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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Found Footage: Google's ad, Mac style


Happy weekend! Google may have won some hearts with its Super Bowl ad a little while back, but we all know that Apple is the king of advertising when it comes to technology, so YouTuber allenmonroeiii decided to make a little parody of the Google ad and promote the Mac instead.




Strangely, it actually works -- while the audio is straight from the Google ad (which tells the story of a guy who finds love in Paris by searching on Google), the music serves just as well to tell the story of someone frustrated by a Windows PC purchase. No, this probably won't sell any computers (it's for us Mac heads to laugh at, considering that it was made in about an hour), but go ahead and enjoy it for what it is, and enjoy your weekend.

Apple gives Vancouver Olympic visitors a rare treasure


For some fans of the Olympic Winter Games, it's all about the beauty and grace of figure skating. For others, it's the organized chaos of short-track speed skating, or the aerial bravado of the half-pipe. And for some, it has nothing to do with the sports of winter. Instead, they're intent on pin trading and collecting.




While this may sound like an odd pastime, for some Olympic fans pin collecting is a huge deal. The official Vancouver 2010 website store lists 459 different pins for collecting and trading with others, but those aren't all of the pins that fans will find. Often, local businesses or organizations will make their own pins to give away or sell, and at these Winter Games, Apple joined in on the fun.



TUAW reader Alan Waite was in Vancouver earlier in the week to attend the Games and visited the Apple Store at Pacific Centre. Much to his surprise, Apple was giving away a limited edition set of pins (see photo above) to store visitors to commemorate the event. Very classy, Apple! Waite noted that the Apple Store at Oakridge Centre had a special red iPod nano pin with the Canadian maple leaf on the screen.



Custom pins like these aren't as common as the mass-market versions sold by the official Olympics website, so Alan not only has cool memorabilia from the 2010 Winter Games, but a relatively rare piece of swag as well.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Dell Mini 5 to be the vanguard of 'a family of tablets'


Well isn't this good to know. The Mini 5 isn't even coming out for at least another month, yet already we're hearing Dell has big plans for what's to follow. Wired has the dish straight from Neeraj Choubey, GM of Dell's tablet division, that there will be "a family of tablets" which will "scale up to a variety of sizes." It appears there will be a common feature set throughout the forthcoming portfolio, so it's likely going to be Android all the way, while Choubey also shared his company's intention to bundle "inexpensive data plans" with the new devices -- indicating a belief that carriers will accede to such ambitious ideas. And speaking of network operators, in a separate interview with Laptop, the loquacious gentleman has confirmed that Dell's working with AT&T on bringing the Mini 5 to the masses. Good to know, indeed -- now how about a release date?

Shuttle's XS35 nettop is 3.3cm thin, too nice to hide behind your HDTV


Nettops keep getting better, and thinner too if Shuttle's latest is anything to go by. It's the XS35, a 3.3cm thin affair packing a a dual-core Intel Atom D510 at 1.6GHz and Ion 2 graphics with HDMI output for easy connectivity to your high definition display of choice. Somehow the company has also found room for five USB ports, VGA and discrete audio outputs, an Ethernet jack, and a card reader. It's passively cooled, so the only noise you'll hear will be the spinning platters of its 2.5-inch hard disk or the spinning of an optical disc, which yes somehow fits in there too (making it perfect for watching your Thunderbirds DVD collection). No price yet but it'll be on display at CeBIT in just a few days and shipping sometime in the second quarter of this year.

Haleron's 7-inch iLet Mini HAL costs $199, ships March 1


Want a tablet computer sans all the brand loyalty drama and eye-opening prices? Haleron's got just the thing for you with its iLet Mini HAL. Its humble spec brings only a 600MHz VIA CPU and 128MB of DDR2 RAM to the table, but it runs Android 1.6 and if all you want is a tablet to access the web with, do you really need more? Additionally, the onboard 2GB of flash storage is augmented with 10GB of cloud storage and the cheap expandability that's on offer via flash memory cards or USB drives. The iLet Mini HAL costs $199 with shipping starting next week, and we've been reliably informed that there'll be no additional charges no matter how many poor Space Odyssey jokes you decide to make.

Mac 101: Navigating OS X with your keyboard


Let's face it: unless you're just casually surfing the Internet or playing a game, chances are pretty good that your hands are on the keyboard most of the time when you're at the computer. Sure, the mouse is only a few inches away, but wouldn't it just be easier if you didn't have to keep going back and forth from the mouse to the keyboard?




Enter the world of keyboard shortcuts. A keyboard shortcut is exactly what the name implies: a way of using the keys on your keyboard to quickly perform tasks that typically would require multiple steps using a mouse. Before we dive in to the magic keystrokes, let's take a quick look at how shortcuts work on the Mac.





Most keyboards have a number of special keys in the bottom corners that look and work differently from the other keys. These keys are called 'modifier keys', because they change (or modify) the behavior of any keys that are pressed while the modifier key is held down. A good example of this is the shift key, which causes letters to appear in uppercase as they are typed. Although the shift key is commonly found on everything from typewriters to telephones, the other keys that are available depend on the keyboard you have and what kind of computer it is plugged in to. But just like the shift key, you use them by holding down the modifier key, pressing another key, then letting go of both keys.



On a Mac, the most commonly used modifier key is the Command key, which is just to the left of the space bar, and can be identified by a clover-like icon on the key. The most commonly used shortcuts in OS X make use of the Command key. For example, in most applications, pressing Command-S will save the document you have open, while Command-O will show the open dialog so you can open another document. Less common tasks make use of the other modifier keys, such as the Option and Control keys, and some even use more than one at a time (such as Command-Shift-S to show the Save As dialog instead of just saving the document).



If you're switching from using a PC, and you're familiar with keyboard shortcuts in Windows, you will find that many of the common shortcuts are similar, but it might take some time to train your muscle memory to find the Command key as it is in roughly the same spot as the Alt key on most PC keyboards.



One last thing that's important to know about keystrokes is exactly where they will work, or their 'scope'. There are a handful of shortcuts built in to OS X that have a global scope, meaning they will work pretty much anywhere, at any time, from any application. Here are some of my favorites:



Global OS X Keyboard Shortcuts



Command+Tab - This is handy for switching between applications. Hold down Command and press the Tab key repeatedly to cycle through all of the running applications. You can also use the ` key (while still holding down the Command key) to go through the list of applications in reverse. Command+Space Bar - This will pop open the Spotlight search box so you can do a quick search. This can also double as a quick way to open applications without a mouse -- just type in an application, and hit enter when it shows up in the Spotlight search results. Command+H - Hide the current application. I use this to get rid of my e-mail window when I'm finished with it. You can get back to it by using Command+Tab as mentioned above, or clicking the icon in the dock. Command+Option+H - Hide all other applications (but the current one). This is really useful if you have a lot of windows open and want to focus on just one of them, or if you just want to reduce screen clutter. F8 through F12 - These keys toggle Spaces, Expose`, and Dashboard. On newer Macs, you might need to hold down the fn key as well. Common Application Shortcuts



Besides the global shortcuts, there are several shortcuts that are standard across most applications, allowing you to quickly perform common tasks without having to guess what the keystroke might be:



Command+X, Command+C, & Command-V - Cut, copy and paste. I know, they aren't easy to remember by the letters, but somewhere along the line that became the standard. Command-N - Open a new file, or sometimes a new window, depending on the application. Command-O - Show the open file dialog Command-S - Save the current document Command-W - Close the current window or tab Command-Q - Quit the current application These are just the tip of the iceberg -- there are dozens of shortcuts covering everything from inverting your screen colors for high-contrast visibility to shutting down your Mac after a long day's work. If you're a power user who wants to do more with your keyboard, stay tuned -- we'll be covering more advanced keystrokes in the near future.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

AT&T announces expanded availability of 3G MicroCell


It may not be the news that folks in some particularly problematic areas have been waiting for, but AT&T has now announced that it's finally expanded availability of its 3G MicroCell beyond its initial testbed of North Carolina. The new markets apparently include some additional areas of North Carolina, along with at least some parts of South Carolina and Georgia, plus San Diego and Las Vegas. Hit up the link below to punch in your zipcode for exact availability, and all the necessary details to get "five bars in your own home." And if you're curious about exactly what this whole femtocell thing is about, be sure to check out our impressions of the device.




[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sharp PB20ZU gets FCC approval -- is this 'Pure' from Microsoft's Project Pink?


The puzzle pieces are all fitting together now, aren't they? Just a few days after regulatory passage of the PB10ZU from Sharp -- a device that could very well be the pebble-shaped Turtle -- we're now seeing a separate filing for the PB20ZU. The label document isn't terribly detailed here, but if you squint your eyes, you can definitely see how this lines up perfectly with the concept of a landscape QWERTY slider which is exactly what Project Pink's rumored second phone, the Pure, is expected to be. Despite Microsoft's blowout announcement at MWC earlier this month, there was nary a mention of Pink or the Danger-influenced hardware and software said to surround it, so we're expecting to see this stuff soon -- especially now that we've got FCC certification under our belts. CTIA, perhaps? Notably, this phone rocks CDMA with Bluetooth and WiFi, so if it sees duty on an American carrier -- which it almost certainly will -- it's gotta be either Verizon or Sprint. Stay tuned.

Philips intros new Ambilight HDTVs, speakers and other AV wares


Philips ain't much for introducing new gear here on US soil, but for those fortunate enough to buy their milk with Euros, the company has a cornucopiaof new kit to tempt you with. It seems as if the company chose to skip right over CES and do its own thing here in late February, with the "2010 Consumer Lifestyle" event bringing to us a refreshed lineup of LED-backlit Ambilight HDTVs (7000, 8000 and 9000 series), a new Immersive Sound home theater system (with tri-speaker satellites) and the aluminum-tinged Soundbar HTS9140. We're also told that the new line of 8000 and 9000 LED 1080p TVs are 3D capable, with a "3D upgrade pack" to be made available separately and include two Active3D glasses and a wireless transmitter. In related news, that now-forgotten Cinema 21:9 set -- which was supposed to ship many moon ago -- now has a "summer 2010" estimated arrival date on it, though we certainly aren't holding our breath just yet. Hit the source link for all the other goods, but don't expect to find much in the way of pricing and availability.

Full text searches on the iPhone? There WAS an app for that.


Sometimes you can't win for losing. A few weeks ago, I was talking to fellow blogger and all-around genius Brett Terpstra about how I wished there was a full-text search for iPhone mail. He told me that there was, and it was called reMail. I immediately downloaded the free app, paid the US $3.99 for the in-app feature of using IMAP mailboxes, and reMail started downloading copies of all my mail. This took overnight, but so what? When done, I could search on any word or term just like the Macintosh Mail application, and be rewarded with a listing of all the incidences of the term in my 3,000 or so email messages in a fraction of a second.




This worked like a dream. I immediately put reMail on my home screen and was happy. At least, that was, until last week when I read that Gabor Cselle, reMail's creator, announced that the app was being put out to pasture, and was immediately being removed from the App Store. Google both bought the app and hired Gabor to be a Product Manager on the Gmail team.



As a nice gesture, Gabor decided to keep supporting reMail until the end of March and make the two in-app purchases free. Along with IMAP support, you could also buy the option of having it work with Rackspace email. And thus started the conspiracy theories. Techcrunch surmised that this could be another shot over the bow in the Apple-Google smartphone war, and that Google bought the technology to kill it off, so Apple couldn't buy it first. There may be something to that since reMail is arguably a better mail app than the one that built into the iPhone.



On the other hand, it may be that Google, seeing a widening of the search market, wants to build reMail's functionality into another product. It would be foolish, in my opinion to not do so. Google has worked with Cselle before as part of the Gmail team and knows what he can do. With reMail as part of the bargain, he's more important to them than during his earlier tenure.



There is a rumor floating around that someone has reverse-engineered reMail and will release it as open source. This could be interesting and may change the game, but it may be just a rumor. Whatever happens, it'll be intriguing to keep your eye on the evolution of mail apps on smartphones, and to learn just what Google has in mind.

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 upgrades will be possible, up to OEMs to make them happen


Alright, keep your socks on here, this is as noncommittal a statement as Redmond can make on the matter, but when asked directly about the likelihood and possibility of Windows Mobile 6.5 phones being transitioned to the new hotness that is Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft's Alex Reeve had this to say:




It's early days yet, and that's really for our hardware partners to think about.

As the Director of the company's UK Mobile Business Group, he's well positioned to know what's going to happen after said early days, and it's encouraging to hear that at least Microsoft won't be putting up any barriers to that HD2 upgrade we're all dreaming about. After all, the Chassis 1 specs we keep hearing about tend to sound an awful lot like HTC's 1GHz Snapdragon-powered bad self, so let's keep our fingers crossed and our minds open.

Pentax makes all-weather Optio W90 and superzoom X90 official


Pentax is going for broke with its take on the rugged camera, the W90, which is unlikely to ever be confused for a svelte and stylish point-and-shoot. What it loses in looks, it gains in usability, however, as the 12.1 megapixel shooter can withstand shocks from a height of four feet, go nearly 20 feet under water, and withstand temperatures as slow as -10 degrees Celsius. The dustproofing is just topping on that rugged cake, though it still offers things like 720p / 30fps video recording and 5x optical zoom that are now considered standard camera specs. There are also three forms of shake reduction: one is post-processing of affected images, the second is by automatically increasing the ISO in low light conditions, and the third is the use of "exclusive software" during movie mode. We can't say any one of those will be as good as a well-implemented optical image stabilization, but at least they're there and might offer some assistance. As to the X90, it joins a growing band of 26x and above optical superzoomers, while adding the W90's 720p video mode and anti-shake plus its own sensor-shift stabilizer for good measure. Both shooters are expected in April, priced at $330 for the W90 and $400 for the X90, though we've noticed the former will show up a month earlier in the UK with a £270 ($417) price tag.

Palm sales 'lower than expected,' revenues to miss targets

Ruh-roh. Palm just confirmed what we heard from analysts yesterday: sales aren't going so well. The company's updated its third quarter financial guidance to say that consumer adoption of its products is "taking longer than expected," leading to lowered order volumes from carriers and deferral of some orders to "future periods." That certainly puts that "Chinese New Year" Pre / Pixi work stoppage in a slightly different context, doesn't it? Looking at the new numbers, Palm says it expects non-GAAP Q3 revenue to be about $300m, or about the same it pulled in in Q2 before the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus launched on Verizon. That's not a good sign, but we'll see if that kicks someone at Verizon or Palm into realizing they might need a new, less-stupid ad campaign focused on capabilities, not stereotypes.

MoProUSA shows off fully integrated Wiimote pistols, tempts investors


As a Nintendo Wii owner, you've certainly got a smattering of options when it comes time to fire up the light gun, but even Nintendo's Wii Zapper can't hold a candle to this. Moishe Levison of MoProUSA has given us an inside look at what he's been working on for the past few years, and while everything is obviously still in prototype form, we can't help but be impressed. In short, he's looking to create a new range of free gaming pistols, including one that requires no additional Wiimote and Nunchuk to operate. His flagship gun, the Duel Pro, is actually modeled from a replica pistol, and it tucks the guts of a Wii controller and Nunchuk entirely inside of its casing. There's also an analog nub on both sides, enabling gamers to switch from one hand to the other should the action get too intense with the simple press of a toggle switch. Moreover, a color-changing LED is positioned on the rear in order to give instant feedback when an input is recognized, and did we mention that this thing looks stupendously realistic?




Another option is the Duel Eagle, which does require a separate Wiimote to be inserted in the top (much like Nyko's Perfect Shot), but places the 'C' and 'Z' buttons within grasping range on the gun's handle. The Duel Agent works similarly, but provides a more compact design for those who like to pack their heat in a more lightweight fashion. In both of these, the motion controls are integrated into the grip. The company actually has no plans to manufacture these on its own, but instead hopes to find an investor or two to buy the utility patent and turn the light gun market upside-down. We asked Moishe if this kind of technology could be applied on weaponry for Sony's PS3 or Microsoft's Xbox 360, and while he did confess that it was feasible, he's keeping his focus firmly fixed on the Wii for now. Feel free to poke around in the prototype gallery below, but don't leave this post without tapping that 'Read More' link and seeing the lineup handled on video. Seriously, you'll score +5 macho points just from watching.

Desktop PC components get rated for power efficiency, Intel rules the roost


With all the antitrust noise, threats to AMD, and conflicts with NVIDIA, it's hard to feel too charmed with Intel at the moment. But, if you're looking for the best combination of performance and power consumption possible, you'll have to swallow any animosity and put an Intel inside, with an efficiency piece at bit-tech.net finding that chips from that manufacturer were, on average, considerably more efficient than their AMD counterparts. That's just part of the story, the site testing everything from memory to power supplies and finding the best compromise of performance and efficiency. It's perhaps no surprise that high-efficiency PSUs trump older, hotter ones, but you might not expect to learn that desktop SSDs offer barely any improvement over their 5,400RPM platter-based brethren. Follow the article's advice and you can shed 104 watts without losing a single 3DMark point -- though you may shed quite a few dollars in the process.


After a four year absence, the next version of Quicken for the Mac is here. It's called Quicken Essentials for Mac and is a ground up Cocoa rewrite. I've been using the program for a few weeks now. Is it worth the wait? Well that depends what you need in your financial software.




When I interviewed Aaron Patzer, VP/GM of Intuit's Personal Finance Group, he was quick to point out that it's called Quicken Essentials for a reason: "It's called Essentials because it's what we consider to be essential for most users - about 80% of users. We went to people's homes and watched them use it. The majority of them just want to know: How much do I have? How much do I owe? How much do I spend on gas and food? How many times do I go to this restaurant? How many times do I go to Starbucks? What investments do I have? Let me set a budget to control my spending."



If an easy overview of your financial life is the goal Intuit had in mind, they've outdone themselves. The first thing you'll notice is the completely redesigned interface. Gone is the horrible toolbar navigation with multiple windows. Quicken Essentials has got that familiar streamlined iTunes/iLife look and feel with all your accounts, reports, budgets, and tools nicely displayed in a source list. It's single window interface makes it easy for the user to get a complete snapshot of all their finances. The interactive pie charts are snappy and responsive, and the built-in reports make it easy to view your checking, savings, and investing accounts.



Perhaps the most standout feature of this revamp is the improved categorization that takes a ton of work off the plate of the user. The guys at Quicken have developed a learning algorithm for Quicken Online that allows users to self-tag, with the Quicken Online software remembering those tags and then applying them to other people's data. The more people who use it, the smarter the tagging gets. In my tests, the automatic categorizing/tagging works exceedingly well. Though Quicken Essentials takes a lot of cues from Mint.com, it's method of categorization is different (and superior). Mint obtains its categorization by performing a relatively simple Yellow Pages look-up. Later in the year Intuit will be combining the two approaches and hopes to achieve 95% categorization accuracy (Intuit bought Mint in 2009).



Out of the box, Quicken Essentials supports 12,000 US and Canadian banks. That will grow to 16,000 banks in the next 2-3 months. That's full coverage of every credit union and bank in the country. Transferring and converting your data from Quicken for Windows to Quicken Essentials worked pretty well in my tests. I just saved a copy of my Quicken for Windows file, moved it to my Mac, and double-clicked on it. All my data was easily imported without any errors. Keep in mind that I was only working with two years of Quicken data though. Quicken Essentials allows for conversion from previous Mac programs, Quicken for Windows 2007+, and the now defunct Microsoft Money.



If you're like me and just want a simple program to view all your financial accounts, see where your money is going, and keep track of balances and upcoming bills, I highly recommend Quicken Essentials. If, however, you're a Quicken power user who needs investing and planning tools, investment buy and sell tracking, TurboTax integration, or in-app bill pay, then QEM is not for you. Think of this edition of Quicken Essentials as iPhoto for your finances. It presents a snapshot of your finances and transactions in a simple to use interface. If you need more than that, it's best to look at iBank or Quicken Premier for Windows running under VMWare Fusion or Parallels.



Quicken Essentials for the Mac goes on sale today for $69 and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6, an Intel-based Mac, and 1GB of hard disk space.

Steve Jobs turns 55


It's February 24, 2010, which means that Steve Jobs has his 55th birthday today.




Not many people get to start up a company and then develop several completely new markets during their lives. Steve Jobs has been intimately involved with popularizing a number of devices during his lifetime: the personal computer (Apple II and Mac), the MP3 player (iPod), the smartphone (iPhone), and now the media tablet (iPad).



All of the Apple fans here at TUAW wish Steve a happy birthday and many more years of Thinking Different.

Tune Runner rises to the top on a wave of free


There's been some interesting discussion in our comments section lately about Ngmoco's freemium model -- first they made headlines by endorsing it even to the detriment of one of their most popular games, and then they bought Freeverse and the conversation started up again. But while customers don't seem to like the freemium model very much, there's a growing number of examples that go the other way, and here's another: Appy Entertainment is a company that's been doing fairly well with a game called FaceFighter, but last weekend, they decided to drop the price of that game to free, and use the giveaway to promote their newest game, Tune Runner. And the plan worked extremely well -- after just a week, their original music game is rivaling Rock Band and Tap Tap Revenge for downloads.




FaceFighter hadn't been doing badly, but offering it up for free not only increased its downloads to several hundred thousand (which sounds like a lot for Appy), but put the new game in front of a whole bunch of people who otherwise might not have heard about it. And Tune Runner is a "freemium" app -- you get the first hit for free, and can buy more premium content inside the app. With an example like this, why would a developer not go with a freemium model? As Freeverse's CEO told us, customers may complain about the model, but assuming your game has the quality to support it, it's the best way to monetize the App Store's huge audience.



That's not to say that the paid model should be abandoned for good -- even Appy says they plan to release a paid version of their app with the in-app purchase content already unlocked. But for all of the murmuring about the freemium model, it certainly seems that customers' actions are different than words on the App Store.

Microsoft offers three new BlueTrack mice on the cheap


Microsoft's BlueTrack technology may have led to some pretty impressive mice, but they so far haven't dipped much under the $50 mark. That's now changed with the company's new Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500, Wireless Mouse 2000 and Comfort Mouse 4500, however, which all come in at less than $30, and promise many of the same advantages as Microsoft's pricier mice. As you can probably figure out, the three mice cover the cordless, portable, and corded bases and, with the exception of the gray-only Wireless Mouse 2000, are each available in a couple of different colors. All three are also available for pre-order starting today, with the Wireless Mouse 2000 and Comfort Mouse 4500 set to roll out next month, and the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 on track to ship in April.

Switch 101: A guide to using OS X


As the resident Mac expert for my family and friends, I often find myself fielding questions from the recent switchers in my life. A lot of those questions come in the form of "how do I ?" Apparently Apple's support folk have also encountered this phenomenon as Apple has created a knowledge base article to tackle many of these questions.




The article, entitled "Switch 101: On Windows I used to..." is part of Apple's Switch 101 series which is directly aimed at getting recent switchers comfortable with using OS X. It covers such tasks as finding and opening files, quitting applications, and using shortcut key modifiers (such as , the Command key).



I have shown this article to many recent switchers both in my family and otherwise; it has always proved to be a valuable resource to those that are new the Mac platform. Another great resource for recent switchers is TUAW's own Mac 101 series. Do you have any other tips for recent switchers? Post them in the comments and share the wealth of your experiential knowledge.

10 billionth iTunes download going down today


Obama Pacman has done the math, and they claim that the 10 billionth song download on iTunes (which Apple is paying out a $10k gift card for) is going to happen today, February 24th. So if you've been waiting to buy some music, today's the day to do it -- go pick up some songs in the early to late evening, and you might end up being the lucky winner.




Plus, contest aside, this means Apple will have sold 10 billion songs on their store. That's an incredible number, and it's a number that has changed this industry for sure. Fortune's Brainstorm Tech blog has a nice short look at just what that means for the store itself, including the fact that the store is now making over $520 million a quarter (even though Apple says that it's only slightly profitable for them, as they're more interested in hardware than content) and that the Black Eyed Peas have two of the top 20 best-selling songs of all time, the first and the third.



Pretty incredible achievement for Apple, and with the iPad on the way, I'll bet the iTunes store will only get busier. We'll keep an eye open for the official announcement this evening. Good luck if you're trying for the prize!

Carry the Moon in your pocket with this free iPhone app


Last week I was pleased to suggest some free astronomy programs of interest to star-gazers. This week, I'm at it again hoping that space or science buffs get a look at Moon Globe.




This very handy app gives you a complete map of our nearest space neighbor, showing you what is visible on any night and from any location. The on-screen display of the moon at the current phase is striking, and very detailed. You can zoom in or out with the usual pinch and stretch moves you are familiar with. It's easy to magnify up to 300 times with stunning detail. With a tap, you will see where spacecraft have landed on the moon and identify surface features like craters, mountain ranges and valleys.



The mosaic of pictures that make up the presentation are seamless, and the app gives you the tools to exactly match what you might see in binoculars or a telescope. That's really helpful, because some telescopes reverse the image left to right, or up and down. You can duplicate those views, so it is easy to match up what you are seeing with the display.



Clicking on surface feature or a spacecraft name will give you some information that is built into the app, or allow you to link directly to Wikipedia or launch a Google search.



There's a lot to like with this app, and with the moon overhead this week, there's a lot to explore. Moon Globe runs on the iPhone and iPod touch, and requires iPhone OS 2.0 or later.



The sky is no longer the limit. Check out some screen shots below.

Aperture 3.0.1 available now in Software Update



Although Aperture 3 introduced a lot of new features, it also introduced a lot of bugs. Apple's support forums have been abuzz with reports of memory leaks and issues with the new Faces functionality. Aperture 3.0.1 has arrived in Software Update, and Apple's support document for the update details several fixes for its flagship photo-processing program. Hopefully it addresses the two biggest issues users have faced: virtual memory growing out of control and consuming all free space on the hard drive, and Aperture libraries being invisible in Media Sharing if Faces is activated.




Let us know how your update goes in the comments.



UPDATE: Many users are saying that if you are running the unactivated trial version of Aperture 3, Software Update will fail to install the update. Instead, you'll have to re-download the complete Aperture 3 trial, which has itself been updated to 3.0.1.

GoGear Muse refresh sports touchscreen, Songbird media player, HDMI output


Looks like the Android-powered Connect isn't the only bit of GoGear news coming out of the armed Philips compound as of late. The Pocket-lint gang have got their hands on a refresh of the GoGear Muse and we should say that the thing looks pretty sweet. In addition to a rare new modern interface solution called "touchscreen," this bad boy eschews Windows Media Player in favor of the open source Songbird player, and sports an FM radio, iPlayer, Audible, FLAC, and APE support. As for video playback, the device's 3.2-inch display is complimented by a 720p HDMI out. Look for this bad boy in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB sizes; all models include a 32GB microSD slot. We're still holding out on the definitive word regarding price, but apparently Philips is estimating something in the £100 - £120 ($155 - $185) range.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Cablevision's new 'PC to TV Media Relay' slings PC media to your cable box, fuzzy on the details


It's been done before, and in many ways, but Cablevision's new plan for slinging what's on your PC to your TV might be one of the most interesting tries yet. Dubbed "PC to TV Media Relay," the new service will let subscribers that get their broadband internet and cable TV from Cablevision load up a bit of software on their Windows PC (a Mac version is forthcoming) that pushes whatever is on the computer through to a dedicated channel on the cable box. The real win here is the absolute lack of new hardware that's required (as far as we can tell), though we're guessing Cablevision is doing something fancy on the back end to route the video locally instead of streaming it over the entire internet. The service will start trials in June, and is a pretty overt move to keep users from dropping their cable TV service altogether as internet video continues to gain steam and Intel Wireless Display makes something like this into default functionality. In all, it's hard not to see this as just a stopgap, but it's certainly an intriguing one.

Apple serves up 10 billionth iTune, smiles all the way to the bank


Whether you love it or loathe it, there is now no way to deny the spectacular success of Apple's iTunes Store. The proprietary digital media player, organizer and salesperson has just now recorded its 10 billionth song download, marking a truly unique achievement in the still nascent world of digital distribution. Congratulations to Apple, whose response has been to thank you all for spending so much cash and making El Steve look like the techno pied piper. Hit the source link to find out what the most downloaded songs of "all time" were... you might not be surprised by the top three, but you should definitely be horrified.

Bloom 'Box' Energy Server hands-on (literally) with video!


So here it is, the now-famous (that was fast) Bloom "Box" Energy Servers -- all five of 'em -- working their magic at eBay's north campus. Not much to look at, but we're happy to say it retains a low temperature -- the only heat we really found was due to direct exposure to the light -- and remains quiet while running. There are vents just underneath the sides where cool air was being pumped out. Of course, its raison d'etre is its ability to more efficiently deliver power, which is not something we can really test ourselves. Bloom Energy showcased a number of customers today -- FedEx, Walmart, Staples, Google, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Cox, and of course, eBay -- and if the numbers meet their mark, you can color us mighty impressed. You know the drill: gallery below, quick video after the break!

iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 3 available now


The new beta version of the 3.2 SDK (beta 3, for those of you keeping track) is now available for download. The Apple developer site will likely be getting slammed over the next hour or two, so plan your downloads accordingly. The beta is available to all paid members of the iPhone developer program, with at least the $99/year membership. You will need your credentials to sign in and download the new SDK.




As usual, the new beta SDK is under NDA, so please go check out the details for yourself to get further information about the changes between this beta and the last. Good luck, and happy programming!

MagicJack sues Boing Boing, gets bounced out of court


The MagicJack is a VoIP dongle that hooks ye olde landline telephone up to the world of tomorrow via a humble computer. By all accounts, it seems to work pretty well and does the job it promises. Sadly, it doesn't seem like we can say the same about its management team. A post on Boing Boing in April 2008 addressed some pretty concerning aspects of the MagicJack EULA: it demands that you cede your right to sue the company and give it permission to "analyze" the numbers you call, but even more worrying was the fact that no links to said EULA were provided either on the website or at the point of sale. That is to say, every purchaser of the product was agreeing to something he or she hadn't (and couldn't have, without tracking the URL down via Google) read. Oh, and apparently the software comes without an uninstaller.




The whole thing could've been just a nice warning tale about not getting into contracts without reading the fine print, but MagicJack CEO Dan Borislow, hardly a man who shrinks from controversy, felt so offended by Boing Boing's, erm, statement of factual reality that he took them to court, citing that his company was exposed to "hate, ridicule and obloquy" (we had to look that last one up, it's just another word for ridicule, which makes the whole thing a tautology. Lawyers, eh?). Unsurprisingly, he lost the case, but he did manage to squeeze in one last act of shady behavior prior to his loss by offering to pay for Boing Boing's silence regarding the proceedings and costs. After he was turned down, MagicJack's coffers were still lightened by $54,000 to cover the defendants' legal fees, whereas its reputation can now be found somewhere in the Monster Cable vicinity of pond scum central.

Google executives found guilty of violating privacy of student bullied on video


Hold tight kids, internet privacy laws just got flipped upside down. An Italian judge found three Google executives guilty of violating the privacy of an Italian student who was bullied in a 2006 video posted on Google Video. The video resided on the site for two months before it was brought to Google's attention and pulled. None of the executives were involved in any way in the making of the abhorrent video. Nevertheless, Italian judge Oscar Magi sentenced the execs to a six-month prison sentence but cleared them of defamation charges. No jail time is expected, however, since any sentence of less than 3 years is typically commuted in Italy for those without a criminal record.




As you can imagine, Google has responded with vigor. In a post on Google's official blog ominously titled "Serious Threat to the Web in Italy," Google calls the decision "astonishing" citing the assistance it provided to local police in helping bring those who uploaded the video (and bullied the autistic child) to justice. More importantly, Google says that the decision "attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built." On the surface, we have to agree. Here's how Google describes the dystopian knock-on effect should this ruling take precedent:

"European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence. The belief, rightly in our opinion, was that a notice and take down regime of this kind would help creativity flourish and support free speech while protecting personal privacy. If that principle is swept aside and sites like Blogger, YouTube and indeed every social network and any community bulletin board, are held responsible for vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them - every piece of text, every photo, every file, every video - then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear."

Google will, of course, appeal.

ARM and Globalfoundries partner up for 28nm Cortex-A9 SOCs, invite great expectations


This one slipped the net during the excitement that was MWC this year, but it's such a promising development that we have to give it its due attention. ARM and Globalfoundries have announced plans to start building new systems-on-chip using the latter's ultramodern 28nm high-k metal gate production process, with the resultant chips offering up to 40 percent greater computational power, 30 percent greater power efficiency, and a terrific 100 percent improvement in battery longevity relative to their current-gen siblings. Mass production of these Cortex-A9-based units is expected in the second half of 2010, which means they should be among the very first chips off Globalfoundries' 28nm assembly line. The good news, though, is that the technology is described as "ready for high-volume implementation," so there should be no shortages when things finally get rolling. Let the wild-eyed anticipation begin

Spring Design's Alex pushed to first week of March


February 22nd came and went with nary a word from Spring Design about its Alex availability. Now, after a bit of prodding, we're being told to check back during the first week of March; that's when you'll be able to order your dual-screen, 3.5-inch Android and 6-inch EPD e-Reader. So, $359 for Alex or $499 for the iPad launching just a few weeks later... decisions, decisions.

MagiTact hands-free phone control makes multitouch seem absolutely passe



Are you sick of your needy cellphone, always asking that you pick it up in order to perform essential tasks? Well, the brain wizards at Deutsche Telekom (pictured above) have just the thing for you: MagiTact is an app that uses your phone's compass (provided your phone has a compass) to track changes in the magnetic field around the device. This creates the possibility of a whole host of gesture-based commands, such as silencing a ringing phone or terminating a call, without having physical contact with the device -- as long as you're wearing magnetic rings on your fingers. Another interesting possibility is a pinch-to-zoom function that takes place behind the phone, so your fingers don't obscure the map as you speed away from that ill-fated bank heist -- but seeing as how the technology still only works about ninety percent of the time, we wouldn't recommend using it to make your getaway. [Warning: source link requires subscription]

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Apple earns 5.5 percent total market share in France


Apple had a great holiday sales quarter in the US and now research firm Gartner is reporting similar good news from Europe. Specifically, Apple shipped 182,000 machines in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving it a 5.5 percent total market share in France. It should be noted that Apple didn't reach the top five in any other European country.




Overall PC sales declined throughout Europe in 2009, while Mac sales in the U.K. increased from 3.8 percent in 3Q 2008 to 5 percent in 3Q 2009. Gartner attributed the increase partly to the "halo effect." That's the common term for increased sales of Macs from PC owners who have purchased iPods or iPhones and find that they love the design and ease of use of the Apple devices.



The only manufacturer to out-perform Apple's growth in Europe during 2009 was Acer, which saw 35.5 percent growth.



Currently there are two Apple retail stores in France: Apple Store Odysseum in Montpellier and Apple Store Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

MSI announces GT660 gaming laptop ahead of CeBIT



We've already heard about some of the systems MSI has in store for CeBIT -- including a 3D-capable Wind Top -- but it looks like the company still has bit more lined up, including this new GT660 gaming laptop. In addition to the requisite red accents to make it go faster, this one packs a quad-core Core i7 processor, along with GeForce GTX 285M and, just as notably, some USB 3.0 ports to ensure your peripherals are just as speedy. Still no word on a price or other specifics, but MSI is promising to say more about this and the rest of its new systems at CeBIT next week.

iPad confirmed to use PowerVR SGX graphics, Apple job posting suggests A4 chip will hit other products


It may not be as big a surprise as the A4 itself was, but Apple has now confirmed via the latest iPad SDK Beta 3 documentation that the iPad does indeed use PowerVR SGX graphics hardware as part of its custom system-on-a-chip, which flatly contradicts previous reports of A4 using Mali, and lines up with what our pal Anand Shimpi has been telling us lately. What Apple doesn't confirm, unfortunately, is exactly which chip in the PowerVR SGX family the iPad uses, so it's still at least possible that it could pack a bigger punch than the iPhone or iPod touch.




In related news, a recent Apple job posting has now also offered up the first hard evidence that Apple might actually be putting its huge investment in A4 to use other platforms besides the iPad -- shocking, we know. That job is for an Engineering Manager, who would lead a team focused on the "bring-up of iPhone OS on new platforms," and would otherwise be responsible for "low level platform architecture, firmware, core drivers and bring-up of new hardware platforms" -- experience with ARM-based SoCs is also an "additional success factor." Sound like the job you've been waiting for? Then hit up the link below for the complete details.

YouTube Drops IE6 Support on March 13th


In a move that may actually impact people who're still using Internet Explorer 6, YouTube has set a date for the last day they'll support IE6: March 13th. And while that doesn't mean YouTube videos will stop playing after the 13th, the big warning on YouTube could have a big influence on getting people to upgrade. So what exactly will the impact be on IE6 users?

Stopped support essentially means that some future features on YouTube will be rolled out that won't work in older browsers.

Juniper Networks Establishes $50 Million Venture Fund

Tech giant Juniper Networks this morning introduced the $50 million Junos Innovation Fund, a new corporate venture capital initiative that will invest primarily in VC-backed technology companies in early or growth stage.



The fund builds up on Juniper’s efforts to establish an ecosystem of technologies, software and applications built on its cross-network software platform Junos, the company said.
According to the press release, the Junos Innovation Fund will invest in companies over the next two years, and focus on areas such as networking technologies, applications, and services that foster the development and deployment of security infrastructure, mobility and video solutions, virtualization, network automation, optical technology, and green networking.


Juniper Networks currently has investments in 11 companies, including Ankeena Networks, Blade Network Technologies, Cyan Optics, FireEye and Packet Design.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

The AP Is Using Twitter To Send People To Facebook. Wait. What?

Oh the Associated Press, our most favorite banned new source. It seems almost monthly they do something that defies logic and/or looks to be a suicidal act. And today brings another oddity.



The AP is using their Twitter feed to tweet out their stories — nothing new there, obviously — but every single one of them links to the story on their Facebook Notes page. It’s not clear how long they’ve been doing this, but Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan noted the oddness of this, and how annoying it is, tonight. The AP obviously has a ton of media partners, and they could easily link to any of those, or even the story hosted on their own site. But no, instead they’re copying all these stories to their Facebook page and linking there for no apparent reason.


As Sullivan notes in a follow-up tweet, “i really miss when people had web sites they owned and pointed at. why lease your soul to facebook. or buzz. or whatever. master your domain.”

What’s really odd about this is the AP’s recent scuffle with Google over the hosting of AP content. The two sides appeared to reach some sort of deal earlier this month (after months of threats and actual pulled content), but now the AP is just hosting all this content on Facebook for the hell of it?

Sure, maybe they think that by hosting the content on Facebook, they’re being impartial with the tweets. But again, why not just use their own site?


When I asked Sullivan to elaborate on this issue, he made a good point, “funny, they seem to get social (twitter & facebook) more than basic SEO (the core of their issues with Google).” Oh the AP; the amusement never ends.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

There’s a new Hero in town: HTC announces the Legend


As we expected after the leaks last night, HTC has just dropped the good word on three brand new handsets at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.



The first up is the Android 2.1-powered HTC Legend, which is essentially a spiritual successor to the much-loved HTC Hero.


Outside of its slick new shell (which, by the way, is almost entirely one seamless piece of aluminum, similar to Apple’s uni-body Mac Books), the primary changes from the Hero to the Legend would be the upgrade to Android 2.1, the minor processor speed bump from 528 Mhz to 600, and the nifty optical trackpad that has replaced the trackball. The screen size and resolution remains the same (3.2 inches at 320×480), but they’ve bumped it up from the standard LCD to a gorgeous AMOLED screen.



Is it a massive upgrade from the Hero as it already exists? If we’re solely looking at the specs, no – but if you want something with a little more grumble under the hood, they’ve just announced one of those, as well.



Unfortunately for us folks in the US, the model they’re announcing today lacks support for US 3G. Expect it to launch in March throughout Europe and Asia.

Windows Phone 7 Series: Our Take


So the next generation of Windows Mobile, now Windows Phone, has been unveiled at MWC in Barcelona. Greg has already gotten his mitts all over it, and has posted his in-depth impressions over at MobileCrunch, but we thought it was worthwhile to post our thoughts on Microsoft’s new look and feel. Beautiful? Ugly? Too little, too late? Feel free to add your opinions to the pile.

John: Windows Mobile 7 is an interesting move for Microsoft. They need this to be a success but, as we now see, they’ve basically turned off development for the 6.x platform until this launches. This seems to be the first Windows Mobile version designed for people rather than business drones, which is great. I’m just worried they’re too late to the party.




Devin: I’m impressed with how serious a departure 7 is from 6.5. Having used a Zune HD for a while now, I can tell you that the UI is likely to be as functional as it is good looking, and hopefully they’ve made it even more so with the phone, without compromising its usability. I also think it’s pretty good-looking. I can actually see people picking this up and saying “wow, this is cooler than an iPhone” (maybe) — but of course, the only thing that can save Microsoft is a raftload of awesome apps, and both Apple and Google have a huge lead on them there. But good job, MS.



Nicholas: I really don’t pay much attention to phones the way that Greg does, so I’m not sure how much insight I can give here. (That hasn’t stopped me before, of course.) I do, however, use my Zune HD every single day, and I think it’s pretty great. I’d be happy with nothing more than a Zune HD + phone. I couldn’t give a toss about Apps.



Matt: I’m most curious to see how the Windows Mobile community reacts to the new platform. Surely they must feel either betrayed from the massive changes or they’ll embrace what’s new. But from just the videos and reading other people’s hands-on impressions, I’m not that impressed. Maybe Windows Phone is one of those things you need to see to believe.



Doug: Microsoft is smart to have started from scratch instead of updating the aging Windows Mobile operating system. It’s also smart to leverage two of the projects that many would agree have been done well so far: the Zune interface and Xbox Live. Like all smartphone platforms nowadays, though, the success of Windows Phone 7 will ultimately come down to the basics: fluid and easy to use interface, great web browser, and plenty of quality applications. Microsoft has to do each of these things correctly. It can’t afford to miss a single one since it’s so late to market.



Jimin: Phone OSes always seemed too low on Microsoft’s totem pole. So it’s nice to see Windows Mobile getting a decent push with Phone 7. But we’ll just have to wait and see if it gives us anything that iPhone and Android aren’t already doing. Seems that the Xbox Live integration might be what sets Phone 7 apart from everything else.



Marc: I’m glad to see that Windows Mobile isn’t going to fade into oblivion thanks to Windows Phone 7. The interface and design have finally caught up with the times and Windows Mobile users have something to look forward to. The old Windows Mobile seems so antiquated, ugly and sluggish. So far Windows Phone 7 fixes all of that. The only thing is that it doesn’t seem to offer anything beyond what others do. The UI and animation are nice, and so is the media and social networking integration. Whether it will actually hold its own against Android and the coming update to the iPhone OS remains to be seen.

Of course, these are all just based on the videos, pictures, and other things we’ve seen and discussed. We are not liable for any changes to our opinions after getting hands-on with the devices. For the curious among you, there’s a pretty good interactive demo up at the official Windows Phone 7 Series site.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Amazon Wants To Give A Free Kindle To All Amazon Prime Subscribers

In January Amazon offered select customers a free Kindle of sorts – they had to pay for it, but if they didn’t like it they could get a full refund and keep the device. It turns out that was just a test run for a much more ambitious program. A reliable source tells us Amazon wants to give a free Kindle to every Amazon Prime subscriber.




Just as soon as they can work out how to do it without losing money.



Amazon Prime is a subscription product that gives customers free two day shipping on everything they buy from Amazon. The current fee is $79/year.



These are Amazon’s very best customers – the ones who tend to make multiple purchases per month. And they are also likely to buy multiple books per month on their Kindle devices. If those users buy enough books, and Amazon gets the production costs of the Kindle down enough, Amazon can get Kindles into “millions” of people’s hands without losing their shirt. At least when the goal is to break even or better over the course of a couple of years, the expected lifetime of a Kindle.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Panic Ensues As Palm Halts Pre, Pre Plus Production For Chinese New Year

If you read the OTR Global report today that said that Palm was halting its production lines for its webOS products, you might have sold off all your Palm stock. Thing is, it's all about a holiday, not bad news from Palm.




Many global firms are experiencing this: anything going on in China will be halted next week for Chines New Year. Thus, this shutdown shouldn't be used as a reason to panic, but rather evidence that globalization has its bumps.



Here's the official statement. It should be noted that Palm says that production was ramped up pre-holiday to be sure there were enough Verizon devices for the carrier.



Palm regularly adjusts its product manufacturing levels to manage inventory. In anticipation of the Verizon Wireless launch and Chinese New Year, we increased production levels prior to February, and anticipate ramping production back up after the Chinese New Year ends.

It's true, however, that the latest comScore numbers show Android creeping up on Palm. The sheer variety of different devices is making an impact. Some even predict that the device availability, as well as the relative openness of Android vs. the App Store and its more draconian policies, will lead to Android overtaking the iPhone, in the (not so near) future.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Hachette Publishing Axes $9.99 E-Books


It started with Macmillan, or rather, it started with the iPad, but now it seems there’s no way any publisher is going to sit still for a $9.99 e-book price. On Friday, Amazon’s Hachette became the third major publisher, following Macmillan and HarperCollins, to push for the agency model, in which the publisher sets the ebook prices, and the bookseller takes a cut.




Amazon.com, smartly realizing the way to get e-book adoption going was to keep prices low, as well as realizing having a one-size-fits-all price of $9.99 made things much more understandable to consumers, is surely feeling beleaguered.



This definitely sounds familiar, as Apple took the same course with music: a constant 99 cents price for all songs, despite what music companies wanted. Ah, but as noted, Apple is on the side of the publishers in this case? What gives?




What gives is nicely reported here. It makes total sense, as well. It’s all meant to muck with Amazon.com.





It’s all about who wants to sell “what” to make money. Amazon.com wants to sell e-books. Apple wants to sell hardware. Publishers want to sell hardbacks. It feels like the transition from CDs to digital music again. The publishers don’t get it, Apple doesn’t care, and Amazon.com, who wants to sell e-books, is getting the shaft.



Oh, and we consumers, who might want to buy an e-book at $9.99 but won’t at $15 (why bother at $15 when you can buy a hardback that has no DRM and that I can hand to my friend to read) get shafted as well.



We’ll have to wait to see if this shakes out the way it seems. While the iPad is not just an e-book reader, it’s not really a computer, either. To me, it’s just a big iPhone, with the same limitations (no background processing, App Store restrictions, DRM, etc. etc. — and yes, I realize the Kindle has DRM, too).


Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Google veut éliminer toutes les failles de Chrome




Google versera jusqu’à 1337 dollars à toute personne découvrant une faille de sécurité dans le navigateur web Chrome, ou son dérivé open source Chromium.
Publicité

Le navigateur web Google Chrome intègre un bac à sable qui réduit à néant la portée de la plupart des failles de sécurité. Toutefois, une petite partie du logiciel n’est pas protégée. De plus, qu’elle ait un impact important ou faible, une faille de sécurité reste toujours potentiellement dangereuse.
La popularité croissante de ce butineur oblige les développeurs de Google à passer à la vitesse supérieure, en faisant appel à la communauté pour trouver – et éventuellement corriger – des failles de sécurité. La compagnie a donc décidé de verser 500 dollars à toute personne découvrant un bogue touchant la sécurité du navigateur. Dans certains cas particuliers, le montant sera porté à 1337 dollars.
Google emboite ainsi le pas à la fondation Mozilla, qui propose déjà une telle initiative. L’offre de la firme concerne aussi bien Chrome (quelle que soit la version ; Stable, Beta ou Dev) que Chromium (la mouture open source de Google Chrome) ou encore les greffons livrés en standard avec le navigateur (par exemple Google Gears).
Plus de détails sur ce programme se trouvent sur ce billet de Chris Evans, un employé de Google. Notez par ailleurs qu’une première version de développement de Google Chrome 5.0 est maintenant accessible. Elle ne comporte aucune nouveauté majeure, mais propose de nouvelles options de configuration et un meilleur support des systèmes d’exploitation Windows Vista, Windows 7 et Mac OS X.

Free et SFR à la rescousse de France Télécom?



Free et SFR à la rescousse de France Télécom?
Le nouvel impôt qui frappe France Télécom pour palier la disparition de la taxe professionnelle, pourrait indirectement toucher les concurrents, et néanmoins clients, de l'opérateur historique.
Publicité

La suppression de la taxe professionnelle, appliquée depuis le 1er janvier, a des conséquences inattendues. Notamment du côté des opérateurs télécoms que l'on a connu moins solidaires. En effet, Free et SFR pourraient voler au secours de France Télécom étranglé par la suppression de la taxe professionnelle.
Et pour cause. La disparition de cette taxe en entraîne de nouvelles visant à compenser en parti le manque à gagner pour l'Etat. Ainsi est apparu l'impôt forfaitaire sur les entreprises de réseau (Ifer) qui, dans le cas de France Télécom, vise à prélever quelques deniers (12 euros annuel par ligne téléphonique) sur chaque paire de cuivre exploitée. Sachant que l'opérateur historique en gère une trentaine de millions, le calcul est simple. Selon Les Echos, l'opérateur devrait reverser 384 millions d'euros de nouvel impôt au Fisc.
Un nouvel impôt d'autant plus injuste aux yeux de l'opérateur que l'Ifer concerne en parti des équipements sur le point d'être amortis et qui allaient ainsi sortir de l'assiette de la taxe professionnel. Bref, France Télécom ne tire aucun intérêt de la nouvelle fiscalité et compte bien ne pas en payer seul les conséquences. L'opérateur envisage ainsi de répercuter l'Ifer sur les quelques 9 millions de lignes (au 30 juin 2009) qu'il loue à ses concurrents dans le cadre du dégroupage ADSL.
C'est là que Free et SFR, ses deux principaux clients (avec Completel, notamment), se réveillent. Le report de l'Ifer sur leurs activités provoquerait un trou de 88 millions d'euros (au total) dans leur comptabilité, toujours selon les calculs du quotidien économique. Soit l'équivalent de l'installation de 8 à 10 000 prises optiques de leurs réseaux de communication de nouvelle génération. Une perspective que les deux opérateurs ont du mal à envisager à l'heure où les modalités de déploiement des réseaux très haut débit sont enfin encadrées. Plus encore, la nouvelle taxe pourrait ressurgir sur les abonnés finaux à travers des augmentations tarifaires.
Le gouvernement pourrait donc être amené à revoir sa copie. L'Arcep (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes), qui a pris note des nouvelles charges qui pèseront sur France Télécom, a fait remonter la nouvelle équation aux services de l'Etat. D'autant que le régulateur serait tenté de soutenir France Télécom dans sa révision des tarifs de gros. Il va falloir faire vite. France Télécom doit prochainement publier ses nouvelles conditions tarifaires.

Monday, February 1, 2010

mozilla_firefox



Le navigateur web firefox est maintenant disponible en version d�finitive sur les terminaux mobiles Nokia N810 et N900