apple-list July 2007

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INTEREST: Microsoft to spend $1.15B on -$6B sales of XBOX 360

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...from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/business/06soft.html? th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1183781121-q74ntW7AImNEg5Ocy39D3w OR http://preview.tinyurl.com/29pzvl Microsoft to Spend $1.15 Billion for Xbox Repairs By ERIC A. TAUB Published: July 6, 2007 LOS ANGELES, July 5 — In what may be one of the costliest consumer warranty repairs in history, Microsoft announced on Thursday that it would spend up to $1.15 billion to repair failing Xbox 360 game machine consoles. While the company would not say how many units were failing, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, said that there have been an “unacceptable high number of repairs.” The majority of Xbox 360 owners, he said, have not experienced hardware failure. Company officials said that Microsoft had sold 11.6 million Xbox 360 units by the end of June, shy of the 12 million units the company had predicted. The Xbox 360, which first went of sale in November 2005, is currently the best-selling game machine in the United States, according to NPD, a market research firm. The size of the anticipated repair bill suggests that a third to as many as half of the machines are flawed. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., said it would take a charge of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion against earnings in the quarter ended June 30. Consumers know they have a problem if three red flashing lights appear on the console. Gamers on online forums have been referring to the event as “the Red Ring of Death” because the machine then shuts down. The company declined to explain the nature of the failure, but said that it was not caused by a single problem in the console, which it said contained 1,700 components and 500 million transistors. The company also said there were no health or safety concerns involved. The problem began to appear over the last three to four months, Mr. Bach said, after “significant usage” of the consoles. He said the company has taken steps to correct the problem in new devices. Microsoft said it would extend the warranty of the game console to three years to customers worldwide. Previously, products sold in the United States were covered by a one-year warranty, while Xbox 360 units sold in Europe had a two-year warranty. In addition, customers who have had their consoles repaired because of the “three flashing lights” problem will be reimbursed for the cost of the repairs. Microsoft has succeeded in establishing the Xbox brand against the better known Sony PlayStation and other game machines. The Xbox and its successor, the Xbox 360, was the software maker’s first major foray into hardware. Although sales are small relative to the rest of Microsoft’s revenue, the Xbox has been an important venture for the company and was viewed by many analysts as Microsoft’s attempt to compete with the likes of Sony and Apple for control of electronics and entertainment within homes. The device can be used to access the Internet and view movies. Microsoft said its entertainment and devices division reported an operating loss of $315 million on $929 million in revenue for the three-month period that ended in March, and analysts have estimated that the company lost about $6 billion getting a foothold in the game machine industry. A new Xbox 360 with a 20-gigabyte hard drive sells for about $400, but other versions cost about $300. The announcement comes on the eve of the E3 Media and Business Summit, the video-game industry’s major trade show, to be held next week in Los Angeles. “This is bound to affect discussions between Microsoft and its developers and retailers,” said Richard Doherty, a partner in the research company Envisioneering Group.

16 years, 10 months

INTEREST: UCBerkeley CIO on digital demands and challenges of protecting data in an open institution

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...from: http://video.zdnet.com/CIOSessions/?p=170 Technology challenges in academia In this wide-ranging interview, Shelton Waggener, the CIO of the University of California at Berkeley, talks about meeting the digital demands of its tech-savvy student population, the challenges of protecting data in an open institution, and innovative technologies being developed on campus.

16 years, 10 months

INTEREST: How to get all your telephones (or none) to ring at the same time... Now from Google.

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...from: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=627&tag=nl.e622 July 2nd, 2007 Grand Central acquired by Google for $50 million? Posted by Garett Rogers @ 2:28 pm Michael Arrington was right when he heard GrandCentral was either in talks, or has already been acquired by Google. Today Google announced the acquisition on their official blog, though the terms have not yet been disclosed. If Arrington was correct, it’s safe to presume it was around the $50 million dollar mark. What does this mean? Well, we can only speculate, but it could have a huge impact in several areas for Google. First, imagine having a single, always-on, always-ready, forever available, telephone number that is tied to every phone number you currently have. By signing up, you will have simplified your life and that of anybody else who tries to contact you. Now imagine having that single phone number tied to your Google Talk instant messenger and Gmail. You can receive phone calls directly on your computer from anyone and listen to voicemail right in Gmail — the latter of which, interestingly enough, can already be used today. The service is currently now in private beta — you will need an invitation to set up a new account now. You will also find that it only works for American phone numbers so far. There is no word on upcoming features or plans to expand to other countries at this time. What is GRAND CENTRAL? (from: http://www.grandcentral.com/support/ howitworks/) Screen Callers Know who's calling and screen unknown callers ListenIn Hear why someone is calling before taking the call Call Record Record calls on the fly and access recordings online Block Callers Unwanted callers won't be able to reach you anymore Notifications Receive voicemail notifications via email or SMS Ring Different Phones One number that rings different phones based on who's calling Greetings Personalize your voicemail greetings by caller or group RingShare Go beyond the ring and choose ringback tones for your callers WebCall Button Let people call you from a web page without showing your number CallSwitch Switch phones in the middle of a call Click2Call Call from your addressbook and save your typing Mobile Access Visual voicemail for your mobile phone What does GRAND CENTRAL look like? (from: http://www.grandcentral.com/ howitworks/mobile_inbx) Wayne I wonder what it will look like on an iPhone? ::-)

16 years, 10 months

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apple-list July 2007