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Microsoft launching Office 365 on June 28

Microsoft will officially launch Office 365 on June 28 at an event in New York City.

Hosted by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the event will start at 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. PT) and be available via a live Webcast.

Announced in October, Office 365 is Microsoft's effort to offer business customers a cloud-based alternative to its traditional desktop and server products. Office 365 unites Microsoft's Office Web Apps with hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint along with Lync, which kicks in the online communication and collaboration piece.

Microsoft's announcement of the launch event … Read more

The 404 815: Where we don't owe you any cheese (podcast)

It's Wilson's last day Skyping in from the CNET office in San Francisco and he'll be in the office on Monday. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about that, so we just get into the stories of the day, like Jon Stewart's quote about the Osama Bin Laden photos, which rappers are suing our parent company, and how much it would cost to buy the house from "Home Alone."

The 404 Digest for Episode 815

Jon Stewart voices opinions about the Osama photos. Rappers are suing CNET. "Home Alone" house in Winnetka, Ill., on sale for $2.4M. 23-year-old makes $120,000 off Osama's death in 48 hours. Google Maps will soon give you the powers of Superman. Third attack planned on Sony.

Episode 815 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Byliner: 'Three Cups of Deceit' publisher chases next hit

Last month, an unknown San Francisco publishing start-up had just about the best debut imaginable. Byliner's first product became an instant best-seller and seriously called into question the reputation of an international sensation a decade in the making--all in less than 25,000 words that never touched a printing press.

The tiny operation released Jon Krakauer's "Three Cups of Deceit"--a scathing deconstruction of alleged fraud and mismanagement at the hands of world-famous do-gooder Greg Mortenson of "Three Cups of Tea" fame--as a free PDF in mid-April. The launch got a big boost from a story that aired last month on "60 Minutes" about Mortenson, based largely on Krakauer's research. (Disclosure: "60 Minutes" is broadcast by CBS, publisher of CNET.)

"Reaction has been extraordinary," Byliner.com founder John Tayman told CNET. "In the 72 hours it was available as (a) free download, more than 70,000 readers downloaded a copy. It then moved to the Amazon Kindle Singles store, and it went to No. 1 within six hours."

As of this writing, the 75-page narrative--a riveting account despite being based largely on a review of financial records and interviews with people with ties to Mortenson's nonprofit--remains in that top slot (even as Mortenson's supporters, including one of his former climbing partners quoted by Krakauer, have come to his defense).

Now, Byliner is looking for a repeat performance with its follow-up release in its "Byliner Originals" series--20,000 words from award-winning author William T. Vollmann titled "Into the Forbidden Zone: A Trip Through Hell and High Water in Post-Earthquake Japan." Byliner commissioned Vollmann, who has written about Japan in the past, and paid for his trip to the triple-disaster area to gather stories of survivors, the aftermath, and implications for the future.

"We want to take advantage of the swiftness that digital publishing allows to get these great reads in front of readers," said Tayman, himself a writer and editor who has worked at Business 2.0 and Outside magazine. "Our first two titles are excellent examples of that approach. These are stories that have complexity and currency, tackled by two of the most acclaimed writers in America."… Read more

Researcher finds serious Android Market bug

Google has fixed a bug in the Android Market that could have allowed attackers to distribute malicious apps to gain control of devices.

"Since the Android Web market was launched earlier this year, it was possible to remotely install arbitrary applications with arbitrary permissions onto a victim's phone simply by tricking them into clicking a malicious link (either on their desktop or phone)," Jon Oberheide, co-founder and chief technology officer at Duo Security (formerly Scio Security), wrote in a blog post today. "The exploit works universally across all Android devices, versions, and architectures."

Oberheide described … Read more

Jon Stewart celebrates Verizon iPhone deal

Yesterday, there was screaming in the streets. There was howling in financial planning meetings. There was trembling in bars. Yes, Verizon announced that it would be offering the iPhone 4.

Talk show host Jon Stewart was one of those whose emotional cup ran over and over.

On his Daily Show, he was barely able to contain his excitement as he spread his arms into a crucifix and bellowed "FREEEEDDOMMMM!!"

Such was the cultural significance of the announcement, such was the sense of universal release, that Stewart dedicated more than seven minutes of his show to Verizon (hopefully) rescuing … Read more

Everything but full episodes

If you're a big fan of The Daily Show, it shouldn't take a lot of arm-twisting for you to grab the new The Daily Show app, which will set you back $1.99. The app offers a lot for rabid fans, starting with a shareable quote of the day (and accompanying show segment) for roughly the last eight weeks' worth of shows.

Tap the Topics button and you'll see a spinning word cloud (or an alphabetical list if you switch views), with each item leading to handfuls--if not buckets--of clips related to that topic. These appear to … Read more

Rubenstein: Palm's ceiling limited without HP

SAN FRANCISCO--Former Palm CEO and current Hewlett-Packard employee Jon Rubenstein is proud of the product his former company created but said there was no way Palm could turn it into a smash hit.

WebOS, the mobile operating system that along with the Pre revived interest in Palm over the last few years, is actually the most forward-thinking mobile OS on the market, Rubenstein said today here at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference, dismissing comments made yesterday by Google's Andy Rubin that Palm belonged in the "old" category of mobile players. While's true that the old … Read more

The Daily Show app: Everything but full episodes

The Daily Show app looks great on the iPhone, but it's even better on an iPad, where it takes full advantage of the extra screen estate.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rick Broida)

I'm a huge, huge fan of "The Daily Show." It's the single funniest thing on TV, and Jon Stewart is perhaps the smartest guy ever to sit behind a talk-show desk. (The less said about his interviewing skills, however, the better.)

Needless to say, it didn't take a lot of arm-twisting for me to grab the new The Daily Show app--especially considering that it's being offered free just for today. (I'm not sure what the price will be as of tomorrow, but we can look for clues in The Colbert Report's The Word, which costs $1.99.) 

The app offers a lot for rabid fans like me, starting with a shareable quote of the day (and accompanying show segment) for roughly the last eight weeks' worth of shows.

Tap the Topics button and you'll see a spinning word cloud (or an alphabetical list if you switch views), with each item leading to handfuls--if not buckets--of clips related to that topic. These appear to date back as far as December, 2009--not the full archives by any stretch, but still plenty of stuff to watch.… Read more

FERC chairman: Let EV owners sell juice to grid

WASHINGTON--The top regulator of the wholesale electricity markets said that electric-vehicle drivers should be able to make money selling services to grid operators.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Jon Wellinghoff today said electric-car owners could make as much as $3,000 a year providing what are called ancillary services, such as frequency regulation, to stabilize the wholesale electric market.

Those types of services are technically possible today but regulations need to be changed and new businesses need to be formed before EV owners are active sellers into the grid, Wellinghoff said. But he predicted that within three to five … Read more