Rogers Releases A Plie Of News

I haven’t heard from my “best friends at Rogers” lately. So when not one but two e-mails hit my inbox, I said “oh yeah, I remember these guys.” Here’s their first piece of news:

The highly anticipated BlackBerry Torch is now available from Rogers. Just wanted to give you a heads up that it has officially launched and is available today for $199.99 on a three year term.

We’ve just posted the following on RedBoard with some details:

Perhaps I should have waited to get that instead of the 9700 that I have now. Oh well. Here’s the the second e-mail that I got:

I have some news to share on Rogers/Fido iPhone 4 promotions that I thought your readers might be interested in.

When Rogers/Fido launched the iPhone 4 on July 30, we announced special offers for our new and existing customers. Since then, we have activated a significant number of devices with 80 per cent having gone to our existing customers.

These special offers were scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, but we have some good news to share.

First, we are extending the 6GB/$30 promotion until Oct. 5. Second, we are extending one component of our early Hardware Upgrade offer through the end of the year. Any customer who activated or upgraded an earlier version of the iPhone with Rogers/Fido on a term contract on or before December 31, 2008 will be continue to be eligible for at least $480 off the no-term device price when they upgrade to an iPhone 4. They can pick up an iPhone 4 16GB/32GB for $159/$269 on a new 3-year voice and data plan.

While other components of our special iPhone 4 early HUP offer expire today, Rogers and Fido customers can continue to take advantage of our standard hardware upgrade savings. Fido customers can also add their Fido dollars to their Hardware Upgrade for additional savings.

We’ve just updated our iPhone 4 post on RedBoard with this information.

If you’re in the market for an iPhone, you might want want check this out.

Nvidia Settles Chip Lawsuit

Frequent readers of this blog will recall that Nvidia had some “problematic” GPU chipsets which lead to a lawsuit or two. Today Nvidia settled some of that litigation according to News.com:

In response to the settlement dated August 12, 2010, Nvidia issued this statement today. “We can confirm that Nvidia has settled litigation concerning a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of our previous generation MCP (media and communication processor) and GPU products used in notebook configurations. Notice of this settlement has been sent to potentially affected eligible customers. Claims are being processed through a third party administrator who is working directly with our customers. Consumers who believe they are affected and wish to file a claim should read the notice and follow the instructions that it sets out. As previously announced, our second-quarter financial results reflected costs associated with this settlement.”

Okay. But here’s where things get interesting:

However, starting on page 24 of the settlement, Nvidia also stated that it “has denied, and continues to deny, all allegations of wrongdoing or liability” related to the claims. And it goes on to say that it is settling “solely because it will eliminate the burden, expense, management distraction and uncertainties of further litigation and the concomitant distraction of resources and efforts from their business.”

So this could be one of those “pay to make our legal problems go away” deals or it could be a “pay to cover up our shortcomings” deals. Either way, if you’ve got one of 50 models of Dell, HP or Apple computers, some cash could be coming your way. 

You can read the PDF with the full details here.

HP Hires New CEO… Hope He Fills Out Expense Reports Better Than The Last One…

HP has a new CEO. Léo Apotheker formerly of SAP has been named CEO of HP:

“Léo is a strategic thinker with a passion for technology, wide-reaching global experience and proven operational discipline – exactly what we were looking for in a CEO,” said Robert Ryan, lead independent director of the Board. “After more than two decades in the industry, he has a strong track record of driving technological innovation, building customer relationships and developing world-class teams.”

Ryan continued, “Léo has been a leader in anticipating the transformation taking place in our industry, and we believe he is uniquely positioned to help accelerate HP’s strategy. He has demonstrated success in the U.S. market and also has vast international experience – which will be a major asset as HP continues to expand globally, particularly in high-growth emerging markets. HP has the right assets and market positions, and now we have the best team to realize the company’s enormous potential.”

He replaces Mark Hurd who left HP due to some “questionable” expense reports. The fact that he’s on board indicates to me that HP might be taking a more enterprise centric approach. But I guess we’ll see on that front. HP has also simultaneously named Ray Lane as the Chairman of its Board of Directors for what it’s worth.

My advice to Apotheker? Fill out your expense reports carefully.

RIM CEO Says They Can’t Meet Government Demands

Remember the UAE, India and a few other governments wanted access to Blackberry messages a while back? There were indications that RIM was about to fold up like a cheap suit, but that changed today. Here’s what Jim Balsillie said about handing over encryption keys to governments:

“They’re not ours to give,” Balsillie said. “That’s a decision for the company that is operating within that jurisdiction.”

Balsillie warned, however, that demanding access to encryption keys would be a “blunt instrument” and could spook companies that want tight security around their communications.

“Will companies just leave and say this is not commercial practice that’s acceptable?” he said. “Strong encryption for corporate data is the norm in all business.”

Charming. I wonder where that leaves RIM with all of the governments who want access to Blackberry messages?

Thoughts?

RIM Announces Playbook Tablet…. And More

RIM has decided that they need a tablet of their own. So, they announced the Playbook tablet. Here’s the specs:

• 7” LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
• Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
• Ultra thin and portable:
  • Measures 5.1”x7.6”x0.4” (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
  • Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
• Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.
• RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

For those of you who were playing attention, this tablet has Flash. Take that “Steve-O.” Oh “Steve-O” should also notice the HD screen along with HDMI output and Micro USB jack. I guess RIM doesn’t see the need to rape rip off their users every time they need to buy a cable like Apple does. Another thing to note: This tablet will hook up to a BES server. So that instantly gives it street cred in the boardrooms of the world. The tablet will utilize an OS created by the recently acquired QNX called the BlackBerry Tablet OS. It gives RIM full OpenGL and POSIX support alongside web standards such as HTML5.

My take. Apple better pay attention because this is more than a decent first step. This is as close to a game changer as RIM can get without actually changing the game. I say that because it’s not out until next year. That gives Apple time to respond. Let’s see what they respond with.

In the meantime, enjoy the video:

Facebook Gives Details Of Outage

For those Facebook users who wondered WTF happened to cause the popular social networking site to go down, the details have been posted:

The key flaw that caused this outage to be so severe was an unfortunate handling of an error condition. An automated system for verifying configuration values ended up causing much more damage than it fixed.

At least there’s an upside to this. You can bet that productivity was high during the outage, and bored Facebook users likely did the mattress mambo which will no doubt will lead to a Facebook baby boom. Check back on June 25, 2011 to see if the latter pans out.

Facebook Is Down….. World + Dog Freak

For millions of Facebook users, the site was inaccessible. This appears to be the second outage in 48 hours:

The problem started early Thursday afternoon and was resolved by about 5:30 p.m. ET.

The spokeswoman said the issue was not related to the one from Wednesday, when problems with a third-party network provider shut the site down, or slowed it badly, for several hours. She didn’t elaborate on the nature of Thursday’s outage.

The good news is that productivity in the universe likely went up as the outage forced users of the popular social networking site to actually get lives.

Netflix Launches In Canada… But Shoots Itself In The Foot In The Process

Back in July, I mentioned that Netflix was coming to Canada. Today, it finally arrived:

“With our launch today in Canada, Netflix is focused on adding meaningfully to the entertainment choices available to Canadian consumers,” said the company’s co-founder and CEO, Reed Hastings, who was in Toronto for the inauguration of the service.  ”Convenience, selection and value are at the heart of the Netflix service, and it is our hope that this resonates with Canadians.”

Here’s what they’re offering Canadians. You’ll get unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows for $7.99 a month. Here’s what Netflix supports:

A number of consumer electronics devices available in Canada are capable of streaming instantly from Netflix right to TVs.  Nintendo’s Wii home console and Sony’s PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system can stream from Netflix now, and later this fall Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is set to join the Netflix streaming ranks here.  The installed base of the three leading consoles in Canada is approximately six million units.

In addition, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch can now stream from Netflix in Canada, as can Blu-ray disc players from Samsung and Toshiba.  Movies and TV shows streamed from Netflix can also be watched instantly on PCs and Macs.  Over time, more devices capable of streaming from Netflix are expected to be added in Canada, including Blu-ray disc players from VIZIO and Insignia (the latter available exclusively at Best Buy and Futureshop), Internet TVs from Samsung and the recently retuned Apple TV when it is introduced here.

Sounds good. Right? Well, not everything went well for Netflix today as The Globe And Mail reports:

Video-streaming website Netflix Inc. closed down a Toronto street Wednesday and attracted dozens of onlookers for a splashy launch to promote its highly anticipated foray into Canada.

Problem is, many of those in the crowd were actors who were paid to be there. Many of the “extras” on hand were interviewed by journalists, who didn’t realize they weren’t real consumers interested in the product.

As a news conference was kicking off to announce Netflix’s service — which uses the Internet to stream unlimited access to thousands of movies and TV shows for $7.99 a month — extras were asked to spill into the street and encouraged to “play types, for example, mothers, film buffs, tech geeks, couch potatoes etc.”

“Extras are to behave as members of the public, out and about enjoying their day-to-day life, who happen upon a street event for Netflix and stop by to check it out,” reads an information sheet handed out to extras.

“Extras are to look really excited, particularly if asked by media to do any interviews about the prospect of Netflix in Canada.”

After word of the ruse spread on Twitter, Netflix apologized and said the extras should not have been talking to reporters.

Well, that qualifies as a fail. It’s also a great way to kill any buzz that you might generate. Still, their value proposition is bound to make everyone from video stores to cable companies nervous. Speaking of the the latter, in a few days I’ll be writing about one way a major cable company is going to fight back. Stay tuned.

Parallels Desktop 6… After All The Pain, It’s A Worthy Upgrade

Despite my problems with getting Parallels Desktop 6, I’ve played with it for a few days and I’ve got some opinions. Parallels claims that there are “over 80 new features” in this version. I’ll take their word for it. I think the ones that people will care about are these ones:

• An all-new 64-bit engine
• 5.1 Surround Sound support
• Improved network, hard drive and Transporter performance
• Windows program Spotlight integration
• Faster Windows launch time
• Enhanced 3D graphics that are 40% better than previous versions

Let’s face it. When it comes to the top item on that list, Parallels is a bit late to the party when it comes to 64-bit support. VMWare did that almost a year ago. Having said that I can say that Windows virtual machines start up faster. Things inside my virtual machines seemed significantly snappier as well. So I guess that the 64-bit support does make a difference. Something that I did notice is that you can now print straight from the virtual machine without having to set up a printer first, just like in Microsoft RDP. That’s another welcome feature.

Something that is worth mentioning is that if you have a shiny iDevice such as an iPad, an iPhone, or iPod Touch, Parallels has a free Mobile App that allows you to to take control of your Parallels Desktop for Mac virtual machines using the iDevice of your choice. You can remotely start, stop, and reset virtual machines from afar. Since I don’t have a shiny iDevice, I couldn’t try this. But it sounds interesting.

All my usual tests like trying out games to using my MobiKEY produced no surprises. That’s a good thing.

So what’s the bottom line? If you’ve got Parallels Desktop 5, it’s worth upgrading. If you are looking for a product to run Windows on your Mac, check out the free trial of Parallels Desktop 6. I think you’ll find that it’s worth purchasing.

HP And Oracle Play Nice… Oh Yeah, Hurd Is Lighter In The Wallet

I pretty much called it in my last post about HP and Oracle. The two companies have decided that they should put aside their differences that are centered on Mark Hurd and let bygones be bygones. Or something like that based on this press release from HP:

HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) today reaffirmed their long-term strategic partnership and the resolution of litigation regarding Mark V. Hurd’s employment at Oracle. While the terms of the settlement are confidential, Mr. Hurd will adhere to his obligations to protect HP’s confidential information while fulfilling his responsibilities at Oracle. The agreement also reaffirms HP and Oracle’s commitment to delivering the best products and solutions to their more than 140,000 shared customers.

Okay. I think that the above statement translates to: “We both have customers who are upset at our public spat and we need to make this go away.” But I guess that’s the cynical view.

As for Hurd, he doesn’t escape untouched. According to All Things Digital, Hurd has to hand over some of his “golden parachute”:

Mr. Hurd has agreed to waive his rights to the 330,177 performance-based restricted stock units granted to Mr. Hurd in January 17, 2008 referenced in paragraph 2.d. of the Separation Agreement and to the 15,853 time-based restricted stock units granted to Mr. Hurd on December 11, 2009 referenced in paragraph 2.e. of the Separation Agreement, which collectively represent the only remaining compensation that Mr. Hurd was entitled to receive under the terms of the Separation Agreement. The terms of the Separation Agreement have not otherwise been modified.

In dollar and cents terms, Hurd gave up about something in the area of over $30 million dollars worth of stock options. Ouch.