BERLIN–Panasonic made its 3D sales pitch Wednesday, showing new 3D products and saying it’s plugged a final gap: letting people record their own 3D video.

At the IFA electronics show here, the company touted its HDC-SDT750 camcorder and offered attendees a chance to try the camera on their own. The model combines a regular 1080p video camera with an optional 3D lens attachment that gathers the necessary dual views for the left and right eye.

“We have already produced 3D eyewear, TVs, theaters, Blu-ray drive players. However, there is still one thing missing,” said Makoto Nagura, director of Panasonic’s video camera business unit. “That is to keep your precious moments in 3D.”

The TX-P46VT20E will cost about $2,800, and the TX-P42VT20E about $2,550.

Also at IFA, Panasonic showed off a mammoth 3D-capable TV, a plasma screen with a 152-inch diagonal. Its resolution is 409×2160 pixels. The screen should be available in 2011, Panasonic said.

Of course, not everybody is happy with 3D. It’s seen, sometimes rightly, as gimmicky. But as the swath of 3D movies demonstrates, it’s a real transformation of entertainment, just as the arrival of audio and color were in decades past.

A sales effort will be important to convince people to purchase the premium products. The video camera will go on sale in October for about $1,399. Handling the video also raises complications. The 3D video can be copied and shown using HDMI, SD cards, or USB, Panasonic said, but don’t expect consumer video editing to be a simple matter.

The 3D revolution is important for several reasons. First, it offers novelty for an electronics industry that continually seeks to generate demand for the latest, premium-price thing.

Second, it offers a potentially more immersive experience for those watching video or playing games.

Last, it requires content producers to retool for a technology that’s significantly more computationally intense and bandwidth-sapping. Streaming video is tough, but streaming 3D video is tougher.

Also at the IFA show, Panasonic showed off updates to the rest of its 3D line, including new TVs, Blu-ray players, home theater systems, and glasses.

The two new 3D-capable home theater systems, the SC-BTT750 and SC-BTT350, that will go on sale in September.

The higher-end SC-BTT750, with a cost of about $1,020, combines a Blu-ray player, six tall-and-thin speakers, and a wireless network to stream video to a compatible TV. The SC-BTT350, at about $700, has six conventional speakers and lacks the wireless ability, though it can be added later.

For TVs, Panasonic announced two new members of its NeoPDP plasma-based VT20 line with 42-inch and 46-inch screens, both available in September.

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1) Writing in all capitals can convey that you are shouting in your message, and nobody likes to be yelled at. Consider other ways to get your message across while conveying its importance. Using all capitals can be annoying and trigger an unintended response.

2) When sending a mailing, some people place all the e-mail addresses in the To: field. If the recipient list is large, that means that all your readers will have to scroll through the list of those on the e-mail to read the message. In the case of viewing e-mail on a smartphone, this can be extra irritating. You also have to consider that others may not want their e-mail address published for everyone to see. You can avoid both these issues by using the BCC field, or using a program like Outlook to do a mail merge that sends a unique message to each person on your list.

3) E-mail messages are easy to copy, print and forward. If you don’t want anything getting out, don’t e-mail it. Plus, remember that even if that e-mail isn’t forwarded on to someone else, company management can easily intercept inappropriate mail.

4) Save abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud) or IDK (I don’t know) for text messages among friends. Some may not understand your abbreviations. And while emoticons are fun, they just aren’t professional and you don’t know how the recipient will take them. Just like abbreviations, readers may not know what they mean. It’s better to spell it out and write what you mean.

5) This will almost always annoy your recipient before he or she has even read your message. Besides, it usually does not work anyway since the recipient could have blocked that function, or his/her software might not support it. If you want to know whether an e-mail was received, it is better to ask the recipient directly to let you know.

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Microsoft on Tuesday again abstained from naming which of its Windows programs, if any, contain bugs that could lead to widespread “DLL load hijacking” attacks.

Also on Tuesday, the company published an automated tool to make it easier for users to block attacks exploiting vulnerabilities in a host of Windows applications.

The DLL load hijacking vulnerabilities exist in many Windows applications because the programs don’t call code libraries — dubbed “dynamic-link library,” or “DLL” — using the full pathname, but instead use only the filename. Criminals can exploit that by tricking the application into loading a malicious file with the same name as the required DLL. The result: Hackers can hijack the PC and plant malware on the machine.

“Microsoft plans to address those of our products affected by this issue in the most appropriate way for customers,” said Jerry Bryant, a group manager with the Microsoft Security Response Center, in a Tuesday entry on that team’s blog . “This will primarily be in the form of security updates or defense-in-depth updates.”

Although Microsoft again declined to call out its vulnerable software, outside researchers have identified as potential targets a number of its high-profile apps, including Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007 and 2010, Address Book and Windows Contact, and Windows Live Mail.

Other vendors’ software may also be at risk, including Mozilla’s Firefox, Google’s Chrome, and Adobe’s Photoshop.

Bryant hinted that some Microsoft software could be exploited. “Due to the fact that customers need to click through a series of warnings and dialogs to open a malicious file, we rate most of these vulnerabilities as Important,” he said, referring to the second-highest threat ranking in the company’s four-step scoring system.

Microsoft typically uses Important to describe bugs that can be exploited remotely — via the Internet or e-mail, for example — but which also require that the user assist the attack in some way, usually by clicking through warnings or opening a malicious file.

In another blog , Jonathan Ness, an engineer with MSRC, and Maarten Van Horenbeeck, an MSRC program manager, described how customers can deploy and use a tool the company first offered Aug. 23 .

That tool blocks the loading of DLLs from remote directories, such as those on USB drives, Web sites and an organization’s network, and is aimed at enterprise IT personnel.

Not surprisingly, Microsoft acknowledged that users have asked for more help with the tool. Shortly after its release, IT professionals complained that the tool was confusing and asked colleagues for advice on how to configure it.

To simplify things, Microsoft has posted a “Fix It” tool on its support site that automatically blocks any DLLs from loading from WebDAV or SMB (Server Message Block) shares, two of the most likely attack vectors. Users must still download and install the original tool, however.

Ness and Van Horenbeeck also downplayed the threat to some extent, saying that DLL load hijacking bugs cannot be exploited via “drive-by” attacks, where a user’s PC is infected as soon as he or she browses to a malicious site.

“A victim would need to browse to a malicious WebDAV server or a malicious SMB server and double-click a file in the Windows Explorer window that the malicious server displays,” they said.

Microsoft has known of the issue since at least August 2009 , when researchers with the University of California Davis notified the company of their work. There’s evidence, however, of reports as far back as 2000, and attacks exploiting the flaw the following year, when the Nimda worm leveraged the bug in Office 2000.

HD Moore, chief security officer at Rapid7 and the creator of the Metasploit penetration testing toolkit, was the first to reveal the potential attacks when, on Aug. 19, he said he’d found 40 vulnerable Windows applications . Moore was followed by other researchers who claimed different numbers of at-risk programs, ranging from more than 200 to fewer than 30.

Some vendors have already patched the problem in their software. Both uTorrent and Wireshark, a BitTorrent client and network protocol analyzer, respectively, have been updated to address the bug.

Others are working on a fix. “We’re testing our own Firefox-specific fixes and plan to get them out to users soon,” Mozilla’s security team said in an e-mail reply to questions last week.

Even so, Microsoft said patches may be long in coming to some users. “We recognize that it may take quite a bit of time for all affected applications to be updated and for some, an update may not be possible,” Bryant admitted.

In lieu of patches, the blocking tool is the best defense, he continued. With that in mind, Microsoft plans to make the tool available “within the next couple of weeks” for downloading and deployment using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Microsoft’s most-used business patch management mechanism.

The company is also thinking about pushing the tool to everyone, including consumers, via Windows Update, although it would be switched off by default, said Bryant.

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Chrome users yesterday bombarded Google’s Gmail support forum with complaints about music suddenly playing in the background when they reached their inboxes.

Some feared that their machines had been infected with malware.

“Those sound effects are quite unnerving when you first hear it,” said a user identified as “goz3″ on the Gmail support board. “I really thought it was some sort of twisted virus.”

“I thought it was a virus, too,” echoed “bradleyctclarke” on the same thread.

The cause, said a Google representative on the support forum, was a video promoting the e-mail service’s new Priority Inbox feature.

Although the Google support rep said that the company was “working on fixing this” and apologized for the bug, Computerworld confirmed that the background video and its ragtime-style music was still affecting Chrome users on Tuesday.

Other browsers, such as Safari and Firefox, did not automatically fire up the video and its tune.

“I thought my account had been hacked — especially when I heard the scrunching of paper,” added goz3 in an earlier message Monday. “I thought, oh sh*t, my mail is being eaten up.”

The unwanted music played only on machines running Chrome, and then only for users who have had the Priority Inbox feature enabled by Google. The new tool, designed to automatically rearrange messages to put the most important at the top of the inbox, is being rolled out in stages by Google, which yesterday said that it would reach everyone within the next week.

The gaffe is reminiscent of one Google made last May when a JavaScript-based version of the 1980 video game Pac-Man freaked out Firefox users, who heard siren sounds and offbeat music in the background when they were at the search engine’s home page.

“MAKE IT STOP!” shouted someone tagged as “bleepo” on Monday. “If I get some annoying sound or ad every time I open Gmail on Chrome it will be enough to make me not use it.”

To quell the music, Chrome users should click on the Priority Inbox link in the upper right, then stop the video play in the pop-up window.

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The 3D architecture and design application AutoCAD, long missing from the Mac platform, is finally making its comeback. Autodesk plans to release a Mac OS X version in October, and versions for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are in the works, too.

“The combination of this new version of AutoCAD and the extension of AutoCAD to iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is a big step in Autodesk’s efforts to accelerate design and make design more accessible for an ever-greater number of people,” commented Autodesk senior vice president, Amar Hanspal.

AutoCAD for Mac OS X will support multi-touch trackpad gestures and Cover Flow, along with cross-platform DWG file format sharing.

Autodesk will also release AutoCAD WS for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch for free. The mobile version will let users edit and share AutoCAD files, but won’t offer the same level of controls found in the Mac OS X version.

Rumors that Autodesk was working on a new version of AutoCAD for the Mac surfaced in May, but the company didn’t offer any confirmation at the time.

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by Ed Hansberry

For the early part of its life, Windows Mobile was one of the more powerful mobile platforms, yet it was never known as being the most spry. Microsoft set out to fix that with Windows Phone 7 and early indications are it has succeeded.

I’ve said it many times before, the iPhone turned the smartphone world upside down and set new standards for performance, navigation and web browsing when it launched in 2007. It showed how well a smartphone could perform and it also showed that web browsing didn’t have to be painful on a small screen. Microsoft tried to gain some ground with various iterations of Internet Explorer 6 on its 6.1 and 6.5 versions of Windows Mobile, but it never really came close to the iPhone.

Face it, terms like bloated and slow seemed justifiable on Windows Mobile phones when compared to an iPhone. Now though it looks like Windows Phone is catching up and even surpassing current market leaders Android and iOS. PocketNow has a quick video showing how fast Windows Phone 7 boots up. It takes around 25 seconds for it to go from being powered off to the home screen where it is usable. The iPhone and Nexus One running Android take twice as long at a minute and for comparison, they threw in the Windows Mobile 6.5 powered HTC HD2 and it took over a minute even with Sense disabled.

Now, the goal of course is not to have to boot up your machine all of the time, but the truth is, smartphone are computers and they do need to be rebooted occasionally. In our office we have Blackberrys, iPhones and a few Android devices and they all need to be reset on occasion, so don’t try and suggest that only Microsoft products need rebooting. It is a tired and false argument of the unimaginative.

It is nice to see Microsoft is putting so much effort into speed and responsiveness of their new platform. We’ve already seen where Windows Phone 7 puts the new Blackberry 6.0 browser to shame. PocketNow also did a comparison of how Windows Phone 7′s browser stacked up to the iPhone and Android platform. While there was no clear winner in this category, Windows Phone 7 did perform very well, winning some of the speed contests and showing smoothness in just about all tests where the competition showed some stuttering.

One thing to keep in mind too in all of these tests is Windows Phone 7 isn’t done. It is a near final build, but Microsoft continues to make tweaks. The hardware also a prototype and likely has some rough edges. Worst case scenario though is nothing improves and Microsoft is merely very competitive. Best case scenario is once all of the hardware and software is done, Microsoft ekes out a bit more horsepower and becomes the best all around performing platform to date.

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Online retailers have started selling netbooks with Intel’s new dual-core Atom processor, ahead of official product announcementsfrom PC makers.

Intel announced the dual-core Atom N550 netbook chip on Monday. The chip maker said netbooks with the new chip would become available immediately, but major PC makers have not announced products yet.

Intel has said the dual-core processor is faster than its single-core predecessors, which go into most netbooks today. Netbooks will run applications faster and play 720p video, an improvement over earlier models that struggled with high-definition video. Netbooks will remain as thin and light as existing models, and offer similar battery life.

The chip runs at a speed of 1.5GHz and has 1MB of cache. It draws up to 8.5 watts of power.

An Acer Aspire netbook with a 10.1-inch screen is being offered for US$399 on HSN’s website. The netbook offers battery life of up to eight hours, according to the website, which is almost similar to the battery life of many single-core Atom netbooks.

The netbook comes with a 250GB hard drive, 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi capabilities and an integrated webcam. It comes with the Windows 7 Starter Edition OS.

An online retailer in Australia, Penta, is selling Gigabyte’s GA-T1005M multitouch tablet PC for $905, a high price to pay for a netbook — they are usually priced between $200 and $400. The tablet-style netbook comes with a 10.1-inch multitouch screen. It has a 320GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, webcam and Wi-Fi capabilities. The device weighs 1.48 kilograms (3.26 pounds) with a six-cell battery, and comes with the Windows 7 Home Premium OS.

A Chinese company, Timespad, is offering a netbook with an optional Atom N550 processor for bulk purchase on Alibaba.com. The netbook, priced between $285 and $305, comes with an 11.6-inch screen and an Nvidia graphics controller. The hard drive storage and memory capabilities are not specified.

PC makers are expected to announce products soon, with many possibly coming at the IFA show, which starts next week in Berlin.

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A firm owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has filed a lawsuit against Google, Apple, Facebook, and other companies alleging that they have violated patents related to search, multimedia, screen pop-ups and database management.

Interval Licensing filed the patent lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington. The companies named in the lawsuit are Aol, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and YouTube.

The four patents cover several technologies related to search, multimedia, databases and screen activity, said David Postman, a spokesman for Allen. Details about how the 11 defendants are allegedly infringing Interval’s patents will come out as the lawsuit progresses, he said.

Interval Licensing holds patents of Interval Research, the now-defunct company founded by Allen and David Liddle in 1992 to research information systems, communications and computer science. The patents in the lawsuit cover fundamental Web technologies first developed at Interval Research in the 1990s, Interval said in a press release.

The patents covered by the lawsuit are:

– U.S. Patent No. 6,263,507, for “Browser for Use in Navigating a Body of Information, With Particular Application to Browsing Information Represented By Audiovisual Data.”

– U.S. Patent No. 6,034,652, for “Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device.”

– U.S. Patent No. 6,788,314, for “Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device.”

– U.S. Patent No. 6,757,682, for “Alerting Users to Items of Current Interest.”

Postman called Interval Research a “groundbreaking contributor” to the development of the commercial Internet. The patents are fundamental to the ways leading e-commerce and search companies continue to operate, he said.

Some of the named companies slammed the lawsuit.

“This lawsuit against some of America’s most innovative companies reflects an unfortunate trend of people trying to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace. Innovation — not litigation — is the way to bring to market the kinds of products and services that benefit millions of people around the world,” a Google representative said.

Just how fair is the competition in the wireless market? If you are a smaller player, you may find it to be extremely skewed.

According to a recent government report – featured in an  article – the consolidation in this space over the last 20 years has allowed dominance in 90 percent of the market. The study was completed by the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress.

There are some who believe the results could help strengthen the Federal Communications Commission’s argument for enhanced oversight of the wireless industry.One of the rules the FCC  is currently considering includes requiring wireless phone companies to alert consumers before they actually reach roaming or data usage limits on a wireless plan. The agency has also been examining common industry practices that may or may not be unfair to consumers.

One thing under closer examination is termination fees that occur when contracts are terminated before expiration. Although the smaller provider may find the industry more challenging, consumers are enjoying the benefits of better wireless coverage and prices that are proving to be roughly half of what they were in 1999.

The GOA report found that at the end of 2009, there were 285 million cell phone subscribers in the United States. In 1989, there were 3.5 million users. In addition, nearly 40 percent of U.S. households rely on a cell phone as their primary phone. As for why the market tends to favor larger providers, there are a number of factors referred to in the report, including early termination fees and handset exclusivity.

It doesn’t help that AT&T is the only provider that can offer the iPhone.

Although this could be challenged in the future as Android is rapidly gaining ground. Special access regulations also garnered some complaints as this element grants access to the vital back-haul lines that connect wireless towers to broader telecommunications networks.

Smaller carriers claim they pay excessive prices for such access due to the fact that most of this infrastructure is owned by companies such as  and Verizon Communications. As to what the FCC might do with the results of this report, time will tell. As to strengthening oversight of the wireless industry, this has proven to be a slow and rocky road. Will it improve in the future? Given the size of this market and the players involved, don’t look for drastic changes anytime soon.

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