cynergygroup.com

(Credit:
Dell)

Dell will offer an Nvidia dual graphics chip upgrade for 17-inch XPS M1730 gaming notebook owners–but stepping up won’t be a cakewalk for MediaDirect users.

There is one gotcha though. “MediaDirect 3.3 is not compatible with the driver for the (new) Nvida card,” Dell said. MediaDirect is a Dell technology that enables a user to watch DVD movies, slideshows, or listen to music without having to boot the complete XP operating system. MediaDirect is installed in a special partition on the hard disk drive. When the computer is off, pressing the MediaDirect button will boot the MediaDirect partition instead of XP.

There will be two options. One will be done with an “installation package” and the other will be a “do-it-yourself kit.”

Dell said that the MediaDirect “incompatibility means that the MediaDirect software needs to be upgraded. Unfortunately, the upgrade will require a reformat and reinstallation. Beyond that, it will also require you to repartition the hard disk to make room for the new version of MediaDirect, which is a bit larger. Data loss has been a major concern for the engineers working on a solution. At this point, it would appear that there’s really no way around wiping the drive to make the upgrade work with every feature.”

“Considering the number of screws holding this beast together, most people will probably want the installation,” Dell said.

Dell XPS M1730 notebook with Nvdia 8800M GTX

“In other words, games like Crysis, BioShock, Far Cry 2 and Age of Conan will scream,” Dell said.

Some users were upset when Dell upgraded the graphics in newer models of the M1730 to the 8800M GTX. The XPS 1730 with the 8800M GTX earned a score of almost 13,500 in 3Dmark06–which is about a 49 percent performance gain over two 8700M GT cards in the same notebook.

The upgrade from the Nvidia dual 8700M GT to dual 8800M GTX graphics is in the works and will likely be released later this month, according to Dell.

Try it now at rambla.piria.com. Using the invite code, “Webware.”

The Web 2.0 Expo is really a show for developers. Most of the exhibits are developer tools and platforms, and the pitches I’m hearing in the hallways are for tools, not applications. Case in point: Rambla, by Piria, a Flash-based Web site builder that president Bob Lang is building to sell to hosting sites, so they can rebrand it and sell it to their customers.

I also don’t see a way to integrate Web 2.0 media types, nor any indication that it will be added. Where’s the blog module or RSS import? YouTube or Flickr embeds? Building a flashy site is one thing, but static pages are so Web 1.0, no matter how 2.0 the tool used to build them.

Rambla's Flash-based Web page editor is attractive and easy to use, but too limited.

In this very early stage, it looks like a very usable tool for building flat sites. The templates are attractive and flexible, and it’s easy to select and move text and art around. Like most modern Flash-based tools, it’s intuitive, attractive, and enjoyable to use. My favorite feature is the flexible menu builder system that lets you change the look of your navigation menu or move its location.

The current site is just a demo, though. You can’t publish the sites you build. You can’t even add or delete pages.

The PWRficient processors are used in military systems built by defense contractors such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, companies reportedly annoyed by the possibility that the PWRficient processor might be coming to a quick end. According to EETimes, PA Semi told those contractors that after the acquisition, supply of the chips could not be guaranteed.

On Tuesday night, we learned that Apple was that company via a Forbes report that said the
Mac maker wanted to put PA Semi’s PWRficient processors in its
iPhone.

PA Semi, acquired by Apple earlier this week, has been telling its former customers that Apple has no interest in its products, according to a report.

I can’t imagine that the deal would be overturned just because of a few complaints to the military, but Apple might be forced to figure out a way to transfer that portion of PA Semi’s assets to another chipmaker that could satisfy Uncle Sam’s need for the chips.

EETimes is reporting that PA Semi started telling its customers in the military hardware industry that it was about to be acquired by a company that wanted only its intellectual property and employees.

And that, apparently, could cause problems for Apple. The report says those contractors are going to complain about the acquisition to the U.S. Department of Defense.

And a bit later on Saturday, we spotted an item on Ars Technica’s Infinite Loop, wherein it is reported, according to a source close to the situation, that iTunes 8 has been confirmed for the Tuesday event, and, according to another source, that iPhone 2.1 will be released that day.

(Credit:
MacNN)

Update 11:57 a.m. PDT:
Added a paragraph on iTunes 8 and
iPhone 2.1.

Tuesday’s Apple event can’t come soon enough for the gazillions of people eager to find out what the company has in store.

The supposedly imminent new iPod Nano, MacNN says and shows, sports the previously reported long, lean, tapered look, along with an aluminum skin. The photo on the site shows a copper-hued music player encased in a protective plastic display housing.

Could this be the iPod Nano that everyone's been expecting?

Engadget, meanwhile, is offering up a picture of an unboxed alleged iPod Nano, in lime.

Hence, the latest rumor/hint/supposition: The Web site MacNN says it has confirmed that there is indeed such a thing as the fourth-generation
iPod Nano, which has long been suspected as one of the highlights of Tuesday’s “Let’s Rock” event. It also has what is says is a “verified authentic photo” of the device.

CNET News will be live-blogging from Tuesday’s shindig, so check back starting at 10 a.m. PDT that day for up-to-the-minute reporting on Apple’s actual unveilings.

Meanwhile, Netflix is preparing to report the financial results of its third quarter on October 20.

Revenue, as a result, is expected to come in at a lower range, between $353 million and $359 million, compared to its earlier forecast of $357 million to $367 million. Net income, however, is expected to remain unchanged from the company’s previous forecast of $18 million to $23 million for the fourth quarter.

Shares of Netflix plummeted 13 percent in intraday trading, to as low as $25.19 per share.

The company’s third-quarter revenues, however, are expected to remain within the range of its previous guidance of $343 million to $348 million–excluding the one-time $6.5 million credit it issued to subscribers after a service interruption in August.

“Net subscriber growth in July was in line with expectations, but August was unusually weak,” Barry McCarthy, Netflix’s chief financial officer, said in a statement. “In September, the business regained momentum, with results slightly below original expectations, likely due to the economic climate.”

For the quarter ended on September 30, the number of subscribers fell to 8.672 million, compared with the company’s earlier projections of 8.675 million to 8.875 million subscribers.

Netflix reduced its guidance for fourth-quarter revenue and subscribers on Monday, noting that the economic climate may be taking its toll on its movie rental business.

In sizing up the fourth quarter, which began this month, Netflix is forecasting weaker than anticipated results. The number of subscribers is expected to be in the 8.95 million to 9.25 million range at the end of the year, compared with the company’s earlier forecast of 9.1 million to 9.7 million.

(Credit:
Nitesh Dhanjani)

Microsoft notes that users who change the default Safari download location are not affected. To change the download location in Safari, under Edit select Preferences. Where it says “Save Downloaded Files to” change the location.

Microsoft may follow the advisory with a security update if needed.

The Safari “carpet bombing” attack was first described by Nitesh Dhanjani last month, but dismissed by Apple as a serious threat. Under Dhanjani’s scenario, a user would surf using Apple Safari for Windows to a maliciously crafted Web site such as http://malicious.example.com/. Dhanjani says Safari does not know how to render content-type of blah/blah, so it starts downloading carpet_bomb.cgi, executing the downloaded files with the same rights as the logged-on user. The end result is the victim’s desktop is populated with a variety of malicious files.

Microsoft has issued an advisory warning Windows users who have installed the Apple
Safari for
Windows browser that their systems may be vulnerable to attack.

Microsoft says it is the combination of the default download file location in Safari and how the Windows desktop handles the files that creates the blended threat on all supported versions of Windows XP and
Windows Vista when Apple’s Safari for Windows has been installed

The third version of Yahoo’s all-in-one content application for smartphones debuted in January in beta form, and with it came tricks for greater customization. Users can add a variety of widgets to the carousel and quick links to the start page, and otherwise personalize the source of mobile content. The full list of supported Windows Mobile phones can be found here.

Windows Mobile users now have a green light to try Yahoo Go (video review) on their Windows Mobile phones.

“We would respond accordingly to any propositions that we think did, or didn’t, make sense to us,” Chernin said.

News Corp. is not looking to be a runner-up following the withdrawal of Microsoft’s $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo.

Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.’s CEO and chairman, chimed in: “Nor have I.”

But what is News Corp.’s interest in a deal with Microsoft, as it relates to Yahoo or AOL?

“To say talks have cooled overstates them,” Peter Chernin, News Corp. chief operating officer, said during the conference call, in response to questions about talks with Yahoo. “We have regular conversations with everyone in the space. I’m not sure I would ever characterize them as talks…We always look at strategic options, but we feel very comfortable with our current positioning.”

During the media giant’s quarterly earnings call Wednesday, executives made it clear that nothing is currently cooking on the deal front with Yahoo, as a white-knight alternative; Microsoft, despite earlier reports the two were tentatively exploring options; nor Time Warner’s AOL unit.

“There are no ongoing discussions,” Chernin said. “I have not had a conversation with Yahoo or AOL for a couple of weeks.”

And does that mean discussions are ongoing with Yahoo or AOL?

And with Microsoft? Chernin had this to say: “We are not in discussions with Microsoft.”

So, at least for now, nothing is going on between Rupert & Co. and the Microsoft-Yahoo-AOL crew.

My quick take? The iPhone is good, but not great. It doesn’t replace a computer and has enough idiosyncrasies to deter the business user from choosing it over a BlackBerry. For consumers it’s great, provided you can get AT&T to work for you.

The problems:
- AT&T network is shockingly bad. Verizon blows it away by a huge margin.
- Launching applications is slow (like three to four seconds)
- I have yet to get 3G coverage in San Francisco. It only worked for me in Burlingame, Calif., when I was down there for a meeting
- The time it takes to initialize a call is laughable. I did a test of the iPhone vs. my VZW BlackBerry and I had already finished the conversation before the iPhone had connected.
- For some reason Mail won’t consistently log in into Gmail. I don’t know which app is to blame.
- Shifting from portrait to landscape is highly inconsistent

I’ll give the iPhone the full 30 days before AT&T punishes me for rejecting them. My hope is that I find the positive to outweigh the negative. So far I’m evenly split.

The good stuff:
- The applications are fantastic and the user experience is truly unmatched
- Sound is great
- Integration with the
Mac is great
- Camera is surprisingly good
- The onscreen keyboard is usable (though I still prefer the BB keypad)

I had been waiting for the 2.1 firmware upgrade before I got the phone because in the past I couldn’t even get one bar in my house in San Francisco. All reports said the problems were solved so I went for it. When I got home I checked and I did have 3 to 4 bars pretty consistently. I made a test call which took about 10 seconds to initialize and all seemed well.

I went out and got myself a shiny new
iPhone 3G yesterday from the AT&T store on Geary Street in San Francisco (which was only out of stock once, they said.) The cell phone buying process is typically akin to some circle of hell, but overall I had a very pleasant experience.

Hard to believe it was an Apple product that was going this wonky on set-up.

I decided to grab a few things from the App Store’s free section. Every item failed multiple times. After my fifth attempt on Pandora, iTunes told me I already had it, and so I did.

I’ve been accused of being an Apple fanboy a number of times, but I have stuck with the BlackBerry both for functionality and Verizon’s network. I wanted to test some of the features (and play the games) on the iPhone and decided to give AT&T another shot.

I plugged the iPhone into my MacBook Pro, iTunes launched and the set-up process began. And ended. Three times. Then suddenly it worked and I was registered with Apple and AT&T.

The plug-in, which Yahoo released in beta form in May, makes it easier for people to use the Delicious “social bookmarking” site. Delicious lets people store Web page bookmarks on a central server, label them with a description and tags, and share them with others.

Delicious got its plug-in start with the open-source
Firefox browser, but the site can be used by anyone with a browser without plug-ins. The Yahoo plug-in works with IE 6, IE 7 and should work with the
IE 8 beta, but Yahoo isn’t making any promises.

(Credit:
Yahoo)

Investors and industry watchers may have their eyes on Yahoo’s executive departures and coming reorganization, but for most people involved with Yahoo are just users of the company’s technology.

Which is why it’s interesting that Yahoo released a version of its Delicious plug-in for Internet Explorer on Thursday. (Download Delicious Internet Explorer extension 1.0 for Windows.)

The Delicious plug-in makes it easier to add descriptive tags to bookmarks stored at the Delicious site.