Spanish gets new Wikipedia-type tool

A new Wikipedia-style online tool designed to help the world's nearly 400 million Spanish speakers consult on proper use of their language launched officially on Thursday.

Spoken in more than 20 countries, Spanish poses a daunting and fluid challenge to academics trying to track variations in grammar and vocabulary; there can be many ways to say a simple word such as car or pen.

The Web site, called Wikilengua, in testing since August, works like the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, where Internet users can modify the entries they consult.

But Wikilengua contributors must register in order to edit entries, and supervisors check contributions and filter out those they deem inaccurate or inappropriate.

Thursday's official unveiling was at Casa de America, a cultural center that aims to symbolize and enhance Spain's strong ties with Latin America — and their common use of the world's third-most-spoken language, after Chinese and English.

"The first cyberspace forum that is open and dedicated to bringing together honestly all knowledge about the Spanish language was born today," said Alex Grijelmo, president of the Spanish national news agency Efe, part of the foundation that created the Web site.

"Wikilengua aims to serve as a place for reflection on language, the grand instrument of human intelligence," Grijelmo said at the presentation.

The site gets about 1,000 visits a day, and the number is rising steadily, said Javier Bezos, coordinator of the Web site.

It is the brainchild of Fundeu BBVA, a foundation created by Efe and BBVA, Spain's No. 2 bank, to monitor and offer advice on correct use of Spanish, especially in the news media.

The plan is to enlist the expertise of the Spanish Royal Academy, the official watchdog of the language, and 20-odd affiliated academies in Latin America, the United States and the Philippines.

"What we are doing with Wikilengua is open an immense network of highways granting access to the ... work of the academies," said Victor Garcia de la Concha, director of the Spanish Royal Academy. "Now we (have) a space for exchanging opinions, studies and suggestions."

Wikilengua
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Linux-Based VoIP Partnership Announced

Chipmaker Broadcom and software developer Trolltech this week formed a partnership to create a multimedia voice over IP development platform based on Linux.

The development platform is intended for original equipment manufacturers that want to build what the companies call "next-generation" IP phones. It combines Broadcom's VoIP technology and Trolltech's Qtopia Linux platform and user interface for mobile devices.

The Qtopia software is considered next-generation because it supports advanced technologies like unified communications, which links business processes with presence information, e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, and videoconferencing, to facilitate efficient communications. It also provides Web integration, allowing mobile users to access Web sites and multimedia on IP phones.

"Our Qtopia software is the foundation for 10 million-plus consumer electronic devices worldwide so this partnership with Broadcom will enable their customers to build customized next-generation IP and mobile devices with robust voice, video, web, and multimedia features," said Haavard Nord, Trolltech's CEO, in a statement.

Qtopia has been optimized for Broadcom's BCM1103 VoIP processors and BCM1180 multimedia co-processor intended for improved voice quality and rich graphical content on devices, according to Trolltech. The processors use low power and can enable applications such as two-way video calling.

The companies announced their plans at this week's Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Las Vegas, where Broadcom also partnered with Microsoft to develop technologies that will let consumers hook their TVs to the Internet for interactive digital television offerings. Microsoft said its Mediaroom Internet television client software will be used on set-top boxes with Broadcom's system-on-a-chip technology.

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Brits To Pay Less For iTunes

Apple on Wednesday said it will lower its music prices on its U.K. iTunes Store to match standardized pricing on iTunes in the rest of the European Union.

The move is partially in response to a European Union inquiry based on a pricing complaint from a British consumer group.

Apple said it charged more for U.K. citizens because Apple pays more to some British recording labels for U.K. distribution. Those same labels charge less to distribute to other Europeans, Apple said.

"This is an important step towards a pan-European marketplace for music," Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, said in the announcement. "We hope every major record label will take a pan-European view of pricing."

In addition, Apple said it will consider halting license agreements with British recording labels that won't lower their wholesale prices in the United Kingdom to match the rest of the European market.

"Apple will reconsider its continuing relationship in the U.K. with any record label that does not lower its wholesale prices in the U.K. to the pan-European level within six months," the company said in a news announcement.

The company said prices would drop to match those in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain.

Since the United Kingdom uses pounds while other EU residents use the euro and prices of each fluctuate against the dollar, the difference Brits pay has varied, but it generally amounts to 10 U.S. cents per song.

It's unclear whether the change will also allow European residents to buy music on iTunes from other countries. Right now, if a French citizen wants to download music while visiting Germany, he or she could not do it without a German-issued credit card and address.

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Fixed Wireless Terminals Coming To U.S. GSM Networks

Wireless equipment maker Ericsson is teaming up with Brightstar to bring fixed wireles terminals to the United States, the two companies said this week.

The Ericsson terminals utilize existing GSM wireless standard infrastructures and let homes and offices connect wirelessly to existing networks for voice fax and high-speed data connectivity to various devices.

The deal calls for Brightstar to provide the terminals in locations where W-CDMA/HSPA infrastructure is available. The major U.S. providers capable of offering the GSM-based infrastructure are AT&T and T-Mobile.

"Full service broadband has become a necessity for small enterprises and residential users alike and the Fixed Wireless Terminals provide a simple, cost-effective way to deliver it to the device of their choice," said Rosemary Wilkie, VP of Ericsson's Enterprise unit in North America, in a statement.

By using existing wireless networks, the terminals can trim costs normally associated with fixed wireline infrastructures, Brightstar said. The company also noted users can operate several devices in parallel, including landline phones, fax machines, and Internet access devices, through a Wi-Fi signal. The technology, known as Least Cost Routing (LCR), turns the fixed-to-mobile calls into mobile-to-mobile calls.

Brightstar said it will manage SIM chip bundling and prebuilt installation packages for the enterprise market.

Ericsson currently offers two Fixed Wireless Terminal lines. Brightstar is expected to provide sales, distribution, customization, and logistics services for the devices and also will sell the product to service providers, enterprises, and value-added resellers.

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Al-Qaida videos now on cell phones

Al-Qaida video messages of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri can now be downloaded to cell phones, the terror network announced as part of its attempts to extend its influence.

The announcement was posted late Friday by al-Qaida's media wing, al-Sahab, on Web sites commonly used by Islamic militants. As of Saturday, eight previously recorded videos were made available including a recent tribute to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former al-Qaida in Iraq leader killed by U.S. forces in Iraq in June 2006.

In a written message introducing the new cell phone videos, al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's No. 2 figure, asked followers to spread the terror group's messages.

"I asked God for the men of jihadi media to spread the message of Islam and monotheism to the world and spread real awareness to the people of the nations," al-Zawahri said.

Videos playable on cell phones are increasingly popular in the Middle East. The files are transferred from phone to phone using Bluetooth or infrared wireless technology.

Clips showing former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's execution in December 2006 showed up on cell phones soon after his death. In Egypt, images showing police brutality have been passed around via cell phones including one video that showed an arrested bus driver being sodomized with a stick by police in the fall 2006.

Video and audio tapes from various Islamist groups including al-Qaida are available on militant Web sites but require a computer and a fast Internet connection — often rare in the region — to download.

But the eight videos currently available to download to cell phones by al-Sahab range in size from 17 megabytes to 120 megabytes, requiring phones to have large amounts of free data capacity. Al-Sahab has promised to release more of its previous video messages in cell-phone quality formats.

The terror network has been growing more sophisticated in targeting international audiences. Videos are always subtitled in English, and messages this year from bin Laden and al-Zawahri focusing on Pakistan and Afghanistan have been dubbed in the local languages, Urdu and Pashtu.

In December, al-Qaida invited journalists to send questions to al-Zawahri. The invitation was the first time the media-savvy al-Qaida offered outsiders to "interview" one of its leaders since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

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Motorola trying to recapture 'Razr' edge

CEO Greg Brown doesn't have the secret weapon his predecessor Ed Zander possessed when he arrived at the cell phone maker four years ago — the Razr. But that could be a good thing — if Brown, who took over Tuesday as chief executive, applies lessons learned from Motorola's nasty fall last year.

The then-up-and-coming Razr ultimately proved Zander's undoing. It propelled the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company to lofty sales levels it couldn't sustain without cutting prices aggressively, a decision that had harsh consequences.

The once-soaring company is now thought to have only broken even for 2007. It pulled back from some developing markets and cut 7,500 jobs last year, creating a leaner company that analysts say has halted its free fall in market share and profitability, and laid the groundwork for a promised turnaround.

"People might think Motorola's out of the game entirely," said Neil Strother, a wireless analyst in Seattle for Jupiter Research. "They're not out of the game, they've just had a few bad quarters."

The Razr remains a solid seller, but rivals' newer phones have taken away its buzz. And Brown, 47, who was promoted from chief operating officer and earlier ran San Francisco-based software company Micromuse, doesn't appear to have a killer product to unveil at the Consumer Electronics Show that opens Monday in Las Vegas.

Such a blockbuster announcement from Motorola is likelier at the big wireless shows — in Barcelona in February or Las Vegas in April. But nothing the company is known to have in the pipeline seems likely to match the Razr's popularity.

While putting its financial and operational house back in order, Motorola must regain ground lost to industry leader Nokia Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co., which overtook Motorola as the No. 2 cell phone manufacturer last year.

"The challenges for Greg Brown are very similar to those that were faced by Ed Zander: to work on innovation and new products," said Hugues de la Vergne, principal analyst with market research firm Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn. "A more steady stream of innovative new products from the likes of Samsung and Nokia have allowed them to build nice market-share gains at Motorola's expense."

The company's share of the global market for mobile devices collapsed from 23 percent at the end of 2006 to 13 percent within six months and hasn't moved significantly since. Mobile devices account for two-thirds of Motorola's sales.

Motorola "milked the Razr phone cow for too long," said Morningstar analyst Jordan Zounis, and it's still paying the price. Zounis sees strength in the company's mid-price products, including its revamped Razr line and new multimedia phones, but weakness on both the high end — with only the Motorola Q smart phone — and low end.

That could mean Brown has to produce another hit soon.

Stockholders may have been temporarily placated by the company's shake-up but remain displeased by the roughly 40 percent drop in the stock's value from its six-year high of $26.30 in October 2006. Carl Icahn, the billionaire financier who lost a bid in May for a board seat from which he wanted to force some changes, hailed Zander's resignation in November but said then that Motorola still has "major problems."

"Brown has about nine months to show the new and improved Motorola," Zounis said Wednesday. "Otherwise, I think the callings of individuals such as Carl Icahn will perhaps have a little bit more weight next time around."

Brown is likely to be judged negatively unless he can improve results from its trademark handset business — even if Motorola's emergency radios, TV set-top boxes, wireless network equipment and other lines show strength.

"If Motorola stays with the same portfolio of handsets they're going to have trouble, because the market is evolving," said Standard & Poor's analyst Todd Rosenbluth.

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Warner Bros to back Blu-ray DVD format exclusively

Warner Bros studio on Friday said it would exclusively release high-definition DVDs in Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Blu-ray format, dealing a big blow to Toshiba Corp's (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rival HD DVD technology.

Some saw the move as an end to the war that has confused consumers and delayed the development of a multibillion-dollar market. Warner Bros, Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs, represents about 18 to 20 percent of sales in the United States and was one of the few studios that backed both formats.

"We expect HD DVD to 'die' a quick death, versus a prolonged format war," Pali Capital analyst Rich Greenfield told investors in a note.

But Toshiba said it was "quite surprised" by the move and vowed to fight on.

Blu-ray discs outsold HD DVD by nearly two-to-one in the United States last year, but HD DVD won major allies in August when Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc said they would go exclusively with the Toshiba technology.

"I have not seen anyone give up in this fight. Every time one shoe drops and you think 'Oh, it's over,' the other side comes up with something else," said Stephanie Prange, Home Media Magazine editor in chief.

The battle has confused consumers, she confirmed, but many people don't see the need for high-definition anyway, she added.

The stakes are particularly high because sales of traditional DVDs last year posted their first significant drop since the disc format debuted in 1997, according to Adams Media Research. Total DVD unit sales fell 4.5 percent in 2007 and sales fell 4.8 percent to $15.7 billion.

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers," Warner Bros Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer said in a statement.

News Corp's (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and Lionsgate (LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are among studios backing the Blu-ray format. Viacom Inc's (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Paramount studios and General Electric's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) NBC Universal release movies in HD DVD format. In addition, Sony's PlayStation 3 video game system can play Blu-ray movies while Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 works with HD DVD.

Warner said it would continue releasing in the HD DVD format until the end of May, although those releases would follow the standard DVD and Blu-ray releases.

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Microsoft Promises Free Game After Online Woes

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it will offer a free downloadable video game to users of its Xbox online gaming service after the network was plagued with connection troubles over the holidays.

Xbox Live General Manager Mark Whitten said the problems stemmed from a "massive increase" in new users of the service over the holiday season, when sales of video game hardware and software surge.

"While the service was not completely offline at any given time, we are disappointed in our performance," Whitten said in a statement.

Whitten said all Xbox Live members around the world would be able to freely download one game over the service. Games sold on Xbox Live typically cost from $5 to $20, and Whitten said Microsoft would give details of the offer in the coming weeks.

Before the holiday sales surge, Xbox Live had more than eight million members, many of whom were paying $50 a year for the premium service that lets them play online against others.

Whitten did not give details of the cause of the problems, but gaming Web sites and forums have been filled in recent days with complaints from users frustrated with the inability to sign on to the service or play online.

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Music downloads rocket this Christmas

CD sales continue to decline as music downloads continue to grow in popularity, new figures reveal.

According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), just short of three million tracks were purchased online during the final week of 2007.

The figure, 2.94 million, is an increase of 100.2 per cent on the 1.47 million tracks purchased during the same period in 2006.

The BPI, whose figures came from the The Official UK Charts Company, also revealed a 50 per cent increase in music download sales on 2006, topping 77 million, whereas CD sales dropped during the same period.

This trend is repeating itself in the US, with music CD sales down 15 per cent last year as consumers turned to legal and illegal digital downloads, according to research.

Sales of physical CD albums dropped to 500.5m in 2007, a three-fold increase on the 4.9 per cent fall suffered in 2006, according to Nielsen Soundscan, an information system that tracks sales data for singles, albums and music video products for music companies in Canada and the United States.

Downloads for independent labels are also rocketing and according to download subscription service Emusic, these sales also smashed retail expectations during the 2007 Christmas period. On Christmas Day alone indie labels clocked up almost half a million downloads of music and audio-books.

Matt Phillips, BPI director of communications, said: "Recent years have seen a boost in download sales in the week after Christmas, but this was a larger increase than expected, and sales should continue to grow throughout 2008.

"The enormous choice of music and great value for money, combined with the ease and convenience of downloading, means legal digital music services are becoming increasingly popular with music fans."

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Learn how to burn you favorite movie in 4.7 blank DVD

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