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New 16GB 'PSP Go' revealed early

Although Sony's E3 press conference isn't until 11 a.m. Tuesday, one of its centerpieces appears to have been prematurely exposed. A YouTube video of what appears to be the next issue of the PlayStation-focused video magazine Qore has revealed that Sony will use its event to unveil a new PSP model, the PSP Go.

Sony is expected to unveil the PSP Go at its press conference Tuesday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

As had been widely rumored, the PSP Go will have a sliding form factor like the Mylo, Sony's ill-fated Internet communicator device. The new handheld--which does not sport a second thumbstick--is shown several times in the video, which features Qore host Veronica Belmont and John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

According to Koller, the main differences between the PSP Go and the PSP 3000 are "on-board memory, the flash memory, and 16 gigs of space. There's Bluetooth on board as well, so you can use a Bluetooth headset, and you can actually tether it to your cell phone as well. But ultimately, it's the portability. Since you can bring all that content with you in a smaller form factor, you've got the most immersive games to play, and now you've got a smaller unit to do it with."

Though he does not say that the device will not have a UMD drive--as is rumored--he did say that the emphasis will be on downloadable games. "Little Big Planet, Jak & Daxter, Metal Gear Solid--all those will be available. So will all the movies you can rent or buy on the PlayStation Network. So you can bring so much content over with you and fill up that 16 gig of flash memory."

Koller also appears to reveal that the long-lost PSP Gran Turismo Mobile game--first shown off in 2004--will resurface at next week's expo. "There are games like Gran Turismo being announced at E3," said the executive.

Host Belmont then asks, "So since it's called the PSP Go, I would image it will work with Remote Play as well." Koller responds with the following blanket statement: "Integration with the PS3 is very important, and it works just like the PSP 3000. A lot of people like to be able to take their PS3 content with them on the go."

As for the PSP Go supplanting its predecessor, Koller said flatly: "It won't replace the PSP 3000. We're going to keep them both on the market." Koller did not mention a price, release date, or whether it would have a touch screen when closed. Sony Computer Entertainment America reps had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Truckers say new regs won't jam borders

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Americans returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and parts of the Caribbean will need more than a driver's license to get back into the USA beginning Monday — and efforts are underway to prevent that from turning into a truck backlog at the borders.

Commercial truckers in this border state, home of one of the nation's busiest border crossings, are among those who will be affected by the more stringent documentation requirements, the latest in a series of anti-terrorism efforts put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Their imposition fulfills one of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, a blue-ribbon panel of experts convened after the attacks.

In implementing the new requirements, the Department of Homeland Security faces a tricky balancing act: trying to secure the nation's 5,000 miles of border with Canada and 1,900 miles of border with Mexico while not disrupting trade. On an average day last year, Customs officers processed more than 70,000 truck, rail and sea containers.

The goal is "to strengthen our borders while we facilitate legitimate travel," says Joanne Ferreira, a spokewoman for the homeland security department's Customs and Border Protection Agency.

Truckers here say they're prepared for the new regulations.

"All my trucks are bar-coded, and all drivers have two forms of ID," said George Barrett, president and owner of Barrett Trucking in Burlington. During the winter his fleet of trucks crosses the border upward of 20 times a day to haul road salt south from Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, to Vermont.

The border crossing at Derby Line, Vt., was the 10th busiest for truck traffic along the nation's northern border in 2008, according to figures compiled by Customs.

The trucking industry is "well prepared" for the change, said Clayton Boyce, vice president of public affairs for the American Trucking Associations.

The Arlington, Va.-based association has been preparing for a year and a half and Boyce said many truckers already have Free and Secure Trade Program cards, known as FAST, to ease their border crossings. But he noted that other travelers, who may not be familiar with the new rules, "could cause backlogs at the border that could affect our members."

"Whenever the government does something new, there is always a good chance something will go wrong," Boyce said. "That's not a slam on the government. They find out, by doing, what the problem is."

Another Vermont company has a different strategy for expediting cross-border traffic: Land Air Express of New England in Williston, Vt., doesn't send its own trucks over the border, said Tom Spencer, the trucking company's vice president. Instead, it hires Maisliner Transport in Montreal to handle the border crossings.

J.J Maislin of Maisliner said the new requirements will have an effect on trade for small-scale companies that don't move freight between the countries frequently. But he's predicting only limited impact on larger operations like his. He expressed confidence in the federal officers at the border.

"Will there be hiccups? Yes. Will Customs be able to deal with it? Yes," he said.

McLean reports for The Burlington Free Press

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Palm shows Pre at D

Palm showed the Palm Pre's rival to the App Store during its demo at D: All Things Digital on Thursday.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)

CARLSBAD, Calif.--In one of the more anticipated chats at D: All Things Digital, Palm Executive Chairman Jon Rubinstein showed off the
Palm Pre and talked about several features of the smartphone for the first time.

Rubinstein showed how the device can search Amazon's MP3 store and download songs directly to the device, a feature mentioned at the Pre's unveiling at CES in January. The Pre is scheduled to go on sale June 6 with a price tag of $199.99, after rebate.

He also showed a "media sync" feature that lets users grab nonprotected media files directly from iTunes without any special software. In addition, the universal search feature will not only search Google and Wikipedia, but also Twitter.

Palm also demoed an App Catalog that the company says will launch with the product in beta form. About a dozen programs will be there at launch, Palm said. Among the applications shown on the device were Fandango and the New York Times.

D impresario Walt Mossberg pressed Rubinstein on whether iTunes maker Apple will be unhappy with the feature. "They've gotten much more open," he said. "They've gotten rid of the DRM."

Venture capitalist Roger McNamee, whose firm is Palm's biggest shareholder, said he sees the media sync feature as an acknowledgment of iTunes' power.

"I find it hard to believe they are going to get bent out of shape," McNamee said.

Rubinstein did acknowledge that the Pre is going after the
Apple iPhone, along with the BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion.

"Clearly the primary competitors are Apple and RIM," Rubinstein said of the Pre.

Palm: "a new company today"

Before the Pre demo, Rubinstein talked about the steps that got the company where it is.

"We hired a lot of new people into the company," Rubinstein said. "It's a new company today."

Asked what he brought over from Apple, where he had been a hardware guru, Rubinstein said, "I hope I've learned a little bit of taste. I've also learned how important great marketing is."

But Palm is not Apple, he said. "The difference is we're tiny. We're the real little engine that could."

McNamee said that, despite all their success, Apple and RIM have just two points of market share in the global phone business. "We are at the very beginning of a massive transformation," he said. "There was a lot of white space that Palm could step into."

Mossberg asked why Rubinstein and McNamee didn't just start their own company.

"Palm had tremedous assets," Rubinstein said, noting its brand, its history of innovation, and its intellectual property. "The DNA is there," he said. "The way of thinking about great products is there."

The talk began with a video in which McNamee makes all sorts of exaggerated claims about the Pre and Rubinstein constantly interrupts and corrects him. It's a reference to an earlier incident in which McNamee made claims that Palm later had to publicly disavow in a regulatory filing.

McNamee didn't stop with his hyperbole.

"I wish I had the entire fund in Palm," he said. " This is the thing that will define us."

Long live the OS

Asked about what other devices Palm might create, Rubinstein left the door open, but didn't give details.

"We designed the WebOS to work across a variety of products," Rubinstein said. A lot of thought was put into the WebOS that powers the Pre, he said.

"The old Palm OS lasted 15 years but had run its course," Rubinstein said. "We set out to develop a platform that will last us another 10 or 15 years."

Rubinstein said that Palm initially worked with just a couple dozen developers, but is now working with hundreds and has thousands more waiting in the queue.

As for the devices themselves, Rubinstein was asked to comment on reports that Best Buy stores may each have only four devices for launch.

"We are in full production with the Pre," Rubinstein said, adding that he expected there would be shortages because of the demand.

He noted that later this year there will be a GSM version, but declined to confirm a report that Verizon will start selling the Pre in six months time.

"We do love Sprint and they are our exclusive launch partner," Rubinstein said. "It sounds like AT&T and Verizon both want it. I can't comment on unannounced relationships."

On the enterprise side, Rubinstein said, the Pre not only has ActiveSync to get Exchange mail as well as the ability to look up addresses from a corporate directory and remotely wipe a lost phone. He also acknowledged that the security and other business features of Windows Mobile aren't there, pitching those concerned with that toward Palm's Windows Mobile-based Palm Pro.

Among the Pre featues, Palm showed a media-synching feature that transfers unprotected music directly from iTunes.

Twitter, Facebook attacks: low tech yet very effective

This week's uptick in low-tech social engineering and phishing scams on Facebook, Twitter and other popular sites proves a point: old methods of stealing sensitive personal information still work.
What makes the attacks so dangerous is they're easy to create and post on social media sites. And they're effective. Often, they exploit users who are juggling multiple social media sites they trust. When those users receive a direct message from a friend or follower, they assume it is legit.
"I was getting messages from people asking me why I had sent them this strange e-mail with a bizarre link," says Diana Iles-Parker, a San Francisco-based marketing consultant for documentaries. On Thursday, e-mail sent from her Facebook account to her friends appeared to be a phishing scam. Besides being unsettling, the faux messages could undermine relationships with new Facebook friends, Parker says.
"What a bummer. I'm trying to build these relationships on Facebook, and this happens," Parker says.
Simple phishing scams can be avoided. Symantec suggests taking these precautions.
By Jon SwartzPhoto: A Twitter staffer ponders a problem at the company's San Francisco headquarters. (Jessica B. Lifland for USA TODAY)

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