Microsoft launches revamped search engine

In its latest bid to catch up with rivals Google and Yahoo, Microsoft is launching a revamped internet search engine it says will help computer users find information faster, view it more easily and organise it better.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Timews (7 March) that, bebuting in test form Wednesday, Windows Live Search is Microsoft's latest move in a major strategy shift that has the world's largest software company focusing more heavily on Internet-based software and services.

The goal of the shift, which includes initiatives dubbed Windows Live and Office Live, is to create online products to complement its main cash cows: the Windows operating system and Office business software, says AP.

Windows Live Search will power queries on live.com, Microsoft's Windows Live Web site, beginning now. Once the technology has been fully tested, Windows Live Search will replace the existing search engine that powers MSN.com. MSN spokesman Adam Sohn said the company has not determined how long it will run Windows Live Search as a test.

AP reports that a key goal with the new search engine will be to give people more control over how they search for information and how they put it to use once they get it, said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of information services at MSN, the division that's working on Windows Live.

The new search engine includes features such as support for tabbed web browsing, which lets people keep several search panes open in a single window. Microsoft said other features will include:

--A search slider bar that offers previews of data in various forms, perhaps just the internet address of a web site, or maybe a snippet of text. As the slider is adjusted, more or less information appears.

--A ''smart scroll'' function that displays all search results at once rather than on separate pages.

--Various ways to view pictures, say, as small ''thumbnail'' shots or full-sized images, without leaving the search page.

--An ability for users to save their search parameters as macros that can be run to perform the same search in the future. Microsoft said people will also be able to publish their search macros so people with similar interests can use them.

AP reports that in the US search market, Google ended January with a 48.2 percent share and Yahoo ranked second with a 22.2 percent share, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. MSN ranked third with 11 percent of the market -- down slightly from a year earlier.

In another release slated for this week, Microsoft said it was rolling out a new Windows Live toolbar that incorporates technology from Onfolio, an internet research and information management company it recently acquired.

{mospagebreaktitle=Tech execs cautiously optimistic on sales}Tech execs cautiously optimistic on sales

High-tech executives who have gathered for this week's CeBIT technology show were feeling cautiously optimistic that companies will spend more this year on computers and communications equipment.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (7 March) that more than 6,200 exhibitors were putting the last touches on booths and displays for the show, eager to offer hardware, software and services to customers ranging from big mobile phone operators to information technology buyers for small companies.

''I would say that, at the moment, we are seeing more buoyancy in the market,'' said Jeremy Roche, chairman of the European Software Association.

AP reports that the feeling is expected to be a subtle undercurrent at CeBIT, conceived as a place for businesses to see the latest developments in technology -- despite a focus in recent years on consumer-oriented products such as flashy laptops, new MP3 players and digital cameras.

Bernhard Rohleder, the executive director of Germany's Bitkom tech trade association, said surveys of its members show that companies are more upbeat about the industry through 2007.

He said Germany's IT industry would likely see growth of 2.6 percent this year to euro137.3 billion, or nearly US$165 billion, up from last year's rate of 2.4 percent, reports AP.

{mospagebreaktitle=Intel announces new design for chips}Intel announces new design for chips

Intel went on the offensive on Tuesday, showing off a new design for powerful, energy-efficient processors that it hopes will help it gain back the market share it has lost to its rival, Advanced Micro Devices.

The New York Times reports (8 March) that Intel, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, demonstrated its latest chip technology just days after it disclosed it would miss its first-quarter financial targets because of a slowdown in demand and a slight loss in market share.

On Friday, Intel said first-quarter revenue would be in the range of US$8.7 billion to US$9.1 billion, compared with its previous forecast of US$9.1 billion to US$9.7 billion.

The newspaper reports that Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer, said that chips based on the new design, referred to as the Intel Core Microarchitecture, would begin shipping in the second half of this year.

The company said the new chip for server computers, called Woodcrest, would offer an 80 percent performance improvement and require 35 percent less power; the Conroe chip for desktop computers, which will be released later this year, will offer 40 percent performance improvement and require 40 percent less power. The foundation for the chips is derived from the company's popular Pentium M chip for notebook computers, the company said.

{mospagebreaktitle=Intel to have Wi-Max cards this year}Intel to have Wi-Max cards this year

Intel has said this week it has moved up to this year its expected roll-out of cards that will let computers access the internet using Wi-Max, a new long-range, high-speed wireless technology.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (7 March) that Wi-Max is seen by many in the field as a successor to Wi-Fi, which provides fast wireless internet connections in homes and businesses but has a limited range of a few dozen yards.

Wi-Max has a much longer range, varying from a couple of miles in an urban area to 10 miles or more in open country.

According to Reuters, Intel, which had previously said it expected to have Wi-Max products in 2007, now plans to have Wi-Max cards for laptops in the second half of this year,a company spokesman said.

{mospagebreaktitle=Toshiba unveils laptop with high def DVD and TV}Toshiba unveils laptop with high def DVD and TV

Japanese technology firm Toshiba has just unveiled the first high definition laptop computer with a HD DVD optical drive for the new generation of DVD disks and a high resolution display.

Reuters reports in The new York Times (7 March) that the portable computer, introduced at the CeBIT electronics trade fair, is the latest model under Toshiba's Qosmio range of high-end audio-video computers.

The computer will retail for a price between 2,500 and 3,500 euros and will be available in all countries within a few weeks, said Oscar Koenders, European computer marketing manager at Toshiba.

According to Reuters, the computer is another weapon in the emerging multi-billion dollar battle for the next DVD standard.

The fight is between Blu-ray, backed by many electronics giants like Sony, Samsung, Philips and Matsushita's Panasonic, and HD DVD championed by Toshiba and NEC., says Reuters.

Both formats offer more storage capacity than the current DVD format. This is needed to store high definition movies whose 4 to 5 times better picture detail means they contain 4 to 5 times more digital bits of information.

Reuters reports that Blu-ray claims it offers higher capacity, up to 50 Gigabytes for a dual layer disk which is not yet on offer, while HD DVD claims it offers a cheaper system which is compatible with the current DVD standard which was set in 1995.

{mospagebreaktitle=Forecast on web in error: Google}Forecast on web in error: Google

Google has advised investors to disregard an internal financial forecast that was mistakenly posted on its Web site '” a mixup that included a reference to management's concerns about profits narrowing amid tougher competition.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (8 March) that the material, including a projection that Google's revenue would rise about 55 percent this year, to US$9.5 billion, surfaced on the internet briefly last week when the company welcomed stock market analysts for a management presentation at its headquarters, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Besides forecasting its revenue, Google indicated that its robust profit margins might weaken this year as more of its rivals try to lure its advertising partners. The inadvertently leaked material did not include any specific earnings forecasts.

The AP report says that, in its SEC filing, Google said, "These notes were not created for financial planning purposes, and should not be regarded as financial guidance."

AP says that even if the material did not reflect Google's official predictions, the leaked information could renew investor concerns about the company's ability to live up to the lofty earnings expectations.

{mospagebreaktitle=Company to bring WiFi service to Toronto}Company to bring WiFi service to Toronto

In Canada, the Toronto Hydro Telecom has announced plans to blanket downtown Toronto with wireless WiFi coverage, allowing laptops to log onto the internet anywhere within the zone, from park benches to cars and cafeterias.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (7 March) that the project will establish Canada's largest zone of wireless fidelity - or WiFi -- the company said.

Toronto Hydro Telecom, a subsidiary of Toronto Hydro, said it would install radio access points on streetlight poles throughout a 3.75 square mile area in the downtown core.

AP reports that the ''hot spot'' will be set up in stages, with the first phase bringing WiFi to the financial district of downtown. The entire project should be complete by the end of the year.

For the first six months, Toronto Hydro will offer customers free access to the zone. After that, it will begin to charge.

AP reports that private telephone companies are outraged by the plans, questioning why a public utility needs to compete with the private sector in a well-served market.

{mospagebreaktitle=Lawsuit contests payout to former HP chief}Lawsuit contests payout to former HP chief

Two large shareholders sued Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday, contending that a US$21.4 million severance package for Carleton S. Fiorina, its former chief executive, violated the company's policy on executive compensation.

The New York Times reports (8 March) that the lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco by the pension funds of the Indiana Electrical Workers union and the Service Employees International Union, is the latest example of shareholders trying to limit executive compensation.

The suit says Ms. Fiorina's severance pay exceeded a limit shareholders approved in 2003 that restricted such compensation to 2.99 times an executive's base pay plus bonus. The lawsuit seeks to recover the money paid to Ms. Fiorina, who was forced to resign in February 2005.

The newspaper reports that a Hewlett-Packard spokesman said the company "believes the suit is without merit" and declined to comment further. A spokesman for Ms. Fiorina said she had not seen the suit and would not comment.

The lawsuit notes that Ms. Fiorina's severance package of US$21.4 million was 3.75 times her US$5.6 million salary and bonus. The suit contends that her severance package could be worth as much as US$42 million when the potential value of her stock and options and her pension are factored in. Under the company policy, any award that exceeds the limit must be approved by shareholders.

{mospagebreaktitle=Cognos, IBM to develop services-based software}Cognos, IBM to develop services-based software

Cognos, Canada's biggest software company, and IBM have said they will work together to develop, market and sell new services-oriented software.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (7 March) that the two companies, which have an existing alliance, would not give a figure for the agreement, but each would invest ''equal resources,'' Rupert Bonham-Carter, senior director of the IBM alliance for Cognos, told Reuters.

As part of the agreement, IBM, the world's largest maker of business computers, will increase its Cognos consultant capabilities, and Cognos will enhance and optimise its business intelligence products for IBM hardware, software and services.

Reuters says it also pushes Cognos on to IBM's list of priority partners, giving the Ottawa-based company access to IBM's customers.

{mospagebreaktitle=TiVo expands TV recording to cell phones}TiVo expands TV recording to cell phones

In the US., TiVo subscribers will soon be able to program television recordings straight from cell phones using the Verizon Wireless network.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (7 March) that an agreement with Verizon Wireless expands on TiVo's strategy to bring the digital video recording pioneer's capabilities beyond its set-top-boxes and the television, and directly to cell phones for the first time.

Dubbed TiVo Mobile, it's also the latest feature the company is introducing to help differentiate itself from the growing number of rival DVR offerings from cable and satellite TV operators, according to the AP report.

A DVR records TV programming onto hard disks and gives viewers the ability to pause live TV and fast-forward through commercials.

AP reports that TiVo said Verizon would be the first cellular carrier to offer the remote TiVo scheduling feature on its handsets.