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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Review: GPS running watches offer improvements (AP) : Technet

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Review: GPS running watches offer improvements (AP) : Technet

Review: GPS running watches offer improvements (AP)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 12:32 PM PDT

By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Technology Writer Anick Jesdanun, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Mar 16, 3:32 pm ET

NEW ORLEANS – My accessories for last month's Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans included a pair of bead necklaces and three watches.

No, I wasn't seeking a triple reminder that I was sluggish. Rather, these watches had GPS receivers and gave me information continuously on how fast and how far I was going. That allowed me to adjust my pace along the way in the hope of hitting my target finish time (emphasis on hope).

All three models showed a lot of improvement over the first GPS running devices I tried in 2003.

Although many frustrations remain, especially when using them in New York and other cities where tall buildings block the GPS signals, the devices have come down enough in price that they ought to be part of every runner's arsenal, as the days get longer and warmer for outdoor running.

As for the beads, my advice is to leave them in the hotel.

Garmin Forerunner 110 ($200, $250 with heart-rate monitor).

Consider this GPS lite. The device is small, with limited functionality, but you get value for the price. It's a good choice if you want something really simple to use.

Furthermore, it was consistently the best of the three I tried at locating a GPS signal. That's because it remembers where the GPS satellites were the last time you used it. Presuming you haven't switched cities since then, the 110 doesn't have to start from scratch each time it starts trying to find a signal.

Even in New York, where GPS devices have more trouble locking in signals because of the buildings, I sometimes get a reading as soon as I'm out the door.

The watch gives you your time, distance and either average pace or speed, and that's it.

The device does store all your data, including the exact route of your run and mile-by-mile splits if you've turned the auto-lap feature on. But you need to connect the watch to a computer with the provided cable in order to read them, something relatively easy to do. The other two units I tried let you review your splits right from the device, in addition to the computer option.

The 110 also triggers its power-save mode rather quickly. I turn on all three units several minutes before the start of my races to ensure that the devices have enough time to locate GPS signals. But at Mardi Gras and other races before it, the 110 often turned itself off before the race began.

As annoying as that may be, Garmin told me that was by design. The 110 looks the most like a regular watch, and Garmin figures people will wear it throughout the day. For that reason, it doesn't have an off button — and thus needs the automatic power save. Without it, the watch lasts just eight hours before needing a recharge.

For the same price, you can get the Forerunner 210, which lets you choose current pace instead of average pace. You can also view splits right from the watch, without having to transfer the information first.

Timex Ironman Global Trainer ($300, $360 with heart-rate monitor).

This device is far better than previous GPS running watches from Timex. But it largely plays catch-up with Garmin's GPS devices.

The Global Trainer is water resistant and has programmable settings for biking and swimming, allowing you to easily switch among them during a triathlon. Garmin's Forerunner 310XT, which I reviewed in 2009, had all this a year before the Global Trainer came out.

Previous Timex systems had two parts — a GPS receiver worn around the arm near the shoulder, and a watch that took data from it wirelessly and spat out pace and distance information. The Global Trainer combines all that into one wrist-worn unit and gives you more options for displaying data.

For example, you can display up to four data points simultaneously, choosing from such attributes as time of day, pace, distance and time elapsed. You can also throw in your heart rate, altitude or estimate of calories burned.

Garmin allowed you to do that kind of customization and more ever since its first model came out in 2003, not long after Timex introduced the running community to GPS technology with its Bodylink System.

Of the three devices I tested, the Global Trainer seemed to have the most difficulty finding a GPS signal, whether in New York, New England or Germany. Timex says newer software that comes with the units on sale now should help, but the Global Trainer still lacks the 110's ability to remember your last position.

Rather than function as a regular stopwatch until it found such a signal, the Timex device kept annoying me with prompts I had to continually respond to while on the run. The Garmin devices knew to leave me alone.

The Global Trainer also stopped working when the memory was full, rather than erase my older workouts. It ran into that problem trying to squeeze in three marathons in a week. My advice is to bring a laptop to transfer older data online — or don't run three marathons in a week.

Where the Global Trainer wins is in price. It's $50 cheaper than Garmin's 310XT, or $40 cheaper with the heart-rate monitor. It's more expensive than the 110, but it does a lot more. It's a good choice for multisport athletes who live in places with a clear view of the sky.

Garmin Forerunner 305 ($200 with heart-rate monitor).

This model is a few years old, but I include it because it's a good watch now that its price has come down. Although it's listed at $200, deals are widely available online. A few retailers were selling them Wednesday for less than $130. The 305 includes a heart-rate monitor, which usually costs $50 more.

You don't get the 110's assistance in locating GPS signals, but you do get the flexibility and customization now available with the Timex watch. And I've found data on the 305 to be far easier to read than on the Timex device, especially on the run.

I recommend the 305 if you want to balance functionality and value. You're not getting the latest and the greatest, but you're getting something that works well at a good price.

Zediva taps loophole, offers new movies online (AP)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 12:20 PM PDT

– Wed Mar 16, 3:20 pm ET

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – A California startup is making new hit movies such as "The Fighter" available for instant viewing online through a loophole: It lets customers rent a DVD and a player that are actually located in the Silicon Valley.

By doing this, Zediva Inc. wants to circumvent the usual, sometimes lengthy waiting period that movie studios impose on Netflix Inc. and other companies that offer streaming of movies to Internet-connected TVs, laptops and other gadgets.

Companies are legally allowed to rent physical copies of DVDs without permission from the movie studios, the way libraries are allowed to freely lend out books. Internet streaming rights, however, generally require separate payments, and studios have typically been reluctant to license newer movies for fear that would cut into DVD sales.

Zediva believes it can get around those restrictions by tying Internet streaming to a physical DVD kept at the company's data centers.

"We are renting DVDs just like any DVD rental service," said founder Venky Srinivasan, who came up with the idea for Zediva while traveling and missing access to his DVD-by-mail service. "It's the same as what has been done for the past 30 years."

Still, it is a bold move and could face legal challenges.

The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the major movie studios, declined to comment. Sony Pictures had no comment and other studios did not immediately return messages for comment.

Copyright lawyer Bob Garrett, however, called the service "cute but illegal." He said there's a clear difference between brick-and-mortar movie rental stores and Zediva's online service because Zediva is transmitting programming over the Internet. That requires a separate copyright permission.

He said there is a "long line of cases" that do essentially the same thing, though using different technologies, as Zediva. In one instance, a hotel in California was taking DVDs or video tapes and playing them in a machine at the front desk, and transmitting movies up to individual hotel rooms on demand.

"The court said it was a violation of public performance right," Garrett said.

In another case, the hotel gave guests the physical DVD player and movie to take up to their room. That was not a violation.

"The difference is the transmission" he said. "That's what converts it into a public performance."

Zediva, which says it has spent two years developing its technology, is charging $1.99 per movie. The company promises viewers the same kinds of controls they would enjoy with a DVD player at home, including pausing, rewinding and subtitles.

Customers have control of the DVD they rent for four hours and are allowed to pause the movie for no more than an hour within that time. If they don't want to watch it in one sitting, they can return it and continue watching it for up to 14 days at no charge.

Only one person can rent a DVD at one time, meaning that if Zediva bought 20 copies of a movie, only 20 people can watch it simultaneously. Still, Zediva saves money because it could serve many more customers with the same physical copy of a DVD than a company that has to mail out a DVD and wait for its return.

Srinivasan would not say how many users signed up for Zediva on Wednesday. The company has been testing the service with a few thousand people for a year. He also would not say how many copies of a DVD the company buys, only that it forecasts demand.

"If there is more demand for a particular title, we get more," he said, adding that although the company plans for peaks, there could be times when a movie is not available.

Currently, Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. offer movie rentals online, but movie studios pick which titles are available and share revenue. Netflix Inc. offers Internet streaming of movies as part of monthly subscription packages, but generally only for older movies for which Netflix has negotiated rights. Movies can take months or years, if ever, to become available on Netflix for Internet streaming.

More recent movies tend to be available only on DVD, and in those cases Netflix and others have reached deals with some movie studios to wait 28 days after the DVDs first go on sale before offering them to customers. (There's no delay if the rental company hadn't reached a deal with the studio releasing the movie in exchange for perks such as bulk pricing or streaming rights on other movies.

If the service takes off and survives any legal challenges, it could compete with Netflix and others that have to abide by the delays.

On Wednesday morning, it had Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" available to stream — a movie that Netflix users won't be able to rent even physical copies of until March 29. Other new movies, such as "The Fighter" and "The American," were also listed, though these two were rented out.

Netflix vying for first rights to new TV series (AP)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 01:47 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Mar 16, 4:47 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Netflix Inc. is trying to buy the Internet streaming rights to a 26-episode drama starring Kevin Spacey before the series is shown on a television network.

If the deal is completed, it would mark a bold step in a new direction for Netflix's popular video subscription service. Netflix currently boasts more than 20,000 titles in its streaming library, but most of them are previously aired TV series and older movies.

The talks were reported earlier by Deadline.com. A person familiar with the negotiations on Wednesday confirmed Netflix's interest in the series, called "House of Cards." The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a deal hasn't been reached.

Should it win rights to "House of Cards," Netflix would emerge as an even more serious threat to pay-TV channels such as HBO. Netflix began the year with 20 million subscribers. Some analysts believe that by the end of this year the service could be as large as HBO, which is believed to have about 28 million subscribers.

As it has grown, Netflix has become more nettlesome for long-established TV services because some households are reducing or canceling their cable TV subscriptions as they find more to stream over high-speed Internet connections.

Time Warner Inc.'s HBO has consistently refused to sell Netflix the streaming rights to its original programming, such as "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," because it doesn't believe the extra money from licensing fees would offset the cost of helping a rival.

Now it appears Netflix wants to become more like HBO and other pay-TV channels such as CBS Inc.'s Showtime by gaining the exclusive rights to TV series.

"House of Cards" is a high-profile project backed by the production company Media Rights Capital II LP. Besides featuring Academy Award winner Spacey in the starring role, the series pilot will be directed by one of Hollywood's most respected filmmakers, David Fincher. His credits include directing "The Social Network," an Oscar nominee for best picture this year.

Even as he has insisted he doesn't want to produce its own programming, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has been aggressively bidding for the exclusive streaming rights to more content in an effort to reduce the postal expenses of Netflix's DVD-by-mail option.

In its biggest streaming deal so far, Netflix last year agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in a five-year deal for the first rights to show movies and TV episodes from the pay-TV channel Epix, which is owned by Viacom Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Without providing specifics, the person familiar with the "House of Cards" talks said Netflix is offering to pay less than $100 million for 26 episodes of the series.

Netflix spent $406 million on Internet streaming rights last year, a more than six-fold increase from 2009.

Netflix shares fell $3.27, or 1.5 percent, to close Wednesday at $213.84.

U.S. Military Blocks 13 Popular Websites on Its Network in Japan (Mashable)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 06:15 AM PDT

Emily Banks Emily Banks – Wed Mar 16, 9:15 am ET

To free up bandwidth that could be better used on Japan's recovery efforts, the U.S. military network has blocked access to a number of popular websites, including ESPN, Amazon and YouTube.

With phone lines down, the Internet has served as an essential means of communication in Japan, following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the country last week.

The block is "to make sure bandwidth was available in Japan for military operations," a military spokesperson said. The Department of Defense's system-wide prohibition, which went into effect Monday, isn't related to the content of those sites; it's been put in place because of the amount of bandwidth they require.

"We are doing this to facilitate the recovery efforts under way in Japan," the spokesperson said. "We are trying to make sure we are giving them as many avenues and as much support as we can."

Other blocked sites include Google Video, eBay, Doubleclick, Eyewonder, Pandora, StreamTheWorld, MTV, iFilm, MySpace and Metacafe. The military says that the block is temporary, but more sites may be added or removed from the list as needed.

For more of our coverage on the role of technology and social media in Japan, click here.

[via CNN]

Image courtesy of Flickr, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Firefox 4 May Be Rushed To Release Next Week (NewsFactor)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 02:00 PM PDT

Mark Long, newsfactor.com Mark Long, newsfactor.com – Wed Mar 16, 5:00 pm ET

Mozilla is prepping to ship the final version of its new Firefox 4 browser as soon as next week. Competitive pressures from Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 and Google's steady stream of Chrome updates appear to be driving the push to finish Firefox 4 and avoid losing more browser market share.

Mozilla only launched its Firefox 4 release candidate for Windows, Mac and Linux last week, giving testers little time to evaluate the product, which is available in more than 70 languages. However, Damon Sicore, director of platform engineering, said Firefox 4 RC1 received a very warm welcome and the time had come for Mozilla to make a decision to ship.

Though Mozilla hadn't made a final decision on the March 22 ship date, "as of now, there are no known issues that would stop us from shipping RC1 as final," Sicore wrote in a developer community forum. "If at any time we discover issues that would block final release, we would issue an RC2 as soon as possible, reset the ship date, and communicate to everyone."

Battling for Market Share

According to Net Applications, Internet Explorer led the global browser market in February with a 56.77 percent share, followed by Firefox (21.74 percent), Google Chrome (10.93 percent), and Apple's Safari (6.36 percent). Though Firefox lost about one percentage point from the previous month, this was due to a change in weighting by the web-metrics provider based on CIA data on Internet users per country.

With the new CIA numbers factored in, Firefox's share slipped in February since many countries in Western Europe and elsewhere overseas where the browser is popular now claim a lower percentage of global Internet users, the web-metrics firm said. By contrast, IE gained due to shifts in countries with a higher percentages of IE users.

Looking at long-term browser trends, IE lost almost eight percent of market share in 2008, most of which went to Firefox. IE also lost about seven percent in 2009, with gains shared between Firefox, Chrome and Safari, noted Net Applications Executive Vice President Vince Vizzaccaro.

Last year, IE lost about five percent market share while Firefox also declined and Chrome and Safari made gains. With respect to Firefox, it seems that Google has been successful in making speed a top consideration for browser selection, Vizzaccaro observed.

"IE and Safari have also made huge strides in browser rendering speed," Vizzaccaro explained. "I believe Firefox has a fairly loyal user base and if [Firefox] 4 can make significant speed improvements while maintaining their other key features such as syncing and extensions, they will keep their user base happy."

Under the Hood

Firefox 4's new JagerMonkey JavaScript engine delivers faster start-up times and graphics rendering, while the browser's support for the WebM format will enable HD-quality videos to run online. The new browser release also features WebGL -- an open standard for accelerated 3D graphic rendering that eliminates the need for users to install special plug-ins.

WebGL will make it easier for web developers to create interactive 3D games, vivid graphics, and new visual experiences for Firefox without requiring a special plug-in. WebGL is based on OpenGL ES 2.0, the same 3D API used for Android and iOS development, noted Principal Firefox Engineer Vlad Vukicevic.

"Many resources available for ES 2.0 development translate almost directly to WebGL development," Vukicevic wrote in a blog. "Unlike desktop or mobile OpenGL development, it's very easy to get started with WebGL -- some simple HTML and JS content lets you immediately start writing WebGL code."

White House backs online 'privacy bill of rights' (AFP)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 01:07 PM PDT

by Chris Lefkow Chris Lefkow – Wed Mar 16, 4:07 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The White House urged Congress on Wednesday to approve a "consumer privacy bill of rights" to govern the collection and use of personal data on the Internet.

Assistant Commerce Secretary Lawrence Strickling called for the legislation at a hearing on online privacy held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

"The administration urges Congress to enact a 'consumer privacy bill of rights' to provide baseline consumer data privacy protections," he said.

Strickling said authority to enforce privacy protections should be given to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), whose chairman, Jon Leibowitz, has advocated a "Do Not Track" mechanism that would allow Internet users to opt out of having their activities monitored.

"The large-scale collection, analysis, and storage of personal information is becoming more central to the Internet economy," said Strickling, the White House's top communications policy advisor.

"These activities help to make the online economy more efficient and companies more responsive to their customer needs," he said.

"Yet these same practices also give rise to growing unease among consumers, who are unsure about how data about their activities and transactions are collected, used, and stored," Strickling said.

In his opening statement, committee chairman Senator Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, said it was time for Congress to act.

"There is an online privacy war going on, and without help, consumers will lose," Rockefeller said. "We must act to give Americans the basic online privacy protections they deserve.

"Self-regulation, by and large, has been a failed experiment," he said. "The majority of consumers are uncomfortable being tracked online and it is time the law gave Americans a choice in the matter."

Senator John Kerry, the former Democratic presidential candidate from Massachusetts, said he is already drafting online privacy legislation and the "status quo cannot stand."

"We cannot continue to allow the collectors of people's information to dictate the level of privacy protection Americans get when they engage in commerce," Kerry said.

Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, questioned, however, whether privacy controls might have a chilling effect on online advertising and Internet commerce.

"What is the cost going to be in terms of the economic vibrancy of the Internet?" she asked. "How will we draw the line between what kind of behavioral marketing is fair and what kind of behavioral market invades privacy?"

"I just think we have to be very careful about the unintended consequences," McCaskill continued. "I just want to make sure that we don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg here under the very laudable goal of privacy."

"The sky won't fall down on Internet commerce," replied the FTC's Leibowitz, who also addressed the committee. "It's going to continue.

"And indeed, if consumers have more trust in the Internet there's going to be more business on the Internet too," Leibowitz said.

"We think most consumers don't mind being tracked," he added. "We just think they should have the option of opting out of that tracking."

Strickling said the Obama administration had found "a strong level of support among industry" to create the privacy protections and proposed "working with all stakeholders to develop appropriate codes."

"We think we can get to a regime that will greatly improve privacy for consumers and still meet the needs of businesses who want to continue to see the growth of the Internet," he said.

The Center for Democracy & Technology welcomed the Obama administration's call for online privacy legislation.

"This is a historic announcement, marking the first time the White House has called for a baseline consumer privacy bill," CDT president Leslie Harris said.

AOL Expands Reach into Social Networking with Android App (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 02:19 PM PDT

Vanessa Evans Vanessa Evans – Wed Mar 16, 5:19 pm ET
Contribute content like this. Start here.

AOL announced its anticipated layoffs last week in a company memo that was subsequently leaked to the media. The layoffs included about 900 people in total, with approximately 700 jobs being cut from their workforce in India and another 200 jobs cut in the United States. That hasn't stopped the company's momentum as they try to go forward with their expansion of AOL Radio and other plans.

While chairman of AOL Tim Armstrong tried to emphasize the recent acquisition of the Huffington Post and streamlining of its business model is aimed at promoting quality content, others remain skeptical. The restructuring of AOL has also included more investment in the music portion of their business, specifically the promotion and now expansion of AOL Radio into a music-sharing and social network hybrid.

AOL Radio has been an asset for the company since its launch in 2001, although it's gone through a few redesigns and relaunches. It partnered with XM Radio for a while beginning in 2005, and runs through Radio.com as a free streaming service, albeit one that forces you to listen to ads first.

Now, with the new Android App that AOL has launched with T-Mobile, it's expanding AOL Radio into a social network of sorts. Music listeners can update what they're listening to just like they would update Facebook or Twitter, and they can send updates to either of those two sites as well, without having to switch off from the music app.

The acquisition of the Huffington Post and the launch of the Android App for AOL Radio are part of a massive restructuring effort on AOL's part to help stem the revenue loss that they've seen over the last few years. In one of the first steps in that restructuring they laid off 1,000 people in January of 2010, citing the need to streamline costs. That streamlining continued throughout last year, as AOL left some European nations where their operations were failing, including France, and sold off under-performing businesses like ICQ.

CEO of AOL Tim Armstrong used to be the head advertising honcho for Google, and has made no secret of the fact that he wants to reposition AOL to be the global leader in Internet content. The acquisition of the Huffington Post and AOL's reach into social networking with their new Android App are poised to be cornerstones of the company's new direction.

Netflix for Android hits the Internet, but not streaming yet (Appolicious)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 12:28 PM PDT

Plaxo gets back to roots with Personal Assistant service (Macworld)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 01:11 PM PDT

Philip Michaels Philip Michaels – Wed Mar 16, 4:11 pm ET

Plaxo says it̢۪s getting out of the social networking game and back to its roots of keeping contact info up to date. And to mark the transition, the Web-based address book service is expanding its offerings to include a new service that automatically updates contacts.

Plaxo got its start in 2002, offering users a way to keep their contacts up-to-date and synced across a broad range of platforms. Over the years, the company made a push into social networking, most notably with its Plaxo Pulse service. But recently, Plaxo began to scale back its social networking ambitions, and on Wednesday, it formally announced plans to refocus its efforts on the address book front.

"We want to be the best online address book," Plaxo CEO Justin Miller told Macworld.

The company's Plaxo Personal Assistant service, also unveiled Wednesday, is part of that effort. The Web-based service looks to automate the process of updating the contact information you've stored with Plaxo, making sure your address book remains up-to-date.

Personal Assistant compares the contacts in your Plaxo address book with contact information from other public sources. (It's able to do this without sharing any private information, Miller stresses.) If Personal Assistant finds any contact information discrepancies, it gives you the option of updating the data in your address book.

Plaxo currently teams up with ZoomInfo for the contact info that Plaxo Personal Assistant searches. Miller says his company is in talks with other data providers as well.

Plaxo Personal Assistant joins an array of Web-based address book offerings from Plaxo. The company's free Basic service lets users store all their contacts in one unified place; it includes a de-duper tool that identifies and removes duplicate entries. A free Plaxo iPhone app lets users access that online address book from their smartphone. (Plaxo also offers mobile apps for the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile platforms, with an Android offering coming soon.)

The company's paid service—rebranded as Plaxo Platinum Sync—promises two-way real-time syncing between your online address book and other sources including Mac OS X's Address Book and iOS devices. (Platinum Sync also supports Gmail, Outlook, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile.) The paid service—which costs $60 a year—consistent address books that are accessible from any device they use.

The new Plaxo Personal Assistant costs $80 a year. Plaxo Platinum Sync users can bundle that service with Personal Assistant for $120 a year.

Google Lays Groundwork to Test Mobile Payments (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 02:18 PM PDT

Meaghan Ringwelski Meaghan Ringwelski – Wed Mar 16, 5:18 pm ET
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When the Nexus S -- Google's latest Android phone -- debuted, many people scratched their heads about one of its features: near field communication. After all, the technology seemed to be good for little more than a few quick gasps of surprise; its ability to pull data from scanned advertisements, signs and other things certainly made it a great conversation starter. Now it looks like Google is finally prepared to put that NFC technology to practical use.

The company has reportedly partnered= with VeriFone Systems, a major point-of-sale technology provider, to do mobile payment tests in select U.S. cities. Although the technology is relatively unknown as of right now, experts believe that it will be widespread and commonly used by as early as 2015.

Near field communication is specialized, short-range wireless technology that can be used for a huge range of different things. The idea behind the mobile payments, which could be supported by the Nexus S, is that customers will simply have their phones scanned in order to pay for their purchases. The technology has so many applications that, in theory, one scan could allow a customer to pay for their purchase, use any instant coupons that they have and earn rewards points, among other things. In effect, the Nexus S could offer a single-swipe solution to checking out of brick-and-mortar stores, which have lagged behind online retailers due to practical limitations.

The Nexus S is not going to be the only device that could offer NFC technology. Reportedly, Nokia and RIM are developing devices that will support the technology. Rumors swirled for a while that the upcoming iPhone 5 would boast NFC technology; however, Apple nixed the idea amid concerns about the lack of standardization in the industry.

Supposedly, Apple is busily working on its own version, which may debut along with the iPhone 6 and could run through iTunes. Google isn't the only player, either -- AT&T, eBay and Verizon Wireless are all reportedly working on various products and services that will revolve around near field communication technology. In an increasingly hectic world, NFC could prove to be a major milestone.

HOW TO: Design Your Own iPad, Kindle or Nook Cover (Mashable)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 06:12 AM PDT

Lauren Indvik Lauren Indvik – Wed Mar 16, 9:12 am ET

Gadget accessories manufacturer M-Edge unveiled a new web app Wednesday that enables users to custom design their own iPad, Kindle (2 and 3) and Nook cases.

Interested parties can access the app at app.medgestore.com/customize to design their own case, or browse a small library of existing designs. (I'm particularly in love with this Alice case for the iPad.)

The app allows users to upload their own high-resolution photographs or artwork to have printed on a 100% cotton canvas case. Users also have access to a library of patterns and fonts for further customization, and can choose between chestnut and black leather spines. All cases come with light brown, "microsuede" interiors.

Kindle and Nook jackets are priced at $40 each; iPad jackets, which are said to fit both first and second-generation devices, can be custom designed for $50. Customers can expect to receive their cases in two to three weeks.

I've purchased MyEdge cases for my Kindle 2 in the past, and have been pleased with the quality. The team at MyEdge was kind enough to let me try the tool ahead of release, and I'm expecting to receive my custom iPad case in the next two weeks, at which time I will produce a more thorough, hands-on review.

Verizon holds almost 10 percent of U.S. iPhone market (Appolicious)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 11:46 AM PDT

Japan supply squeeze worries spread to telco gear (Reuters)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 05:15 PM PDT

By Niklas Pollard and Tarmo Virki Niklas Pollard And Tarmo Virki – Wed Mar 16, 8:15 pm ET

STOCKHOLM/HELSINKI (Reuters) – Top mobile telecom equipment makers joined automakers in warning of a damaging supply squeeze as the impact of Japan's devastating earthquake spreads, adding to fears in a sector hampered by shortages.

Japan, home to around a fifth of the world's semiconductor production, has seen factories making everything from chips to car parts closed following Friday's earthquake, threatening supplies to manufacturers across the globe.

Most are making contingency plans, scrambling to source key components elsewhere while working out how much inventory they have available to keep production going.

Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and chipmaker STMicroelectronics all warned of a likely impact on supplies on Wednesday, echoing fears raised in the auto industry, where the closure of major Japanese car and parts plants could affect U.S. carmakers in as little as two weeks.

Japan is a key supplier to the global autos and technology sectors, making prolonged disruption a threat to both.

Analysts have said if the supply chain were broken for even a few weeks, the impact could be felt in higher prices or shortages of gadgets such as Apple Inc's iPad and other tablets, smartphones and computers for months to come.

"Pretty much everything is halted or mostly halted through April .... Even before the crisis the industry was near capacity. I would expect an impact to Q1 because of the remainder of March and also for Q2 because of all of April," Earl Lum, head of telecom gear and component research firm EJL Wireless, said.

The threat of disruption has already impacted prices for chips since even if damage to production facilities is limited, power and transport outages could result in significant shortages of electronic parts.

That would spell bad news for a telecom equipment-making sector already suffering shortages.

"It is possible that we have the technology sector equivalent of Lehman Brothers ahead of us and that the shock will eventually be widespread," Nordea analyst Sami Sarkamies said, adding that if only one part in a thousand was missing it would result in a product not being ready.

Rubicon Technology Inc, based in Franklin Park, Illinois, is seeing increased demand for materials like sapphire substrates from Japanese customers in the LED industry because of supply disruptions within the country.

Smartphone maker Research In Motion has exposure to Japanese suppliers and is checking the impact of the quake on its manufacturing.

In a small sign of stability in the chip sector, spot prices of NAND-type flash memory, critical in Apple's iPad and other mobile devices, dropped 3.8 percent on Wednesday after surging since the quake.

Toshiba, which supplies around a third of the world's NAND, was inspecting its equipment after the disaster caused a brief shutdown last week at its facility in Yokkaichi.

Qualcomm Inc said it would tap buffer stocks of materials used to make mobile chips and that it doesn't expect significant problems supplying products to its customers.

Germany's Infineon said that while there would be some supply bottlenecks, there would only be a temporary impact on the overall chip sector.

MEMORY GAP

Ericsson said it was too early to get an accurate picture of how Japanese enterprises were affected but that it did not expect the disaster to have a big impact on first-quarter sales. European chipmaker STMicro said it saw a risk to first- and second-quarter revenues but it stuck to its current outlook.

French telecoms equipment company Alcatel-Lucent depends on suppliers in Japan for components such as memory and said it would look for alternative sources if needed.

Nokia Siemens sources a small number of components from Japan and said it could not yet quantify any impact from the earthquake.

Lum at EJL Wireless said the disaster's effect on the sector would be felt for some time for many companies.

"With the nuclear issue still unclear, this won't be fixed anytime soon. I do not expect inventory to be more than 2-3 weeks in the supply chain," Lum said.

BLACKOUTS INTO APRIL

In Japan, electronics manufacturers warned production would be hobbled by further supply and distribution problems as companies struggle with power blackouts.

Canon said it would suspend production at one of its main plants in southern Japan, blaming parts supply and distribution problems, while Nikon said the suspension of its precision equipment plants in north Japan could eventually disrupt factories closer to Tokyo, which could run out of parts.

(Additional reporting by Simon Johnson in Stockholm; Marie Mawad in Paris, Noel Randewich in San Francisco, Isabel Reynolds and Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Jane Merriman, Hans Peters, Bernard Orr and Richard Chang)

Remains of the Day: Xoom xoom (Macworld)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 04:30 PM PDT

Dan Moren Dan Moren – Wed Mar 16, 7:30 pm ET

Motorola's got a surprise up its sleeve for Xoom pricing—and that surprise is all the money that it's taking out of its own pocket. Meanwhile, The Daily opens up its own pocketbook, and Netflix shells out for a deal that could change the face of TV. Don't worry: we built the remainders for Wednesday, March 16, 2011 on rock and roll.

Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi edition due on March 27 for $599 (The Loop)

The unsubsidized Wi-Fi-only version of the Android tablet drops later this month for a cheaper-than-expected $599 price. At which point it will surprise every single pundit on Earth as it becomes best friends with the iPad 2 and they pitch a TV pilot about a pair of mismatched roommates.

The Daily: Rupert Murdoch's iPad newspaper to launch in UK by June 2011 (The Telegraph)

Rupert Murdoch's much-touted iPad-based newspaper, The Daily, is finally set to take your hard-earned money, beginning next week. A year's subscription will set you back $40, and will hopefully contribute to upgrading the hamsters that are powering the app's sluggish carousel design.

Netflix To Enter Original Programming With Mega Deal For David Fincher-Kevin Spacey Series 'House Of Cards' (Deadline Hollywood)

What if you could watch TV on Netflix—wait, wait, there's more—before you watched it anywhere else. The video-streaming (and don't forget disc-mailing) company has reportedly struck a deal to fund an original series, produced by director David Fincher and starring actor Kevin Spacey. The company reputedly outbid AMC and HBO, among others, for the potentially groundbreaking deal. We sincerely hope that the series, titled House of Cards, does not live up to its name.

The 10 most Mac-friendly countries on the planet (Pingdom)

Curious to know which country boasts the highest popularity for the Mac? The answer might surprise you: it's Switzerland. Followed by Luxembourg. (This is based on desktop marketshare numbers collected by a company that does Website statistics.) Of course, when you think about it, is it really shocking that a country famed for efficiency and chocolate would embrace Apple computers?

Product Remainders:

Wuala 1.11 - The client-side data encryption app by LaCie comes to iOS, offering protection for your files directly on your iPhone.

Photoshop Express 2.0 - A new Camera workflow for faster photo-taking in-app, Retina display support, and an in-app purchase for the Adobe Camera Pack headline this 2.0 update for this universal app.

Everlands 1.12 - Hexage's $2 turn-based strategy game, featuring anthropomorphic animals, is now on the Mac App Store.

StoryMill 4 - Mariner Software's $50 novel-writing software gains the ability to snapshot scenes for later reference, a redesigned timeline view, and a trash feature akin to Mac OS X's.

FrameLoader 1.1.4 - Nova Media's app for managing digital picture frames is now available in the Mac App Store for $12.

Notebooks 4.1.1 for iPhone - Support for Markdown formatting, an extra row of keys for formatting text, and the ability to create PDFs from plain documents highlight this update. The separate 2.1 update to the iPad version brings the same changes.

Websense exploring a sale: report (Reuters)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 11:47 AM PDT

– Wed Mar 16, 2:47 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Security software company Websense Inc is exploring selling itself and has hired Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners to help with the process, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the company could be worth about $1 billion in a sale. The company's market capitalization at Tuesday's close was about $830 million.

Shares of Websense rose 12.6 percent to $23.00 after the report.

Qatalyst declined to comment. Websense was not immediately available to comment.

Websense's chief executive, Gene Hodges, told Reuters last year that the company is open to a takeover bid.

Reuters also reported last year that the company had spoken to possible acquirers but was not running a sales process at the time, citing a source familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Gary Hill)

New Linux Kernel Goes Faster (PC World)

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 10:30 AM PDT

Joab Jackson Joab Jackson – Wed Mar 16, 1:30 pm ET

The newest update to the Linux operating-system kernel features a number of enhancements that should offer a performance boost, particularly for running databases and other programs that require maximum resources from the server.

The 2.6.38 kernel features some "really deep changes," noted Linux creator and manager Linus Torvalds in an e-mail announcing the release. This kernel has been released only 10 weeks after the previous version, 2.6.37.

Linux 2.6.38 comes with a number of significant changes that should speed performance, including the addition of new technologies such as automatic process grouping and transparent huge pages. It also includes significant improvements in the VFS (virtual file system).

With automatic process grouping, the process scheduler groups all processes with the same session ID as a single entity. A single program can spawn multiple processes on a computer, which may then take up more resources than necessary. Advocates say that the process-grouping approach will allow programs to divide the processor time more equitably, resulting in improved performance overall.

Transparent huge pages increases the cache size for storing frequently consulted memory addresses, called pages. Traditionally, page sizes have been limited to 4KB, though modern processors support larger sizes. With larger page sizes, heavier workloads such as database work can use the cache more often, reducing their execution times.

VFS has been made more scalable. Its directory cache and path lookup mechanisms have been revamped, which should make multithreaded workloads more scalable and single-threaded workloads execute faster. Torvalds noted that of all the updates in this release, "my personal favorite remains the VFS name lookup changes."

Beyond performance enhancements, the updated kernel features a number of other new features as well.

For instance, this is the first version to support BATMAN (Better Approach To Mobile Ad-hoc Networking), an ad-hoc mesh protocol that can start relaying packets before a networking path has been fully established for the operating system. BATMAN "is useful for emergency situations like natural disasters, military conflicts or Internet censorship," the Kernel Newbies Web page explains.

The kernel also includes the usual plethora of driver updates, bug-fixes and platform-specific changes.

Maintained by an army of volunteer developers, the Linux kernel is used in a wide variety of desktop and server-based operating systems, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, as well as in mobile-device operating systems like Android.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com

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