Watch 'Sholay' on Your Mobile Phone

Cinema buffs can now watch the classic movie Sholay on the go, thanks to the telecom revolution, as the blockbuster will now be available preloaded on some mobile phones.

Nokia today unveiled two new mobile handsets – N81 and N95 8GB – that have the cult movie preloaded. The Nseries is a multimedia sub-brand of Nokia.

"It is one of the biggest blockbusters that the Hindi film industry has churned out. There could have been no better option than this flick, which is liked by every age group equally," said Vineet Taneja, business director of multimedia, Nokia India.

"The facility will be available in every N81 and N95 8GB handset across the country. However, there will be no option of sub-titles," he added.

Bollywood actress Isha Sherwani launched the handsets after a high voltage dance performance.

Other than high storage capacity, the N81 also comes preloaded with English music videos, best-selling Bollywood and Hollywood songs and all-time hit comedy scenes from Hindi movies across genres.

The N95 offers a display of 2.8 inches and improved battery power. Its 8 GB flash memory is meant for enjoying videos, playing games, or locating favorite destinations with full navigation with assisted global positioning system (A-GPS).

The launch was followed by a panel discussion on the future of the burgeoning mobile entertainment market, which currently accounts for 37 percent of the $28,000 million non-SMS data revenue.

Bharti Airtel and Research In Motion (RIM) have announced the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone, priced at Rs. 24,990, in India.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 available in a titanium finish measures 107mm x 55mm x 14mm, weighs approximately 91g and comes with a 2 megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom that supports video capture in two resolutions - 240x180 or 176x144 for sharing via MMS.

The media player allows users to create and edit playlists right on the handset and allows users to manage their media files from their PC with the Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry, that is included with the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software.

The 8120 supports the Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP), and comes with a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack. The smartphone also provides a microSD/SDHC memory card slot for additional storage of music, videos and pictures.

Sanjay Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel said, "We are delighted to introduce the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 to the Indian consumer. The Pearl 8120 excels in both functionality and design and it will help Airtel users make the most of their time in both personal and professional settings. They will get an opportunity to experience a world class product which is elegant, stylish and equipped to deliver a power packed performance. This exceptional device reinforces our commitment to innovation and to bring the latest and best communication experience for Airtel's BlackBerry users."

"BlackBerry smartphones are well received in India and we are pleased to be working be Airtel to introduce another RIM innovation to the Indian market," said Norm Lo, Vice President of Asia Pacific at RIM. "The new BlackBerry Pearl 8120, with its elegant design, advanced multimedia features and Wi-Fi capabilities, make it perfect for both personal and professional use."

In addition to quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, the 8120 facilitates web browsing and expanded wireless data coverage via Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) networks.

The smartphone is supported on BlackBerry Internet Service, giving users access to up to 10 supported work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), as well as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, enabling advanced security and IT administration within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments.

The 8120 is now available at Airtel Relationship Centers and retail outlets.

Cricket Fans in UAE Follow Action on Cellphones

Indian and Pakistani cricket fans in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are following the ongoing one-day series between the two countries in India on their 3G-enabled handsets, courtesy mobile services provider Etisalat.

This is only the second time that Etisalat is providing this service to its subscribers. Though it had beamed live this year's World Cup in the West Indies, it did not offer this service during the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

"Cricket is a passion for a large number of our customers, and by bringing the excitement of the matches to our customers on their mobile phones, Etisalat will be enabling them to experience the action as it happens," Khalifa Al Shamsi, Etisalat's vice-president, marketing, stated in a company press release.

"We extend our best wishes to the supporters of both teams, and look forward to a memorable series," he added.

The UAE is home to around 1.5 million expatriate Indians and 600,000 Pakistanis.

Etisalat is offering this service to its customers at 35 dirhams a week. It will cover all the five one-dayers and five Tests. The service, which commenced with the first one-dayer in Guwahati Monday, will culminate on December 12, the last day of the last test in Bangalore.

For Etisalat customers who do not have 3G-enabled mobile handsets, the mobile service provider is offering an SMS cricket news alerts service based on events during the match.

Plenty of Google Phones Come 2008

Here’s the Google scoop people. More than the details about a Gphone handset, Google actually revealed that what they’ve devolved is a new mobile operating platform called ‘Android’ that’s supposed to be one of the most versatile mobile platforms as well as the most open ended. This effort is the joint venture of a total of 32 companies that got together to begin what’s called the Open Handset Alliance.

The companies that comprise this group, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders viz. Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have stated that Android is ‘The first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.’ The whole idea was to create a platform that makes using a mobile phone just that much easier so as to get everything you need from a singular device.

The Alliance has also stated that sometime next week they will release ‘an early access software development kit to provide developers with the tools necessary to create innovative and compelling applications for the platform.’

"Motorola has long been an advocate of open software for mobile platforms. Today, we're excited to continue this support by joining Google and others in the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance and Android platform. Motorola plans to leverage the Android platform to enable seamless, connected services and rich consumer experiences in future Motorola products," said Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO of Motorola, Inc.

"HTC's trademark on the mobile industry has been its ability to drive cutting-edge innovation into a wide variety of mobile devices to create the perfect match for individuals," said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corp. "Our participation in the Open Handset Alliance and integration of the Android platform in the second half of 2008 enables us to expand our device portfolio into a new category of connected mobile phones that will change the complexion of the mobile industry and re-create user expectations of the mobile phone experience."

The phone, dubbed the Dream (appropriate) has not been too clearly defined but according to the guys at Engadget, this device would have a large 3 x 5 inch touch sensate screen with a slide out keypad (presumably QWERTY). But that’s about it. It could be out sometime by the second half of next year. I think it’s safe to also presume that it would have a GPS setting, with Google maps being so popular and all.

With the Open Handset Alliance and Android promising to make the world a better place for mobile phone users, according to the Google Blog, it’ll be about a week before an SDK will be available for developers and it’ll be in the second half of 2008 before any phones with the Android platform will be shipped. Look out Apple, your iPhone may have some very serious competition come 2008.

Google Forays Into Cellphone Market

today that it is developing a free cellphone software package so the Internet search leader can more easily peddle ads and services to people who aren't in front of a PC.

While the announcement ended months of speculation about the Mountain View-based company's cellular ambitions, the first phones equipped with Google's so-called 'software stack' still won't be available until the second half of 2008.

Diversifying into cell phone software could open more digital doors for Google to build upon the trove of information that it has collected about its users' personal interests so it can profit by showing more appealing ads.

Google won't be making the phones, however. Nor does it plan to stamp its prized brand on the devices. Instead, it will work with four cell phone manufacturers who have agreed to use Google's programs in their handsets. Consumers will have to buy a new phone because the bundle isn't made for existing handsets.

Engineers have been working on the software for three years, dating back to a Silicon Valley startup called Android Inc. that Google acquired in 2005. The mobile software still bears the Android name in acknowledgment of its heritage.

"This is going to bring the Internet into cell phones in a very cool way," said Andy Rubin, an Android co-founder who is now Google's director of mobile platforms.

Even with its market debut months away, Google's software looms as a significant threat to other mobile operating systems made by Microsoft Corp., Research In Motion Ltd., Palm Inc. and Symbian, which is owned by Nokia Corp. and several other major phone makers.

Because Google's software will be free, it could undercut rivals who charge handset makers to install their operating systems. It also promises to make smart phones less expensive since manufacturers won't have to pay for software.

Google's system will also be based on computer code that can be openly distributed among programmers. That, Google hopes, will encourage developers to create new applications and other software improvements that could spawn new uses for smart phones. A development tool kit for working on the new platform will be released next week.

"This is a shot that is going to be heard around the world, but it's just the first shot in what is going to be a very protracted battle in the next frontier of the mobile Web," said Michael Gartenberg, a Jupiter Research vice president.

So far, Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., HTC and LG Electronics Inc. have agreed to use Google's software in some of their phones. Both Motorola and Samsung already buy Microsoft's Windows Mobile in some of their phones.

Some key details, like pricing and how many phones will be shipped next year, have yet to be worked out. But it's quite likely that the Google-equipped smart phones will cost less than the popular iPhone that Apple Inc. began selling in June.

Kane and Lynch (PC) in India For Just Rs. 699

Developer IO Interactive’s latest third person action shoot 'em up, Kane and Lynch is all set to hit Indian shores by the first week of December for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

While the prices of the PS3 and Xbox 360 remain unknown, E-xpress Interactive, the game's local distributors told us that the PC version would be available for just Rs. 699.

To know more about the game or book your copy, you could hit them with a mail at info@expressgames.in

Samsung Launches New Win Mobile 6 Phone

Samsung has launched another new mobile. Yes, one more. This time it’s a new Windows mobile though. The SPH-M4650 (a rather lengthy name to remember), is their latest release and features a 2.8 inch touchscreen display that doesn’t support multi-touch for some reason. It also seems to have a DMB TV Tuner. Among its other features is a 2 megapixel camera and it also has Bluetooth, but whether or not it will support A2DP is not yet confirmed but in all probability, considering it’s running on Window Mobile 6.0 it just might.

There’s been no word on the official price or availability of the SPH-M4650 though it’s estimated to cost about Rs. 21,700 (500,000 won).

Via Akhiabara and Engadget.

New SE Mobile With Cool Colors

While scanning through the various sites that keep me and you informed of all the latest phones that are out there, I stumbled across the Sony Ericsson UK website and noticed a new model I hadn’t seen before – the K660i. This GSM, EDGE, HSDPA enabled handset appears to look quite like the K810 with the similar small round button keypad.

The K660i comes equipped with a 2 megapixel camera has an inbuilt memory of 32MB with external M2 card support. It also supports Bluetooth with A2DP compatibility; USB and it can be used as a Modem. It also has an FM radio with RDS. From Sonyericsson.co.uk we know the phone is available in some cool colors – Lime on White and Wine on Black.

There doesn’t seem to be too much information on whether or not the phone has been released or what the price is, so stay tuned.

Via intomobile.

Xbox Live Now Available in India

After broken promises and mucho delays, Microsoft India is all set to roll out Xbox Live in India officially from today.

Users will be able to not only to enjoy casual, fast-paced arcade action, new game content or multiplayer frag-fests but also never seen before, exclusive local Bollywood movie trailers of "Hanuman returns" to begin with. A tie-up with UTV ensures that users will have access to other already released but popular Bollywood content of UTV films. Xbox Live will also make available content related to Love Story 2050 – Harman Baweja’s debut film opposite Priyanka Chopra – a perfect fit for Xbox Live and its users.

I really wonder what makes Microsoft think that a trailer or content for Love Story 2050 would be a "perfect fit" for Xbox Live users. Anyway, in case you missed it earlier, here’s a look at the prices once again:
500 Points Card – Rs 340
1,000 Points Card – Rs 680
2,000 Points Card – Rs 1,360
5,000 Points Card – Rs 3,400
12 Month Gold Subscription Card – Rs 2,200
1 Month Gold Subscription Card – Rs 350
All of the above mentioned cards should be available at the retailers mentioned in this list. For more on Xbox Live, head right here.

Microsoft Adds ESPN Programing to Xbox

Microsoft Corp. has added college basketball and other ESPN programming to the growing lineup of video content available for download to its Xbox 360 video game console.

Microsoft and ESPN said people can purchase complete NCAA basketball and football games, the X Games sports competitions and programs like ESPN's 'Madden Nation', which chronicles a competition of 'Madden NFL' video game players, from the Xbox Live Website.

Xbox 360 users can buy commercial-free standard-definition versions of select NCAA games for $3, and high-definition versions for $4.50, within 48 hours of the game's conclusion. ESPN TV shows, like the other TV content on the Xbox Live download site, cost $2 for standard-definition and $3 for high-def versions.

As part of the agreement, ESPN is considering ways to incorporate the Xbox Live online gaming community into its telecasts. ESPN spokesman Paul Melvin said there are no firm plans on how this will be done.

The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal when it was announced late Sunday.
Ross Honey, a senior director of the media and entertainment group at Microsoft, said action and horror movies are popular genres for the Xbox Live audience, as are 'edgier' animated TV shows like 'South Park'.

"At the end of the day, most of our consumers are young males," Honey said. "You have a perfect match here."

ESPN (which is owned by The Walt Disney Co.) already delivers live, streaming sports footage to customers of certain broadband Internet providers.

"Delivering content through Xbox 360 is another way that we can connect fans with the sports they have such passion for," said Matt Murphy, senior vice president of digital video distribution for Disney and ESPN Media Networks.

iPod Nano Goes A-Running With Nike

This is what two of the world's largest corporations, Nike and Apple, leaders in their own respective fields got together to give us in India today, the Nike + iPod. It’s really not as vague or as perhaps simple as it sounds. But these two companies, together, have brought together a rather unique product and system that all you joggers and music lovers can truly enjoy.

Nike has designed a newly styled shoe called the Air Zoom Moire that has a little space in the sole of the left shoe that houses the Nike + iPod transmitter. The receiver that comes with the set fits into your iPod Nano. The bad thing is this system is designed specifically for the Nano and no other iPod device. The good thing is, it’ll work even with your First Generation Nano and of course the latest Nano Video version. Once hooked up you can begin your run and the data (up to a 1000 runs) gets stored in the iPod. It can calculate the speed, distance and calories lost.This is what two of the world's largest corporations, Nike and Apple, leaders in their own respective fields got together to give us in India today, the Nike + iPod. It’s really not as vague or as perhaps simple as it sounds. But these two companies, together, have brought together a rather unique product and system that all you joggers and music lovers can truly enjoy.

Nike has designed a newly styled shoe called the Air Zoom Moire that has a little space in the sole of the left shoe that houses the Nike + iPod transmitter. The receiver that comes with the set fits into your iPod Nano. The bad thing is this system is designed specifically for the Nano and no other iPod device. The good thing is, it’ll work even with your First Generation Nano and of course the latest Nano Video version. Once hooked up you can begin your run and the data (up to a 1000 runs) gets stored in the iPod. It can calculate the speed, distance and calories lost.

It doesn’t just record this information, store it and show you a read out at the end of your work out. It can also give you information on the go through your earphones while you’re working out. When you dock your iPod with your PC and are hooked up to the net, it will direct you directly to www.nikeplus.com where you can save all of your run data and analyze, compare and review it with an easy to use interface. You can also pre cue any particular ‘Power Song’ just to give you that motivational burst of energy to help you get along. There are also options to set specific goals you want to reach and all this can be monitored from the Nike+ website. Registration is of course free.

Attending the event were sports stars Anju Bobby George who’s training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Cricketer Dinesh Kaarthick. They gave us an insight into their experience with Nike + iPod and how useful the Nike+ website has been for them and their training regimen.



The Nike + iPod Sports kit is available at select Nike and Apple stores and is priced at Rs. 2,000. There are plenty of Nike+ shoes to choose from that range from Rs. 6,200 onwards. There are also accessories designed for use with the kit like jackets, tops etc. with waterproof pockets to protect your iPod.

Epson Releases New Powerlite Model

Epson is advancing its line of high definition projectors for the home theater market with the launch of the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720. The Home Cinema 720 will be available in late October through authorized Epson resellers fort an estimated street price of $1200.

The device offers an advanced three-chip optical engine and 10-bit color processing, lens shift and color management. Other features include 1,600 ANSI Lumens brightness, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 100 percent vertical and 50 percent horizontal offset lens shift, Epson AccuCinema color management, Epson Super White etc.

Sanyo Launches PLV-Z2000 LCD Projector

Sanyo has just introduced the PLV-Z2000 LCD projector. It features plenty of impressive features, including a new 3D color management system, a contrast ratio of 15,000:1, an advanced lens shifting function and a fan system that is claimed to be the quietest in the business.

The device can project a 100" diagonal image that is full-HD (1920 x 1080) from just ten feet away, so those who have space constraints may want to check this baby out. It’s also equipped with a v1.3a HDMI socket and a 14-bit gamma correction circuit, plus 2x zoom on a new generation inorganic LCD panel from Epson.

The Sanyo PLV-Z2000 is expected to release in the US sometime in late October or early November and retail for $2,995.99.

Samsung Develops New Flash Memory Chip

Samsung Electronics Co. has announced that it has developed a more advanced flash memory chip that will allow increased data storage in digital products such as music players.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, today unveiled a 64-gigabit NAND flash memory chip based on finer process technology using circuit elements that are 30 nanometers wide. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; a human hair is about 80,000 nanometers across.

''The flash memory device represents a major leap forward in the move to higher density flash storage solutions at a time of exploding demand for flash as the main storage medium in computing and digital applications,'' said a press release from Samsung.

Flash memory chips are used extensively in digital music devices, digital cameras and mobile phones. The chips can retain data even when the devices they power are turned off.

Samsung touted the development of the chip as a world first and said the new chip marks the eighth straight year that memory density has doubled and the seventh straight year that the nanometer scale has improved for NAND flash.

Using finer process technology allows more to be fit on a semiconductor chip and reduces power requirements. The company said it plans to begin production of the chip in 2009.

Last year the company announced 32-gigabit NAND flash memory chip based on 40-nanometer process technology. Production of that chip will begin next year, said Chae Su-yeon, a Samsung spokeswoman.

Currently, the bulk of Samsung's flash memory chips are produced using 50-nanometer process technology.

Panasonic Releases HT Projector

Panasonic has unveiled its new PT-AX200E LCD (1280 x 720 pixels) home theater projector. It is designed as an offering for gaming and home theater enthusiasts who desire a home entertainment viewing experience.

The PT-AX200E projector produces images, buoyed by its 220-W UHM lamp and optical unit that combine to generate 2,000-lumen brightness. It also incorporates Panasonic’s Light Harmonizer 2 image technology, which measures ambient light and adjusts the image brightness by controlling not only the gamma curve, but also the iris setting, lamp power, and picture sharpness.

The PT-AX200E ships with a new gaming mode so consumers can enjoy playing their favorite video games. Compared with Panasonic’s prior model, the new projector’s gaming mode improves signal processing for 1/3 response time, using the controller buttons. Gamers can also program and save up to eight settings for games or movies.

Yet to come in India, it costs about 1100 pounds in the UK.

Oprah Opens Channel on YouTube

Oprah Winfrey has a talk show, a magazine, a website and now a channel on YouTube, the popular online video site.

Harpo Productions and YouTube say the channel will offer exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage from The Oprah Winfrey Show, which is taped in Chicago.

In a video posted on the site, Winfrey says she's 'excited' to have her own YouTube channel and that it will include videos she creates herself.

Jordan Hoffner – YouTube's head of business development – says the channel offers the YouTube community more access to Winfrey and a look into what it takes to produce a hit talk show.

ADA's 'iBox' Slip Amuses Ballmer!

Well, he may be the emerging power in the Indian media landscape and, with Zapak.com, technically the country's online gaming baron as well, but Anil Ambani's 'noob' gamer status was more or less cemented with a slight gaffe at the launch of Reliance IPTV in the presence of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in Mumbai today.

The junior Ambani was referring to Microsoft's gaming console and mistakenly referred to it as the "iBox". However, the Chairman of ADAG, quickly recovered and managed to elicit a roar of laughter from the Microsoft CEO who happens to be his older brother's former classmate.

We wonder if a certain Mr Jobs would have been delighted to see the persistence of his "i" prefix in the mind of the public, and hey – maybe even got an idea for a future console?

Reliance Inks $500mn IPTV Deal with Microsoft

Microsoft entered into a $500 million (Rs 19.7 billion) pact today with Reliance Anil D. Ambani Group (RADAG) to launch Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and allied services in India.

The IPTV service will be launched in Mumbai and Delhi by March 2008, to be followed by other metros gradually.

"Reliance will enjoy exclusive deployment rights for the Microsoft platform in India," said RADAG chairman Anil Ambani.

Speaking on the occasion, CEO Microsoft Steve Ballmer said: "Reliance is about to change the way consumers experience television. TV is the only third digital device that has been left out of the networking revolution. Microsoft and Reliance are now making TV a 'first class citizen' in the connected entertainment landscape."

Responding to a query about the success of IPTV, Ballmer said that very soon India and the US would be the largest IPTV market in the world.

Ambani said that as Indian consumers become more sophisticated, they are demanding more compelling and personalised entertainment to suit their individual needs and preferences.

"Until now, TV has been a broadcast, 'one-size-fits-all' experience. But backed by the powerful Microsoft Mediaroom software, IPTV promises to offer subscribers more choice, control and convenience, leading to an all-round unique and more satisfying user experience at the end of the day," he pointed out.

Ballmer said that by connecting the TV to an intelligent two-way network and adding powerful software, new connected and personalised experiences shall be possible in India.

The strategic tie-up will allow Reliance to provide new, connected and personalised TV experiences in India with a host of advanced features like video-on-demand, digital video recording, instant channel changing and personal media sharing, Anil explained.

He added that IPTV subscribers will be able to watch popular standard definition content as well as high definition at the click of a button from the comfort of their homes, and enjoy a connected entertainment experience that will soon allow them to watch their favourite shows either on TV or PC.

Microsoft will power the service through Reliance's sophisticated fibre optic network, which covers 13,000 towns and 5,00,000 villages in the country.

Reliance Communications has established a pan-India, next-generation integrated (wireless and wire line) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting top-class services across the entire information communication value chain.

The company also owns and operates the world's largest next generation Internet protocol-enabled connectivity infrastructure, comprising over 1,65,000 km of fibre optic cable systems in India, the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Ambani also said that Reliance would soon launch direct-to-home (DTH) services in the country in the next few months. There are currently 100 million TV homes in India, he pointed out.

Also present on the occasion were Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Microsoft India, and Prakash Bajpai, president, Reliance Communications.

The companies would also co-operate on rural broadband, mobile telephony, gaming, and entertainment in the Indian market.

Emergency: Blogs Keep Pakistanis Informed

With private television news channels blocked in Pakistan, Internet users in the country are relying on websites and blogs that have gone "live" to update their readers continuously on the evolving situation.

It was at 5.12 Pakistan time Saturday (12:12 GMT) that Metroblogging Lahore broke the news that a local cable operator World Call had pulled the plug on television channels. A user comment on that post from Karachi said that his television screen had also gone blank at precisely 5.12 p.m.

Its sister blog Metroblogging Islamabad reported at 6.20 p.m. that a "code of conduct" was being prepared for the print media and that the Supreme Court Bar Council head Aitzaz Ashsan would be arrested.

While Pakistanis could not watch their channels, their relatives outside the country kept themselves informed about live television reports, which they posted on the blogs.

At 6.35 p.m., 'SK' reported that his parents watching the private AAJ television channel in the Gulf had confirmed the imposition of emergency. "Pemra (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) has crossed the frequencies in order to completely block the transmissions," he informed readers.

Meanwhile, commentators on various Pakistani blogs were telling readers about sites that were streaming broadcasts of private news channels online. For example, www.pakistanvision.com was broadcasting Geo News live.

Many blog visitors suspected that perhaps after television channels, the Internet would be the next target, as the connectivity and page loading had slowed down. But others felt that the slow speed was due to the unusually heavy load of users.

Forums like www.pakistaniat.com had most of the readers lambasting the imposition of emergency, but there were still some who said President General Pervez Musharraf had no choice in the face of spreading extremism.

For those unable to access live video streams, small clips of news telecast which were captured by those outside the country were uploaded on sites like www.pkpolitics.com.

This website was trying to rally Pakistanis not just inside the country but also outside to organize protests against the imposition of emergency.

On Sunday too, blogs continued to be the only source of information for Pakistanis with access to the Internet, as television channels were still off air.

MySpace Expands Ads Targeted to Profiles

Popular online hangout MySpace is expanding its program for letting advertisers target their pitches using personal details on users' profile pages.

Since July, MySpace has allowed more than 50 leading advertisers, including Procter & Gamble Co., Ford Motor Co. and Yum Brands Inc.'s Taco Bell chain, to target any of 10 interest groups, such as movies, travel and auto.

In the program's second phase, launching Monday, MySpace is adding an 11th category, television, along with hundreds of subcategories, such as horror movies. Even that is subdivided into "teen screams", "satanic stories", "vampires" and others.

Like other social-networking sites, MySpace offers a mix of messaging tools to encourage visitors to expand their circles of friends. Central to it are personal profile pages where users can post photos and video clips, blast messages to friends and have visitors leave comments.

Targeting ads well can be lucrative.

MySpace, a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media, said many advertisers improve response rates fourfold through its targeting program, which also includes segmentation by location and age groups. The company says it charges advertisers more, though it would not say how much.

But targeting can also backfire if users believe their personal expressions are being misused.

When MySpace's chief rival, Facebook, introduced a feature last year that allows users to more easily track changes their friends make to profiles, many users denounced it as stalking and threatened protests and boycotts. Facebook had to quickly apologize and agree to let users turn off the feature so that others can't easily see what they do.

Facebook was scheduled to announce its own ad program Tuesday, though officials refused to discuss its nature.

Adam Bain, executive vice president for products and technology at Fox Interactive, said the company spent a year developing its program and created user panels to study privacy and other issues.

"The thing we heard from them is they wanted advertisements to be more contextually relevant to them," Bain said. "If they have to live with ads, they want an ad to be engaging."

Bain said MySpace only examines information users already make public in their profiles. It also plans to open up the program to smaller advertisers through self-service tools.

Internet search leader Google Inc. has generated much of its revenues through self-service tools that even small merchants can use to target text ads to a user's search terms.

Google, which already has a deal to place those text-based ad links on MySpace, is now trying to bring that success to display ads, an area MySpace could try to challenge with the launch of its self-service targeting tools.

Glitch Mismatches Photos, News on Google

Engineers at Google Inc. are working to resolve a problem on the company's Google News site that has resulted in some photos and news stories being mismatched.

Searches conducted on Google News on Friday occasionally returned photos from Reuters Group PLC that didn't match the stories they were listed next to, such as a shot of bunches of vegetables that appeared alongside a story about a Japanese merger firm.

Another story listed on Google News' top business stories had a Reuters photo of a guitarist next to a Wall Street Journal story about Sprint Nextel considering changes to a wireless Internet service plan.

Google's news pages are automated and use computer coding, or algorithms, to select and display stories. Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker said its algorithms appeared to be mismatching some material, but the problem appeared to be mainly with photos from Reuters.

Stricker said Google's engineers are working to solve the glitch and that it wasn't quite clear why the problem appears to be associated with Reuters material.

Newsweek magazine posted a story online late Thursday pointing out that last week Google News displayed photos of two monkeys next to stories about the expected departure of Dick Parsons as chief executive of Time Warner Inc.

Parsons is one of the most prominent black executives in the country, and Newsweek pointed out that 'few images of racism' are as offensive to blacks as monkeys.

Stricker called the mismatches "a really unfortunate mistake, and we're working very hard to fix it".

A Time Warner spokesman declined to comment.

Sabarimala Darshan Now Just a Click Away

Starting next year, devotees of the famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala's western ghats can pay their obeisance through cyberspace.

"We're working towards the implementation of this through a website where devotees could have an e-darshan and this would be ready by next year," said CK Guptan, president of the Travancore Devasom Board.

With the annual festival season set to commence from November 17, Guptan said that facilities are being given final touches and this season there would be a complete ban on plastics.

"There will be no supply of water in plastic bottles, and all those who bring bottles have to see that they drop it in designated places after which they would be disposed of," he added.

He also said that the security at the temple town would be strengthened and a sum of Rs 40 million would be spent on this.

Plans for constructing a ropeway from the foothills of the temple to the top for transporting goods and services, and a 500-bed hospital at Pathanamthitta are also on the cards, according to Guptan.

Scams Use Striptease to Break Web Traps

In a new online striptease, the buxom, beautiful blond who promises to remove her slinky scraps of lingerie doesn't want your money. She's interested in your brain. Really.

The creation of online scammers, she's trying to trick unsuspecting Internet users into helping the scammers break the online barriers that banks and e-mail services set up to thwart crooks.

The striptease is the latest attempt to defeat so-called CAPTCHA systems, which is short for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. Those safeguards require users to prove they are human by reading wavy, oddly shaped jumbles of letters and numbers that appear in an image and typing them out.

In the new scam, an icon of an alluring woman suddenly appears on a Windows computer infected by a virus. After clicking on the icon, the user sees a photo of an attractive woman who vows to take off an article of clothing each time the jumble of figures next to her is entered.

But the woman never fully undresses, and after several passwords are entered the program restarts, possibly enticing unsuspecting users into trying again.

Trend Micro researchers say the scam appears to be isolated for now to spammers trying to register bogus e-mail addresses and flood chat rooms with unwanted pitches. But they worry schemes to infiltrate financial institutions could soon appear.

Paul Ferguson, network architect at Trend Micro, speculated that spammers might be using the results to write a program to automatically bypass CAPTCHA systems.

"I have to hand it to them," Ferguson said, laughing. "The social engineering aspect here is pretty clever."

Nokia, BharatMatrimony Offer Mobile Matchmaking

Global leader in mobile communications Nokia has announced a tie-up with matrimonial website BharatMatrimony to allow Nokia device owners in the country to use its matrimonial services through Nokia catalogs.

Speaking to reporters at the announcement, BharatMatrimony group CEO Murugavel Janakiraman said, "Through this collaboration with Nokia and Mobile2Win, we are happy to take our matrimony services to a new platform."

"Nokia device owners will now be able to access the Nokia Catalogues, which will offer a variety of content, applications and services anytime, anywhere. This will also help us reach out to a wider audience."

"BharatMatrimony is a great service that caters to Indian consumers who are seeking partners. Thanks to the collaboration we have with BharatMatrimony, Nokia is now able to offer this service to more people all over India via a downloadable application that can be found in catalogues, providing them with all the necessary information they need about prospective partners," said Nokia vice president Forum, Lee Epting.

"By offering customized content for each country, Nokia Catalogs strives to deliver a unique and personalized experience for consumers around the world, and our goal remains unchanged - to revolutionize the way consumers can access relevant local services from their mobile devices."

"Convenient and easy to use, all one needs to do in order to start looking for a spouse is register and list a profile, pay and search for profiles of potential spouse. Or contact a profile that you are interested in and engage a background verification service," Janakiraman said.

"Soon, BharatMatrimony on Nokia devices will also offer features such as support videos, images and voice introduction, and a click-to-call facility.

"In order to reach out to consumers across the country even better, the service will also be offered in multiple Indian languages."

Nokia, through its Nokia Catalogs already offers consumers a wide range of exciting content on their Nokia devices, ranging from entertainment-related ring tones, branded Bollywood content, to games and productivity applications.

"Users can access catalogs easily and browse for content to purchase anytime. Content providers who are currently offering content in India on Nokia Catalogs include CornerShop, Hungama, Indiagames and Mauj," said Epting.

"Regional and global content from CNBC and Nokia Software Market are also available for consumers in India. Nokia Catalogs facilitates easy access to downloadable content and services through a collection of shopping mall 'stores' run by branded content providers, leading content aggregators and mobile service providers," he said.

Apple Sells 2 Million Copies of Leopard

Apple has already sold over two million copies of Mac OS X Leopard since its release.

Sales included copies sold at Apple's retail stores, Apple Authorized Resellers, the online Apple Store, under maintenance agreements and bundled with new Mac computers.

Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X and its sales have outpaced the first-weekend sales of Mac OS X Tiger, which was previously the most successful OS release in Apple's history.

"Early indications are that Leopard will be a huge hit with customers," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Leopard's innovative features are getting great reviews and making more people than ever think about switching to the Mac."

Leopard introduces Time Machine, that automatically backs up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder that lets users browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to see files without opening an application; Spaces, that helps create groups of applications and switch between them; a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; and enhancements to Mail and iChat.

Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard is available through the Apple Store, at Apple's retail stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $129 (US) for a single user license.

The Mac OS X Leopard Family Pack is a single-household, five-user license for a suggested retail price of $199 (US). Leopard requires a minimum of 512MB of RAM and is designed to run on any Macintosh computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 (867 MHz or faster) processor.

Online Crooks Target Macs With Porn Ruse

In a backhanded compliment to Apple Inc., online criminals are apparently so impressed with its scorching sales they are sending Macintosh computers an attack typically aimed at machines running Microsoft Corp.'s dominant Windows operating system.

Symantec Corp. researchers said the Web sites serving up the new attack also deploy a Windows version.

"For a while Mac users have enjoyed the benefits of being a small enough population that hackers didn't go after them directly - that's obviously now changing," said Ben Greenbaum, senior research manager at Symantec Security Response.

Lynn Fox, an Apple spokeswoman, said the Cupertino-based company knows about the threat and urges Mac users to be careful about where they download things from.

"Apple has a great track record for keeping Mac OS X users secure, and as always, we encourage people to install software only from trusted sources," she said in a statement.

Online porn-hunters are the intended victim of the latest ploy, in which visitors to certain explicit Web sites are led to believe they're downloading a free video player when in fact they're installing malicious code onto their Macs.

Once the user authorizes the transaction, the fraudsters can redirect his future browsing to fraudulent Web sites and possibly to steal his information or passwords or simply send ads for other pornographic Web sites and rake in advertising dollars.

For example, a person using an infected computer may think he is going to online auctioneer eBay Inc. or its PayPal electronic payment division but actually be directed to a site that looks legitimate but exists to purloin personal information.

The attack does not target a vulnerability in the Macintosh operating system.

Instead, it requires a user to approve the download, then enter his computer's administrator's password to continue, operations that raise red flags among sophisticated computer users.

Symantec researchers said the Trojan used in the attack is a rejiggered version of one that's been around for a couple years and requires that victims fall for a social engineering trick to work.

Security researchers at Intego, which makes Macintosh antivirus software and discovered the scheme this week, said it underscores the mounting threats to Mac users as the machines grow in popularity.

Windows machines still dominate the PC market, but Apple, which for years commanded just 2 to 3 percent of the U.S. market, has now grown to command an 8 percent chunk, according to market researcher Gartner Inc.

"This is the first really malicious criminal malware (for Macs)," said Intego spokesman Peter James. "We've seen some proof-of-concept malware, we've seen some worms, but this is different."

UN, Google, Cisco Team to Track Poverty

The United Nations teamed with technology giants Google Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. to launch a new website yesterday that will provide data and a bird's eye view of global efforts to fight poverty and meet UN development goals by 2015.

The Millennium Development Goals, which world leaders approved at a UN summit in 2000, provide the latest statistics on health, education, malnutrition, women's equality and other measures that contribute to poverty.

On one portion of the new site, a Web surfer can also use Google Earth's map and satellite imagery to fly anywhere on the planet and 'explore' the places where work is being done to achieve the goals.

"They can see successes and celebrate those, and observe failures or shortfalls... and redouble their country's commitment to pursue those efforts. So it's very exciting for us," said Michael Jones, chief technologist for Google Earth and Maps.

The goals include cutting extreme poverty by half, ensuring universal primary school education, reducing child mortality by two-thirds, starting to reverse the HIV/AIDS pandemic and halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Thursday's launch 'crucial' because it makes all information on the UN goals available in one place for the first time "for all who seek it, with a few simple clicks of the mouse."

Ban lamented that – midway between the goals' adoption in 2000 and the target completion date of 2015 – almost 1 billion people live on less than one dollar a day; millions of children die every year before their fifth birthdays from causes associated with malnutrition; infectious diseases including AIDS and malaria take "their worst toll on countries that can least afford it" and millions of people live in slums.

"Clearly, we are facing a development emergency – and we need emergency action. For the first time in history, the world has at its disposal the means to cut poverty in half in the span of a generation," the secretary-general said.

Ban said achieving the goals was a matter of political will. "There is no silver bullet, but the resources, knowledge and tools for achieving the goals do exist."

The new Web site is one of those tools because it will enable policymakers and development experts to learn from one another's successes and setbacks, and it will increase public access and attention to the UN. goals, Ban said.

At the end of his speech, Ban put his hand on the mouse of a laptop computer together with Jones, of Google; Carlos Dominguez, a Cisco Senior Vice President; and Kemal Dervis, UN. Development Program Administrator.

The UN Development Program, which is facilitating the new Web site, said the budget for the project was $200,000, and it received $150,000 from corporate donors.

UNDP's Dervis said the data on the MDG Monitor comes from a variety of UN. agencies, the World Bank and governments around the world. But he noted that statistics are sometimes difficult to obtain and can conflict.

"We hope to gradually overcome these weaknesses and open the site to all organizations who gather statistics to offer their information," he said.

MySpace Gets Social With Google

Internet social networking leader MySpace is joining Google's platform for sharing applications across the Web – a concept that threatens to undermine the rapid growth of their common rival, Facebook.

Google trumpeted the MySpace coup Thursday in a meeting with reporters, two days after revealing its plans to create a distribution network for interactive applications known as 'widgets'.

The programs – created by a hodgepodge of independent software developers and other Web sites – make it easier to share music, pictures, video and other personal interests on social networking sites.

MySpace, owned by News Corp., was conspicuously absent from the initial list of Websites that agreed to host the widgets from Google's 'OpenSocial' platform.

That raised questions whether MySpace might try to build its own proprietary platform, much like Facebook has already done.

But MySpace and Google executives said they began discussing an open-ended system that culminated in OpenSocial more than a year ago. The formal announcement about the alliance was timed to coincide with a party that Google is throwing for software developers Thursday evening in Mountain View.

Google also disclosed for the first time that another popular social networking site, Bebo.com, will host widgets supplied from its platform, which is trying to create a common coding standard for the applications so they work on hundreds of Web sites.

Other previously disclosed participants networks include social networks Friendster, hi5, LinkedIn, Ning and the Google-owned Orkut.

All told, OpenSocial's potential audience is expected to exceed 200 million people.

But OpenSocial was an unimpressive alternative to Facebook's platform until MySpace confirmed its participation, said Gartner analyst Ray Valdes. "This is more likely to get developers' attention," he added.

Although Facebook has been growing faster, MySpace remains the Internet's biggest social network. In September, MySpace's US audience totaled 68 million compared with 30.6 million for Facebook.

Google's one-size-fits-all approach contrasts with Palo Alto-based Facebook's, which relies on unique coding that has prevented widgets developed for its sites from working at other places on the Web.

Facebook's formula has been highly effective so far, spawning more than 8,000 widgets in the five months since the platform started.

Including visitors from outside the United States, Facebook says it now has 50 million members and has doubled in size since May.

Facebook's booming membership encouraged Microsoft Corp. to pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook last week – a deal that valued the 3-year-old startup at $15 billion.

Now, it looks like Google and MySpace are forming a tag team to duel Facebook and Microsoft. "This clarifies the battle lines, but it's not just a two-way conflict," Valdes said.

That's because other large Web sites like longtime Google rival Yahoo Inc., online auctioneer eBay and Internet retailer Amazon.com haven't picked a side yet. It's also possible that those Websites might introduce competing platforms for social networking widgets.

Because social networks are attracting so many users, they are emerging as potentially lucrative advertising channels. Google already has been placing text-based ad links on MySpace, just as Microsoft has been doing at Facebook. The partners share the ad revenue with each other.

Social networking widgets are expected to yield a myriad of other moneymaking opportunities, but for now Google has no plans to insert ads in its OpenSocial network.

MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe is confident that OpenSocial will transform his site into a hotbed of communal applications.

"OpenSocial will become the de facto standard for developing applications right out of the gate," DeWolfe said.

Facebook was invited to join OpenSocial, said Vic Gundotra, a vice president of engineering for Google, and Schmidt said the door remains open.

"Everyone is invited to join," Schmidt said. "There has been no effort to discriminate or exclude."

Facebook didn't get any notice about OpenSocial, according to company spokeswoman Brandee Barker.

"When we have had a chance to understand the technology, Facebook will evaluate participation relative to the benefits to its 50 million users and 100,000 platform developers," she said.

MS Takes Aim At Adobe Flash With Silverlight

Microsoft has announced the India availability of Silverlight 1.0, its answer to Adobe Flash, a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in that delivers media experiences through the Web.

Silverlight integrates with existing Web technologies and with this, businesses can offer richer and more interactive Web applications at a lower cost of delivery. Silverlight is available to end users for free download from the Web.

Tarun Gulati, general manager, Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft India said, "Many companies in India and across the world today are using path breaking customer experience as a competitive advantage for their businesses, and we believe that Microsoft's products such as Silverlight, Expression, WPF will allow companies to take this to the next level in an easy, cost effective manner."

Since its international release to Web, over 40 customers have delivered over 60 applications for Silverlight from more than 20 countries around the world and Sify.com, Rediff.com, Indian Cricket League and Sulekha.com have plans to deliver Silverlight-based experiences for their viewers and customers.

In addition to Silverlight 1.0, Microsoft has also recently launched, a complete product suite -Expression Studio - for the designer community, focused on enabling better collaboration between designers and developers.

Together with Visual Studio 08, Expression Studio and Silverlight will allow easy and seamless creation of rich user experiences. Microsoft is working with Novell Inc to deliver Silverlight support for Linux, called Moonlight.

Yahoo! Launches Mail Services in Hindi

Yahoo! India Tuesday announced its free mail services are now available in Hindi. Users can read and write e-mails in Hindi without losing out on any of the features available in English.

"Yahoo! is the first Internet company to introduce Hindi language services in the country," John Kremer, vice president, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Inc, told IANS.

"We have always been focussed on making it easy for people to connect to those who matter most to them. Now, with Yahoo! Mail Classic, we're creating a more local e-mail experience. Our product and engineering teams in India have played a crucial role in this localization," he added.

"Yahoo! Mail in Hindi is relevant to the 200 million Indians who are expected to come online in the next few years. This will also be an attractive product for a large section of our advertisers, who want to reach out to the non-English speaking Indian population," added Pranesh Anthapur, chief administrative officer, Yahoo! India.

Arathi Vedantam, communications head, Yahoo! India, told IANS, "We will soon make all our products available to Hindi users. We have already launched Yahoo! messenger service in nine regional languages including Hindi."

Yahoo! Messenger has also introduced a new Web-based version of its leading instant messaging service. The service is ideal for travelers and office workers with firewall constraints.

Yahoo! India, launched in June 2000, presents an array of communications, commerce and content services.

Eye-Fi Goes Wi-Fi with New SD Memory Card

Eye-Fi Inc. today unveiled the Eye-Fi Card – the world’s first wireless SD memory card for digital cameras. It uses home Wi-Fi networks to create a convenient way for users to send photographs directly from digicams to computers and online photo and social networking sites.

All you need to do is simply turn on your digital camera and your pictures are wirelessly uploaded. The Eye-Fi Card works with existing and new SD-compatible digital cameras, and stores photos just like a conventional SD memory card.

During the simple setup process, users can select from among 17 popular online photo-sharing, printing, social networking, or blogging sites to publish and share their photographs, and select where on their PC or Mac they want to archive their images.

Once the setup is complete, users can focus on taking pictures and sharing memories – and not on the process of uploading photos from the camera. Eye-Fi’s free upload service allows users to transfer an unlimited number of photos. It handles full-resolution JPEG pictures and intelligently resizes images if required by the selected destination.

The 2GB wireless SD memory card is available now at major online retailers including Amazon.com for $99.99 (Rs 3,940).

AOL Launches Hindi, Tamil Portals

AOL is launching Hindi and Tamil language versions of its Internet portal in India as part of an aggressive global expansion that will see it in 30 regions by the end of 2008.

The online unit of Time Warner Inc., one of the world's biggest media companies, will also enable video searching in eight regions outside the United States: France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

The local India language sites launch as the company hosts Time Inc.'s Fortune Global Forum conferences in the region this week.

Full report.

Google Sets Up Distribution Network

Google Inc. is setting up a distribution network for social networking applications, adding a new twist in the Internet search leader's brewing rivalry with rapidly maturing startup Facebook Inc.

Although Google confirmed its plans late Tuesday, its new social networking platform won't be unveiled until later this week.

Google hopes to build a one-stop shop for software developers who create tools that make it easier to share music, pictures, video etc. on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.com.

The popularity of these applications, also known as 'widgets', has grown dramatically since Facebook opened its Web site to accommodate outside developers five months ago.

Facebook now hosts more than 8,000 widgets, helping to boost its worldwide audience to about 50 million users and elevate its market value to $15 billion after Microsoft Corp. paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the Palo Alto-based company last week.

Microsoft trumped Google in the bidding for a piece of Facebook. Google's bigger social networking ambition is believed to be one of the reasons Facebook decided to deepen its partnership with Microsoft instead.

Google now hopes to attract many of the same applications thriving on Facebook to its own network, dubbed 'OpenSocial'. OpenSocial's combined audience will exceed 100 million users, claims Google.

The system is set up so the participating software developers will only have to code their applications once. Google will then ensure they are compatible with all the Web sites in its network.

Google also will feature the applications on its own social network, Orkut, which hasn't attracted much traffic outside South America and India.

Google won't try to make money from the OpenSocial network now, but hasn't ruled out the possibility of eventually inserting ads into the applications.

Yahoo Messenger 9.0 Beta Launched

Yahoo today announced the launch of its Messenger 9.0 Beta, a new version of the popular Instant Messaging software, that's designed to work on both Windows XP and Vista.

The latest version allows people in six new markets to use the program in their native language. They are the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and India. The Indian version enables users to chat in Hindi.

As for features, there's the obviously new design, and you can choose from several color themes. Avatars and status messages can now be seen right next to contacts' names. New skins and emoticons add to the visual appeal.

Aesthetics apart, Messenger 9.0 beta is fully compatible with video and photo sharing applications such as YouTube or Flickr, so sharing pictures and video clips is made simple via the inline media player.

A call forwarding option – rather like Skype’s – allows users to stay connected with contacts even when they’re away from the PC. Voice mails are sent as MP3 attachments via email.

File transfer is claimed to be much more secure, thanks to scan support from Symantec Norton AntiVirus.

NBC, Fox to Launch Online Video Site

NBC and Fox are set to launch an advertising-supported online video site that hosts programming from varied entertainment companies in a bid to seize viewers from Google Inc.'s YouTube, the broadcasters said.

A test version of the site, Hulu.com, goes online Monday, with plans to premiere a final version in a few months, company officials said. The site, developed by News Corp. and NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., offers free viewing of full-length films and TV episodes, supported by advertising.

It will host programming from the two networks, as well as TV shows and films from Sony Corp. and MGM.

"Consumers identify with shows and films rather than networks," said Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar. "When you aggregate great content together, it makes things easier for the user."

Hulu's debut comes amid tensions between entertainment companies and popular online video sites, such as YouTube, where unauthorized clips from shows often appear.

Viacom Inc., which owns Comedy Central, MTV, VH1 and many other cable channels, is suing YouTube for $1 billion, claiming massive copyright infringement of clips from popular shows. YouTube has said it follows copyright laws by removing protected video upon request.

Hulu will legally offer hundreds of episodes of current shows as well as older ones. Its movie offerings will consist of films that have already been edited for TV broadcast, which will contain short ads online in the places where they would appear on TV.

The shows will be available at Hulu.com, as well as on distribution partner Web sites such as AOL, MSN, MySpace, Yahoo and Comcast. It will also provide viewers with tools that let them embed full episodes on their own blogs, Web sites or personal profile pages.

Hulu will offer some premium content not available on NBC or Fox's own Web sites in a move at odds with some other networks that have tried to direct viewers to their own online content.

Malicious PDF Files on the Loose

Reuters reports that emails containing malicious PDF files have been putting computers at risk since Friday. The danger is more pronounced because PDF attachments are usually not filtered at email gateways.

According to Finnish security software firm F-Secure, the emails look like credit card statements, with a subject line that says 'Your credit report', 'Personal Financial Statement', 'Balance Report' etc. The infected file has an attachment called report.pdf.

A security bulletin issued by Adobe specifies that the issue only affects customers on Windows XP or Windows 2003 with Internet Explorer 7 installed. A malicious file must be loaded in Adobe Reader or Acrobat by the end user for an attacker to exploit these vulnerabilities.

Adobe claims to have patched the vulnerability in its latest updates to Reader and Acrobat; both tagged as Version 8.1.1. Users can utilize the product's automatic update facility, or get the latest versions from the downloads section.

Microsoft has been slower off the blocks, but the company says it's looking at addressing the vulnerability.

Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' Goes Online

Can't get to Milan to see Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece 'The Last Supper'?' From this weekend, all you need is an Internet connection.

Officials put online an image of the famed painting at 16 billion pixels – 1,600 times stronger than the images taken with the typical 10 megapixel digital camera.

The high resolution will allow experts to examine details of the 15th century wall painting that they otherwise could not – including traces of drawings Leonardo put down before painting.

The high-resolution allows viewers to look at details as though they were inches from the art work, in contrast to regular photographs, which become grainy as you zoom in, said curator Alberto Artioli.

"You can see how Leonardo made the cups transparent, something you can't ordinarily see," said Artioli. "You can also note the state of degradation the painting is in."

Besides allowing experts and art-lovers to study the masterpiece from home, Artioli said the project provides an historical document of how the painting appears in 2007, which will be valuable to future generations of art historians.

The work, in Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was restored in a painstaking effort that wrapped up in 1999 – a project aimed at reversing half a millennium of damage to the famed artwork. Leonard painted the Last Supper dry, so it did not cleave to the surface in the fresco style, meaning it is more delicate and subject to wear.

"Over the years it has been subjected to bombardments; it was used as a stall by Napoleon," Artioli said. The restoration removed 500 years of dirt while also removing previous restoration works that masked Leonardo's own work.

Even those who get to Milan have a hard time gaining admission to see the Last Supper. Visits have been made more difficult by measures to protect it. Twenty-five visitors are admitted every 15 minutes to see the painting for a total of about 320,000 visitors a year. Visitors must pass through a filtration system to help reduce the work's exposure to dust and pollutants.

"The demand is three or four times higher, but we can't accommodate it because of efforts to preserve the painting," Artioli said.