Better JPEG standard due in 2009
Underexposed — JPEG XR , an image format created by Microsoft that promises a number of advantages over JPEG, has cleared a key standardization hurdle. The Joint Photographic Experts Group, which standardized the original and still ubiquitous JPEG format, sent JPEG XR to the "final phases of standardization" after a vote at a January meeting, the group said Thursday. That means the standard's future is more certain. "The committee expects the JPEG XR International Standard to be published later this year," the group said. JPEG XR offers a few advantages over JPEG, according to Microsoft. For one thing, as the XR "extended range" ...

Sensor quality: SLRs erode medium-format lead
Underexposed — It looks like Canon and Nikon weren't blowing smoke when they said their high-end SLRs cameras will compete with medium-format digital cameras used almost exclusively by professionals. Given the image quality advantages that SLRs with larger "full-frame" sensors have over mainstream and much less expensive models with smaller processors, one might have expected another quantum leap from costly high-end medium-format digital cameras with sensors twice the area of top-end SLRs. Not so, according to new DxOMark Sensor ...

Corbis to phase out SnapVillage microstock site
Underexposed — Apparently it wasn't as easy to launch a microstock site for lower-cost photography sales as Corbis thought it would be. Corbis, one of the established powers in licensing stock photography, launched SnapVillage in 2007 , arguing that the microstock market was still young. But on Thursday, Corbis announced it will phase out SnapVillage by the end of the year. Contributing photographers and illustrators, along with customers and existing imagery, will be moved to a new microstock part of Corbis' existing Veer property called Veer Marketplace. Veer offers both royalty-free and rights-managed imagery, and Corbis acquired the ...

Green news harvest: New Jersey utility to go solar
Green Tech — A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary. PSE&G; Proposes $773 Million Solar Energy Program - Press Release There's a trend forming with utilities investing directly in solar power installations, with New Jersey the latest to jump. Hat tip Earth2Tech....

GOP tries to rebuild brand with technology
CNET News - Politics and Law — RNC Chairman Michael Steele said at Friday's RNC Tech Summit that the GOP needs to make better use of technology.(Credit: Stephanie Condon/ CNET Networks) WASHINGTON--The GOP doesn't have a technology problem, Republicans insisted Friday--it has an image problem. Since Barack Obama deftly used ...

Red Hat board member trades one mission for another
The Open Road — Steve Albrecht, a longstanding Red Hat board member, has resigned from Red Hat's board effective June 30, 2009 . The reason? Albrecht, originally tapped six years ago by Red Hat chairman Matthew Szulik, will serve as a mission president in Japan for the Mormon Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), starting in early July. It's a new mission for Albrecht, but will require many of the same attributes that made him a successful board member for Red Hat. My father also serves as a mission president in the LDS Church (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and I've seen first-hand the sort of work that LDS mission presidents do. ...

Transparency, not apologies, is what Facebook needs
The Open Road — In the face of mounting criticism over its change to its terms of service, Faceook has reverted to its original terms of service and CEO Mark Zuckerberg issued an apology . It's a nice about-face, but it also misses the point. The point, as Techdirt intimates , is transparency. ...[I]t's hard to think that nobody at Facebook anticipated it and took some proactive steps to address the changes and attempt to allay concerns and preclude the overreaction. Instead, Zuckerberg responds only after the fuss has been kicked up, and his explanation comes off as damage control, regardless of the motivations behind it or the TOS ...

As if Mark Hurd doesn't have enough on his plate
Coop's Corner — "Today, HP announced first quarter results amid one of most difficult economic downturns that any of us has ever faced. I am proud to say that we continue to execute well in this very challenging environment." So began Mark Hurd's recent letter to Hewlett-Packard's employees. Hurd, who has earned a justifiable reputation for straight talk, did not mince words. Like every other tech company these days, he explained, HP is feeling the impact of slowing global demand for IT products. In black and white, here's what happened in HP's first fiscal quarter ...

Facebook as an enterprise cloud platform?
Coop's Corner — On the surface, it sounds like an odd couple: Facebook, one of the most recognizable successes in the Web 2.0 firmament, and Zuora, a start-up with a suite of subscription commerce products based on the software as a service model. But Zuora is betting on a computing trend: that as more applications move to the cloud in coming years, the the natural corollary is that developers will follow the money and necessarily move in the same direction. Even on Facebook. "There are 140 new applications a day on Facebook because it's so easy and so viral a platform," Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo said. "But is anyone making money on Facebook?" Probably not ...

Q&A: Canon helps usher in the video SLR era
Underexposed — The camera industry and photographers, having just gotten accustomed to the arrival of video in point-and-shoot cameras, just now are beginning to grapple with its arrival in the more serious SLR realm. Chuck Westfall, technical adviser for Canon's professional products marketing division and a 26-year veteran at the Japanese company, is in the thick of it. Nikon was the first to market with a single-lens reflex camera equipped with video, the D90, but Canon offers video in two SLRs: the high-end EOS 5D Mark II, with a large sensor the size of a full frame of 35mm film, and the Rebel T1i, a more affordable, ...

Green news harvest: Big Oil's lip service on clean energy
Green Tech — A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary. Oil Companies Reluctant to Follow Obama's Green Lead - The New York Times Despite the advertising, oil and gas companies see renewable energy as a side business that will take decades to displace fossil fuels in a significant way. Energy Secretary Chu: 'Agnostic' on Pickens Plan - The Wall Street Journal...

Mitsubishi LCDs get sixteen speakers apice
Crave: The gadget blog — Sixteen speakers come standard on the Mitsubishi LT-249 series. Go ahead, count 'em.(Credit: Mitsubishi) Not to be outdone by LCD TV makers touting LED backlights, 240Hz refresh rates and stratospheric prices, Mitsubishi brings its own twist to the game of HDTV step-up-oneupsmanship with its Unisen ...

Report: Carriers 'pass' on forthcoming Dell handset
Crave: The gadget blog — Whenever Dell does unveil its much-hinted-about new handset, it will apparently be taking a non-traditional route to the market, according to an analyst report on Monday. Dell has decided to sell its new product through retailers only, said Ashok Kumar of Collins Stewart. While that's certainly interesting, and in line with Dell's recent record of testing new ways of approaching the market with its products, the reason Kumar gives is far more tantalizing: He claims that U.S. and European carriers were none too impressed with Dell's effort when the company tried to sign up some wireless partners during meeting at Mobile World ...

Shazam iPhone app gets a premium Encore
iPhone Atlas — The popular music discovery app Shazam is about to receive an Encore on the iPhone and iPod Touch . Shazam Encore for iPhone is a premium application, first introduced to Windows Mobile users last month at CTIA Wireless. Starting Monday, Shazam Encore will also be available for iPhone. Shazam retrieves music information about a recorded song when you point the app to the music's source. The app returns details, links for buying a song, and social networking features that let you share the songs you ask Shazam to tag on Facebook and Twitter. The premium Encore app--which will sell for about 5 dollars, four ...

Microsoft delivers new Zune HD games; Twitter and Facebook still to come
All about Microsoft — November 11th, 2009 Microsoft delivers new Zune HD games; Twitter and Facebook still to come Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:54 am Categories: Apple , Corporate strategy , Gaming , Windows Live , Windows Mobile , Xbox , Xbox Live , Zune Tags: Facebook , Twitter Inc. , Microsoft Zune , Microsoft Corp. , Games , Personal Technology , Mary Jo Foley On the heels of providing a new firmware update to the Zune HD that provided support for forthcoming games , Microsoft is rolling out those games starting on November 11. The ...

Is Mozilla's contributions program working?
ZDNet News - News Page One — By Josh Lowenstein CNET News Posted on ZDNet News : Nov 11, 2009 7:13:55 AM It's been just under four months since Mozilla launched its pilot program for contributions, a way for users to donate to add-on developers for their time and effort. The program was launched in tandem with a redesign of Mozilla's add-ons site that gave developers their own profile pages. Many add-on makers were already running donation programs through their own sites, but wanted the option to show up in Mozilla's catalog too. Already it appears to be working, but on a smaller scale than some developers might have hoped. For the half dozen developers that ...

E-commerce spending off to good start; Will it last?
Between the Lines — November 30th, 2009 E-commerce spending off to good start; Will it last? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:15 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , Economy , General Tags: Online Retail , Hitwise , ComScore Networks Inc. , E-business , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Productivity , Sales , Larry Dignan Online holiday spending got off to a good start with Black Friday sales up 11 percent from a year ago, according to comScore. The big question: Will these gains stick? The question looms large on Cyber Monday, the day the U.S. comes back from ...

Podcast: Windows 7 early returns
Between the Lines — December 2nd, 2009 Podcast: Windows 7 early returns Posted by Larry Dignan @ 5:00 am Categories: Microsoft , Podcasts , Windows 7 Tags: Podcast , Big Question , Microsoft Windows 7 , Microsoft Windows , Operating Systems , Software , Larry Dignan In this episode of The Big Question, Jason and I ponder the meaning of early reviews of Windows 7. Do early adopters provide much of an indicator? The Big Question is a joint production from ZDNet and TechRepublic that I co-host with ZDNet Editor in Chief Larry Dignan. [image] You can play this 12-minute ...

California gives green light for space-based solar
Green Tech — California regulators on Thursday approved an ambitious project to beam solar energy from space starting in 2016. Under a power purchase agreement approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, utility Pacific Gas & Electric will purchase electricity from technology provider Solaren if it successfully deploys its space-based solar collectors. PG has contracted to buy 1,700 gigwatt hours per year for 15 years from Solar for its space-based solar arrays, which will have a generating capacity of 200 megawatts. That's smaller than a full scale nuclear or natural gas plant but enough to supply thousands of homes. ...

Yahoo launches ad privacy tool; Here's what it has on you
Between the Lines — December 7th, 2009 Yahoo launches ad privacy tool; Here's what it has on you Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:53 am Categories: General , Web Analytics , Web Technology , Yahoo Tags: Advertisement , Yahoo! Inc. , Tool , Yahoo Launch , Advertising & Promotion , Marketing , Larry Dignan Yahoo released a beta of a tool, Ad Interest Manager, designed to be a transparent user dashboard for privacy. It works. Yahoo has everything from your surfing habits to your operating system to your screen resolution. The tool gives users a one-stop shop to opt out of ...

Hands-on with the JooJoo
Webware.com — [image] Chandra Rathakrishnan and his baby, the JooJoo. (Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)