
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Nine ways Apple, Inc. just changed the landscape of consumer electronics
Steve Jobs heralded yesterday's Macworld keynote address with the
words, "We are going to make some history today." While the
introduction of Apple TV and the multifunction iPhone certainly are a
new direction for Apple, we believe that Apple's marketing muscle
will have a big effect on the rest of the consumer electronics and
telecom industries will be just as profound. Just how is that? Here
are nine effects we see:
...
http://www.blackfriarsinc.com/blog/2007/01/nine-ways-apple-inc-just-changed
------------------------------
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End of Medianews Digest, Vol 151, Issue 1
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