Enjoy.

The layoffs are part of a plan to cut down some $300 million in annual costs before its spin off from corporate owner Time Warner. The company has asked for volunteers but will make involuntary layoffs if necessary.

AOL expects to incur about $200 million in restructuring costs associated with the spin off from December 9, the date of the spin off, through the first half of 2010.

If you were anywhere but under a rock during the 90s you have probably heard of AOL and many people used to use it when dial-up was the only option for Internet. It was one of the most widely spread ISPs available in the days before broadband—if you didn’t have you at lest saw those free trial discs that were everywhere.

Then came AOL’s merger with Time Warner, which is lampooned by PC Mag as “one of the most disastrous corporate mergers in history.” Nine years later AOL is spinning off and becoming independent once again.

The newly and once again independent AOL will focus primarily on advertiser-supported content.

“While storage costs have dropped naturally in the past few years, we’ve also been working hard to improve our infrastructure to reduce your costs even further,” Google said in an e-mail to users. “On Tuesday, November 10, we increased the size of each of our tiers to make storage even more affordable and accessible. For the same $20.00 per year, you’ll now get 80 GB, 8 times as much storage as before.”

Your plan will be automatically upgraded and your new quota will automatically show up in your account in the next 24 hours, Google said.

“We hope you’ll like the extra space,” Google added.

“Companies are looking for ways to break free from the business limitations imposed by a networking paradigm that has been dominated by a single vendor,” said Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager for enterprise servers and networking at HP. “By acquiring 3Com, we are accelerating the execution of our converged infrastructure strategy and bringing disruptive change to the networking industry.”

Buying 3Com heavily increases HP’s network product line overnight and aims to increase HP’s position in China, where demand for networking is growing rapidly.

The event, held at Microsoft’s Cambridge office on Memorial Drive, featured product giveaways, a live DJ and activities such as Halo matches and Rock Band to keep those in the tenth floor lounge entertained between demonstrations of the new operating system. Attendees waiting in line to receive their free copy of the operating system noshed on Windows 7-themed cupcakes as George Matthews, a Microsoft software development engineer, showed off Windows 7’s slick new features via projector at the far end of the lounge. In keeping with the spirit of a student event in Boston, Matthews’ presentation even included an Easter egg of sorts that he claimed proves Microsoft Office’s chief icon designer is a Red Sox fan.

The author of our favorite webcomic xkcd redesigned his homepage today as a tribute to the passing of Geocities.

Every so often, someone will tell me something that reminds me of how old I am. For instance, did you know that kids who turned 18 this year didn’t see Aladdin in theaters? Today, it’s the passing of Geocities, which is shuttering its doors tonight at 11:59pm.

Finding that out today is just one big mixed bag of nostalgia for me. I’m writing this from a bus wi-fi connection, which has about as much bandwidth at the 14.4k modem I used way back when I made my first Geocities website. Of course I let it fall into neglect shortly thereafter and Geocities, or the current owner Yahoo, cleaned it off their servers.

For those too young to remember geocities, it was one of the first sites to allow used with a basic knowledge of HTML to code their own web pages. Five million fan pages for Jonathan Taylor Thomas later, we had what was the most garish collection of sites that were perpetually under construction displaying blink tags —perish the thought — and comic sans headlines. Yahoo purchased Geocities back in 1998 for $3.5bil, which was no small sum of money, and has taken care of it since.

However, now that personalized sites are more likely to be found on Facebook or (the equally garish) Myspace, Geocities has become something of a money bleeder, and Yahoo is pulling the plug. Users are encouraged to port their sites over to Yahoo’s paid service.

So, let us mourn the passing of Geocities as it goes into that good night.

Google saw the millions of people searching for the pop-artists name and assumed they had to of come from an automated source, either requiring them to perform a CAPATCHA or denying their request altogether. Realized they were missing a key market opportunity—second to not inventing Twitter in the first place, of course—Google and Bing have both reached agreements with Twitter and Facebook to start indexing peoples’ tweets and public status updates, respectively.

Bing’s Twitter search page is live now, as is Google’s Twitter incorporation. We tried a few searches that are trending right now (Ed: Are we really still talking about balloon boy?), and sure enough, both search engines displayed a few results. Bing also has a tag cloud with trending topics organized by how hot they are.

It will be interesting to see how well the two companies are and handling the intense amount of link and hashtag spam occurring and to see how successful they’ll be at keeping it from befuddling search results. Of course, now that Twitter has included adding spam links and non-relevant hanstags as violations to their terms of service, it looks like everyone is trying to keep a handle on the problem.

The most extensive Twitter search, set at search.twitter.com, only indexes two weeks worth of tweets, so it’ll be interesting to see how long Google keeps tweets in their indexes. Right now, there is no easy way to find a specific tweet that you sent in the past. That being said, it also doesn’t appear that the purpose of indexing these tweets is for long-term storage—Google and Bing are probably only looking for a way to figure out what’s hot now.

Critics have also been dismissive of Twitter for a long time, pointing out that without ads, the company has no monetization strategy, and will never turn a profit. While making a profit is secondary when you have millions in venture funding coming in already, but licensing its API to Microsoft and Google is a great way to make money, and Twitter may have finally stumbled upon their key to monetary success.

We talked to Marty Cassidy, the general manager of the northeast district for Microsoft, about what makes Windows 7 tick. Here’s what we got:

BLAST: For people that downgraded or stayed with Windows XP, what will be the biggest differences between XP and 7 for users?

MICROSOFT: For current XP users, there are several reasons to upgrade to Windows 7, including enhancements to security, networking and search.

• Security: while Microsoft prides itself on software security measures, the security levels have increased from XP to Vista to Windows 7 making it the most secure operating system on the market today.
• Networking: previously networking all devices took a few extra steps that were challenging for some: now with Windows 7, connecting to a network can be done with a simple click of the mouse.
• Search: with the ability to search across various networks, Windows 7 takes the search for files to the next step. Search functions can also utilize Internet Explorer 8 to provide assistance to those users looking for computer help.

BLAST: What about Windows gaming on 7?

MICROSOFT: Games Explorer is the center for gaming on Windows 7, providing information about games, such as game play statistics, ratings and requirements. In addition, you can find new games or more information about online providers right from Games Explorer. Also, with the Game Update feature within Games Explorer, you can request to be notified whenever there are updates for your games. Parental Controls features also allow specification for which PC games your children can play.

If you’re a gamer, you know how graphics, sound and interaction capabilities are becoming richer. You probably also know that the hardware limitations of 32-bit PCs can limit the gaming experience. As more people opt for 64-bit PCs, new games will be able to take advantage of more robust and powerful processing. Because Windows 7 fully supports 64-bit PCs, you’ll be ready when they arrive.

As part of the newest DirectX Graphics Technology Platform, Direct3D 11 helps game developers create high performance games with richer, more realistic graphics. With a DirectX 11 compatible graphics card, you’ll be playing games with higher frame rates, more organic, realistic looking characters, smarter artificial intelligence, and more natural-looking effects. A large subset of the Direct3D 11 feature set is also available on existing DirectX 10-compatible graphics cards.

All games built to perform on Windows XP will remain available on XP mode.

BLAST: What are the top differences between Windows Vista and Windows 7?

MICROSOFT: Windows 7 builds upon innovative features from Windows Vista and feedback from our customers. The greatest difference users will notice with Windows 7 is that it works the way people want with less time needed for boot-up sequences and shut down. Some of the top differences include:

• Better and faster performance: start-up times and boot-up sequences have been decreased as users interact with a faster and more efficient operating system
• Increased integration beyond the operating system: Windows 7 has upgraded the pop-up message when connecting a device, as more drivers will be supported and more device-specific options including links to manufacturer’s website which will allow you to see additional related software that supports the device
• Improved taskbar: Windows 7 will improve on the many advancements of Windows Vista by allowing for personalization of icons to display on the taskbar
• Less storage requirement: storage requirement for the operating system has been nearly reduced by half
• Multi-touch capability: users can interact directly with the PC through finger keystrokes
• Enhanced media center: features include Internet TV with greater telecasting capabilities

BLAST: What are the brand new features in 7?

MICROSOFT: Microsoft continues to further innovation and produce technologies that people want to use and that will help manage their busy home and business lives. Many of the latest features in Windows 7 are designed to decrease search times while increasing access across multiple devices. Some of the highlights include:

• Desktop: introducing improved taskbar previews, bigger icons and creative ways to personalize
• HomeGroup: takes the headache out of home networking, so it’s easier to share files and printers
• Jump lists: speedy access to your favorite pictures, songs, websites, and documents
• Snap: a quick (and fun) new way to resize and compare windows on your desktop
• Windows Live Essentials: must-have software for your PC — free. Get Mail, Photo Gallery, and other favorites
• Windows Search: at last, searching your PC is as simple as searching
• Performance improvements: it’s designed to sleep and resume quicker, be less memory hungry, and spot USB devices faster
• Full 64-bit support: Windows 7 makes the most of powerful 64-bit PCs, the new desktop standard
• Power management: new power-saving features are designed to help laptops run longer on battery
• Easier wireless networking: Windows 7 gets you online in fewer clicks
• Windows Media Center: watch, record, and pause live TV (additional hardware required)
• Windows Touch: pair Windows 7 with a touch-sensitive PC and you won’t always need a keyboard or mouse

BLAST: What new programs/apps are there in Windows 7?

MICROSOFT: Those top applications that worked on previous operating systems will continue to operate on Windows 7 as new apps are being continuously developed. Many of the latest programs are designed to connect multiple units, creating greater collaboration amongst devices.

• PC interaction – Windows Touch and improved handwriting recognition provide new and more direct ways of interacting with your PC
• Navigation: the customizable taskbar presents previews in a larger, clearer format. You can get to documents, applications and tasks faster with jump lists
• Home collaboration: creating a home group has easier set-up, easier file and media sharing across multiple PCs, along with one step printer sharing, simple security control
• HomeGroup: connecting multiple devices and sharing music, photos, documents and more
• Direct Access: this feature enables IT managers to provide mobile users with reliable and security-enhanced access to corporate network resources when they are on the Internet, without having to initiate a VPN connection. It also allows servicing and updating of remote PCs, even when they are on the road. This helps ensure that all mobile PCs are always up to date, and Windows Powershell means IT pros can automate many standard tasks to help reduce helpdesk costs, minimize user disruption and ease PC management. Direct Access is delivered by Windows 7 with Windows Server 2008 R2
• BranchCache: delivered jointly by Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, this feature enables IT pros to decrease the time branch office users spend waiting to download files from remote servers by caching the previously accessed content locally in a branch’s network
• Libraries: helps you find files faster. Gives users a single view of content across multiple sources

The Windows 7 upgrade edition costs $119 for the Home Premium version and $219 for the Ultimate edition. We highly recommend it.

Google is partnering with iLike and Lala for a new music service. Both of these sites allow users to stream samples of any song in their catalogs, while Lala allows users to stream whole songs once, on-demand before requiring a small fee. The sites also allow users to embed the stream in a site. Because both sites have signed deals will all four major record labels, the vast majority of music will be available.

Google has long had a music search built into results, despite never having advertised it much, useable with a simple “music:” operator. Results included a listing of songs and albums that matched the query, with links to music sellers to purchase the songs. While this is strictly conjecture, we’re predicting that Google will start incorporating song streams directly into the search results.

While the music labels are usually seemingly adverse to any incorporation of new technology, they’ll likely be happy with all the extra eyes being directed to sites where users might purchase music legally. The offical announcement is scheduled for October 28, so we’ll let you know if anything changes.

The ability to grow new tissues in a lab is an area of much fervor. The long list of people waiting for an organ transplant certainly could use it, as could land mine victims. One of the largest hurdles in tissue engineering is the development of bone, which requires certain chemical signals to grow. While researches have long known what these signals are, they have yet to be able to deliver them in a way that leads to proper bone growth.

Now, researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a new technology meant to aide the human body in growing new bone. The scientists developed a flexible scaffolding of soluble fibers that promote the growth by trapping the growth-stimulating drugs within the scaffold, preventing them from being metabolized too quickly by the body, and holding them in specific locations to dictate the growth pattern of the new bone.

While the technology is far from being ready to test in human subjects, the scientists predict that the technology could be used at first to grow new bone for dental implants. Further developments could eventually allow the technology to be adapted for cosmetic surgeries, allowing patients to grow their own implants.

“Our fibers provide all the advantages that clinicians in tissue regeneration are calling for,” says Professor Meital Zilberman. “Being thin, they’re ideal when delicate scaffolds are called for. But they can also be the basic building blocks of bones and tissues when bigger structures are needed.”

Further research will be aimed at growing new types of tissues, and eventually developing complete sets of tissues. We may never be able to grow a new arm on our own, but science may give us a way in the future.

Coming in early 2010, Google will open its e-book store with 50,000 titles. The books would be indexed and searchable via the Google Books site. This also means that purchasers will have access to the purchased books via a web interface as well as on their reading devices. Users’ browsers will also allow the books to be cached for offline reading using Google Gears.

While nothing official relating to Google’s new OS announced, a web-app for reading e-books fits in perfectly with Google’s plans to moving everything into a Chrome browser-OS-web application system. Also, there are many companies currently offering e-books that have been a round for a while, so Google is hardly new to the game. At the same time, e-books have yet to truly catch on yet.

We, of course, would like to think that this is only because Google wasn’t playing the game.

Measuring just 9.99mm thick and curiously shapen when its open, the Adamo is intriguing. No word on specs, pricing, etc. Stay tuned on this one.

As reported by Universal Hub, the group says it owns a patent for the type of layout that Facebook uses in its user profiles.

Tele-Publishing says their patent was awarded in 2001.

The federal suit, filed in US District Court in Boston seeks unspecified damages, but Facebook’s owners recently settled for millions in a suit brought by ConnectU, for allegedly stealing its creator’s idea. The current lawsuit also seeks an end to Facebook using their patented layout

If Tele-Publishing wins, this could be a game changer for the social networking world. The patent denotes a method by which a user can upload data and images to a server to create a web page.

We talked to Barracuda Networks, a California-based company best known for its spam and virus firewalls. The company also offers storage, backup and e-mail archiving solutions.

The controversy originated from a Boston Globe request to review e-mails from advisers to Mayor Thomas M. Menino. But city hall could only account for 18 e-mails sent or received in a six month period from Michael J. Kineavy, Menino’s Cabinet chief of policy and planning and one of his closest advisers. City hall acknowledged that Kineavy deletes his e-mails on a daily basis, which circumvents the city’s nightly backup process. The city has said Kineavy’s actions exploited a glitch in the backup process because he both deleted his messages from his inbox and cleared his deleted items folder.

Government officials’ e-mails are a matter of public record.

Kineavy has since taken an unpaid leave of absence. But could this all have been prevented?

After talking with Barracuda and doing some of our own research, it is clear that City Hall addressed the issue of preserving its e-mail messages incorrectly. Boston’s backup process is a poor solution for archiving e-mails, and it runs contrary to accepted best practices.

“Relying on users to save e-mails (i.e. ‘do the right thing’) and not delete e-mails is prone to failure as people can mistakes,” said Barracuda spokeswoman Kylie Heintz.

Having faith in traditional backup systems is not the right answer. Even without the “glitch” that allowed e-mails to be permanently deleted, the City of Boston’s approach to ensuring all e-mails are saved by backing up the e-mail system was not ideal.

–

There is a functional difference between “archiving” and “backing up.”

Archiving is like storing e-mails in a filing cabinet in your office or an alphabetized library card catalog. Backup is like locking them all in a safe deposit box in the bank, behind a time-lock and a password that only the bank manager knows.

Backup systems typically compress all the files and messages into a single file — similar to “zipping” your photos so they take up less room on your hard drive. This creates another problem, because it’s more difficult to search inside these compressed files.

Even if Kineavy hadn’t deleted his e-mails, it still may have been difficult for the city to find, isolate and release his messages.

A backup process is routine, predictable and easy for an end-user to avoid. These processes rely on the end-user’s system. Products like the Barracuda Message Archiver and many of its competitors completely take the end-user out of the equation. An archiver is ideal in these situations, because these products save messages at the server level. Whenever an e-mail is sent or received by the server, the archiver takes it, copies it, saves it and makes a search-able index so that messages can be found later on.

Since public officials’ e-mails need to be saved, it is expected that they will need to be searched through at some point in time — like if a journalist requests copies of them. Backup systems are not designed with archiving in mind. The only way to access e-mails from backup systems is to restore the backup file and then manually search through the results. This is very time consuming, error prone and expensive.

Several cities in Massachusetts use hardware archiving solutions, and Heintz confirmed that some used Barracuda’s Message Archiver. None of the cities would go on the record for Blast, however, given the controversy surrounding e-mail

Boston’s backup script was a good solution for a disaster or system failure, but not necessarily the best solution for a public records request. Archiving is a superior method for public records requests.

“Organizations have needs for both,” according to Aseem Asthana, Message Archiver Product Manager at Barracuda Networks. Backup is vital to organizations. If something happens to an e-mail server, or a natural disaster wipes the server out, a backup can be used to restore all the data present at the time of the backup. But pulling individual files is more difficult. Often, an information technology professional is required to restore individual files from a backup.

An archiver, as opposed to a backup, allows e-mails to be accessed readily and seamlessly.

Menino’s office did not respond to a request to comment on this story.

We acknowledge that Barracuda is a for-profit company. Its Message Archiver starts at $1,999, but it would cost about 10 times that for a model amped up to serve a major city like Boston.

But it would also have saved a few headaches and maybe prevented Boston’s E-mailgate scandal.

John M. Guilfoil of the Blast staff contributed to this report.

Clarification: We changed the sentence “A backup process is routine, predictable and avoidable.” to “A backup process is routine, predictable and easy for an end-user to avoid.”

Shooting from a plane in the sky at Kirtland Air Force base at the White Sands Missile Range in, this was the first time the laser had been switched on with the intent of casing damage. And damage it caused, as evidenced by the video the Air Force released of the weapon in action.

The weapon was developed by Boeing for the military to use in dense urban environments, where highly targeted weapons are valued to minimize collateral damage. “This milestone demonstrates that directed energy weapon systems will transform the battlespace and save lives by giving war fighters a speed-of-light, ultra-precision engagement capability that will dramatically reduce collateral damage,” said Greg Hyslop, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.

Even though it may appear that this is the Air Force preparing for a battle with Megatron, the weapon, along with a similar sibling laser to be mounted on a 747 as a missile defense system, still have more testing to undergo before they’ll be completely combat ready.

Thanks Nichole!

The software uses Microsoft’s own Dynamic Signature Service which fingerprints threats constantly, without having to wait for new definitional updates. The tool is low-resource, and minimizes CPU and memory usage while the computer in use. Of course, the biggest advantage will come when the vast majority of users have installed the software, preventing the spread of malware between users. While Microsoft has no plans to push MSE out to its users, the real benefit will come when it decides to do so.

MSE has remained largely unchanged since the beta tests, and requires no registration, trials or renewals and will be available for download directly from Microsoft for XP SP2 through Windows 7, although users will have to pass a Windows Genuine Advantage test to download the product.

One employee of Rocky Mountain Bank did just that. He sent another email requesting that the user delete the message without reading it and to reply back to “discuss her actions.” When no one replied to discuss her actions, the bank, of course, sued Google to reveal the account owners information.

Google requires a court order to unmask clients, and even when served with papers, still allows users to object to their identity being revealed before they comply with a court order.

Last week, a California judge officially ordered Google to reveal the user and to deactivate that user’s account in the meantime. This of course brings up all sorts of other problems, especially considering that the user did nothing wrong in the first place. Consulting lawyers have said that the order likely infringes on the user’s First Amendment rights to communicate online.

What exactly deactivating the user’s account is supposed to accomplish is unclear to just about everyone, including us, unless they’re really just trying to get the user’s attention.

In any case, the biggest problem right now is that the bank has yet to notify any of their clients that their identities could have been compromised.

Rock Band 2. Image courtesy of Harmonix.

The folks at Autodesk have a great product. While the Autodesk suite is made up of of an astounding array of software, many of their 3-D visualization titles that have became industry standards in special effects development. Autodesk’s software is the workhorse behind movies like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as well as video games like Gears of War 2 and Rock Band 2.

Blast recently sat down with Maurice Patel, entertainment industry manager at Autodesk:

Blast: Tell us a little about Autodesk and your software products.

Patel: Autodesk software is the secret sauce behind many of the movies, games and TV ads you see today: from G.I. Joe to Evian’s skating babies. We also make design software for everything from automotive design to architecture. Our digital solutions provide powerful tools for building greener buildings, eliminating wasteful physical prototypes and helping build a better, more sustainable, human environment. Our entertainment software is used to create compelling entertainment from 3D stereo movies like ‘Monsters and Aliens’ to games like ‘Rock Band.’

Blast: What exactly is your software used for in video game production?

Patel: Our software is used in many places throughout the entertainment production chain. Products like Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya are used for visualizing, prototyping and testing ideas; for building detailed scenes and texturing and lighting them and for creating compelling digital characters like Altair.

Autodesk also develops middleware solutions that give artificial intelligence to digital characters so that they behave more realistically in the game. If you have played games like Assassin’s Creed you’ll have seen technology in action. When Altair, runs, rides and jumps our middleware makes sure he doesn’t slip and slide but interacts realistically with objects and the environment.

Photos by CIS Hollywood. Copyright: (c) 2009 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Blast: What makes your software different then similar software on the market?

Patel: There are many things. Firstly we believe we have some of the best tools for making compelling, believable digital characters and imbibing them with great performances. Obviously the tool is only as great as the artists that use them, the talent that makes the game, movie or TV ad so spectacular, but we strive to provide them with great technology so that they can be truly free to experiment and try out new ideas. This is done by focusing on interaction – making things perform fast enough to provide immediate feedback, as well as by creating sophisticated tools that enable artists to produce the highest quality work without compromise. Also the diversity of our product portfolio helps us take the best techniques from one area and apply them in another – such as compositing images or tracking objects – and enables us to provide customers with more efficient production workflows

Blast: What projects has your software been used on in the past?

Patel: Wow, where to begin the list is very long; Autodesk software has been used to create countless movies, commercials, TV shows and video games.

Recent movies created with Autodesk solutions include: ‘9,’ ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra,’ ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ ‘Terminator Salvation’ and ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’ Many of this year’s Oscar-winning and nominated films were also created with Autodesk software, such as ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ ‘Iron Man,’ ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda.’

Popular video games created with Autodesk art creation tools and middleware solutions include: ‘FIFA 09,’ ‘Rock Band 2,’ ‘Prince of Persia,’ ‘Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning,’ ‘America’s Army,’ ‘Fallout 3,’ ‘Gears of War 2,’ and ‘Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.’

Blast: Are there any upcoming projects using your software that you would like to share with our readers?

Patel: Well our customers don’t like us to steal their thunder by talking about projects before they have been released publicly, but many of the upcoming visual effects movies and games slated for the holiday season have used our software as part of their production process. We always post our latest feature stories here.

Artist's rendition of the angry mob of Google workers outside the Apple offices in Cupertino.

In the ongoing volleying between Apple and Google over the Google Voice application, Google has released an unredacted version of the letter it sent to the FCC. In it, Google states that Apple has unequivocally rejected the Google voice application for the iPhone.

The Google Voice application was supposed to allow iPhone users to access all of the features that are part of the Grand Central system that Google acquired back in 2007, including one VoIP phone number that rings all of your phone numbers, integrated SMS, and customizable voicemail and call-screening depending on the caller. Rumor has it that Apple and AT&T are worried that the Google app could replace core functionalities on the iPhone—or eat into AT&T’s bottom line.

Here are the relevant quotes. Google states in its letter to the FCC which discussed negotiations between the two companies:

Apple representatives informed Google that the Google Voice application was rejected because Apple believed the application duplicated the core dialer functionality of the iPhone.

This stands in direct contrast to Apple’s statement in a press release:

We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter. Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application and we continue to discuss it with Google.

In any case, one of these companies is lying, because they can’t both be true. Google claims that Apple rejected both the Google Voice and the Google Latitude applications because they duplicated functions the iPhone is already capable of doing and might create customer confusion. This is, of course, laughable considering the number of calculators, stopwatches, email apps, and all the other apps available in the store that blatantly duplicate available functionality.

Google and Apple used to be a match made in heaven, until the two companies found themselves in ever-growing competition. With Google throwing its full weight behind the mobile open-source Android platform, they’re increasingly finding themselves in direction competition with Apple—so much so, that Google CEO Eric Schmidt stepped down from Apple’s board of directors.

Only time will tell if these two companies will ever be able to make nice. We sure hope so, because the idea of using MapQuest instead of the pre-installed Google maps application on our iPhone makes us shudder.

Network neutrality is a contentious subject. In a way, everyone has an understanding that ISPs will provide an uninhibited flow from content providers to the end users without purposely affecting traffic. Companies that provide internet connections, like Comcast and Verizon, often discuss their displeasure in the fact that content providers, like Google and Amazon, make their profits using the infrastructure that the ISPs have set up, without having to pay for any of it.

In theory, ISPs could choose which traffic is allowed to travel over their pipes, blocking entire domains if they wanted to. While this has never officially happened in the US, there exist no rules to actually bar ISPs from doing so. While blocking domains is a rather draconian measure that would likely never occur, Comcast has been known to throttle BitTorrent traffic, giving other data priority over the file-sharing platform.

Comcast got a scolding from the FCC, but BitTorent wasn’t a company out to make a living, so there weren’t really any damages — other than the dishonesty over its actions to Comcast’s customers. Nevertheless, it’s easy to see how an ISP could throttle one company’s traffic over another’s, resulting in damages to a business.

The FCC panel is made up of Chairman Genachowski, two democrats, and two republicans. The panel previously voted 3-2 to favor net neutrality rules, so this could be an indication of how they will vote in the future to formally codify these rules.

Fast Flip is indeed a fast way to scan across the many websites who have signed on. Instead of loading every website you might want to read, Flat Flip displays screenshots of the websites’ stories, organized by category, topic, and headline.

The homepage at Google's Fast Flip.

The stories are displayed on electronic pages that can be flipped through similar to a PDF file. About 30-40 publishers, web outlets and broadcasters have signed on to support this new format right now. The groups include such giants as Newsweek, Businessweek, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

This is part of Google’s Dedication to publishers, which includes funneling more profits towards publishers and helping newspaper companies to develop a model by which they can charge for access to premium website content. Google hopes Fast Flip will become popular by making online reading easier and more enjoyable, leading to showing more advertisements to more people and ideally give most of the ad revenue to publishers. It would only make sense that Newspapers would want fast flip to be successful—but not too successful. The newspaper executives still need people to actually go to their sites where they can charge for ads without having to share with Google.

Clicking on an article embiggens that article. A sidebar allows you to navigate to other related stories.

This seems like a great partnership, further expanding Google’s reach and influence while preserving one of the oldest and most fundamental arts of American culture. That being said, it also sounds like Google might be attempting to reinvent the web’s wheel, the PDF. As with most Internet start-ups, only time will tell.

Acting US Attorney Michael K. Loucks and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Boston Field Division announced September 15 that Francis G. Janosko, 43 pleaded guilty to one count of intentional damage to a protected computer in Federal District Court in Boston.

During 2006 and 2007 While an Inmate at Plymouth, Janosko hacked a computer provided to inmates for legal research. The computer had restrictions disallowing use of email or Internet and various other functionality. Janosko was also able to gain access to a file containing names, addresses and social security of around 1,000 current and former employees of Plymouth County Correctional Facility. Janosko also attempted, albeit unsuccessfully to access a vital prison management software.

Janosko had been released from Plymouth County Correctional for some time but has been incarcerated since his apprehension in November 2008. The FBI and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. Assistant US Attorney Scott L. Garland of Michael K. Loucks’s Computer Crime Unit is prosecuting the case.

Judge O’Toole set the sentencing date for December 15. Under the terms set forth in a plea bargain Janosko faces 18 months in prison.

China was added, amongst other things, for “increasing natural resource-focused diplomacy and military modernization,” while Russia was singed out because, despite a growing partnership with the US on fighting things like nuclear terrorism, “it may continue to seek avenues for reasserting power and influence in ways that complicate US interests,” according to the AFP.

The National Intelligence Strategy (NIS), a report released every four years, calls China and Russia “aggressive” in the cyberworld and while the NIS did not explicitly name either countries as a cyber threat, it did outline cause for concern.

“At the tactical level, they are intent on penetrating our critical infrastructure, information systems, and leading industries,” it said, AFP reports. The report went on to recommend the US employ tactical strategies “across the cyber domain to protect critical infrastructure.”

The report also lists Iran and North Korea, unsurprisingly, as parts of its main opposition. It stressed the possibility of further partnerships with China and Russia to help strengthen relationships, however saw no hope of immediate reconciliation with either countries.

“Iran poses an array of challenges to US security objectives in the Middle East and beyond because of its nuclear and missile programs, support of terrorism, and provision of lethal aid to US and coalition adversaries…North Korea continues to threaten peace and security in East Asia because of its sustained pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, its transfer of these capabilities to third parties, its erratic behavior, and its large conventional military capability.”

Its assessment of Iran and North Korea was much harsher than of its two newcomers.

The report also highlighted Al-Qaeda as a continuing threat to both Americans and American interests at home and abroad and said the US’ main objective for the next four years will be to enhance “cyber security”, combat extreme terrorism and ensure weapons of mass destruction are not created or bought by any opposing nations.

The promotion and spread of democracy was not listed as a main priority.

"Damn Scientists" t-shirt at Threadless.com

If we were to make a list to things that we were supposed to have because this is the future, right behind our personal jetpack would be a levitation device. While we’re still waiting on that jetpack, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA has invented a device capable of floating a mouse in midair.

In everyday terms, the scientists created a magnet so strong that it could repel water molecules, which only react to magnetism is the strongest of magnetic fields. In scientific terms, the group using a superconducting, supercooled electromagnet to create a magnetic field of 17 teslas, 10,000 times stronger than the Earth’s average magnetic field. Because water molecules are diamagnetic, all of the water molecules generate a magnetic field of their own that opposes the field that generated them. The result is a force capable of levitating the mouse in midair.

Scientists have previously levitated objects and animals like grasshoppers and frogs, but this is the first time that they have used a mammal. Mice are also used as model organisms in the vast majority of medical research, hence the “gravity” of the accomplishment. (And sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves.)

The scientists plan to use the device to study the long-term effects of microgravity on the mice. While the first mice put in the device flipped around and became disoriented, adjustments have allowed the scientists to keep the mice in place, and even feed them, allowing them to basically live inside the field. Studying the physical effects of low gravity was (obviously) only possible during space flight. Now, this land-based research will prove useful for future space exploration where astronauts might have to live for extended periods of time in space.

Take Acer for example. The last year has seen an explosion in the popularity of netbook computers, and Acer’s Apsire One line of $270 netbooks are all the rage. Previously, no one has heard of MSI, but now everyone and their mother is hacking their $300 Wind to run OS X. Same with Asus and their EEE PC line.

Some companies ready to break onto the scene are more familiar for their other products. At the Nokia World conference in Germany last week, Nokia announced their Booklet 3G, a sleek, 2 cm thin aluminum netbook, signifying that the company who previously made their mark on the electronics world by manufacturing phones is now trying to expand themselves back onto the PC market after selling that division more than fifteen years ago.

The Booklet 3G is powered by the same Intel Atom processor in the MSI Wind and Acer One lines, but whereas those netbooks are only wi-fi capable, the Booklet 3G will come built in with a 3G/HSPA antenna, giving the netbook data network access wherever cell reception is available, along with the assisted GPS found in mobile phones. The netbook will also have a 10.1-inch HD-ready screen and HDMI port, something typically reserved for higher-end laptops and desktop, and certainly not something offered on current netbooks.

Nokia is truly in a unique position too introduce a computer as ground breaking as the Booklet 3G is. Of course, a netbook this exciting is also rather wallet-breaking as well. While only European pricing has been announced so far, the Booklet 3G will sell for 575 euros, which comes to about 820 dollars. However, netbooks often come subsidized if they have a data antenna. No subsidies have been announced yet, but they would have to be hefty to be anywhere near the sub-$300 prices on other netbooks.

It’s also yet to seen whether or not the subsidized notebook market will even prove to be profitable. Many carriers in the US are offering netbooks for as low as $50 with a 2-year data contract. Considering how much iPhone users complain about being locked into their contracts though, the carriers will probably face some stiff resistance.

Curiously and notably absent form the netbook market though is Apple. Apple even poked fun at the concept of a netbook yesterday at their keynote, showing an image of someone failing to shove a Dell Mini into his back pocket. Apple continues to claim that people don’t want an underpowered netbook; they want fast and they want powerful. Of course this is belied by the fact Apple continues to offer their white plastic MacBook for sale, and that their “mobile computing platform” of the iPhone and iPod touch has half the processing power of current netbooks.

More over, an article Wired ran last month argued that we’re in the middle of the “good enough” revolution, stating that “the low end has never been riding higher.” An interesting point to consider.

In any case, netbooks are here to stay. It’ll be interesting to seem some the innovations that trickle down towards the end user from higher end computers. An always on data connection, A-GPS, and HDMI connectivity are a great start. What’s next?

The digital world came alive, and Wilson was quickly one of the most “trended topics” on Twitter.

Then Wilson’s website, http://www.joewilson.house.gov/ went down with a placeholder page that said: “This site is down for maintenance. Please check back soon.”

Then he became one of the most Googled terms of the day.

Some people even fired back. According to CNN, some new Twitter accounts were created, with their first and only Tweets being in support of Wilson.

But even other members of Congress went public and digital with their condemnation of Wilson: “Biggest disappointment of evening, the total lack of respect show by one member for the president,” Tweeted Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. “Never acceptable to behave like a jerk.”

According to CNN, South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler capitalized: “Once again a South Carolina Republican has embarrassed our state,” Fowler’s office said, referring to S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford’s extramarital, international affair. “Never has any member of Congress shown such disrespect for the president during a speech. … Joe Wilson is a poor example of a statesman and an American.”

Wilson currently faces Democratic challenger Rob Miller in the mid-term election in 2010.

The “3D Full HD Home Theatre Tour” is powered by three expandable tractor-trailers, which were custom built for the event. Each vehicle houses a theater powered by Panasonic’s plasma technology that uses a custom built Blu-Ray player to deliver 3D content to screens.

“Panasonic is proud to once again lead the way into the next frontier in home entertainment,” said Bob Perry, Executive Vice President, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “Through our Full HD 3D Home Theater Truck Tour, consumers will, for the first time, have a chance to experience the immersive world of Full HD 3D TV for themselves, and we have no doubt that they will love what they see.”

The purpose of the tour is to help consumers build an understanding of available 3D Full HD technologies that will soon be available. Panasonic has also announced it has partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. and Lightstrom Entertainment for the purpose of Global promotion of James Cameron’s AVATAR Film. This film will be the first 3D live action film and is due to hit theaters Dec 18, 2009.

Panasonic provided some of its latest products to help create AVATAR, and the film will debut in theaters worldwide in both 2D and 3D. As part of the partnership, Panasonic will launch a global advertising campaign tied to AVATAR, which will promote numerous Panasonic products, including 3D. It will mark the first time Panasonic has run a worldwide advertising campaign focused on a single film.

The Panasonic Full HD 3D Home Theater Truck Tour is expected to run through March 2010 with the scheduled stops being released at a later date. Not sure about Boston yet.

It’s the first home webcam to offer widescreen video with an onboard 720p sensor. It also auto focuses, keeping video sharp from a minimum distance of just four inches.

It’s also one of the only webcams marketed to work well in low light, and it has image stability and de-noising abilities that reduce graininess.

The LifeCam’s onboard noise canceling microphone also make it perfect for Skype.

Check out the fact sheet here.

Cullop, or LethalxPrincess as she’s known to many, is a pro-gamer by trade. For years, Cullop crisscrossed the nation with Major League Gaming (MLG) immersing herself in a cutthroat world while breaking stereotypes in the process. Her squad, Team Foxy, is considered the top female team in the gaming community.

Not surprisingly, it was actually gaming that connected Cullop to the Sound Tour. Sponsored by the popular headphone company, the tour, which we previously told you about, is a reality show pitting Cullop and a team of four other female contestants against a squad of all men.

“I heard about the Sennheiser Sound Tour through the gaming community. Sennheiser is a great product that is highly recognized for its quality in the professional gaming world. When the tour was announced, the word spread quickly in the E-Sports community,” Cullop recalled.

With the ultimate goal to promote the Sennheiser headphone product base, the two teams have spanned North America participating in a variety of challenges. From meeting celebrities to getting on tour buses, Cullop admits it’s been a whirlwind ride.

“Personally, there are many highlights of the tour that I have enjoyed such as traveling, experiencing new communities, and meeting new and exciting individuals,” said Cullop. Ever the gamer, she admits that for her personally, the best part of the tour has not been meeting a person or going to a particular place, but rather it’s been a simple truth.

“The biggest highlight of the tour so far has been the fact that the girl’s team is in the lead. We have won three challenges and the guys have only won one. I am a very competitive individual and I am confident we will take home the grand prize,” she confided.

Along the way, both teams have been faced with the challenge of going up to people on the street to promote Sennheiser. While in some cases they’ve been shut out and rejected, most people have been willing to step in front of the camera according to Cullop.

“Generally people are accepting and don’t mind the camera, we actually seem to get better responses if the cameras are out and rolling. I think people want to know what’s going on with the cameras, the tour, and the product,” said Cullop.

One of the Sennheiser girl’s most memorable visits was their trip to Boston. Between crashing a few weddings, visiting the Salem Witches Cottage and partying it up outside the Paul McCartney Fenway concert, the ladies got their fill of Beantown. Cullop says it was easily one her favorite places on the tour.

“My time in Boston was amazing; I literally fell in love with it the moment I arrived. Boston is now on my top five places to move. What I remember most about Boston was the atmosphere in the air, I went to Fenway Park, Faneuil Hall, and shopping on Newbury Street. Everywhere I went people were alive with spirit; they were helpful, and even entertaining. I would love to live in an area like Boston because it has so much to offer,” she said.

With the tour winding down, Cullop admits she misses her Xbox, controller and gaming in general. Save for a few hours of gaming in NYC, she has not gotten a chance to play much while on tour. Despite this, Cullop contends she wouldn’t trade her Sennheiser Sound Tour experience for anything — or any game — in the world.

“The one thing I will bring away from this trip is the experience. No matter how the team does and no matter how I personally do in the competitions, I will always remember the new places, people, and experiences I have encountered along the way,” concluded Cullop.

This TV mount will be useful for those of us who have chosen to put our TVs in high glare areas, as it allows the viewing angle to be adjusted up to 40 degrees. The Telehook TH-1040-VFM even allows us to use our flat panels in landscape and portrait mode after installation and can support panels between 12” and 40” and a weight up to 55 pounds.

This is made possible through use of a ball joint which offers boundless adjustment up to 40 degrees in any direction, allowing us to find that perfect sweet spot for our TV. There is no need to screw and unscrew numerous bolts due to Atdec’s “Simple Tension” Adjustment system, and their Smooth Glide technology allows for effortless adjustment of screens up to 55 pounds. The TH-1040-VFM’s quick release mechanism guarantees fast and easy TV attachment and removal.

The TH-1040-VFM offers a maximum reach from the wall of 17 ½” and a minimum distance from the wall of 4”. It supports VESA mounting hole configurations of 4″x 4″, 8″x 4″ and 8″x 8″. It features a cable management system, a theft resistant design and is compatible with masonry and timber stud wall mounting hardware.

“We are really in the TV viewing business and that’s what Atdec’s mounting solutions are all about: providing the best and most elegant way to ensure optimum viewing experience no matter what the environment may be,” said Atdec’s Jerome Green.
“The new Telehook TH-1040-VFM is a perfect example of this philosophy with its ability to offer infinite fine-tuning of the viewing angle via a variety of easy to adjust pivot points. Innovative design, matched with a stylish look and reliable build, make the new mount an ideal choice for any home or commercial TV installation.”

The TH-1040-VFM will be available in mid September for $169.

YouTube is also in talks with many other partners in an effort to shore up its offerings of professional grade content, which advertisers prefer.

“We hope to expand on both our great relationship with the movie studios and the selection and types of videos we offer our community,” said YouTube spokesman Chris Dale.

Such a program would be quite a change for YouTube. We think this is due to pressure from investors who see that the cost of supplying video to users all over the world still isn’t bringing in its equivalent in advertising revenue.

YouTube became successful because it allowed people to share their own personal “LOL” with the world — for free! Considering that there are plenty of other and more well established places to stream movies, most offering better quality or lower prices at this point, and YouTube is a late entrant into the game.

The Sqeezebox Radio.

Logitech finally released details on its newest additions to the Squeezebox series of internet radios, and they’re just as exciting as we’d hoped.

The Logitech Squeezebox radio offers simple set-up through your wi-fi network sporting a similar “plug it in, turn it on, and go” endorsement from its maker. The Squeezebox radio gives you access to all the glories — and terrors — of internet radio as well as giving you access to music subscriptions services such as Napster, Rhapsody, Pandora, Sirius-XM and last.fm from anywhere you take the device, played through on-board speakers.

The device also has a color screen capable of displaying album art and track information for mp3s streamed from your computer as well as for radio station information. Features include six preset buttons, a brightness sensor for the screen, a built in alarm clock and, because technology isn’t advanced enough to pipe the music directly into your skull, your old friend, the handy dandy 3.5mm headphone jack is there as well.

The Squeezebox Touch.

The size of the device is 5.12in x 8.66in x 5.04in and it sports a 3-inch woofer and a three-quarter inch tweeter. Suggested retail pricing for the Squeezebox Radio is $199.99 and it will be available this month. A limited edition will also be available in red. A rechargeable battery pack is also available for the Squeezebox Radio, sold separately, of course. Battery life is rated at six hours. This will be included in the Squeezebox Radio Accessory pack available from Logitech for $49.99 in November.

The Logitech Squeezebox Touch sports a 4.3in color touch screen and needs to be attached to your existing speakers for music playback. The Touch also sports a USB port and a SD card slot to allow access to pictures and music on external devices. The Logitech Squeezebox Touch will be available in December with a suggested retail price of $299.99. There is also a wall mount bracket available for the Touch—again, sold separately—for $99.99.

Most notable is ReadyShare, which allows high-speed access to a USB hard drive from any device on the network. The RangeMax also comes equipped with a 680Mhz MIPS processor, one of the latest processors on consumer routers today. The router is also capable of simultaneous dual band activity using both the 2.4Ghz and the 5Ghz bands. This allows for a real world throughput of 350mbps, which is faster than most competing products.

This device is also functional as a plug and play media server for an Xbox360 or PS3 using the integrated DLNA functionality. The RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router features Quality of Service algorithms that enable seamless streaming of HD video over Wi-Fi, usually a frustrating experience for anyone who’s ever tried. These algorithms also allow support for a number of simultaneous high bandwidth connections and also enable lag-free online gaming.

The router also comes with a built in broadband usage meter, useful for those dealing with those god-awful bandwidth caps. The built in gigabit Ethernet ports are capable of 500 mbps speeds — more than twice the speed of competing routers.

The router also features three adjustable power and range settings capable of cutting its power consumption by up to 75 percent for those who like a bit of green in their electronic devices. There is also a dedicated wireless on-off switch which when used to deactivate the wireless can cut power consumption by up to 30 percent.

Netgear’s RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router is now available worldwide for $189.99 with 24/7 tech support and a one-year warranty. This appears to be the first relatively solid competitor to Apple’s Airport Extreme with a reasonable price tag.

According to comScore some 38 million people used Hulu this July. This surpasses Business Insiders estimate of 34 million subscribers for Time Warner Cable, the United States second largest cable company. To put this all in perspective Comcast, the US’s largest cable company, has about 62 million viewers. Viewership statistics for the cable companies were derived by multiplying the number of subscribers by 2.59, which is what the census bureau tells us is the average person per household.

Some numbers to consider.

This means that Hulu is effectively the second largest provider of television content for Americans. If only the internet could prove a reliable cash cow for producers Hulu could easily be the platform of the future; however, for now they will have to be content with second place.

Talk about a victory. Apple has approved a Vonage App while Google Voice can’t even get near the App Store with its own software.

“Vonage is currently conducting a beta test and general availability will be announced at a later date,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “This new service, along with the recent launch of the Vonage World unlimited calling plan, continues Vonage’s heritage of using innovative technology to create significant value for its current and future customers.”

Vonage’s stock (NYSE: VG) soared almost 20 percent on App news.

Image produced of a single pentacene molecule.

Scientists have managed to do something thought impossible. Even though that actually happens every day because that’s kind of the point of science. Nevertheless, scientists at IBM have managed to produce an image of a single molecule.

Even though microscopes come in many different forms, they all work via the same premise. Light microscopes use light waves, electron microscopes use waves of electrons. Specimens reflect those waves, which our eye perceives or computers interpret. All waves have a certain wavelength, or size. Anything smaller than that wavelength is unable to reflect the wave back, just like how waves at the beach continue to wash past you when you’re standing alone, but a sea wall will stop them in their tracks.

Diagram of how atomic force microscopy forms its images.

Simple compounds, like the molecule of pentacene that the group at IBM imaged, are much smaller than any wavelengths of light we can currently use to image them. Pentacene is about 0.7 nanometers across; a typical grain of sand is about 2,000,000 nanometers across.

The scientists used an “atomic-force microscope,” which uses what is essentially a ridiculously tiny tuning fork with a single molecule of carbon monoxide at the end to poke at the molecule. The tuning fork returns different vibrations above the atoms of the molecule than above the surface the molecule was on. To eliminate any stray gas molecules or vibrations from interfering with the measurements, the experiment was performed in a vacuum at -450 degrees.

The resulting image actually shows the structure, including the carbon and hydrogen atoms of the molecule. The scientists hope to further refine the technique, where it will prove very useful in the further development of nanotechnology.

The networking solutions company Netgear announced August 31 that its ReadyNAS storage appliance line, designed for Small to Medium Businesses (SMB) would now support the Remote Agent for Linux and UNIX Servers (RALUS) for Symantec Backup Exec for Windows Servers. Now installed directly on the ReadyNAS device, the Symantec developed Backup Exec agent communicates directly with Symantec Backup Exec Software to provide significant performance boosts in backup, restore, archive and disaster recovery.

Ian Moran from UK Reseller Konnexion described his experience as such: “Disk-to-disk backup performance with the RALUS Add-On for ReadyNAS runs at 3GB/minute. Most importantly, I am now managing backups from various systems using a single tool without error messages or concerns. Thanks to Netgear and Symantec, my SMB customers now have a cutting-edge backup and recovery solution to cut costs and reduce management pain even further.”

RALUS extends the Backup Exec technology of Symantec beyond Windows and Netware to Linux and Unix Systems. This helps meet the backup and storage needs of businesses that choose Linux. Netear is the first to offer Small to Medium Businesses sub-$5000 solutions with this functionality.

“Our work with Symantec is indicative of our commitment to providing SMBs with a full range of options in order to store, share and protect their data,” said Paul Tien, vice president and general manager of Netgear’s Networked Storage Business Unit. “As a leading SMB storage vendor, this kind of cross-vendor support is proof of our commitment to this market. ReadyNAS owners and channel partners are building ever more powerful solutions at a more affordable price point with industry leaders like Symantec.”

The RALUS add-on for Backup Exec is priced at $395 and licensed from Symantec; it is supported by Backup Exec versions 10.5 and newer. It is available for download from both Netgear and Symantec. Curious? More information for the entire ReadyNAS product line is available at their site too.

Skype is used by millions of individuals and businesses to make video and voice calls, send instant messages, share files and make cheap calls to landlines and cell phones.

“We are extremely fortunate to have such a talented and seasoned group invest in our company,” said Josh Silverman, CEO of Skype, which will retail the final third of its own company. “This is a group of investors and industry veterans that have a strong track record of taking the technology companies they own to the next level. With their know-how helping to guide our vision, Skype is poised to enter the next phase of its growth and development.”

Skype Technologies showed $551 million in revenue in 2008, up 44 percent from 2007. There were 405 million registered users at teh end of 2008. eBay previously projected Skype revenues to exceed $1 billion by 2011.

Skype service is also available on the iPhone as an app and on new models of the Sony PSP.

About 1.5 million silver-colored Durabrand DVD players were recalled August 20, and Wal-Mart expanded the recall September 1 to include pink and purple versions of the same player. About 4.2 million total units are now under recall.

Owners should immediately stop using the players and call Wal-Mart at 800-925-6278.

According to the CPSC, the DVD player’s circuit board can overheat. Wal-Mart received seven reports of fires sparked from overheating causing property damage. No injuries have been reported.

The Chinese-made players were sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores nationwide from January 2006 through July 2009 for about $29.

The event will open at 10 a.m. at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, Calif., at the Moscone Center, the same site of Macworld Expo and Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).

Since 2005, Apple has used these events, usually near September, to introduce massive changes to its music business. Last year Apple introduced new iPods and iTunes 8 at a similar event.

“It’s only rock and roll, but we like it,” Apple says in an email inviting people to the event, Macworld reported. Apple gave no details about the event or what could be announced.

Maybe its a tablet device?