February 13, 2006, 3:33 PM PST
Mobile antivirus apps at RSA 2006
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

This week, security professionals will gather in San Jose, California, to attend RSA 2006. Among the hot, new topics under discussion will be the emerging threat of viruses, Trojan horses, and other types of malware that target mobile devices. In advance of the conference, McAfee has already announced VirusScan Mobile, an antivirus app that works on Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC, Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone, Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC, Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone, Symbian Series 60, and Symbian UIQ. And F-Secure has announced F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus that will ship preinstalled on the following Nokia S60 third-edition phones: Nokia N71, Nokia E60, Nokia E61 and Nokia E70.

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February 13, 2006, 2:11 PM PST
Microsoft to issue seven updates
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

Tomorrow, the second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft will issue up to seven security updates, with five of them being labeled by the software giant as critical. One critical update will be for Windows Media Player and the other four will be for the Windows operating system. Microsoft also plans to update its Malicious Software removal tool, presumably with Kama Sutra definitions.

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February 13, 2006, 2:09 PM PST
Early for PMA: two new Sony cameras
Posted by: Will Greenwald

Sony has announced two new digital cameras: the Cyber Shot DSC-W30 and the Cyber Shot DSC-W50. They're compact 6-megapixel point-and-shoot cameras that weigh about as much as Sony's slim Cyber Shot DSC-T9. They both have 3X optical zoom lenses and can use sensitivity settings as high as ISO 1,000. The W30 and W50 are essentially identical except for their LCD screens; the W30 has a small 2-inch LCD, while the W50's screen measures 2.5 inches. The Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W30 and Cyber Shot DSC-W50 will retail for about $230 and $250, respectively, and will ship at the end of February.

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February 13, 2006, 10:11 AM PST
Awesome news for Cowon iAudio U3 owners
Posted by: James Kim

Today, Cowon sent me the official version of the latest and highly anticipated U3 firmware update. Version 1.20 gives the U3 WMA DRM 10 support, meaning it can be used with subscription services such as Napster To Go and Rhapsody To Go, as well as purchased WMAs, of course. Cowon previously had stated that this would be available in late December or early January, but better late than never! The firmware will probably be posted on the Cowon Web site within the next couple of days.

Also due to the "current market trend," Cowon is lowering the price of the white 1GB version from $190 to $170 and the 2GB black version from $270 to $220. Both moves by Cowon makes the U3 a bit more attractive than before.

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February 13, 2006, 8:53 AM PST
More touch-screen iPod fodder
Posted by: James Kim

The fifth-generation iPod has come to be known as the "video iPod"; the much ballyhooed sixth-gen iPod, which is pretty much a figment of our collective imagination, is referred to as the "touch-screen iPod." Check out the latest alleged Apple patent drawings of the touch-screen interface, which may be used for an upcoming iPod as well as for a tablet computer.

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February 13, 2006, 7:47 AM PST
Intel and Skype play foul
Posted by: Rich Brown

News.com tracked down the details behind the recent Intel/Skype announcement, and we recommend you check out the story. In short, the two companies announced a partnership last week that involves Skype designating Intel dual-core chips its preferred hardware for a limited time. If your PC has an Intel Pentium D in it, it will let you run up to a 10-person conference call, compared to the 5-person limit it applies to single-core systems, and more ominously, dual-core AMD Athlon X2-based PCs as well.

The problem is that the Intel chips' added capabilities granted aren't the result of any special VoIP sauce that AMD's chips don't have. By all appearances, the benefit to Intel-based PCs exists only because Intel and Skype signed a partnership. If the the software allowed it, chances are that a dual-core AMD chip could handle Skype just as well as an Intel chip, if not better.

On one level, these tactics are nothing new. Graphics card vendors have been doing it for years by partnering with various game developers to "optimize" for a specific GPU. Still, we've never liked the idea of placing artificial limits on technology, especially with no warning to consumers. Not that VoIP is the most vital task out there, but if you recently purchased an AMD Athlon X2 PC, we can't imagine that it felt too good waking up to the news that Skype sold you out.

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