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Longhorn delay has Windows users considering OS X
October 21 - 11:49 EDT Microsoft Watch has posted a number of e-mails from readers who say they are considering switching to Mac OS X due to the delay of Longhorn, Microsoft's next major version of Windows. "Apple is already many years ahead in several areas compared to Win XP (Quartz Extreme)," writes PHP programmer Adam Chaney. "And with Panther less then 10 days from release. It will make Apple look even better because they can ship an OS with real reasons to upgrade while MS cannot for three years. Three years is an eternity in computer time. By the time MS gets its act together, people may have gotten tired of banging on MS's door and have gone across the street to the open door with the big sign that reads 'Come on in!, No Worms in this Apple.'"
See macminute.com for active links embedded in article.
Bootz
ljk, "your" LOUD is having a heckuva fine day, on no news that I'm aware of.
ASYT & CYMI continue to look good.
I shoulda took that money I spent on AAPL and bought more SINA.
Bootz
Hmm, acesteele is here. The Microsoft boards must be moribund.
Again.
Bootz
Kyocera Finecam L30 - with MPEG-4 video
Kyocera Japan has announced the three megapixel, three times optical zoom Finecam L30. At first sight this appears to be 'just another' three megapixel digital camera (indeed very similar in appearance to the L3v/L4v) however the Finecam L30 has superior video recording capability. The reason for this is that the L30 records video using the MPEG-4 video compression codec which should mean much smaller video file sizes and longer recording times. The L30 records video at 320x240 (15 fps) or 160x112 (30 fps) for as long as there is space on the storage card (SD/MMC plus 16 MB built-in). Lets hope this is the first of many digital cameras which will provide MPEG-4 as their video compression codec (almost all current digital cameras use Motion JPEG or MPEG-1). (05:10 GMT)
Bootz
Swinburne University supercomputer using Xserve RAID
October 20 - 14:41 EDT The Swinburne University of Technology's Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing in Australia has implemented Apple Xserve RAID storage systems for use with its 130-node Dell cluster. "We looked at upgrading the supercomputer but that would have been too expensive for what we needed," the center's director, Professor Matthew Bailes, told LinuxWorld. "Although we don't have much to do with Apple, after seeing its new Xserve RAID storage device we decided to evaluate it... The Xserve RAID is the cheapest system of its type and none of the other mainstream players have a comparable price. Also, at around 100Mbps read and write to disk, it is faster than our SCSI system which has an I/O of 50Mbps." The center purchased six Xserve RAID systems with a combined storage capacity of 13.2TB for "around AUD$100,000 including education and volume discounts."
See macminute.com for embedded links.
Whut's happening?
Bootz
Hey, I'm up an iPod now on my last AAPL buy. em
Bootz
Whoowee! What a sea of red out there! Or are those bobbing bodies just another "buying opportunity" in disguise?
I'm getting out of here, going for a walk.
See if you people can't straighten this mess out by the time I get back.
TIA
Bootz
SAME OLD SONG, verse one:
SOUTH KOREAN INTERNET PORTAL PLANS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST MICROSOFT
SEOUL, Oct 17, 2003 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) --Daum Communications, South Korea's largest Internet portal, today said it is preparing tofile a new legal action against Microsoft Corp. over the U.S. software giant's bundling of messenger software with its Windows XP operating system.
"We will file a new complaint against Microsoft with a Seoul court by the end of this month," said Kwon Kyung-ah, a Daum spokeswoman.
If things go Daum's way, the move will be the Internet portal's third attempt to block the sale of Windows XP, which features a bundle of digital media capabilities including Internet phone and instant messenger.
Daum is one of South Korea's biggest Internet companies with more than 26 million registered e-mail accounts. It also controls 20 per cent of the country's instant messaging market.
The spokeswoman accused Microsoft of using anti-competitive practices in releasing Windows XP, labelling the software giant as an illegal monopoly.
In October of 2001, Daum, in alliance with 17 Korean firms,s ought a court injunction against Microsoft aimed at haltingthe release of Windows XP, but a court rejected the complaint on August 6 this year.
"We are currently reviewing the legal action in a different manner," she said.
In September of 2001, Daum filed its first complaint against the sale of Windows XP with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC),Korea's state anti-trust watchdog, claiming the bundling of the messenger service with the operation system is an unfair business practice. However, no ruling has been made yet.
Microsoft has already been hit by massive criticism in SouthKorea, especially after the country was hit by a series of Internet worm attacks.
Early this year, South Korean Internet networks were jolted by a fast-spreading Slammer worm, which exploited a well-knownsecurity hole in Microsoft's Web server software.
An influential civic group, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, seeking compensation for financial damages.
Officials of Microsoft's Korean unit were not immediately available for comment.
(Yonhap)
(C) 2003 Asia Pulse Pte LtdNewsProvided by COMTEX, http://www.comtex.com/
Bootz
Apple Updates iPod
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ --Apple(R) today announceda free software update for iPod(TM), the world's most popular portable digitalmusic player. The iPod software update adds support for new Belkin voicerecording and photo storage accessories for dockable iPods, allowing users torecord hundreds of hours of audio and store thousands of digital photos ontheir iPod. Available for both Mac(R) and Windows, the iPod software updatealso includes faster browsing and accessing of large music libraries, theability to sync On-The-Go playlists back to iTunes(R) and a new Music Quizgame which tests a player's knowledge of their own iTunes music library.
"Apple's latest iPods have been a huge hit, becoming the most successfuldigital music players ever. With these new added features there are even moregreat reasons to get one," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice presidentof Worldwide Product Marketing. "We have worked together with Belkin toprovide a simple and elegant solution to iPod users' two most requestedfeatures, digital voice recording and photo storage."
With the new voice recording features, iPod users can use a Belkin VoiceRecorder to record and instantly review over 600 hours of lectures, interviewsor notes on a 40GB iPod. Once the iPod is connected to a Mac or Windows PC,the voice notes are automatically synced with the computer just like songs andplaylists are synced in the iTunes library. These audio recordings are storedin WAV file format and can be easily edited or even sent to others via email.The Belkin Voice Recorder for iPod is the first third-party voice recordingaccessory to take advantage of these new capabilities in iPod. Belkin'sultra-compact Voice Recorder for iPod is equipped with a high-quality,omnidirectional microphone and 16mm speaker, works with all dockable iPodsthrough the headphone connector and indicates recording status through iPod'sLCD screen.
iPod's new photo storage feature allows users to use a Belkin Media Readerto import, store and backup over 20,000 digital photos from a 3 megapixelcamera onto a 40GB iPod and take them anywhere. This frees up valuable cameraand memory card storage space so users can continue to take pictures withoutthe hassle and expense of buying and carrying multiple memory cards. Once theiPod is connected to a Mac or Windows PC, the digital photos are easilytransferred to a user's computer and photo editing software. WithMac OS(R) X, iPhoto(TM) will automatically recognize the iPod as a mediastorage device and prompt users to transfer their photos into the iPhotolibrary -- just as if it were a camera, allowing users to erase the photosafter transfer if desired. The ideal tool for professional photographers andpeople on vacation, Belkin's new Media Reader for iPod is the first thirdparty iPod photo storage accessory. The Belkin Media Reader for iPod connectseasily though iPod's dock connector and supports the five most common memorycard formats -- CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, SD and MMC.
Pricing & Availability
The new iPod software update, Version 2.1, is available today as a freedownload from www.apple.com/ipod. iPods for Mac and Windows PCs are availablefor a suggested retail price of $299 (US) for the 10GB iPod, $399 (US) for the20GB iPod and $499 (US) for the 40GB iPod through the Apple Store(R)(www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iPodrequires a Mac with FireWire(R) port, Mac OS X version 10.1.5 or later(Mac OS X v10.2 or later recommended) or a Windows PC with FireWire or USB 2.0port, or Windows-certified FireWire or USB 2.0 card, Windows 2000, orWindows XP Home or Professional.
The new Belkin iPod accessories are also available starting today atwww.belkin.com and www.apple.com for a suggested retail price of $49.99 (US)for the Belkin Voice Recorder and $99.99 (US) for the Belkin Media Reader.
Bootz
Duke, look here:
http://www.napster.com/
Bootz
WMA, MP3 and AAC compared:
http://www20.tomshardware.com/consumer/20020712/2u4u-05.html
Bootz
Apple music event live coverage here:
http://www.macminute.com/2003/10/16/specialmusic/
Begins at 1 pm ET.
I gotta think AAPL's gonna recover most of this lost ground, too. If not today, by noon tomorrow.
Bootz
Anyone watching BWEB? Up 20% today.
Bootz
Here's the details on Samsung's new Napster player:
http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/yepp/yepp_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=YP-910GS/XAA
Bootz
Here's Samsung's Napster player, due out at the end of the month:
http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/yepp/yepp_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=YP-910GS/XAA
Bootz
I'm in at $22.71. What the heck!
Bootz
iPod rumors from thinksecret:
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/ipodperipherals.html
Bootz
Kevin, AAPL now down almost nine per cent. I may have to dabble here today, too, which I haven't done in a long time.
Bootz
Looks like the classic "buy on rumor, sell on news" here today.
Bootz
AAPL CEO Appears on CNBC's "Open Exchange" Today [delayed]
Ridgeland, MS, OCT 16, 2003 (EventX/Knobias.com via COMTEX) --According to the published guest list on the CNBC website, the CEO of Apple Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: AAPL), Steve Jobs, is scheduled to appear on CNBC's "Open Exchange" today between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET.
Bootz
Forgot Bold.
Oops, I forgot that you were supposed to bold certain sentences in press releases for emphasis. My bad!
So please bold this sentence from a previous post:
In particularly embarrassing disclosures, Microsoft acknowledged problems in its technology to authenticate software publishers over the Web and in its Windows help and support system.
Thank you!
Bootz
Microsoft Urges Users to Update 5 New Security Holes
2 hours, 16 minutes ago Add Technology - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Reed Stevenson
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) on Wednesday announced five new "critical" flaws in its software and provided patches to fix them in order to prevent hackers from gaining access to personal computers by deploying a malicious program similar to the devastating Blaster worm.
The announcement, part of a new initiative by the company to notify computer users of patches on a more regular basis, applies to a wide range of Microsoft software, including its Exchange e-mail server, Windows operating system, instant messaging (news - web sites) service and multimedia software for Web browsers.
Stephen Toulouse, a security program manager, urged companies and individuals using the products, which are detailed on its Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/security, to apply the patches in order to correct flaws in the software.
"We're trying to move from patch development to patch deployment," Toulouse said, part of a strategy to get customers to update Microsoft more frequently.
The plan to improve the software patch system was announced by Chief Executive Steve Ballmer last week as part of Microsoft's ongoing Trustworthy Computing initiative to make its software more secure and reliable, which was launched in early 2002.
The world's largest software company said it recognized the difficulty the multiple patches posed for companies trying to apply them.
"Because so many critical patches were issued today, companies will face a difficult challenge trying to quickly identify the necessary patches, test systems and roll out patches to all servers and workstations," Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft made the announcement with Shavlik Technologies, a security software and services firm, which helps companies apply the software patches.
John Parker, a senior product manager at security company Network Associates Inc. (NYSE:NET - news), said the number of patches was not out of the ordinary, given the number of critical patches that Microsoft has announced so far this year, which have averaged about four or five a month.
"But they are very serious," said Parker, adding that a compromised computer could be used by attackers to run malicious programs and launch attacks on other computers.
Microsoft announced a total of seven software flaws and patches on Wednesday, of which five were given the company's most urgent security rating of "critical."
Bootz
Microsoft Warns of 4 New Windows Flaws
28 minutes ago Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!
By TED BRIDIS, AP Technology Writer
WASHINGTON - Microsoft Corp. warned consumers Wednesday about four critical new flaws in its popular Windows software as the company shifted to monthly alerts for serious problems that could let hackers break into computers.
In particularly embarrassing disclosures, Microsoft acknowledged problems in its technology to authenticate software publishers over the Web and in its Windows help and support system. Microsoft also announced a fifth, less serious Windows vulnerability.
The company said it did not believe hackers were yet exploiting any of the vulnerabilities it announced.
Microsoft said last week it will begin issuing monthly warnings and software patches, responding to frustration from technology managers who must apply sporadic patches each week across hundreds of computers inside corporations.
The company said it expects to release future warnings on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of each month. It has promised to rush out an emergency patch midmonth if it determines hackers are actively breaking into computers using a flaw it can repair immediately.
Separately, Microsoft began offering Windows XP (news - web sites) users a single, convenient patch that combines 22 previous updates. It was aimed at customers who haven't diligently applied every software patch or who recently bought a new computer or recently installed Windows from scratch.
All four of the most dangerous new vulnerabilities affect versions of Windows 2000 (news - web sites), which is commonly used by corporations and government agencies. Three of them also affect other Windows versions, including Microsoft's flagship Windows XP software, popular among home users, and Windows Server 2003 for businesses.
Microsoft shares rose 55 cents to close at $29.07 in Wednesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites).
baldrick,
Apple posts Special Event satellite broadcast details
October 15, 2003 - 08:46 EDT Apple will be offering a satellite broadcast of its upcoming Special Event, which is to be held at 10:00 a.m. PT on Thursday, October 16, 2003 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. It is widely speculated that Apple is holding this event to launch it online music service for Windows (see related story). The satellite details are as follows:
Ku-band Analog
-- Satellite: Galaxy 11
-- Transponder: 16K
-- Orbital Slot: 91 degrees West
-- Downlink Frequency: 12020 MHz
-- Polarity: Vertical down
-- Audio subcarriers: 6.2 and 6.8
C-band Analog
-- Satellite: Telstar 5
-- Transponder: 15C
-- Orbital Slot: 97 degrees West
-- Downlink Frequency: 4000 MHz
-- Polarity: Vertical down
-- Audio subcarriers: 6.2 and 6.8
http://www.macminute.com/2003/10/15/satelliteevent
Bootz
Anyone know anything about this QT site?
http://www.endorphin.com/subscribe/index.php
PS: The Monarch butterflies are now passing through south Texas on the way to their wintering grounds in central Mexico. This constitutes one of nature's greatest spectacles. If you ever have the chance, you owe it to yourself to get down to El Rosario, Mexico, this winter and check it out.
Before the wintering grounds are history. Like so much else in the natural world today, they're under intense human pressure because of illegal logging.
A truly stupendous sight.
Bootz
OT: OMG having a nice day on no news that I'm aware of. You could've had it around $12 back in early August. Now over $16.
Bootz
It's Official: No Longhorn Until 2006.
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,4248,1332766,00.asp
This oughta give Panther at least three years to play.
Bootz
It's Official: No Longhorn Until 2006
By Mary Jo Foley
Microsoft execs at last have admitted publicly, at last, that Longhorn will not ship in 2005. Does it matter?
At Microsoft's worldwide partner conference this week, Microsoft finally admitted that Longhorn won't see the light of day until 2006.
This isn't a guess on my part, educated or otherwise. Or flame bait. Or conjecture. This is straight from the horses' mouths.
At the show this week, several Microsoft execs casually slipped into their presentations that Longhorn is three years away from debut. Last time I did the math, that was not 2005, as promised just a few months ago. Nor is it even the wishy-washy "2005+" that a few execs had taken to attaching to their product timetables. The new target is 2006, plain and simple.
Did the company think no one would notice? Or maybe after all that Abita beer on draft served up at the Friday night partner party at the House of Blues, that no one could count?
Maybe Microsoft is assuming that tacking another year onto a product that's already far from debut wouldn't matter. But if Longhorn client is three years away, that means the rest of the Longhorn wave also is three years from cresting.
That means there will be no Visual Studio tools release for two years after "Whidbey" (which Microsoft is still insisting will be a late 2004 product). No Office 12 until 2006. And Longhorn Server — which was expected, until this week, in 2006 — is now, more likely than not a 2007 product (given that it was set to lag the client release by a year).
For some customers, a year delay actually might be a relief. Not everyone wants and needs major product upgrades every two years. And for Microsoft, which is in the midst of a major campaign to convince existing customers to upgrade to Windows XP and Office XP, a delay may help fuel such a push.
But Microsoft has been talking to its partners about Longhorn since 2001, at least. (I wrote my first story on "Indigo," the Web services stack at the heart of Longhorn, two years ago).
Check Out This First Stab at Defining Indigo From 2001
Each year, we heard that more and more can't-live-without features would be baked into Longhorn. The ultimate in security (Next Generation Secure Computing Base, a k a "Palladium")? Longhorn. Self-healing/self-managing systems? The infrastructure will be baked into Longhorn. A simpler Windows-presentation infrastructure? Just hang on for Longhorn. The next version of Internet Explorer? Not available in any way other than as part of Longhorn.
Earlier this year, Microsoft execs proclaimed the company had decided against introducing a stop-gap interim Windows release between XP and Longhorn. That didn't look like a bad strategy when Longhorn client was a 2004 product. Even as a 2005 product, the idea of foregoing a "Shorthorn" wasn't outrageous. But now that it's 2006? Five years without a new desktop? That's a long time.
Even CEO Steve Ballmer seemingly is champing at the bit for a new release. In talking up XP Service Pack 2 — which Microsoft has delayed until Q2/Q3 of next year in order to include a bunch of new security technologies in the SP — Ballmer called SP2 "a new version of Windows XP."
Read Ballmer's Full Partner Conference Keynote Speech Here
XP SP2: Service Pack or New Windows Release?
And More on What's New, From a Security Standpoint, in Service Pack 2
Indeed, Microsoft is planning to distribute XP SP2 quite broadly: through retail, OEMs, downloads and in other "creative ways." But the company is maintaining SP2 will be free. (Maybe Microsoft could use XP SP2 as its "free software" poster child that it can pit against "free" open source software in its future TCO studies! I better not give them any ideas….)
Do you care that Longhorn is now a 2006 deliverable? Does yet another delay impact you in any way? If so, how?
Write me at mswatch@ziffdavis.com and let me know what you think.
(Check link below for active links embedded in story.)
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,4248,1332766,00.asp
Bootz
Microsoft sued over music downloads; iTunes unaffected
October 14 - 11:12 EDT CNET News.com is reporting that E-Data has sued Microsoft, charging that the company's new music download service in Europe infringes on a patent it owns that is nearly 20 years old. "The patent in question was granted in 1985 and covers the transmission of information to a remote point-of-sale location, where information is then transferred to a material object." In this case, E-Data is referring to the general act of offering downloads of music over the Internet, which can be burned onto CDs. E-Data said the company's patent expired in the U.S. in January, making Apple's iTunes Music Store -- which debuted in April -- an unlikely target for an infringement suit.
See macminute.com for active links embedded in story.
Bootz
OT: ASYT having another most exceellent day. Up $1.17.
Bootz
btw, did anyone see "The School of Rock"? Apple must have shelled out some serious Product Placement Dough for that one: TiBook, iMac and Cinema Displays thoughout.
Or maybe the director was just into them. Quien sabez?
Bootz
What, no Limbaugh comments today? em
Bootz
Developers gripe about IE standards inaction
Last modified: October 9, 2003, 4:00 AM PDT
By Paul Festa
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Web developers want to light a fire under Microsoft to get better standards support in the company's Internet Explorer browser, but they can't seem to spark a flame.
Gripes have mounted recently over support in IE 6 for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), a Web standard increasingly important to design professionals. Web developers and makers of Web authoring tools say the software giant has allowed CSS bugs to linger for years, undermining technology that promises to significantly cut corporate Web site design costs.
Seeking to goad Microsoft into action, digital document giant Adobe Systems last week unveiled a deal to bolster support for CSS in its GoLive Web authoring tool with technology from tiny Web browser maker Opera Software, whose chief technology officer first proposed CSS nine years ago. Opera maintains an active role in developing CSS through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
But standards advocates said it was unclear whether Adobe's action could prod Microsoft into better CSS support, given the lack of browser competition.
"Because it owns the marketplace, Microsoft's under very little pressure to fix remaining IE 6 bugs," said Jeffrey Zeldman, an independent Web developer and cofounder of the Web Standards Project. "When it formed this partnership with Opera, Adobe may have wanted to light a fire under IE, but lots of people have wanted to do that and have not been able to."
In the 1990s, Microsoft won the browser war over Netscape Communications and secured a monopoly for IE through a strategy of co-opting technology, an approach critics dubbed "embrace, extend, extinguish." With market share locked up, the company appears content to rest on its laurels, said critics, who complain that Microsoft has failed to keep pace with browser standards despite repeated pleadings.
Complaints over Microsoft's CSS support come amid broader criticisms that improvements in browser technology have slowed to a glacial pace since the software giant crushed credible competition in the market--an outcome that some view as ironic given Microsoft's cries during the antitrust trial that court-mandated restraints on its ability to bundle applications would stifle innovation.
"While it is true that our implementation is not fully, 100 percent W3C-compliant, our development investments are driven by our customer requirements and not necessarily by standards," said Greg Sullivan, a lead product manager with the Windows client group.
When it was pointed out that the most vocal critics of IE's CSS support are Web developers and authoring tool makers, rather than standards bodies, Sullivan said those critics were comparatively few.
"We balance feedback from all our customers and make our development decisions based on meeting the requirements of all of our customers, not just a few of them," Sullivan said.
A backward browse
Microsoft has not always neglected CSS. In 1999, the company was awarded a patent on the technology, which it has disclosed to the W3C and offered for free, licensed use--provided licensees agree to a mutual patent nonaggression pact with respect to the technology.
More recently, the software giant has backed off browser development on several key fronts.
Microsoft in May indicated it was ending development of its standalone browser in favor of devoting resources to its new operating system, code-named Longhorn, which will have built-in Web browsing capabilities.
In June, responding to Apple Computer's decision to launch its own browser, Safari, Microsoft said it was ending development of IE for the Mac operating system.
That combination of events, coupled with the implosion of AOL Time Warner's Netscape browser development efforts, has left Microsoft with little motivation to keep its browser up to date or to repair bugs in its implementation of the CSS standards, critics said.
Microsoft counters that it holds no lock on browsers, despite routine estimates that IE accounts for more than 90 percent of the market. Sullivan pointed to Adobe's choice of Opera as evidence that meaningful competition persists.
Microsoft has given few hints of its plans for the browser within Longhorn, where the company could see major benefits from the browser as it more tightly integrates software applications into the OS and its .Net Web services plan. That could lead to a flurry of new features aiming to leverage the browser.
Microsoft could also use browser enhancements, such as better CSS support, as an incentive for customers to upgrade to Longhorn.
Sullivan said that future browser updates would be distributed "as part of broader updates and service packs to the OS."
But he declined to say whether developers could expect to see improvements to the browser's CSS support, or what kind of browser updates the new Longhorn operating system might offer. Sullivan said the company would start revealing some of those details at the end of this month at the company's Professional Developers Conference 2003 in Los Angeles.
In the past, Microsoft has floated trial balloons for various proprietary browser-related features. Some of those efforts have sparked accusations of inappropriate bundling of the browser and OS. In one example, Microsoft aborted a plan to link keywords appearing in the browser window to favored Web sites.
Cue up Opera
Regardless of Microsoft's future plans, Web authoring tool makers Adobe and Macromedia are hoping to pressure the company into improving CSS support in IE now, enlisting the aid of Opera to bring enhanced CSS support in products used to automate many aspects of Web site design.
Adobe last week said it is using Opera browsing technology in its GoLive Web authoring tool, under a deal struck quietly this summer. Before the launch of GoLive Creative Suite, Adobe was coding its browser rendering engine the old-fashioned way--by hand. The rendering engine does the browser's heavy lifting, representing images and text in the window.
"Creative professionals want to stretch the technology as far as they can to maximize their design capabilities," said Mark Asher, group product manager for Adobe Web authoring tool GoLive and the graphics editor Illustrator. "What's going to happen is that by using Opera, people are going to start demanding that IE and other browsers start accommodating CSS Level 2. The difference should be significant enough to push Microsoft into better CSS support."
CSS has gained in popularity for a number of reasons. By letting developers specify design elements that apply to any number of individual pages, CSS makes Web pages more flexible, easier to change en masse and lighter by half.
The end result, developers say, is Web sites that are not only faster to load, but cheaper to build and maintain.
Macromedia, whose Dreamweaver tool leads the high end of the market, with Microsoft's FrontPage software dominating the low end, joined Adobe in expressing hope that, by reflecting the demand for CSS standards compliance it hears from designers, it could "light a fire" under Microsoft to fix IE's CSS problems. Macromedia, too, uses Opera technology to preview Dreamweaver edits, but only on its Mac version.
"We added a lot of support for CSS in our release, and Adobe did too," said Jen Taylor, product manager for Macromedia's Dreamweaver authoring tool. "And we're hoping that by furthering these standards we are going to force (Microsoft) to make the kinds of changes in the browser that they need to in order to support these technologies."
Opera sounded an ambivalent note on the prospect that its distribution in the authoring tools would result in better standards support in IE.
"We're not trying to help Microsoft make a better product, but I suppose that could be a byproduct of this," said Dean Kakridas, Opera's vice president of sales for North America. "We do hope the rest of the world follows suit, because CSS will continue to evolve, and we'll be at the forefront of it."
Changes in attitudes
Standards advocates might find themselves surprised to be looking to the authoring toolmakers as their champions. Not long ago, Adobe, Macromedia and Microsoft were the advocates' main target, as the browser market calcified into a reasonably standards-complaint status quo and the Web became increasingly populated by tool-authored, nonstandard code.
One usability expert applauded the change in attitude by the toolmakers, saying CSS would both benefit from and accelerate that shift.
"It's healthy to have multiple competitors in the market, and healthy for the Web designers to remember that there are different browsers out there, because that brings home the point that different users need different things," said Jakob Nielsen, a former Sun Microsystems engineer who now runs the Nielsen Norman Group, a usability consultancy in Emeryville, Calif. "You need to design in a flexible manner, and the emphasis on CSS (by the toolmakers) is a positive step in that direction."
"There's been very little development in Web browsers the last several years," Nielsen added. "It would be nice to reignite that."
Developers and toolmakers disagree on the degree to which Adobe and Macromedia can influence Microsoft's decisions with respect to CSS or other IE development.
One authority in CSS, a former Netscape engineer now advising companies on their use of the technology, expressed hope that Adobe's deal with Opera could advance CSS and spur changes to IE.
"This does make for a potential shift in the way sites are developed," said Eric Meyer, an independent consultant based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and author of four books on CSS. "GoLive users will get used to what Opera does, and may start to perceive Explorer as being more of an outdated and frustrating browser to deal with. It could lead to an interesting change in perception on the part of Web developers and Web authors."
But Zeldman warned against wishful thinking, noting that with hundreds of millions of people using Internet Explorer around the world, it would take more than CSS-savvy developers like him and Microsoft's toolmaker competitors to persuade Microsoft to tend to a battleground it no longer considers contested.
I'm not saying (IE) is not a very good browser--it is," Zeldman said. "But its CSS support is weaker and buggier than its competitors. We hoped for many years that by submitting bug reports, they would improve it. But they didn't."
Bootz
steele, you're the resident Californian here, so I wish you the best -- if for no other reason than that it looks like you'll need it.
Nice interview with Arnold the other night on CBS, in which he admitted the problem might even be worse that he thought: the deficit could be as much as $20 billion.
In that context, film production would seem like a pretty small drop in the bucket.
In any event, I'm an outsider and I'll defer to your local wisdom.
But with his promise of no new taxes and a rollback of the $4 billion car tax, Arnold would seem to have tied his hands behind his back.
In other words, I still don't see where the money is coming from.
Good luck!
Bootz
lango, I'm almost certain that my wife's iPod came with a number (more than 40) of preinstalled music tracks on it, but I'll double check.
When did you get yours?
Bootz
Zstar, I would second that emotion. The so-called GKs over there have actually managed the dubious feat of completely ruining two boards for the supposed price of one.
The RB MSFT board is now unwatchable/unreadable as well. Take away the GKs oxygen and what do you get? Look at the iHub MSFT board for an answer: a bunch of self-congratulatory, back-slappers who, left to themselves, are as insipid (I double checked my dictionary to make sure that was the word I wanted) as drying paint. Most of the posts there are by the administrator and his assistant, two of the more prominent RB Gate Keepers, who now have nothing left to "keep."
I don't condemn everything that comes out of Microsoft, nor do I applaud everything that comes out of Apple, and I say that as someone who's spent his fair share of money on both product lines.
What I do know is this: when it comes to interesting give and take with real-life people, give me an AAPL board over an MSFT one anyday.
There just ain't no there there.
Here there is.
Bootz
OT: Whoops, here's a new China play I just found out about today: ACH, up $4.49 a share to $45.20.
Do your own DD, of course.
Bootz
Semi-OT: Talk about amazing valuations: JBLU just topped $70. JBLU is an airline stock, fer cryin' out loud!
AMZN, YHOO, the Chinese Portals...how long can this go on?
Could we have gotten back to another huge bubble this quickly?
If this stuff is not downright scary, it's at least extremely edgy.
Oh, wait, Bush just said on the news that the economy's improving and that his tax cuts were the right action at the right time. So I guess that 'splains it.
This out today for the SINA watchers:
2. SINA Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA) is an online media company andvalue-added information service provider for China and the global Chinese communities. The stock continues to dash ahead along support at its 10-week moving average. In fact, SINA has outperformed the Nasdaq Composite since late March. Despite its technical strength, traders remain overwhelmingly skeptical of the security's prospects.Its SOIR has trended steadily higher since April and now checks in at 0.87. What's more, open interest at its December 40 put jumped from 6,934 to 11,060 contracts overnight. Furthermore, short interest soared 53 percent in September to 6.6 million shares - a new two-year high. The company remains off Wall Street's radar, with only one brokerage firm following the company. An unwinding of the pessimistic sentiment and/or the addition of new analyst coverage could add more fuel to this rally fire.
Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of SINA sinceFebruary 2003 with 10-Week Moving Average:http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=8618
Bootz
WLD, some more monitor stuff to think about:
Revisions to Apple's Cinema Display product line have been rumored since early June, though few details surfaced in the months that followed. At the beginning of the year, the company dropped its 22" model, only to replace it with a modernistic 20" display. Currently, Apple offers Cinema Displays in 17", 20" and 23" High-Definition flavors.
According to reliable sources, Apple is once again poised to refresh its display offerings. Expected to make their debut along with other Apple hardware offerings in November, the display line will include a new 30" High-Definition (HD) display, sources said. The product line will retain 20" and 23" HD models, but will reportedly shed its 17" counterpart.
Along with USB 2.0 ports, stunning color, and faster refresh rates, the new displays will sport an aluminum motif consisting of less body and more screen, sources said. The units will reportedly feature improvements to their versatility and weigh much less than the current models.
The company is also working on a revised DVI to ADC adapter for the new displays, which an previous report targets for an 'Early November' release. Around the same time, Apple is expected to debut a set of redesigned iBook consumer laptops and revamp its eMac all-in-one desktops.
Sources are anticipating a brief Apple media event to formally unveil the new products, though they have yet to receive a specific date. Meanwhile, the company recently added software support for the new displays to its Panther operating system, including a set of wide-resolution desktop images to support the new 30" HD display.
Bootz
Samsung Launches Unique Digital Audio Player Co-Branded With Napster
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., Oct 9, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Samsung Electronics, theworld's fastest growing consumer electronics brand, today announced theintroduction of the highly anticipated addition to its award-winning YEPP lineof digital audio players, the Samsung Napster YP-910GS. Co-branded withNapster, the most recognizable name in digital music, the Samsung YP-910GS isthe only player designed to operate seamlessly with the newly launched Napster2.0 service.
Over 5,000 songs can be transferred directly on to the YP-910GS's 20GBhard drive. The intuitive user interface with the Napster 2.0 client softwareand the USB 2.0 connection ensures immediate access to more than 500,000 ofthe world's greatest songs from all five major record labels as well ashundreds of independent labels. Users of the Napster service are able topurchase individual tracks or albums. A premium version of the service thatoffers unlimited listening and downloading, radio and community features, andunique content is also available.
"Bringing together two great companies -- Napster and Samsung -- createsthe perfect marriage of hardware, software and content," said Claude Frank,Director of Marketing, Digital Audio/Video Products, Samsung ElectronicsAmerica. "Together with Napster, Samsung set out to make the combination ofthe YP910GS and Napster 2.0 smart, simple and easy to use. Best of all, theYP-910GS is designed for the Windows platform, so it will reach more than 95%of PC users.
"Samsung and Napster share the belief that the digital music experienceshould be fun and easy," said Chris Gorog, Chairman and CEO of Roxio, Inc.,Napster's parent company. "This partnership between a global leader inconsumer electronics and the most recognized online music brand in the world,will create a line of products that dramatically enhance and simplify thedigital music experience. We look forward to a long and rewardingrelationship with Samsung that benefits music fans everywhere."
The YP-910GS features a unique, built-in FM transmitter, which allowsusers to wirelessly transmit saved tracks -- or an entire playlist -- to anearby FM radio or FM-enabled stereo for instant playback on an unused FMstation without the use of any cables. The YP-910GS also includes an FM tunerand encoder, so that in turn, MP3 files can be created directly from FM radio.
The unit's MP3 encoder takes digital music to a new frontier by allowingthe creation of music files directly from a CD player onto the hard drive ofthe YP-910GS without having to connect to a PC. The MP3 encoder gives you theoption of creating music files from any CD you are playing on a stereo withthe touch of a button.
A customizable EQ gives users the power to adjust the sound levels for anygiven track. With more than 10 hours of playback time from a built-in Li-Polymer rechargeable battery, users will be rocking until dawn. An alreadyslim and compact design (4.25" x 2.76" x .79"), the YP910GS is made even moreusable and versatile with the inclusion of a remote control and carrying case.
As an added bonus, the YP-910GS will offer 20 free songs via Napster 2.0,and pre-loaded tracks from artists such as Liz Phair, Iggy Pop, The Faint, TheDandy Warhols, ZOEgirl and Madlib will be included with the purchase of theYP-910GS. To ensure future functionality, the YP-910GS firmware isupgradeable.
The YP-910GS will be available this month at Best Buy for an MSRP of $399. About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc.(SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., markets a broadrange of award-winning, advanced digital consumer electronics and informationsystems products. The SEA organization oversees the North American operationsof Samsung Telecommunications USA, Samsung Electronics Canada and SamsungElectronics Mexico. Please visit www.samsungusa.com for more information.
Bootz