Technology - NewsFactor

Microsoft is preparing to release new details about its Oslo modeling development platform. The company said Friday that it will offer a preview of the platform at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 27.

When Apple released its MacBook Pro laptop, reviewers called it an evolutionary improvement and touted its new GeForce 8600 GT mobile graphics processor, made by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia. Now some models may have faulty chips.

Zoho Mail has emerged from its private beta-testing stage. Tapping functionality built into Google Gears, Zoho's Web-based e-mail application now sports a "setup offline" link at the top of the page that gives users offline e-mail access.

For people who worry that it's impossible to escape from Google's amazing search capabilities, the ability to hide just got harder. Last month, Google helped sponsor the launch of the high-resolution GeoEye-1 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. After a month of calibration and testing, the satellite's first image was released Friday by Satellite Imaging, a Houston-based remote sensing and survey company.

Mozilla is doing its part in the battle against clickjacking. The open-source company is offering an updated plug-in for the Firefox browser that blocks what security researchers call one of the most dangerous problems on the Web.

Research In Motion and its U.S. carrier, AT&T, are being careful to avoid the problems Apple had with its launch of the iPhone 3G.

At the Tokyo Game Show this week, one of the primary goals of entertainment companies is to show off the latest alternate realities for game players to lose themselves in. Such escapism is understandable, given the sickly state of the real world's financial institutions. But lurking in the shadows like a Ninja is the question of whether gamers will be able to afford new hardware and software during the upcoming holiday season.

At a time when consumers are worried about the nation's economy, IBM wants everyone to know it is financially sound. The Armonk, NY-based company released a preview of its earnings Wednesday, a week before its scheduled earnings announcement on Oct. 16, and said it remains confident in its financial outlook for the year.

Microsoft is raising Xbox 360 forecasts in Japan amid rumors Sony might drop the price of its PlayStation 3 even more. Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to release an Xbox 360 with a Blu-ray drive, putting it on more equal digital-media footing with its main rival.

On Thursday, Sling Media pushed out its latest innovation -- the SlingCatcher. The SlingCatcher lets customers watch online video from a diverse spectrum of sites on the Internet, including network television venues like ABC.com, video content sites like Hulu.com and CollegeHumor.com, community video sites like YouTube, and even online movie rentals from popular services like Netflix.

The Web is percolating rumors that a new Apple laptop is in the works with an $800 price tag. Currently, Apple lists its lowest-priced MacBook at $1,099.

The indictment of David Kernell, 20, the University of Tennessee student accused of breaking in to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account, may mark the end of the FBI's forensic investigation. But even if Kernell is convicted at his December trial, important policy questions are likely to remain unanswered. Here are some examples:

When Sam Hurst, a professor at the University of Kentucky, developed touchscreen technology nearly four decades ago, he probably had no idea his innovation would be the basis for a popular consumer interface and change the way humans and machines interact.

Music enthusiasts will have another way to search for their favorite tunes in coming months. Mufin, a Berlin, Germany-based company, has launched the beta version of its music-discovery platform, mufin.com.

Internet and Web browser security experts are sounding the alarm about a new type of malicious attack called "clickjacking," a technique that can be used to dupe Web surfers into revealing confidential information while clicking on seemingly innocuous Web pages. Among other things, a clickjacking attack can be used to take control of a computer's Webcam and microphone without the knowledge of the user.

As IBM sets out to launch its Bluehouse corporate social network to compete with Cisco and Google, word comes that Facebook and MySpace are the most popular social-networking sites for mobile-phone users.

Mozilla has introduced an experimental Firefox browser add-on featuring powerful geolocation capabilities. Called Geode, the technology allows the location of Web surfers to be fixed and then maintained as users move about their hometowns, across the nation, or even when traveling around the world.

David Kernell, a 20-year-old University of Tennessee student, was indicted Tuesday by a Knoxville, Tenn., federal grand jury on one count of "intentionally and without authorization access[ing] a protected computer by means of interstate communication." Kernell is accused of breaking into the personal Yahoo e-mail account of Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Google is adding click-to-buy links to its YouTube video-sharing site. The new feature will let customers purchase songs and video games they like while watching videos on the site.