Comcast to Offer HBO Cable Package with Internet

Comcast subscribers will soon be able to buy HBO cable package with Internet access.

HBO, an American premium cable and satellite television network, announced Friday on its website that it will start offering a cable package which includes 10 channels plus Internet access for as low as $50 per month.

The Time Warner-owned company decided to launch the new offering to attract more subscribers. The new package targets those who couldn’t afford HBO. Generally, a monthly HBO subscription is bundled with a pricier package with hundreds of channels. The “Internet Plus” service is almost 50 percent cheaper than the HBO Go package.

Facebook Revokes Ban on Beheading Videos

Multiple reports, including from the BBC and CNN, are suggesting that Facebook has given users the green light to once again post graphic videos of beheadings to the social network.

The BBC, which originally reported the change, wrote that Facebook "confirmed it now believed its users should be free to watch and condemn such videos."

SEE ALSO: Facebook: Here's How Your News Feed Works

Facebook had temporarily banned decapitation videos in May, and it appears that the social network lifted that ban after taking a few months to review and decide upon the best policy. The BBC was alerted by a reader when video of a woman being beheaded surfaced on the social network last week. Users pleaded in the comments for Facebook to remove the video, which led the BBC to investigate.

Facebook did not immediately return our request for comment.

The report has sparked controversy among users, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who tweeted Tuesday that the content could have a negative impact on those who see it.

Microsoft's Surface 2 midnight launch has everything: Except Buyers

SAN FRANCISCO -- Though Apple is sure to dominate the news cycle with the rollout of new iPads on Tuesday, Microsoft didn't want the coinciding launch of its Surface 2 tablet to go uncelebrated. So it went ahead and decided to throw a simultaneous nationwide in-store launch event -- as is now the fashion with high profile hardware launches these days.

Though unlike its Cupertino competitor, Microsoft's event didn't drive droves of people to pull out their wallets when the clock ticked twelve. In fact, nearly no one I talked with was interested in buying the Surface 2 tonight.

For the company on the verge of a CEO changeover and maneuvering the aftermath of its $7.2 billion Nokia acquisition, the launch of the Surface marks a time when Microsoft is looking to stand steady on its feet and tout its strengths. It's also an opportunity to play up the cool factor it hopes its tablet line can embody and exemplify.

Google Glass competitor: Microsoft

Microsoft is reportedly testing prototypes for Internet-connected eyewear similar to Google Glass. The Wall Street Journal's unnamed sources "familiar with the matter" offered no further details about  the prototypes but noted the company’s ambition to compete with Google, Samsung, and Apple on devices.

There’s also no indication of how far along the project is at this point but it’s clear Microsoft doesn’t want to be late to the party in case Google Glass actually takes off. Right now, the latter has seen a limited rollout aimed at developers and early adopters with a $1,500 Explorer edition unit. A more consumer and presumably wallet friendly variant could arrive at some point in 2014 but there’s nothing official from Google yet.

This isn't the first time we've heard of Microsoft’s interest in this still-nascent segment. Early Xbox One documentsleaked last year pointed to some form of augmented reality glasses known internally as Project Fortaleza. The company also filed a patent application towards the end of 2012 for a head-mounted system that combines an integrated camera with a transparent display for overlaying information on objects within the user's field of view.

In both cases it seems the devices are not intended to be used throughout the day as you are getting around -- like Google Glass is. The first is probably related to gaming applications, while the one described in the patent is meant to be used at live events like sports games or concerts for things like live stats and real-time translation of speech or text. The company is likely considering all sorts of approaches before moving beyond concept stage.

Blackberry resumes BBM rollout for Android and iPhone

Blackberry has resumed a phased rollout of its BBM messaging app for Android and Apple devices after September's botched launch.

The free app is now available for download on Google Play, the App Store and selected Samsung App Stores.

But users had to register an email address after downloading the app then wait in line until they were told they could begin using it, Blackberry said.

Last month Blackberry had to delay the launch after the software was leaked.

The company said that "in just seven hours [following the leak], about one million Android users were using the unreleased version of BBM for Android".

Apple unveils slew of new iPads, MacBooks, Mac Pro, and apps

ome Apple events—such as the one in September where company introduced its new iPhone 5s and 5c—are focused: They spend a lot of time talking about just a couple of new products. Others are more scattershot, blasting the expectant audience with one new product after another. Apple’s Tuesday event was definitely one of the latter.

The company unveiled a brand new iPad model (the iPad Air), and added a Retina screen and an A7 processor to the iPad mini. It announced an updated line of Retina MacBook Pros while also naming December as the a shipping month for its new Mac Pro (the black cylinder that looks like it belongs on Darth Vader’s desktop). It showed off updated iLife and iWork suites for the Mac, iOS, and iCloud.com. And it announced that the latest version of OS X—Mavericks—would be available immediately after the event, and for free.

iPad Air

Contrary to rumor, there was no iPad 5 at Tuesday’s event. Rather, there’s a completely new iPad model: the iPad Air. As you might guess from the name, it’s significantly thinner than its already-skinny predecessor, while also getting a bit of a speed bump.

IMAGE: APPLE

The iPad Air

The new model is 20 percent thinner than the fourth-generation model, and 0.4 pounds lighter (weighing an even one pound). In addition, while the iPad Air has the same 9.7-inch Retina display as its full-sized predecessor, the bezel around that screen is much smaller: 43 percent thinner than previous generation.

But inside that slimmed-down chassis rests the new 64-bit A7 chip (first seen in the iPhone 5s) and M7 co-processor. Apple says the new processors provide twice the CPU and graphics performance as the previous model, all while retaining a 10-hour battery life. Among the other new features Apple touted include faster 802.11n Wi-Fi with MIMO support; expanded LTE networks; improved FaceTime and iSight cameras; and dual mics for better Siri and audio capture.

Both Wi-Fi and LTE models of iPad Air will start shipping November 1 in silver/white and space gray/black color choices. They’ll cost the same as the iPad models they replace: $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi and $629 for 16GB Wi-Fi plus Cellular, with storage options up to 128GB. The full-size iPad 2 remains in Apple’s lineup at $399 for a 16GB Wi-Fi version.

Dell's Venue Android and Windows 8.1 tablets, updated XPS 15 laptops now aAVAILABLE!!!!

Dell introduced the latest updates to its portable portfolio a couple of weeks ago, and now the company has announced that many of them are ready to order on its website. 

For those in the market for a new tablet, the resurrected Venue line (once the name for a Dell smartphone) that is currently available includes the Android-based Venue 7 and 8 and the Venue 8 Pro, which runs the new Windows 8.1 and will feature Intel's quad-core Bay Trail Atom processor. As shown above, you can also purchase a stylus for the Venue 8 Pro, which is a $34.99 option.

The Venue 8 Pro starts at $299.99, which seems to be the lowest price for the slew of new 8-inch Windows 8.1 tabletsabout to hit the market.The Venue 7 costs $149.99 for 16GB, while you'll pay an extra $30 for the additional inch of display with the Venue 8. You can also get a 32GB version of the Venue 8 for $199.99.

The Venue 11 Pro is slated for release next month.

That's also true for the XPS 11 and updated XPS 13, but the XPS 15 refresh is available now. (Here is the product page, as it's currently tricky to find on the Dell site.) Keeping the MacBook Pro squarely in its sights, the new XPS 15 offers Intel Haswell processors and runs Windows 8.1, but its big selling point is the super-high-res 3,200 x 1,800 15.6-inch touchscreen.

Of course, you'll pay for the extra pixels. The base XPS 15 is $1,499.99, but its display is a "mere" 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. You'll need to pay $400 more for a configuration with the Quad HD+ display. For $400 more than that ($2,299.99), you get a 512GB solid-state drive.

A Play Store Newsstand app : Google Play Store

The Play Store is set to undergo a few changes, and news this afternoon suggests some new media content. While Play Magazines has long been a middle-of-the-road option when compared to similar services on other platforms, Android Police is reporting that it could be changing for the better.

In their ongoing teardown of Play Store APKs, the team over at AP found mention of Google Play News a few months back. While nothing came of it, this recent teardown of Play Store 4.4 reveals several mentions of Google Play Newsstand. This hints at a long-rumored digital news service, much like Play Magazines. If the code is unchanged, we may also get the same service we saw with Play Music All Access.

With All Access, we were treated to a free trial before deciding whether or not to take the plunge and subscribe. It seems that Google Play Newsstand may offer the same kind of free trial. What lefts to be known is whether or not it’s a one-price unlimited news aggregate like All Access is for music.

If it is, news that they could couple a news service with Play Magazines is their saving grace. Of course, which partners they have on-board for any service is what will drive it. As great as All Access is, it can leave users wanting compared to competing services. With the proliferation of information sharing across the web, we’re left to wonder just how Google plans to make this worthwhile to consumers.

Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s ready for prime time, either. We would like to see it come to light with Android 4.4, but we’re not holding out hope just yet. It’s in the code, and obviously ready to launch, but we saw this with Play News months ago, so we’ll wait to hear something official before speculating much more.

Chromecast app now available Internationally

While Google’s recently launched Chromecast dongle was compatible within the U.S., global customers weren’t able to make full use of it as the accompanying app wasn’t supported elsewhere. But it has now come to notice that these restrictions might have been lifted by Google, thus allowing customers to download the app outside the U.S. as well. This is very good news for customers who imported a Chromecast dongle to their home region. However, while the app is available everywhere now, the dongle still remains an exclusive in the U.S. But thanks to third party retailers like Amazon, the dongle has reached every corner of the world.

With the availability of the app extended to other regions, Google could be possibly planning to launch the Chromecast dongle on a wider scale as well. If you’re new to the idea of Chromecast, it is basically a media streaming device which connects to a television through HDMI. Users can stream content using the Chrome browser on their computers or dedicated apps on their mobile devices (Android or iOS).

Beware: Yes, Apple and the NSA Can Read Your iMessages

Security experts have long suspected that iMessage is not as safe and impenetrable as Appleclaims. But a group of researchers says it has proof that Apple can indeed eavesdrop on your iMessages — and the NSA can, too.

The researchers, through a careful and thorough study of the iMessage protocol, conclude that Apple has the ability to intercept and decrypt iMessages. Even though the messages are encrypted end-to-end, Apple manages the keys needed to encrypt and exchange the messages, the researchers found.

"Yes, there is end-to-end encryption as Apple claims, but the weakness is in the key infrastructure as it is controlled by Apple: They can change a key anytime they want, thus read the content of our iMessages," reads a blog post published on Thursday by Cyril Cattiaux, an iOS jailbreak hacker known as "pod2g," and "gg" (who doesn't want to reveal his full name), two security researchers who exclusively shared the post in advance with Mashable.

UPDATE — Oct. 18, 10:33 a.m.: Apple says the issue uncovered by the security researchers is just theoretical, and that the iMessage system is not designed to allow Apple to eavesdrop on its users' communications.

"iMessage is not architected to allow Apple to read messages," says Trudy Muller, an Apple spokesperson. "The research discussed theoretical vulnerabilities that would require Apple to re-engineer the iMessage system to exploit it, and Apple has no plans or intentions to do so."

The researchers discovered that when an Apple device sends an iMessage to another device, instead of exchanging the encryption keys directly — as other encryption apps do — the keys are managed by a directory called "ESS server.

Facebook Bought a Little Company

 highlights the recent purchase of Onavo, a small Israeli mobile app maker, snapped up by none other than social giant Facebook. Onavo, known for its line of mobile apps, has likely been favored for one popular creation in particular. The app directs its user's web traffic through Onavo's encrypted proxy servers, where the files that make up visited sites get compressed and optimized, then sent to the user's phone in a much more efficient, smaller data package.

The price tag for Onavo? Between $150 - $200 Million, according to VentureBeat. So what's the big deal here?

Most analysts appear to be reviewing the data compression app on its face value; after all, an app that can send the same websites to your mobile device while taking a smaller bite out of your expensive data plan deserves attention. But is Facebook's Onavo buy all about helping those with tight monthly mobile budgets?

There may be far-sighted moves going on in this purchase, making it an absolute steal for Facebook, and positioning CEO Zuckerberg to grab an insight into an enormous chunk of the Internet's traffic. Here's how:

Facebook could choose to integrate Onavo's technology into a mobile web search engine and/or browsing interface, offering its users a faster web experience and longer data plan life. The price? The traffic for your mobile browsing has to go through Facebook's servers.

With a larger share of Internet traffic being handled through mobile devices each passing day and over a billion Facebook users worldwide, there's an instant global audience for any process that could speed traffic up and save expensive data. As VentureBeat reminds, us, however, at what privacy-related price?

Windows 8.1 and a ton of apps

If you are a Windows 8 user, then you should have no problem with the new version of Windows. 8.1 is the first update since Windows 8 hit the market, and boasts a ton of app updates and some other interesting features. First, you'll want to head over to Microsoft and find the update. Or if you aren't a Windows user or still rocking XP, then do absolutely nothing.

If you can't manage to instal new software yourself, head over to your local Staples where their EasyTech employees will install Windows 8.1 for a small fee. Related, Staples is already advertising their incoming stock of Surface Pro tablets, starting at $999 for the 128GB model in-store and online October 22nd. If you already have your Surface device, or a laptop running Windows 8, then installing 8.1 should be just a click of the button. Of course, then you may have to reinstall your apps if you had the 8.1 preview, or reinstall 8, then install 8.1. Hence why some people are content to pay a fee to figure it out.

The Mail, Calendar, Xbox Music, Movie Moments, SmartGlass and Fresh Paint apps have gotten overhauled. The Fresh Paint update includes the ability to print your painting to an actual canvas. There are many more app upgrades, including a place in the Microsoft store just for Windows 8.1 specific apps.

Windows 8 was a very controversial product for Microsoft, as they tried to appease both the tablet and the PC market with a hybrid operating system. While it works fantastic on tablets, it can be a little heavy on the PC. Without the touch, the apps are basically useless and all you need is the desktop. Recognizing this ridiculous inability to adapt to the future of computing and responsive operating systems, users should be happy by the reappearance of the start button in the lower left hand corner. Because it was so difficult to pull up the start menu with a click.

Back on action

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Android Payments Snarl Spurs Uprising!!

Lauren Azulay wants to help her customers flirt faster. Azulay is head of billing and payments for U.K.-based social-networking site Flirtomatic, used by 3 million people in Britain, the U.S., and Germany to meet others and purchase virtual goods online.

For the growing number of Web surfers who use the service via mobile phones, making payments on Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is a breeze, Azulay says. Not so when it comes to devices that run Google's (GOOG) Android operating system. "It's a huge frustration," Azulay says.

With the iPhone, it takes a single click, using a credit card linked to an iTunes account. On Android, purchasers have to enter a credit-card number directly on the phone, via Google's payment service, Google Checkout, or use account with eBay's PayPal (EBAY) , which requires entering a user name and password. "All of these options rely on the user having to enter too many details," Azulay says. "They create a funnel where they give up on the process because it takes too much time and effort."

Google 'mortified' that Street View cars privacy criticism intensifies

t turns out Google’s Street View cars found out more about Internet users than previously acknowledged. Last Friday, the company said the cars, which roam the world taking pictures for its location-based applications, scarfed up e-mail addresses, URLs and passwords from residential Wi-Fi networks they passed by in dozens of countries.

And while Google said it was "mortified" by its discovery, apologized again, and announced some measures to beef up privacy awareness within its ranks, the admission could expose the company to greater global scrutiny, fines and potential lawsuits, experts said.

Over the weekend, the British government launched a fresh investigation into the Street Cars data breach. Italy demanded that Google give residents several days notice before its cars roam their neighborhoods, Reuters reported. Regulators in France, Germany and Spain have begun inverstigations of their own. More than 30 state attorneys general in the United States also have launched a joint probe. And Epic, a privacy advocacy group, urged the Federal Communications Commission to initiate a breach of privacy investigation of Wi-Fi communications networks.

Sony says NO to cassette walkman

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Sony Walkman: The Walkman, the clunky portable cassette player, has been named the best musical invention of the last 50 years, by a leading gadget magazine.
The cassette-based Walkman was hugely popular in the 1908s, but was superseded by CD, miniDisc and MP3 players Photo: AFP

Sony has signalled the end of an era by ceasing production of its Walkman range of portable cassette music players.

The personal music devices – which were hugely popular in the 1980s, and enabled people to listen to their music on the move – have since lost out to iPods and other MP3 music players that use digital tracks rather than physical media.

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Sony said that its April shipment will be its last. The Japanese electronics giant has sold more than 200 million Walkmans since the device first went on sale in 1979.

Although the Walkman was superseded by Sony’s portable CD player, the Discman, and its range of miniDisc players, the Walkman still sold in modest numbers until the turn of the century, when the introduction of the iPod, and the shift towards MP3 files rather than cassettes and CDs, contributed to the Walkman’s demise.

Sony said that it would continue to sell some cassette Walkmans in parts of Asia and the Middle East where there remains some demand, and the Walkman brand lives on as part of Sony Ericsson’s range of music phones, as well as new digital music players.

The Walkman was the brainchild of Nobutoshi Kihara, an engineer in the audio division at Sony. He had been asked by his chairman, Akio Morita, to design a device that would help the executive to pass the time on his frequent business trips, and enable him to listen to his favourite operas.

YAHOOOO>>> i Phone 3 G

This Friday at 8 AM local time, Apple will unleash the iPhone 3G upon the world. As anticipation builds, the new few days are sure to be chock-full of information and maybe even a few surprises.

Amazingly, in some of the larger markets such as New York City, lines started forming a week in advance. Starting today those dedicated souls will have some eye candy as Apple is rolling out its new iPhone 3G window displays, according to Gizmodo. If you’d like an iPhone 3G a few days early, you can get one — but it’ll be three feet tall.

Interestingly, this display does not appear to be running the 2.0 software yet (though it does have the 3G icon in the signal bar). As you can see in the picture below, the contact area has no search functionality (a feature of the 2.0 software). Could Apple be waiting to update these displays to hide a few final surprises it has in store for the roll-out?

The 2.0 software is somewhat of a mystery in and of itself. When Apple indicated at the WWDC event that it, along with the App Store, would be available in early July, many assumed that meant it would launch on July 11 as well. However, some are suggesting it could launch a bit earlier, perhaps as early as tomorrow.

This is certainly a possibility. After all, you don’t need an iPhone 3G to use the 2.0 software or App Store. The first generation iPhone and the iPod Touch device will be upgradeable. And we know the 2.0 software is complete. Perhaps Apple will give the early-adopters a “gift” in releasing it to them a few days early?

The deadline to submit applications for inclusion in the App Store launch passed at noon today. Though Apple appears to have many of these developers on lock-down, afraid to talk about their apps, we can probably expect to start hearing about quite a few of them in the coming days.

Like any rational human being, I’ll probably hold off on waiting in line — until the night before. Given the fact that every iPhone must now be activated in stores (likely adding at least 15 minutes per person to the buying process), this year’s lines may make last year’s look like the ones for an amusement park ride on a rainy day.

iPhone 3G launch day is Friday

The new model is expected to appeal to a wider audience than the first iPhone did because of the lower barrier to entry presented by the $199 price tag and the faster networking connection that will suck in those of us who couldn't imagine trying to surf the Web on an EDGE chip. Are new iPhone owners-to-be the types of people who enjoy being part of an Apple product launch, or would they rather just pick up the new phone on their lunch break and be done with it? function

Here's what you need to know if you're thinking about picking up an iPhone 3G this weekend.

When and where does the iPhone 3G go on sale?

In the United States, you'll be able to buy the iPhone 3G starting at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, July 11, at your local Apple or AT&T retail store. If you're outside the States, it depends; some countries, such as the United Kingdom, are launching on the 11th but at slightly different times, while others are waiting a week or two.

Is there going to be a long line like last year?

Probably. The lines might not stretch as long as they did last year, but lines for Apple products and shows aren't so much about the products or events themselves; many times, people view the line-waiting experience as a community gathering of like-minded souls who want to be a part of something Apple-related. I'm sure that there are people who will want to be able to say they were first to buy both the original iPhone and the second-generation model, just as there are people ruing the fact that they missed out on all the fun of the original "iPhone Day."

At least a few people will camp out for the chance to buy the iPhone 3G on day 1.

(

Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com) It looks like there 's going an additional twist this year, at least in New York. Over the holiday weekend, a publicity-minded group of environmental activists decided to use the iPhone launch to promote their own causes. It's an election year, too; will we see McCain and Obama activists promoting their candidate in front of a captive audience? Who knows.

No matter who's in the crowd, the launch experience this time around is going to be very different, however, because Apple and AT&T are requiring iPhone buyers to activate their iPhones in the store--and because of the morning start time.

Why are the companies requiring in-store activation? That's not what my friend/sister/cousin/third baseman had to do last year when she bought an iPhone.

Apple and AT&T spoiled iPhone customers last year with the at-home activation policy that allowed them to rush into the stores, buy the iPhone, and activate it later in the comfort of their homes: a few glitches notwithstanding. In-store activation is a standard operation for most new phones, however, and it's going to be the way the iPhone 3G is released to the world. There is one main reason for this: AT&T wants to cut down on the number of iPhones that are bought for the sole purpose of unlocking them and reselling them overseas, so it's going to make sure that people commit to a two-year contract with early-termination fees before they take the phone home.

In addition, Apple appears to have taken the extra step of "bricking" all iPhone 3Gs before they arrive at retail stores, so the phones have to be both "unbricked," or essentially turned on, as well as activated to run on AT&T's network.

That sounds like it's going to take a while.

It probably will. Last year, the at-home activation scheme allowed Apple to admit iPhone shoppers into its stores 25 at a time, and it meant that store employees just had to hand out iPhones and swipe credit cards. You could have walked into the downtown San Francisco Apple store last year an hour after the iPhone went on sale at 6 p.m. and picked up a unit without having to wait in line for a few days.

Apple employees get ready to welcome the first iPhone shoppers inside the downtown San Francisco store last year.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)

This time, store employees will have to sign up new customers for AT&T's service, do a credit check, go over the paperwork for the new two-year contract, explain the early-termination fees, and go through the physical process of both unbricking and activating the iPhone 3G.

That could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes per customer, depending on the nature of the transaction; current AT&T customers will probably find it faster than new customers will. The companies have likely given this some thought, and will no doubt put their employees through some intense training in the days ahead of the launch. But, as they say, they play the games for a reason.

I still want one, anyway. How much is this going to cost me?

It depends. If you bought an original iPhone, or if you're a brand-new AT&T customer, the iPhone 3G will cost you $199 for the 8GB model or $299 for the 16GB model--far cheaper than the opening price last year. If you're a current AT&T customer but you don't have an iPhone, the price you pay depends on whether you are eligible to purchase another subsidized phone. Generally speaking, the longer yo

u've been with AT&T using your current phone, the more likely you are to be eligible for the upgrade price, but check with your local representative to be sure. If you're not eligible for the upgrade price, you'll pay $399 for the 8GB model and $499 for the 16GB model.

This time around, you'll also have the option of buying an iPhone without having to commit to two years of service from AT&T. That option is pricey, however: $599 for the 8GB model, or $699 for the 16GB model.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog notes that at those prices, you could buy the regular model for $199, fork over the activation fees, pay for one month of service, cancel that service, and fork over the early-termination fees and still save money as compared to buying the $599 model. You'd still have to unlock your iPhone 3G in order to make it useful at all, however, and whether that will be as easy to do with this model as it was with the original remains to be seen.

No, I meant, how much is it going to cost me over the long run?

You've got several options for monthly plans, but in short, it's going to cost more than the original iPhone did on a monthly basis. The combination voice-and-data plans are running at least $10 more a month than the original plans, and perhaps more, depending on your addiction to text messaging.

How many iPhone 3Gs will sell in the first weekend? Last year, Apple sold 270,000 in just two days.

(Credit: Apple)

So if I want an iPhone 3G, will I have to line up to ensure that I get one this month?

Last year, there was enough supply to make it most of the way through the first weekend, before the iPhone became really hard to find. This year, expect something similar. Apple hasn't shipped an original iPhone since the middle of May, giving itself plenty of time to start building up the supply of iPhone 3Gs.

With no online-ordering option available--at least in the U.S.--your only option will be to visit an Apple or AT&T store, if you want an iPhone 3G. What will those stores look like on Friday morning? This is hard to predict for stores in urban areas like New York and San Francisco.

If everybody freaks out about the in-store activation process and decides to wait a few weeks, it could be really easy to get an iPhone 3G on Friday. If everybody thinks that the concerns about the lines are overblown and heads to a store on Friday, the activation process could ensure that you're in for quite a wait. Those of you in smaller cities and towns probably won't have the same issue, but your local stores probably won't get as many iPhones as the big guys, either.

Don't be surprised to see long lines outside Apple and AT&T stores during the day on Friday. The interesting question this time around is whether iPhone 3G early adopters can waltz into the stores with the same ease as last year, or whether "iPhone Day: The Sequel" resembles the wait for "It's A Small World" at Disneyland.

Icann Blames June Site Hijack on Registrar

Although it did not name the registrar explicitly, according to WHOIS searches, New York-based Register.com manages the domains that were redirected, as well as the primary icann.org and iana.org domains.

Two weeks ago, Turkish hackers rerouted traffic to some of the domains used by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and one of its subsidiary organizations, IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority).

Visitors who intended to reach iana.com, iana-servers.com, icann.com and icann.net on June 26 were instead shunted to an illegitimate destination, which displayed a taunting message: "You think that you control the domains but you don't! Everybody knows wrong. We control the domains including ICANN! Don't you believe us?"

Through its IANA subsidiary organization, ICANN manages the DNS root zone and assigns the DNS operators for the Internet's top-level domains, such as .com and .org. DNS, which translates the domains and URLs such as computerworld.com into IP addresses, is a critical component of the Web's traffic-guiding infrastructure. ICANN, meanwhile, manages the assignment of domain names and IP addresses.

Although an ICANN spokesman provided a terse explanation shortly after the attack, only last week did the organization provide more information. In a statement posted to its Web site on Thursday, ICANN said the attack had been launched against the Internet registrar responsible for the victimized domains, not against the organization itself.

"The DNS redirect was a result of an attack on ICANN's registrar's systems," said ICANN. "A full, confidential, security report from that registrar has since been provided to ICANN with respect to this attack."

Microsoft probing ActiveX attacks targeting Access feature

Microsoft issued a security advisory on Monday warning about targeted attacks being launched that exploit a hole in the ActiveX control for the Snapshot Viewer in the Microsoft Access database management system.

Basically, an attacker would have to lure a victim, via a link in an e-mail or IM for instance, to a specially crafted Web page that could exploit the security hole to allow remote code execution. This would provide the attacker with as much access to and rights on the computer as the logged-in user has.

The vulnerability only affects the ActiveX control for the Snapshot Viewer for Microsoft Office Access 2000, 2002 and 2003.

The ActiveX control, which allows a user to view an Access report snapshot without having the standard or run-time versions of Microsoft Office Access, ships with the standalone Snapshot Viewer and with all supported versions of Microsoft Office Access except for Microsoft Office Access 2007.

By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 run in a restricted mode known as Enhanced Security Configuration that sets the security level for the Internet zone to "high." This is a mitigating factor for Web sites that a user has not added to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone, according to Bill Sisk, security response communications manager for Microsoft.

In addition, a security feature in Internet Explorer can be set to prevent ActiveX controls from being loaded by the IE HTML-rendering engine, the advisory says.

Microsoft suggests that users adopt a workaround, such as configuring IE to disable Active Scripting or to prompt before running it, or setting Internet and local intranet security zone settings to "high" to prompt before running ActiveX Controls and Active Scripting.

Eventually, Microsoft may provide a security update for the vulnerability, according to the frequently-asked-questions section of the advisory.

BLUE RAY RECORDERS>>>>>>

Pioneer's product, which it hopes to launch by the year-end shopping season, will be developed with Sharp Corp (6753.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and make it the seventh Japanese manufacturer to enter the market for the high-definition DVD recorders, the Nikkei said.

Microsoft: Machiavellian or Muddled?

Microsoft is either cunningly devious or deeply confused. Those are the only conclusions I can come to after reading the muddled statement that Microsoft put out this morning in response to Carl Icahn’s latest letter to Yahoo shareholders. Microsoft firmly declared that it might or might not be interested in buying Yahoo after all. But it will only reach this state of indecision if Yahoo’s shareholders agree to throw out its current board of directors in favor of Mr. Icahn’s slate. Even then, Microsoft might only want to reiterate its recent offer buy Yahoo’s search business: After the shareholder election Microsoft would be interested in discussing with a new board a major transaction with Yahoo!, such as either a transaction to purchase the “Search” function with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the whole company. How is it that Microsoft doesn’t know if it wants to buy Yahoo or not? The company has said it is no longer interested in the full acquisition it first proposed, given the resistance it has faced from Yahoo’s current management. The prospect of a takeover by Mr. Icahn, and all the bloodletting that implies, either makes Yahoo more or less appealing to Microsoft — but Microsoft ought to know which. One explanation for Microsoft’s ambiguity is that the company simply wants to destroy Yahoo rather than buy it. I wrote last month that all the departures of top Yahoo executives, prompted in part by the company’s artless response to Microsoft, may have sent it into a death spiral. And now, if Microsoft can encourage shareholders to back Mr. Icahn but not actually buy the company, Yahoo well could end up even weaker than before. The other explanation is that Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, doesn’t actually know if he wants to own Yahoo or not. There are certainly good arguments on both sides. But if I were a Microsoft shareholder, I would hope that Mr. Ballmer, after spending six months and many millions of dollars pursuing a deal with Yahoo, has decided what he wants. One thing is clear: For Carl Icahn and for Yahoo shareholders considering how to vote, Microsoft seems to be neither a trustworthy partner nor a reliable bidder for Yahoo, no matter who’s on the Yahoo board of directors.

Is Apple's iPhone 2.0 Good Enough For Enterprises?

A developer of enterprise mobility software has expressed doubts that Apple's iPhone can cut it in the enterprise due to a number of issues, all of which Apple can change, but in doing so are anathema to how the company operates.

Ahmed Datoo, vice president of marketing of Zenprise, a developer of software for enterprise BlackBerry users, said he would welcome the opportunity to support the iPhone in the enterprise but has his doubts it will make much headway.

"The question that needs to be asked is, is the 2.0 software going to be good enough to take on RIM at the enterprise level?" he told InternetNews.com. "It doesn't look it. Is it good enough to get at the small and medium-sized business market? Probably. They have different requirements."

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) did not return calls seeking comment for this story. The company had its big enterprise roadmap event last week where it unveiled details of its software development kit (SDK) and support for Microsoft's Exchange Server. CRM and Saas provider Salesforce.com announced support for the iPhone and two large corporate customers, biotech giant Genentech and Nike, said they already had iPhone deployments underway.

"The iPhone is a watershed event in mobile computing for corporations," said Todd Pierce, vice president, of corporate IT at Genentech, in a statement. "Genentech’s pilot with iPhone has shown its potential to be the most useful business mobility tool we’ve ever used. We now have 3,000 planned for deployment based on how easy and simple it was to integrate iPhone with our corporate email system."

IDC analyst Sean Ryan, said Apple's support of Exchange was important to get the iPhone consideration among enterprise buyers, but nothing special. He notes that Nokia, Palm, Symbian, HTC and other mobile players already support Exchange and its ActiveSync technology for connecting to corporate email systems.

"In the mobile enterprise it's not just about the devise, but about the platform and the support system," said Ryan. "The iPhone has a lot of cachet, but there are many challenges to wide corporate adoption. It's a premium-priced device with limited device management." With Exchange, IT can shut down an iPhone that's lost or stolen, but other mobile devices have more extensive management capabilities.

Ryan also said the market for enterprises devices like smart phones is still at a very early stage and the iPhone is very new. "Apple has an opportunity but RIM, Nokia, Microsoft and others aren't going to sit still."

Datoo of Zenprise laid out four distinct areas he thinks Apple must overcome to make the iPhone a true success in the enterprise. The problems range from technical to perceptual. The first is that Apple is viewed as a consumer product, and firms that play in both spaces, consumer and enterprise, use separate brands. "It's rare to see a company pulling off operating in the enterprise space and consumer space with the same product," said Datoo.

The second is support. Apple is a relatively small company with modest support infrastructure. Where would an enterprise customer go for help, AT&T or Apple? Over the years, RIM built out a significant support structure, which Apple will need. "To be a mainstay in the enterprise, you need a support model conducive to an enterprise model," said Datoo.

The third problem is security. The iPhone's internals are not documented or exposed. Datoo said it's not even possible to get at basic internals, like the battery levels or signal strength meters. Many features, like Bluetooth and the camera, can't be locked down. Also, the iPhone is managed through iTunes, which many enterprises have banned from their computers. None of this, he said, will sit well with enterprise customers.

Finally, there is support. Datoo cited a Gartner study that put total cost of ownership for a mobile phone at between $1,300 and $2,600, with about 50 percent of that cost going to IT and user administration. iPhone has no remote administration features, no visibility into the device, which means a lot more time would be needed to be spent diagnosing problems.

And then there's the cultural issues. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a major showman and loves a big splash at announcement time, but that means being ultra-secretive. While Intel and Microsoft lay out roadmaps stretching into 2010 and beyond, Apple won't confirm a 3G iPhone that even AT&T's CEO has said is coming this year.

That may work with consumer devices, but enterprises don't care for that kind of secretiveness. "In the enterprise, people want to know the next set of features so they can plan accordingly. That's totally antithetical to Apple," he said.

Summing up his view of the SDK and iPhone 2.0 software, "My overall feeling is this is a good first step for the iPhone, it will be well-received in the SMB market. It at least gets them to the discussion table with the enterprise but it's got a ways to go before it can become an enterprise standard."

Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies, agrees that Apple faces challenges but could meet them… if it wants to. "It's not a matter of can they do it, it's do they want to do it?" he said. "Culturally, it's not their main modus operandi and it would be hard to imagine them adopting this business model readily."

Because Apple has a smaller overall market, there is less support for its platforms and ergo, that support is more expensive. That hurts the company as well, said Kay. "I've watched this discussion go on among educational institutions, K through 12 and higher education, in terms of the Mac for years. A lot of the education institutions like the Mac but they don't all take it because they can't get support."

Kay figures it will be another case of Apple having things its own way and the market can take it or leave it. "Steve Jobs has always figured they could have it on their own terms. They offer Exchange support and figure people who will go for it will and those who won't, won't."

The basic version of the Xbox 360, which includes a 20-GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will drop from about $500 to $400.

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has slashed the price of its Xbox 360 video game console in Europe in an effort to attract more gamers to the platform and boost sales of Xbox-compatible titles.

Starting Friday, the price for the basic version of the Xbox 360 -- which includes a 20-GB hard drive and one wireless controller -- will drop 20% from the equivalent of about $500 to $400. The price for the Xbox 360 Elite, which features a 120-GB drive, falls 13% from $600 to $520.

Microsoft also slashed the price of its entry-level Xbox Arcade Console from $400 to $360.

Microsoft in a statement said the reductions would help position the Xbox as "a mass market entertainment proposition" in Europe. The company is hoping that the debut this spring of hot game titles like Grand Theft Auto IV and Rock Band will further boost demand for the system.

The cuts bring Xbox 360 prices in Europe closer to what the console sells for in America -- though it's still cheaper to buy an Xbox in the United States. The basic U.S. version retails for $350. The Elite version costs about $450.

Microsoft is in a pitched battle with Sony and Nintendo for dominance of the video game console market.

Microsoft sold 230,000 Xbox 360 units in January, while Nintendo sold 274,000 Wii consoles. Sony sold 251,000 PlayStation 3 units, according to market watcher NPD.

Microsoft claims it owns 42% of the video game console market in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It also claims to sell more games-per-console than its rivals.

Still, the Xbox 360 franchise faces some challenges. Microsoft was recently forced to pull from the market an external HD DVD drive for the console after Toshiba dropped its high-definition format. Microsoft is now reportedly in talks with Sony with an eye to adding Blu-ray support to the Xbox.

Alternately, Microsoft might instead focus on selling more HD content through its Xbox Live online service.

Blu-ray was declared the winner of the DVD standards war

Just a few weeks after the Blu-ray Disc Association unequivocally won the high-definition video format war, and Microsoft canceled production of its HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, Microsoft says it's already trying to figure out the best way to align itself with Blu-ray.

"We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Mix '08 conference in Las Vegas, according to GamesIndustry.biz.

"Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense," he said.

Ballmer's comment squares with remarks Sony Electronics President made Wednesday night to a gathering of reporters in San Francisco, when he said that Sony is holding discussions with a number of partners, including Microsoft, about incorporating Blu-ray into their products. Glasgow said an Xbox 360 console with Blu-ray was certainly "a possibility."

Though Glasgow didn't specify whether that meant an internal drive or a detachable one like the HD DVD version, the Financial Times cited an unnamed senior executive Thursday saying that Microsoft is considering an internal Blu-ray drive for the 360.

Mark Zuckerberg probably knew his keynote

Mark Zuckerberg probably knew his keynote address at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival would produce a lot of press, but he likely didn't expect it to turn out the way it did.

CNET News.com sat down to chat with the young Facebook founder fewer than 24 hours after the widely criticized onstage interview with BusinessWeek journalist Sarah Lacy, in which a disappointed audience turned on Lacy and demanded better questions.

After the media flurry, Zuckerberg was understandably eager to move on and talk about different topics. But he still touched upon the incident, hinting that while he may not have been totally thrilled with the subject matter, he thought Lacy was still getting unnecessarily hounded.

The interview between journalist Sarah Lacy and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg got ugly quick and then went downhill.

"I thought she asked some interesting questions," Zuckerberg said. "We may have not talked about the things that were most relevant to the audience that was here, but I've worked with Sarah on a number of pieces, and I generally think she's really smart and didn't necessarily deserve the reaction that people gave her."

It wasn't the first time a crowd has started to get a bit energetic, Zuckerberg said. He likes to put a positive spin on it. "People shout things out because they're excited and passionate about what we're doing," he said. "People were shouting out things about, like, Beacon and privacy and things like that. Those were good questions for people to ask."

I asked Zuckerberg half-jokingly if he'd ever subject himself to an interview on The Colbert Report, where host Stephen Colbert has become notorious for putting interview subjects in extremely uncomfortable situations. Zuckerberg wouldn't give a definite answer, but he did say he thinks Colbert is "so funny."

Getting past the hype
Regardless of the media buzz over the SXSWi interview, Zuckerberg said he's still enjoyed himself at SXSWi. "It's been pretty interesting," he said. "I went to this panel on the worst Web sites...it was pretty funny."

But back to Facebook. Zuckerberg has said he would prefer if people focus less on the sensation--the backlash against Lacy, the press over Facebook's $15 billion valuation, his status as the youngest person that Forbes magazine has ever named to its list of billionaires--and more on what his company is actually doing. He reiterated that wish in Monday's interview.

"I feel like a lot of the press coverage around the company is on a few phenomenal events," he said, adding that he'd prefer to talk about "the way in which we help people interact and communicate, both on a subtle level of helping people make connections and increase the number of people that they can keep up relationships with, and increase their trust...(and) the sum of all those connections, and all that communication that's being enabled through the service."

Mark Zuckerberg

OK, fair enough. But he's still Mark Zuckerberg, the tech industry's current wunderkind and Generation Y's foremost example of a future business leader. In today's atmosphere of Project Red, U2's Bono as a Silicon Valley investor, and Bill Gates' "creative capitalism," every high-profile CEO is getting asked how he or she will help save the world. That came up for quite a bit of time in Sunday afternoon's keynote interview with Lacy.

But Zuckerberg said that for Facebook, it's way too early to think about that sort of thing. "I think at this point, because we're not incredibly profitable, we're not at that stage of the company--hopefully we get there--that's not really something that we can do a lot of," he admitted in Monday's interview. "But I'd like to think that just what the company is trying to do in general, just helping people communicate, is actually making the world better."

"A lot of people are actually building really interesting applications that are more to the tone of traditional philanthropy, like the Causes application," he added. "Just by making this development platform, we're enabling some of those things. The way that we're going about it isn't by donating money directly to charity."

Cutting the app spam
Zuckerberg, who steered clear of some of his usual buzz phrases like "social graph" and "social utility," repeatedly stressed that Facebook is a young company and that its focus right now is on growth. Over the next few months, member profiles will be getting a redesign so that the interface is cleaner and runs more smoothly--and cuts down on many of the developer applications that have earned a reputation for being annoying, "spammy," or pointless.

"The direction that it was going in with a lot of platform applications--people would just install a lot of applications," Zuckerberg said. "It wasn't clear that they actually wanted a lot of the boxes that they had in their profiles, but a lot of people didn't take the effort to clean them up, and that kind of made profiles a little more cluttered than we would have wanted, and that also contributed to them being a little slower than we would have wanted."

Consequently, in conjunction with the profile redesign, the developer platform will be getting a bit "smarter." Members will be able to send out more invitations to their friends to join an application, as well as see activity from it in news feeds across the site, if it has high levels of user engagement and people actually like it.

"If an app where almost every request that gets sent gets accepted or that the person acts on it and enjoys receiving that request, then that app should be able to send way more requests or prompt users to send way more requests," Zuckerberg explained.