Archive for January, 2007
In a move to protect children from online threats, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and John McCain on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require sex offenders to submit e-mail addresses, instant-message names, and other identifying Internet information to federal authorities. But critics of the bill say more should be done.The “Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007,” or KIDS Act, would place a convicted felon’s electronic identifying information in the National Sex Offender Registry, and allow social-networking sites to cross-check user information against the registry to protect kids from online predators.
“Millions of teenagers log on to Web sites like MySpace and they, and their parents, shouldn’t have to worry about running in to these predators online,” Schumer said in a statement, adding that sex offenders have no business joining social-networking communities.
Click here to read the rest of this story on TopTechNews.
January 31st, 2007
As Microsoft 
Chairman Bill Gates travels the world promoting Windows Vista and its Xbox interoperability, some gamers are traveling the Web posting negative comments about the new operating system’s impact on games.Part of the problem is Microsoft’s new version of DirectX, which appears to be incompatible with certain games developed by independent labels. Analysts expect Microsoft to issue driver updates for Vista that will fix the bugs, but Redmond could not immediately be reached for comment on the timeline. And developers might be forced to rewrite game software code.
“Whenever you upgrade the operating system, thousands of companies have to write new software or create patches to make sure their software is compatible,” said Michael Cia, a senior analyst at Parks Associates, noting that games are no exception to that rule.
Click here to read the rest of this story on TopTechNews.
January 31st, 2007
In a competitive move against Microsoft ’s emerging XPS format, Adobe on Monday released its Portable Document Format 1.7 specification to a standards group for official recognition.While PDF is already the unofficial standard for electronic documents, Adobe hopes to set the format in stone and lock out Microsoft by releasing the specification to the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) for publication by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Much like PDF, Microsoft’s XPS, or XML Paper Specification, allows users to distribute and print documents without installing the actual application that created them. Some analysts view Microsoft’s decision to remove the “Save As PDF” feature from its new Office productivity suite and replace it with XPS as a clear indication that the software giant intends to battle Adobe in this arena.
Click here to read the rest of this story on TopTechNews.
January 30th, 2007
The wait is over. It’s official. Retail store shelves are adorned with rows of stylized boxes that contain the various flavors of Microsoft ’s Windows Vista operating system and Office 2007 productivity suite. Vista became available at more than 39,000 retail stores in more than 70 countries on Tuesday with all the fanfare Microsoft could muster.Indeed, Redmond is calling Vista the most significant product launch in the company’s history. To mark that launch, Microsoft execs are celebrating at an event in New York City and promoting the software as a “new era in personal computing.”
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has boldly promised that Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 will “transform the way people work and play” because the applications were designed, tested, and developed with the help of millions of consumers. Gates has said he is confident that the new products “squarely address the needs and aspirations of people around the globe.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on NewsFactor.
January 30th, 2007
Adobe on Monday began allowing customers to preorder Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 from its Web site. The company said it expects to ship the digital workflow application to the masses in mid-February.More than 500,000 photographers participated in the 12-month public beta of the program that lets photographers import, manage, and present large volumes of digital images. The beta application will expire on February 28.
“Everything, from image viewing and evaluation tools to timesaving editing features, was developed with the help of photographers,” John Loiacono, senior vice president for the Creative Solutions Business Unit at Adobe, said in a statement. Loiacono added that the product development was “truly a collaborative effort.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on NewsFactor.
January 29th, 2007
Melodis Corporation has launched new technology that might cause some users to reminisce about an old game show. In true “Name That Tune” style, the company’s voice-activated search tool allows users to scour through two million digital tracks by singing, whistling, or humming a few bars of a song.Dubbed Multimodal Adaptive Recognition System, or MARS, the sound-recognition technology is showcased on Midomi.com, a social-networking community that targets music lovers. The site aims to create a comprehensive database of searchable music that is based on user contributions.
“Users of midomi.com will be able to both search our extensive database as well as help grow it,” said Melodis Corporation CEO Keyvan Mohajer. “When a user tags their favorite songs, the submissions immediately become part of the searchable MARS universe.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on CIOToday.
January 29th, 2007
In a move to uncover who uploaded pirated episodes of popular television series “24″ and “The Simpsons,” Twentieth Century Fox has subpoenaed video-sharing sites YouTube and LiveDigital, The Wall Street Journal reported.The News Corp. studio filed the subpoenas on January 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. According to the Journal, the subpoenas ask YouTube and LiveDigital to divulge identifying information for the subscriber who posted the shows so Fox can stop the infringement.
Fox’s subpoenas noted that the entire four-hour premier of 24 appeared on YouTube before it was originally broadcast on television. Twelve episodes of the Simpsons were also being distributed on YouTube, according to the Journal.
Click here to read the rest of this story on NewsFactor.
January 26th, 2007
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