Microsoft nears accord with Liberty Alliance ... China criticized for 3G delays

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Liberty Alliance, Microsoft discuss identity protocols
News: Kagermann expected to stay on as SAP CEO
News: U.S. commerce secretary slaps China for 3G stance
News: TI sees under-$20 mobiles, $35 GPRS phones this year
Opinion: Windows in the home
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Checkmate for Indian chess player after cell phone ploy


NEWS UPDATES

Liberty Alliance, Microsoft discuss identity protocols
The Liberty Alliance, a consortium working on policy and technology issues for identity management, is discussing with Microsoft Corp. how to reconcile their competing sets of protocols for secure Web transactions.

SAP: Kagermann expected to stay on as CEO
Henning Kagermann, CEO of business software maker SAP AG, is expected to renew his contract for another year after it expires in December 2007, according to a source familiar with the situation.

CES: U.S. commerce secretary slaps China for 3G stance
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez Tuesday criticized China for delaying the creation of a 3G (third generation) wireless network in that country, saying it is thwarting global technology innovation by not embracing standards.

CES: TI sees under-$20 mobiles, $35 GPRS phones this year
Texas Instruments Inc. (TI), is developing a broad range of chips for low-cost handsets aimed at developing countries, and sees prices ranging from under-$20 for basic phones to $35 for GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) mobiles complete with a camera and music player on board by the end of this year.

NSA helped Microsoft make Vista secure
The U.S. agency best known for eavesdropping on telephone calls had a hand in the development of Microsoft's Vista operating system, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday.

Can Apple pick up the iPhone name?
Apple introduced its new iPhone device Tuesday without informing Cisco whether it had accepted a licensing agreement to use the name, which is a registered trademark of Linksys, a division of Cisco.

CES: OLPC updates laptop efforts, says cost at $130
The One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) has whittled down the cost of the green and white computer they hope to deliver to school children in developing countries to about $130 so far, and hope to reach the target price of $100 in 2008, a project leader said Monday.

Apple picks Cingular to sell iPhone
The Apple iPhone unveiled Tuesday, described as jaw-dropping by one analyst, will be offered exclusively in the U.S. through Cingular Wireless LLC, both companies announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.


OPINION

Windows in the home
By Dan Blacharski

Apple Computer has to have the most annoying television commercials
ever, with its "I'm cooler than you" campaign that features a smarmy,
casually-dressed Mac user standing next to a geeky PC user. Apple's
intent of course, is to capture the home market, by boxing Windows PCs
into the "business" category. In reality, the Windows versus Mac
battle is little more than a tempest in a teapot, and the difference
between the two is about the same as the difference between
Republicans and Democrats, which is to say, very little.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Jobs unveils the iPhone ... Microsoft issues critical patches ... China criticized for 3G delays ... Microsoft nears accord with Liberty Alliance


ITWHIRLED

Checkmate for Indian chess player after cell phone ploy
A rising Indian chess star was banned for 10 years after chess officials caught him using a mobile phone to cheat.