2008

Presidential Facebook flub: Giuliani's daughter declares Obama loyalty?

It's a classroom-warning-video-worthy example of "be careful what you put on your Facebook profile"--or at least that's what it looks like on the surface. Slate columnist Lucy Morrow Campbell was tipped off to the fact that Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's daughter, Caroline, had semi-openly declared on the social-networking site that her political views are "liberal" (OK, that'd be more shocking if it were Mitt Romney's kid) and that she's a Barack Obama supporter.

Yes, really.

Giuliani, who is 17 and uses a slight variation on her last name … Read more

Microsoft delays release of Office for Mac 2008

Mac users must wait until next year for fresh versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint: Microsoft has moved its intended launch of Office for Mac 2008 to January from the second half of this year.

"We had hoped to hit the Christmas selling season, but now we hope to target Macworld" in January, said Craig Eisler, who became general manager of the Mac business unit at Microsoft six weeks ago. "We, as a group, were not satisfied with product quality."

Details about any software development snags, as well as final pricing, were unavailable. Office for Mac … Read more

Campaign 2008: Small Internet donations add up

Small donors are having a significant impact on the amount of money that the Republican and Democratic candidates for president are raising. The Internet, providing the tools for grassroots activists to self-organize and conduct "p-commerce" by giving political money online, has clearly contributed to this.

The interesting story after six months of presidential fund-raising is that some candidates, notably Barack Obama, are doing much better at reaching small donors than others.

In a July 3 CNET post on what the Internet has done for presidential campaign fund-raising, I wrote, "the story technophiles should celebrate and fear how … Read more

Windows Server 2008 launch set for February

DENVER--Confirming what many had expected, Microsoft announced on Tuesday that the next version of its server operating system, Windows Server 2008, won't formally launch until next year.

Microsoft said it will launch the product, which it has said will be finalized before the end of the year, at an event in Los Angeles on February 27. The company will also launch Visual Studio 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 at the same event. The company made the announcement at its Worldwide Partner Conference here.

The new operating system, formerly code-named Longhorn Server, includes the PowerShell scripting language, role-based deployment … Read more

Symantec offers betas for two Norton 2008 apps

Symantec has added Norton Antivirus 2008 and Norton Internet Security 2008 to it's Beta Center. Enhancements to Norton Antivirus 2008 include better performance and updated Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response (SONAR) heuristics. Enhancements to Norton Internet Security 2008 include those in Norton Antivirus 2008 plus Norton Identity Safe (from Norton Confidential), and enhanced network monitoring. Both pieces of software are expected to include new browser vulnerability protection, codenamed "Canary", in their final release.

The Symantec beta program includes no technical support, although customer feedback is welcome. Symantec reminds participants in the beta program not to install … Read more

Gates to keynote CES, while CeBit rejiggers itself

Though he plans to transition to part-time Microsoft employee next year, Chairman Bill Gates isn't leaving the tech stage. In fact, he will assume his usual place in the tech world, delivering the opening keynote for the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, which takes place in January.

Also on the lineup announced Thursday are Intel CEO Paul Otellini and Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of Panasonic's AVC Networks Company unit. The show runs from Jan 7 to 10, with Gates kicking things off on January 6, the Sunday before the event officially gets under way.

Meanwhile, in other trade show news, … Read more

Good vibrations for new BMW drivers

Drivers of the new BMW 5 series will have the option of an extra tech safety device to ensure that they make it to the boardroom meeting in one piece. The 2008 5 series, which will make its official debut at this week's Geneva auto show, will come with the intelligent Lane Departure Warning system (LDW), which will warn drivers if they are about to cross over a lane-dividing line without using their turn signal.

Rather than sounding a chime or flashing a light on the dashboard (a la the system in the 2007 Infiniti M35 Sport), the BMW … Read more

The new BMW X5: Hold on to your 20-way power seats

When we got the 2006 BMW X5 in for review eariler this year, we panned it for its pathetic tech offering: the baseline model (which came with a price tag north of $50K) didn't even come with a CD player, insulting our tech sensibilites instead with--brace yourselves--a cassette deck. Well, from famine, we go to feast. Today at the 2007 LA Auto Show, BMW unveiled its next-generation, 2008 model-year X5. We're pleased to announce that the cassette player is gone, and in its place is a veritable host of interior tech features, including a simplified iDrive, a rear-seat … Read more