The internet , it’s kind of a big deal . So much of a big deal, in fact, that UK property search site Rightmove is said to be planning to list broadband speeds as part of its standard information package for homes up for rent or sale. This would be done in partnership with BT, reports the Daily Telegraph , though neither company is yet ready to make the deal official. BT would have little trouble providing the data in question since most of the UK is connected to its ADSL lines — every ISP in the country outside of Virgin Media just resells BT’s copper wire — or newfangled Infinity fiber optic services. Part of this new agreement will involve Rightmove displaying whether or not homes are capable of connecting to the newer, faster Infinity network — which mirrors Virgin’s efforts at informing people whether they’re covered by its cable internet through deals with independent estate agents. Soon there should be no excuses for Brits getting stuck in a picturesque home with a grotesquely slow web connection. British property search engine Rightmove will soon list broadband speeds alongside standard home info originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Remember when Sony sued Geohot and demanded that YouTube hand over the user info of all the folks who posted comments to Geohot’s PS3 jailbreak video ? Well, score a victory for SCEA, as the judge overseeing the case’s jurisdictional discovery process has ruled that Sony can get what it wanted — information from: Bluehost (who hosts Geohot’s website) regarding who downloaded the jailbreak, Twitter regarding any tweets made by Hotz, Google Blogspot regarding comments made on his blog, and the aforementioned YouTube user data. Keep in mind that Sony’s getting this information to show that many of the downloaders and commenters are from Northern California and that Hotz’s hacking efforts were aimed at Californians — meaning the case should remain in the Bay Area instead of moving to New Jersey where Geohot hacked his PS3. With this new information at its disposal, Sony’s better equipped to oppose Hotz’s motion to dismiss in a hearing early next month, but this doesn’t mean the company will succeed in its bid to keep the litigation a West Coast affair. We’ll have to wait and see if this latest victory helps Sony win the war. Stay tuned. Judge in Sony vs. Geohot orders YouTube and others to give up users’ personal info originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Remember when Sony sued Geohot and demanded that YouTube hand over the user info of all the folks who posted comments to Geohot’s PS3 jailbreak video ? Well, score a victory for SCEA, as the judge overseeing the case’s jurisdictional discovery process has ruled that Sony can get what it wanted — information from: Bluehost (who hosts Geohot’s website) regarding who downloaded the jailbreak, Twitter regarding any tweets made by Hotz, Google Blogspot regarding comments made on his blog, and the aforementioned YouTube user data. Keep in mind that Sony’s getting this information to show that many of the downloaders and commenters are from Northern California and that Hotz’s hacking efforts were aimed at Californians — meaning the case should remain in the Bay Area instead of moving to New Jersey where Geohot hacked his PS3. With this new information at its disposal, Sony’s better equipped to oppose Hotz’s motion to dismiss in a hearing early next month, but this doesn’t mean the company will succeed in its bid to keep the litigation a West Coast affair. We’ll have to wait and see if this latest victory helps Sony win the war. Stay tuned. Judge in Sony vs. Geohot orders YouTube and others to give up users’ personal info originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Yow. Western Digital — the company responsible for shipping the planet’s first 1TB 2.5-inch hard drive way back in 2009 — just announced a monstrous deal to acquire one of its primary competitors, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies . Both outfits have actually shown quite a few interesting HDD designs in recent months, and it’s pretty clear that WD would rather not go at it alone any longer. Granted, these types of deals aren’t entirely unheard of — in fact, Seagate swallowed up Maxtor back in 2005 for a cool $2 billion. Under the deal, which is a mix of $3.5 billion in cash and $750 million in WD common stock, the two will combine in a way that sees the Western Digital brand and headquarters surviving, while Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer of Hitachi GST, will join WD at closing as president. Hard to say what this will mean for consumer pricing and competition, but we’re pretty certain the powers that be will be looking it all over for fairness before they hop in the blender during Q3. Full release is after the break. Continue reading Western Digital drops $4.3 billion to acquire Hitachi GST, enter staring contest with Seagate Western Digital drops $4.3 billion to acquire Hitachi GST, enter staring contest with Seagate originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Yow. Western Digital — the company responsible for shipping the planet’s first 1TB 2.5-inch hard drive way back in 2009 — just announced a monstrous deal to acquire one of its primary competitors, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies . Both outfits have actually shown quite a few interesting HDD designs in recent months, and it’s pretty clear that WD would rather not go at it alone any longer. Granted, these types of deals aren’t entirely unheard of — in fact, Seagate swallowed up Maxtor back in 2005 for a cool $2 billion. Under the deal, which is a mix of $3.5 billion in cash and $750 million in WD common stock, the two will combine in a way that sees the Western Digital brand and headquarters surviving, while Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer of Hitachi GST, will join WD at closing as president. Hard to say what this will mean for consumer pricing and competition, but we’re pretty certain the powers that be will be looking it all over for fairness before they hop in the blender during Q3. Full release is after the break. Continue reading Western Digital drops $4.3 billion to acquire Hitachi GST, enter staring contest with Seagate Western Digital drops $4.3 billion to acquire Hitachi GST, enter staring contest with Seagate originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Paul Thurrott has been a trusted insider on all things Microsoft for as long as we can remember. As such, it’s worth paying attention to a recent article he published on Windows IT Pro that calls for Microsoft’s first ” NoDo ” Windows Phone 7 feature update to hit as early as this week. Of course, Steve Ballmer said it was coming in ” early March ” so that’s not much of a prediction. What really caught our attention are Paul’s comments about “Mango” — the big WP7 feature update that Microsoft says will bring multitasking, IE9, and Twitter integration to Windows Phone handsets later in 2011. According to Thurott’s sources, Mango won’t be finalized until the end of the year making a release to consumers in 2011 a “near impossibility.” Ouch. How this might affect Nokia’s Windows Phone 2011 launch plans hopes — rumored to be waiting for Mango — remains to be seen. Update : Mary Jo Foley, who’s got a few Microsofties in her own back pocket, says that she’s hearing that Microsoft recently promised OEMs and carriers Mango by “early fall at the latest” — just in time for a holiday consumer launch. It’s a real-life he-said she-said rumor flagellation folks! Microsoft’s Windows Phone ‘mango’ update to miss 2011 target? (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Now that Nokia has shifted to a Windows Phone-centric smartphone strategy , it’s only natural for the company to divest itself of responsibility with regard to the Qt framework at the heart of Symbian and MeeGo development — a platform Nokia acquired from Trolltech back in January of 2008. We just got word that Digia will acquire the Qt commercial licensing and services business from Nokia, including the transfer of some 3,500 desktop and embedded customers actively using Qt today. Sebastian Nystr
Continue reading …Now that Nokia has shifted to a Windows Phone-centric smartphone strategy , it’s only natural for the company to divest itself of responsibility with regard to the Qt framework at the heart of Symbian and MeeGo development — a platform Nokia acquired from Trolltech back in January of 2008. We just got word that Digia will acquire the Qt commercial licensing and services business from Nokia, including the transfer of some 3,500 desktop and embedded customers actively using Qt today. Sebastian Nystr
Continue reading …Samsung has just taken the veils off yet another Android handset in its rapidly expanding portfolio, this one targeting those BlackBerry-addicted portrait QWERTY keyboard lovers. The Galaxy Pro squeezes a four-row button array beneath a set of Android keys and a 2.8-inch touchscreen, while its insides are filled with an 800MHz processor of an unspecified variety and a 3 megapixel cam with autofocus skills. UK carrier Three has already confirmed it’ll be offering this Froyo handset — via an unlisted YouTube video we’ve embedded for you after the break — and others should soon be coming out with their own announcements and, eventually, pricing. [Thanks, GeForce] Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Pro combines 2.8-inch touchscreen with a portrait QWERTY keyboard, modest specs Samsung Galaxy Pro combines 2.8-inch touchscreen with a portrait QWERTY keyboard, modest specs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 05:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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