Nintendo nine-month net profit tumbles 74 percent

TOKYO — Nintendo's nine-month profit tumbled 74 percent as weaker sales of the Wii console and a strong yen battered its bottom line.

The lackluster results announced Thursday led the creator of the Super Mario franchise to slash sales expectations for its video game devices.

Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. reported a net profit of 49.56 billion yen ($603 million) for the nine months through Dec. 31. The company did not break down quarterly numbers.

It posted a 192.6 billion yen profit for the same nine-month period a year earlier.

Sales dropped 32 percent to 808 billion yen, while operating profit fell 47 percent to 158.8 billion yen.

While holiday sales were "robust," the numbers fell short of the US sales record set by the Wii and the DS handheld system the previous year, the company said. It also blamed the strong yen for 84.4 billion yen in exchange rate losses.

Nintendo now says it will sell 16 million Wii consoles in the fiscal year through March 31. That's 1.5 million fewer than it predicted in its previous forecast. It cut its sales estimate for the DS by 1 million to 22.5 million units.

The company left its earnings forecasts unchanged. It continues to expect net profit to fall more than 60 percent to 90 billion yen on revenue of 1.1 trillion yen.

Nintendo is banking on the 3DS to propel sales and help the company regain momentum. The glasses-free handheld 3-D device is being billed by Nintendo as a unique experience not found anywhere else.

It goes on sale Feb. 26 in Japan for a suggested retail price of 25,000 yen ($304). Sales in the US begin on March 27 for $250 — the same price the revolutionary Wii console cost when it launched in 2006.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told the Nikkei financial daily earlier this month that his company plans to ship about 1.5 million units of the 3DS in Japan in the first month. — AP

Sony to release new PlayStation Portable this year

TOKYO — Sony says an upgraded version of its PlayStation Portable machine will go on sale late this year.

Kazuo Hirai, who heads Sony Corp.'s gaming section, made the announcement at a Tokyo hotel Thursday. He did not give a price, regional release plans, or other details of the machine called NGP, short for "next generation portable."

The new machine promises to offer on a portable the same image quality and other features now offered on home consoles like Sony's PlayStation 3. — AP

Twitter 2011 ad revenue estimated at $150 million

WASHINGTON - Microblogging sensation Twitter is expected to rake in $150 million in advertising revenue this year, according to a study published Monday.

The study, by digital research firm eMarketer, said ad spending on Twitter in 2010 was an estimated $45 million, would rise to $150 million this year and could reach $250 million by 2012.

"One reason for the dramatic growth forecast this year is the upcoming launch of a self-serve ad platform," such as that used by Google and Facebook, eMarketer said.

"Twitter is poised to go after the same performance advertising business that has funded much of Facebook's growth," said eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

"If Twitter can grow its user base and convince marketers of its value as a go-to secondary player to Facebook, it will succeed in gaining revenue."

Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo said earlier this month that an advertising program implemented last year that involves paid-for "promoted tweets" was working "fantastically well."

"It's a big enough business for us to be an independent company," he said.

Costolo also said that Twitter, which has fended off several buyers, intends to remain an independent company and is not considering going public.

Twitter last month received an injection of $200 million in funding from investors to help fuel its growth, reportedly giving the San Francisco-based company a valuation of $3.7 billion.

"Our business plan is to continue to raise money," Costolo joked.

Lenovo creates separate unit for tablets, phones

SAN FRANCISCO — Lenovo Group, the world's fourth-largest personal computer maker, expects the market for tablet computers and other mobile and Internet-connected devices to expand so rapidly that it is creating a product group devoted solely to these products.

The company, which is based in Beijing and has US headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, said Tuesday that its new mobile Internet and digital home division will focus on creating tablets, smart phones and Web-connected home electronics, such as television sets.

Given the enormous popularity of Apple Inc.'s iPad, which was released last April, analysts expect tablet sales to jump this year. Technology research firm Gartner Inc. expects that 55 million tablet computers will be shipped this year, most of them still iPads, but there will be room for rivals to vie for sales of the remaining 10 million to 15 million devices.

The iPad wasn't the first tablet to hit the market — Lenovo and others have long offered laptops with swiveling screens that can also function as tablets, for example. But with its sleek design, focus on multimedia and price tag that can be as low as $499, the iPad was the first that managed to catch on with consumers. Now, major names including Lenovo, Motorola Mobility Inc. and Toshiba Corp. are releasing their own tablets with expectations that the category will finally take off this year.

Plenty of these were on display earlier this month at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. They include one from Lenovo, called the LePad, that runs Google Inc.'s Android operating software. When combined with a keyboard dock, the tablet becomes a laptop computer running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 7 PC software. The LePad and dock — the combo is called the IdeaPad U1 — are set to roll out in China during the first quarter; Lenovo has not said if and when the product will come to the US.

Lenovo's new unit will be headed by Liu Jun, who has been responsible for product development as the head of Lenovo's product group. Peter Hortensius, who had run the company's Think product group, is taking Jun's old post.

Hortensius said Friday that the company decided to split tablets, smart phones and other Web-centric mobile and home devices into their own group so there is a clear focus on these electronics at Lenovo's senior level. The products seem different enough from PCs that it is worth focusing on them separately, he said.

In the US, consumers will mostly see tablets coming out of this business unit at first, he said.

While the iPad was the first to crack the tablet code with consumers, Lenovo, like many other companies, is confident that there's room for other tablets, too. Hortensius expects there to be a "lot of winners and losers" in the market this year.

"This is definitely going to be a very important year in tablets," he said. — AP

107 trillion emails sent last year: Pingdom

WASHINGTON - Internet users sent a total of 107 trillion emails last year, most of them spam, according to a Web monitoring service.

The number of emails sent last year were among the facts and figures about the Internet gathered by Pingdom from various sources and published Thursday at royal.pingdom.com/2011/01/12/internet-2010-in-numbers/.

Pingdom said that as of June 2010, there were 1.97 billion Internet users: 825.1 million in Asia, 475.1 million in Europe, 266.2 million in North America, 204.7 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, 110.9 million in Africa, 63.2 million in the Middle East and 21.3 million in Oceania and Australia.

Pingdom said an average of 294 billion email messages were sent per day and about 89% were spam.

It said there are 2.9 billion email accounts worldwide and 152 million blogs.

The total number of websites is 255 million, Pingdom said, up 21.4 million over the previous year.

It said there were 88.8 million .com domain names, 13.2 million .net domain names, 8.6 million .org domain names and 79.2 million country code domains such as .cn or .uk.

Pingdom also published figures on the growth of Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter added 100 million new accounts last year and had a total of 175 million as of September, Pingdom said, adding that 25 billion messages, or "tweets," were sent in 2010.

Facebook had nearly 600 million users at the end of the year with 250 million joining in 2010.

Kama Sutra virus dupes with sexy promise

SAN FRANCISCO - Sophos computer security firm on Friday warned that hackers are spreading a nasty computer virus with a file promising a PowerPoint presentation of sexual positions from the Kama Sutra.

"Be careful what you do with that mouse," Graham Cluley of Sophos said in an online post.

"When you click on the file you do get to see a real PowerPoint presentation, but in the background a backdoor Trojan called Troj/Bckdr-RFM is installed which allows hackers to gain remote access to your computer."

Once a computer is infected with the malicious software, the hacker can steal personal information and spy on users' activities or use the machine for nefarious deeds such as sending spam or attacking websites.

In scant consolation, the booby-trapped file did present slides of more than a half dozen lovemaking techniques illustrated from the ancient Indian text, according to Cluley.

Tech trouble causing Computer Stress Syndrome: study

SAN FRANCISCO - Crashing machines, slow boot times, and agony dealing with technical support have Digital Age people suffering from Computer Stress Syndrome, a study available online Tuesday found.

"Today’s digitally-dependent consumers are increasingly overwhelmed and upset with technical glitches and problems in their daily lives," a communications industry think tank said in a report entitled "Combating Computer Stress Syndrome."

The report identified sources of peoples' pain as "frustrating, complex computers and devices, technical failures, viral infections, and long waits to resolve support issues."

Findings were based on a survey of more than 1,000 people in North America by a Customer Experience Board created by the Chief Marketing Officer Council to look into how to keep customers happy in the highly competitive communications sector.

"The reality is that numerous, persistent problems are troubling most computer users, creating unnecessary anguish and anxiety as a result," the study found.

"Digitally dependent users are getting fed up and frustrated with the current state of computer related stress, and clearly looking for a better way to address and reduce it."

Ninety-four percent of those surveyed said they depend on computers in their personal lives.

Nearly two-thirds of computer users have needed to contact technical support or have experienced Computer Stress Syndrome (CSS) in the past year, according to the study.

"Users face a continuous state of technical anxiety and challenge such as setting up new computer products, keeping up with software upgrades and migrating to new applications and operating systems, as well as dealing with malware infections, web threats, identity theft and more," the study said.

Forty percent of computer users have experienced system failures in the past year and more than half have had to reach out for help fixing technical problems, according to Pew Center Research cited in the report.

"Because they are so important to us, computers are a two-edged sword," said Murray Feingold, a US physician credited in the study with giving CSS its label.

"When they are functioning properly, they’re great. But when something goes wrong, we immediately go into panic -- This is what I call the Computer Stress Syndrome."

The study highlights the importance of making it less vexing to use modern-day gadgets, according to board spokeswoman Liz Miller.

"We think it is about time that a lot of these technology companies really start to pay attention to where consumer stress and pain points are to create better experiences," Miller told AFP.

US mother accused of playing on Facebook while baby died

DENVER - An American mother who told police her 13-month-old son drowned in the bathtub while she was playing a game on Facebook was charged on Friday with child abuse resulting in death.

Shannon Johnson, 34, of Colorado was advised of the charge against her via a video hookup from the jail where she is being held on a $100,000 bond, said Jennifer Finch, spokeswoman for the Weld County District Attorney's Office.

Johnson requested a public defender during the brief hearing and another hearing was set for later in the month, Finch said.

Under questioning by police after the boy died at a Denver-area hospital last September, Johnson admitted she placed the baby in the bathtub and went into another room to play the Facebook game "Cafe World."

She also checked in with friends and watched videos on the site while the boy bathed alone, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

When she didn't hear any sounds from the boy after 10 minutes, she found him slumped over face down in the bathwater making "gurgling" sounds, according to the affidavit. Johnson then called 911, and the boy was airlifted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead from drowning.

When police arrived at Johnson's home they found a laptop opened to Facebook.

Johnson told police that she frequently left the boy unattended in the bathtub because he was "independent," he liked to be left alone, and she didn't want him to be a "mama's boy," according to the affidavit.

Police also questioned the boy's grandmother, who said he suffered a seizure while she was baby-sitting him a month before he died. She told police she warned her daughter about leaving her grandson alone in the tub after the seizure.

When police asked Johnson about the wisdom of leaving a young child with a history of seizures alone in water, Johnson admitted that "it was so stupid."

She faces up to 48 years in prison if convicted.

IDC: Tech spending in PH to continue in 2011

Following a recovery in information and computer technology (ICT) spending last year, the Philippine market will be characterized by further revitalization and sustained growth in technology spending in 2011, analyst firm IDC said on Thursday as part of its annual predictions for the Asia Pacific region.

Across Asia Pacific and in the Philippines, a significant majority of businesses will be focused on further business expansion, both in terms of market share and penetration, and will leverage heavily on ICT as a key business enabler, IDC said.

The ability of ICT to deliver critical business upshots will become an even more important requirement and expectation from CIOs and line-of-business managers in 2011, it added.

“In 2011, fueled by the increased complexity in ICT needs of enterprises, as well as the ever-evolving needs of SMBs and consumers’ increased usage of ICT, the market will see an even larger scale of competition. As a result, ICT stakeholders such as vendors, service providers (SPs) and channels would need to focus on coming up with products and services that offer specific business value to clients; smart pricing models; more tactical partnerships with strategic players within the ICT ecosystem; and, feeding channels with transformational initiatives," said Jubert Daniel Alberto, manager for IT spending research at IDC Philippines.

The following are the top 10 predictions that IDC believes will have the biggest commercial impact on the ICT industry in the Philippines in 2011:

1. Philippine IT spending will see sustained growth in 2011
The Philippine IT spending is forecast to reach $3.63 billion by end of 2011. The country is also headed to post a 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2006 to 2014. The political stability and upbeat direction of the economy has fostered confidence among vendors to spend on marketing efforts. Consumers, on the other hand, are also expected to spend due to the continuous improvement of the economy and to some extent, the purchasing power of Filipinos.

2. Telco spending will record modest year-on-year (yoy) growth of 6% in 2011
IDC anticipates a 6 percent YoY growth on overall telco services in 2011, reaching $4.49 billion by year end. Operators are continually moving to capture demand from mass markets, as well as the uncharted territories outside the big cities throughout the country. In addition, fixed line operators are seen to make bigger concerted efforts to explore and exploit new revenue streams.

3. Expected rise of media tablets will drive further portability and increased data consumption 
Filipinos have been waiting in anticipation for the slated tablet PC launch in 2011. With its ability to propel bigger IT spending and introduce a more mobile IT environment, IDC believes that tablet PCs will be one of the key growth drivers for IT in the Philippines. On a worldwide level, IDC predicts the media tablet phenomenon to result in the shipment of more than 57 million units in 2014, exceeding deployment of mini notebooks. Locally, the media tablets and all the hoopla around it are projected to challenge, rather than completely overthrow, the mini notebooks.

4. From being just a theory to realization — 2011 will mark the dawn of the cloud era
With a rich pool of clients waiting for cloud service offerings, providers of cloud services will have their hands full starting 2011. Cloud computing is becoming the buzzword for some SMEs and MNCs alike. The demand to increase business productivity will pave the way for SPs and MNCs to look into a new medium of managing and optimizing business systems – through the cloud.

5. Intelligent SMBs: social media and consumer technologies will adopt bigger roles among SMBs
In 2011, IDC expects SMBs in the Philippines to increase usage of social media and consumer technologies. They will be regarded as solutions to achieve more benefits from technology adoption while working within limited budgets. The needs of SMBs are far more than scaled-down or “mini-me" versions of enterprise solutions. SMBs are a diverse group of businesses with disparate needs but limited funds. In the coming year, SMBs’ ICT needs will intensify, but, as with their larger counterparts, priorities will focus on reducing total cost of IT and aligning or adapting IT to the changing business landscape.

6. Mobile operators will blur lines between intra- and inter-network pricing
In 2011, less exclusivity and more liberality will be the name of the game, with SPs relaxing their competitive boundaries though call-all, text-all networks schemes. SPs will be more lenient with their pricing schemes on calls and texts due to promising revenues from data consumption brought about by the increasing popularity of smartphones and Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook and Twitter.

7. Increasing usage of smartphones will give birth to new security models 
In 2011 IDC expects smartphones to comprise 23 percent of mobile phone shipments, as compared to only 18 percent in 2009. With the growing ownership of smartphones, coupled with the proliferation of more affordable mobile data plans, more and more employees are seen to use their personal mobile devices to access corporate information. This growth, however, comes as a double edged sword: accessing corporate data using personal devices can be a key factor in confidential data loss. In this regard, IDC predicts that increased usage of smartphones for both personal and business use will give birth to new IT security models in 2011.

8. Social analytics will be “the next big thing" to social media 
With the rise in social media technologies usage, investments on social analytics tools are expected to grow in 2011 as businesses start to realize the importance of data mining and how analytics tools can help them generate insights for future decision making and market predictions. In a survey conducted by IDC, one of the main IT-related priority of companies in the Philippines is to build better management tools to help them make better business decisions.

9. Web applications and social media will drive dynamics in flourishing smartphone market 
IDC believes that in 2011, web applications and social media will shape trends in the smart phone space, driving dynamics in areas such as pricing, features, and operating systems. The usage of Web 2.0 applications, whether social-oriented or media streaming, through mobile devices is rapidly increasing. This is expected to increase accessible customer data as well.

10. Business process outsourcing (BPO) in the Philippines will see continued traction
In 2011, IDC believes that notwithstanding issues on manpower challenges, the BPO market in the Philippines will continue to see traction in terms of worldwide share of offshore services. The Philippine BPO industry will continue to perform well across the five (contact centers; HR, and finance and accounting outsourcing; medical transcription; software development and animation) key segments. However, maintaining its value proposition in the global BPO scheme of things in light of the intensifying competition and the presence of issues that could affect the industry’s growth prospects in the country will be the key factors that need to be resolved in order for the industry to continue to thrive. — Newsbytes.ph

How to Check if Windows Vista, XP and 2003 System Is 32-bit or 64-bit (x86 or x64) Version

You may receive a computer as a gift, and want to find out whether the system is installed with a 32-bit or 64-bit (Microsoft labels them as x86 or x64) based operating system, which requires specifically built software application (See x86 or x64 OS). For computer or PC that has been installed long time ago and user forgets about its version, or has changed owner several times, and user no longer sure whether he or she is running a 32-bit or 64-bit (x32 or x64) version of Windows operating system, use following methods to determine and find out which version actually it’s.

Windows Vista

Method 1

1. Click Start, then click on Run or Start Search.
2. Type msinfo32.exe and then press Enter key.
3. In “System Information”, review the value for the System Type item:
   • For 32-bit editions of Windows, the value of the System Type item isx86-based PC.
   • For 64-bit editions of Windows, the value of the System Type item isx64-based PC.

Method 2

1. Click Start, type system in the “Start Search” box, and then clicksystem in the “Programs” list.
2. The operating system appears as follows:
   • For a 64-bit version operating system: 64-bit Operating Systemappears for the “System type” under “System”.
   • For a 32-bit version operating system: 32-bit Operating Systemappears for the “System type” under “System”.

Method 3

1. Click Start, type system in the “Start Search” box, and then clickSystem Information in the “Programs” list.
2. The operating system appears as follows:
   • For a 64-bit version operating system: x64-based PC appears for the “System type” under “Item”.
   • For a 32-bit version operating system: x86-based PC appears for the “System type” under “Item”.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Method 1

1. Click Start, then click on Run or Start Search.
2. Type msinfo32.exe and then press Enter key.
3. In “System Information”, review the value for the System Type item:
   • For 32-bit editions of Windows, the value of the System Type item isx86-based PC.
   • For 64-bit editions of Windows, the value of the System Type item isx64-based PC.

Method 2

1. Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.
2. Click the General tab. The operating system appears as follows:
   • For a 64-bit version operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Version <Year> appears under System.
   • For a 32-bit version operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version <Year> appears under System.
   Note <Year> is a placeholder for a year.

Method 3

1. Click Start, click Run, type winmsd.exe, and then click OK.
2. In the details pane, locate Processor under Item. Note the value.
   • If the value that corresponds to Processor starts with x86, the computer is running a 32-bit version of the Windows operating system.
   • If the value that corresponds to Processor starts with ia64 or AMD64, the computer is running a 64-bit version of the Windows operating system.

Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Method 1

1. Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.
2. Click the General tab. The operating system appears as follows:
   • For a 64-bit version operating system: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition appears under System.
   • For a 32-bit version operating system: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition appears under System.

Method 2

1. Click Start, click Run, type winmsd.exe, and then click OK.
2. In the details pane, locate Processor under Item. Note the value.
   • If the value that corresponds to Processor starts with x86, the computer is running a 32-bit version of the Windows operating system.
   • If the value that corresponds to Processor starts with EM64T or ia64, the computer is running a 64-bit version of the Windows operating system.

The man who reinvented the keyboard -- twice

By Mark Milian, CNN

San Francisco (CNN) -- Cliff Kushler wants to talk to dolphins.

But in the meantime, he'll settle for helping humans communicate better.

In the 1990s, Kushler invented a cell phone technology called T9, which helped launch the text messaging phenomenon. And before that, he developed a once dominant language input gizmo for the disabled.

Now Kushler, 58, is rethinking the keyboard again with Swype.

Swype's technology lets users of touch-screen keyboards type -- if you can call it that -- by using their fingers to connect the dots between letters in a word. Users don't have to lift a finger from the screen to type a word or worry if their aim is a little shaky, because Swype's software can smartly and accurately figure out what they meant to say.

Dozens of smartphones running Google's popular Android operating system come with Swype installed, and Swype recently began letting anyone with a newer Android phone download the application for free. Nokia Growth Partners, the venture arm of the world's top phone maker, invested in Swype last year, and the product is available on Nokia's flagship N8 smartphone.

The app isn't offered yet in the online Android Market, but the company is taking requests for those who want access to a beta version. In that short period, it's netted more than 500,000 downloads in addition to the 20 million devices it comes installed on.

Ask anyone who's spent time using Swype, and odds are they'll sing its praises. Gadget enthusiasts consistently rate it highly, and buzz continues to build.

With phones' small screens, typing can be a chore. Even the most adept BlackBerry typists can't compete with Swype's efficiency.

To illustrate what a leap forward this concept is, Samsung Electronics enlisted the help of a young office administrator at Swype's Seattle headquarters to demonstrate the technology on camera. In the commercial, Franklin Page breaks the Guinness world record for text-messaging speed using Swype on a Samsung phone.

It [Swype] has the potential of moving the needle a little bit on how people use their phones.
--Cliff Kushler, inventor of Swype software

But in August, Page's short-lived record was broken by UK resident Melissa Thompson. She also used Swype.

"It has the potential of moving the needle a little bit on how people use their phones," Kushler said of his invention, with a healthy dose of his legendary modesty.

Swype CEO Mike McSherry is more blunt about his goals. "I want Swype to be everywhere," he said.

A man of faith and ethics

Kushler resembles a sage, with white hair, a more-salt-than-pepper beard and a warm smile. He speaks slowly and carefully.

A resident of Ananda Village, a small commune at the foothills of the Sierras near Nevada City, California, Kushler and his wife meditate for about an hour every morning. He almost always finds time for the daily ritual, though he still hasn't made time to chat with dolphins.

"I've delved into different kinds of spiritual pursuits on and off for decades," Kushler said. "My wife and I are very serious about it."

"I think ideas flow from -- I don't know -- different places," he added. "I don't think everything that's come out of me is something this little brain has generated. I don't want to say I'm channeling somebody or something, but I think [meditation] opens you up to a higher level of intuition."

On one of his semiregular trips to San Francisco, Kushler met a CNN reporter for lunch. Sitting with perfect posture, attained through yoga and martial arts training in his youth, he took infrequent sips of tea and bites of rice with chopsticks wielded expertly.

Friends describe him as humble, mystic, honorable and brilliant.

"Everybody loves and respects and follows Cliff," Swype CEO McSherry said in a recent interview. "He has incredible business ethics."

Convincing McSherry, a co-founder of cellular carrier startups Boost Mobile and Amped Mobile, to join Swype was tough. McSherry was weary of having to negotiate deals with cell phone manufacturers, Kushler said.

"I wanted somebody with experience in the mobile field, but a lot of it was just a person-to-person connection," Kushler said. "I just saw sort of a kindred spirit in Mike."

Trust quickly grew between the two. McSherry worked on Swype for six months without a contract -- "not even a verbal statement of exactly what the understanding was," Kushler said -- but trusted that he'd get a fair deal.

Helping the disabled speak

Kushler's path to improving typing on phones was preceded by work on helping the disabled communicate. And before that, dolphins.

As a young man, the Michigan native spent time as a self-described "hippie vagabond." He traveled around the country in his car -- "my dog and I, and a backpack and a guitar," he said.

Destination: California, to find a scientist named John Lilly, who was working on a computer interface that would allow him to speak to dolphins.

"I got obsessed with whales and dolphins and the idea that there's another form of consciousness on this planet," Kushler said. "We don't have to wait for E.T. to land in Washington to have some other intelligence to talk to."

Kushler still believes this, but he keeps getting sidetracked.

"I decided before I went [to find Lilly] that it would probably be much more effective if I actually had some skills in the computer realm," he said. "So I decided to go back to school and study computers, so that I could someday talk to whales and dolphins."

At Michigan State University, he met John Eulenberg, a professor and director of the Artificial Language Laboratory. Kushler said he explained to Eulenberg that he'd taken only one computer class in his life but that he wanted to join the college's master's program to eventually have a chat with some aquatic creatures.

If you look at the nature of the things that [Kushler] has worked on, they're ways of liberating people in big ways.
--John Eulenberg, Michigan State University professor and director of the Artificial Language Laboratory

And Eulenberg said OK. Eulenberg was one of the earliest researchers in augmentative communications -- helping disabled people talk -- and continues to teach today. He introduced Kushler to his field, and Kushler said the professor was a major inspiration.

"If you look at the nature of the things that [Kushler] has worked on, they're ways of liberating people in big ways," Eulenberg told CNN in a recent phone interview. "He believes in doing good."

Kushler didn't graduate from Michigan State. Instead, he took a scholarship to study at the University of Tokyo, where he eventually earned a degree in computer engineering with a focus on disability communication. There, he became fluent in Japanese. (He's currently helping to develop the Japanese version of Swype's keyboard.)

After school, Kushler worked on a system called the Liberator, which became a leading communication device for people who couldn't speak. The system uses a sort of shorthand with graphics and letters representing vocabulary words. Press $-W, and the Liberator says, "I want."

Work on augmentative communications technology became the basis for many of Kushler's breakthroughs. T9 came from T7, which was eye-tracking software for text input designed to help paraplegics. And the new keyboard for smartphones came from an idea about an input method for the disabled, set forth by Swype co-founder Randy Marsden.

While it quickly morphed into a mainstream product, Swype set aside a chunk of its seed money for funding disability applications. Making use of this is one of Marsden's primary initiatives, Kushler said.

Rethinking how we write text messages

In the mid-1990s, Kushler, along with Dale Grover and the late Martin King, invented a method for quickly inputting text on a standard phone keypad. Called T9, the technology allowed users to press fewer buttons in order to type words.

Rather than pressing 44-33-555-555-666 on a keypad to spell "hello," as early texters did, T9 reduced that to simply 4-3-5-5-6. The software guesses what you meant to type from a dictionary, and if it flubs, you can cycle through other options.

At the time, "text messaging wasn't that big," Kushler said. "It was sort of taking a leap of faith that this would be any kind of commercial success."

Like his later bet on touch screens with Swype, this, too, paid off.

"Cliff is a smart guy, able to do great things with technology," Grover, his former partner, wrote in an e-mail. "Cliff is the voice of reason in situations where others of us were overreacting or not seeing the big picture."

And the big picture, it turned out, was that T9 made people drastically faster typists and reduced the frustrations with inputting text on a phone. And that was the selling point.

Tegic Communications, the Seattle parent of T9, initially ran into resistance from cell phone makers because they rarely licensed technology at that time and failed to see the benefit of Kushler's software.

It didn't help that early T9 versions used a nonstandard keypad layout that Kushler says was five times more efficient. Letters seemed awkwardly grouped together on each number.

When Tegic finally bowed to pressure and changed its layout to a standard ABC keypad, phone makers took notice. Samsung was the first to sign on.

Tegic also met with cellular carriers to show them the magic of T9.

"We were going out to the carriers and saying, 'Look, if your phones have this technology, people are going to write more text messages. You're going to make more money!' " Kushler recalled. "So we got them to, in some cases, dictate [to handset makers]: 'You must have this technology on your phone.' "

Soon, most cell phone manufacturers were eager to sign deals to carry T9. This tactic -- of convincing cell carriers so that they put pressure on their handset partners -- has been a key to Swype's business, too.

AOL acquired Tegic for an undisclosed sum in 1999, when more than 90% of wireless makers were already licensing T9. About seven years later, AOL sold Tegic to Nuance Communications for $265 million.

During his year at AOL following the acquisition, Kushler tried to persuade the internet giant to invest in an idea to help deaf people. Because of AOL's dial-up modem business, the company was "in this amazing position," he said, to bridge the gap between the Web and the then-limited devices for the deaf.

After what he described as "total noninterest" from executives, he left AOL.

Big goals for Swype

Swype's popularity has risen almost in line with the excitement over touch-screen phones. Kushler began developing the technology out of his home more than eight years ago.

Early development was done on Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ, a touch-screen phone with a stylus. This was long before touch-screen interfaces were anything more than a gimmick serving a small niche.

Kushler's son was 2 when development began, and the child and app grew up together. When Chanda Kushler was 4, he Swyped his first sentence: "I love hot cocoa."

These companies don't want to license Swype. They want to buy us. 
--Mike McSherry, Swype CEO

On a computer keyboard, Kushler does "three- or four-finger chicken poking," he said. With Swype, he can type at 60 words per minute. But "I don't actually text that much," Kushler said.

Microsoft has taken an interest in Swype, and executives from the two have had several meetings in which executives from the software giant have asked about Swype's "ambitions," McSherry said. But Microsoft has locked its new Windows Phone 7 system from third-party keyboards like Swype's.

Apple, too, took an early interest in Swype. The companies have had at least two meetings, one as recently as a few months ago, McSherry said.

"These companies don't want to license Swype," McSherry said. "They want to buy us."

An Apple executive asked Swype to build a version for the iPhone but said it was unlikely that the company would make an exception to allow the app to replace the iPhone's stock keyboard, McSherry said.

So Swype is using an everywhere-else strategy. In addition to apps for Android and the older Windows Mobile, Swype has versions running on Microsoft's Windows desktop system, ones for televisions that use Nintendo's Wii remote and ones for touch-screen car navigators.

Swype hopes to bring its technology to the screens in airplane headrests. Another team is "very close" to having a prototype working on Microsoft's Kinect camera hardware, which lets you wave your arms and wiggle your fingers to quickly type letters.

Today, Swype is based in Seattle and employs 50 to 60 people, including contractors.

Despite its success, Kushler has ideas for improving his product. He hopes to eventually enable Swype's software to interpret sentence syntax and process language to more reliably guess words.

"Swype is maybe 97% accurate," Kushler said. "Getting that last little bit of accuracy improvement is going to depend on more intelligence about narrowing down -- well, what are the words that make sense in the context?"

He's also busy working on adding other languages and accessibility features to Swype.

So when will Kushler find time for working with sea mammals?

"I think you retire and get yourself a sailboat and go sail around Hawaii and find some friendly dolphins," he said with a laugh. "I think I may have to wait until my next lifetime for that one."

Windows restarts without warning.

Windows restarts without warning.

Question:

Windows restarts without warning.

Additional information:

·         This document is about computers that are restarting or rebooting by themselves, if your computer is turning off and remaining off please see document CH000689.

·         Some of the below steps in the answer require you open your computer and remove hardware devices, while in the computer make sure you're aware of ESD.

·         If you're looking for information about how to restart Microsoft Windows see document CH000825.

Cause:

This issue could be caused by any of the below possibilities.

1.   Software issue or error.

2.   Hardware issue or error.

3.   Heat related issue.

4.   Computer virus.

5.   Issue with operating system.

Answer:

Software issue or error

Errors generated by software programs can cause a computer to reboot unexpectedly or without warning. If you are running Windows XP see the below section "For Windows XP users" before continuing.

If you are not running Windows XP or following the below steps still cause your computer to reboot without warning. Boot your computer into Safe Mode, and let the computer run in Safe Mode. Additional information and help with getting into Safe Mode can be found on document CHSAFE.

If the computer is still rebooting in Safe Mode the issue is likely not software related but something else, skip to the next section. If the computer is not rebooting in Safe Mode it is likely you have software related issue. We would recommend you run through the basic troubleshooting section for your operating system.

For Windows XP users

Windows XP is designed to automatically reboot each time an error occurs such as a BSoD. Although this may be nice for errors that do not occur often, users who have a re-occurring error may wish to identify the error to troubleshoot it. Below are the steps on how this feature can be disabled and enabled in Windows XP.

1.   From the desktop right-click on My Computer.

2.   Click the Properties option.

3.   In the System Properties window click the Advanced tab.

4.   In Advanced click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery.

5.   In the Startup and Recovery window uncheck the Automatically restart check box.

6.   Click Ok.

Now if the computer generates and error it should not automatically restart and enable you to display any errors your computer may be experiencing.

Hardware issue or error

Any failing hardware component in your computer could cause your computer to unexpectedly generate an error and/or reboot without warning. If you have recently attempted to add a new hardware device, remove that device to make sure it is not causing your issues.

Make sure you are not encountering any hardware conflicts by viewing Device Manager for errors. Additional information about Device Manager can be found on our Device Manager page.

New drivers can also cause this issue, if you have recently performed any hardware driver updates you may wish to try an earlier version of the drivers. Additional information and help with computer drivers can be found on our drivers page.

If you have updated drivers and removed any hardware that could be causing this issue and continue to experience random reboots, it's possible that the memory is bad in the computer. Additional information about testing computers memory can be found on document CH000708.

Finally, hardware devices that are not installed properly in the computer can also cause random reboots. Make sure all the cables and expansion cards are connected properly to the computer. The best way to determine this is to disconnect and reconnect all cables and expansion cards.

Computer virus

Computer viruses such as the blaster virus are written to reboot your computer without warning. Usually these viruses will make the computer reboot ever 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes after the computer has booted.

If you believe your computer may be infected with a virus or are uncertain if your computer is infected with a virus make sure your virus scanner definitions are up to date. Additional information about checking this can be found in document CH000533.

Heat related issue

Many computer today are designed to turn off or automatically reboot if the computer, processor, or other device in your computer gets to hot. If you have heard any abnormal noises coming from your computer recently such as a high squealing this could indicate a fan may be failing in your computer.

You can first start by verifying the fan on the power supply is working by examining the back of the computer and seeing if the fan is moving and moving smoothly. For all other fans in thecomputer you will need to either open the computer and make sure the fan are working (processor fan and case fan) and/or if your BIOS monitors the RPM of the fans enter BIOS and make sure the BIOS does not report any errors.

Users may also be able to determine how hot their computer is by onboard thermal sensors, if your computer comes equipped with these sensors make sure your CPU is not running to hot, additional information about how hot your CPU should be running can be found on document CH000687.

Issue with operating system

If after following each of the above recommendations your computer still continues to reboot it is likely that you are experiencing a Microsoft Windows operating system related issue that cannot be explained. To help make sure this is the case please try the below steps.

1.   Reboot the computer and enter CMOS setup as the computer is booting. If you are not familiar with how to enter CMOS please read through document CH000192.

2.   After you have loaded the computer in CMOS setup let the computer sit.

If the computer does not reboot while letting the computer sit in CMOS it is likely that you are in fact experiencing an issue with Microsoft Windows and it is recommend that if you have followed all of the above recommendations that you reinstall your version of Microsoft Windows. Additional information about erasing the computer and starting over can be found ondocument CH000186.