IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Techradar) 11/03/2011

Sony PS3 European sales injunction lifted

Sony PlayStation 3 consoles are shipping to European retailers once again after an injunction, which saw 300,000 consoles held in EU customs, was finally lifted.
Late last month LG had won a legal ruling preventing PS3s entering the EU as part of a long-running patent dispute with Sony over the Blu-ray technology in the console.
Now Sony has emerged victorious from the latest round of legal sparring, the confiscated PS3s have been released and LG has been forced to pay â‚¬130,000 in costs over the whole episode.
Shortages
While the ruling avoids the possibility of a PS3 drought on the continent, further delays would have definitely seen shortages of the Blu-ray packing console.
Retailers are thought to have a 2-3 week supply of consoles in their locker at any one time and that's what saved them on this occasion.
While Sony has emerged on top in this battle, we seriously doubt we've heard the last of this. The patent dispute has not been resolved at this time, only Sony's petition to allow PS3's to cross EU borders.
LG and Sony are thought to be embroiled in as many as 7 patent disputes with each other with both legal teams seeking various injunctions.

AOL sheds 900 jobs

US online titan AOL has cut 900 employees loose after integrating popular website The Huffington Post into its portfolio.
The cuts see a 20 per cent cut in AOL's workforce with the aim of streamlining the content following February's near-آ£200m deal to purchase the online newspaper.
200 jobs will be lost in the content and technology departments, in the US, while 700 back office jobs in India will also be axed.
AOL's comeback
The buyout of the phenomenally successful Huffington Post is seen by AOL as the perfect means of reviving falling advertising revenues.
AOL, which once boasted 20,000 employees as the undisputed king of ISPs in the United States, has endured leaner times in recent years.
An unsuccessful merger and subsequent acrimonious split from Time Warner in 2009 has left the company in the wilderness with cable providers like AT&T and Comcast taking a massive market share.

Google to allow users to block sites from search results

Google has introduced a new tool allowing users to block unwanted web domains from their search results.
So, if you can't stand a site that dominates the first Google page for your tech queries, you can tell Google not to feature that site in your search results any longer.
Once you've clicked that link on the search page, you'll need to come back to the results page and chose whether you want to block it from future searches.
"We're adding this feature because we believe giving you control over the results you find will provide an even more personalised and enjoyable experience on Google," said company engineers in a blog post today.
Personalised searches
Once you've blocked a site you'll then be notified by your Google account and asked to confirm it. You'll also be able to manage the websites you've blocked in your Google account settings.
Google is also considering taking the amount of times a site has been disqualified from users' search results into account when deciding on how websites rank within its algorithms.
The update comes on Thursday and Friday to the latest versions within Chrome, Firefox and IE.

GarageBand and iMovie for iPad get early release

Apple has sprung its second early launch in a week by outing the iPad versions of GarageBand and iMovie a day ahead of schedule.
First-gen iPad owners can now download GarageBand for just آ£2.99, while an updated version of iMovie is available for iPod touch and iPhone 4.
Tablet-fanciers will need an iPad 2 to run the iMovie app as the original iPad obviously doesn't have a video camera to record footage.
The early release follows Apple's decision to roll out iOS 4.3 yesterday. Both the 4.3 update and the apps were originally scheduled to launch on Friday, the day the iPad 2 arrives in the United States.
iLife on iPad
The launch sees the two most popular apps from Apple's iLife software package land on the revolutionary "post PC" tablet.
iMovie uses the iPad 2's new 720p HD video camera to open up a world of touchscreen editing possibilities. It brings precision fingertip video editing, multiple audio tracks, a host of themes and the ability to share your creations across the web.
GarageBand brings an 8-track recorder and real instruments to the touchscreen, with the accelerometer even sensing how firm you hit the keys on the piano.
At آ£2.99, both represent massive value and a big leap forward for iPad apps.

Kaz Hirai promoted to VP at Sony

Ex-PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai has been promoted to Sony vice president, taking on a much wider role at the consumer electronics giant.
As of 1 April, Sony is set to split its business into two main groups, the Consumer Products and Services Group, and the Professional & Device Solutions Group.
Sony does the VP shuffle
Sony hopes that the forthcoming shift in corporate structure will help to establish the company as the world's top network entertainment and business solutions provider.
Hirai will manage all of Sony's consumer products and network services going forward, with many suggesting he is the natural successor to Sony's current CEO Howard Stringer.
Hirai will continue to look after games and network services, plus also be in charge of TVs, home video, home audio, digital imaging, PCs and mobile products.
Hiroshi Yoshioka will continue to run the firm's components, semiconductors and business services.

An Amazon tablet would be iPad 2's only challenge, says Forrester

The current generation of Android tablets don't have what it takes to truly challenge the iPad 2, according to market research firm Forrester.
Instead, the research bods reckon that only viable iPad 2 challenger is Amazon, should the company decide to develop a tablet.
Forrester argues that existing competitors, from Android Honeycomb tablets like the Motorola Xoom to the BlackBerry PlayBook and HP TouchPad, are too pricey and don't offer the level of service that Apple can through its dedicated App Store and physical high street shops.
What ifâ€¦
If Amazon came out with an Android or Linux-based tablet, however, it already has a ready-made storefront and an upcoming app store, and could offer Amazon-specific features like recommendations.
Could Amazon be considering a tablet? We don't imagine there are many tech brands that aren't considering tablets at this point and with an e-reader (the Amazon Kindle) already under its belt, there is precedent.
Forrester concedes that other companies, including Sony and Microsoft, could disrupt the market in a similar way to Amazon, but with Sony's prototypes verging on the insane and Microsoft pushing its tablet software back to next year, we're not convinced.
One thing is clear though: the current batch of tablets isn't up to much in Forrester's eyes.

Angry Birds developer raises آ£26 million

Angry Birds developer Rovio has raised $42 million (آ£26 million) in investment this week, raising questions amongst fans about what might be on the way from the leading iPhone dev.
Rovio's latest round of $42 million in investments comes from VC firms Accel Partners and Atomico Ventures.
Atomico Ventures founder Niklas Zennstrأ¶m now joins the board of the Finnish studio, following the latest cash injection. What this will mean for the way the studio creates and distributes its games in the future remains to be seen.
Angry Birds: the franchise
The cash will help Rovio "to increase its reach internationally, and across markets including mobile, social media and other platforms, and via merchandising and media production and partnerships," according to Mikael Hed, CEO and co-founder of Rovio.
"With Angry Birds, we have successfully launched not only a strong new brand, but also a whole new entertainment franchise.
"Angry Birds will continue to grow, and we aim to create more similar success stories. We will strengthen the position of Rovio and continue building our franchises in gaming, merchandising and broadcast media."
Angry Birds has so far topped $70 million (آ£43.6 million) to date â€“ made up from App Store sales, ad revenues (from the free version) and merchandising sales.
TechRadar has contacted Rovio to find out more about the studio's future plans, following this latest round of investment.
Stay tuned for some Angry Birds news soon and, hopefully, updates on new IP and Rovio's plans for taking its games to Facebook and other networks and mobile platforms.

Asus launches NC1 noise cancelling headphones

Asus has today unveiled its latest headphones, the Asus NC1, which offer active noise cancellation.
They certainly sound impressive when it comes to power consumption, with Asus claiming up to 100 hours of noise-cancelled music playback on just one AAA battery.
The ANC technology filters 87 per cent of ambient noise, according to Asus. Like other active noise cancellation products on the market, the headphones work by detecting ambient noise and generating inverse sound waves to cancel it out.
Clever stuff
The 40mm speaker drivers also have specially-selected neodymium magnets for accurate sound reproduction and dynamic bass performance.

But, of course, these aren't the only noise-cancelling headphones to incorporate these snazzy magnets; your other options include the Sennheiser 500 Series and the five-star Bowers and Wilkins P5s.
Weighing in at 130g, the Asus NC1 headphones are light and apparently perfect for transatlantic flights, especially given their fold-flat design.
No word yet on UK release date or pricing, so if you have a long-haul flight coming up soon we're afraid you'll probably miss out.

Exclusive: Branson: Virgin Media TiVo is a weapon against Sky

Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson has told TechRadar that he thinks the new TiVo-powered Virgin Media boxes are a weapon that can be used to convert thousands of Sky customers.
Virgin Media launched its TiVo box at the very end of 2010, although very few boxes are in the market at the current time.
As more and more customers get the next-generation set top box, Virgin Media will begin the push for the new equipment, which has already wowed critics with its feature set, including a backwards EPG, searchable content and, crucially, the famous TiVo suggestion functionality.
A weapon against Sky
"I think that it is fantastic," Branson told TechRadar and T3 in an exclusive interview.
"There's numerous things one can do and I think that we have finally got a weapon that can give Sky a run for their money.
"We may well get thousands of people switching over from Sky to Virgin; it's a weapon that we've got that they can never develop which obviously gives us a bit of an advantage."
Moving places?
The British entrepreneur was getting his first taste of the technology when we met him, and was wondering just how he could take advantage of the service from his normal base of his privately-owned Caribbean paradise Necker Island.
"The only problem is whether I have to sell my island to move to a place where I can get TiVo," he joked.
"Someone suggested that I swap Necker Island for the Isle of Wight so I'm going to have to work out if I go that far or maybe lay an enormous cable from here to the Caribbean; that would be tremendous."

Exclusive: Sir Richard Branson: Apple is my favourite brand

Sir Richard Branson has expressed his admiration for Apple and its founder Steve Jobs, joking that he'd consider merging his Virgin empire with the tech giant.
Branson, who was in town to check out the new Virgin Media TiVo box, told TechRadar and T3 of his love for Apple as a company, with the iPad 2 already on his wishlist.
When asked about the biggest name in technology, Branson needed no time to think.
"Steve Jobs," he answered. "I hope he gets through his current illness. He's the entrepreneur in the world I most admire and I think [Apple] is the brand I most admire."
Comeback king
"[Jobs] is the greatest comeback artist as well. He's twice been down and out and fought his way back and created a brilliant global company.
"Everything he does is real class and if he wants to rename his company Virgin Apple I'd be happy to merge! It's a great brand and a great company and may he get well soon.
"â€¦it sounds like he may not be coming back [to work], and he really has done incredible things; he's got a great legacy."
iPad 2
Branson told us that he is already looking forward to getting hold of the iPad 2, with its predecessor quickly becoming his favourite gadget.
"I recently discovered the iPad and I'm looking forward to discovering the new iPad," he said
"[The original iPad] is fantastic and we recently launched the magazine 'Project' which is very good.
"Whether Apple can stay ahead of the game with all the competition with Google [Android] and putting it on every single bit of electronic equipment I don't know.
"There's a possibility that Apple won't reign supreme indefinitely."

Saturday, March 12, 2011

IT News HeadLines (Techradar) 11/03/2011

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