Coast Guard searches for missing Microsoft researcher ... Apple settlement boosts Creative's Q2 profits

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Coast Guard searching for missing Microsoft researcher
News: Apple settlement boosts Creative's Q2 profits
News: Turbolinux's Wizpy multimedia player coming in February
News: IBM, Cisco soft launch IPTV
Opinion: Technological (non)predictions for 2007
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Adult movie stars nervous about high definition


NEWS UPDATES

Coast Guard searching for missing Microsoft researcher
The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting an extensive search for Jim Gray, a senior manager with Microsoft Corp.'s Silicon Valley research organization, who failed to return from a sailboating trip Sunday off of San Francisco.

Apple settlement boosts Creative's Q2 profits
Creative Technology Ltd. Wednesday reported net income of $92.2 million for the second quarter of its fiscal year, largely due to a one-time licensing payment by Apple Computer Inc.

Turbolinux's Wizpy multimedia player coming in February
Japan's Turbolinux Inc. will begin selling its Wizpy Linux-based multimedia player in February. As a bonus, the device can also be used to boot a PC into the Linux OS, allowing users to access their files in their own working environment on almost any PC.

IBM, Cisco soft launch IPTV
IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. have "soft launched" an IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) with HD, video-on-demand and other capabilities at a demonstration center at the IBM Industrial Solutions Center in La Gaude, outside Nice, France.

Gamers targeted by online thieves
Gamers have been warned to be more security conscious due to the increasing number of online criminals stealing virtual assets and selling them on for real money.


OPINION

Technological (non)predictions for 2007
By Sean McGrath

The early part of any new year sees its fair share of prediction lists. You know the sort of thing : 'In 2007, X will go mainstream' or 'Y will finally grind technological opponent Z into the dust'.

For grins, I have taken a different tack. Here is a list of things that I predict will not happen in 2007.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
U.S. Coast Guard searches for missing Microsoft researcher ... Intel to research health technology in Ireland ... Dreamscape offers Wi-Fi software for mobile devices


ITWHIRLED

Adult movie stars nervous about high definition
Families with new high-definition (HD) video camcorders and news anchors being broadcast in HD have already discovered just how revealing the picture quality is. But few professionals bare as much in front of the camera as adult-film stars, and many are nervous abut the new technology.