Windows XP SP3: No, Really, It’s Not Ready

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Rumor was that Microsoft was set to release Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) this week, but that’s obviously not going to happen. Tuesday Microsoft announced another refresh of the software, a Release Candidate 2 (RC2) refresh (what, not RC3?).
As before, you have to use an application to enable Windows Update [...]

Sony “Sort Of” Removes “No Bloatware” Fee

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
You may recall that Jimmy earlier wrote about Sony’s $50 charge for its “no bloatware” Fresh Start Option. They’ve since, after an explosion of bad publicity, rescinded that fee. I personally felt that since, in order to get the “Fresh Start” option and no bloatware, you had to select [...]

Student No Longer Faces Expulsion for “Facebook Study Group”

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
You may recall that Chris Avenir, a first-year chemical engineering student at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, faced expulsion after it came to light that he had created a Facebook-based chemistry study group.
The study group, called “Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solutions,” after a campus-based engineering study group called “The Dungeon,” attracted the attention of [...]

Sony Confirms Imminent BD-Live FW Upgrade for PS3

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
BD-Live (AKA Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0) titles were released earlier this year, despite the fact that there were no players yet capable of supporting BD-Live.
Once again, the PS3 shows why it should be the Blu-ray player of choice for even non-gamers, as Firmware v2.20, which Sony says is “coming up in the [...]

Windows Vista SP1 Now Available Via Windows Update

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
I wrote earlier that Windows Vista SP1 would ship this week, and it’s here, at least via Windows Update. We still need to wait and see if Amazon.com’s publicized March 19th release from retail still takes place.
Additionally, you can download the whole package from Microsoft’s Download Center. Remember, however, that [...]

Windows Vista SP1 to Ship This Week

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
I actually wrote about this in early March, as a footnote to a story about the price drops seen after Microsoft announced its post-SP1 release pricing structure. At that time Amazon was taking pre-orders for Windows Vista with SP1 included, and the announced availability date, as you can see, was - [...]

Airport Express 802.11n Update Accidentally Leaked

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Apple’s usually so very careful about updating its site, generally taking it down when they introduce a new product. But the Swiss version of the Apple Store appears to have accidentally leaked information about an update to the Airport Express which adds 802.11n support.
The Airport Express is a wireless access point, [...]

P4P Aims to Speed Peer-to-Peer File Transfers, Reduce Traffic

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
I’m guessing I’m not the only one who’s never heard of P4P. That’s because it’s still being developed. The Distributed Computing Industry Association and its “P4P Working Group” is working on a new peer-to-peer protocol, called Proactive network Provider Participation for P2P or P4P. It’s described as a “carrier-grade [...]

Security Firm Trend Micro a Victim of Latest iFrame Attacks

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Nothing is so humorous as when the web site of a security vendor gets hacked. OK, OK, it was hilarious when the RIAA site was hacked, too. And I’ll admit: it’s probably not as funny if it’s your security vendor.
Earlier this week a massive attack on websites via iFrame was [...]

AOL to Acquire Bebo for $850 Million

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
In a surprise move, Time-Warner’s AOL division on Thursday announced it has acquired Bebo for $850 million in cash. Bebo claims a global membership of about 40 million users and is the top social networking site in Ireland and New Zealand. It is No. 3 in the [...]

YouTube: Broadcast Yourself, Anywhere

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Rumors flew yesterday about today’s YouTube announcement. Some thought it would be high-definition videos (long desired); others thought it would be a deal with Hulu (which would have been cool). The real announcement was an opening up of YouTube, turning it into a service that could power your own application, [...]

Ultimate Travel Gadget: Belkin Mini Power Strip

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Anyone who travels a lot will simply look at this device and sigh with relief. Why? Hotels are awful about providing enough power outlets near the desk - and with more and more gadgets hitting the road, it means a room strewn with charging cell phones and laptops and headsets, etc. One room [...]

Sony/ATV, Apple Deny Rumors of iTunes Beatles Deal

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Sorry, Beatles fans: two sources are throwing cold water on rumors that Paul McCartney has sold the rights to the Beatles back catalog to iTunes.
First, a denial by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which is the joint venture owned by Sony and singer Michael Jackson. Sony/ATV owns the publishing rights to the vast [...]

McCartney Signs Deal with iTunes for Beatles Catalog: Report

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
If nothing else, it appears that the contentious divorce between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills has led to one good result - well, not for either of them, but for music fans. McCartney has authorized the release of the Beatles’ back catalog on iTunes in a deal that is valued at [...]

Circuit City Extends Return Time for HD-DVD Players

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Some retailers have been offering credits or trade-ins for returns of HD-DVD players, but you always need to buy a new Blu-ray player in exchange. Circuit City is going them one better, extending its 30-day return policy to 90 days for HD-DVD players.
Of course, since the avalanche of bad HD-DVD news [...]

Denver Airport Censors Its Free Wi-Fi Network

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
I suppose you could say that since it’s their wi-fi network, and since it’s free, they can do whatever they want with it. But some of the sites that Denver International Airport is choosing to block are not what I would consider racy.
It should be noted that Denver International Airport is the [...]

Nine Inch Nails Uploads New Album to BitTorrent Sites

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Nine Inch Nails has released its new album, Ghosts I-IV, online and in a somewhat Radiohead-eque way. You’ll recall Radiohead released its In Rainbows album with “you” naming the price. Nine Inch Nails doesn’t go quite that far, but it’s still the sort of experimentation more bands should be trying [...]

Intel Announces “Atom” Branding for Silverthorne CPUs

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
You can stop using the code name Silverthorne. On Sunday Intel announced the new branding for its upcoming low-power CPUs; Silverthorne and its derivatives will now be called Atom.
The new branding will include both Silverthorne for ultra mobile devices and Diamondville for desktops and notebooks (in the Asus Eee PC style).
Intel’s [...]

Yahoo! Redefines the “Power Lunch”

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Yahoo! has launched its first ever “Green Screen.” It’s an interactive energy monitoring touch screen display located in Yahoo!’s URL cafeteria at its Sunnyvale headquarters.
Last year Yahoo! launched Yahoo! Green, while at the same time pledging to become carbon neutral. On the Green Screen, data can be viewed in [...]

Microsoft Cuts Vista Prices in Hopes of Spurring Adoption

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
As we close in on the public release of Windows Vista SP1, Microsoft has taken what’s likely an unprecedented step: it’s cut the prices of many of the retail versions of the OS. The timing is obvious: Microsoft has been betting heavily on SP1 as many corporations have been waiting to [...]