Nokia, Sprint to offer N800 tablet with Wimax capability

Sprint is apparently preparing Nokia's N800 compact Internet device N800 to be available with support for Wimax next year.

According to a report published by Linux Devices, Nokia will be offering the N800 as Wimax-enabled device with a Linux operating at its core. Initially, the N800 is expected to support Mobile Wimax, with other Wimax variants following later on. According to Sprint, Wimax will be available in 19 U.S. markets by the end of the year, including major metropolitan areas, such as Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Washington D.C.

The N800 comes close to what Intel recently described as "Mobile Internet Devices" – a new class of mobile computers that are much smaller than UMPCs and foremost serve as entertainment and communication devices and allow consumers to stay connected, especially to the Internet and Email. In comparison to Apple's iPhone, which is often cited to be an early member of this class of devices, the N800 does not have phone capability, but it has a larger screen (4.13") and Wimax-support certainly opens the door for VoIP telephony.

Compared the $400 N800 Nokia is offering today, such a device is likely to require much more memory to store information. The device currently has 256 MG of built-in flash memory, with a possibility to extend storage space via SD, MMC or micro SD cards with up to 2 GB capacity.

Virgin America kicks off with first US flight, under lousy conditions

North Amercia's newest airline, Virgin America, is now officially in the air as its first cross country flight took off this morning, although weather problems made for a bumpy debut.

The ceremony began this morning at JFK where Virgin CEO Richard Branson held a press conference. Area thunderstorms led to a slight delay in the flight's departure, and caused several passengers, including Virgin America CEO Fred Reid and Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, who was scheduled to christen the plane before it took off, to miss the event.

The inaugural flight, JFK to San Francisco, was timed to arrive at the same moment as Virgin's first flight from LAX. San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom will greet the first passengers before they're escorted to a launch party in a local club.

The hoopla surrounding the airline's first day underlines what it plans to bring to the travel market. Virgin America brings several new features to the domestic travel market. Each passenger has an individual touch-screen video monitor to access live TV, on-demand programming, pay-per-view movies, e-books, video games, and over 3000 songs.

Passengers can also interact with each other through chat rooms and multiplayer games open to everyone on the flight. Additionally, they can communicate with people on the ground with the country's first approved in-flight e-mail and text messaging service, also done via the seat-back TV monitors.

The first flights are exclusive, invitation-only affairs. Virgin put up an auction for two tickets on eBay, along with tickets to the after party, which went for $5,400. Another auction for the LAX to SFO flight sold for around $2,100. All proceeds went to the KIPP Foundation.

However, on a normal day Virgin America prices should appeal to all travelers. Flights from LAX to SFO begin at around $44 each way, and round-trip jaunts between JFK and SFO are available for under $300, making the price competitive with the cheapest airlines and making it cheaper than its closest rival in terms of amenities, JetBlue.

The initial routes available for Virgin America include flights to and from New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.

UK bans PS3 ad, warns Sony

The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has issued a warning for Sony, forcing it to remove a controversial Internet ad.

The advert, which reportedly appeared on Yahoo's UK site, featured a bald man holding a knife and gun with on-screen text reading "You on my side? Listen up I've killed for less. The music plays Puccini in my head." It fits the cryptic style of other PS3 commercials that had customers scratching their heads in confusion.

Though the message was unclear, the ASA said the controversial overtones were unmistakable. It issued a statement saying the ad "could be seen to glamorise violence or anti-social behaviour. We asked Sony to amend future internet ads where the content could be seen to condone or glamorise violence or anti-social behaviour."

AMD to launch Barcelona quad-core on September 10

AMD today sent out emails inviting analysts, media and industry representatives to what the company calls "the most anticipated premiere of 2007".

Barcelona will not arrive one day too early: While the company does not explicitly mention the new quad-core as the proponent of its announcement, there is little doubt what will be announced on this day. Matching a report published by the Inquirer published in June, AMD will unveil its new quad-core architecture, which the company so desperately needs to restore its competitiveness in the 2P server market and prepare itself for the arrival of Intel's Tigerton processor in the 4P segment.

If the Inquirer is right, then Barcelona will arrive with clock speeds of up to 2.0 GHz, while faster versions with up to 2.4 GHz are expected to be available during the fourth quarter of the year. If AMD keeps its promise of avoiding a paper launch, then Barcelona-based systems should be available for purchase beginning at launch or the day right after it, September 11.

The question now is when AMD will be able to follow up and bring the Barcelona architecture to the desktop. We were told by AMD representatives that Phenom will follow 60 to 90 days after Barcelona, which puts the introduction of the chip into the mid-November to mid-December time frame.

The Barcelona launch event will be held in San Francisco's Presidio, beginning at 6:30 PM on September 10.

Study says Internet more popular than newspapers

Though newspaper advertising is still the biggest market in the ad world, a new study shows the traditional medium is taking a beating in cyberspace.

Although it might seem like the traditional newspaper medium collapsed years ago, up until last year it was more popular than the Internet for the country as a whole. In 2006, the two mediums were about equal.

Now, for the first time, Americans are spending more time online than they are with newspapers, according to a report from private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

In 2006, TV and radio counted for 70% of American media consumption, followed by music at 5.4%, newspapers at 5%, and the Internet at 5%, reports Reuters. However, the new report suggests the Internet will climb to 5.1% while newspapers fall to 4.9% by the end of the year.

The numbers are most important to advertisers, some of whom have had tremendous struggles with new media formats. The newspaper market still claimed the most advertising dollars last year with total ad spending of around $55.7 billion, according to the equity firm. Broadcast TV advertising was second at $48.7 billion. However, VSS projects Internet advertising will overtake both mediums by 2011, when it will take in an estimated $63 billion.

Another unusual trend tracked by VSS showed the total amount of time spent with media fell down last year, for the first time in 10 years. The study said the average American spent around 3,530 hours with media last year, a 0.5% drop from 2005. VSS attributes this to the fact that, instead of watching 30 minute TV shows viewers are watching 90-second YouTube clips.

OJ Simpson ordered to surrender money earned from video game

OJ Simpson will give up any cash he earns from his appearance in a new video game to the family of the man he was accused of killing, an LA Superior Court judge ruled yesterday.

Take Two Interactive's All-Pro Football 2K8 features the likeness of OJ Simpson, a former football icon, among the roster of professional players. Whatever the financial deal was between Take Two and Simpson is now essentially between Take Two and the family of Ron Goldman.

OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson along with her friend Ron Goldman. Though acquitted on both murders in criminal court, OJ was found liable in a civil case for the same crimes. He still owes the Goldman family around $38 million from the ruling in that case.

The judge also mandated that Simpson hand over all documents and contracts relating to his appearance in the game. The Associated Press reports that 100% of all revenue he earns from the deal must immediately be turned over to Fred Goldman, Ron's father.

Linspire launches Freespire 2.0 Linux

Open-source operating system developer Linspire today announced the availability of Freespire 2.0, a Linux OS based on Ubuntu distribution.

Freespire 2.0 includes out-of-the-box file support for MP3, Windows and Real Media, Java, and Flash, as well as support for ATI, Nvidia, and Wi-Fi applications.

It also has a built-in plugin for Linspire's own CNR Service, a destination for users to access thousands of open source applications, from video games to DVD playback to CodeWeaver's Crossover, which lets users run Windows-based applications on a Linux system.

Much of the technology in the new Freespire is proprietary, including software to optimize file support, codecs to expand multimedia capability, and drivers to take advantage of graphics and Wi-Fi potential. In addition, certain open source software, including Firefox and Thunderbird, has been modified to fit optimally with the Linux OS. Freespire also adds KDE, a GUI (graphical user interface) desktop application, which it says allows for an easy-to-use and "more comfortable" interface.

The new version of Freespire is the first to be based on Ubuntu distribution, but it goes beyond that. "Freespire 2.0 picks up where Ubuntu leaves off by adding proprietary software, drivers and codecs, to make for a more complete turn-key solution for mainstream desktop computing," said Linspire CEO Larry Kettler.

Palm Foleo gets Linux platform, remote PC access capability

Palm has announced two important components for its upcoming PDA extension device "Foleo". Wind River will be the open standard Linux platform for the device and LogMeIn will provide a fee-based service for the device to access a PC over the Internet.

Palm said that it has selected Wind River Systems as open standard Linux platform for future software releases for the Foleo "mobile companion" to serve as the development and deployment environment for software developers. Along with the platform, Wind River said that it will be providing its Workbench development suite, professional services and customer support to assist Palm and its development community.

Palm and Wind River said that the Linux platform will be built into the Foleo "over the coming months." Officially called " Wind River Platform for Consumer Devices, Linux Edition," the software is used as Linux development platform mainly by mobile handset, digital TV, and consumer electronics manufacturers, Wind River said.

“By building the Foleo on an open Linux-based platform and publishing the tools developers need, Palm hopes to establish a vibrant developer community to create new applications that extend the mobile companion’s built-in capabilities,” said Mark Bercow, senior vice president for business development at Palm, in a prepared statement.

So far, The Foleo was only described to be able to only access Treo handhelds and possibly other smartphone devices as an extension to simplify the authoring of emails and other tasks that require a full-size keyboard or a larger screen. A collaboration with LogMeIn now extends the Foleo's reach to a PC via a "secure" Internet connection. The companies said that this application will give users "the ability to quickly and securely access files and network resources on their home or work computers when away."

Pricing of the LogMeIn service was not announced, but it will not be a service that will be included for free with the Foleo. Palm said that "applications for the Palm Foleo mobile companion will be sold separately. U.S. pricing and application availability will be announced in conjunction with Foleo availability later this summer."

Panasonic says its 1080p plasma displays will last at least 42 years

How long long do you plan on keeping your next TV? Panasonic says that its 1080p plasma displays are good for a viewing time for about 42 years - that is, of course, if the rest has not fallen apart by 2049.

We picked up a somewhat interesting piece of news up today from Panasonic, which tries to make a point how durable its plasma TV displays are. The company says that it will take 100,000 hours of viewing time to degrade the brightness of the display to less than 50% of its original performance and to make the picture look washed out.

100,000 hours of viewing time translates to about 42 years, if we consider the average viewing time in a U.S. household of 6.5 hours per day; if you never turn the TV off and let it run 24 hours a day, it is guaranteed to last almost 11.5 years. If your TV watching habits are similar to those of this writer, which is less than 2 hours per day, then you will be able to hand down the TV to your children and most likely even one or two generations further (a total of 136 years) – assumed there is still a way to watch plain two-dimensional 1080p content through HDMI interfaces in 2143.

The 100,000 hour rating only applies to Panasonic's 1080p TVs. The 720p models are rated for 60,000 hours to half brightness or 25 years at 6.5 hours viewing per day.

Panasonic's 1080p plasma HDTV's are available in 42", 50", 58" and 65" (mainstream sizes).

New firmware update adds features to Wii Shop

The most rarely updated console of the big three, the Wii today received a new firmware upgrade to add a few tweaks to the system's Internet-powered features.

The firmware update was almost exclusively linked to the Virtual Console outlet in the Wii Shop channel, an outlet for users to buy emulated versions of games from classic Nintendo systems.

The digital download store now lets users search for games by publisher or genre, in addition to lists sorted by platform and most recent additions. Also, users can enter a text search that scans the entire library of over 100 Virtual Console games.

The other addition is a list of most popular games. At the time of the new firmware's debut, Mario and Zelda titles comprised eight of the spots in the top 10 list, with the Nintendo 64's Paper Mario taking the lead.

Users can now also add points from any menu in the Wii Shop by clicking the Wii Points link at the bottom of every page.

Additionally, the Wii Weather channel was slightly updated, letting users see current conditions directly from the console's main menu. The update also added a clock display at the bottom of the Wii menu.

Unlike the PS3, Xbox 360, and PSP, none of the Wii system updates have been mandatory. Users who want the new features can upgrade the firmware from the console's "settings" menu.

Apple gives 10 GB of online storage to .Mac users

Apple has updated its online network to allow more entertainment sharing features, giving each user up to 10 GB for an annual fee.

The Web service will interact with Apple's new iLife '08 software, which was introduced today. It allows editing and sharing of multimedia content and will come packed with any new iMac purchased, beginning today.

The .Mac (dot Mac) service carries a yearly fee of around $100. Users can also pay for an additional 10 GB of storage, which tacks on around another $50 per year. A "family pack" is also available for around $180/yr, which opens up 20 GB of storage and allows users to assign four different sub accounts in addition to the master account.

89% of Americans want text-and-drive ban, 57% say they do it anyway

Around nine in ten Americans think it's dangerous to text while driving, even though more than half say they have committed the offense.

A new Harris Interactive survey found that 91% of Americans said texting while driving was as dangerous as driving under the influence of a couple drinks. 89% said texting and driving should be illegal.

Even so, 57% of the 2,049 adults polled who drive and use text messaging on separate occasions said they have also done both activities at the same time. 66% said they have read messages while behind the steering wheel.

Of those who admitted to texting while driving, 64% were between the ages of 18 and 34, and 6% were over age 55.

Washington became the first state to officially outlaw the dangerous act when it passed a texting-while-driving ban in May. California, Florida, New York, and a handful of others have introduced similar legislation in the past but none have been signed into law so far.

Pinger, the company that commissioned the survey, offers hands-free voice-driven mobile messaging services.

First Vista Service Pack beta reportedly in circulation

Numerous PC testers claim they have received an early build of Microsoft's first Service Pack addition to Windows Vista.

Though some loose lips have come forward about the closed beta, specific information in nonexistant. Microsoft seems to be quite watchful of any leaks. ZDNet claims to have received tips from beta testers, each of whom claims to have a different build numbers, giving the notion that the numbers are really codes to track down anyone who spills information.

WinBeta has published images it claims were sent from a Vista SP1 beta tester. The images are mainly nothing more than on-screen text indicating the installation of Service Pack 1, but there is a screenshot of a new DirectX diagnostics tool.

In private discussions, according to ZDNet, Microsoft has said that the private beta would begin in mid July, with a public beta soon to follow, and a final release rollout beginning in November. However, it has never made an official statement regarding the release window of Vista SP1.

Update 2: Steve Jobs unveils new, glossy iMac design

During a press briefing at Apple's corporate campus, Steve Jobs lifted the curtain on the company's new mold for its desktop computer line.

The new iMac will be available with 20" and 24" displays, and will come standard with Firewire 400, Firewire 800, and a built-in iSight camera and microphone. Steve Jobs described the new computers as "glossy", citing that customers have said that's what they want.

Apple will continue using Intel's mobile Core 2 Duo processors with Merom core for the iMac. Processor choices will include CPUs from 2.0 GHz to 2.4 GHz, while users can equip their systems with up to 4 GB (1 GB standard)of memoryand up to 1 TB of hard drive space (250 GB and 320 GB standard). Wireless capability such as draft-n and Bluetooth 2.0 come as a standard feature. The new computers will also include a new and thinner wireless keyboard - resembling the keypad on a Macbook - with controls for display settings, CD/DVD eject, and volume.

Pricing will start at $1199 for the base 20" model, while the 24" version will cost at least $1799.

More details will be available as they break from Apple's event.

Update 2: Latest version of iLife debuts

Apple has just unveiled iLife '08, the company's catch-all software suite for entertainment applications.

The new package has all the same applications, iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, and iDVD, that were seen in the last version of iLife, but the 2008 version expands on the scope of the entertainment functionality.

As part of iPhoto, Events organizes digital image collections by placing them into event categories. Basically, instead of manually grouping thousands of photos into different folders, Events lets users tag a photo as "birthday", "wedding", or even create a filter at a later date by searching a group of photos imported on a specific date.

The new version of iPhoto will also include integration with .Mac (dot Mac), Apple's Internet subscription service, allowing users to share images on the Web with a couple mouse clicks.

Additionally, iMovie has been completely overhauled to give users a more quick, user-friendly movie creation tool. Doubling as a video storage application, the video editing process is mainly drag-and-drop. It can take in virtually any video source and output in multiple formats, including one specific for iTunes and portable device playback, and a click-and-send tool for YouTube, automatically encoding the video for optimization on the video sharing site.

With iWeb, Apple wants to ease the process of creating a website with Web widgets, making it a one-click process to add things like Google Maps or Google AdSense to a basic page layout. Finally, in iDVD, Apple has added new encoding tools for users to burn their own DVD videos.

The new iLife will be included with all new Mac purchases beginning today. A standalone version is available for around $80.