The Hubbub Over Hulu
NBC Universal and News Corp.'s new Web site for prime-time and high-quality TV programs finally has a name. But programming info is sketchy. In March, News Corp. and NBC Universal made an announcement akin to an end-of-season cliffhanger. The media titans were teaming up to bring the best of prime-time TV and other high-quality programming to a new Web site they would develop together. The site didn't have a name. The shows it would feature were not yet known. The launch date was to be determined. But, if all went according to plan, executives promised the site would change the online video landscape. Just stay tuned, they said. Five months later, the companies are finally revealing key details about the joint venture: The site's name is Hulu. And on Aug. 29, the Hulu team began accepting requests for inclusion in an invitation-only test, scheduled to begin in October with a few hundred people. The home page features promotional shots from some of NBC's and News Corp.'s most popular shows: Heroes, Family Guy, The Simpsons, 24, and Friday Night Lights, to name a few. Yet it is unclear whether single episodes, entire seasons, or only clips of those shows and others will be available on the site.

Legal exemption allows iPhone unlocking
An exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the US means that it may be legal to unlock an iPhone and use it on networks other than AT&T's. A report suggests that the exemption, which is in place for three years, covers computer programs that 'enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network'. Individual users could therefore legally unlock an iPhone until the exemption runs out in November 2009. Lawyers for Apple and AT &T have tried to deter hackers from unlocking iPhones in order to protect the monthly service charges they receive. The two firms are expected to claim that a statement within the DMCA protects the iPhone from being unlocked because it is a copyrighted work. The DMCA bill reads: 'No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.' However, users who unlock their iPhone will not escape AT&T network charges completely if they move to another carrier. The Apple phone, which went on sale on 29 June, was sold with a two-year contract and includes an early termination fee of $175.

Microsoft to release Vista fixes in 2008
Microsoft said it will release a major package of updates and fixes for the Windows Vista operating system in the first half of 2008. The company said a "beta" test version of Service Pack 1 will be released "in a few weeks to a moderate sized audience." The SP1 beta includes updates Microsoft has already made to the operating system it started selling to consumers at the end of January. The service pack fixes some common problems that cause computers to crash or freeze, Microsoft said, including compatibility problems with some newer graphics cards, external monitors and printer drivers. Microsoft said it also fixed some problems users had with putting their PCs to sleep and waking them up again. The company said SP1 is also expected to improve battery performance, increase the speed of copying files and help Internet Explorer run faster on Vista. Microsoft said SP1 also brings several security improvements. Microsoft said it expects to release Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, Vista's predecessor, in the first half of 2008 as well, but in a statement added that it "should not significantly change the Windows XP experience." In the past, some of Microsoft's business clients used the release of a service pack as a sign that a new operating system was stable enough to install. Analysts have said Vista seems more reliable out of the box than past versions of Windows, and that businesses need not wait for the service pack.

Using Bandwidth as global Currency
An international team of computer scientists has proposed a next-generation e-commerce system that uses internet bandwidth as a global 'currency'. Developed by researchers at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, in collaboration with colleagues from The Netherlands, the Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Client is available for free download. The application is an enhanced version of a program called Tribler, originally created by scientists at the Delft University of Technology and the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam to study video file sharing. The software exploits the power of peer-to-peer technology, which is based on forming networks among individual users. The researchers were inspired to use a version of the Tribler video-sharing software as a model for an e-commerce system because of this flexibility, speed and reliability. The researchers outlined an e-commerce model that connects users to a single global market without any controlling company, network or bank. They see bandwidth as the first true internet 'currency' for such a market. For example, the more a user uploads now (i.e. earns) and the higher the quality of the contributions, the more they would be able to download later (i.e. spend) and the faster the download speed. The researchers concede that the greatest challenge to any peer-to-peer backed e-commerce system is implementing proper regulation in a decentralised environment.

Bloggers battered by viral storm
Google's Blogger site is being used by malicious hackers who are posting fake entries to some blogs. The fake entries contain weblinks that lead to booby-trapped downloads that could infect a Windows PC. Infected computers are being hijacked by the gang behind the attacks and either mined for saleable data or used for other attacks. The Blogger attack is the latest in a series by a gang that has managed to hijack hundreds of thousands of PCs. Now many hundreds of blogs on the site have been updated with a short entry containing the link. The bogus entries could have exploited a Blogger feature that lets users e-mail entries to their journal. The blogs themselves could also be fake and set up solely to act as hosts for spam. The entries on the blogs have the same text as some of the spam distributed by the group behind the attacks. These attempt to trick people into clicking on links and downloading booby-trapped files using cleverly crafted messages. Some pose as YouTube links others claim to be looking for testers of software packages or digital greetings cards. The group behind the attack on Blogger is thought to have mounted a huge series of attacks since January.

Apple May Reveal iPods With More Features
Apple is expected next week to introduce new versions of its digital music players that have more features, but cost the same. The new gear, typifies how Apple is focusing on its core businesses after expanding into the cellphone industry earlier this year with its iPhone. The new iPods would be the first to be based on a version of Apple's homegrown computer operating system. They will be about an inch shorter and will be capable of storing more digital media. There is also speculation that the new media players will feature some elements, such as a touchscreen, that Apple first introduced in its iPhone.

The iCar
U.S. computer company Apple & German automaker Volkswagen are discussing the possibility of building an "iCar" that would feature products by the producer of the ubiquitous iPod personal music player. Market experts estimate that a compact car upgraded with Apple products would be of substantial interest to young target groups. Apple already works with VW and other automakers to offer an integrated in-car hookup for iPods. Electronics, ranging from satellite navigation machines to cup warmers, are increasingly a selling point for automakers. Ford Motor., for instance, will debut this fall an in-car communication and entertainment system developed with Microsoft that will cost $395 as an option.

Cutting Dependence on U.S. Market
Infosys Technologies, India's second largest software service company, plans to reduce dependance on U.S. customers to sustain growth in the face of a weakening dollar. Infosys wants revenue share derived from U.S customers reduced to 50%, from the current 63%, The Mint newspaper said. The company wants to increase its European share of revenue to 30% and that of customers in other parts of the world to 20%. CEO S. IT companies in India depend on the revenue of outsourcing orders from the United States and have been hit by the dollar's slide in currency markets this year. Profit growth at Infosys Technologies slowed to 34.6% in the April-June period from 70.4% in the previous quarter. In July, the Bangalore-based company announced its first-ever cut in a forecast for annual earnings, citing concerns over the rupee's appreciation against U.S. dollar. The rupee rose nearly 7% against the dollar during the April-June period. Companies such as Infosys that have depended on U.S. dollar earnings are now increasingly looking to non-U.S. markets.

Bio-alarm clocks set for perfect wake-up
Morning grogginess may be a thing of the past thanks to bio-alarm clocks designed to wake sleepers at the perfect time. The clocks detect brainwaves or body movements and are programmed to wake sleepers during light sleep, which occurs periodically through the night. Sleep cycles vary from 90 to 110 minutes, so the bio-alarm clocks have a roughly 30-minute margin of error. Other bio-alarms include SleepSmart, a headband with circuits that detect brainwaves during sleep, and the aXbo Sleep Phase Alarm Clock, which is a wristband that reads body movements. Bio-alarms aren't the only innovative wake-up devices to hit bedrooms. The Clocky has wheels that drive it around, forcing the sleeper to get out of bed and chase it. The Biobright alarm clock simulates a sunrise using a 60-watt light bulb. And the Wake n' Bacon wakes a person to the smell of breakfast. Frozen bacon is placed in the built-in oven the night before and starts sizzling 10 minutes before wake-up time. But bio-alarm clocks are the only devices designed to detect sleep patterns. The Sleeptracker, introduced in March 2005, has an accelerometer that reads specific movements common during light sleep. The SleepSmart has sensors that read electrical brain waves that vary in frequency during light and heavy sleep.

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