Apple to rent movies on Web, shows thin notebook | Technology | Reuters
Apple Inc AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research will start renting movies over the Internet, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Tuesday, moving the iPhone and iPod maker into a very competitive market.

Jobs also unveiled a notebook computer that was less than 0.8 inches thick, called the Macbook Air.

With Web movie rentals, Apple takes on DVD-by-mail rental service Netflix Inc NFLX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, which also allows online viewing, as well as a host of others eager to make it possible to watch movies easily and instantly over the Web.

Apple Inc will start renting movies over the Internet, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Tuesday, moving the iPhone and iPod maker into a very competitive market.

Jobs also unveiled a notebook computer that was less than 0.8 inches thick, called the Macbook Air.

With Web movie rentals, Apple takes on DVD-by-mail rental service Netflix Inc, which also allows online viewing, as well as a host of others eager to make it possible to watch movies easily and instantly over the Web.

A supercomputer that could help answer some of science’s biggest questions will be unveiled on Monday.

With the power of 12,000 desktop PCs, the mammoth machine called HECToR is the country’s fastest computer and one of the most powerful in Europe.

It can make 63 million million calculations each second, allowing scientists to conduct research into everything from climate change to new medicines.

The purpose-built machine is housed in 60 wardrobe-sized cabinets in the University of Edinburgh’s advanced computing centre near the Scottish capital.

After years of development, Chancellor Alistair Darling is due to attend the official launch ceremony for the 113 million pound machine.

Reversing its initial decision to keep the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 release candidate restricted to private testers, Microsoft has made the near-complete upgrade available for download to the general public.

Although still not a final version of Vista SP1, the latest release is said to be on track with the estimated first quarter release date for the first service pack update for Windows Vista.

This is the first significant enhancement to Microsoft’s latest desktop operating system, which was released in January of 2007, meaning that Vista’s early adopters have had to wait almost a year for a refresh. Those holding on for the final release of SP1 will have to wait even longer. ZDNet Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley says that her sources put the final release date sometime in February.

A sophisticated hacking scheme seen early last year is affecting an increasing number of Web servers, including one owned by a major online advertising company, the chief technology officer of Finjan Software said Monday.

It appears that a single gang is behind the attacks, since the malicious software it spreads is storing login and password details on one server in Spain, said Yuval Ben-Itzhak. Finjan is trying to get the ISP (Internet service provider) to shut it down, he said.

A Web server of an online advertising company that serves 14 million banner ads to other Web sites has also been hacked, Ben-Itzhak said. That means that the PC of anyone who visits a legitimate site hosting a malicious banner ad could potentially be infected if their computer isn’t patched, he said.

Toshiba Corp. on Monday announced an aggressive campaign to bolster its HD DVD movie disc format against Sony-backed Blu-ray technology, cutting prices on players to as low as $149.99.

The HD DVD camp suffered a serious blow on Jan. 4, when Warner Bros. Entertainment said it would stop publishing movies on HD DVD in May, to focus on Blu-ray and regular DVD.

That leaves only two major studios, Paramount and Universal, still supporting HD DVD, while five support Blu-ray.

Toshiba on Monday slashed the suggested retail price of its cheapest player, the HD-A3, from $299.99 to $149.99. The price for the HD-A30 was also halved, from $399.99 to $199.99, while the price on the high-end HD-A35 went from $499.99 to $299.99.

Under mounting pressure from law enforcement and parents, MySpace agreed Monday to take steps to protect youngsters from online sexual predators and bullies, including searching for ways to better verify users’ ages.

The hugely popular online hangout will create a task force of industry professionals to improve the safety of users, and other social-networking sites will be invited to participate. “We must keep telling children that they’re not just typing into a computer. They’re sharing themselves with the world,” said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.

The deal comes as sites such as MySpace and Facebook have grown exponentially in recent years, with teenagers making up a large part of their membership. This has created a new potential venue for sexual predators who lie about their age to lure young victims and for cyber bullies who send threatening and anonymous messages.