Microsoft, Intel tout faster IE9 graphics

Recent Microsoft and Intel primers on Internet Explorer 9's accelerated graphics point to snappier Web browsing.

In a blog posted on Friday, Microsoft spelled out what it says are the merits of "full vs. partial acceleration," while Intel, in a new video, is claiming IE9 acceleration on its Core i series of chips, which will include new Sandy Bridge processors.

Graphics chip-based acceleration (Microsoft calls it "hardware acceleration") shifts some tasks from the main processor (CPU) to the graphics processor (GPU). Mainstream GPUs pack in dozens or even hundreds of processing cores. While each GPU core delivers a tiny fraction of the processing power of a CPU core, combined, they can tackle certain tasks much more quickly and efficiently than a CPU. Intel, for its part, has improved the built-in graphics on its Core i series of processors and will integrate its fastest graphics function yet onto the CPU in its upcoming Sandy Bridge processor.

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Google TV Goes Worldwide In 2011

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that his company's forthcoming Google TV service will be made available to customers around the globe in 2011. Sony is expected to deliver the first Google TV devices -- a standalone TV model and set-top box with an integrated Blu-ray Disc drive.

Google has said it plans to deliver Android Market support and the Google TV SDK for Android in early 2011. That means Google TV devices next year will be able to utilize apps created by independent developers. Samsung may begin making Google TV devices, too, Bloomberg reports. Samsung hasn't managed to create a developer land rush to rival Apple's or Google's respective mobile platforms.

Apple last week introduced an updated $99 version of its Apple TV device, which allows users to rent movies and TV shows through iTunes and to stream content from Netflix, Flickr, YouTube, and other online services.

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Is Apple's Ping a Haven for Spammers?

It seems Apple is getting into the social networking business, God help them. Among the other life changing products rolled out at this week's semi-annual Apple fanboyfest was "Ping," a service that lets you see what music the other 160 million people using iTunes like and recommend.

Turns out that Ping is a spammer-scammer's heaven. By all reports, Ping users are getting dinged with the same kinds of URL-baiting comment spam we've grown so fond of elsewhere on the blogosphere. Apple is filtering Ping for other offensive material (such as nude profile photos), but it forgot about spam. Or maybe Apple believes its users truly are the Chosen People and that, like malware, spam simply doesn't touch them. It's probably just those Windows iTunes Untouchables that are having the problems. Unfortunately, there appears to be no easy fix for the comment spam.

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Why WebOS 2.0 Should Have Rivals Worried

An early release of WebOS 2.0 for developers demonstrates that the mobile OS still has some life in it, and indicates that new WebOS devices are on the horizon. Rival platforms should be prepared for another strong player in the smartphone and tablet arenas, and avoid counting WebOS out too quickly.

Suffice it to say there are some unique features that bring some pizazz to WebOS 2.0, but none of the details for the new WebOS suggest that there is anything groundbreaking about it as a mobile OS. So, should Apple, Google, RIM, or Microsoft even pay attention to WebOS? Rivals don't need to be concerned about WebOS in and of itself, but the combination of WebOS with the marketing and distribution power of HP is another story.

Some have argued (and many still do) that WebOS is a technically superior mobile operating system than Apple's iOS, Google's Android, or any other smartphone OS on the market. Whether or not that is true, Palm was unsuccessful at taking any significant chunk of the smartphone market and was eventually bought by HP.

Now, WebOS has a second chance--and this time it has the marketing credibility and established sales and distribution channels of HP on its side. An excellent technology with poor marketing is doomed. A poor technology with excellent marketing can succeed. An innovative technology with superior marketing is virtually guaranteed.

WebOS 2.0 is expected to be available by the end of this year. There are nohardware specs for new WebOS smartphones, tablets, or other devices yet, but, its coming soon and competing platforms have reason to be concerned.

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AMD Says Goodbye to the ATI Brand

Advanced Micro Devices said it will remove the ATI name from its products by the end of the year, killing a brand name synonymous with graphics enthusiasts for 25 years. AMD offers a range of graphics products under the ATI brand, including the Radeon, FirePro and Eyefinity offerings. The chip designer will instead attach the name AMD to those products by the end of the year.

ATI was originally established in 1985 as a graphics company and was acquired by AMD in 2007 for US$5.4 billion. AMD had trouble incorporating ATI into operations, taking billions of dollars in charges that affected the company's profitability.

The change could also help give AMD more exposure. For example, Apple uses the ATI graphics in the iMac, with the ATI logo prominently displayed on Apple's website. The logo would instead reflect AMD, which could help expand the company's visibility.

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Facebook to kill IE6 support for Chat on IE9 beta day

Facebook has announced that it will soon end Internet Explorer 6 support for Facebook Chat. The kill date is September 15—the same day Microsoft plans to release the first IE9 beta. Today's announcement comes just a week after Microsoft launched a beta version of Windows Live Messenger that integrates with Facebook Chat.

Facebook explains its decision by saying that many users have complained about unstable chat sessions, or ones that stop completely. In order to improve the way connections are established and messages are sent, however, the social networking giant must make changes that aren't supported by older browsers.

Microsoft plans to support IE6 along with Windows XP until April 2014. Last month, IE6 had a usage share of just under 17 percent; at the start of the year it had just over 20 percent.

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Web scam hits iTunes and Paypal

iTunes accounts linked to PayPal have been hacked with a number of users complaining that they have been cleaned out. Experts have said there is no security hole in iTunes or Apple servers and that it is most likely users have fallen for an online scam. Apple would not comment but said that they had recently implemented new security measures.

PayPal nor Apple would talk about the scale of the problem or how many people or accounts had been hacked. PayPal said that any unauthorized charges will be reimbursed.

Phishing involves using fake websites to lure people into revealing details such as bank accounts or login names.

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Google patches 11 Chrome security problems

Google patched 11 vulnerabilities, three critical, seven high risk, and one medium in a new version of Chrome. All but one of the problems was in Chrome itself. The additional issue handled in Chrome 5.0.375.127 is a workaround for a critical Windows kernel bug.

Chrome has an automated update process that periodically checks for updates, downloads new versions, and installs them when a person restarts the browser.

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