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Got a big archiving project you’ve been itching to do? Pioneer’s latest development could help you keep all your data in one nice, little circular package.

Blu-ray comes in single layer (25GB) and dual-layer (50GB) flavors. Pioneer does say that because the lens specification for reading the discs is similar to Blu-ray, “it is possible to maintain compatibility” between its disc and Blu-ray discs. That’s not saying it will be compatible, but it would make sense since Pioneer is one of the original Blu-ray Disc Association members.

(Credit:
Pioneer)

The Japanese electronics maker has been working on an optical disc, which, like Blu-ray, can store 25GB of data in a single layer. But Pioneer says it’s one-upped the high-definition format to the sixteenth degree. The company announced today that it has a single disc that contains 16 layers of storage, at 25GB each. That adds up to 400GB of data capable of being stored on a single disc.

However, plans for that archiving project will have to be put on pause if you want to use this technology. Pioneer is going to demonstrate it at an industry conference next week, but for now the disc is read-only. Eventually, they’ll add write capability as well.

Pioneer says it can store 25GB of data per layer, on 16 layers on a singled disc.

Check out the latest Digital Home video where I ask a simple question: is killing avatars OK?

That monolithic nature will become ever less relevant as more and more applications are written for the web…and simply won’t care what OS is running on the client. Gartner figures that 2011 will represent a tipping point when developers will care more about developing for the Web than for the desktop.

Linux, in other words. Have you heard of it?

Ironically, Gartner’s recommendations for how Windows should change sound eerily like a recommendation to become…Linux:

Microsoft’s Windows juggernaut is collapsing as it tries to support 20 years of applications and becomes more complicated by the minute. Meanwhile, Windows has outgrown hardware and customers are pondering skipping Vista to wait for
Windows 7. If Windows is going to remain relevant it will need radical changes….”Windows is too monolithic,” says Silver.

It was bound to happen, and now it has. Microsoft has simply become too big for its own good or, rather, for its customers’ good. It’s time for application developers to start over with an operating syste that encourages customization, personalization, and (for security) isolation.

“The Innovator’s Dilemma” is finally catching up with Microsoft. As Gartner analyst Michael Silver declares (and ZDNet’s Larry Dignan captures),

Windows should be able to be tailored to specific applications. Linux has been doing this for years, modular as it is. Linux reigns in embedded devices and scales up to the most demanding high-performance computing needs. Whatever the application, Linux has been tailored to fit it. Windows can’t compete.
Better security. Because Windows tries to be all things to all people, it ends up being a security nightmare for one key demographic: The malevolent hacker (”cracker”). Applications shouldn’t be given rights they don’t need. Linux has this down pat. Windows? Gartner believes a significant overhaul is required.
Make migration to new versions easier. “Application packaging takes forever, says Silver….The fix is to reinstall everything and rebuild the PC.” Not a problem on Linux.
Simplify licensing to focus on specific devices. Again, this is a problem born of Microsoft’s success. It’s not an issue that plagues Linux, which has licensing that encourages widespread, disparate use, and doesn’t try to manacle its developers.

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Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has historically been very, very deferential to what we call our upstream communities - GNOME, KDE, and so on - in the definition of the desktop experience. Our view, very strongly, is that they hold the real expertise in defining that. And that, as a distribution, our primary job is to be a very efficient conductor of their good work into the hands of users….

Mark Shuttleworth addresses a range of interesting things in a recent interview, but there are two, in particular, that strike me. First, Mark acknowledges the obvious: The
Mac is a superior usability experience. Second, however, while placating his upstream developer communities, he also notes that improving on their work is going to be critical to beating the Mac:

Because we’ve increasingly been engaged in the definition of the desktop experience for some of these consumer electronics products, however, we’re now in a position to actually start engaging with those upstreams and investing in that desktop experience….

To beat the Mac for usability, the emphasis can’t be on developers. It has to be on users. Too often open-source developers forget the user. I’m glad that Mark has not.

And so we started to build out a team that will focus on the specific user experiences…, and our goal, very simply, is to make sure the Free software ecosystem can deliver a Mac OS-like experience, or an experience that will compete with the Mac OS. We see Apple as the gold standard of the user experience. We believe that, while it can be a challenge, the innovation inherent in the Free software process can deliver an experience that is comparable and in many ways superior.

Mark is a wonderful diplomat, but I’m glad to see that he also recognizes the deficiencies of his upstream communities, even if he would never articulate it like that. Put baldly: The upstream developer communities that he references are developer communities, often without the expertise or interest in developing an average user-focused experience.

( CNET News.com Stephen Shankland and Ina Fried contributed)

After Microsoft withdrew its offer on May 3, Yahoo’s stock took a hammering during the next trading day and has since bounced between a low of $24.20 to as high as $27.36 per share during intraday trading on Wednesday.

“I love it,” said Safka, whose company announced Wednesday plans to buy Lexico Publishing Group said. “Just when you thought Microsoft and Yahoo were going to get on with their lives, it’s going to paralyze them once again.”

Nonetheless, Icahn and the video rental giant have managed to persuade a reluctant electronics retailer Circuit City Stores to contemplate an acquisition. Earlier this month, Circuit City Stores agreed to open its financial books for Icahn to take a peek, after the shareholder activist said he would consider buying the electronics chain if Blockbuster’s offer fell through.

He’s had mixed results on those companies when he’s made a run for them through some sort of shareholder activist campaign.

Updated Thursday 1:00 AM PDT with further details of Icahn’s past proxy efforts.

Icahn was expected to unveil his plans as early as Wednesday night, according to the report. The deadline for Yahoo or any shareholder to name a slate is by the end of the day Thursday.

(Credit:
CNET Networks)

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is planning to wage a proxy fight against Yahoo, in a move that could ultimately kick out Yahoo’s entire board, according to a Reuters report.

Folks who are familiar with Icahn’s efforts at these companies and others, where he has tried to gain board seats, acknowledge he comes with detailed ideas, versus vague suggestions on how to improve the operations of the companies.

At both biotech company ImClone Systems and video rental giant Blockbuster, Icahn was able to gain a board seat, but ImClone continues to post losses and Blockbuster shares have lost nearly half their value since the fall.

Less than two weeks ago, Microsoft withdrew its sweetened cash-stock offer for Yahoo, valued at $33 a share, after a three-month period in which its initial offer of $31 a share remained virtually comatose.

Icahn has received commitments from at least 12 potential board members to run for some or all of Yahoo’s 10 board seats, which are all up for re-election at the company’s July 3 annual shareholders meeting, according to Reuters.

Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment on reports of Icahn’s proxy plans.

Prior to Microsoft’s $31 offer, Yahoo’s stock was trading around $19 a share.

Investor Carl Icahn keeps a close watch on the numbers.

Some are already gearing up for the fight, such as Jim Safka, chief executive of Yahoo rival Ask.com.

Icahn’s record in proxy fights
In the past, when Icahn has waged a proxy fight, he has won more proxy challenges than he’s lost, according to research firm FactSet SharkWatch.

Shares of Yahoo on Wednesday closed up 2 percent to $27.14 a share, spurred by expectations Icahn would move forward on a proxy fight, potentially paving the way for a sale of the Internet search pioneer.

As the campaign to win the hearts and minds of Yahoo investors kicks in, don’t be surprised to watch a knock-down, drag-out fight between the two parties. Proxy solicitors note that proxy fights are often like watching a presidential campaign.

Second, Google can afford to seriously undercut Microsoft’s Windows pricing because Google doesn’t charge for Android. This is good for PC manufacturers that are looking to make more money in margin-squeezed Netbooks, and it’s terrible for Microsoft for the very same reason. Google has shifted the competitive terrain under Microsoft’s feet. By focusing value (and revenue) in the browser, Google has finally given Microsoft cause to fear the Linux PC.

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It’s hard to be friends with an 800-pound gorilla without getting stepped on from time to time. It’s perhaps not surprising, therefore, that some of Microsoft’s closest Windows allies are reportedly seeking to undermine their hegemonic partner with Linux initiatives in Netbooks and laptops.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Hewlett-Packard and other personal computer manufacturers are testing
Google Android for Netbooks and other mobile PC devices in a bid to boost margins that otherwise get consumed by Windows license fees. These PC manufacturers are seeking to have more control and money in the growing mobile computing market.

If Microsoft can’t count on Novell and its PC manufacturer partners to play nicely, who can it trust?

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First, as ComputerWorld suggests, Google’s brand might be enough to carry Linux in the PC market. Consumers know Google. They might not proactively seek out a Linux PC, but a Google PC…? Feasible.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft’s primary partner for Linux interoperability, Novell, is setting up a Taiwanese R&D team to focus on improving Linux for Netbooks.

While Microsoft has been dismissive of Linux in this and other consumer markets, it may have met its match in Google Android. There are two reasons.

Alongside these two features is a slight upgrade to the event creation tool which now allows for overlapping events, as well as a new two-click calendar subscription shortcut that lets you subscribe to someone else’s calendar without having to deal with special invites or permissions.

The other major improvement, which is more business-centric is the option to selectively e-mail meeting attendees. Like Outlook you can now get a separate list of people who have replied yes, no, or maybe and e-mail specific groups without perturbing the others. In both the business and social world, this is a great way to send notices and reminders without spamming the in-boxes of people who have already responded.

One of the new improvements, flexible reminders, seems like the most minor–but it’s not. Setting up reminders in the previous system had presets on when you’d be able to get the message. The new system is far more customizable and lets you drop in whatever time you want, complete with an option for days, which means you could set a reminder years in advance. You can still set whether you want it as a pop-up, e-mail or SMS message, the last of which I find to be the most useful if your mobile phone doesn’t sync up with Google Calendar.

If you’ve been on the fence about ditching Outlook for Google Apps you might want to give Google’s efforts another look. In a blog post this morning the company outlined some of the ways Google Calendar has improved over the past month with a handful of small, but important features. Many of them are aimed squarely at business users.

(Credit:
CBS Interactive)

One of the updated features is the option to create new draggable calendar events over other ones. Previously you'd have to create it elsewhere then drag it over–making it a two-step process.

Google is stepping up its recruitment of developers with a two-day workshop called Web Forward in May at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Saying that there is “no Google agenda” doesn’t mean that the company isn’t using the event to promote its own cloud infrastructure platform and APIs. As Richard points out, Google’s idea is to provide open source code and APIs to help developers accelerate the growth of Web applications, and at the same time attract developers to write those apps for its own platform and services, meaning not necessarily for Microsoft or Adobe.

Among the major platforms, there is a battle for the hearts and minds of developers. More developers means more applications, which means a more substantive platform, as well as an ecosystem that feeds the Google advertising engine. Microsoft held its Mix 08 conference last week aimed at bringing developers to its emerging Web platform with Silverlight, IE 8 and FeedSynch.

Sessions will cover AJAX, JavaScript, APIs, tools (such as Google Web Toolkit and Google Gears), social networking, mobile (such as Android ) and maps, and geospatial APIs.

One question is whether Google will open up Google Apps and the overall platform more for third parties to extend the productivity suite, as Salesforce.com has done with its CRM application platform.

Richard Waters of the Financial Times talked to senior Google product manager Tom Stocky about the event: “I’m not sure I see it as Google versus anyone else. What we’re really doing is promoting the Web as a platform. There’s no Google agenda.”

And the B-block licenses, which cover parts of California and New Jersey, will be used for research and development.

The gag order that silenced those participating in the FCC’s auction that ended last month was lifted late Thursday. Now companies are free to discuss their plans and strategies for bidding in the auction.

Cell phone chipmaker Qualcomm said it plans to use licenses it bought in the E block to provide more capacity for its mobile broadcast TV service called MediaFlo. Qualcomm spent a total of $558.1 million on licenses in the E block and a few licenses in the B block. The E-block licenses will expand MediaFlo coverage in areas such as Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

Companies bidding in the Federal Communications Commission’s 700MHz spectrum auction are starting to talk.

Verizon Wireless paid nearly $10 billion for licenses in the C block, which are subject to a special FCC rule that requires the winner to allow any device to connect to a network using this spectrum. Verizon will use the spectrum to deploy a 4G network using long-term evolution (LTE) technology. The company expects to have an LTE service deployed in late 2009, the article quotes Melone as saying.

Verizon Wireless plans to use its newly won wireless spectrum licenses in the 700MHz auction to deliver 4G services, CTO Tony Melone told the wireless news site Unstrung.

Other bidders in the auction have begun to talk, as well. Google, which had also been bidding on the C-block spectrum, said its main goal in bidding was to make sure the $4.6 billion reserve price was met so that the open-access rule would take effect. Richard Whitt, Washington telecom and media counsel, and Joseph Faber, corporate counsel for Google, wrote about Google’s strategy on the company’s Public Policy Blog on Thursday.

But the company doesn’t plan to roll out the new network any time soon. According to RCR Wireless, AT&T’s CTO doesn’t expect the technology to be ready until 2012.

AT&T also said it plans to use the $6.6 billion worth of spectrum it bought in the B block to build a 4G network using LTE, according to RCRWirelessNews. The company will also use spectrum it won in the 2006 advanced wireless services (AWS) auction for the new network.

We expect Centrino 2 to come into clearer focus throughout the summer as we test more of the latest laptops to include the new components. Stay tuned to Crave and our laptop reviews page as we highlight and review even more systems built on the new platform.

Also notable with Centrino 2 is built-in support for high-definition video playback, HDMI, and DisplayPort.

But do you need to run out and buy a Centrino 2 laptop? What are the expected benefits? After the page break we run down the new features and what they’ll mean to you.

New processors: The processors launching with the new platform are built on the same 45nm Penryn architecture that debuted earlier this year, though the new chips now all support the faster, 1,066MHz front-side bus.

Summer is the season for sequels, and Intel’s hoping to match the blockbuster success of Centrino Duo with the latest iteration of its mobile platform, Centrino 2. Essentially a marketing term, Centrino 2 (code-named Montevina) is used to describe a raft of new technologies from Intel, including a handful of new Core 2 Duo processors; a new chipset with a faster front-side bus; a new graphics solution with support for high-definition content and switchable graphics; and updated wireless and wired connectivity.

Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz): $209
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz): $241
Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 (2.53GHz): $348
Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz): $316
Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz): $530
Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100 (3.06GHz): $851

Overall, Centrino 2 has all the hallmarks of a box-office hit. Every component of the platform–processor, chipset, graphics, wireless–has seen at least modest enhancements designed to increase performance, decrease power consumption, and add functionality.

On the wired side, support for high-speed Gigabit Ethernet–a feature that’s likely to appeal to business users–is standard with Centrino 2.

Other goodies: Centrino 2 can support 2GB of Turbo Memory, flash memory designed to speed up commonly used applications. Also, Intel continues to woo businesses by offering Centrino 2 with vPro, which incorporates a handful of additional technologies for remote management and configuration.

More flexible graphics. One of the big developments with Centrino 2 is support for switchable graphics. The new chipset enables systems that switch–either automatically or user-controlled–between integrated Intel graphics (to conserve battery life) and discrete graphics (for more powerful performance). Lenovo and Sony have already promised this feature in some of their latest models.

Enhanced network connections: The two wireless options available with the new platform support the 802.11n standard, and Intel promises you’ll be able to roam up to twice as far as you could with the company’s previous Wi-Fi chip. It’s also poised to start offering WiMax support in the fall.

And while it’s too early to speak in general terms, our preliminary test results seem to back up at least some of Intel’s claims. The first Centrino 2 systems to hit CNET Labs have all included P-series Core 2 Duo processors, and while the performance gains are modest, all have demonstrated impressive battery life.

Three of the processors are part of a new class of energy-efficient CPUs designed to enhance battery life; these are designated with a part number ‘Pxxxx’ (think P for “power optimized”). The energy-efficient CPUs have the added advantage of staying cooler than their more power-hungry counterparts, a development that should bring about even smaller, thinner laptops.

The remaining processors–part number ‘Txxxx’ and ‘Xxxxx’–prioritize performance. All six new processors and pricing (per 1,000 units) are as follows:

Faster overall performance: The new Mobile Intel 45 Express chipset increases the frequency of the front-side bus to 1,066MHz, which helps all the components of the system communicate more quickly. The point is moot if you’re using DDR2 memory, which currently tops out at 800MHz. But the new chipset also supports DDR3 memory, which has a higher peak throughput than previous memory technologies. Intel is always reluctant to quantify performance improvements, but company representatives have promised “dramatic” performance gains.