Now closing: GeoCities, a relic of Web's early days

Yahoo is closing its GeoCities personal home page service, and with it will go an era of self-expression on the Web that's largely been replaced by social networks and blogs.
GeoCities rose to power during an era when publishing on the Internet meant setting up your own Web site. GeoCities simplified the process by helping people sidestep the complications of registering a domain and learning how to program HTML, the language that describes Web pages.
Yahoo is closing it GeoCities site this year.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)Yahoo bought GeoCities for more than $2.9 billion in dot-com-priced stock in 1999, when GeoCities had more than 1.1 million users. However, while the idea of having a personal presence on the Internet has caught on, GeoCities turned out to be a backwater, not the mainstream.
"We will be closing GeoCities later this year," Yahoo said in a note on the site. "We'll provide more details about closing GeoCities and how to save your site data this summer."
Goodbye Geocities, hello FacebookToday, the way people choose to express themselves on the Internet is shifting away from isolated Web pages. Instead they use social-networking sites such as Facebook, with built-in features for creating a profile, staying in touch with contacts, and maintaining at least a little privacy; WordPress, where it's easy to post updates to a blog; or Flickr, where the photographically inclined can meet, share, and comment.
What these services and others including Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, and Blogger possess is a mechanism to notify interested parties of new activity, helping to keep social links pulsing with new information in a way that just can't be replicated by depending on a person to swing by a personal Web site.
That's not to say personal home pages are extinct. Google Sites is still around, and Yola, formerly SynthaSite, bought out search ads related to GeoCities searches on Thursday. But for most folks, it's easier to rely on more sophisticated pre-built services than to roll their own sites.
It's no surprise GeoCities is on the chopping block. Yahoo has its hands full trying to integrate its successful properties with the socially active parts of the Internet. The company hardly has resources to spare on last decade's trend.
Part of GeoCities' closure is related to Yahoo's circumstances. The company already was under financial pressure before the recession arrived in full force, but now things are even tighter, and new Chief Executive Carol Bartz is focusing on the company's core, successful properties--laying off about 675 employees in areas that don't pass muster.
GeoCities' vanishing sites?Still unclear is what exactly will become of GeoCities pages. New sign-ups are already no longer permitted, but what about existing sites?
Here's how Yahoo put it: "You can continue to enjoy your Web site and GeoCities services until later this year. You don't need to change a thing right now--we just wanted you to let you know about the closure as soon as possible. We'll provide more details about closing GeoCities and how to save your site data this summer, and we will update the help center with more details at that time."
That leaves open the possibility that Yahoo will make it possible to move a site to another service, as it did when shutting down Yahoo Photos, but in the current climate, it's probably best not to expect such a graceful transition option. Yahoo wouldn't comment on its plans.
Another option is to upgrade to a separate paid Yahoo service: "You don't need to change your service today, but we encourage anyone interested in a full-featured Web hosting plan to consider upgrading to our award-winning Yahoo Web Hosting service."
But given how many GeoCities users weren't technical experts, it seems likely that a lot of amateur Web sites soon will vanish without a trace, a casualty of business priorities and the Internet's rapid changes.

Microsoft profits sink for the first time in 23 years

In a not totally surprising -- yet still kind of striking -- turn of events, Microsoft is reporting that its sales have fallen for the first time in 23 years. You read that right, 23 years. According to numbers that the company has just released, sales fell 6 percent year-over-year, while overall net income dropped a staggering 32 percent. Those numbers are significant, but what's more telling is where those losses are coming from. Namely? Netbooks. Apparently, in the midst of a global downturn consumers really are buying cheaper, especially when it comes to tech, which puts a fairly significant crunch on Redmond's bottom line. A CNN reports suggests that the presence of Linux on those devices has contributed to the hurt here, but it's more likely that the combo of a market still unwelcoming to Vista and the wide popularity of XP on the low-power systems has more to do with these dipping profit margins. Oh, and that general, awful market depression. Still, it should serve as some kind of wake up call to Microsoft that just being the biggest doesn't guarantee that the money will keep rolling in the way it has in years past -- clearly the big picture isn't as sharp as it's always been. Hey Windows 7 -- no pressure, right?Update: We've tweaked some language in the post that made the situation sound more dire than intended. Don't worry everyone, we know Microsoft isn't going anywhere.

Apple soars during economic gloom

The iPod lineup appeared to get a clear boost from the launch of the new iPod Shuffle, with Apple selling about 1 million more iPods than analysts had expected. iPod shipments were up 3 percent compared to last year, as revenue fell 16 percent, suggesting that sales of the $79 iPod Shuffle made up a greater amount of Apple's iPod mix than usual.
iPod Touch sales doubled compared to last year, Cook said, and Apple has now sold 37 million iPhones and iPod Touches combined. In March, Apple said it had sold 30 million of those two devices since their introduction.
And as had been foreshadowed earlier on Tuesday, Apple sold 3.79 million iPhones, which Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicted based on AT&T's activation numbers for the quarter. iPhone shipments were up sharply compared to last year, but they fell coming off the holiday quarter.

Bill Clinton: Business is the key to climate change

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.--Absent having a vote in Congress, the best way for people to tackle climate change is to make clean energy cheap, said President Bill Clinton at a green business conference here on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Green event, Clinton said through the Clinton Global Initiative philanthropy, he is involved in a number of projects which show how environmental awareness makes sense for business.
Successful sustainability efforts help provide the political leverage for passing climate change regulations in the U.S., and internationally, Clinton argued.

Windows Mobile 6.5 details coming in May?

Windows Mobile 6.5 phones still aren't expected to arrive until the second half of the year, but Microsoft sounds like it's ready to show off the new operating system next month.
Electronista spotted a post to Microsoft's Windows Mobile blog last week that said the company is planning to "launch" the new mobile operating system at TechEd 2009, scheduled for May 11. "Launch" can mean an awful lot of things in the business world, and in this case, it's likely that Microsoft is referring to the "release to manufacturing" milestone, when a product is made available to its handset partners for testing and certification.
Representatives from Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on what will announced or demonstrated in May. When Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed Windows Mobile 6.5 in February at the Mobile World Congress, he said that phones with the new software wouldn't be available until the second half of the year.
Updated 4:15pm - Microsoft issued a statement regarding Windows Mobile 6.5 and TechEd 2009. And here it is:
"We're excited about TechEd as an opportunity to talk to business customers and developers about the software for the next generation of Windows phones. There will be several sessions we think will help people learn more to get their planning ideas started about the new phones coming to market in the 2H of 2009."

Apple rumor: Launch e-mail from an iPhone note?

According to developers poking through the latest version of the iPhone OS 3.0 beta, it seems that the Mobile Notes application in iPhone OS 3.0 is capable of detecting phone numbers, URLs, and e-mail addresses when viewing a note. Once detected, which the operating system shows by underlining the data, simply touching that item launches the corresponding Phone, Mobile Safari, or Mobile Mail application. (Source: AppleInsider)
When Apple unveiled the iPhone 3.0 OS in March, it only showed off a few of the new features that are going to arrive with the next release. Developers are being given over 1,000 new APIs to play with--allowing to them to tie their applications to parts of the iPhone's hardware in ways that were previously forbidden--and details have been trickling out ever since.

eBay buying stake in Gmarket; Yahoo selling its

eBay announced an agreement Wednesday to acquire Gmarket for a price of up to $1.2 billion, and Yahoo has agreed to sell its 10 percent stake in the South Korean e-commerce site in a move that would raise about $120 million.
Gmarket's board unanimously approved eBay's tender offer, in which the online auction and commerce site will pay a cash price of 31,767 Korean won, or $24, per share for all common shares and all American Depository Shares. eBay said it's assured of owning at least 67 percent of the company, and if it acquires all shares in the tender offer, the total price will reach about $1.2 billion.
eBay said it will combine Gmarket with its own Korean operations, the Internet Auction Co. it acquired in 2001, , though it will still use separate Web sites. "This deal creates strong operational synergies between the two market leaders, offers more opportunities for sellers and enhances our ability to serve complementary consumer segments," said John Donahoe, eBay's president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
eBay, once an e-commerce darling but now under more financial pressure, is making dramatic moves. The company plans a 2010 initial public offering to spin off Skype, its Internet telephony group.
The Gmarket offer, pending final approval by Korean antitrust authorities, would give eBay a significant new source of revenue. While its existing IAC business produced revenue of $161 million on $2.2 billion in gross merchandise sales, Gmarket produced $221 million on $3.2 billion in sales, eBay said. The company's offer is a 20 percent premium over Gmarket's closing price of $19.96.
With the recession hurting advertising revenue and Google supplying relentless competition, Yahoo is under pressure of its own. The company could announce more layoffs as it reports financial results next Tuesday, and raising $120 million could also help appease shareholders dissatisfied with Yahoo's financial condition.

eBay to launch a Skype IPO in 2010

eBay announced Tuesday plans to spin off its Internet phone and video-conferencing service, Skype, with an IPO in the first half of next year.
The decision comes four years after online auction giant eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion, with the plans to offer customers the ability to discuss their transactions in real-time. But over the course of the four years, eBay found its acquisition failed to provide the synergies it sought.
John Donahoe, eBay's chief executive, said in a statement:
Skype is a great stand-alone business with strong fundamentals and accelerating momentum. But it's clear that Skype has limited synergies with eBay and PayPal. We believe operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential. This will give Skype the focus and resources required to continue its growth and effectively compete in online voice and video communications.
Although eBay plans to launch a Skype IPO in the first half of next year, the company noted its exact timing will be based on market conditions.
Last year, Skype generated $551 million in revenues, up 44 percent over the previous year. The number of Skype's registered users has increased to 405 million at the end of last year, up 47 percent from the previous year.
Over the past year, eBay has been weighing its options regarding Skype's fate. When the company announced Donahoe as its new CEO last spring, eBay indicated the online auction giant would take a year to evaluate the future of its online phone and video-conferencing service.
Meanwhile, reports surfaced earlier this month that Skype's founders were interested in repurchasing the company, with the aid of private equity firms KKR, Warburg Pincus, Elevation Partners, and Providence.
eBay shares rose 3.76 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday to $14.92 a share. During the regular session, eBay closed down 1.71 percent to end the day at $14.38 a share.

Amazon 'adult' book fail: Internal error or Internet troll?

Amazon got blasted by gay rights groups this weekend after gay and lesbian book titles were delisted from its site. Was it an internal glitch, as Amazon claims, or is an Internet troll with a vendetta responsible?
Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith told CNET News on Monday that the "glitch" was being fixed, but declined to elaborate.
"This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection," she wrote in an e-mail statement.
"It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles - in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica," the statement said. "This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon's main product search."
However, a Live Journal blogger with the alias of "weev" claims he did it to cause an outrage among the gay community, which he alleges has repeatedly flagged his online ads on Craigslist as inappropriate.
"I guess my game is up! Here's a nice piece I like to call 'how to cause moral outrage from the entire Internet in ten lines of code,'" he writes on his blog.
Weev said he figured out that he could easily get the books removed from search rankings by reporting them as inappropriate through a link at the bottom of the book page. He also claims he wrote code to identify all the gay and lesbian metadata-tagged books on Amazon and grab their IDs. He then hired people outside the U.S. to register new accounts en masse to help push the books out of the system, he said.
"Now from here it was a matter of getting a lot of people to vote for the books," he wrote. "The thing about the adult reporting function of Amazon was that it was vulnerable to something called 'cross-site request forgery.' This means if I referred someone to the URL of the successful complaint, it would resister as a complaint if they were logged in. So now it is a numbers game."
Amazon's Smith dismissed the claim and insisted the error was internal. She is not alone.
Blogger Mike Daisey, who worked in customer support and business development at Amazon from 1998 until 2001, wrote on his blog that: "Someone was editing the category systems inside of Amazon.fr, made an error, and that system is global, so it propagated everywhere. I have no insight as to anyone's nationality, or whether it was a language gap, or anything of that nature."
Smith declined to comment on Daisey's explanation.
Blogger Bryant Durrell said he tested out Weev's concept and doesn't believe it is legitimate, partly because of buggy code.
"Summation: nope, you didn't do that, you liar you. Nice meta-troll, though," Durrell wrote on his blog.
"The really interesting thing about the troll is that he's right even if he didn't do it. The vulnerability he describes exists anywhere you make automated decisions based on third-party input."

YouTube Korea squelches uploads, comments

Citing free-speech concerns about an anonymity-blocking law in South Korea, Google has disabled the ability to upload YouTube videos or comment on them in the country.
"We believe that it is important for free expression that people have the right to remain anonymous, if they choose," the company said in a blog post that also tells people that they can get around the restriction by using a different country's version of the site.
A Korean law requires "real-name verification" for Internet services with more than 100,000 different daily users, Google said. Under the law, people must identify themselves with a name and identification number before they can upload video or post comments.
Google shared this translation of its Korean blog post, explaining the situation:
We have a bias in favor of people's right to free expression in everything we do. We are driven by a belief that more information generally means more choice, more freedom, and ultimately more power for the individual. We believe that it is important for free expression that people have the right to remain anonymous, if they choose.
Because of Real Name Verification Law in Korea, we have voluntarily disabled comments and video uploads when using YouTube in Korea with the Korea country setting, so you will not be required to verify your identity.
You will still be able to enjoy watching and sharing videos on YouTube. You may still upload videos and comments without proving your identity by choosing a non-Korean country setting from the top of any YouTube page.
We understand that this may affect your experience on YouTube. Thank you in advance for your understanding. We hope that you continue to enjoy and participate in the YouTube community.

Microsoft virtual machine mythbusting backfires

A Microsoft marketing video designed to "bust myths" around the lack of virtualisation functionality in its products has only served to remind users of how far it has to catch up

The video features David Greshler, director of virtualisation strategy at Microsoft, and Edwin Yuen, technical project manager at Microsoft, taking apart ten "myths" they said were perpetuated by virtualisation technology rival VMware.

Amazon follows Apple to $1.29

As expected, Apple on Tuesday introduced variable pricing on iTunes, meaning that some popular tracks now cost $1.29 instead of $0.99. Less expected: Amazon.com has followed Apple into the fray. Scroll down today's list of top downloads, and you'll see a few tracks at $1.29.
It's not just Amazon. I heard from a contact at another large online music company that the impetus behind the new pricing models is indeed coming from the labels. Apparently, they approached all the major stores and asked them to begin selling certain songs for $1.29 on Tuesday

Researchers build 'flying' micro-robot

A flying micro-robot has been developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. A research team, led by Professor Mir Behrad Khamesee, manipulates magnetic fields to levitate and move around three axes a robot weighing about three-hundredths of an ounce. According to a paper shared with ZDNet UK--"MechMN: Design and Implementation of a Micromanipulation System using a Magnetically Levitated MEMS Robot"--this is accomplished with an array of electromagnets that creates a three-dimensional parabolic magnetic field. The robot is magnetized itself and sits on top of the parabola, supported by the interaction between its own magnetic field and that created by the electromagnets. Altering the flow of current in the electromagnet distorts the field and moves the robot, Khamesee said via e-mail Thursday.

The robot is monitored by the laser sensors and a camera, which create a feedback loop to a computer. When the robot grasps an object, the magnetic field is automatically adjusted so the robot can maintain its position while supporting the weight of the object

The research team, which includes Khamesee and graduate students Caglar Elbuken and Mustafa Yavuz, submitted the paper last fall to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for possible publication

Online Office brings Microsoft to Open Web

Microsoft promotes its own Silverlight for building fancy Web applications. But to ensure wide availability, the online version of Office 14 will rely on JavaScript.

Microsoft patch rate surged in second half of 2008

Microsoft Corp. was forced to pick up the patching pace in the second half of 2008, the company admitted today, as it fixed 67% more flaws and released 17% more security updates in the period than it had in the first six months of the year.
Included in the bugs patched during the latter months of the year was the vulnerability exploited by Conficker, a worm that led to the biggest infection outbreak in years and a minor media frenzy last week.
Microsoft patched 97 different vulnerabilities in 42 separate security updates in the second half of 2008, compared to 58 vulnerabilities in 36 updates in the first half.
Vinnie Gullotto, general manager of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, acknowledged the increase. "The number [of patched vulnerabilities] did go up, but a lot has to do with our methodology."
Microsoft's Security Intelligence Report explained it differently. "Although the total number of security bulletins in [the second half of 2008] was on par with the last several periods, there was a significant increase in the number of CVE identifiers addressed per security bulletin in [the second half of 2008]," the report stated. The average number of Common Vulnerability and Exposure identifiers rose from an average of 1.6 per security bulletin in the first half of 2008 to 2.3 in the final six months.
In plain English, that means Microsoft packed more individual patches into the average security update.
During the second half of 2008, Microsoft issued several multipatch updates, including MS08-052, a five-patch update for the GDI+ component of Windows; MS08-058, a six-patch update for Internet Explorer; MS08-072, an eight-patch fix for Microsoft Word; and MS08-073, a four-patch update for IE.
Gullotto argued that the number of bugs Microsoft quashed was less important than the number of exploits actually crafted for, and released into the wild against, those vulnerabilities.
"The number of exploits against those [bugs] stayed about the same as in the first half of the year," he said. The report did not include a complete tally of all exploits aimed at Microsoft software during the last six months of the year, though it included some data related to browser and document file format bugs.
Conficker, the most prolific worm in several years, got its start last year when it began to exploit unpatched Windows machines just weeks after Microsoft issued one of its two emergency updates for the period. "Fortunately, Conficker was a rarity," said Gullotto, referring to the scarcity of worms that attack the operating system and self-propagate quickly through networks.
The other "out-of-band" update was released in mid-December to plug a critical hole in IE that had already been exploited by criminals.
Even as Gullotto admitted that Microsoft had to patch more bugs as 2008 proceeded, he defended the company's track record. "We're clearly seeing the results of the progress we've made in software development," he said, pointing out that the company's newer software is more secure than older code. According to data gathered from the Malicious Software Removal Tool, the anti-malware utility Microsoft updates and redistributes each month to Windows machines, the real-world infection rate of PCs running Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is 61% less than that of systems powered by Windows XP SP3.

Microsoft Streets & Trips Helps Families Take Affordable and Fun “Staycations”

REDMOND, Wash. — April 7, 2009 — Despite the down economy, many people still plan to participate in the upcoming spring and summer travel season. According to the U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Price Index, in February 2009 motor fuel prices were down 35.4 percent from one year ago. Many people are taking advantage of these lower gas prices and are planning a “staycation,” a close-to-home, often more affordable alternative to traveling abroad or even out of state.
Microsoft Streets & Trips provides people with tools that make it easy to plan the perfect staycation from beginning to end. Streets & Trips is packed with tools that help take the stress out of the typical family road trip. The route-planning feature accompanied by detailed directions and more than 1.5 million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, national parks and automated teller machines, allows travelers to plan personalized routes for a memorable and fun trip for the entire family. Streets & Trips also comes with a free trial membership to Entertainment® Online,1 which allows travelers to trim expenses by taking advantage of special savings at restaurants, hotels and special events.
Road construction updates, available online at no additional charge, inform users on important local, state, national (U.S.) and international (Canada) construction updates and road closures. Streets & Trips will then create routes that bypass such hang-ups to minimize frustrating delays and unexpected stops.
“Microsoft Streets & Trips is a great tool for families planning to hit the road this season,” said Anne Quaranta, product manager for Streets & Trips at Microsoft Corp. “Whether it’s getting from A to B, avoiding construction, or finding interesting places to stop along the way, Microsoft Streets & Trips helps families plan fun and memorable staycations while saving money.”

iPhone 3.0 video recorder interface uncovered

Video recording expected to be a key marketing point of the next iPhone already has an interface implemented within the iPhone 3.0 beta firmware, reports claim. The option is not enabled by default, but can allegedly be turned on by modifying configuration files. Once files are edited, the firmware is tricked into thinking a video camera is present.
The video interface is in fact a subset of the normal Camera application, toggled on with a switch in the lower-right corner; a Record button sits on the very bottom. Further investigation into configuration files is said to reveal autofocus support, as well as a variety of non-imaging related features. These include a digital compass, which could be used in turn-by-turn GPS navigation. More ambiguous is a "Voice Control" field, which may suggest the presence of built-in voice recognition. While a number of other cellphones support voice dialing, the feature has been conspicuously absent from iPhone firmware. Third-party apps such as Google's search software, however, have exploited limited voice commands under iPhone 2.x.

Google close to buying Twitter?

Reports on blog TechCrunch claim that Google is in advanced negotiations to acquire micro-blogging site Twitter.
Citing two separate sources, TechCrunch said that the asking price is more than the US$250m valuation that Twitter's recent round of funding would suggest.A third source, however, recently added to the TechCrunch report, suggests that talks are only in the early stages.Twitter has recently reworked its search feature, prompting many to think that this makes the firm more appealing to potential suitors. Search facilities have been added to the 'tweet' pages, and users can search tweets from this view. Twitter claims that the new additions were planned from the start.Such features would have obvious benefits for marketing and advertising purposes."Twitter Search is an engine for discovering what is happening right now," said Twitter co-founder Biz Stone in a blog post.Stone and co-founder Evan Williams have already sold Blogger.com to Google, and TechCrunch guesses that any deal would involve a straight cash or stock transaction.Analyst firm Gartner said that a deal makes sense for both firms.“The culture and ambitions of Twitter and Google match,” Gartner research vice president Jeff Mann noted. “Other tie-ins short of an acquisition could m ake sense, but would be harder to sustain since Twitter already uses such open interfaces. It will be hard to do something that others can't replicate.”He added that Twitter should look for a buyer now as it is currently at “the top of its hype range” and would otherwise face a long and difficult process of trying to generate revenues as a standalone company.However, other firms might also be interested in buying Twitter."Where's Microsoft in all this? Letting Twitter go to Google only hurts them, badly, in the long-term search game. This is an asset they need to be competing for aggressively," the report said.Google declined to comment on the reports. In a statement the firm said, "We don't comment on rumour or speculation".

Gigabyte contest

Yesterday the Federation of mall-pantip OVERCLOCK GIGABYTE is a competitive challenger from many countries such as Australia, Thailand is still unknown but the home.

What we Craved this week: Scary robots, CTIA, jailbreaking, and the DSi

This week was a pretty diverse one here at Crave. We covered all the mobile news out of the CTIA 2009 trade show thoroughly, but there was plenty of other stuff going on.
• On Thursday, we brought you news of a robot that came up with its own genetic hypotheses--and then tested them on its own. If they call it Skynet, we're screwed. • We also told you that AT&T would start selling subsidized Netbooks for $50, which is something I modestly predicted last year.
• We had some fun with Nintendo's new DSi, and marveled at how Nintendo is aiming at devices like the iPhone with the console's new functionality.
• And we had good news for those who like their iPhones jailbroken: the Dev Team has done it again, this time opening up iPhone's OS 3.0 beta 2 with a software hack. Personally, I'm very excited about this.

Phenomenal Laptop

Pros: - GREAT OS - Lightning fast - Light-weight, sturdy unibody design - Attractive design - Dashboard - Incredible screen - Great trackpad - Good battery life - Keyboard is excellent - Magsafe adapter - Excellent iSight Camera - Boot camp available Cons: - Glossy screen quite reflective - Screen is fingerprint prone - No FireWire - Small amount of game functionality - Battery not as good as advertised - Distant longing for physical trackpad button - Multi-touch gestures not entirely spot-on Summary: The new Macbook. It's incredible. With faults. That's all I'm going to say for my introduction. Read on.
Physical Specs
The product physically is very sturdy, thanks to the unibody construction. Normally the chassis would normally consist of various small parts. So instead of taking a small piece of aluminum and adding more aluminum, Apple has taking a big piece of aluminum and subtracted from it. Thus creating a sturdy, yet light laptop. I have heard that the aluminum interferes with internet connectivity issues. I do have to say, unfortunately, it is true. I put the Macbook and my old PC laptop side by side, and the PC was able to pick up better frequency and more networks.
Now for the multi-touch trackpad. It is made from glass, but it feels like there is a covering on it that doesn't nearly have the friction of glass. Clicking and moving the cursor is very easy and enjoyable, with the very large surface. Right-clicking can be done with by clicking with two fingers or by clicking one of the bottom corners after being manually set. It should also be noted that only the bottom 3/4 of the trackpad is clickable.
The multi-touch gestures are fun to use, but are truly unneeded gimmicks that could be done easier with a click. I'll just go through the gestures now.
There are 2 finger gestures: The first is scrolling with using two fingers by swiping your fingers vertically or horizontally depending on the page. Secondly you can rotate a picture using two fingers apart and rotating. The third gesture is holding the control button and scrolling vertically to zoom in on a page.
And there is one 3-finger gesture: Swipe with three fingers to navigate. You can do this to go forward or back on a page, or changing a picture.
Lastly there are 4-finger gestures: Swiping vertically upwards allows you to clear everything off your desktop. Swiping vertically down launches Expose. Swiping horizontally in any direction lets you change and view your running applications, which can also be done with command+tab.
On the bottom of the MacBook there is a panel that allows for easy access to your battery and hard drive. This will be handy to many people.
The keyboard is just like the Air, with the spaces between the keys. This creates a very nice typing experience, and are backlit if you purchase the 2.4GHz model.
A major letdown by Apple is the omission of a FireWire port. This is very disappointing to many people, but doesn't affect me at all. Nowadays the average users don't use FireWire too much. Although I do see this as a major problem for professional applications.
There is also a battery life indicator on the side of the base that glows green to show the rounded percentage of your battery.
Software and Performance
Of course the MacBook has the great Mac OS X Leopard software. It is very fast, and has good security.
The battery life is advertised to have 5 hours of battery life, but Apple obviously means not being connected to the Internet, and having no applications running. You'll probably get about 4 and a half hours with Safari and other apps running. Unless you have a lot of apps on like me, then you'll maybe have 3 and a half to 4 hours.
With the NVidia graphics card, the screen looks pretty good, as do games. I do have to admit, though, the new MacBook Pro screen looks better, especially with blacks. Still, games really pop on the gorgeous glossy screen, unless you are in a bright area. The glossy screen of course attracts bad glares and many noticeable fingerprints. Still, if you are indoors or someplace with low light, the glossy screen is perfect. I mostly use it inside, so I wouldn't trade the beautiful glossy screen. Although for those coffee-shop typing folks, this could be a deal-breaker.
Other than these things, Mac OS X is the same, really.
Conclusion
If you have purchased a MacBook anytime soon, then I would not suggest you purchase this one. Most of the differences are the physical attributes, and the software is pretty much the same.
If you are new to Macs like me, then I would DEFINITELY suggest this phenomenal notebook computer. Of course it does have it's faults, truly I have never used such a simple, enjoyable computer.

Geneva University Hospital. Filling the Image Analysis

The physicians and surgeons at Geneva University Hospital had a frustrating problem. The Radiology Department had installed new imaging devices such as high-definition, multi-detector scanners and hybrid devices that combine PET and CT technology. These advanced modalities were producing images that were rich in detail and could help them immensely in planning treatment. The physicians’ difficulty was in finding an effective way to view and analyze these images.

RIM shares surge as BlackBerry sales hit record 7.8 million

Shares of Research In Motion stock rose almost 23 percent after the company reported strong quarterly and year-end results for its BlackBerry smartphones, climbing back from a precipitous fall in February that drove the company to issue an outlook warning.RIM announced $3.46 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended February 28. That's a 24.5 percent increase from the previous quarter of $2.78 billion, and up 84 percent year-over-year. The company also said it signed up 3.9 million net subscribers who are new to the BlackBerry platform during the quarter. The results were slightly better than Wall Street's estimates, which had dropped significantly with the February warning. Much like Apple, RIM is doing well enough in comparison with its peers that even meeting expectations is cause for celebration in the current economic conditions."We are very pleased to report another record quarter with standout subscriber growth that speaks volumes about the early success and momentum of our new BlackBerry products," said co-chief executive Jim Balsillie. "RIM experienced an extraordinary year in fiscal 2009, shipping our 50 millionth BlackBerry smartphone and generating $11 billion in revenue."Revenue for RIM's entire fiscal year was $11.07 billion, up 84 percent from $6.01 billion in fiscal 2008. The Canadian company reported $518.3 million in net income for the quarter ($0.90 per diluted share) compared with $396.3 million ($0.69) for the previous quarter. A year ago the BlackBerry manufacturer reported $412.5 million, or $0.72 per share, in the same quarter.Quarterly gross margin was 40%. The company is estimating revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, ending May 30, 2009, in the range of $3.3 to $3.5 billion while adding 3.7 to 3.9 million new subscriber accounts. RIM says the fourth quarter's revenue breaks down to 83 percent for devices, 12 percent for service, two percent for software and three percent for other revenue.

Microsoft optimistic about Office making its way to iPhone

Microsoft still holds aspirations of delivering a version of its leading Office suite capable of running on the iPhone but needs a bit more time to get it all sorted out.
Speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco on Wednesday, Microsoft Business Division president Stephen Elop dropped hints to suggest the set of productivity applications was bound to turn up on the Apple handheld device sometime soon.
However, TechCrunch reports that Elop later hedged his remarks when interviewer Tim O’Reilly probed him over the comments, admitting that the software isn't ready quite yet and stating that hopefuls should "keep watching."
It's been over a year since Microsoft first expressed "confidence" in its ability deliver applications of value to iPhone users. At the time, Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president of the company's Specialized Devices and Applications Group, indicated to Fortune that Office applications were a natural choice.
"It's really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone," he said. "To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we're actually in the process of trying to understand that now."
Although the iPhone ships with built-in support for viewing Office documents, users wishing to make changes to those documents have had few options prior to this week's announcement of Quickoffice, which will support editing (as well as creation of) Word and Excel documents when it's released later this month.
For its part, Microsoft is also likely eager to tap into the lucrative iPhone ecosystem made possible by the App Store. The Redmond-based software giant is already the largest Mac software developer outside of Apple, with its Mac Business Unit estimated to generate revenues in excess of $350 million and profits of over $200 million each year.
That said, Elop also noted Wednesday that Office has half a billion users worldwide, but only half of them actually pay for the software. Going forward, the company says it plans to launch an ad-supported version of Office that will run as a Web app in most browsers.

Stanford to publish free iPhone course on iTunes U

Stanford University will be publishing a video podcasts and slides from its popular "iPhone Application Programming" course on iTunes U for free to the general public, beginning this week.
"There's a lot of interest in the iPhone," said Brent Izutsu, Stanford's project manager for Stanford on iTunes U. "This course provides an excellent opportunity for us to show the breadth and depth of our curriculum and the innovation of our students."
For-credit enrollment in the class is limited this quarter, which began two days ago. Students taking the class will also need an Intel Mac and will probably want an iPhone, although Standford offers loaner iPod touch units. The course lasts for ten weeks, so it will just be finishing up as Apple prepares to release the new iPhone 3.0 at WWDC.
The video podcasts will present the same Stanford lectures on developing for the iPhone and iPod touch to the public using Apple's iTunes U within a couple days of the each class meeting, providing easy access to the course materials for iPhone and iPod users as well as desktop Mac and PC users and other devices with the ability to play standard H.264 video.
Last summer, Sanford's announcement that it would begin offering an iPhone development course raised eyebrows among pundits who were busy worrying that Apple would use its iPhone development NDA to stop the classes. Instead, Apple assisted Stanford, relaxed its NDA terms, and is now working help the school reach an even broader audience. "For Stanford, working with Apple allowed us to focus our energy on identifying and capturing great content while Apple provided us the technology to distribute it globally," Izutsu said.
Apple partnered with a number of universities nearly two years ago to launch iTunes U as a way to expose the public to educational material for free. Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, said at the time that "Education is a lifelong pursuit and we’re pleased to give everyone the ability to download lectures, speeches and other academic content for free."
Stanford was one of the first universities to embrace iTunes U. At its launch, Stanford Provost John Etchemendy said, "From its earliest days, Stanford has sought to serve the public by sharing the knowledge generated by our faculty and students. Our partnership with Apple and iTunes U provides a creative and innovative way to engage millions of people with our teaching, learning and research and share the experience of intellectual exploration and discovery that defines our university.

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