Articles by Jennifer LeClaire

Debate has swirled recently around the practice of allowing movie lovers to download films from the Internet, burn them onto a DVD, and watch them in the comfort of their own living rooms. Now a controversial segment of the film industry is set to pave the way for more conservative studios that may be waiting and watching to see how this experiment pays off...

Google may be moving deeper into Skype's Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) territory, with a little help from Nokia The Finland-based personal communications device maker is adding Google Talk to its soon-to-be-released handheld Internet browsing product. The partnership could help Google extend its reach into mobile communications....

You may have thought there was a television channel for everything and everybody, but DirecTV is the first to launch a channel for viewers too young to complain about the programming. Some child experts, though, are complaining that the viewers are too young to watch television in the first place Amid heated debate, BabyFirstTV launched a premium c...

Skype's tagline is "The whole world can talk for free." Now,eBay's Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) subsidiary plans to bridge the language gap to boot -- but at a price Skype on Thursday announced a deal involving language services providerLanguage Line andVoxeo, a provider of standards-based Interactive Voice Responses andVoIP platforms, desig...

Google aims to keep itssearch engine crown, and on Thursday introduced four new products with that goal in mind Google Co-op, Google Desktop 4 and Google Notebook are designed to help its users find and share more relevant information. Specifically, the products feature new capabilities that leverage user communities to facilitate two-way exchanges...

Opera Software on Wednesday announced plans to bring a Web revolution to the living room. The Norway-based browser developer intends to do this through a partnership with Nintendo Specifically, Opera is putting its browser on Nintendo's much-anticipated new generation Wii console. Wii users can browse the Internet between gaming sessions using what...

Google aims to keep itssearch engine crown, and on Thursday introduced four new products with that goal in mind Google Co-op, Google Desktop 4 and Google Notebook are designed to help its users find and share more relevant information. Specifically, the products feature new capabilities that leverage user communities to facilitate two-way exchanges...

In a move that speaks to online video's momentum,TiVo and Internet TV startupBrightcove on Wednesday announced a deal that will allow TiVo subscribers to receive Brightcove's broadband video programming About 400,000 TiVo subscribers who have their set-top boxes connected to the Internet with a broadband connection will be able to watch music video...

Qualcomm and News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) on Tuesday announced plans to conduct technical trials of Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology in the United Kingdom The technical trial is expected to launch this summer. It will feature 10 channels of BSkyB content on a small number of non-commercial devices provided by Qualcomm....

AT&T on Monday announced plans to expand its high-speed Internet service. The telecom giant will sell satellite-based access to customers in rural areas where traditional broadband over phone lines is unavailable The service, delivered via an operating agreement with high-speed Internet provider WildBlue, will be offered to AT&T customers in local ...

In a move to attract new users and entice existing customers to migrate to broadband,AOL andClearwire on Thursday announced an agreement to offer wireless broadband access Consumers will now be able to get AOL combined with high-speed wireless broadband provided through Clearwire's Wi-Max class service for as low as US$25.90 per month. Dubbed AOL H...

Sony on Thursday announced it would delay the release of the first Blu-ray discs until June 20, giving rival DVD standard HD DVD time to gain traction Sony said the discs are ready, but retail and hardware partners asked for the month-long delay so the product launch would coincide with the availability of the first commercial Blu-ray players....

The International Standards Organization on Wednesday approved the OpenDocument Format (ODF) as an international standard. The approval could be a boon for companies that compete with Microsoft's proprietary Office software -- like Sun with its StarOffice The ODF emerged from the open source OpenOffice.org project. The initial work was submitted to...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) open source security audit program has identified the biggest X Window System security vulnerability in the last six years The X Window System is used in Unix and Linux operating systems. It also ships as an optional GUI with Apple's Macintosh computers. Coverity, the company managing the DHS project...

Skype on Wednesday released the beta version of Skype 2.5 and an early preview of live moderated conversations that allow groups of up to 100 people to talk to one another from anywhere in the world The Web phone service provider is attempting to take the online social networking concept to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications. Skypecas...

Helio on Tuesday launched a U.S. mobile service aimed at young consumers who want to surf the Web with their cell phones. Users can send content, photos and video messages to friends. Dynamic news feeds are incorporated to keep them connected "Helio is custom-built for the lifestyle of young people who have their mobile device at the center of thei...

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on Monday introduced a bill that would lower the barriers for phone companies to offer video programming Telecom titans like AT&T and Verizon Communications lobbied for legislation that would make it easier to get local franchises from thousands of municipalities to offer video over their ne...

Richard Stallman is a free software pioneer. As president of the Free Software Foundation and founder of the GNU Project, he is also an evangelist of a free society in which people have inaliable rights to run, study, copy and distribute software. As such, Stallman is often grieved when he reads news reports that lump the GNU Project in with the open source movement...

Recent news headlines have chronicled instant messaging worms and viruses authored by malicious thieves intent on stealing identities. That's only half the story There is another side to the IM vulnerability threat: internal theft. Internal theft not only compromises privacy assurances, but also puts intellectual property at risk. Both of these con...

Hundreds of Internet message boards are a haven for teens who cut, scratch, burn or otherwise mutilate their bodies, a Cornell University study reveals "Internet message boards provide a powerful vehicle for bringing self-injurious adolescents together, and to a great extent, they provide a safe forum and a source of valuable support for teens who ...