Sanders Alfred Blog

One of the largest satellite TV providers is slicing itself into smaller pieces.

Formerly called EchoStar, it will be split into two businesses: the satellite broadcast service will be called Dish Network, and its fixed satellite services and set-top box business will be called EchoStar Holding Co., according to SEC filings dug up by GigaOm .

Current chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen will retain both titles as head of both companies.

EchoStar Holding Co. will include Sling Media, which was bought by EchoStar in October for $380 million. The Slingbox is now one of several set-top boxes that EHC could possibly sell to other cable operators or other satellite companies.

There had been rumors earlier this year of AT

To address a security hole being exploited by hackers, RealNetworks has issued a security fix for the Windows versions of RealOne Player, RealOne Player version 2, RealPlayer 10.5 and RealPlayer 11 beta. The Windows versions of RealPlayer 8 and earlier versions of RealNetworks are not vulnerable. Linux and Macintosh versions of RealPlayer are also not affected.

The attack targets an ActiveX object installed by RealPlayer, and affects how that object interacts with the Internet Explorer browser. The exploit, if executed, can corrupt process memory and execute arbitrary code.

Affected users should upgrade to RealPlayer 10.5 or RealPlayer 11 beta and install the the latest patch , which was released Friday.

The much-hyped Google Android phone operating system will hit Australia on January 29, in the form of the Kogan Agora and Agora Pro.

As apparently the first handset provider to bring the Android platform to Australia, Kogan Technologies is cleverly piggybacking on existing hype about Google's open-source mobile phone platform.

The Android platform is currently available in the U.S. in the form of the T-Mobile G1 . Much like the G1, the Kogan Agora phones pack a QWERTY keyboard--though no touch screen.

The Agora will apparently be the first Android phone Down Under.

Unlike the G1, there will two models from Kogan, the Agora and the Agora Pro. For the extra 100 Australian dollars , the Pro offers Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, GPS, and a 2-megapixel camera. The GPS will enable integrated Google Maps.

By giving the OS away for free, Google has promised that the Android platform will bring down the price of handsets. With the price of the Agora handsets this looks to be true. For smartphones, both Agora phones are ridiculously cheap. At 299 Australian dollars for the Agora and 399 Australian dollars for the Agora Pro, these smartphones are about half the price of the cheapest smartphone we can think of, the Nokia E71.

With a 624MHz processor, the Agora phones also look like it will be a zippy smartphone. Storage is provided by the standard 128MB RAM and 256MB ROM combo, along with a microSD card slot.

Following the open-source ethos, the Agora handsets will come completely unlocked. Just pop your existing SIM and microSD cards, put your old phone on eBay, and off you go.

Alex Serpo of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney.

Topics: Personal communications Tags: Android , Agora , Australia Share: Digg Del.icio.us Reddit cnet_news406:http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10118995-94.html

A serving of green tech news from around the Web.

Kleiner to invest in Indian clean-tech firms. In India, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield

Google could be preparing to fight copyright lawsuits related to its acquisition of YouTube by setting aside over $200 million in escrow for a year. In a statement Monday announcing the completion of its purchase of YouTube, Google said "12.5 percent of the equity issued and issuable in the transaction will be subject to escrow for one year to secure certain indemnification obligations."

Google chief Executive Eric Schmidt last week denied a rumor that the company had set aside nearly $500 million of the purchase price to cover copyright-related legal costs.

The value of the all-stock deal has risen to nearly $1.8 billion from $1.65 billion at the time it was announced in October .

Google acknowledged in a regulatory filing last week that it faces copyright claims after the closing of the YouTube deal.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that "the escrow account's existence means YouTube's former owners--a small group led by co-founders Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim and Sequoia Capital--may never receive a substantial portion of the Google stock if YouTube runs into legal trouble or incurs other losses."

YouTube has already been sued by a company with a similar Web address, UTube.com.