October 04, 2005, 6:04 PM PDT
Verizon settles V710 suit
Posted by: Kent German

Verizon Wireless has settled a class-action lawsuit filed by some severely disgruntled owners of the Motorola V710. The plaintiffs were angry that the carrier limited the Bluetooth profiles on the V710, which is Verizon's first Bluetooth phone. As part of the settlement, V710 owners that fit certain qualifications are awarded one of three options. See my latest On Call for the complete story.

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October 04, 2005, 1:19 PM PDT
Open source arrives (on the Dell desktop)
Posted by: Dorian Benkoil

When Dell starts selling desktop PCs with no operating system, targeted at businesses, you'll know it's more than a passing fad.

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October 04, 2005, 12:56 PM PDT
Like I was sayin' (about Web-based office apps)...
Posted by: Dorian Benkoil

No sooner do we point you to the story about Web-based office of the future, than stories emerge saying that Google plans to ally with Sun. They all but declare they're going to take on Microsoft's Office products. (And you already know that Microsoft is putting its applications on the Web.)

Maybe your office will move to the Web sooner than we thought.

Here are a couple more links about Google and Sun teaming up: an AP story via ABC News and a story from our cousin, News.com.

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October 04, 2005, 12:47 PM PDT
Another Apple announcement
Posted by: James Kim

Apple just sent out invites to the media for another announcement set for October 12 in San Jose. As most of you know, Apple announced the iPod Nano at a hyped event in San Francisco less than a month ago. The invitation: a closed red velvet theater curtain and the words "One more thing..."

What could it be?

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October 04, 2005, 11:03 AM PDT
Firefox ain't no hackers' darling
Posted by: Molly Wood

Boy, when it comes to attacking browsers, malicious hackers aren't pulling any punches with Firefox. The browser's promotional Web site was taken down (for the second time) by hackers who exploited a flaw in Firefox itself. Asked for comment, Internet Explorer responded, "See?! See how you like it!"

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October 04, 2005, 10:03 AM PDT
Here comes the Sun-Google office suite?
Posted by: Elsa Wenzel

Google and Microsoft share in common massive tech kingdoms, mammoth stock prices, and practices that fuel privacy concerns among users. And now the giants will begin to compete in the realm of office productivity software--sort of. There's no Google office suite at this point. But the CEOs of Google and Sun Microsystems announced today that Google will promote Sun's OpenOffice, a Microsoft Office competitor with word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation tools. Last week, Sun released its StarOffice 8 suite (see our review), which shares code with the open source, free OpenOffice. As part of the deal, Sun will offer the Google toolbar as an option alongside Java runtime downloads.

Sun's COO Jonathan Schwartz hinted in his blog on Saturday, "If I were a betting man, I'd bet the world was about to change. Strap on your seatbelts." Today's announcement isn't revolutionary; some see it as a publicity stunt. But Google's colossal computers and servers, combined with its overwhelming Web presence, could enable it to deliver software online to the masses--ushering in an era where more software is tied to a network rather than to an operating system. Decentralization of software delivery is anticipated by many industry watchers, at a time when tech companies increasingly embrace the open-source movement.

Such developments should make Microsoft worry for its ubiquitous, profitable Office suite. Unlike Sun, Microsoft isn't building support for the open source OpenDocument format into its upcoming Office 12 suite. The state of Massachusetts raised eyebrows when it ditched Microsoft Office for the OpenDocument format.

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October 04, 2005, 9:31 AM PDT
Maps for iPods--not so fast!
Posted by: Molly Wood

New York and San Francisco transportation authorities sent knock-it-off nastygrams to a blogger who was distributing shrunken digital subway maps for use on iPods. New York officials say they're not going after the little guy here--they just want a $500 licensing fee, that's all! Thumbs down, Goliath.

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October 04, 2005, 9:26 AM PDT
Game over, Xbox 360
Posted by: Molly Wood

Being declared the winner before you even step out of the gate? Priceless. Analysts at Piper Jaffray say that the PlayStation 3 will own (or pwn, if you prefer) the gaming console market, with the Xbox 360 a close second, and the poor Nintendo Revolution just barely hanging on. But you all ran a really good (future) race!

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October 04, 2005, 7:57 AM PDT
SanDisk announces new Sansa m200 series: inexpensive and Janus enabled
Posted by: James Kim

This morning, SanDisk announced the Sansa m200 series, the third family of WMA-friendly MP3 players from the goliath flash-memory manufacturer. Like the Sansa e100 series, as well as the Digital Audio Player, the m200 has value and budget written all over it, with the entry-level price of $79.95 for the 512MB M230. Other capacities include 1GB, 2GB, and even 4GB models, so it's no mistake that the iPod Nano opened the 4GB floodgates. And by the way, the 4GB model costs only $200 (2GB players cost that much earlier this year).

Now here's the real kicker: The m200 series is compatible with Rhapsody To Go, Napster To Go, and Yahoo Music Unlimited, and the portable-music service is offering an $80 rebate on all Sansa m200 players if you join for six months. If you're interested in the to-go services--they are getting better, and for some, they are the answer--nothing's better than getting a free or highly discounted compatible player. We've seen MP3 player subsidization coming for a while (Audible already does this), but it looks like the subscription services are really gearing up for the holiday season. The m200 series also includes an FM tuner, a voice recorder, and Audible support, and it has a rated life of 19 hours on a single AAA battery--not bad at all.

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