02 October, 2011

Sony launches new Vaio models for the holidays



Posted: 02 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT
Sony released a variety of new computer models today for the holiday season.
These models are the mainstay laptops that Sony is releasing to do battle with Apple’s MacBook Air and other popular models for the fall selling season, which happens to be the most popular season for computer purchases.
The new options include models in the Sony Vaio S series laptops, including a 13.3-inch version of the Vaio SA (pictured at right, on left), as well as a 15.5-inch Vaio SE  (pictured at right, on right) model. Those computers are aimed at people who like to watch movies on a laptop in full high-definition formats. The models are less than an inch thick and include Advanced Micro Devices Radeon hybrid graphics (which use chips that combine both processor and graphics on a single chip). Both of the laptops start at $999.
An option for the laptops include a sheet-style battery (shown in pictures at the right) that fits under the laptop. The Vaio SB comes in red, in addition to prior models that came in black, white, blue and pink. The SA, SB and SE models now feature the second-generation Intel Core i3 and Core i7.
Sony is also adding new pre-installed software to its Vaio F series (pictured at right) laptops and Vaio L series desktops. Those computers come with the latest Intel Core processors as well as the Sony Imagination Studio Multimedia Edition. That has a $200 value and includes Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum, Sound Forge Audio Studio, and the Acid Music Studio.
Sony has also updated its Vaio E series and C series laptops with the latest Intel Core i5 and Core i7 microprocessors. Sony also has a Vaio Y moder in black in addition to silver and pink. Starting Oct. 6, Sony Vaio customers can get a Music Unlimited basic plan free with a 180-day trial period for first-time subscribers.
The new products are available today on the Sony Store web site.

Filed under: mobile



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Posted: 01 Oct 2011 08:39 PM PDT
A reference to an “iPhone 4S” has appeared in recent beta versions of iTunes, which has many giving up hope for an iPhone 5 unveiling from Apple next week.
“Today, rumors of a re-design can essentially be put to rest,” writes 9to5Mac, who first noticed the iPhone 4S reference in iTunes, as well as the fact Apple used an existing iPhone 4 image to describe the new model. But while it’s certainly an interesting find, the mere mention of an iPhone 4S in iTunes does nothing to disprove the existence of a completely redesigned iPhone 5.
Rumors that Apple would reveal an iPhone 4S this year, a slightly sped up rehash of the iPhone 4′s design, has been floating around for some time. The iPhone 5, on the other hand, has been rumored to be a complete reworking of the iPhone 4′s design, which has been criticized for its antenna issues and its use of a fragile glass rear.
Apple is holding an event on Tuesday, October 4 to introduce its new iPhone.
I find it difficult to believe that Apple would delay its typical iPhone release schedule, which usually occurs in early summer, to only introduce a slightly revamped iPhone 4. It’s even tougher to swallow that Apple would stick with a 3.5-inch display for its next flagship device — what with 4-inch displays being standard on competing Android and Windows Phone handsets.
We’ve also seen plenty more substantial iPhone 5 rumors touting an intriguing new design, than we have about the iPhone 4S. Just recently, a group of Apple fans created a very convincing iPhone 5 model, based on a compilation of rumors and details from around the web, that shows a thinner design.
The iTunes iPhone 4S entry features a picture of a CDMA iPhone (which runs on Verizon’s network). While it’s very likely that’s just a placeholder image, it could be a sign that Apple will be sticking with its existing design for the iPhone 4S.
9to5Mac also notes that there are only two entries for an iPhone 4S in iTunes (for black and white models), compared to the four entries for the iPhone 4 (for black and white versions for both CDMA and GSM networks). That leads the site to believe that the iPhone 4S will be a dual-mode iPhone that can work on both networks (meaning it’ll be both AT&T and Verizon/Sprint compatible).
At this point, I’m honestly just tired of the speculation. It’s only a few more days until Apple’s plans become clear, and hopefully it’ll be some time before the inevitable iPhone 6 chatter begins.
Update: It appears that Apple is working on a slightly cheaper version of the iPhone 4, which is being built in Brazil, Gizmodo reports. If Apple manages to reduce the cost of the iPhone 4 while also adding in slightly newer hardware, that could very well be the iPhone 4S mentioned here.


Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat



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Posted: 01 Oct 2011 06:50 PM PDT
Even if women and men were graduating in equal numbers from technology and engineering degree programs, the technology industry would still favor men.
According to a new report from the Level Playing Field Institute, IT workplaces, including tech startups, can create hostile or unpleasant environments for women and people of color, leading to those employees seeking out other companies or even other industries for work.
The report states that biases inherent in the average tech workplace make it a less-than-inviting environment for women and minorities, who deal with negative workplace experiences, such as exclusionary cliques and bullying at much higher rates than do their male and white counterparts.
"The IT sector is one of the fastest growing in our country, yet women and people of color continue to be vastly underrepresented,” said LPFI Executive Director Robert Schwartz, Ed.D.
“Previously we've pointed to problems in the STEM education pipeline as the reason for low rates of women and people of color in IT positions. But the findings in this report clearly show that there are also significant concerns with company culture and workplace experiences of underrepresented professionals.”
The Level Playing Field Institute, or LPFI, is an organization dedicated to exploring and eliminating the gender and ethnicity imbalances and biases in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) communities.
The report is called Playing Field: An Examination of Hidden Bias in Information Technology Workplaces. It shows that subtle and implicit favoritism in both large IT enterprises and startups "can produce unequal opportunities and outcomes for employees depending on their race and gender." The study uses data collected from a sample of IT engineers and managers in large companies and small startups around the United States.

In addition to encountering more bullying and being negatively effected by cliques, women and underrepresented people of color saw a higher likelihood of experiencing negative workplace incidents. And the more negative work experiences each person reported, the less likely she was to be satisfied with her job and remain working for the company.
In other words, subtle sexism in tech workplaces is making women and minorities want to move on.
Nevertheless, the study also showed that for most hiring managers, maintaining a diverse workplace was not a high priority. In spite of the fact that most of the companies polled showed diversity stats representative of the rest of the tech industry (i.e., few women and underrepresented people of color), 68% of the managers and engineers polled said they were satisfied with their company's diversity efforts.
Not surprisingly, women and minorities were much more likely to favor more diversity in the workplace. In fact, underrepresented people of color were almost twice as likely as white employees to want a company-wide policy to increase diversity (80 percent compared to 46 percent).
As a result of these subtle (and sometimes overt) biases and lack of diversity in the workplace, woman and minorities in the report were less likely to feel they had a career path at their current company or that they were adequately developing their skills and abilities. Likewise, the same groups were more likely to be looking for a new job or planning to leave their current job within the year.
It’s not surprising that negative workplace experiences were linked to job dissatisfaction. What is disturbing is that these factors were so closely tied to gender and ethnicity.
In the report’s conclusion, LPFI recommends more research on these biases. The authors of the paper also challenge everyone working in the tech industry to confront their own biases and to support productive conversations about these biases within their companies and communities.

Filed under: VentureBeat



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Posted: 01 Oct 2011 04:07 PM PDT
Each week we bring you the most popular stories as well as the editors’ picks of some great stories you might have missed. Together, here’s a summary of what was going on in the tech industry this week.
And don’t miss our Kindle Fire coverage, which tells you everything you need to know about Amazon.com’s new $200 Android tablet (pictured right). It’s going to make a big splash when it comes out in November.

The week’s most popular stories

Facebook tracks what you do online, even when you’re logged out
I wrote this story about hacker/entrepreneur Nik Cubrilovic’s discovery that even after you’ve logged out of Facebook, its cookies still send personally identifiable information back to Facebook.com whenever you visit a site with a Facebook widget or button on it.

Google about to make Google Docs into a virtual hard drive
Google Docs is already a virtual hard drive for many people, but there are new signs that Google is about to rename it Google Drive and add the ability to sync with local drives.

iPhone 5′s killer feature: powerful Assistant voice control
Devindra Hardawar filed this story about voice control, probably based on Apple’s recent acquisition of voice command company Siri, coming to the next iPhone.
Roundup: 7 drastic changes to Facebook you will probably hate
Facebook announced a host of changes at its f8 conference a little over a week ago. Tom Cheredar summarizes the major changes that will likely drive users up the wall — until they get used to them.
Under pressure, Blizzard may see need to unveil Titan at Blizzcon
Matthew Lynley reports that Blizzard is likely to unveil details of its next MMORPG at Blizzcon in October.

Editor’s picks

Amazon has Palm in its shopping cart — will it click Buy? (exclusive)
Sources close to Amazon and Palm tell Devindra Hardawar that the former company has been in negotiations with HP to buy Palm, including webOS, as a possible alternative to Android.
Box.net founder Aaron Levie is poised on the edge of startup stardom
Matthew Lynley’s profile of Aaron Levie gives a detailed look at this energetic, dynamic, orange-shoe-wearing 26-year-old, and the highly successful enterprise company he’s built. Could he be the next Larry Ellison or Steve Jobs?
29 electric car makers ready to rule the streets
This roundup of electric cars, carts and motorcycles summarizes all the electric vehicles on or about to hit the market. By lead greentech reporter Matthew Lynley.
Facebook's valuation sits at $82.25B based on private sales of stock
A few years ago Facebook was worth nearly nothing. Now it’s over $80 billion, as this surprising chart by Jolie O’Dell shows.
Mindbloom Life game teaches you how to live better
GamesBeat lead writer Dean Takahashi brings you the news on a game that’s not just meant for scoring points: It’s actually supposed to help you focus on the things that really matter to you in life.

Filed under: VentureBeat



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Posted: 01 Oct 2011 04:00 PM PDT
Nimbula, a company ties together public and private cloud resources in a way that companies can manage them easily, this week released the latest version of its software.
Nimbula calls itself a cloud operating system — because it helps its corporate customers manage their various cloud assets — private, public, and hybrid — from one place, with a single login. It’s new product is called the Nimbula Director 1.5.
Chief executive Chris Pinkham stopped by VentureBeat‘s office recently for an interview (see video above).
He said there’s been a lot of talk about the “hybrid cloud,” but it’s been just that. Until now, no one has really been able to do it well. While gaming company Zynga was a front-runner, and built a hybrid cloud internally — because of the huge cloud computing needs of its popular social games, Nimbula is one of the first to offer it to third parties, he said.
EMC, VMware and Citrix all offer products that require customers to rely system administrators to manage large installations, he said. But Nimbula removes that middleman, Pinkham explained, and allows companies to manage both public and private cloud computing and storage assets more simply (self-serve), and to scale them as needed. If customers want to keep existing infrastructure products, they can build upon that, say by adding public cloud infrastructure.
Competitors include Openstack and Eucalyptus.
This “infrastructure as a service” market is a $4 billion market, Pinkham said, citing Gartner research.
The company received $21 million in venture capital from Sequoia and Accel Partners last year.
We'll be exploring the most disruptive cloud trends at our inaugural CloudBeat event on Nov 30-Dec 1 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood Shores. We’ll be unveiling some of the most revolutionary cases of cloud adoption by the enterprise. It’s invite only. To apply to come, click on this link.

Filed under: cloud, dev, VentureBeat



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Posted: 01 Oct 2011 12:40 PM PDT
The group of companies that own Hulu, the darling of online entertainment, might not sell the property after all.
Bidders have dropped out, and some bids have reportedly been too low.
Last month, we reported that the sale might be in jeopardy. Today, a new report from Business Insider states that Hulu’s sale is less likely than ever.
Currently, the online streaming video property is jointly owned by Disney, News Corp., Comcast and Providence Equity. Last June, the ownersdecided to put Hulu , citing disagreements on the direction the service should take.
If the sale doesn’t go through, it is unclear exactly what path Hulu will take, given the aforementioned disagreements. However, the venture will be investing around $375 million in acquiring new content this year.
Bidding was expected to start at $1.5 billion and ranged up to $2 billion. Reported biggers included Dish Network, Google, Yahoo, Amazon and DirecTV. The latter company withdrew from the contest early last month after bidding too low.
To many observers, Amazon seemed like the perfect fit, but so far, the highest bidders for the service were reportedly Google and Dish Network, whose offers ranged between $1.9 billion and $4 billion.
Currently, Hulu has more than one million paying subscribers and just began its international expansion with a streaming service launch in Japan.
Hulu’s revenue totals around $500 million, according to its Q2 2011 progress report.

Filed under: deals, media



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Posted: 01 Oct 2011 12:15 PM PDT
More than 20,000 defendants have been dismissed from a lawsuit involving illegal online file-sharing of the movie The Hurt Locker.
The makers of the film brought the suit against a record-breaking 24,583 defendants earlier this year; now, the suing party, Voltage Pictures, has voluntarily let around 90 percent of those defendants off the hook.
According to documents filed with a Washington, DC, district court, all but 2,300 defendants are being “voluntarily dismissed without prejudice.”
Voltage Pictures is still seeking damages from more than 2,300 defendants. However, the company has yet to positively identify most of the defendants due to the fact that it must work with Internet service providers to link IP addresses with allegedly infringing parties.
And since many of the anonymous defendants are filing motions of their own with the ISPs, identifying all the defendants is taking more than the allotted 120 days that Voltage Pictures has to serve them with papers.
According to recent filings, “In circumstances where a Doe [unidentified] defendant has not filed the motion and only sent it to the ISP, most ISPs withhold the identifying information so that the Doe defendant can then file the motion with the court. Further, plaintiff's counsel has been informed by the ISPs that numerous Doe defendants have recently re-filed their motions or have filed motions for reconsideration of the Court's prior rulings.”
In other words, in trying to track down and prosecute 24,000 torrenters en masse, Voltage has without question bit off more than they can chew, especially since the alleged infringers are fighting back.
Voltage is seeking more time from the court to identify and serve the remaining 2,300 defendants.

Filed under: media, VentureBeat



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