Ed Sutherland

After Cingular’s first attempt to offer an iTunes-branded cell phone landed on deaf ears, can the wireless carrier’s new SLVR handset strike the right chord with subscribers? Hoping to ride the popularity of its ultra-thin RAZR, Motorola has concentrated on the design, making it part of its “self-expression” portfolio where design is all-important. “The SLVR […]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T Tuesday, charging the carrier violated the law by assisting in the National Security Agency’s controversial wiretap program. AT&T provided federal eavesdroppers access to a database of caller information, according to the lawsuit. “The NSA program is apparently the biggest fishing expedition ever devised,” according […]

Adobe today released the beta version of Flex 2.0, the latest software from Adobe Labs. The release follows the Alpha test release in earlier January. Aimed at developers of Internet content, the beta version of Flex includes Flash Player 8.5 client, Flex Framework 2.0, as well as Flex Builder 2.0, Flex Enterprise Services 2.0 and […]

A group of security vendors today announced they have joined forces to reduce confusion surrounding identifying and eliminating spyware. McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro, ICSA Labs and Thomson Cyber Security Labs plan to create a standardize method for evaluating spyware products. “There is an enormous amount of confusion in the marketplace about the origins of spyware […]

Next time your Skype phone rings, let Madonna answer. Warner Music Group today inked an agreement with Skype making the material girl its first featured artist available for downloadable ringtones at its online store.. Ringtones from current and future Madonna hits can be downloaded for $1.50, according to Warner spokesperson Amanda Collins. “We are excited […]

Attempting to stem the loss of subscribers, America Online today announced it was “strongly encouraging” dial-up users to switch to broadband. The company is partnering with Bell South, Verizon and Time Warner Cable to offer broadband services priced as low as $29.90. “We’re starting to let AOL members know about this opportunity now to strongly […]

Microsoft and Linux lead a smartphone market that grew more than 70 percent in 2005. But, according to In-Stat, tempering the good news is word that consumers aren’t doing much with the phones once they pull them out of the box. While the smartphone market is expected to grow over the next few years, the […]

A 20-year-old Los Angeles man faces up to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to federal charges he profited from an army of 400,000 zombie computers. Jeanson James Ancheta admits earning more than $60,000 from adware and spam, according to federal prosecutors who charged Ancheta with being part of a “botmaster underground” that […]

The only thing quicker than yesterday’s approval by the IEEE of a faster Wi-Fi technology may be the rapid introduction of products supporting the newly minted 802.11n. Approved Thursday by a 184-0 vote, the draft standard claims faster speeds and more reliable Wi-Fi connections. Using Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, 802.11n boasts up to […]

WiMax equipment could become a $3 billion market by 2010, snuffing out companies pushing proprietary technology, according to a new report from In-Stat. However, to dominate the long-range wireless landscape some challenges must be overcome. Although pre-certified WiMax devices accounted for just $42 million last year, a combination of certification and inexpensive consumer products could […]

Consumers are one step closer to a faster Wi-Fi standard after competing groups voted Wednesday to agree on a proposal led by Intel, Atheros and Broadcom. As a result of a 40-0 vote (including two abstentions) the Enhanced Wireless Consortium joint proposal will be heard by the IEEE standards-making body when it convenes next week […]

A day Microsoft intended for normally-scheduled security updates turned into a fire-dousing exercise after last week’s patch of an exploit in its Windows Metafile (WMF) image processor. While security experts are now minimizing the impact of a WMF vulnerability (especially now that it’s been patched since last Thursday), Microsoft issued a similar warning as part […]