Tweet
Price drops on PlayStation 2
Sony has cut the U.S. price of its popular PlayStation 2 video game console by about 13 percent, saying the discount should help fuel demand.
In a statement Thursday, the company said that effective immediately, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system would retail for about $130, down from a previous price of around $149.
Analysts have been waiting for a price reduction on Sony's market-leading video game console ahead of the expected release of its new PlayStation 3 in November. Sony has kept mum on its price.
Video game console makers typically reduce prices to spur demand, particularly as a device ages, or ahead of the launch of a new model.
PlayStation 2, first introduced in 2000, has shipped over 101 million units and dominates the interactive game console market, despite the introduction last year of Microsoft's next-generation device, Xbox 360. The more popular premium Xbox 360 system retails for $400.
Sony last cut the price on its stand-alone PS2 to about $149 from $179 in June 2004. Last week, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian suggested that Microsoft could also trim the price on its original Xbox device, but said the impact of that would be limited, due to dwindling supplies of the machine, which now sells for around $149.
Console price cuts could also recharge slumping U.S. video game sales, which fell 8 percent in March, the seventh straight monthly decline, according to data from market research firm NPD Group.
__________________________________________________ _____________________
Spring cleaning could mean great PC deals
This spring looks like a good time to get a deal on a PC--if you're willing to invest in technology that will look pedestrian in eight months.
It's the perennial problem in the PC market. At any given point in time, some technology that looks pretty cool is right around the corner. Do you buy now and get a good deal, or do you wait for an expensive new operating system or chip that will keep you going for years?
This year, there are some particularly interesting carrots dangling off in the future. New products from both Microsoft and Intel are within sight, with the Vista operating system scheduled--as of now--for early 2007, and chips based on Intel's new Core architecture expected to arrive soon. Apple Computer is also in the midst of a transition, with plans to shift its iBook and Power Mac products to new Intel chips before the end of the year, following the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini.
But in the months before these products are ready, loads of PCs with Windows XP and Pentium D processors as well as some PowerPC-based Macs have to go to make room for the new stuff. A surplus of inventory at Intel and other component manufacturers should lead to great deals on PCs in the coming weeks and months, according to PC analysts.
A little more than half the desktop PCs sold at retail in the first quarter sold for less than $600, according to data from NPD Techworld. The average selling price was $662, said Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD. On the notebook side, around half of the units were priced less than $1,000, while $1,022 was the average selling price. The average price for both types of PCs should decline as the current mid-level configurations slide down into the lower price bands, he said.
"The faster the obsolescence, the better the deals on existing stuff," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates.
Corporate buyers might also find the time is right for adding PCs, said Sam Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis. Most corporations are expected to take their time with Vista, carefully evaluating and planning for the new operating system well past its early 2007 introduction. A lot of these companies have steadily upgraded their systems over the past few years, but the deals in the second and third quarters might be too good to pass up, he said. Many of the systems available around then will be able to run Vista once IT departments are ready.
PC sales were actually fairly strong among consumers in the first quarter, but Intel's profits fell 38 percent compared with the previous year. The chipmaker suggested that PC growth won't be as strong as it had hoped during the rest of the year, since its customers still have a backlog of inventory to work through.
Other component makers, such as flat-panel display and hard drive manufacturers, are pointing to a similar softness, said Richard Shim, an analyst with IDC. With inventory building at both Intel and its PC partners, price cuts are almost inevitable, he said. And Advanced Micro Devices might have to follow suit to keep its recent market share gains going, Kay said.
__________________________________________________ _____________________
Man charged with hacking USC database
A 25-year-old San Diego man has been charged with hacking into the University of Southern California's online application system and nabbing personal data from prospective students.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles filed a criminal complaint against Eric McCarty, a network administrator, for allegedly exploiting a vulnerability in a USC database that hosts and stores student applications. Officially, he's charged with "intentionally transmitting a code or command to cause damage to the USC online application system," according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Michael Zweiback, an assistant U.S. attorney in the cybercrimes and intellectual property unit, said that the case reflects a growing trend among hackers.
"Universities are becoming bigger and bigger targets to the hacker community because they are large institutions...and hackers always want to see if they can beat the technical people on the other side," Zweiback said.
According to the complaint, McCarty allegedly used his home computer on June 17 last year to hack into a password-protected USC database. It contained data on more than 275,000 applicants from 1997 through that time, including Social Security numbers and birthdates. USC shut down the Web site on June 21 after learning about the hack from SecurityFocus. The site was offline for two weeks.
The FBI, which investigated the breach, found McCarty through the Internet Protocol number on his home computer.
McCarty faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted of computer hacking. He is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles District Court on April 28
__________________________
_________________
Captain
CRABshit
Sony has cut the U.S. price of its popular PlayStation 2 video game console by about 13 percent, saying the discount should help fuel demand.
In a statement Thursday, the company said that effective immediately, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system would retail for about $130, down from a previous price of around $149.
Analysts have been waiting for a price reduction on Sony's market-leading video game console ahead of the expected release of its new PlayStation 3 in November. Sony has kept mum on its price.
Video game console makers typically reduce prices to spur demand, particularly as a device ages, or ahead of the launch of a new model.
PlayStation 2, first introduced in 2000, has shipped over 101 million units and dominates the interactive game console market, despite the introduction last year of Microsoft's next-generation device, Xbox 360. The more popular premium Xbox 360 system retails for $400.
Sony last cut the price on its stand-alone PS2 to about $149 from $179 in June 2004. Last week, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian suggested that Microsoft could also trim the price on its original Xbox device, but said the impact of that would be limited, due to dwindling supplies of the machine, which now sells for around $149.
Console price cuts could also recharge slumping U.S. video game sales, which fell 8 percent in March, the seventh straight monthly decline, according to data from market research firm NPD Group.
__________________________________________________ _____________________
Spring cleaning could mean great PC deals
This spring looks like a good time to get a deal on a PC--if you're willing to invest in technology that will look pedestrian in eight months.
It's the perennial problem in the PC market. At any given point in time, some technology that looks pretty cool is right around the corner. Do you buy now and get a good deal, or do you wait for an expensive new operating system or chip that will keep you going for years?
This year, there are some particularly interesting carrots dangling off in the future. New products from both Microsoft and Intel are within sight, with the Vista operating system scheduled--as of now--for early 2007, and chips based on Intel's new Core architecture expected to arrive soon. Apple Computer is also in the midst of a transition, with plans to shift its iBook and Power Mac products to new Intel chips before the end of the year, following the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini.
But in the months before these products are ready, loads of PCs with Windows XP and Pentium D processors as well as some PowerPC-based Macs have to go to make room for the new stuff. A surplus of inventory at Intel and other component manufacturers should lead to great deals on PCs in the coming weeks and months, according to PC analysts.
A little more than half the desktop PCs sold at retail in the first quarter sold for less than $600, according to data from NPD Techworld. The average selling price was $662, said Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD. On the notebook side, around half of the units were priced less than $1,000, while $1,022 was the average selling price. The average price for both types of PCs should decline as the current mid-level configurations slide down into the lower price bands, he said.
"The faster the obsolescence, the better the deals on existing stuff," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates.
Corporate buyers might also find the time is right for adding PCs, said Sam Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis. Most corporations are expected to take their time with Vista, carefully evaluating and planning for the new operating system well past its early 2007 introduction. A lot of these companies have steadily upgraded their systems over the past few years, but the deals in the second and third quarters might be too good to pass up, he said. Many of the systems available around then will be able to run Vista once IT departments are ready.
PC sales were actually fairly strong among consumers in the first quarter, but Intel's profits fell 38 percent compared with the previous year. The chipmaker suggested that PC growth won't be as strong as it had hoped during the rest of the year, since its customers still have a backlog of inventory to work through.
Other component makers, such as flat-panel display and hard drive manufacturers, are pointing to a similar softness, said Richard Shim, an analyst with IDC. With inventory building at both Intel and its PC partners, price cuts are almost inevitable, he said. And Advanced Micro Devices might have to follow suit to keep its recent market share gains going, Kay said.
__________________________________________________ _____________________
Man charged with hacking USC database
A 25-year-old San Diego man has been charged with hacking into the University of Southern California's online application system and nabbing personal data from prospective students.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles filed a criminal complaint against Eric McCarty, a network administrator, for allegedly exploiting a vulnerability in a USC database that hosts and stores student applications. Officially, he's charged with "intentionally transmitting a code or command to cause damage to the USC online application system," according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Michael Zweiback, an assistant U.S. attorney in the cybercrimes and intellectual property unit, said that the case reflects a growing trend among hackers.
"Universities are becoming bigger and bigger targets to the hacker community because they are large institutions...and hackers always want to see if they can beat the technical people on the other side," Zweiback said.
According to the complaint, McCarty allegedly used his home computer on June 17 last year to hack into a password-protected USC database. It contained data on more than 275,000 applicants from 1997 through that time, including Social Security numbers and birthdates. USC shut down the Web site on June 21 after learning about the hack from SecurityFocus. The site was offline for two weeks.
The FBI, which investigated the breach, found McCarty through the Internet Protocol number on his home computer.
McCarty faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted of computer hacking. He is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles District Court on April 28
__________________________
_________________
Captain
CRABshit
Comment