Techno-News Blog

By Jeffrey Burt, eWeek

The One Laptop Per Child project is teaming up with Marvell to create a tablet that officials hope will enable OLPC to bring down the price to less than $100. The XO-3 tablet will be designed for schoolchildren in the United States and elsewhere, and also will be marketed to healthcare facilities.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/OLPC-Marvell-to-Build-XO3-Tablet-311725/?kc=rss

By Clint Boulton, eWeek

More than 4 billion TV users exist in the world. Americans watch an average of five hours of TV per day. Companies spend $70 billion per year advertising on TV in the United States alone. This is why Google is launching Google TV with partners Sony, Intel, Logitech and Best Buy this fall for the holiday season. Google TV marries Web surfing with channel surfing, running on an Android-based platform and accessible through the Chrome Web browser. There are many questions about this ambitious service. Check out snapshots of Google’s presentation of Google TV here.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/Android-Chrome-Power-OpenSource-Google-TV-Platform-608983/?kc=rss

by Cassandra Colson, Jackson County Chronicle

Area school districts will look to update their schools’ technology following a settlement with Microsoft that distributed nearly $80 million in vouchers to Wisconsin schools. The Black River Falls, Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan and Melrose-Mindoro school districts received more than $503,000 in vouchers, which can be used for hardware and software purchases. The Microsoft-Wisconsin Cy Pres Program is the result of a settlement that was reached in class action lawsuits about certain Microsoft software acquired by consumers, businesses and governments for use in Wisconsin.

http://www.jacksoncountychronicle.com/articles/2010/05/19/school/01techn.txt

By Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC

A British scientist says he is the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus. Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading contaminated a computer chip which was then inserted into his hand. The device, which enables him to pass through security doors and activate his mobile phone, is a sophisticated version of ID chips used to tag pets. In trials, Dr Gasson showed that the chip was able to pass on the computer virus to external control systems. If other implanted chips had then connected to the system they too would have been corrupted, he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10158517.stm

By JERRY LIAO, Manila Bulletin

One of the hottest device in the world today is the Apple iPad. In just 28 days, Apple’s iPad has hit the one million mark. Apple added that iPad users have downloaded more than 12 million apps from its App Store and more than 1.5 million e-books from the iBookstore, via Wi-Fi or wireless data connection. With the success of the iPad, we can expect other computer manufacturers to follow suit. Companies like Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, HP,. Gateway, Toshiba, Neo, RedFox, MSI and the rest will soon release their own eBook readers or Tablet PCs – the soonest time possible. SO is it just a fad or these devices are here to stay?

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/257994/ebook-readers-and-tablet-pcs-take-techworld-storm

by BBC

Apple’s innovations have inspired a vast following Apple has pushed past arch-rival Microsoft to become the world’s biggest technology company. Changes in the share price values of the two in Wednesday’s choppy trading left the total value of Apple at $222bn (£154bn). Microsoft is now valued by investors at $219bn.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10168684.stm

By David Leonhardt, NY Times

Video games can not only provide hours of entertainment, he writes. They can also give people — especially young men, who play more than their fair share of video games and commit more than their fair share of crimes — an outlet for frustration that doesn’t involve actual violence.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/economix-do-video-games-equal-less-crime/

By NICK BILTON, NY Times

Imagine carrying around a tiny screen that can act as a cellphone or movie display and when it’s not in use, you can roll it up to the size of a pencil and slip it into your pocket or behind your ear? Sony’s research and development labs is one step closer to this reality with a new fully rollable organic screen the company showcased today.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/sony-showcases-new-rollable-flexible-screen/

By JOSHUA BRUSTEIN, NY Times

Apple has again changed its mind. Earlier this week, it rejected the iPhone app of a Republican opponent to Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, a Democrat, saying it was a personal attack on Mr. Waxman. But on Tuesday, Apple reversed itself and approved the app. It is just the latest in a string of incidents in which Apple has changed its decision on whether to approve an app that arguably made fun of or criticized public figures.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/apples-struggle-with-political-app/

By Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google May 20 launched Android 2.2, or Froyo, at its Google I/O developer conference, showing big boosts in speed thanks to a new compiler and improved Web browser running the Chrome V8 engine. Support for Adobe Flash 10.1 and enterprise capabilities for Microsoft Exchange, as well as a cloud-based messaging API, were also among the new features for the new mobile operating system. Android 2.2 is already rolling out to some Nexus One users. eWEEK runs through Froyo’s features in this visual presentation.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/First-Look-Android-22-Before-It-Lands-on-Nexus-One-HTC-Smartphones-745427/?kc=rss

By Michelle Maisto, eWeek

Dell introduced the Streak, a tablet with a 5-inch touch screen and the Android OS, May 25. Unlike the Apple iPad, the Streak is also a phone, offers multitasking and can support Adobe’s Flash for viewing video and animations. Its size, however, may give some consumers pause. Some analysts have called it an oversized Android smartphone targeted at high-end consumers wanting a tablet-style Web-browsing experience. “The main challenge for the 5-inch Streak is that its overall size may be a little too large for in-pocket smartphone usage, while its screen may be a little too small for an in-home tablet experience,” Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston told eWEEK. “Some consumer or prosumer segments may prefer to wait for other Dell devices with smaller form factors or bigger displays.” The Streak will arrive in the United Kingdom in June and in the United States later this summer.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Dell-Streak-Tablet-Unlike-Apple-iPad-Is-Also-a-Phone-Supports-Flash-187438/?kc=rss

By Eric Lundquist

Cloud Computing is a hot IT infrastructure topic, but CIOs are still concerned about security, compliance and privacy. In this interview conducted at the MIT CIO Symposium, EMC’s CIO offers in how to engage in cloud computing and still assure enterprise computing needs.

 http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/The-Future-of-Public-and-Private-Cloud-Computing/?kc=rss

By Associated Press

The European Commission unveiled plans Wednesday to greatly increase the number of Europeans using public and commercial services online over the next decade. Neelie Kroes, the EU commissioner for digital affairs, said 30 percent of Europeans have never used the Internet. Beyond that, there are four times as many music downloads in the U.S than in Europe, and only 1 percent of Europeans have access to fiber-based high-speed networks, she said, compared to 12 percent in Japan and 15 percent of South Koreans.

http://www.technologyreview.com/wire/25354/?a=f

By Associated Press

It was strike two for a major science funding bill Wednesday as House Republicans again united to derail legislation they said was too expensive. Going down to defeat was the COMPETES Act, which would have committed more than $40 billion over three years to boost funding for the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies involved in basic and applied science, provided loan guarantees to small businesses developing new technologies and promoted science and math education.

http://www.technologyreview.com/wire/25355/?a=f

By Associated Press

Google Inc. will open a Web applications store later this year in an attempt to make it easier to find and set up programs within the Internet search leader’s Chrome browser. The online store, previewed Wednesday during a Google conference for software programmers, appears to be ideally suited for the lightweight laptops called “netbooks” that will rely on an operating system revolving around the Chrome browser. The Chrome OS netbooks won’t have hard drives and will need Internet access to run applications.

http://www.technologyreview.com/wire/25364/?a=f

By David Talbot, Technology Review

Multilingual Web content has been around for years. Now Web domain names in non-Latin languages are finally arriving–including Arabic addresses launched in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates earlier this month; Cyrillic, launched in Russia last Thursday; and soon Chinese–easing Web access for hundreds of millions of people around the world.

http://www.technologyreview.com/web/25338/?a=f

by Arizona State University

Engineering students Travis Sein and Ryan Scott recently showcased skills they’ve gained in Arizona State University’s computer gaming program in the finals of the national Microsoft Imagine Cup challenge in Washington, D.C. Sein and Scott, computer science majors in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, are pursuing the computer gaming certificate. Microsoft, one of the world’s major computer technology corporations, gave students the task of developing games that demonstrate technological innovation and convey messages about making a positive difference in the world.

http://asunews.asu.edu/20100511_imaginecup

by the BBC

Social media and mobile phones were highly valued. There are positive links between access to technology and feelings of well-being, a study claims. BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, analysed the results of a survey of 35,000 people around the world. Access to communication devices was found to be the most valued.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10108551.stm

by IMS

The Learning Impact Awards (LIAs) recognize use of technology to improve learning across all industry segments and in all regions of the world. Twenty-seven finalists recently exhibited and were evaluated by an expert panel at the IMS annual Learning Impact conference. The LIA awards are unique in that they recognize the use of technology in context.

Award winners included the Gold Award for going to Epigeum and Durham University. Epigeum just announced the release of their US edition of Learning Technologies.  This series of seven high-quality programs includes North American online learning leaders Larry Ragan, Caroline Haythornthwaite, and Terry Anderson. This American -release version was edited by Ray Schroeder.  It provides a rich resource for faculty development in the area of online and blended teaching techniques and technologies. 

http://www.imsglobal.org/pressreleases/IMSPR-LIA2010Winners.pdf

By Duncan Graham-Rowe, Technology Review

Overworked and much in demand, IT support staff can’t be in two places at once. But software designed to watch and learn as they carry out common tasks could soon help–by automatically performing the same jobs across different computers. The new software system, called KarDo, was developed by researchers at MIT. It can automatically configure an e-mail account, install a virus scanner, or set up access to a virtual private network, says MIT’s Dina Katabi, an associate professor at MIT.

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25351/?a=f

By Tom Simonite, Technology Review

Google committed a substantial act of charity on the first day of its annual I/O developers’ conference in San Francisco this week, giving away a piece of intellectual property acquired just three months ago at a cost of more than $120 million. The software, free for anyone to use or modify, may not sound particularly special. Called VP8, it is a video codec–software used to compress video for transfer online and decompress it for playback at the other end. Google acquired VP8 in February, when it bought a small New York company called On2.

http://www.technologyreview.com/web/25361/?a=f