Greg Sandoval   Year:June 25, 2008 10:55 AM PDT   Source Site:newsblog

People arent waiting for Microsoft to announce a deal with Netflix. Someone has already figured out how to hack the Xbox 360 video game console and enable it to play Netflix streaming movies. At Lifehacker.com, Adam Pash writes that all anyone needs is an Xbox 360, a Windows Vista PC, a Netflix account, and a free Windows Media Center plug-in called vmcNetflix. Here is some of what Pash says an Xbox 360 owner can do following the hack: stream Watch Now movies directly to the Media Center player; download Watch Now movies to a "Watch Later" gallery; search for movies by keyword; browse DVDs; Watch Now movies by genre; and add, remove, and move movies in your queue. Of course, this is more functionality than the $100 Netflix Box offers. Roku has received favorable reviews for streaming...

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Posted by Dana Blankenhorn @ 6:20 am   Year:June 25th, 2008   Source Site:zdnet

June 25th, 2008 One open source interface to rule them Posted by Dana Blankenhorn @ 6:20 am Categories: General, Development, Hardware, Apple, mass market, telecom, wireless, Google, Internet, Linux Handheld Tags: Apple iPhone, Symbian Inc., Open Source, Dana Blankenhorn The Nokia-Symbian deal isnt about open sources soul, nor is it about making open source comply with closed spectrums norms. Its about the search for one great interface. The iPhone has one great interface, and the margins to go with it. Competing networks, and handset makers, need another one, equally compelling, or their markets could be lost. Imagine, if you will, that Apple could make the original Macintosh for $173, and that it could supply the whole market at that price on launch. I think 1984 would ...

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Engadget   Year:18 hours ago   Source Site:technorati

From the Technology channel ? Helio sale to Virgin Mobile could happen this week? http://www.engadget.com/ 2008/ 06/ 25/ helio-sale-to-virgin-mobile-could-happen-this... Helio sale to Virgin Mobile could happen this week? by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 25th 2008 at 3:02AM Do you hear that, Helio? That [cue Sir Richard Bransons soothing voice] is the sound of inevitability. Rumors have been swirling for a few weeks now that SK Telecom -- Helios majority owner -- is getting ready to cut, run, and offload its share to Virgin Mobile, rolling the scrappy MVNO into the one and only virtual network in the US thats been met with substantial, quantifiable success (more recent stock woes notwithstanding). Now, the Financial Times is reporting that a deal is cued up and ready for a public int...

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Darren Murph   Year:by , posted Jun 25th 2008 at 9:43PM   Source Site:engadget

A-DATAs latest CompactFlash cards were designed to be looked at longingly by even the most demanding photographer, and while the average joe probably wont have the kit to appreciate just how speedy these things are, well do our best to explain. The Turbo Series CF 350X memory card features a read speed of 52MB/sec and a write speed of 47MB/sec, whereas Delkins "worlds fastest" model packs a sustained read / write rate of 45MB/sec. Regrettably, A-DATA isnt handing out pricing details just yet, but we do know theyll soon be available in 8GB and 16GB editions. [Via Electronista]...

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Posted by Dana Gardner @ 6:13 am   Year:June 25th, 2008   Source Site:zdnet

June 25th, 2008 Progress to buy IONA in another SOA infrastructure vendor mashup Posted by Dana Gardner @ 6:13 am Categories: IT Management, Software Infrastructure, SOA, SOA Governance, Software Development, Developer Tools, Web Services, Application Lifecycle Management, Agile Development, Wall Street, .NET, IONA, Celtix, Apache, IT Service Management, management, Progress Software, SOA architect Tags: Progress Software Corp., Iona Technologies, SOA, Mashup, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web Services, Open Source, Middleware, Enterprise Software, Software Call it a Route 128 SOA date. Progress Software is buying IONA Technologies for a little over $100 million in actual value, broadening Progresss service oriented architecture (SOA) portfolio significantly and catap...

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Greg Sandoval   Year:June 25, 2008 10:12 AM PDT   Source Site:newsblog

UPDATE: To include Starbucks response. Turns out what people want from Starbucks is the caffeine jolt and maybe a morning bun. The countrys largest coffee chain is giving up on much of its music offering, including iTunes gift cards. According to Silicon Alley Insider, Starbucks is planning to carry only four CD titles at a time in its stores by September. "Were shifting how music is merchandised in the store," said Bridget Baker, a Starbucks spokeswoman. "Theres going to be a concentrated selection as we refocus on our core business." Seattle-based Starbucks once fancied itself as an entertainment center where people sipped coffee and grooved to the latest tunes. The companys dreams of branching into music has had a troubled past. Remember the Hear Music media bars, the in-store ...

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Darren Murph   Year:by , posted Jun 25th 2008 at 9:43PM   Source Site:engadget

In the grand scheme of supercomputers, a homegrown cluster constructed by Microsoft is just a boy among men. However, said rig has set at least one record by becoming the "fastest-ever Windows HPC cluster." At the International Supercomputing conference in Dresden, Germany, it was announced that this beast ranked 23rd in the world "with a problem-solving performance of 68.5 teraflops." The National Center for Supercomputing Applications utilized a beta version of Windows HPC Server 2008 to hit the aforesaid mark, and if youre curious as to what it took to get there, try 9,472 cores of processing power. Theres more where this came from for the hardcore nerds in attendance right in the read link. [Via Slashdot]...

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Nerd Approved - Gadgets and Gizmos   Year:1 day ago   Source Site:technorati

From the Gadgets channel ? Channel Changer Ray Gun http://nerdapproved.com/ bizarre-gadgets/ channel-changer-ray-gun/ Well have to wait until August 16th to get our hands on this piece of alien goodness, but it is never to early to start saving up for it. They are a little shy on details but I think the words "Channel Changer Ray Gun" pretty much covers what it will do. All I know is that I will be able to change the channel with a futuristic gun as envisioned by science fiction buffs of the past. Who knows what other powers it will have? Product Page (??8.99, about $18) ShareThis 1 day ago Tagged: alien weapons, bizarre gadgets, ray guns, remote-control Nerd Approved - Gadgets and Gizmos http://nerdapproved.com view larger thumbnail Authority: 554 ...

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Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:07 am   Year:June 25th, 2008   Source Site:zdnet

June 25th, 2008 Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization technology is ready to roll Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:07 am Categories: Vista, Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server Longhorn, Windows client, Windows server, Corporate strategy, Exchange Server, Windows XP, Virtualization, Service Pack Tags: Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Hyper-V Virtualization Technology, Hyper-V, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Virtualization, Operating Systems, Servers, Software Microsoft is expected to announce on June 26 that its Hyper-V hypervisor technology has been released to manufacturing, according to testers claiming familiarity with the companys plans. Microsoft delivered the final release of Windows Server 2008 product on February 4. That release included...

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Donald Melanson   Year:by , posted Jun 25th 2008 at 9:43PM   Source Site:engadget

While Bill Gates imminent retirement from Microsoft is understandably a cause for some quiet moments of reflection for some, its also given folks an excuse to dig up some tidbits from Gates tenure that have somehow gone unnoticed or unheralded in the past few years, one of the juiciest of which comes in the form of a 2003 email that Todd Bishop of the Seattle Post-Intelligence has thankfully given fresh light. In it, Gates rips into "how Windows Usability has been going backwards" as he details his long, arduous attempts to download Moviemaker and buy the then new Digital Plus pack. While theres far to many gems to include here, a few of Gates stand-out observations include how "crazy" it is that it took six minutes to install "a bunch of controls" before he was able to install Moviemaker...

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DVICE   Year:6 hours ago   Source Site:technorati

From the Gadgets channel ? Spray-on skin gun will make healing wounds a much faster affair http://dvice.com/ archives/ 2008/ 06/ sprayon_skin_gu.php The process of healing a wound isnt a short one, and it isnt a fun one, especially if its a more serious wound. Youve got to keep it clean and bandaged, and itll hurt for a while and take a good amount of time to actually heal. Thats no fun. Were living in the 21st century, we shouldnt have to put up with that sort of crap. Scientists are working on a gun that sprays new, stem-cell infused skin onto a wound, essentially speeding up the healing process to a matter of hours. 6 hours ago Tagged: medical DVICE http://dvice.com view larger thumbnail Authority: 2,740 Favorite it ...

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