Mac News: Communications

Record-Shattering Opening Expected for Video War Game
November 06, 2009

This holiday season's biggest entertainment blockbuster likely will be a sequel to a popular franchise, with jarring depictions of war and an intricate story of good versus evil. It could easily rake in more than last year's record $155 million opening weekend for "The Dark Knight." But this blockbuster is not a movie. It is "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," a video game.

EU Drafts New Bill of Rights for Internet Users
November 05, 2009

EU lawmakers and governments agreed on new rights for Internet users Thursday, aiming to protect them from arbitrary crackdowns on those who illegally download music and movies on the Internet. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said a deal was reached after EU governments agreed to EU parliament demands to balance measures against illegal downloaders with a broader set of rights for telecom users.

AT&T Sees Red Over Verizon's Map Slap
November 04, 2009

AT&T Wireless has filed suit against Verizon over the latter's latest ad campaign. That campaign, which claims Verizon has five times more U.S. 3G wireless network coverage than AT&T, shows two maps of the United States side by side, one with each company's coverage. The map purporting to show AT&T's 3G coverage has large areas of white space, implying a lack of overall coverage in those areas, AT&T said.

'Dragon Age' Puts a Little GTA in the RPG
November 04, 2009

The role-playing fantasy has been a staple of electronic gaming since the 1970s, when students cobbled together interactive quests on university mainframes. However, the genre has fallen out of favor in recent years, overtaken by grittier dramas like the "Grand Theft Auto" and "Call of Duty" franchises. "Dragon Age: Origins" tries to bring some of that grit to the fantasy role-playing game.

Free Flow of Internet Traffic Requires Sensible Road Rules
November 04, 2009

Free marketeers' primary argument against Net neutrality is that a government watchdog role in protecting neutrality is bound to be "political" -- and that any government agency will ultimately start a slippery slide to full-bore regulation of the Internet. This all-or-nothing approach is a false choice.

Rumored Deals Could Give New Meaning to 'Apple TV'
November 03, 2009

Apple reportedly is eyeing a new service to be launched as part of its iTunes ecosystem: a TV subscription service with a fee of $30 per month. While the site already has numerous TV series episodes and seasons for rent or purchase, this service would represent a different go-to-market strategy for Apple. The service would be similar to cable TV offers but delivered through iTunes.

'DJ Hero' Puts a Great New Spin on Music Gaming
November 03, 2009

I was never much one for "Guitar Hero." Playing "Smoke on the Water" 50 times while holding a pint-sized plastic guitar just never really got the blood flowing. I've been waiting for something better, and now it's here. Activision's new "DJ Hero" has solved my music video game plight. It's got better music, better action and is frankly just a lot less goofy feeling than "Guitar Hero."

MainGear Warms Up New Line of Personal Supercomputers
November 02, 2009

Boutique gaming PC maker MainGear on Monday announced a new line of what it describes as "personal supercomputers." The Shift, a large desktop built to user specifications, runs at up to 4 GHz and features its a liquid cooling system. Prices begin at $2,199. MainGear has designed the Shift line to exploit the natural behavior of heat, according to the company.

Did Apple Take the Slow Boat to China?
November 02, 2009

When Apple officially released its iPhone in China last week, it presented Chinese consumers with what could be a difficult decision: Pay more for the official device --which currently lacks WiFi -- or obtain a cheaper, WiFi-enabled device from the gray market.

Tech Futurist Sees Rosy Prospects for Net Security
November 02, 2009

Sometime between now and the year 2019, Comcast will start going after botnets and will stop sending malicious Web traffic to its customers. Google will send up more alarms if your search results include possibly infectious links. Microsoft and Apple will get better at plugging holes in their software.

Print Pubs, Meet Moving Pictures
October 31, 2009

Hold Esquire's December issue in front of a webcam, and an on-screen image of the magazine pops to life, letters flying off the cover. Shift and tilt the magazine, and the animation on the screen moves accordingly. Robert Downey Jr. emerges out of the on-screen page in 3-D, offering half-improvised shtick on Esquire's latest high-tech experiment for keeping print magazines relevant.

Epix Launches One-Two Punch With TV-Web Movie Channel
October 30, 2009

It's enough of a challenge to launch a new subscription movie channel in an industry segment dominated by the likes of HBO and Showtime. However, Epix, which begins life Friday, starts its adventure with a double feature of sorts: It will also offer a Web streaming version of its channel.

The Audacity of Droid
October 30, 2009

The Android mobile operating system is graduating soon to 2.0 status, and Google gave it a pretty nice present to celebrate: a free turn-by-turn navigation app called "Google Maps Navigation." It'll run on Android 2.0 phones with GPS, and it'll use the phone's cellular Internet connection to get live map information.

Lack of WiFi Puts Damper on iPhone's China Debut
October 30, 2009

Apple's iPhone is making its long-awaited formal debut in the world's most populous mobile phone market, without a key feature and at higher prices than widely available black market models. Apple's local service provider, China Unicom, hopes the iPhone will give it an edge against giant rival China Mobile, the world's biggest phone company by subscribers.

Google Breaks Into Song With New Music Search
October 29, 2009

Google's new music search service, announced Wednesday, is in tune with that company's overall goal to make every last bit of information searchable on the Web. After all, "two of our top 10 queries of all time are music-related," according to an introductory video on Google's Discover Music landing page.

Wii's Glory Days May Be Over
October 29, 2009

Nintendo's first-half profit plunged as sales of its hit Wii home console fizzled, forcing it to forecast annual earnings would fall for the first time in six years. The recent global price cut for the Wii also hurt Nintendo, which Thursday reported its profit for the April-September period was down 52 percent from a year earlier.