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Google data gathering was not a crime: NZealand

WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand police said Thursday that Google did not commit a criminal offence when it collected data from wireless networks for its "Street View" mapping service.
The New Zealand Privacy Commissioner called in police in June after Google admitted that its cars taking photographs of cities in more than 30 countries had inadvertently gathered personal data sent over unsecured wifi systems.
Privacy regulators in Australia, Europe, the US and Canada also launched investigations into data the web giant's camera-equipped cars collected while taking photos of streets and houses.
New Zealand police said Google's actions did not constitute a criminal offence and they had referred the matter back to the Privacy Commissioner.
"An investigation by police has determined that there is no evidence to suggest a criminal offence has been committed," Detective Senior Sergeant John van den Heuvel from the NZ police cyber crime centre said.
However, van den Heuvel said the case underlined the need for web users to put in place security measures when using wireless networks.
Assistant Privacy Commissioner Katrine Evans said the police finding did not mean the regulator's probe into Google had been abandoned, but she declined to give details of the investigation.
Concerns in the case centre on Google's collection of so-called "payload data", unencrypted information sent on wireless networks that are not protected by passwords which can contain personal information, including the content of e-mails.
Google said in July that its "Street View" cars would resume operations in some countries but collect only photos and 3D imagery, not wifi data.
Google New Zealand was not immediately available for comment, however in June a spokesman said the company was "profoundly sorry" for the mistake.

Apple unveils new TV box for renting movies, shows

By JESSICA MINTZ and JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writers – Wed Sep 1, 11:50 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Inc. is refining its plans to annex the living room into its entertainment empire.
On Wednesday, Apple unveiled a smaller, cheaper version of Apple TV, which connects to a high-definition television and can show rented movies and TV shows from Apple's own service, plus content from Netflix, photos on Flickr, YouTube clips and more.
The new $99 gadget marks a slight improvement over Apple's first television set-top box, which went on sale in 2007. The original Apple TV had to sync with a computer, a concept most consumers weren't ready for, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at a media event Wednesday. It also didn't record live television shows the way TiVo and other digital recorders did, at a time when that was becoming a popular way to watch TV.
"We've sold a lot of them, but it's never been a huge hit," Jobs said of the existing Apple TV, which went for $229.
Jobs, who presided over a media event in San Francisco wearing a black crew neck instead of his trademark mock turtleneck, also unveiled social media features for its iTunes software, a new lineup of iPods including a touch-screen Nano and new software for its iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices.
Apple's new TV box, about four inches square, still doesn't record television, but it comes at a time when more people have gotten used to watching shows online.
The device lets people rent, not buy, content. Apple TV owners will pay $4.99 to rent first-run high-definition movies the day they come out on DVD. High-definition TV show rentals will be 99 cents.
Apple said the same movie studios that have allowed iTunes users to rent and buy movies have agreed to include their titles for streaming. Apple did not rent TV shows before, but now episodes will be available from News Corp.'s Fox, The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel and BBC America. Jobs said he hoped other television companies would join once the service gains popularity.
Apple TV, which will be available within a month, will also display shows, movies, photos and music streamed over Wi-Fi from other devices — computers with iTunes installed, as well as iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch. For example, an iPad owner could start watching a movie on the tablet, then walk into the living room and, with a few taps, finish watching it on the TV screen.
Consumers may have grown more savvy about watching TV over the Internet since Apple's first attempt, but Apple now faces increased competition for their attention.
Some television companies replay episodes on their own websites, while others allow viewers to tune in on aggregator sites such as Hulu. Netflix has made its streaming library available to its subscribers on many devices, including Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 video game system, Apple's own iPhone and iPod and Roku's set-top boxes. Roku, anticipating Apple's announcement, cut the prices of its devices this week, with the least expensive now costing $60. A high-definition version costs $70 — still $29 less than the new Apple TV.
In a surprise counter-punch, Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday began selling ABC, Fox and BBC TV shows for 99 cents each to own, not just rent. The shows, in both standard and high-def, are a mirror image of the content available to rent on Apple TV; people can watch on PCs, using Roku's set-top box and through other devices that carry Amazon's Video on Demand service.
In Fox's case, Amazon did not seek to renegotiate the wholesale price on the shows, according a person familiar with the matter. That means Amazon has likely cut into its own profit margin to stay competitive.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the 99-cent offering. Apple declined to comment.
Forrester analyst James McQuivey said in an interview Wednesday that he doesn't believe Apple TV will add significant momentum to the currently small set-top box business. Nor does McQuivey believe it will grow into a big moneymaker for Apple, a company that has successfully built buzz around the iPhone and iPad, such that customers camp out for hours or days to be among the first to own one.
Apple TV is "a slightly smarter Roku, that has a significantly better marketing push behind it than Roku did," McQuivey said. "I'm actually kind of surprised that Apple didn't realize that they weren't revolutionizing the category much."
Instead, McQuivey said he sees Apple TV as a peripheral for iPad owners who spent a lot of money on the coolest new device and might be willing to spend $99 more to extend its contents onto the TV screen.
Additional content at attractive prices may be the way to get more people interested in Apple TV, McQuivey said — bundled subscriptions to TV channels or shows, plus content from Netflix and Hulu's pay offerings, perhaps.
But Apple may continue to face resistance from media companies, many of which fear that such bundles cut undercut lucrative cable TV deals and that the 99-cent television rentals would hurt higher-priced offerings for permanent download. Most episodes currently sell on iTunes for $1.99 or $2.99.
News Corp., for one, had a fierce internal debate about the merits of the 99-cent plan, but CEO Rupert Murdoch pushed to accept it, mainly because of the success of The Wall Street Journal's iPad app, which is free to the Journal's paying subscribers, according to the person familiar with the matter.
The deal for Fox-created TV shows including "Glee" is limited to a trial period of several months, which mollified those opposed to the plan, the person said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because internal discussions were confidential.
In a public statement, Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO Jim Gianopulos said "we're excited to be working with them over the next several months to explore this innovative offering."
Fox cannot let Apple rent shows that it buys from other studios, including "American Idol," made by FremantleMedia Ltd., and "Fringe," which is made by Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Television. Fox's rentals include "Glee," "Family Guy" and "The Cleveland Show."
Anne Sweeney, co-chairwoman of the Disney-ABC Television Group, said in a statement the company was proud to team up with Apple on its rental offering, which will make available shows such as "Cougar Town" and "Desperate Housewives." Apple's Jobs is Disney's largest single shareholder and sits on the company's board.
Kurt Scherf, an analyst with the market-research group Parks Associates, said requiring consumers to buy yet another box for the living room "is a real inhibitor."
And although he praised Apple's decision to lower the price of the device itself, he had doubts about TV rentals for 99 cents.
"Part of me is still wondering if that is too rich for a consumer to pay, given all the other options that are out there to consume and catch up on TV shows that don't cost a thing," he said.
Michael Gartenberg, a partner at consulting firm Altimeter Group, cast a more optimistic light on Apple's chances of making it into consumers' living rooms, but said in an interview that he doesn't expect it to drastically change anyone's TV watching habits.
Instead, it just raises the stakes for Apple's competitors.
"This puts a lot of pressure on the Rokus and the Boxees and all the other minor league players," he said.
Shares of Apple gained $7.23, or 3 percent, to close at $250.33 Wednesday.
___
Mintz reported from Seattle. AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

3M buying maker of products used to track people

By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK – Manufacturing conglomerate 3M Co. said Tuesday it has agreed to pay $230 million in cash for an Israeli company that makes ankle bracelets and other products used to keep track of people.
The deal marks the second technology company purchase in two days for 3M, which is increasingly stepping away from its Post-It and Scotch Tape roots in favor of technology that's allowed it to increase its business at a faster pace out of the recession.
The Israeli company, Attenti Holdings SA, makes products like ankle bracelets that use global positioning system and radio frequency technology to track, for example, the movements of people awaiting trial, those on probation and patients in senior care centers.
3M already makes a range of products such as document readers and verification systems as well as tools that can be used for locating buried power lines or tracking inventory.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter pending regulatory and other approvals. 3M expects the deal to boost earnings slightly within the first year after the acquisition closes.
Attenti has about 340 employees at locations in Israel, Australia, Bulgaria and the United States. Full-year sales are expected to be about $100 million.
The deal comes a day after 3M, which is based in Maplewood, Minn., said it will pay $943 million for Cogent Inc., which develops systems that read finger and palm prints and makes iris and face recognition systems. That deal is also expected to close by year's end.
3M's electronics and communications segment showed the most growth among the company's six business units in the latest quarter. The segment's operating income more than doubled while revenue jumped 31.6 percent to $726 million.
Overall, 3M's second-quarter profit jumped 43 percent to $1.12 billion. Revenue rose to $6.73 billion from $5.72 billion a year earlier.
Its shares fell 48 cents to $79.17 in midday trading Tuesday.

Sony to challenge Apple with video service: report

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp will launch a new music and video download service linking a range of its devices, in a challenge to Apple Inc's dominant position in the market, the Financial Times said on Wednesday.

The announcement is set to be made at the IFA technology show in Berlin on Wednesday, the paper said, coinciding with a scheduled media event by Apple the same day in the United States.

The service will work across various internet-connected devices, such as Walkman music players, Vaio computers, Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players and Sony Ericsson mobile phones but will not be available to consumers until next year, the paper said.

Sony's Welsh-born president, Howard Stringer, has struggled to develop hit products and services that take advantage of the conglomerate's rich portfolio of music and film.

The company launched a video-on-demand service in the United States, dubbed Qriocity, this year.

But Sony has so far failed to gain ground on Apple in the download market. Apple is expected to unveil a revamped iPod at its media event on Wednesday, although speculation is also simmering it will make an announcement about its own TV project, Apple TV.

A spokeswoman for Sony declined to comment. Shares in Sony were flat at 2,367 yen on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Huge Spamming Botnet Injured but Still Alive

Jeremy Kirk – Tue Aug 31, 11:40 am ET
A botnet responsible for a significant amount of spam has been crippled but may reconstitute itself in a matter of weeks, according to vendor M86 Security.
The Pushdo or Cutwail network of hacked computers ranked in the top five or so botnets for spam, responsible for as much as 10 percent of all spam, said Ed Rowley, product manager for M86 Security. The spam often advertises fake software, so-called designer goods and questionable pharmaceutical products.
But security analysts with the computer security company LastLine took action last week, contacting ISPs that were hosting the command-and-control infrastructure for the botnet.
About 30 servers at eight hosting providers were found to be supporting Pushdo. LastLine contacted the ISPs, and about 20 of the servers were taken offline, according to itsblog. Some ISPs, however, were unresponsive.
Spam levels have dropped, Rowley said. LastLine's action "will almost certainly have a positive effect for two to three weeks," Rowley said. But "the spammers will be able to find other hosting providers where they will be able to get their systems up and running."
LastLine appears to have taken down parts of Pushdo and Cutwail, which work together, wrote Atif Mushtaq of FireEye's Malware Intelligence Lab, in a blog post. Pushdo is a Trojan. Once it infects a computer, it often downloads Cutwail, a piece of malware capable of spamming as well as downloading other bad programs.
Mushtaq confirmed LastLine's success. "After identifying the botnets in question it was very easy for me to go through my botlab logs and try to find leftover command and control servers. There was no doubt that many of the CnC servers were null routed. But as mentioned by LastLine, there were still some servers which were active and serving contents," he wrote.
And it's those active servers that remain a concern. As long as those servers are able to eventually contact the computers infected with Pushdo, it will be possible to resume spamming.
Pushdo has the ability to generate random domain names. If those domains are registered and activated, the botnet controllers can send new instructions to the hacked machines.
"Either way, they'll be up and at it again in the near future," Rowley said.
Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com

Microsoft Launches Advertising Platform In China
BEIJING, Sept 1, 2010 (AFP) - Microsoft has launched an advertising platform in China in an attempt to grab market share from rival Google, which has been wrangling with Beijing over censorship, state media said Wednesday.

The US Internet titan's adCenter will target Chinese exporters wanting to advertise overseas, said Anderson Liu, general manager of Microsoft's domestic joint venture MSN China.

"It's time to join the market and let Chinese advertisers have more choices," Liu was quoted by the China Daily as saying.

AdCenter helps businesses place advertisements online such as on Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Microsoft hopes revenue from the pay-per-click ads will account for half of MSN China's business in the future, Liu said, without providing further details.

In July, Google parted ways with two Chinese advertisers following its standoff with Beijing over censorship and cyberattacks the US search giant claims originated in China.

Google cut ties with Universal Internet Media and Xi'an Weihua Network, two major advertising agencies that worked in eastern and northwestern China, the China Daily said, citing Marsha Wang, Google China spokeswoman.

In January, Google said it would not buckle to Chinese government pressure to censor its content, and threatened to pull out of the country entirely.

It later effectively shut down its Chinese site google.cn, re-routing mainland users to its uncensored site in Hong Kong.

In March, a group of 27 Chinese advertising agencies sent Google a letter calling for talks over compensation for possible business losses amid the censorship wrangle.

Google's share of China's online market fell to 24.2 percent in the three months to June, from 30.9 percent in the first quarter, research firm Analysys International said in a recent report.

Google to roll out e-mail prioritizing feature in Gmail

8/31/2010 8:57:00 AM By: Juan Carlos Perez

Google plans to begin rolling out to Gmail users on Tuesday a new feature designed to automatically rearrange messages in their inbox so that the most important and pressing ones appear at the top.

Called Priority Inbox, the feature will be released with the beta, or test, label and is being described for now as "experimental" by the company.

All individual Gmail users will gain access to it in the coming days. Availability for people who use it as part of Google Apps will depend on whether domain administrators allow their users to activate "pre-release" features.

The motivation behind Priority Inbox is Google's conviction that the problem of e-mail overload continues getting worse, forcing people to spend much time and effort managing their inbox both for personal and work-related matters.

Priority Inbox is an additional, optional view of inbox messages. People who choose it can toggle back to other more conventional views, such as listing messages chronologically by arrival timestamp or alphabetically by the senders' names or subject lines.

With Priority Inbox activated, Gmail divides the inbox into three sections: the top one contains the most important and unread messages; the middle one has messages that have been flagged by users with a star to highlight them; and the last section has all other messages.

Matthew Glotzbach, director of product management in Google's Enterprise unit, sees Priority Inbox as a sort of inverted spam filter which, instead of blocking and setting aside unsolicited messages, prioritizes items in the inbox so that users can attend more quickly to the most important e-mails.

"If you're in meetings and you come back to your e-mail and you have five minutes between appointments and you have 50 e-mails, which five messages do you spend your time on in that window of time?" Glotzbach said. Priority Inbox aims to automate that and simplify that decision, he said.

The algorithmic calculation that Gmail uses to assign priority includes a variety of parameters, including the frequency with which the user exchanges messages with different senders; the messages that get read and replied to, or, conversely, ignored; and manual indications from users ranking messages as more or less important.

Google provides a variety of options for users to manually customize Priority Inbox settings and preferences if they so choose.

Internal tests at Google showed that people who used Priority Inbox spent on average six per cent less time managing e-mail, or an entire work-week per year in the case of an employee who normally spends 13 hours per week on e-mail.

"We see this as an ongoing evolution of the focus of Gmail, which has always been around addressing this problem of information overload," Glotzbach said.

Existing Gmail features intended to address this problem include the product's conversation view, which groups together e-mail threads; the search feature, which indexes messages' full text; and its antispam technology.

HP promises a private cloud in 30 days

8/31/2010 9:07:00 AM By: Paolo Del Nibletto

HP (NSYE: HPQ) has released an all-in-one solution for deploying private clouds in 30 days.

Called CloudStart, the computing giant built it on a HP converged infrastructure platform that will be delivered initially by the newly created HP Cloud Consulting Services group and then later on through its network of channel partners. The all-in-one solution consists of HP BladeSystem Matrix and HP Cloud Service Automation software, while the data services will be provided by HP StorageWorks. By combining these three product areas, HP claims it has reduced provisioning times by up to 80 per cent, while enabling customers to still accommodate third-party enterprise portals, public cloud services, billing packages and multiplatform resource management later on.

Paul Muller, HP's vice-president of strategic marketing software products and HP software solution, says there is an inflection point in the market place today with cloud services.

“It became clear to us as we were preparing clients for this offering that key trends are driving faster time to market for innovation and new business solutions to get clients up and running as soon as possible and cost predictable,” Muller said.

Muller admitted that the public cloud is an alternative solution, but one wrought with security risk.

HP CloudStart through the Cloud Consulting Services group will initially focus on enterprise customers who are looking for an on-premise private cloud. According to Muller, these customers are looking for easy of provisioning, cost transparency, safety and it must be confined to its own data centre.

“What we are trying to do here is deliver predictable cost within a short period of time. By getting it deployed quickly the customer can add the middleware and applications for true business value,” he said.

But, with so many business variables the question becomes can HP Cloud Consulting Services deliver an enterprise class private cloud in 30 days? The answer lies in reducing the number of variables to a minimum. HP found through past customer engagements if a customer wants to deploy a brand new infrastructure that is optimized for virtualization and the cloud using HP blade technology and for example only installs an Oracle database or a Microsoft Communications Server suite than the 30 day time period is achievable, Muller said.

What the customer gets in 30 days is the equivalent of an Amazon cloud service in a private environment.

This private cloud can be provisioned into the public cloud for additional capacity. “This acts as anyone would expect from a traditional cloud provider, but it's inside your own data centre and it's more pure and it starts to demonstrate what a cloud can do for you with risk,” Muller added.

Another Canadian tech brand disappears as AMD dumps ATI name

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) says it will remove the ATI name from its products by the end of the year, killing a brand name synonymous with graphics enthusiasts for 25 years.

AMD offers a range of graphics products under the ATI brand, including the Radeon, FirePro and Eyefinity offerings. The chip designer will instead attach the name AMD to those products by the end of the year, said Drew Erskine, an AMD spokesman.

The change in brand name won't affect the company's graphics product offerings or plans, Erskine said.

ATI was originally established in 1985 in Markham, Ont. as a graphics company and was acquired by AMD in 2007 for US$5.4 billion. At the time of the acquisition, ATI was the one of the largest graphics chip providers for consumer electronics, set-top boxes and gaming consoles. AMD said at the time it would continue to offer ATI products, and it also announced a next-generation processor design called Fusion, which would combine high-performance graphics and CPU processing on a single piece of silicon.

AMD had trouble incorporating ATI into operations, taking billions of dollars in charges that affected the company's profitability. Observers initially declared the AMD-ATI merger a bust, but benefits are now being reaped. AMD in the second quarter of this year recorded faster year-over-year growth in the graphics market than leader Intel and rival Nvidia. After delays, chips based on the Fusion architecture are also being readied, with a chip code-named Ontario shipping in the fourth quarter.

The company always had the option to transition brand names since the merger, but Erskine said now was the right time as AMD wanted to take advantage of its growing momentum in the graphics market, Erskine said.

The change could also help give AMD more exposure. For example, Apple uses the ATI graphics in the iMac, with the ATI logo prominently displayed on Apple's website. The logo would instead reflect AMD, which could help expand the company's visibility.

Infected Flash Drive Caused ‘Turning Point’ in Cyber defense

By Joshua Philipp
Epoch Times Staff
A previously classified cyberattack on U.S. military networks in 2008 was revealed by U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III, this week in a Foreign Affairs essay.

The incident “was the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever, and it served as an important wake-up call,” said Lynn in Foreign Affairs.

He added that “The Pentagon’s operation to counter the attack, known as Operation Buckshot Yankee, marked a turning point in U.S. cyberdefense strategy.”

The attack began when a military laptop was infected by a flash drive which contained malicious code, “placed there by a foreign intelligence agency,” and then spread into the U.S. Central Command network, according to Lynn.

The code then continued to spread undetected throughout the system into areas both classified and unclassified and was able to send the information it collected back to its source.

Lynn added that there have been similar breaches. “Adversaries have acquired thousands of files from U.S. networks and from the networks of U.S. allies and industry partners, including weapons blueprints, operational plans, and surveillance data,” Lynn said in Foreign Affairs, adding that the Pentagon has beefed up its cyberdefense operations under the new U.S. Cyber Command.

The military and some U.S. government branches have since banned the use of USB drives.

Cisco May Make Bid to Buy Skype

By Antonio Perez
Epoch Times Staff
NEW YORK—Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. may be looking to make an offer to acquire VoIP and chat service provider Skype SA, according to a technology insider website.

TechCrunch reported on Monday that Cisco may make a bid prior to Skype's intended initial public offering (IPO), according to insider sources. No financial terms were revealed, but Skype itself may be looking to value the firm at around $5 billion.

Cisco's potential acquisition of Skype would expand its product line beyond networking, routing, and switches. But with Skype in the fold, the company may become a direct competitor to many of its clients, which are in the telecommunications and services industries.

Either way, Skype had intended to file for an IPO to raise capital. In its regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said that it has roughly 560 million registered users, of which 8.6 million pay the company for its long-distance and international calling features. That's a conversion rate of roughly 6 percent.

For the first half of 2010, the Luxembourg-based Skype earned $406 million in top-line revenues and $13 million in profits.

In November 2009, an investor group led by Silver Lake Partners, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, acquired Skype from eBay Inc. EBay still retains a significant ownership stake in the firm.

Man accused of torturing woman over Facebook post


– 2 hrs 43 mins ago
HANFORD, Calif. – Authorities say a California man jealous over a message on his girlfriend's Facebook page tortured and imprisoned her for four days while their children were in the house.
Kings County sheriff's deputies arrested 36-year-old Anthony Lozano at his Hanford home over the weekend on suspicion of false imprisonment, kidnapping, torture and other charges.
Sheriff's Cmdr. Dave Putnam says Lozano accused the 23-year-old victim of having an affair after he saw the Facebook message.
Lozano is suspected of grabbing the woman's hair, dragging her and threatening to kill her before choking her with a rope and a towel.
Putnam said the couple's child and another child belonging to the victim were in the house at the time.
Lozano remained in Kings County custody Monday evening on $725,000 bail. It was unknown if he had an attorney.
___
Information from: The Hanford Sentinel, http://www.newzcentral.com

Review: Dell Streak is awkward phone, so-so tablet

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Lately I've been feeling very self-conscious when talking on the phone in public, and it's not because I'm worried about strangers listening in on my private conversations.

Rather, it's because the cell phone I'm using - the just-released Dell Streak - is actually a touch-screen tablet device that makes some of the clunkiest handsets from the late '90s look diminutive by comparison.

The Streak is a complicated gadget. For a tablet computer, it is fairly small and thin - a fraction the size of Apple Inc.'s popular iPad. Its face is dominated by a touch screen that is 5 inches diagonally, compared with the iPad's 9.7-inch display.

Yet Dell insists it is also a phone, and as such it is fairly enormous and uncomfortable to talk on. Beyond that, it comes with an older version of Google Inc.'s Android software. Overall, it's just too awkward to bear.

The Streak's enormity is inescapable. It's a little less than 6 inches long and 3 inches across, so it looked mammoth in my petite hands. I felt like a little kid holding her father's smart phone.

It was clear from the start that carrying around the black gadget would be a chore. It fit into the back pockets of my jeans, but protruded noticeably. I was afraid it would fall out or be filched by some tablet-phone-hungry thief. As a result, I had to carry it in a bag or hold it in my hand if I wanted to tote it around, and this latter option quickly got old.

Still, I figured the Streak's size would be great for at least one thing: watching videos. As expected, videos streamed well from such sites as YouTube and Funny or Die, probably helped by the device's 1 GHz processor. Images looked sharp and bright on the screen. They didn't look quite as stellar as they do on Apple's latest iPhone or Samsung's new Galaxy S smart phones, though.

There is plenty of storage space on the Streak for the videos you want to watch (and for photos and songs, too), as it includes a 16-gigabyte microSD memory card. And the device's battery seemed to have no problem getting through a day filled with video and music streaming, Web surfing and chatting.

The screen was also a swell surface for checking out Google Maps and other websites. I liked having extra real estate to look up directions and see pages that contained both photos and text. But using it to instant message my friends was more difficult than on other touch-screen keyboards I've used; despite the Streak's size, I kept hitting the wrong keys.

Using the Streak to make phone calls was a new experience. I felt weird holding it up to my ear, imagining quizzical looks as I walked down the street. The Streak didn't sound bad, but it didn't sound great, either. Calls sounded kind of fuzzy on my end, and in one frustrating exchange the screen kept changing orientation while I was on the phone, which also meant that the physical button that allowed me to turn the sound up and down kept reversing functions.

Beyond the Streak's basic awkwardness, its biggest flaw is that it relies on old software. Despite the inclusion of a swift processor, the Streak is saddled with an older version of the Android operating software - version 1.6 - which means it is missing some of latest features and can't run some applications that call for newer operating software. It also lacks Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 for watching Flash videos.

Dell Inc. says the Streak will get what is currently the latest Android software, version 2.2, later this year and will get Flash 10.1, too. I'm stymied by decision to not even start out the Streak with version 2.1, which is available on a number of current smart phones.

Another odd handicap: Although the Streak has a low-resolution front-facing camera, which could be used for video chatting, it's only currently enabled for taking photos and videos. Video chat is expected to work when the device gets the Android software update, but for now it feels like quite a tease.

Fortunately, the Streak comes with fully functional 5-megapixel digital camera on its back. The camera takes sharp images and has a bright flash, and the display functions as perhaps the biggest viewfinder you've ever used. There are plenty of options for adjusting your shots, and I was able to take a bunch of crisp shots.

You'll need to hold it steady while snapping, though, because the Streak takes a long time to take a photo after you've pressed its shutter button.

And you'll probably want to use headphones with the Streak, as the quality of its built-in speaker is dismal. When watching a Ted Leo And The Pharmacists music video online, the sound was muddled, even at a low volume. Because the speaker is located on the Streak's back, it gets even harder to hear when you set the gadget down.

Fresher software will surely improve the Streak, but whether you're looking for a phone, a tablet computer or both, the Streak falls short. Performance-wise, that is; in reality, it's anything but.

Google travel deal faces Justice Dept scrutiny

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators are taking a closer look at Google Inc.'s plans to buy travel technology company ITA Software Inc. in a $700 million all-cash deal announced last month.
In a blog post on Friday, Google said the Justice Department has asked it for more information about the proposed acquisition, which could position the search giant to compete with popular travel sites such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz.
ITA Software, a 500-employee company started in 1996 by computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, provides technology that helps run the reservation systems of several airlines. Google says the acquisition will provide it with tools to help consumers search for flights, compare fares and book tickets.
AP

Intel buying Infineon's wireless operations


By GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 52 mins ago
BERLIN – German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG is selling a unit that makes products for wireless telephones to California's Intel Corp. in a $1.4 billion cash deal, the companies said Monday.
Germany's Infineon said the sale of the wireless solutions, or WLS, unit would allow it to focus on its core business. Intel said the acquisition would strengthen its hand in Internet connectivity.
WLS will operate as a standalone business, the companies said in a joint statement. The deal, which still requires regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.
The acquired technology will be used in Intel Core processor-based laptops and other devices including smartphones, netbooks, tablets and embedded computers.
The deal came weeks after an Aug. 2 announcement by Infineon that it was "in discussions with interested parties about a transaction" involving WLS.
"We can now fully concentrate our resources towards strong growth in our core segments," the automotive, industrial and chip card and security divisions, Infineon chief executive Peter Bauer said. "We all stand to benefit enormously from this deal."
"The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an extraordinary rate," Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini said.
"As more devices compute and connect to the Internet, we are committed to making certain that Intel is well positioned to take advantage of the growth potential in every computing segment, from laptops to handhelds," he added.
WLS had annual revenue of euro917 million in the last financial year, which ended last September — about 30 percent of Infineon's total of just over euro3 billion.
Shares of Infineon, based in Neubiberg, were 0.2 percent lower at euro4.60 ($5.87) in early Frankfurt trading. Intel is based in Santa Clara, California.