August 10, 2006, 5:39 PM PDT
The Web 2.0 homeroom
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

Anybody who's ever taught a course knows that there's a lot of data that has to flow between teachers and students to make it a good experience. There are schedules and materials to distribute, papers to collect, and grades to track. College professors have teaching assistants, but how this was managed by grade school educators before the Web is a mystery. Maybe there were gnomes.

There's a free Web tool called e-Office Hours that can help out the tired teacher. The system is, essentially, a specialized Web site publishing tool. Users can create sites for each course they teach. A site can have a calendar, a file repository, a discussion forum, and a simple access control system. There's also a FAQ authoring tool and, for students, a system that attempts to match natural-language questions from students with FAQ entries. It's hit-and-miss, but students can just read the FAQs.

Not only can students pick up files left on courses' Web sites, but they can also place assignments into a drop box for their teachers. Unfortunately, the system is lacking a grade tracking function. That's planned for an upcoming release.

e-Office Hours is not a fancy system. It's not a zoomy distance-education product with a real-time whiteboard broadcasting and a live polling engine. But it's free and it's simple, and it's easier to set up a Web site for a course with a tool such as this than it would be to apply a general-purpose Web publishing tool to the job.

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August 10, 2006, 3:45 PM PDT
Sony to offer service solution for resolution issue affecting early KDS-60A2000 HDTVs
Posted by: John P. Falcone

As detailed in the lengthy editor's note that appeared in the introduction of the review, we encountered a small anomaly when reviewing the Sony KDS-60A2000: unlike its predecessor, the KDS-R60XBR1, Sony's 2006 SXRD model couldn't seem to resolve the finest details in a 1080i test pattern. Sony engineers quickly issued us instructions to modify the TV's service menu to address the issue, and--after the fix--the same KDS-60A2000 was able to display the test pattern normally; that is, showing every pixel of its 1920x1080p resolution.

When we initially posted our review, Sony stated it wasn't sure whether the issue affected only a handful of early review units for the press (such as ours), or whether it also extended to the initial units purchased by customers. The company has now confirmed that an unspecified number of sets sold to end-users also have the same issue, and it plans to assist affected customers who want to make the same fix we did during our testing. The company's latest statement is as follows:

Since Sony's original response to the 1080i HDMI signal issue reported on the KDS-60A2000 preproduction sample, we have confirmed that production of A2000 models features the optimized setting addressing the issue you observed.

However, a limited number of early production units were manufactured with the filter setting engaged, preventing the specific test pattern from being fully displayed. For these early production sets, as CNET indicated in its review, normal television viewing or picture quality is not affected. Nevertheless, to be responsive to CNET and other inquiries, Sony will be offering a service solution to consumers who purchase one of the early production sets and would like to bypass the filter. Information regarding the service change or other details regarding the SXRD television may be obtained by contacting Sony at the number provided in the television Operating Instructions.

So, to summarize: some of the early KDS-60A2000s that have already been sold may suffer from the resolution problem, but Sony will be offering a free fix to the owners of these sets upon their request.

It's worth reiterating that CNET was unable to detect any discernible difference in resolution when viewing regular program material (HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies at 1080i and 1080p resolutions, respectively). But that assurance will be of little comfort to the video-enthusiast community, for whom wringing every last pixel of detail from an HDTV is of the utmost importance. And after spending $3,700 for a new HDTV, those impassioned videophiles want--and deserve--nothing short of perfection, even if the benefit is more theoretical than actual.

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August 10, 2006, 3:16 PM PDT
Sprint boosts family services
Posted by: Kent German

Sprint today announced updates to its Family Locator service, which is a currently available on a selection of the carrier's handsets, including the Sanyo SCP-2400. Among the improvements, parents can now choose a PC-only option for locating their child, the registration process has been simplified, and parents can restrict access to Sprint's PCS Vision applications and certain Internet sites. On the handset side, the number of compatible parent phones was increased from 17 to 30, while the number of locatable child phones was increased from 30 to 58.

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August 10, 2006, 3:14 PM PDT
Alltel announces two new media services
Posted by: Kent German

Alltel announced today that it will start streaming XM satellite radio to subscribers via their cell phones. Customers will get unlimited access to XM programming for $7.99 per month. MobiTV worked with XM to provide the service. Twenty channels will be available, including alternative rock, R&B, indie rock, blues, country, and Latin pop.

Alltel this week also launched Axcess Mobilcast, a monthly subscription service that will allow Alltel subscribers to search and listen to thousands of podcasts on their cell phones. The service will cost $3.99 per month.

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August 10, 2006, 2:53 PM PDT
XPS 700s are out the door, and Dell asks for some faith
Posted by: Rich Brown

OK, so maybe it took longer than an hour and a half. At least it's not October.

I finally have some more information on the Dell XPS 700 after talking with Dell's Liem Nguyen this afternoon. The delay in my follow-up to yesterday's blog post is because a) the Dell folks we met with in person yesterday didn't have any new information on the XPS 700 (they were here for a review process meeting, nothing juicy), and b) I actually spoke to Liem yesterday afternoon, but he wanted 24 hours to do some digging.

Here's what he told me today:
--Dell started shipping Pentium D-based XPS 700 systems yesterday.
--Core 2 Duo-based XPS systems will start to ship next week.
--Dell will add the GeForce 7950 GX2 3D card to its XPS 700 configurator in "a couple of weeks."

That's all good stuff, but it doesn't answer my main question, which was: In addition to upgrading the CPUs, what will Dell do for those who ordered an XPS 700 thinking it would come with one of the fastest 3D cards around, only to find that 3D setup a step or two behind by the time they receive it?

I pressed Liem on this point, and all he was able to tell me is that Dell will be in touch over the phone and via e-mail with its XPS 700 customers whose orders have been delayed, which will give you the opportunity to alter your order or cancel it altogether. Liem was not able to elaborate on the far-term config possibilities due to nondisclosure agreements tied to unannounced products, nor would he get into the specifics of pricing or other details on the GeForce 7950 GX2s. Liem finished by saying that he'd be in touch with further developments as he can.

Again, not a lot of concrete info. My take is this: If you find out that your delayed XPS 700 will ship this month, and after Dell has added the GeForce 7950 GX2 cards, I would expect you to be able to swap out two GeForce 7900 GTX cards for a single GeForce 7950 GX2 (which, compared to two 7900 GTXs is basically as fast, takes up less space, and uses less power) and several hundred dollars off the original quoted price. I would not expect to exchange the cards one-for-one or two-for-two, because a single 7950 GX2 is more expensive than a single GeForce 7900 GTX. If you find out that your system will arrive in September or October and Dell has added other cards to its XPS 700 configurator by then, I expect that Dell will keep you informed and give you the ability to upgrade to an equivalently priced 3D card for no extra charge, if there is a card of the same price available at the time of your reconfiguration.

In my mind, Dell needs to be fair with the value of a config based on the time that it's purchased, and adjust accordingly if there's a significant, unexpected delay in the time in which it is received. Without being specific as to how, Liem assured me that Dell would act responsibly in this regard. So he, and thus Dell, are on the record. If Dell doesn't live up to reasonable customer expectations, I hope that the XPS 700 customers who have been thus far disappointed will continue to light up our comments section and Dell's own Direct2Dell blog and make your frustrations known. You can be sure we'll be staying on top of the situation as well. I'm going to leave the review score as it stands, but if things deteriorate, you can bet we'll take a second look.

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• See product information for Dell XPS 700 (Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800)
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August 10, 2006, 10:38 AM PDT
Update: The not-so-stealthy BlackBerry Stealth revealed
Posted by: Bonnie Cha

Research in Motion has made no secret about its plans to add multimedia features to its future BlackBerrys, but the company hasn't revealed any specific models or time frame for a release. Of course, you can always rely on the good ol' Web to offer up some juicy rumors, and sure enough, there have been rumblings about a multimedia-capable BlackBerry, code-named Stealth. Well, it looks like someone has done some reconnaissance work, because Mobility Today is showing off some photos (and for once, they're not blurry) of the device, which has been renamed the BlackBerry 8100. From the images, you can see that it has an integrated camera and a music player. The phone also has T-Mobile branding, which contradicts earlier reports of it coming out on Cingular. That's not to say it won't--it just may come out on T-Mobile first. Now, we're always a bit leery of these leaked images, but we hope these are legit since it appears to be a pretty slick device.

Update: Engadget Mobile now has a report that the BlackBerry Stealth/BlackBerry 8100 will be called the BlackBerry Pearl and launch with T-Mobile on September 18 for $199. Specs include a built-in camera with flash and zoom, a media player, a 65,000-color, 240x260-resolution screen, a Micro SD slot, 64MB of internal memory, and EDGE support.

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August 10, 2006, 10:35 AM PDT
Consumer Reports rates desktop security applications
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

The September issue of Consumer Reports features the organization's analysis of popular desktop security applications. For Internet security suites, Consumer Reports agrees with CNET, recommending ZoneAlarm Internet Security 6.5, and for the best antivirus/antispyware combination, again CR echoes CNET high praise for Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2006. To read the full list of recommended software, however, you'll have to pick up a copy at your local newsstand or be a subscriber to view the articles online.

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August 10, 2006, 10:33 AM PDT
Free scanner tests for Microsoft vulnerability
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

One day after a stern warning from the Department of Homeland Security to patch your Windows operating system ASAP, security vendor eEye released a free scanner to identify the TCP ports 135 and 445 that are vulnerable to the Server Service vulnerability addressed in Microsoft's security bulletin MS06-040. On Tuesday, Microsoft announced fixes for 23 vulnerabilities in its Windows and Office software, and criminal elements wasted no time in releasing public exploits for many of the more critical patches, including MS06-040. This flaw in particular is regarded as worrisome since it bears similarities to the flaw that was exploited three years ago with the MSBlast worm.

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