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Comment Re:My prediction (Score 1) 392

Not really, tha name has just been announced and I assume this is meant to be used in a radically different way than the previous ones. Note that it's called "iPhone 4S".
Then again, some people might have been using it that way already.

Comment Re:doesn't MMS use the data channel anyway? (Score 1) 149

Check out the beginning of the "Technical Description" section:

MMS messages are delivered in a completely different way from SMS. The first step is for the sending device to encode the multimedia content in a fashion similar to sending a MIME e-mail (MIME content formats are defined in the MMS Message Encapsulation specification). The message is then forwarded to the carrier's MMS store and forward server, known as the MMSC. If the receiver is on another carrier, the relay forwards the message to the recipient's carrier using the Internet.
Once the MMSC has received a message, it first determines whether the receiver's handset is "MMS capable", that is it supports the standards for receiving MMS. If so, the content is extracted and sent to a temporary storage server with an HTTP front-end. An SMS "control message" containing the URL of the content is then sent to the recipient's handset to trigger the receiver's WAP browser to open and receive the content from the embedded URL.

AFAIK, the temporary storage server is on the carrier's premises and contain the images / media / whatever that the MMS carries. The data connection you do need to retrieve those attachments is therefore limited in scope and the carrier can safely establish a policy of not billing the recipient for accessing this temporary storage server. He has already charged the originated party (or the interconnect carrier) for delivering the message + attachments to the recipient.

Of course, this is entirely open for whatever policy the carrier chooses to apply; there are countries where you even pay a fee to receive calls on your mobile phone, and smaller fees are charged to whoever is originating the calls - since it's the recipient's choice to carry a mobile terminal instead of having a fixed landline, he's the one paying for that traffic.
That's not the most generalized behavior though; usually mobile subscribers do not pay for received calls, SMS or MMS (including attachments), except perhaps when roaming abroad - and even then, usually received SMS (and only those) are not charged at all.

Programming

(Useful) Stupid Regex Tricks? 516

careysb writes to mention that in the same vein as '*nix tricks' and 'VIM tricks', it would be nice to see one on regular expressions and the programs that use them. What amazingly cool tricks have people discovered with respect to regular expressions in everyday life as a developer or power user?"

Comment Hibernate still draining power (Score 1) 359

Another aspect claimed by the article is that even with Hibernate there is still some power drain, altough below 1W.
I do know that my laptop had Wake-on-LAN turned on in the BIOS. After disabling it, I stopped noticing 1% or 2% missing charge after being hibernated for a couple of days without being plugged in.

Software

EBay Admits To Bad Call On Skype 297

MaineCoasts writes "The Times online reports that two years after buying Skype for 2.6 billion, Ebay yesterday warned shareholders that they may have made a mistake. In essence, they vastly overpaid for the company. ZDNet offers analysis of the announcement: 'Clearly, the current business model is not enough to satisfy eBay in light of how much the company spent on Skype. And the reason is simple. Even though Skype has done a very good job of getting users to download its software client, most people who use the service do so to make free Skype-to-Skype phone calls. The only way that Skype makes money from its subscribers is when people use its Skype-In or Skype-Out services. Skype-In allows users to pay to rent a phone number, which people on regular phones can call. Skype-Out allows users to call traditional phones or cell phones for a fee.'"
Power

Electric Motorcycle Inventor Crashes at Wired Conference 337

not5150 writes "The inventor of the electric 'KillaCycle" motorcycle was taken to the hospital for x-rays after demonstrating the vehicle to reporters. Bill Dube, a government scientist during the day and bike builder at night, attempted a burnout in front of the Los Angeles Convention Center during the Wired NextFest fair. Fueled by the "most powerful" lithium-ion batteries in the world, the bike accelerated uncontrollably into another car. There's a video interview (thankfully before the crash) and footage of Dube crashing."
Security

AACS Revision Cracked A Week Before Release 346

stevedcc writes "Ars Technica is running a story about next week's release of AACS, which is intended to fix the currently compromised version. The only problem is, the patched version has already been cracked. From the article: 'AACS LA's attempts to stifle dissemination of AACS keys and prevent hackers from compromising new keys are obviously meeting with extremely limited success. The hacker collective continues to adapt to AACS revisions and is demonstrating a capacity to assimilate new volume keys at a rate which truly reveals the futility of resistance. If keys can be compromised before HD DVDs bearing those keys are even released into the wild, one has to question the viability of the entire key revocation model.'"
Microsoft

Microsoft Common Language Runtime To Be Cross-Platform 308

axlrosen alerts us to a Microsoft sleeper announcement from Mix07: a version of its Common Language Runtime will be available cross-platform. The Core CLR shows up as part of the Silverlight SDK that Redmond is open sourcing. From the blog posting: "The biggest Mix '07 announcement made on opening day of this week's show was one that Microsoft didn't call out in any of its own press releases: Microsoft is making a version of its Common Language Runtime available cross-platform. The CLR is the heart of Microsoft's .Net Framework programming model. So, by association, the .Net Framework isn't just for Windows any more."
Security

Word Vulnerability Compromised US State Dept. 207

hf256 writes "Apparently hackers using an undisclosed (at the time) vulnerability compromised the State Departments network using a Word document sent as an email attachment. Investigators found multiple instances of infection, informed Microsoft, then had to sever internet connectivity to avoid leaking too much data!"
Windows

Only 244 Genuine Windows Vista's Sold in China 457

morpheus83 writes "Whilst Microsoft was bragging about the sales number of their latest OS Windows Vista, few would actually know that they have only managed to sell 244 copies in the whole of China in the first 2 weeks. You heard that right, and that's the number quoted from the headquarters of the Windows Vista chief (90% national volume) distributor in Beijing."
Security

MS Giving Exploit Writers Clues To Flaws 63

In the IT trench writes "How's this for a new twist on the old responsible disclosure debate? Hackers are using clues from Microsoft's pre-patch security advisories to create and publish proof-of-concept exploits. The latest zero-day flaw in the Windows DNS Server RPC interface implementation is a perfect example of the tug-o-war within the Microsoft Security Response Center about how much information should be included in the pre-patch advisory."

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