Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3 vs. Nintendo Wii: A Technical ComparisonMajor update: This comparison has been updated to include information about the new

Major update: This comparison has been updated to include information about the new Xbox 360 Elite.

It's the battle of the ages, played out with a new generation of hardware that, for the first time, appears to leave all but the most high-end gaming PCs in the dust. Opinions about Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 vary, but it's pretty clear that both devices kick serious butt from a technical perspective. Looking over the specifications, and listening to representatives of both companies, however, I've come away with a few general thoughts. From a pure processing standpoint, the PS3 appears to beat the Xbox 360, but the first generation PS3 games are not graphically superior to anything that's available on the Xbox 360. The PS3 has a few advantages, however. For example, it's mostly compatible with the millions of existing PlayStation (PS1) and PlayStation 2 (PS2) titles, which is a huge plus (in US and Japan only: European PS3 units lack a compatibility chip, making them far less compatible with previous generation games).

Crumpler's The Considerable Embarrassment Laptop BagMacworld seems a world away now. When I went to Macworld I took my Crumpler bag with me. This in i

Macworld seems a world away now. When I went to Macworld I took my Crumpler bag with me. This in itself is significant. Why? Because as I was packing to leave I took out my WWDC 2006 bag that was provided by Apple. I imagined myself in line at the keynote, getting Mac-respect from others around me as they looked longingly at my WWDC 2006 bag. I even packed the bag. It really isn’t that bad, but after using the Crumpler bag for the previous few weeks I couldn’t do it.
So, at the last minute I scrambled to unpack the WWDC bag and transfer the contents to my Crumpler bag. Like any good product, it is the good things that make the Crumpler bag really sing. The material, to start off with, is of high quality, very strong, and waterproof (within reason, not waterproof as in you can swim with it). My MacBook Pro 15” fits perfectly within the case. There is a dedicated protected area for the laptop with a nice velcro overlay. The machine has more than enough padding for any road warrior’s travels, whether they be in the air, rail, or on foot.

Mac to Xbox 360 with Connect 360

It came to my attention the other day that many Xbox360 owners who predominately use Macintosh computers in their household aren’t aware of a little piece of software that brilliantly links up an Xbox 360 and any form of Mac computer with networking capabilities.

iPhone Realizes Steve's Dream to Exploit Mac OS

If the iPhone succeeds, it will very quickly have numbers that could dwarf the Mac and run down the iPod. That alone could lead to a significant halo effect. But being a very visual device with a sexy flavor of OS X running on it (unlike the iPods whose interface now looks suddenly 1983 by comparison) this will expose millions to the real Mac experience, especially, if as expected, Leopard bears much similarity to the iPhone’s OS X.

Meizu M8 vs. Apple iPhone

Since the iPhone’s announcement back at the Macworld Expo in January this year, there have been a number of following announcements from various manufacturers of their own iPhones, thereafter labeled as “iPhone Killers” by the media. It’s always flattering for Apple to have its own products listed as the standard for that area of the market, but is it necessarily true? In the case of the iPod it certainly is, as it’s currently the single most popular MP3 player in the world, dominating the music scene with its partner in crime, iTunes. But the iPod has been out for 6 years and the facts and figures are there to prove its dominance and title of “the one to beat,” so how can a phone not yet given an exact release date be given the same title?

Google, Please Bring Picasa to the Mac

This piece is meant to be a review, but instead, it became a bit of a tirade and a plea. I spent hours yesterday trying to find an application to solve a problem that just shouldn’t exist in the first place. Have you ever been stuck on a Mac with an older version of iPhoto than your iPhoto library, which you’ve got a copy of but, sadly, old iPhoto can’t open? Fair enough it can’t open, but it doesn’t get you back down the creek.

Microsoft in Talks to Buy DoubleClick, Journal Says

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. is in talks to buy DoubleClick Inc., the Internet advertising company owned by private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. DoubleClick hired Morgan Stanley to explore its options, including a possible stock-market listing, the Journal said, citing the people, who indicated there are other potential suitors. Hellman & Friedman is seeking at least $2 billion, almost double the $1.1 billion it paid for the New York-based company in 2005, the newspaper said. Question in my mind is: What is MS phishing for now? LOL!

US 'no longer technology king'

The US has lost its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.
The US is now ranked seventh in the body's league table measuring the impact of technology on the development of nations. A deterioration of the political and regulatory environment in the US prompted the fall, the report said. The top spot went for the first time to Denmark, followed by Sweden.

Dell to Ship Linux on Desktops, Laptops

Dell confirmed on Wednesday plans to offer Linux pre-installed on select desktop and notebook systems, beyond its current Linux-based servers and Precision workstations. The decision comes after feedback on its IdeaStorm site and a survey that garnered over 100,000 responses.
No specific timeframe was given for the expanded Linux plans, although the company said in a blog posting that it will provide an update in the coming weeks regarding the effort. It will detail "information on which systems we will offer, our testing and certification efforts, and the Linux distribution(s) that will be available," Dell said, adding that, "The countdown begins today."

Apple TV Now Shipping

Apple is now shipping Apple TV, an easy to use and fun way to wirelessly play all your favorite iTunes content from your PC or Mac on your widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos and podcasts. But the big question is: Will it be worth dishing out close to $300 for it? Hmmm! Remain to be seen!

Fujitsu prepares 300GB notebook drive | CNET News.com

Fujitsu prepares 300GB notebook drive | CNET News.com: Fujitsu is planning to release a 300GB hard drive for notebooks, which it says will set a record for SATA (serial ATA)-based 2.5-inch drives.

The vendor argues that the capacity of these kind of drives is now so high that they can replace the need for 3.5-inch desktop PC hard drives, which traditionally have offered greater storage capabilities.

Fujitsu will utilize perpendicular recording to achieve the new level of 300GB. Its 2.5-inch drive, called the MHX2300BT, is scheduled for release in February 2007.

Perpendicular recording boosts st"

(Via .)

Sony keeps targets for PS3 shipments | CNET News.com

Sony keeps targets for PS3 shipments | CNET News.com: "In memoriam: James Kim, CNET senior editor, 1971 - 2006


Sony said Thursday it sees no need to change its target to ship 2 million units of its PlayStation 3 game console worldwide by the end of December and 6 million by the end of next March. Sony has delayed the European launch of the PS3 to March 2007 due to a glitch in blue laser diodes, raising concerns that the electronics conglomerate could miss its original shipment targets.

'It is true that it took us sometime to bring the PS3 to mass production as blue laser availability worked as a bottleneck, but production has reached a certain level and judging from that level, 2 mill"

Google News finds more trouble in Europe

Google News finds more trouble in Europe: "

(InfoWorld) - Google is facing mounting protests from newspaper publishers in Europe, the impact of which could ultimately affect the amount of content available to end users through search engines.

The company is due to appear in court on Friday morning to dobattle with the Belgian press, which filed alawsuit earlier this year accusing Google of copyright infringement for the way it posts headlines and snippets of their news stories on Google News.

Meanwhile, in the past two weeks trouble has also stirred up elsewhere. The company was forced to put on hold the launch of its Google News Web site in Denmark last week after newspapers there demanded a system that would allow them to 'opt in' to Google's service, rather than having their content trawled automatically, said Holger Rosendal, head of the legal department at the Danish Newspaper Publishers Association.

And a Norwegian media group has written to the search giant, objecting to the way that Google posts thumbnails of its members' news photos. 'According to Norwegian copyright law, you are not allowed to use photos without permission from the rights holder, so that's the big issue here,' said Pernelle Borset, associate director of the Norweigan Media Businesses' Association.

The protests highlight mounting concern among some publishers that Google has gone beyond a simple search service to become a powerful media company that profits from the content of others. Publishers of news, books and other content types have filed lawsuits, often charging copyright infringement, to force Google to seek permission before using their work and even provide them with compensation.

Google responds that it acts within the law because it posts only snippets of publishers' content, and because the publishers can opt out easily. It notes that it drives traffic to publishers' Web sites, since it links to their publications, and it can help publicize works that might not otherwise be found.

Moreover, it says, if search engines were forced to get permission from every site they indexed, search services would not be able to operate at all.

'If content isn't indexed, it can't be searched. And if it can't be searched, how can it be found?' asked David Eun, Google vice president for content partnerships, in a Google blog post . 'Imagine a library with no index of titles or subjects of the books on its shelves, or no catalogue of the authors who wrote them.'

But that, critics say, is the point. Google is not a public service like a library, it is a profit-seeking company. Google may not 'aggressively monetize' Google News with advertisements, but the site attracts visitors to Google, and visitors mean money.

'The exceptions (for fair use) don't really cover what is in effect a commercial service, and that's where they are vulnerable,' said Laurence Kaye, a lawyer in the U.K. who is advising the newspaper industry on copyright issues.

Google isn't the only company targeted. Copiepresse, the group representing Belgian newspapers, also sent a cease and desist letter to Microsoft Corp.'s MSN division, which promptly removed the Belgian newspapers from its Web site rather than become embroiled in a lawsuit. Copiepresse has said that it may sue others.

The outcomes of the various lawsuits, also brought in the U.S. by Agence France Press, the Authors Guild and others, will shape how Google and other search engines can index and display copyright material on their Web sites. For users, they will determine whether search engines continue to give them easy access to such a wide variety of content.

Google lost an initial ruling against Copiepresse in September and was forced to remove the newspapers' content from its Belgian search site and from Google News. Google was not present at the hearing, however, apparently because of an administrative error on Google's part. On Friday -- assuming it shows up -- it will defend itself for the first time.

The outcome could affect more than Google News. Copiepresse argues that by indexing and caching its members' content, Google is effectively making copies of the works for a commercial purpose, which it says is a copyright violation. It also objects to Google using the material without first asking permission.

Those arguments could be applied to other types of content. Search engines index and cache masses of copyright work on the Web without first asking permission. If the Court of First Instance in Brussels upholds its initial judgment, it could make it difficult for search engines in Belgium to operate at all.

'The ruling right now means that search engines can't operate in Belgium, because you don't have the right to index copyright pages without explicit permission,' said Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of SearchEngineWatch.com.

A favorable ruling for Copiepresse could inspire other copyright holders to seek redress and potentially influence how other European countries apply copyright law to search engines. A decision is not expected for some weeks, and Google has also filed an appeal.

Google declined to comment on the possible ramifications of the case, but it acknowledged its significance in a posting to the Google blog: 'We do feel that this case raises important and complex issues. It goes to the heart of how search engines work,' wrote Rachel Whetstone, Google's director of European corporate communications and public affairs.

PPK on JavaScript: The DOM - Part 3

PPK on JavaScript: The DOM - Part 3: "This week we look at text nodes, node lists, forms and the level 0 DOM, DOM hyperspace and markers. The W3C DOM defines a few methods for getting and changing texts, but the core string methods and properties are more useful and versatile. By Peter-Paul Koch. 1120"In general, text nodes are easy to work with. The W3C DOM defines a few methods for getting and changing texts, but the Core string methods and properties we discussed in 5F are more useful and versatile.

Database-enabled Ajax with PHP

Database-enabled Ajax with PHP: "Ajax has taken the Web to a new level by offering an intuitive interactive model that rivals the desktop. To compete with desktop applications, you'll learn how to create database-enabled Ajax requests using PHP and MySQL. By Kris Hadlock. 1122"
n this article you'll learn how to create database-enabled Ajax requests using PHP and MySQL. We begin by creating the front-end HTML and JavaScript files used to make requests to the server-side. The requested server-side is a PHP file which bridges the gap between Ajax and a PHP object that connects to a MySQL database and returns results as an XML response to the Ajax engine. To cover this functionality you'll learn about the concepts from a high level overview rather than focusing on each and every line of code. The complete source code for this sample can be downloaded and is necessary to create a working sample on your personal server. Let's get started by taking a look at the front-end.

Microsoft, CompUSA to offer Vista early

Microsoft, CompUSA to offer Vista early: "

(InfoWorld) - Microsoft Corp. continues to expand ways customers can get access to Windows Vista as the OS' official launch date approaches. The company said Monday it is teaming with CompUSA stores to offer early access to Windows Vista to U.S. small businesses.Through the Microsoft Small Business Value Program, small businesses that want to purchase five or more licenses forWindows Vista can purchase them through one of two licensing programs -- Open Value or Open Business -- beginning on Nov. 30 from CompUSA stores. This is the day Vista will be available to Microsoft's volume license customers, but before the product's general availability in retail outlets, which will not occur until Jan. 30, 2007.

The Open Value and Open Business license programs are intended to allow smaller companies to acquire Microsoft software in a cost-effective way that can be managed online, according to Microsoft. Typically, small businesses can purchase software through these programs either from Microsoft or a licensed reseller, but Microsoft is extending this access to CompUSA retail outlets. CompUSA has more than 229 stores in the U.S.

The company plans to allow more retailers to offer Vista through these volume-licensing programs throughout 2007, Microsoft said.

Open Value will spread payments for the software out over a year, while Open Business requires an upfront payment, according to Microsoft's Web site. Open Value also includes a subscription to Microsoft Software Assurance (SA), the company's software update program, while SA is an add-on option for Open Business customers.

Small business customers that purchase Vista at CompUSA through one of the programs will initially receive a Microsoft Small Business Value Program Kit and a proof of purchase. A CompUSA sales associate also will work with the customer to explain how to download Vista and activate the licenses, Microsoft said.

Microsoft is touting the long-delayed Vista as a major overhaul of its Windows client OS with many benefits for customers, and has high hopes that people will upgrade to the new OS as early as possible. However, there is evidence from both analysts and business customers that neither consumers nor businesses are in a hurry to purchase Vista.

Web 2.0 Summit in review: Long tails, forgotten trails

Web 2.0 Summit in review: Long tails, forgotten trails: "

(InfoWorld) - The Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco this week was intended as a gathering of the best Internet minds talking strategy, but at times it felt like a big group hug: ‘Congratulations, we survived the bubble bursting!’Although its more than five years since Web 1.0 came crashing down, many from that era still strut their stuff at these events, including Netscape’s Marc Andreesen, Yahoo’s David Filo, and every VC who wants to find the next Google.

But the hype has more reality in it now, and that reality was palpable at this event. The Internet is bigger and there’s a whole lot more money flowing through it than in 2000. The Internet has gone global (only 20 percent of Internet users were North American in 2006, according to Morgan Stanley’s Mary Meeker).

And rather than exuding a get-lucky mentality, participants here seemed to accept that there’s lots of competition and commoditization out there, and that if you build something, it had better deliver real value to users at a low price.

Even Google seems to have gotten this religion, with CEO Eric Schmidt, for example, warning the collected entrepreneurs to ‘never trap an end-user’s data, let them move it around if they want … we’re even going to do this with search data; it will keep us honest.’

And nobody blinked when Chinese Internet kingpin Jack Ma said his company planned to launch a Web-based enterprise software suite. Why wouldn’t he, if he has the developers, the capital, and the local market knowledge?

Everybody here wants to become a platform, to build out their connection with customers into something broader and deeper. 'If you want to be a survivor, you have to go from being a killer app to a killer platform,' said Salesforce.com’s Marc Benioff.

‘Why not do it?’ asked Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, summing up the free-for-all attitude as he explained why his company launched a suite of Web services that seemingly have very little to do with its core retail business.

'This is what we've been doing for 11 years, operating Web-scale apps, high volume, high transaction,’ Bezos continued. ‘To me, Web 2.0 is computers talking to computers … this is a great business.’ Hmmm … or could it be that Amazon builds its own IT capacity for the Christmas peak load and has a lot of idle hardware sitting around the rest of the year?

The new new thing this year was the presence of true media bigwigs -- people such as IAC/Interactive’s Barry Diller or The New York Times Co.’s Arthur Sulzberger Jr. Althought their companies already have a significant Web presence (About.com, Ask.com, Ticketmaster, Match.com, and others), you couldn’t help but feel they were here playing catch-up to the latest potential dinosaur killers like YouTube or MySpace. (‘Yes, we got rid of Jeeves, we don’t know where he is,’ confessed Diller, unemotionally, in his best laugh line).

Also, traditional tech companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, and even Intel, who’ve long danced on the Web’s edges were here in force, trying to reinvent and reposition themselves.

Most of the attendees in the audience (when not out in the hallways doing deals) were surfing election results, Techcrunch, or tracking their site’s traffic on Google Analytics. Video seemed to be the app on everyone’s minds.

‘This year something happened,’ proclaimed Google’s Schmidt. ‘Video became a fundamental data type on the Internet.’ Morgan Stanley’s Meeker presented stats showing that as much as 60 percent of Internet traffic may be P2P sharing of ‘unmonetized’ video. And that while the global internet is experiencing 10-15 percent annual user growth, usage growth is in the 20-30 percent range. She pointed to Skype, with 136 Million registered users, growing as much as 80 percent a year. ‘Skype may be the fastest growing product in history,’ she said. (For more of these stats, see Meeker’s full presentation here.)

So who will the winners be?

‘Who’s the dog that’s really wagging the long tail?’ asked conference organizer Tim O’Reilly in the best mixing of metaphors at this year’s event. He’d apparently forgotten the old Web 1.0 saying … on the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog!

"

Florida e-voting: 18,000 'missing' votes in close race

Florida e-voting: 18,000 'missing' votes in close race: "

(InfoWorld) - Government watchdog group Common Cause has called for an investigation of electronic voting machines used in Florida's 13th congressional district because of 18,000 missing votes.About 18,000 people who cast votes in other races in Tuesday's election failed to record a vote for either candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. At last count, Republican candidate Vern Buchanan led Democratic candidate Christine Jennings by less than 400 votes in the race to succeed Republican Katherine Harris, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate.

Nearly 13 percent of voters in Sarasota County picked candidates in other races but did not choose a candidate in the House race. More than 35 callers to Common Cause's voter hotline left messages Tuesday saying the e-voting machines appeared to leave off a vote for Jennings on their summary screens, said Ben Wilcox, executive director of Common Cause Florida. In neighboring Manatee County, just 2 percent of voters did not cast a ballot in the congressional race.

Some voters caught the omission and were able to go back and vote again for Jennings, but others may have missed the problem, Wilcox said.

'Sarasota County election officials must conduct a revote,' Wilcox said. 'The machines should be impounded, audited and tested to determine if voters were unable to cast a ballot and why. Sarasota County voters deserve an explanation.'

Undervoting for top-of-the-ballot races on e-voting machines is typically under 1 percent, according to a study released this year by the Brennan Center for Justice.

The county did not require the Elections System and Software (ES&S) e-voting machines to include paper printouts to back up the electronic vote.

'This is part of the reason we've been calling for a paper trail,' Wilcox said.

Ironically, Sarasota County voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure requiring paper trail ballots to be used as a backup to the e-voting machines.

Digital newspapers by 2008?

Digital newspapers by 2008?: "Imagine unfurling the morning paper to find a flexible electronic display streaming the latest news. This fantasy could become a reality in as soon as two years. erman Hauser, co-founder of venture capital company Amadeus Capital Partners, told Silicon.com there are no technical challenges left for e-papers and said he hopes to have a factory producing flexible electronic screens by 2008. A technology called "plastic electronics" has been harnessed by researchers to produce flexible electronic displays, combining electronics and print technology on a supple screen.

Apple Unveils New MacBook With Intel Core 2 Duo Processors

Apple Unveils New MacBook With Intel Core 2 Duo Processors: "Apple today unveiled its new line of MacBook consumer notebooks that now include Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Just one inch thin, the new MacBooks are up to 25% faster than the previous generation and feature a built-in iSight video camera, the MagSafe Power Adapter, and iLife ‘06."