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Mark Hendrickson, an economist from the Center for Vision Values at Grove City College, will be the speaker for a public forum on the so-called cap and trade legislation July 14 at the Manufacturer Business Association Conference Center at 2171 W. 38th St.
Prudential has released new research that shows that shows a clear trend towards online servicing as advisers consider the impact of RDR.
NASHUA, N.H.—-Ezenia! Inc. , a leading market provider of real-time collaboration solutions for corporate and government networks and eBusiness, announced that Mr. George Q. Stevens has been appointed by the Board of Directors as a Class III Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, effective as of the Board of Directors meeting on June 17, 2009.
Sony has begun shipping personal computers equipped with the Chinese-government mandated filtering software days before the July 1 deadline. Shipments of the PCs equipped with Green Dam software also include a disclaimer that Sony is not responsible for damage from the software, according to a University of Hong Kong journalism professor and blogger, Rebecca MacKinnon.
She posted a photo of the disclaimer, which says Sony is not responsible for the authenticity, legality and functionality of the Green Dam software. Sony also said the software does not work with a 64-bit operating system.
Sony didn’t respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
The Green Dam software has stirred up much controversy since the directive was sent to PC manufacturers by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Beijing nearly six weeks ago. China says the software is to block lewd content such as pornography from the eyes of young Internet users in China.
Others, however, say the software was developed to censor other content, including political propaganda.
Sony’s disclaimer may be based on recent reports that the software can be dangerous. An independent analysis by the University of Michigan’s Computer Science and Engineering division found vulnerabilities that coauthors Scott Wolchok, Randy Yao, and Alex Halderman said were due to programming errors.
“Once Green Dam is installed, any Web site the user visits can exploit these problems to take control of the computer,” they wrote. “This could allow malicious sites to steal private data, send spam, or enlist the computer in a botnet.”
“In addition, we found vulnerabilities in the way Green Dam processes blacklist updates that could allow the software makers or others to install malicious code during the update process,” they wrote.
Not long after researchers announced their findings, Chinese officials said the use of Green Dam…
Apple CEO Steve Jobs returned to work Monday, ending a controversial medical leave of absence. Apple said Jobs will work in Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters a few days each week and from home on the other days.
Last October, Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer, said his weight loss was the result of a hormone imbalance, and he went on medical leave in January. In April the Apple cofounder received a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in Memphis, Tenn. Apple COO Tim Cook filled in for Jobs, who planned to return to work at the end of June.
Apple’s stock was affected by Jobs’ health, but the company has continued to function, announcing the new iPhone 3GS and MacBook upgrades at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. Some investors have questioned whether Apple’s board should have released more information on Jobs’ health.
While the hormone imbalance was disclosed, Apple’s board did not disclose that Jobs was sick enough to need the liver transplant. Some observers think that may have violated federal securities laws.
“If they tried to lessen the disclosure and make it misleading by omission, that’s just as bad as telling something that flat isn’t true,” Jeffrey C. Soza, a securities lawyer, told The Los Angeles Times. Other lawyers have said Jobs’ health is a private matter.
Investor Warren Buffet appeared to agree with Soza, telling a CNBC-TV interviewer, “Certainly Steve Jobs is important to Apple. Whether he is facing serious surgery or not is a material fact.”
Bowing to a request from the European Commission, 10 major device manufacturers have agreed to adopt a universal battery-charging design for their mobile handsets. Though the agreement only applies to mobile-device sales within the member states of the European Union, the standard is expected to have a far wider impact since the mobile-device market is essentially global.
Phone-charger compatibility will make life much simpler for consumers, noted EU Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen. “They will be able to charge mobile phones anywhere from the new common charger,” Verheugen said. “This also means considerably less electronic waste, because people will no longer have to throw away chargers when buying new phones.”
Eliminating Waste
Today’s plethora of external power supplies for mobile phones means there are many chargers that can only interface with a particular handset. Any user buying a replacement handset today must get a new charger — even though the charger for the previous phone may be in perfect condition.
According to the EC, the disposal of old chargers generates several thousand tons of waste each year. Moreover, consumers are paying for an accessory they shouldn’t have to replace.
Beginning in 2010, consumers will be able to charge mobile phones from any external power supply compatible with the new common charger specs. Additionally, the agreement will protect consumers from unsafe operations, which can occur if an incompatible external power supply is used to charge a phone.
A new memorandum of understanding governing the changes has been signed by representatives of Apple, LG Electronics, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Texas Instruments. Verheugen said he was very pleased with the self-regulation agreement. “As a result, the commission does not consider it necessary to introduce legislation,” he said.
Preferred Charging Rate
All 10 signatories have agreed to provide standardized chargers equipped with a…
RADNOR, Pa. & SAN ANTONIO—-Airgas, Inc. , the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and welding, safety, and related products, today marked the upcoming Independence Day holiday by reaffirming its commitment to Operation Homefront, a charity that supports America’s troops by providing emergency assistance and moral support to the families our troops leave behind …
ASUSTeK Computer is joining other manufacturers in offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 on a number of its PCs as more details about the rollout to the Vista successor emerge.
Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo have already said they will participate in the upgrade program, where customers who purchase Vista machines can, until the release of Windows 7 in late October, receive a free or low-cost upgrade.
ASUS’ offer will include its Eee PC 1101HA and Eee PC 1005HA netbooks, but the free upgrade doesn’t apply if the buyers of those machines initially chose Windows XP, Windows Vista Home Basic, or Windows Vista Starter Edition. A variety of ASUS desktop and laptop models also are included in the offer.
25-License Limit
Other details for the new OS are being revealed. Upgrade plans for businesses will allow only 25 licenses for Windows 7, after which companies will need to obtain Software Assurance maintenance contracts.
According to news reports, customers in Europe will see prices between 40 and 100 percent more that U.S. customers will pay. In Japan, there are reports that the limited number of discounted Windows 7 upgrades, which went on pre-order sale on Friday, have already sold out.
A special two-week promotion in the U.S., with a limited number of pre-orders for a low-priced upgrade, is doing well. Last week, the software giant said it would offer through several retailers, such as Amazon, an upgrade from Windows Vista or XP to Windows 7 Premium at $49.99 or to Windows 7 Professional for $99.99.
Microsoft said the normal purchase price for the Home Premium upgrade will be $119.99, compared to $129.99 charged for Vista. The Windows 7 Professional Upgrade is $199.99, and the Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade costs $219.99.
The scheduled release for Windows 7 begins Oct. 22. Retail prices for the full…
DALLAS—-Conifer Revenue Cycle Solutions, Inc. has announced that Matthew C. Michaels has been promoted to Vice President of Administration. In this role, Mr. Michaels serves as a member of the company’s executive leadership team and leads several key departments including Communication, Human Resources, Information Services, Integrated Business Solutions, Legal, Process Excellence and Project …
News reports have cited overheating problems with the iPhone 3GS, but are the reports justified? Or is Apple’s latest device headed for a major recall?
Le Journal du Geek, a French technology Web site, posted a story and a photo describing one consumer’s issues with the iPhone 3GS. The story says the consumer purchased an iPhone 3GS and the phone got very hot while using the GPS service. The consumer later noticed reddish marks around the circumference of the battery.
The posted photo shows a white iPhone 3GS with a rectangular glow on the backside. Nowhere Else, another French site, posted a series of photos of the iPhone 3GS with the same marks. It isn’t clear if this is the same phone photographed multiple times.
Overheating iPhones
Apple’s discussion forum is also beginning to see complaints from iPhone 3GS users citing overheating. Some are calling the trouble proof that Apple needs to fix iPhone OS 3.0 power-management issues. Others are blaming the 3G capability.
“I’ve had my iPhone 3Gs running on 3.0 for a week now, and it still overheats. I’ve rebooted, restored, drained my battery, and switched chargers, and still it burns. I know I’m not alone; I’ve seen photos of white iPhones with pink heat marks on its back. Additionally, my battery life only last about four hours of use,” wrote a forum user named jcampos1908.
Although there are only a few posts on the topic on the Apple forum, apparently the overheating issue isn’t new. iPhone 3G users previously reported some overheating. Some users reported getting burned by the device, while others reported problems charging the battery without the device heating up.
Battery Recall Coming?
Is Apple in for a major recall? Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, doesn’t think so. “So many of these things become overblown Internet legends. Who knows what…