Microsoft intros cloud-based Azure Services Platform

Microsoft has introduced Windows Azure, the foundation to its cloud-computing architecture that will allow companies to create software and services that can be accessed from centralized data centers. The platform will directly compete with similar ventures from competitors, including Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Google's library of internet tools. Developers can create applications that exist "in the cloud," accessible from anywhere in the world. The release marks a transition for Microsoft from the reliance on desktop software and further into the realm of Web-based technologies.

The key component of the architecture will be Windows Azure, an operating system that is designed for the cloud environment, providing developers a way to manage their Web applications on the Internet through the data centers. For some businesses that are facing the costs of building and maintaining on-site systems, using Azure-based cloud services on a subscription basis could present another option. The primary storage, computing, and networking tools would be hosted in Microsoft's data centers.

The Azure Services Platform will bring together several of the company's developer services including SQL, .NET, Live, SharePoint, and Dynamics CRM. Applications can be created using the .NET framework, Visual Studio, or other technologies and open source standards such as Eclipse, Ruby, PHP, Python, XML, HTTP, representational state transfer (REST), and Atom Publishing Protocol (AtomPub).

Customers can integrate any existing systems with Azure, spreading the applications across both platforms to suit particular needs. Some potential clients could steer clear of Web-based technology because of concerns with potential down-time. Microsoft claims its Azure Fabric Controller technology is designed to distribute the workload evenly across servers, while instantly rerouting work in the event of a failure.

Microsoft is aiming to jump into the Web-based software-as-a-service segment and take market share from power-players such as Google. As the sales of Vista stagnate, showing just a two percent income growth for the recent quarter, the company could be looking to extend its reach, with products such as Azure, into new areas that could be more profitable in the near future.

Toshiba to ship 43nm SLC-speed chips in 2009

Toshiba has announced higher density, faster memory chips in a new lineup of 43nm single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory, featuring 2GB, 4GB and 8GB individual chips. The 43 nanometer process allows Toshiba to deliver double the density of its previous 56nm process, while also delivering SLC speeds, which are approximately 2.5x faster than the more common, denser but historically slower MLC (Multi-Level Cell) memory.

The new chipsets will be geared toward embedded memory in mobile products that call for large quantities of fast memory, such as mobile phones, flat panel HDTVs, and servers, as well as mobile audio-video devices. The new chipsets are planned for market in the first quarter of 2009.

Toshiba hasn't named customers but supplies both itself as well as Apple's handheld devices; multiple chips are often stacked together in a single package and should enable capacities of 16GB and higher depending on the hardware.

Walmart MP3 hits 74 cents, gains Mac support

Walmart today made an aggressive move against Amazon and Apple by lowering the prices of its MP3 Music Downloads store. The service now offers per-track downloads as low as 74 cents versus the 89-cent minimum of Amazon MP3 and iTunes' fixed 99-cent price. Normal tracks are 94 cents, Wal-Mart says. The retailer also plans to drive users to the store through a tie-in with CD sales: starting from mid-November, those who order physical copies of albums either online or in stores get a free MP3 song from any artist or album.

The company has also made key moves to open its previously Windows- and Internet Explorer-centric web store to more platforms. The new version works with any operating system, including Linux and Mac OS X, and supports more standardized browsers such as Firefox and Safari. It also synchronizes more directly with users' collections and will copy both the songs and their artwork to Windows editions of iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Walmart's initiative comes as the big-box chain has struggled to compete in the online space. The company lost its lead in total music sales to iTunes earlier in 2008 and has less than half the catalog, holding just three million songs versus Apple's 8 million. While Walmart has the advantage of unprotected music from all four major labels, Amazon MP3 has a similar advantage but also more than 4.5 million tracks.

Analyst: NVIDIA to exit chipsets in 2009

According to an analyst with the Pacific Crest Securities, chipset manufacturer NVIDIA will stop making media and communications chipsets in 2009, representing 21 percent of the company‘s current revenue. While the Tuesday report notes that NVIDIA had flat-out denied similar rumors back in August, its partners AMD and Intel are both are breaking into the mainboard chipset business themselves, Intel with in-house efforts and AMD with the recent purchase of chipmaker ATI.

Further hints as to NVIDIA’s role as supplier allegedly come from VIA’s marketing chief, Richard Brown, back in August. VIA has made it clear it plans to stop making chipsets for PCs and instead continue system-logic development for its own processors. “We believed that ultimately the third-party chipset market would disappear,” Brown said at the time.

Also earlier this year, NVIDIA has posted losses related to its failing GeForce graphics cards, which overheated in systems and hurt the company's ability to stay in more than just the graphics industry.

Partly countering the claim is a rumor this weekend that NVIDIA is involved with Apple and may have a new nForce mobile chipset in MacBooks, though these reports have quickly countered that NVIDIA may simply be supplying graphics to these portables.

Logitech launches Cordless Vantage Microphone

Peripheral maker Logitech on Tuesday announced it will soon release the Cordless Vantage Microphone for avid gamers. The microphone connects to PCs and is compatible with the Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 as well as the Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming systems thanks to a USB port. The microphone relies on the 2.4GHz frequency to provide the wireless connection to its USB base which doubles as a holder, with range of up to 30 feet. Logitech claims the two included AA batteries will last more than 20 hours. Supported game titles for the entertainment systems include Boogie, Encore, High School Musical, Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol and Rock Band. The Logitech Cordless Vantage Microphone will be available for purchase in the US and Europe this December, with pricing set at nearly $80.

Kingston teams up with Intel to supply SSD drives

Memory maker Kingston has joined up with chipmaker Intel to produce flash-memory based drives for popular-brand notebooks and servers, according to a Thursday report. Traditionally, Kingston has made flash memory cards for consumer electronics devices such as digital cameras, which make up a quarter of the company’s business. Under the deal with Intel, Kingston will resell drives made by Intel, providing technical support and testing to buyers at Dell, HP and IBM, among others.

Flash, or solid state drives (SSD), are becoming more common in today’s computers, and especially notebooks, thanks to their superior shock resistance, faster speeds, and lower power consumption compared to traditional rotating hard disk drives (HDDs).

The Kingston-branded drives will begin shipping before the end of 2008, and will include products made for use in business notebooks and corporate network servers. It is not known if Kingston will eventually sell SSD drives directly to consumers, though Intel has promoted its own drives as replacements for home users.

Microsoft XP downgrades extended to July?

Microsoft has extended its Windows XP downgrade program for six months past its original cutoff date, according to an email reportedly circulating among system builders. Though the company had originally set the XP pre-install option to shut down as of January 31st 2009, the new message is said to extend that deadline to July 31st. The official goal is to transition businesses, which were the original targets of the extension, over to Windows 7 by allowing them to buy new XP-based systems up to a point where the subsequent upgrade would demand Windows 7.

The delay if accurate would draw out the availability of XP for non-budget PCs until just months before the release of the next-generation Windows operating system expected in early 2010. The remaining window would be the smallest in recent memory where the current version of Windows was available exclusively.

Although Vista adoption has accelerated since computer makers have had to discontinue XP sales for consumer systems earlier in June, Microsoft has routinely struggled to counter negative perceptions formed early in Vista's history and has seen stiffer resistance from businesses whose software and hardware is more likely to be incompatible with the more recent Windows platform.

The original extension is commonly known to have stemmed from pressure by PC assemblers concerned that business sales would draw to a halt without guarantees of XP availability for some systems.

LG to launch 10-inch MOMO netbook with 3G

LG is promising its customers a 10-inch netbook that includes built-in access to HSPA-based 3G data networks, calling it the X110 MOMO (for More Mobile) and listing it on its website. A variant of the regular X110 and its Korean equivalent the Xnote Mini, the MOMO includes the same 1.6GHz Atom chip, 512MB of memory upgradeable to 1GB, a 1.3-megapixel webcam and optional Bluetooth module. Hard drive capacity is more customizable and will include an 80GB, 120GB or 160GB hard disk drive. A 4-in-1 memory card reader will be built into the netbook, and Windows Vista Home Basic will be preloaded rather than XP or Linux. An Ethernet jack and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi will act as connections to the Internet and networks. The X110 MOMO will be available in white, black or pink and LG claims that with the standard 3-cell battery (a 6-cell battery is optional), it will tip the scales at 2.6lbs. The keyboard of the X110 MOMO is allegedly large enough for comfortable typing and touts a full-sized Shift key.

No other information has been released by LG, including which network carrier, if any, the hardware manufacturer will team up with to offer the subscription to 3G data networks. Pricing is expected to range between $500 and $600.

AMD intros budget Radeon HD 4550, 4350

AMD early Tuesday took its Radeon HD 4000-series chipsets into ultra budget territory with two video cards that promise better performance than their prices would suggest. The Radeon HD 4550 and Radeon HD 4350 have just 80 stream (effects) processors versus as much as 800 for the Radeon 4800 series but are still capable of full DirectX 10.1 and current OpenGL 2.x effects, rendering them some of the least expensive cards capable of their more advanced visuals. The new chipsets are also some of the only ones of their type to have 7.1-channel audio pass-through over HDMI and the option of DisplayPort.

Power consumption and noise are also treated as staple features of the new hardware and turn them into low-cost options for home theater PCs looking for full Blu-ray hardware decoding. Either consumes less than 20 watts even under strain and optionally use passive cooling that renders them completely silent.

Both the 4550 and 4350 should be available in October and will primarily come from third-party card makers such as ASUS, GigaByte and Sapphire. AMD plans to undercut much of NVIDIA's present-day lineup and will sell the 4350 for as little as $39 for a 256MB version. The 4550 costs only slightly more at $55 and doubles the onboard video memory to 512MB.

The Guardian toasts your hard drive in 30 Seconds

Chicago (IL) - You got a hot tip the Feds will be knocking your door in a few hours with warrants to bust your illegal data operation. You've got a lot of hard drives to demolish and little time to do it. What do you turn to? One option (though not advertised as the end solution for the previously mentioned scenario) is to turn to the the Guardian Hard Drive Destroyer.

The Guardian Hard Drive Destroyer is said to pulverize your hard drives in under 30 seconds flat. It delivers 12,000 pounds of force to that drive, only requiring a standard 120v AC adapter. It destroys the read and write abilities of the drive, making the remains effectively useless. As the demo video on the product's Web site states, it makes the drive "clearly unusable." The Guardian is said to be portable enough, weighing just 140 pounds, that you can take it and put it about anywhere.

There's no specific price posted for this beast of a machine, but if you are trying to save your you-know-what from the Feds is there anything not worth the cost?

PDC 2008 sheds light on Windows 7 features, promises pre-beta software

Redmond (WA) – Microsoft is beginning to build up interest in its next-generation operating system. The company confirmed that it will be handing out a pre-beta software at the PDC 2008 event next month and if the conference scheduled is any indication, Windows 7 will focus on five key areas: Graphics, communications, energy-efficient applications, multi-touch and a first step into Web 3.0.

It appears that Microsoft is well on track with the development of Windows 7. Barely 10 months after the company handed out its first “Milestone 1” version of the software to its closest partners, the company is now ready to share what it has been working on with a much larger developer crowd. In a post published on the website of the Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC 2008), Microsoft said that “keynote attendees will be among the first to receive the pre-beta build of Windows 7.”

Microsoft is referring to the keynote of Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group. Sinofsky has led most of Microsoft’s public outreach relating to Windows 7. Following a rather lukewarm reception of the demonstration of Windows multi-touch features by Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer at this year’s All Things Digital conference, Sinofsky squashed all rumors that Windows 7 would be an entirely different operating system in May of this year. According to the executive, Windows 7 will be based on the kernel of Windows Server 2008 kernel, which is an evolution of the Windows Vista kernel. The executive highlighted driver compatibility, saying that Windows 7 will not come with a new driver model. “We're very clear that drivers and software that work on Windows Vista are going to work really well on Windows 7,” he said.

Since then, Windows 7 has largely been expected to become a Windows Vista on steroids, or, if you will, a Vista SE that will bridge the gap between Vista and completely new operating system that may be released in the late 2011 or 2012 timeframe. And the PDC 2008 scheduled appears to support these expectations – there will be some new features, but no surprises. Microsoft has dedicated a substantial portion of the conference to the new operating system: 22 out of 155 sessions will directly new features in Windows 7 – which makes the software the second-most covered topic (behind cloud services with 26 sessions) during the event.

The lion’s share of all Windows 7 sessions is dedicated to graphics - the appearance of Windows 7 and applications. Four tracks will provide information on the Windows 7 graphics architecture, new API’s to find, organize and visualize, new text and graphic API’s and Windows 7 taskbar integration. There is lots of content that will deal with Direct3D and how developers can take greater advantage of GPUs, but we know that these sessions will be restricted to graphics and that Windows 7 will not support the use of GPGPUs.

Two sessions focus exclusively on performance (of background processes) and energy efficiency of applications under Windows 7, and other major tracks will zero in on communications applications, native web services and how developers can develop applications that will take advantage on Windows 7’s multi-touch support. A look at new Shell user experience APIs also looks to be an interesting briefing.

If there is a surprise, then it surely is a touch of Web 3.0 in Windows 3: Software development engineer Dan Polivy will lead a session entitled “Windows 7: New APIs for Building Context-Aware Applications” targeted at experienced Windows developers. There is no information on this session available at this time, but if Microsoft is putting a greater focus on context-aware applications, Windows 7 may have a secret killer feature in store for us.

Dell, HP look to slash R&D costs for 2009

Worldwide economic crises are beginning to have serious impact within PC builders Dell and HP, claims DigiTimes. The publication cites sources inside Taiwanese channel distributors, who say that both companies are looking to cut back on research and development for notebooks, which usually entails testing the performance and endurance of new parts. Because this is also done by the actual manufacturers (ODMs), sources say, Dell and HP believe they can scale back without hurting future products. Details such as any possible job losses are unclear, but it is thought that ODMs will begin buying many of the parts needed on their own, choosing which suppliers to use. The number of ODM purchases could jump from 10 percent now to 20 percent in 2009, the sources suggest.

The situation contrasts starkly with Apple, whose Mac sales have been brisk, pointing to continually expanding profits. Apple is also known to pick virtually every component in a computer itself, down to processors and optical drives.

Samsung intros 14.1-inch X460 slim notebook

Samsung on Tuesday introduced a new notebook computer, the X460, which combines a 14.1-inch, 1280x800 LCD screen with a weight that is just under 4.2lbs. Other key specs of the X460 include a 45nm Intel Centrino 2 CPU of various processing speeds and support for up to 4GB of RAM memory. The smallest hard drive is sized at 120GB, while the largest optional HDD is 320GB in capacity. Samsung is trying to position the X460 as a stylish offering users would want to be seen with, and to this end, included a magnesium alloy casing offset with a brushed aluminum panel on the lid that is available in a choice of colors. The laptop also include NVIDIA‘s GeForce 9200M GS graphics chipset with DirectX 10 support. A slim Light Scribe optical drive is standard fare, as are five USB ports for expandability. Bluetooth 2.0+EDR or the integrated multi-card reader allow users to quickly transfer files to and from the notebook, while connecting to the Internet is done via an Ethernet jack or the built-in Wi-Fi connection.

Samsung also deemed it fit to include a fingerprint scanner for security, along with a 1.3-megapixel webcam for video conferencing. An antibacterial keyboard is meant to minimize the build-up of bacteria and thus decrease the likelihood of users getting sick. Other connections the notebook sports include eSATA, DVI, SIO and an HDMI port. The removable 6-cell battery promises to deliver five hours of life when fully charged.

The X460 will launch in October in certain European and Asian countries, with no word on a US release. No pricing information has been released.

Sony prepping VAIO TT ultraportable for Monday?

Sony is gearing up to launch a likely Centrino 2-based update to its VAIO TZ ultraportable notebooks, according to evidence from an FCC filing and a string of forum posts. Called the VAIO TT, the computer would be one of the last remaining systems to launch with Sony's design update and is known to be too powerful to represent Sony's upcoming netbook; most specifications are unavailable, but the notebook will have 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and optional 3G access over EVDO. A listing at online retailer B&H for a privacy filter which supports both the TZ and TT also pushes the system into the ultraportable class with an 11.1-inch display.

While yet to be confirmed, claims have been made that the new VAIO would be introduced on Monday, lining up roughly with wider availability of ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processors that will be necessary for the update. Exact configurations are unknown but will likely include carry-over options from the TZ, such as solid-state drives.

Firefox mobile web browser scheduled for 2010

Chicago (IL) – Mitchell Baker, chairperson of the Mozilla Foundation, recently outlined the goals for Mozilla for the next two years. This list includes a somewhat surprising but long overdue product: Firefox for mobile devices code-named Fennec.

The post divides the proposals for Mozilla’s 2010 goals into four main areas – deepen Mozilla’s role on the Internet, assume “leadership” in helping people control their data and making anonymous, aggregate “usage data” more of a public resource, increase Firefox market share and focus on mobile devices.

By 2010, Baker said, there should be an “effective [Firefox] product in the mobile market”, which should “demonstrate that ‘mobile’ is part of one, unified, open web.”

Following Baker’s post, Mozilla explained on its developer blog that it has begun working on getting its upcoming TraceMonkey engine to run on ARM processors. First results of this work have been published on Vladimir Vukicevic’s blog. Users will be able to get a first-hand look at TraceMonkey for ARM in the next alpha release of Fennec, which is the code-name of Firefox Mobile.

There was no information when Fennec will become available for download.