iTunes 8 causes Windows Vista problems

Not everyone is rocking to the new iTunes 8 released Tuesday. An informal poll on ZDNet suggests that a problem with the latest edition of the Apple media player is affecting some, but not all, users of the software on Microsoft's Windows Vista. (You can download iTunes 8 for Windows here.)

Users on an Apple forum reported seeing the so-called blue screen of death (BSOD) on their desktops running Windows Vista with iTunes 8 installed. The BSOD problem occurs shortly after connecting their iPods and iPhones.

A second, more subtle effect is that their CD/DVD drives "disappear".

ZDNet's Ed Bott offers a look at the upgrades or changes in iTunes 8.

Removing other USB devices, such as Webcams and printers, appears to resolve the problem, for the moment. Users on the forum speculate that there is an incompatibility between Apple and USB products from LogicTech and HP, as well as disc-burning software from Roxio.

Via CNET Blogs

Facebook for the deceased

Footnote is trying to create "Facebook for the deceased". It's the obituary 2.0 meets the social network, but likely without the permanence of a tombstone.

The site gathers timeline info that you can match up with a person's life. The service also scours public records you can attach to profiles, as Ancestry.com does. The presenter said Footnote now has 80 million profiles online, which are not available anywhere else. All it needs is for those peoples' friends to come online and add the remembrances--stories and photos--that aren't in the public domain.

It looks like the service is good for building memorial sites, but I question the model. For one, it's the Web: Not permanent. Although probably not a bad thing for the first few months or years of grieving and remembering that follow a loved one's death.

Secondly, ultimately, I believe this will become a feature of a social network like Facebook, or, as panel judge Jeff Weiner said, for the geneology sites this service will end up competing with.

Via Webware

Toshiba 1.8-inch hard drive hits the 240GB mark

Toshiba announced on Tuesday two new 1.8-inch hard drives, including the single-platter 120GB (MKxx31GAL series) and the world's first dual-platter 240GB (MK2431GAH) internal hard drives. The single-platter version also includes an 80GB offering.

Generally speaking, 1.8-inch hard drives are small form factor portable hard drives, where the regular size is 2.5-inch--and used mostly in portable media players, camcorders and compact ultramobile PCs.

These two new hard drives use the Parallel ATA interface and feature the industry's highest area density at 344 gigabits per square inch. They incorporate the fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording technology, which Toshiba first introduced in 2005.

The new 1.8-inch HDD series uses a new mechanical and firmware design for enhanced durability, well-suited for slim mobile gadgets as well as PC applications. The new dual-platter 240GB product is especially suitable for lightweight mobile PC devices and high-end digital video camcorders.
Read more »

Google fixes Chrome vulnerabilities--but won't say which

Google has quietly begun releasing a hastily prepared update to its Chrome browser to fix some security problems.
The new version, 0.2.149.29, replaces the 0.2.149.27 that was released when Google launched the Chrome beta version last week. Google started releasing the update Friday, initially to a small number of users, but didn't make much of an announcement about the change.

"149.29 is a security update and we released it as fast as we could," said Mark Larson, Google Chrome program manager, in a mailing list posting on Sunday. "We would've liked more time to prepare things, but some of the vulnerabilities were made public without giving us a chance to respond, update, and protect our users first. Thanks for being patient as we work out the kinks in all of our processes."

However, Google isn't revealing details yet about what security issues it's fixed.

"All users have not received the update yet, so we cannot discuss the details of the security issues that were addressed, but we plan to disclose more information once the update has reached all of our user," the company said in a statement Monday.
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Michael Moore plans Net-only film premiere

Filmmaker Michael Moore plans to premiere his latest documentary exclusively on the Internet for free, forgoing the traditional theatrical release.

Slacker Uprising , which documents Moore's 62-city tour through swing states during the 2004 US presidential election to rally young voters, will be available for download for three weeks beginning September 23. A DVD of the 97-minute film will be released on October 7 through Amazon.com and Netflix.

"This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans," Moore said in a statement Thursday. "The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November. I think Slacker Uprising will inspire million (sic) to get off the couch and give voting a chance."

Moore's camp said no consideration was ever given to a theatrical release for the film, which cost about $2 million to make, perhaps forfeiting a nice profit at the box office. His last two documentaries, Sicko and Fahrenheit 9/11 are two of the three highest grossing documentaries ever released.

The download will be available on BlipTV. See trailer below.
Read more »

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