Rogue toilet takes out Norfolk server

The IT support chaps and chapesses among you doubtless have a few entertaining war stories regarding preposterous causes of system outages, and we'd like to offer you this fine Friday the tale of the cantankerous crapper and the company server.

Reader Stuart Drabble wrote to explain that in his almost 15 years of IT support, he'd "heard many horror stories which have caused servers to go down", but had never encountered an IT-busting toilet.

Earlier this week, Stuart's server monitoring software indicated that a client's box situated in a cabin in rural Norfolk had fallen over.

He rang to see what was going on, and was told that someone flushing the toilet had tripped the power to the entire building. Stuart wisely decided not to get his hands dirty, and left the matter to a plumbing SWAT team who eventually discovered that a pump in the company's cesspit was popping the fuses whenever anyone flushed the bog.

Cue a waste system purge in the hope that dislodging any stubborn solids in the pipework might solve the problem, although Stuart reported that it seemed likely someone might have to enter the merdurinous hellhole to confront the pump face-to-face.

Well, since we know you lot are sitting around today twiddling your thumbs while thirstily awaiting the arrival of pub-o'clock, why not put your time to constructive use and suggest alternative headlines for this improbable compooter* tale?

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Samsung will be 'more aggressive' in its patent battle with Apple

KOREAN ELECTRONICS FIRM Samsung has revealed that it plans to become "more aggressive" in its legal battle with rival Apple.

Apple sued Samsung in April, claiming it "slavishly" copied the designs for its Iphone and Ipad ranges. A number of subsequent lawsuits and complaints with trade organisations led to Samsung's Galaxy Tab being delayed in Australia and banned in Germany.

"We'll be pursuing our rights for this in a more aggressive way from now on," said Lee Younghee, head of global marketing for mobile communications at Samsung, in an interview with the Associated Press.

It is not exactly clear in what way Samsung will become more aggressive in these legal disputes, but likely it will involve a slew of new lawsuits, competition probes, and a stronger overall campaign to protect its product range, which has come under serious fire from Apple.

Younghee added that Apple was "free-riding" on Samsung's wireless communication technologies, suggested that it will launch another series of patent lawsuits against the company.

Of course, Samsung has engaged Apple head on pretty much from the start of the disputes. Within a week of Apple's initial lawsuit it countersued Apple over 10 patents, and the companies have been tit-for-tat suing each other ever since. Adding more lawsuits to the mix might not resolve things any faster, but a win in one region for Samsung could secure it a deal with Apple in another.

However, it's clear that so far Apple has been winning its cases, particularly in terms of the European market. Samsung will be aware of how this looks to the general public, so the intimation is that it has not been firing its heavy artillery so far, but will do so in the future.

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Microsoft releases Mango

Software giant Microsoft has started rolling out its update to Windows Phone.

Mango should be on handsets within two or three weeks which means that Vole will have hit its October deadline for the public release of the software update.

Carriers began testing the final version in July.

The news was announced in a tweet by Brandon Watson, who is in charge of apps and developers on Windows Phone at Microsoft.

"Boom... no more rumours. Mango to start rolling out on Windows Phone in just a week or two", he said.

Mango is important for Redmond. It brings in improvements and significantly expands the number of locations and languages where Windows Phone is available.

Because it comes out in this month, Nokia will be able to start offering its first smartphones based on Windows Phone from next month. The former rubber boot maker is betting the farm on Mango. Its CEO, Stephen Elop killed off Nokia's Symbian platform and to spurn Google's Android as if it were a rabid dog.

Writing from his bog, Eric Hautata, the general manager for customer experience engineering in the Windows Phone division, said that for months, Microsoft and its glorious allies have been laying the groundwork for the Windows Phone 7.5 update and making solid progress.

He warned impatient handset owners against installing unofficial or leaked copies of software claiming to be the update and that they should wait for the proper code to be delivered.

"During the official Windows Phone 7.5 update process, every Windows Phone will also receive software from the handset manufacturer. This matched and paired firmware has been painstakingly tuned so your phone, and apps, work with all the new features of Windows Phone 7.5. Since your phone requires the proper firmware to function as designed, my advice is simple: steer clear of bootleg updates and homebrew tools," he said.

Mango is the great white hope for Vole. Since Windows Phone was released it has failed to make a serious dent on the smartphone market. Despite good reviews it has only managed a 1.2 percent share, while other platforms have trounced it.

However, analysts and a number of carriers have expressed confidence that in time Windows Phone will hold a significant proportion of the market and will eventually over take Apple and Google's lead by 2015.

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Apple purchasing flash memory from Japan to reduce reliance on Samsung

Apple is increasing purchases of flash memory from Japanese suppliers in an effort to scale back its dependance on Samsung for components, as the two companies continue their legal dispute, a new report claims.

DigiTimes on Thursday cited industry sources as saying that Apple has tapped Toshiba and Elpida Memory for orders of DRAM and NAND flash.

"Apple has moved to reduce its reliance on memory supplies from Samsung Electronics, the sources claimed," the report read. "The vendor has procured more NAND flash parts from Toshiba, and mobile RAM from Elpida, the sources indicated."

The tipsters also suggested that the ongoing legal dispute between Apple and Samsung has been "key to encouraging" Apple to broaden its supplier base. According to the report, the Korean electronics giant has been the largest component supplier for Apple's products in the past.

Last week, reports emerged that Apple had signed a foundry agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to manufacture the next two generations of Apple processors. The deal has been viewed as a significant blow to Samsung, which was contracted to produce the A4 and A5 chips used to power Apple's iOS devices.

Apple is slated to be Samsung's largest customer this year with a projected $7.8 billion in parts, up from $5.7 billion in 2010. The company has become the world's largest consumer of memory chips in recent years as it incorporated flash storage into its products.

In 2005, Apple revealed that it had reached agreements with several flash suppliers, including Samsung, to pre-pay more than $1 billion to guarantee flash shipments through 2010. Earlier this year, then COO Tim Cook called the deal a "fantastic use of Apple's cash."

For its part, Samsung currently boasts a more than 40 percent share of the worldwide DRAM market and a 30 percent share of NAND flash production.

The disagreement between the two companies has heightened in recent months. According to Samsung executives speaking on condition of anonymity, the company is already planning to target the as-yet-unannounced iPhone 5 with patent infringement suits when it arrives in Korea. Another recent report said Samsung will also pursue legal action against Apple's next-generation handset in Europe.

Recent gains made by Apple in Australia have prompted Samsung to fight back with a countersuit against the iPhone and iPad. Apple also won a permanent ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany earlier this month after a court ruled that Samsung's tablet looks too similar to the iPad 2.

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Nintendo 3DS extended slide pad add-on, first hands-on

Nintendo may be AWOL on the TGS show floor (as usual), but that's not stopping Capcom from strutting the big-N's hardware in its stead -- we dropped by its booth for a gameplay-free handling of the 3DS extended slide pad add-on. The control-extending cradle is every bit as bulky as it looks, killing any hope we had of cramming the rig into our pocket. The trade-off? It's much more comfortable to hold than the naked 3DS, giving our meaty hands a smooth, contoured surface to grip. The new right-hand circle pad feels just as solid as the handheld's dedicated pad, and didn't significantly obstruct our access to the 3DS' face buttons. All in all, the cradle is a comfortable, if awkwardly large extension to the 3DS that doesn't seem to compromise the handheld's existing input. Hit up the gallery below to size up the plump peripheral for yourself.

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BMW shows off Concept e electric scooter and Husqvarna E-go motorcycle

The luxury automaker is taking on two-wheeled electric vehicles

Today at the Frankfurt Motor Show, automaker BMW demonstrated their dedication to electric vehicles by introducing a pair of zero-emission cycle concepts. Both vehicles are bold in terms of design, and BMW promises that along with their new-age appearance, they are made with the utmost in mobility in mind.

The first is a scooter named Concept e, an urban cycle with a futuristic design and vibrant green side panels. The Concept e features a shortened front windshield and acrylic glass battery covers. The driver is treated to readouts of speed and other vehicle essentials as well as a pair of LCD monitors near the handlebars that show live feeds of the road to the back and sides, negating the need for traditional mirrors. The Concept e can be completely recharged in less than 3 hours, and a full battery can power the sleek speedster for up to 60 miles.

While the Concept e is designed for an urban environment, the Husqvarna-branded Concept E-go is more at home on dirt. BMW bought Husqvarna four years ago, and the E-go is the electric cycle concept from the new BMW subsidiary. Designed to be light and fast, the E-go weighs in at just 176lbs. The single-seater is clearly targeted at young people, and BMW even likens driving the new bike on city streets to playing a video game.

No word on pricing or even the likelihood of the new concepts making it to dealerships has been revealed, but with electric vehicles already dotting the roadway, the "e" concepts may very well have an audience.

Husqvarna E-go electric motorcycle concept

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iPhones are for old people, says HTC exec

The Apple iPhone 4 may have been the must-have smartphone of the last year, but according to the US acting president of rival smartphone maker HTC, the kids aren't impressed. iPhones, he reckons, are for no longer cool.

Speaking at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Martin Fichter told delegates that he took an informal survey of his daughter's dormitory mates at Reed College in Portland. "None of them has an iPhone," Fichter said, "because they told me: 'My dad has an iPhone.' There's an interesting thing that's going on in the market. The iPhone becomes a little less cool than it was. They were carrying HTCs. They were carrying Samsungs. They were even carrying some Chinese manufacturer's devices."

"Macbook Airs are cool," Fichter went on. "iPhones are not that cool any more. We here are using iPhones, but our kids don't find them that cool any more."

HTC has been one of the market leaders among manufacturers using Apple iOS's chief rival, Google's Android mobile OS - and last year moved into the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 market. But the Taiwanese manufacturer isn't resting on its laurels, with recent reports that it plans to branch out with its own operating system, in an effort to reduce the company's reliance on Google and Microsoft.

With a total market share that currently stands at nine per cent and growing, HTC - along with Samsung - is one of the companies mounting the most serious challenge to the iconic Apple handset's dominance - but with his comments at MFF yesterday, Fichter is looking to strike at the very heart of Apple's sales pitch ahead of its expected launch of the iPhone 5 launch in October: the concept of cool.

Do you think that the iPhone has had its day? Or Fichter's attack no more than bluster ahead of another much-anticipated Apple refresh? Let us know in the comments below.

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New Operating System Being Born in Asia

US companies have been drifting away from PCs and towards mobile devices and gadgets lately, the same way demand for computers has been dropping, but this might have a fairly unexpected consequence, namely the rise of a new operating system.

Among the many things happening on the PC front, some are not very encouraging, like, as Gartner discovered, sales are going to slow down.

One consequence of this is the impending war over who gets most of the PC orders from India, or so reports say.

There is, however, another possible effect, one that is much more subtle, for now at least, and only a matter of speculation at present.

As Digitimes has it, the way the US has been laying off on the PC front might act as a signal for Asian countries to step up and take charge.

In fact, depending on how things go, and how much more prominent Asian companies get, they may consider creating an operating system of their own in the next 20 years or so.

At least, this is what Acer founder Stan Shih is reported to have said, pointing out that PCs are still irreplaceable tools.

Shih says that control of the IT market has already begun to pass over to Asia, where Japan and China have invested much in the field.

As such, it is quite possible that one or more companies will seriously start to work on the making of a new operating system.

Japan did experiment with the idea, but the software was only supported by local brand vendors and, thus, never reached any sort of global status or recognition, eventually failing altogether.

Then again, Taiwan, another major name on the IT market, doesn't actually have too big a reason to make an OS at all.

Still, it is a possibility that, whether co-developed with US companies or not, Asia will create a new operating system, one that will either coexist with or rival Microsoft's Windows.

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Real-life Angry Birds game created in China, Rovio in talks

 

If you don’t own a computer or smartphone but desperately want to play Angry Birds, there is now a solution – move to China.

A theme park in the city Changsha, Hunan province, has recently opened a real-life Angry Birds attraction. For this version, however, you need to do more than just swipe your fingers – physical strength is required.

The theme park’s bird-based attraction involves pulling back a real slingshot, enabling you to fire toy Angry Birds as big as your head toward those pesky pigs. And yes, they’re on a brick fortress that you can actually knock down, just like in the smartphone version of the ubiquitous game.

The new attraction can be found at the Window of the World theme park and was introduced as part of a month-long stress-reducing festival. The Angry Birds attraction is scheduled to be taken down at the end of this month, but it’s proving so popular that the park’s management are considering making it a permanent fixture – despite having no licensing rights from the makers of the original game, Rovio.

You might imagine that most companies, upon hearing about such a situation, would send the lawyers in to close it down. This doesn’t appear to be the case with Rovio.

Not one to ignore a marketing opportunity, the Finland-based game maker has reportedly opened negotiations with the theme park about the possibility of forming a long-term partnership.

Rovio is known to have big plans for the Asian country. Back in April, Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka spoke of “setting up a local operation [in China] and investing a lot into creating special versions of Angry Birds” for Chinese users. It also has plans to sell Angry Birds merchandise in 200 retail stores across the country.

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iPhone 5 factory churning out 4.5m phones per month

The iPhone 5 machine is fired up in full effect. Reports suggest Apple's Chinese manufacturer Foxconn is blasting out 150,000 phones per day, according to DigiTimes -- that's 4.5 million iPhones in September.

That's more than 18 million iPhones before the end of the year, if our calculations are correct. And that's not counting other manufacturers also contracted to Apple.

It's not clear whether the phones flying out of factories are the iPhone 5 or the rumoured cheaper version, whispered to be called the iPhone 4S.

Hopefully the troubled Foxconn has got over its recent problems, with accusations flying of poor working conditions, health hazards for staff and an explosion on the iPad 2 assembly line that killed three workers.

New iPhones have traditionally arrived in June at Apple's annual WWDC event for software developers. But this year Apple chose to focus on software, announcing iOS 5, iCloud and Lion but keeping schtum about the next iPhone. Since then the tension has ratcheted up to ear-popping levels, with rumours and gossip flying.

Now we know some of you are sick of hearing about the iPhone 5 -- and it isn't even out yet -- but it remains the most popular search term by a significant margin for readers coming to our humble site, so we're duty bound to bring you all the details we can about the hotly anticipated phone.

The latest titbit to sneak out from under the Apple news blockade is a photo apparently taken with an iPhone 5, perhaps using the phone's 8-megapixel camera. Meanwhile, an Apple employee reportedly lost an iPhone 5 prototype after a few bevies.

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HP TouchPad screen can now support Android

The HP TouchPad is now capable of running Android with full use of the touch screen, thanks to the technical team at TouchDroid.

Hard at work porting Android over to HP's discontinued but much-in-demand tablet, the TouchDroid techs were able to create the necessary drivers to coax Android 2.3.5 to run on the TouchPad and let people tap into the touch screen.

Unveiling a video (also seen below) showing off the team's progress, a TouchDroid developer demonstrated how he could fluidly and smoothly tap and move his finger around a TouchPad running Android with no delays or skips. He even demoed Android's multitouch feature, moving five fingers and then ten fingers across the screen.

Though TouchDroid is currently using Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread on its demo tablet, its ultimate goal is to support the current flavor of Honeycomb or even the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich on a TouchPad. The team seems to be making quick progress as a little more than two weeks ago, its developers were still trying to drum up a TouchPad that they could use for testing.

The latest development also follows a conflict among some of TouchDroid's members over soliciting money to buy TouchPads, an issue that actually split the group into two teams now working separately.

In addition to TouchDroid, another group called CyanogenMod is striving to port Android to the HP tablet. As of late August, the CyanogenMod team had succeeded in running Android on the TouchPad but had yet to build support for the touch-screen drivers.

HP's TouchPad has been a hot commodity since the company announced a few weeks ago that it was pulling the plug on the tablet. To sell off existing inventory, HP lowered the price to $99 for the 16GB version and $149 for the 32GB model, from $499 and $599, respectively. That fire sale ignited a flurry of buyers, causing HP and other retailers to quickly run out of available stock.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20102677-93/hp-touchpad-screen-can-now-support-android

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BlackBerry App World 3.0 out of beta and available for download

If you are the type of BlackBerry user that makes plenty use of applications, rejoice because the BlackBerry App World 3.0 is now out of beta mode and can be easily downloaded. The beta version of BlackBerry App World 3.0 was first released one month ago, and the official public release was announced today via twitter.

When comparing the beta version to the final one, there are quite a few smart changes such as the new channels in which you can search for specific applications, games, or themes. As well as the graphics and rotating banners displayed on the main screen of the App World that have also been improved.

One of the new features of version 3.0 is “My World” that makes life easier to users when it comes to tasks related to content subscription and managing all the applications. Another new detail is the ability to share the favorite applications via BlackBerry Messenger, Twitter, Facebook, or email.

This fresh version is already available to download online at RIM and the requirements include access to the BlackBerry Browser, the BlackBerry Device Software 4.5, and a trackpad/trackball.

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FujiFilm Launches Latest FinePix T 200 Digital Camera

FUJIFILM India Pvt. Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holding Corporation, Japan, has introduced FinePix T 200 – a super slim digital camera.

FinePix T 200 is a special treat for the younger generation that wants both style and latest technology in gadgets. FinePix T 200 is fulfills this criteria easily. Light weight and chic, the compact camera fits in your pocket or purse effortlessly! You would love to take this camera along with you on family tours and picnics. FinePix T 200 is available in Gun metal and Black colors only.

T 200 has an impressive 14 megapixel resolution that won’t miss the finest details of your subject. Images are captured sharp, clear and in vivid colors, even when printed at large sizes. It is a highly sensitive camera with maximum sensitivity of ISO3200 resulting in photos appear natural and more true to life even with limited available light.

Irrespective of your photography skills you will find FinePix T 200 could be the perfect camera for you! T 200 packs in easy-to-use intelligent shooting modes and a host of scene positions such as portrait, baby mode, smile detection, motion panorama, landscape and many others.

Besides taking alluring photographs, its powerful High Definition (HD) feature enables you to shoot movies in HD format (16:9) with ease. The camera’s compatibility with HD television lets you discover the impact of full-screen HDTV image display. The camera can be yours for a price of Rs 10,999/- (MRP).

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New program makes it easier to turn your computer into a conversational chatterbox

We've already seen how awkward computers can be when they try to speak like humans, but researchers from North Carolina State and Georgia Tech have now developed a program that could make it easier to show them how it's done. Their approach, outlined in a recently published paper, would allow developers to create natural language generation (NLG) systems twice as fast as currently possible. NLG technology is used in a wide array of applications (including video games and customer service centers), but producing these systems has traditionally required developers to enter massive amounts of data, vocabulary and templates -- rules that computers use to develop coherent sentences. Lead author Karthik Narayan and his team, however, have created a program capable of learning how to use these templates on its own, thereby requiring developers to input only basic information about any given topic of conversation. As it learns how to speak, the software can also make automatic suggestions about which information should be added to its database, based on the conversation at hand. Narayan and his colleagues will present their study at this year's Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment conference in October, but you can dig through it for yourself, at the link below.

source:North Carolina State University (1)

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Lost iPhone 5 saga: SF police say they assisted Apple on investigation

San Francisco police said that the department worked with Apple investigators to track down an iPhone prototype. No report was filed though.

The San Francisco Police Department said Saturday that it assisted Apple investigators in their search for a missing iPhone 5 prototype.

On Friday, it appeared that Apple investigators conducted a search without police and may have impersonated law enforcement officers. SF Weekly reported that the SFPD had no record of the Apple lost iPhone. CNET reported that the iPhone prototype was missing earlier this week.

There’s a reason for the lack of recordkeeping: Apple didn’t want to make an official report. If Apple filed a report it would be the equivalent of publicly acknowledging it lost a prototype phone.

The SFPD said in a statement:

After speaking with Apple representatives, we were given information which helped us determine what occurred. It was discovered that Apple employees called Mission Police station directly, wanting assistance in tracking down a lost item. Apple had tracked the lost item to a house located in the 500 block of Anderson Street. Because the address was in the Ingleside Police district Apple employees were referred to Officers in the Ingleside district. Four SFPD Officers accompanied Apple employees to the Anderson street home. The two Apple employees met with the resident and then went into the house to look for the lost item. The Apple employees did not find the lost item and left the house.

The Apple employees did not want to make an official report of the lost item.

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Microsoft Releases Xbox 360 Limited Edition Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Console

At the Call Of Duty XP event held in Los Angeles on Friday, Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Console and two limited edition Modern Warfare 3 themed accessories.

This limited edition console includes a customized console with graphics from the game, along with two custom wireless controllers, a 320GB hard drive, a copy of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," as well as custom sounds when the console is turned on.

A one month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription to Xbox LIVE is included, as well as exclusive avatar items that show your Xbox LIVE friends you?re one of the lucky ones to own this console.

The console will launch on November 8, 2011 in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and EMEA for $399 (U.S. ERP).

In addition to the console, Xbox 360 will be releasing two limited edition accessories, both shipping to stores October 11:

The Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Wireless Headset with Bluetooth provides the ability to chat with friends during multi-player game play or with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, PCs and other devices. Its artwork matches the custom console and includes a charging cradle, ear loop, ear gels, and an Xbox LIVE token for an exclusive download for $69.99 (U.S ERP).

The Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Wireless Controller allows you to show all your friends your passion for the franchise. The controller includes exclusive artwork and a transforming D-pad that can be rotated to adapt to the user?s game play, as well as an Xbox LIVE token for an exclusive download, for $59.99 (U.S. ERP)

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Free CryEngine soars past 300,000 downloads

Crytek boss excited to see what indies will do with the SDK

The free-to-use CryEngine 3 SDK has been downloaded more than 300,000 times since its release in August, according to company data.

Crytek’s Ferrari-like engine reached the milestone just three weeks, showing that its record-breaking download rate has not slowed. The SDK had passed 100,000 installs in less than a week since launch.

“It’s great news for us, and it seems like global coverage, not just Europe-heavy,” Crytek co-founder Avni Yerli told Develop. “It’s being picked up equally across the US, Europe and Asia.”

Before it was released for free, studios needed to pay for a licence agreement to use Crytek's flagship engine. The CryEngine 3 SDK relaxes those restraints by allowing anyone with a PC to download it for free. A licence deal is only arranged if the user decides to build a commercial PC project.

The ‘free unlimited trial’ strategy has proven successful for rival engine vendors such as Unity and Epic Games. The idea is to generate developer interest in the tech and monetise only from those who want to build commercial projects. Crytek, for example, will take a 20 per cent cut of revenue from PC projects made through the SDK. Making it free, the theory goes, should encourage more people to choose the engine for commercial projects.

Yerli said a key reason for the free engine’s popularity is its wider applications for things like training simulations, architecture simulation programs and other Serious games projects.

“While we have been contacted by a lot of game developers, we also have people from outside gaming that want to use the engine,” he said.

“But of course we hope indies will have great ideas and use the engine and we can’t wait to see them make really innovate games. That’s going to be really fun.”

When Epic Games released its own free UDK in 2009, the engine was installed about 50,000 times in its first week. The engine now boasts 900,000 unique installs, Epic said, with total download rates even higher.

The Unity Engine, meanwhile, had been downloaded about 20,000 times in the first two weeks since it launched as free tech.

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Amazon’s 7″ tablet said to run $250, arrive in November, with fully-custom Android

If there was ever a chance to give a true competitor to the iPad, it is in the hands of Amazon. According to what we’re seeing about Amazon’s upcoming 7-inch tablet, it could be just the thing to do that.

TechCrunch reports that the 7-inch tablet will launch in November, running a fully custom version of Android. In fact, it’s reported that it’s obvious that Amazon is “not working with Google on this. At all.”

So a 7-inch, Android-powered tablet, put out by somewhere that sells books. Sound familiar? It should. This isn’t Amazon’s iPad competitor, it’s the company’s Nook-killer.

Siegler reports that Google is nowhere to be found

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Samsung avoids webOS

It was rumored that Samsung might be digging into their cash reserves to bring webOS, the failed platform from HP, under their wings. Well, good thing Samsung CEO Choi Gee Sung decided to rubbish such rumors at IFA 2011 in Berlin that the South Korean company would “never” pursue a deal.
While it seems that “acquiring an operating system is becoming a fashion”, Samsung themselves have their own Bada mobile operating system that will make an appearance across three Bada 2.0 smartphones to boot, will be working to boost their own software capability instead of concentrating on something else which is not part of the company’s DNA.
What do you think? Is Samsung (or any other company for that matter) better off by not taking over webOS where HP left it, or will the acquisition add more value to a company, depending what they decide to do with it?

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Technology report / CNN buys iPad ezine Zite, which customizes by topic

CNN has acquired Zite, an iPad service that learns about readers' tastes and customizes a digital magazine with stories from hundreds of different websites.

CNN, a cable news channel owned by Time Warner Inc., has no plans to change Zite's format, said K.C. Estenson, general manager of CNN's digital division.

"This is a product that people love," Estenson said. "It just needs to be in the hands of more people."

Zite delivers different editions to different readers based on their individual interests. After downloading Zite's free iPad application, readers can specify certain topics they want to read about, such as stories about the Pittsburgh Steelers or Lady Gaga. The magazine is programmed to learn more about readers over time, based on the kinds of stories they tend to click on.

The same technology may be used to help CNN customize its news on the iPad and other mobile devices, Estenson said.

Comcast offers low-cost Internet access

Fulfilling a pledge to the federal government when it acquired NBC Universal Inc., Comcast Corp. is launching a program to offer $9.95-a-month Internet service for low-income families with school children.

David Cohen, an executive vice president and the chief proponent of Internet Essentials inside the cable company, said Tuesday that Comcast has been rolling out the Internet Essentials program nationally in its cable-TV franchises. The program will be available to 2.5 million to 3 million children in the United States.

Qualifying for the service is simple, company officials say. Children eligible for free lunches under the federal National School Lunch Program also qualify for Internet Essentials. In an attempt to inform parents about the program, thousands of school districts have been asked to distribute pamphlets about Internet Essentials in packets sent home with children.

Along with the discounted monthly Internet service, Comcast will provide qualifying families with a voucher that enables them to purchase a $150 Internet-ready laptop computer from Dell or Acer.

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