http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/news Latest news, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17714 Remember when upstart computer maker Psystar began offering inexpensive Macintosh clones based on everyday PC hardware, and Apple finally got around to suing them, alleging copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair compeition? Well, now Psystar has counter-sued Apple, alleging Apple is engaging in restraint of trade, unfair competition, and violating antitrust aw. The suit is being handled by antitrust specialists Carr &ampRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17710 Microsoft is getting close to owning 10,000 patents, and the latest is one for the Page Up and Page Down keys on your computer keyboard. Yes, really.They first applied for the patent in 2005 and were finally granted it last week, according to ZDNet, although the service showed a 1981 IBM keyboard with those keys.In the patent application the invention of the keys is credited to Timothy Sellers, Heather Grantham and Joshua Dersch and described as "in one implementation, pressing a Page Down or Page Up keyboard key/button allows a user to begin at any starting vertical location within a page, andRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17707 In one of those Mark Twain moments, the news of Steve Jobs’ death has been greatly exaggerated. His obituary was accidentally sent out to clients by Bloomberg News wire, marked “Hold for release – Do not use.”But the Apple boss, who was treated for pancreatic cancer in 2004, is still very much alive.The 2,500 word piece, which left the age and cause of death blank, described Job as a man who “helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music and refashioned the mobile phone.”The obituaRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-13554_3-10027754-33.html?tag=rsspr.6246142&part=ecoustics-cnet Featured links from the CNET Blog Network Be safer than NASA and disable autorun--A computer worm infected machines on the International Space Station. Is anybody using the LimeWire Store?--Lime Wire announces a deal with The Orchard that will double the number of songs available through its online store. But if you're using LimeWire P2P software, are you going to buy music? Console gaming, digital distribution and the "video game defense"--Video game distribution is changing. Experts say that the industry needs to stay flexible and aware. The problem with open-source revenue models--Open source still needs to figure out the best ways to get paid without sacrificing the ideals that make it so powerful. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:14:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17699 Most of us will never find out who toiled away on our stereos, computers, cars and gadgets, but for one British iPod owner, the answer literally stared back at him out of his phone. A user on the MacRumors forums discovered photos preloaded on his phone last week, apparently taken from the iPhone factory line, featuring a young Chinese worker who has since reached Internet stardom as the “iPhone girl.”The user markm49uk posted three of the photos to MacRumors last week, which show a young girl in a pink striped jumpsuit smiling, pausing from worki Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17695 There’s no final release date set yet, but Microsoft has made the Beta 2 of its new IE8 browser available for download by consumers – folling up on the promise by Bill Gates that it would be available before the end of August.With a smart address bar that uses previously typed URLs to predict a requested address, better tabbed browsing and the previously-disclosed In Private privacy feature, IE8 offers a lot of improvement over its predecessor, and will be more standards compliant.James Pratt, a senior product manager in the IE development team, told Computerworld:"Beta 2 is suitable for all u Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17693 A computer virus has made it into space. The space news site SpaceRef reports that Nasa has confirmed that laptops taken onto the International Space Station (ISS) last month were infected with the Gammima.AG virus but stress that nothing on board is in danger.They’re not trying to figure how just how the laptops – which were used for nutritional programs and to let astronauts send e-mail to earth and which reportedly carried no antivirus software – came to be infected. Nasa suspects the virus might have been on a USB drive an astronaut took into space.The Gammima.AG virus gra Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-13554_3-10027754-33.html?part=ecoustics-cnet A computer worm infected machines on the International Space Station. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:41:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-1009_3-10027270-83.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Virus that hits laptops onboard the International Space Station isn't the first ever, just the first one that is reported, NASA says. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:53:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17684 U.S. computer maker Dell is making good on its commitment to increase it presence in emerging overseas markets—and no doubt to keep recent promise to its retail partners in places like India and China—by announcing two new Vostro notebooks and two new Vostro desktop systems exclusively for emerging markets in Asia, Europe, and Latin America."Within the world's em Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17682 It’s fairly easy for hackers to intercept data flowing between a computer and a website. It’s a great way for them to steal personal data such as passwords and account numbers, especially in places like Wi-Fi hotspots – and those who’ve been hacked don’t even know it’s happening.But that might become a thing of the past, thanks to a trio of US researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. They’ve developed the idea of sites designated as trusted “notaries,” the BBC reports.Special software compares responses from the trusted sites and tells users if it appears that their data is being in Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/2300-1042_3-6244991-1.html?part=ecoustics-cnet One project has transformed a once crime-ridden area into a neighborhood-wide learning center. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/news/150269 Annoyed by all the computerese that litters security stories? Here's your guide. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-1023_3-10026301-93.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The administration's Web site for tracking real-time flight departures shows taxi details of between 16 minutes to 45 minutes at major airports throughout the country--from San Francisco International Airport to JFK in New York. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:51:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17677 If you've ever been using your notebook computer in your living room while watching TV and thought to yourself, "Hey, this is screwy: I should be using the big screen for the computer!" then Iogear has a solution coming your way. Iogear's Wireless USB to VGA Kit enables users to stream high-definition (720p) video data from their PC to an HD-capable TV to to 30 feet away with no cable clutter. Even better, once you're connected to the HDTV, you can use its picture-in-picture capabilities to keep tabs on your favorite channels while you deal with email, update your Facebook profile, or, um, work."As today's consumers become increasingly mobile, we want to cater to Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:05:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/2300-1042_3-6244980-1.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Paraisopolis, one of Brazil's slums, has a computer lab connected to a health clinic and community center. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17665 Andrew Chapman received an extra surprise with the computer he bought on eBay for $70. When he examined the hard drive, the IT manager from Oxford, England, was astonished to discover it contained details on a million bank customers.There was sensitive personal data on customers of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and American Express, including account numbers, credit card balances, sort codes, signatures, names, addresses, mobile phone numbers and even mothers’ maiden names – a treasure trove for criminals, the Daily Mai Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:23:50 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-11386_3-10024983-76.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Georgia Tech develops technology that would allow people with severe disabilities to operate a wheelchair or computer by moving their tongue. They only need to get as hip as a tongue-pierced punk. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:38:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17660 Keyboard-video-mouse switches make it easy to control two or more computers with only one set of controls – but up until now, hooking up a laptop to one always meant replacing its compact built-in interface with the clunky desktop version, never the other way around. Iogear has reversed that equation with the USB Laptop KVM Switch, the first KVM to allow a notebook’s controls to work on another computer.The compact switch – a tiny rectangular box with USB cables coming out of either end – c Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17654 Information Week has reported that on July 30, Microsoft applied for two trademarks related to browser security, and the speculation is that the features could show up in the new version of Internet Explorer, IE8, which is due later this year.The company applied to trademark the names Cleartracks and InPrivate. In the application, Cleartracks is described as "computer programs for accessing and using the Internet and the World Wide Web, and computer programs for deleting search history after accessing Web sites."The description for InPrivate is for "computer programs for disabling the history of file caching Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-13772_3-10024508-52.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The University of Washington software project is aimed at, among others, Iraq war veterans who have returned with injuries preventing them from using computers. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:33:56 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-13772_3-10024278-52.html?part=ecoustics-cnet A project being run out of the University of Washington is aimed at providing a method for locating stolen computers that offers privacy. Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:21:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-11424_3-10023810-90.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Intel's Justin Rattner talks about superintelligent computers, China blocks iTunes Store access, and tales of allowing the iPhone to run your life for a day. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:30:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/1606-2_3-50003469.html?tag=rsspr.6245932&part=ecoustics-cnet Intel uses its big developer conference to tout progress in ushering in an age of intelligent computers. What's the reality, and when might all this be ready for prime time? Join Charles Cooper and Stephen Shankland on the CNET News Daily Debrief. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:49:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-1001_3-10023055-92.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Intel CTO Justin Rattner paints a bullish future with advances in processing, communication, robots, materials science, and human-computer interfaces. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0400