Stefania Spagnuolo

Nicholas Negroponte, the former director of the MIT Media Lab and current leader of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, announced Thursday that that machines, which were originally targeted at $100, are now expected to sell for $175. This is ... not the first time the anticipated price has increased. Negroponte's team had previously announced that the price had risen from $100 to $140. However, this initial increase was partly offset by a slew of new features, such as an integrated digital video camera. The new price hike is not expected to be coupled with any improvements. (Source: ... (view more)

The next Apple shareholders' meeting will bring new pressure for the company to adopt more environmental purposes. And the benchmark for the new green standard is none other than the company's archrival, Dell. Trillium Asset Management is asking ... Apple shareholders to support a motion that would hold the company accountable for its environmental practices, by requiring the company to create a schedule for eliminating toxic materials from its hardware products. (Source: appleinsider.com ) "Consumers have grown to expect more from Apple, a leader in product design and innovation," said Shelley ... (view more)

Steve Jobs has not changed his mind about the way music should be sold. Last week, Jobs reinforced his view that subscriptions and iTunes do not mix. "Never say never, but customers don't seem to be interested in it," Jobs said of subscription ... services. "The subscription model has failed so far." (Source: reuters.com ) Jobs' stance on the issue is far from new. In 2003, Jobs explained to Rolling Stone how the natural evolution of music doesn't support subscription services: "People don't want to buy their music as a subscription. They bought 45s; then they bought LPs; then they bought ... (view more)

Google has removed the sponsored links that had been manipulated to divert users into installing malicious software. By clicking on the link, users would eventually go to a legitimate site, but would first be diverted to another site that attempted ... a "drive-by installation" of password stealing software. (Source: news.com ) "Google identified and canceled AdWords accounts displaying ads that re-directed users to malicious sites," a Google representative wrote on the corporate blog. (Source: news.com ) The culprits engineered the debacle by taking advantage of a unique characteristic of Google ... (view more)

Digital Rights Management (DRM) has been gaining some negative attention, especially with Apple's Steve Jobs pushing towards a DRM-free music industry. Sony seems to have magnified people's annoyance with DRM, and taken frustrations to a whole new ... level. The company recently released DVDs with DRM protection that makes the DVDs unplayable in various DVD players -- including at least one Sony DVD player. (Source: dvorak.com ) The aggravation can be attributed to Sony's ARccOS DRM technique. ARccOS works by scrambling sectors on the disc to prevent users from copying the disc. Most older ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced its plans to offer its Office software to developing countries. The cost? Only $3. The new plan contrasts the OLPC effort, which aims to equip classrooms in developing countries with an entirely new platform. Rather than ... offering any hardware, Microsoft is expected to rely on the upcoming Intel Classmate PC to run its software. Microsoft is offering Windows XP Started Edition, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Editions, and various other educational programs. (Source: dailytech.com ) Microsoft has dubbed this effort "Unlimited Potential," a title which reflects ... (view more)

Three consumer advocate organizations have filed a joint complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting that the Google/DoubleClick merger be stopped. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Center for Digital Democracy, and the ... US Public Interest Research Group submitted the complaint on April 20th. The complaint asserts that "neither Google or DoubleClick have taken adequate steps to safeguard the personal data that is collected." The 11 page document goes on to ask the FTC to halt the merger until the "unfair and deceptive trade practices" are changed. (Source: ... (view more)

Since Vista was released early this year, there has been no shortage of analyses judging the success of sales of the new operating system. But months have passed, and there still doesn't seem to be a consensus on how Vista is doing. Even Microsoft ... CEO Steve Ballmer seems to have changed his mind a few times. A few weeks ago, Ballmer said: "We think in the next three months we'll probably sell five times as many copies of Windows Vista as we ever did [Windows 95] in the equivalent period of time... We'll probably go double what we did with Windows XP." But last week, it sounded like he changed ... (view more)

No one can deny that when it comes to design, Apple is the reigning champion. But although the company has mastered almost everything from MP3 players to GUI (graphical user interface) screens, it never produced a truly amazing mouse. But this may ... soon change -- Apple has filed a patent application for an innovative new touch-sensitive mouse. (Source: theinquirer.net ) In early December of 2006, iPhone interface designer Brian Huppi filed the patent application for the next-generation Apple mouse. The mouse is capable of switching between operational modes depending on how the device is held ... (view more)

Canadians itching to get their hands on an iPhone may be in for a disappointment. Rogers Wireless, the only Canadian company with a network compatible with Apple's iPhone, is now denying that it will be selling the highly anticipated handset, ... calling reports that suggest otherwise "speculation." (Source: appleinsider.com ) In an email to CBC News Online, Rogers' manager of corporate communications Odette Coleman said "we haven't announced whether we will carry the iPhone. Everything in the media has been speculations to this point. The only fact is that we are the only GSM carrier in Canada. ... (view more)