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Today's Topics:
1. Ohio's Laptops Often Stolen or Missing (George Antunes)
2. Canada: BCE sale has company insiders poised to reap millions
(George Antunes)
3. Cyber Attacks Engulf Kremlin's Critics (George Antunes)
4. Review: iPhone combines slick features, with some big
compromises (George Antunes)
5. Canada's BCE Agrees To $48.5 Billion Buyou (George Antunes)
6. AMD's Details on Chip Delivery, Speed Suggest Softer Attack
on Intel (George Antunes)
7. Western Digital Purchase Shows Disk-Drive Dilemma (George Antunes)
8. Most iPhone owners gush but some have glitches (Greg Williams)
9. Google adjusts mapping directions, allowing for changes on
the fly (Greg Williams)
10. iPhone comics (Monty Solomon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:59:23 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Ohio's Laptops Often Stolen or Missing
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Ohio's Laptops Often Stolen or Missing
June 30, 2007 8:50 AM (ET)
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Associated Press
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070630/D8Q353P80.html
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - In Dayton, a state employee returns to work to find a
$2,000 computer stolen. In Cleveland, someone walks into an unlocked office
and takes a $2,200 laptop belonging to the state auditor's office.
In Ohio, these scenarios not unusual, with state-issued computers
frequently stolen or missing, according to a recent review of reports of
stolen equipment by The Associated Press.
"State-owned and issued equipment is being misplaced or lost and stolen,
and fundamentally that's not good," said Keith Dailey, a spokesman for Gov.
Ted Strickland.
Strickland has ordered the State Highway Patrol to review reports of stolen
computer equipment following the theft of a computer backup tape earlier
this month. The tape contained personal information on state employees and
the names and Social Security numbers of 225,000 taxpayers.
The patrol is investigating 11 reports of missing or stolen equipment this
year, 26 last year and 32 in 2005, said Lt. Tony Bradshaw, an Ohio State
Highway Patrol spokesman.
In Columbus, for example, someone stole 12 laptops from the state highway
department in a theft discovered in April, including a $4,500 computer used
to record pavement conditions taken from a locked office, records show.
There have been frequent reports of employees taking laptops home and
having them stolen from their cars.
On Sept. 18, 2006, a human services employee who lives in Westerville in
suburban Columbus reported a $2,087 state-issued laptop was stolen from his
car parked at his home.
Two months later, on Nov. 16, a Health Department employee in Columbus
reported that a state-issued laptop was in her car in downtown Columbus
when the $3,500 Dell computer went missing.
Twice in 2006, Ohio Turnpike Commission employees reported laptops stolen
from their cars after stopping at different turnpike service plazas, patrol
records show.
"If there's a lesson here, it's, 'Don't leave these types of equipment in
your car,' said Jay Carey, a Health Department spokesman. "If they're not
going to be in the office, have them locked up." The department's laptops
did not contain sensitive data, he said.
State agencies are not the only ones suffering thefts.
In April, the Ohio House of Representatives reported three laptops stolen
from House chambers. Each was valued at $1,100. The laptops contain no
sensitive information and are used by lawmakers to look up bill information
during legislative sessions, said House GOP spokeswoman Karen Tabor.
On July 25, 2006, the state's Court of Claims reported a $1,723 laptop
stolen from a court office. The laptop was discovered missing during an
annual inventory and Miles Durfey, the court's clerk, said court employees
do not know when it was taken.
The biggest mass theft of computers involved the 12 that were taken from a
Department of Transportation office near the agency's state headquarters on
the west side of Columbus.
One of the computers was a $4,500 Panasonic laptop designed to be mounted
in a car and built to withstand bouncing or bumping in a moving vehicle.
A security camera observed the theft and helped the state patrol determine
a suspect, said Lindsay Komlanc, a highway department spokeswoman. Agency
laptops are typically used to record data about road conditions and do not
contain sensitive data, she said.
In the Department of Job and Family Services, 12 laptops went missing over
three years, including five stolen from employees' homes or cars. The
agency has about 1,500 laptops, said agency spokesman Dennis Evans.
The computer backup tape was stolen from an intern's car. Two weeks before
that, a laptop holding injured workers' personal information was stolen
from a state employee.
Strickland's order ended the practice of employees taking backup devices
home for safekeeping. It and mandated a review of how state data is
handled, including establishing a protocol for data encryption, a process
by which electronic information is scrambled into an unrecognizable form.
"You can't prevent theft 100 percent obviously, and you probably can't even
prevent the loss or misplacement of some equipment," Dailey said. "But you
can significantly reduce the possibility of data theft by encrypting
information in all of these laptops and data devices."
---
On the Net:
State Highway Patrol: http://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:14:48 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Canada: BCE sale has company insiders poised to
reap millions
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
BCE Inc. sale has company insiders poised to reap millions
Sean Silcoff
Financial Post
Sunday, July 01, 2007
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=21c118db-152b-4a1e-b80d-19ae5a1b9925
MONTREAL -- BCE Inc. insiders stand to reap hundreds of millions of dollars
in gains from their stock options and other long-term compensation in the
proposed sale of the company to a group led by Ontario Teachers Pension
Plan for $42.75 per share.
Information in company filings shows that, as of March 31, an unspecified
number of BCE employees had 23-million stock options outstanding, with an
average strike price of $33, or the price employees can pay to buy stock
during the life of the options.
Since options are expected to automatically vest with the closing of the
transaction, the gain will be an average of $9.75 per option, for a total
of $224-million. That is a significant improvement over just four months
ago, when the stock was trading for $30 and the majority of options held by
employees were essentially worthless, after five years of flat performance
by the stock.
Other compensation awards will likely be released to employees and
directors in the event of a sale. Executives and other key employees held a
total of three million "restricted share units," (RSUs) at the end of the
last quarter, which should vest into the same number of common shares when
the deal closes, at a value of $128-million.
Among top executives, chief executive Michael Sabia and president George
Cope stand to gain the most from the sale. Mr. Sabia's 450,000 options
granted in March at a strike price of $30.72 in March would deliver a
pre-tax gain of $5.4-million at the proposed sale price.
Between Mr. Sabia's 134,124 shares and other compensation awards, he should
be able to cash out more than $30-million under the deal announced
Saturday. Mr. Cope, meanwhile, is sitting on $10-million in potential gains
from the 693,000 options he has been granted since joining the company two
years ago.
Mr. Sabia or whoever replaces him should expect to see an even larger
portion of pay tied to long-term performance under private ownership. That
is because leaders of companies bought out by private equity firms are
expected to align their interests with the owners by tying their pay to the
achievement of long-term returns leading to a sale or public offering.
Based on some estimates by investment bankers, the CEO of BCE could earn
hundreds of millions of dollars if the company hits its return targets over
a five-year period.
But if Mr. Sabia loses his job within a year of the change of control, he
stands to make three year's worth of his salary and target bonus, equal to
a severance payment of $8.4-million. BCE directors also stand to gain from
the sale. Directors receive their fees in the form of "deferred stock
units", which turn into common shares when they leave the board or if the
company is sold. Based on information in the company's most recent proxy
circular, eight of the company's 15 directors are sitting on more than
$1-million worth of deferred units each. In total, the 1.3-million DSUs
granted to directors and key executives would be worth $55-million at the
sale price. The biggest gainer on the board is chairman Dick Currie, who
bought about 1-million shares after ascending to that position five years
ago. His current stake in the company, including units paid for his
services on the board, will be worth $45-million if the deal closes at the
sale price.
Mr. Currie, who became one of the wealthiest people in Canada during his 25
years of building Loblaw Cos. into Canada's top grocer, has pledged to give
away his fortune before he passes away.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:19:58 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Cyber Attacks Engulf Kremlin's Critics
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Cyber Attacks Engulf Kremlin's Critics
July 1, 2007 12:13 AM (ET)
By MANSUR MIROVALEV
Associated Press
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070701/D8Q3IKK00.html
MOSCOW (AP) - A political battle is raging in Russian cyberspace.
Opposition parties and independent media say murky forces have committed
vast resources to hacking and crippling their Web sites in attacks similar
to those that hit tech-savvy Estonia as the Baltic nation sparred with
Russia over a Soviet war memorial.
While they offer no proof, the groups all point the finger at the Kremlin,
calling the electronic siege an attempt to stifle Russia's last source of
free, unfiltered information.
The victims, who range from liberal democrats to ultranationalists, allege
their hacker adversaries hope to harass the opposition with the approach of
parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections in next March.
Some independent experts agree.
"A huge information war awaits Russia before the elections," said Oleg
Panfilov of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations.
The groups claim the attackers use vast, online networks of computers
infected with malicious software - whose owners probably aren't aware they
are involved - to paralyze or erase targeted Web sites.
Stanislav Belkovsky, a political analyst believed to have close ties to
Kremlin insiders, said a senior associate of President Vladimir Putin is
leading the cyber assault. The government denies it and insists it has
nothing to do with the onslaught. The Kremlin said hackers could easily
forge Internet Protocol addresses registered to government offices.
Belkovsky, founder of the Moscow-based National Strategy Institute, said
the Kremlin is upset that it has been unable to control the political
content of online media. "The Kremlin can't just tell their editors to
remove an unwanted publication," he said.
The attacks are similar to assaults - sometimes a million computers-strong
- unleashed in April and early May against Web sites in Estonia. Officials
there say waves of attacks crashed dozens of government, corporate and
media Web sites in one of Europe's most wired societies.
The cyber warfare included computer-generated spam and so-called
Distributed Denial-of-Service, or DDoS, attacks. It erupted during violent
protests by ethnic Russians against the decision to move a Soviet-era Red
Army monument out of downtown Tallinn, the Estonian capital.
The DDoS attacks involve a flood of computers all trying to connect to a
single site at the same time, overwhelming the computer server that handles
the traffic. Estonian authorities claimed they traced the attacks to
Kremlin IP addresses.
Outside experts say blocking this type of Web assault is difficult or
impossible because the host server has no way of distinguishing between
legitimate and bogus requests for access.
"It doesn't matter if the Web site itself has a lot of protection," said
Hari Balakrishnan, a computer science professor at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. "People are not breaking into it. People are just
making requests of it."
Government security services have long been suspected of engaging in
hacking. In 1999, an unidentified hacker in Moscow penetrated U.S. Defense
Department computers for more than a year, copying classified naval codes
and data on missile guidance systems. The Kremlin denied involvement.
The Chinese government is suspected of using the Web to break into
computers at the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies between 2003
and 2005, in what was dubbed Operation Titan Rain. Since 2001, Chinese
"hacktivists" have organized attacks on and defaced U.S. Web sites to
oppose what they call the imperialism of the United States and Japan.
China has set up an extensive surveillance system to prevent its citizens
from accessing online materials considered obscene or politically
subversive. Russia does not filter or block Web sites, and the Internet
plays a critical role as the only form of mass media over which the
government has no control.
The Kremlin, either directly or indirectly, owns the three major national
television networks, major radio networks, wire services and print
publications. Meanwhile the remaining independent media, face growing
pressure to engage in self-censorship.
In March, Putin created an agency that will license broadcast, print and
online media. The following month, the government banned what it considered
extremist statements - such as those by pro-separatist Chechen Web sites or
supporters of legalizing marijuana - and broadened the definition of extremism.
The legislation covers slander or libel of a government official, but it's
up to a court decide whether it counts as extremism.
The new law resulted in a string of fines, warnings and trials for Russia's
online journalists, bloggers and participants in politicized Web forums.
Critics fear the Kremlin could use these and other measures to resurrect
Soviet-style media monitoring and censorship.
So far, however, the Web has operated largely outside government control
and has grown into the opposition's main tool for recruiting and organizing.
Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion turned opposition leader, was
only half-joking when he told The Associated Press in May: "YouTube for the
Russian opposition is the only way to communicate."
But reliance on the Web also makes the opposition vulnerable to hackers.
The outlawed National Bolshevik party says its Web sites were repeatedly
hacked between February and April, as the nationalist group used the
Internet to marshal "Dissenters' Marches" in Moscow, St. Petersburg and
elsewhere.
The attacks were sophisticated as well as massive, said Alexei Sochnev, who
is in charge of the National Bolsheviks' online network.
"They killed the entire U.S. server that hosted us," he said.
When the attacks ended, traffic fell by about two-thirds, from 6,000 to
just 2,000 visits a day. Group leaders say the crash cut attendance at
opposition rallies.
Mainstream media have also come under cyber-assault, especially when they
carry information likely to draw the attention of the government.
Kommersant's Web editor, Pavel Chernikov, said the major daily newspaper's
site was attacked in early May. He called it retaliation for publishing a
transcript of the interrogation of Boris Berezovsky - a self-exiled
oligarch who lives in London - by Russian investigators.
While British prosecutors have identified a former KGB agent living in
Moscow as the prime suspect in the murder of Russian spy Alexander
Litvinenko, Russian authorities have focused on Berezovsky, Putin's
political foe.
On the same morning, the Web site of Ekho Moskvy, a liberal Moscow radio
station where criticism of Kremlin policies can often be heard, was brought
down by a DDoS attack.
Similar tactics have frequently been used by Western hackers - in 2000, the
Web sites of CNN, Yahoo! and eBay were paralyzed by online blackmailers.
Massive attacks in 2002 and February 2007 attempted to disable the Internet
itself.
The United States - especially the government sector - was the target of
more than a half of DDoS attacks worldwide, according to Symantec. The FBI
recently arrested several DDoS hackers as part of "Operation Bot Roast" sting.
Nothing of the kind is happening in Russia.
Panfilov of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations said Russian
opposition Web sites will find themselves under increasing pressure as
election season heats up.
"There will be purges of online publications, shutdowns or takeovers of
last independent media outlets and strong pressure on Web users," he said.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:22:59 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Review: iPhone combines slick features, with some
big compromises
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Review: iPhone combines slick features, with some big compromises
By Troy Wolverton
San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched:06/30/2007 05:29:33 PM PDT
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_6271589
Apple's new iPhone is what techies call a "convergence" device, meaning it
combines several functions. But even with the iPhone, convergence often
means compromise.
Available for sale for the first time Friday night, the iPhone combines a
cell phone with a personal digital assistant, an iPod music and video
player, and an Internet device that can check email and surf the Web.
The gadget does a good job combining all those features, and many of them
include neat innovations. But the iPhone's ability to do any of those
particular features comes up short compared with devices that specialize in
them.
Take the phone feature, arguably the device's primary purpose (it's in the
name after all!). It's easy to set up a conference call or to place a call
on hold while you answer another. There's even a button to allow you to
quickly access your contacts while you're on the phone, something that I've
never been able to figure out how to do on my Motorola RAZR phone.
And because the iPhone easily syncs with your computer's address book, you
can have all your contacts with you. That's one feature I really wish my
RAZR had, because it always seems to have an outdated number for one of my
friends.
But one notable feature the iPhone is missing is voice dialing. I'm
frequently frustrated by the voice dialing on my Verizon phone - I find
myself shouting at it that I meant for it to call `Stacy` not `989.` But
when it works, it comes in handy, particularly when I'm driving and can't
exactly concentrate on trying to dial in a number or find the right contact
in my address book - which is exactly what I'd have to do on the iPhone.
Another problem I had with using the iPhone as a phone is simply its shape.
Yes, yes, the iPhone is beautiful and sleek. But it just doesn't feel like
a phone in my hands; it feels just a little too wide and bulky,
particularly when I put it up to my ear to talk.
I know, you're supposed to use the iPhone with a headset, but if you're
like me, you frequently don't have a headset with you. In fact, the iPhone
reminds me in some ways of the original BlackBerry pagers: You could talk
into them like they were phones, but you really didn't want to.
I've been using various Palm PDA devices for years, but I've been looking
to replace them with a smart phone of some kind. Similar to Palm devices,
you can add and update address book and calendar entries on your iPhone and
have those reflected on your computer when you sync it.
But it wasn't entirely clear whether or how you can sync an iPhone to more
than one computer. (Apple's customer support says you can, but when I tried
it, I ended up deleting the data that was already on the iPhone in favor of
what was on the second computer I synced it to.)
Being able to sync with more than one computer is crucial to me, because I
have mirrored versions of my contacts and calendars at the office and at
home and I update both of them frequently, but separately.
As far as music and video playing goes, the iPhone has a lot to like. It's
got the biggest, brightest screen yet on an Apple portable media player.
I'm not a big fan of watching movies on portable devices - I tried watching
`Spider-Man 2` on a PSP once and ended up with strained eyes and a cramped
neck. But the screen on the iPhone is so beautiful that I'd consider trying
it again.
But I immediately had some frustrations with using the iPhone as an iPod.
Every day I drive to work, I listen to podcasts I've downloaded to my iPod
on my car stereo system. But the Belkin adapter that charges my phone and
connects with my stereo wouldn't work with the iPhone. What's more, the
headphone jack on the iPhone is so recessed into the device that I couldn't
even simply plug a line into the jack to connect it directly to my car stereo.
Apple says you can buy a separate adapter to fix the headphone problem, and
it promises that many existing iPod accessories are iPhone-compatible. But
it acknowledges that many aren't, meaning you may need to buy all new ones.
Since I first started testing out the iPhone Friday, I've played a lot with
its Internet features. I've enjoyed surfing the Web with it, and checking
email.
But here too I've run into frustrations. I knew that the iPhone's browser
wouldn't be able to access content on the Web that's in some of the most
popular formats, such as flash applications and Windows Media files.
But it even had trouble playing a couple of slideshows on my Web site in
Apple's QuickTime format; I even made them on my iMac at home using iPhoto
and iMovie.
The iPhone has been dubbed the `Jesus Phone,` but I certainly didn't expect
it to be perfect. And while I've had a great time playing with it, I didn't
realize until I got it how much it fell short.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:29:33 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Canada's BCE Agrees To $48.5 Billion Buyou
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed
Canada's BCE Agrees To $48.5 Billion Buyout
By SARAH CHILDRESS
Wall Street Journal
June 30, 2007 5:51 p.m.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118321037872954171.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
Canadian telecommunications operator BCE Inc. said Saturday it agreed to be
acquired by the investment arm of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan,
Providence Equity Partners Inc. and Madison Dearborn Partners, for $48.5
billion.
The move marks the largest buyout in the country's history and the telecom
industry globally.
The deal includes $15.9 billion in debt, preferred equity and minority
interests. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is already BCE's largest
shareholder. Under the deal, Providence will purchase BCE's shares for
C$42.75 or $40.15, a 40% premium over the average first-quarter share price
before it rose in late March amid rumors of a buyout.
On Friday, BCE's shares were priced at $37.79 in 4 p.m. composite trading
on the New York Stock Exchange.
With a market capitalization of $30 billion, BCE dominates the telecom
market in Eastern Canada, selling fixed-line, wireless, high-speed Internet
and video services. The company's stock had stagnated in recent years as
the company struggled to stay competitive. BCE had trouble signing up
subscribers to its Bell Wireless cellphone unit and its landline division
lost access lines to cheaper cable providers. Meanwhile, smaller rivals
Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications both saw overall growth. In April,
Teachers began agitating for a sale.
BCE was widely expected to be taken over by its leading rival, Telus. But
in a surprise decision Monday, Telus decided not to submit a bid, citing
"inadequacies" in the bidding process. Some observers say that Telus could
still enter a hostile bid for its rival, but could be deterred by a hefty
breakup fee. Telus could also wait until BCE is split into more profitable
components and snatch up the pieces it wants, such as the Bell Wireless
division, analysts say.
That left three major bidders to submit plans to BCE's board on Friday.
Aside from Teachers, Cerberus Capital Management and the Hospitals of
Ontario Pension Plan submitted a bid, as well as the Canadian Pension Plan
Investment Board and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., despite a last-minute
pullout of partners Caisse de D?p?t et Placement du Quebec in Montreal and
Onex Corp. All are major Canadian funds partnered with U.S. private-equity
firms because, according to federal law, foreign companies can own no more
than 46.67% of telecom providers.
It also marks another major deal in a crescendo of buyouts in which
private-equity companies take on increasingly greater risks in shorter time
frames, looking for profits in a matter of months, not years. "The plan in
private-equity is to go after bigger and bigger deals and this is yet
another level," says Shahid Khan, a partner at Interactive Broadband
Consulting Group.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:31:09 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] AMD's Details on Chip Delivery, Speed Suggest
Softer Attack on Intel
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
AMD's Details on Chip Delivery, Speed Suggest Softer Attack on Intel
By DON CLARK
Wall Street Journal
June 30, 2007; Page A4
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118310081919852862.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s disclosures about a long-awaited chip could
delay an effective counterattack against Intel Corp., and reduce the odds
of success.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company said the chip, code-named Barcelona, will go
on sale to computer makers in August at an initial clock speed of up to two
gigahertz. Systems using the chip aren't expected until September.
AMD hadn't specified Barcelona's initial clock speed, an important
contributor to computing performance. But Randy Allen, corporate vice
president in AMD's server and workstation division, acknowledged that some
industry-watchers had speculated AMD would initially deliver clock speeds
of 2.7 gigahertz to 2.8 gigahertz. Some analysts also had inferred systems
would be available sooner, though AMD had only said the chip would be
available in "midyear."
Mr. Allen said faster versions of Barcelona, and systems using them, will
follow quickly. But Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-STAT, called AMD's news
"disheartening." The initial models of the chip are less likely to have
noticeable performance advantages over current Intel chips, he said, while
the delay in delivering faster models puts the chip in competition with
improved Intel products expected in late 2007 and in 2008.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:34:39 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Western Digital Purchase Shows Disk-Drive Dilemma
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Western Digital Purchase Shows Disk-Drive Dilemma
By DON CLARK
Wall Street Journal
June 29, 2007; Page B5
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118306861088652077.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news
Western Digital Corp., in agreeing to buy Komag Inc. for about $1 billion,
underscored pressures on makers of disk drives to control key components
for making the data-storage devices.
Komag, of San Jose, Calif., makes rotating disks that serve as
data-recording media inside of drives. Western Digital, a major Komag
customer based in Lake Forest, Calif., said buying the component supplier
would help the company keep pace with technology and pricing changes in the
competitive industry.
"This acquisition puts us in position to be in greater control of our own
destiny," said John Coyne, Western Digital's president and chief executive
officer.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter and could help
make Western Digital more competitive with Seagate Technology, which ranks
No. 1 in drive revenue and has long manufactured most of its own disks
internally. Western Digital, which says it is No. 2 in the drive market, in
2003 bought Read-Rite Corp. to create an internal source of recording heads
-- another component Seagate has long built in-house.
But it also creates challenges for Western Digital. Komag, in a
simultaneous announcement, projected a 30% drop in second-quarter revenue
and a "substantial operating loss for the period."
Besides Western Digital, Komag also sells disks to Seagate as well as
Hitachi Ltd. Though it plans to keep offering disks to those competitors,
they may seek other suppliers, causing a quarterly revenue decline of $25
million to $30 million for three quarters or so, acknowledged Tim Leyden,
Western Digital's vice president of finance.
Western Digital agreed to pay $32.25 cash per Komag share, a 9% premium to
their price of $29.58 in 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.
Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research, called the price
"quite expensive." But he and Richard Kugele, of Needham & Co., agreed that
the deal could help Western Digital.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:38:15 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Most iPhone owners gush but some have glitches
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
By Scott Hillis
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN2926197120070701?feedType=RSS&rpc=23&sp=true
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Proud owners of Apple Inc.'s iPhone raved
about their first day with the device on Saturday, but a glitch took the
shine off the year's most anticipated device for a few unlucky customers.
Of 11 iPhone owners contacted by Reuters on Saturday, nine reported
little or no trouble setting up their handsets, a combined cell phone,
music player and Web browser.
"It's awesome, it's the best thing I ever saw in my life," said New York
private detective Jerry Gregory. "Once people see this phone they are
going to want one. Everybody I show this phone wants one, even people
who were anti-iPhone."
But Brad Bargman of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, who waited in line 9 hours
on Friday to buy his phone, said excitement turned to dismay when the
device stubbornly refused to activate, meaning it can't be used.
"It's a real buzz kill," said Bargman, adding that repeated calls to
AT&T failed to get the device to work. "Now I'm soured on it a little bit."
David Clayman, the third person in line at Apple's flagship Manhattan
store, said he was still unable to activate his iPhone a day later,
probably because he couldn't update the Apple software on his computer
needed to start the process
The iPhone, which costs $500 or $600 depending on memory capacity, is
activated through a process handled by AT&T Inc., the phone's exclusive
carrier for two years, in Apple's iTunes online music store.
In a sign of strong initial demand, AT&T said it had sold almost all its
phones within hours of the device going on sale at its 1,800 stores. The
company did not say how many units it had sold.
Asked about problems some buyers were having, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel
said the "vast majority" of customers were able to use their phones
within minutes.
"There are some whose activation process is being delayed and that's
something that can happen in a launch like this and we're resolving
those on a case-by-case basis," Siegel said.
Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock declined to comment on the number of
iPhones sold at its 162 outlets, saying only: "So far we've seen a lot
of excitement and buzz."
Apple aims to sell 10 million units in 2008, giving it 1 percent of the
global mobile phone market. The company is banking that the iPhone will
become its third pillar product alongside its popular iPod music players
and Mac computers.
By mid-afternoon on Saturday, Apple's store in downtown San Francisco
was crowded with shoppers interested in the iPhone display. The store
was sold out of the $600 models and about 10 $500 models were visible on
shelves.
Indeed, the iPhone's inclusion of so many features into a sleek package
triggered a sort of nerd rapture among enthralled gadget freaks.
"It's not like it's a computer, it's not like it's a phone, it's like a
living sculpture in my hands," said Dale Larson, a mobile business
consultant in San Francisco.
Buyers cited the large screen, full-blown Internet browser, ability to
play music and video, and camera quality as among the phone's best features.
Two of the top concerns raised prior to the phone's launch -- the
on-screen keyboard and quality of AT&T's network -- were annoying to
some people, but no one said they regretted buying the device.
"At first I tried to use my thumbs to type but it didn't work so well.
But if I use my finger it's okay," said software developer Tim Brown.
--
Gregory S. Williams
gregwilliams(at)knology.net
k4hsm(at)knology.net
http://www.etskywarn.net
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.icebearnation.com
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:53:22 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Google adjusts mapping directions, allowing for
changes on the fly
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Google embarasses MapQuest
Driving directions redux
By Cade Metz in San Francisco ? More by this author
Published Friday 29th June 2007 20:26 GMT
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/29/google_driving_directions_drag_and_drop/
You?ll never use MapQuest again. With a new addition to its Google Maps
service, Google has completely reinvented the notion of online driving
directions, letting you adjust routes with a simple drag and drop.
In the past, when you asked services like MapQuest or Google Maps for
driving directions, you took what they gave you. Now, thanks to Google?s
latest brainstorm, you can customize your directions on the fly. If
you?re dead-set on avoiding a particularly-congested part of town, for
instance, you can drag your driving route a little this way or that -
and Google will automatically change the turn-by-turn directions.
?Can you imagine going back to clicking arrows and waiting for the
screen to refresh just to move the map left/right/up/down? It'd be as
big a bummer as going back to 8-track tapes,? wrote software engineers
Ryan Sturgell and Barry Brumitt on the official Google Earth and Google
Maps blog. ?Today, we're taking another big step forward with driving
directions in Google Maps.?
It?s hard not to agree with them. The new tools also give you the power
to change a route?s beginning and end points via drag and drop. And
whatever part of a route you?re dragging to and fro, a floating ticker
updates the total distance and duration of your trip - in real-time.
How do they do it? Google product manager Jessica Lee attributes the
speed of these tools to the company's server infrastructure. "We've had
our engineers specifically working on our driving direction servers to
make them extremely fast," she told The Register. "That's what allows us
to do real-time re-routing." Naturally, the new drag-and-drop interface
was coded with AJAX.?
--
Gregory S. Williams
gregwilliams(at)knology.net
k4hsm(at)knology.net
http://www.etskywarn.net
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.icebearnation.com
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 23:31:33 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] iPhone comics
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
http://www.salon.com/comics/opus/2007/07/01/opus/
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/976.html
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/977.html
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/978.html
------------------------------
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End of Medianews Digest, Vol 311, Issue 1
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