Techno-News Blog

By Darryl K. Taft, eWeek

As 2011 approaches, eWEEK takes a look at the top 18 programming languages for developers going into the new year. This list is filled with the tried and true. In some instances, some observers might view a few of the picks as the “tired and through.” However, despite their age, the workhorse languages such as C and C++ continue to remain at the top end of the software development landscape in terms of language use and job potential (despite growing more slowly and even decreasing, according to some sources). Moreover, this list is not intended to highlight the hot, hip new languages on the horizon, but to focus on where programmers can go to look for work. To compile this list, eWEEK checked out the TIOBE Index, which sorts out developer language popularity, Regular Geek as well as job sites such as Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com. Java has dominated the programming jobs rankings for the last several years and remains dominant going into 2011. According to Simply Hired, since April 2009, Java jobs increased 52 percent, Perl jobs increased 33 percent, C# jobs increased 52 percent, Objective C jobs increased 60 percent (however, a search for “Objective-C” showed a 207 percent increase in jobs), Visual Basic jobs increased 112 percent, JavaScript jobs increased 76 percent, Ruby jobs increased 78 percent, Python jobs increased 69 percent, C jobs increased 11 percent and PHP jobs increased 58 percent. Yet, Simply Hired shows a decrease of 13 percent in terms of jobs for the C++ language.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Java-C-C-Top-18-Programming-Languages-for-2011-480790/

By eWEEK Labs

Each year, eWEEK Labs singles out the products that stood out in our testing in the past 12 months. We focus on the offerings that had the biggest impact in their spaces and that did the most to move enterprise technology forward. This year, our selections ranged from mobile devices to network infrastructure, with a healthy dose of desktop, server and cloud-based applications. Check out the products we’ve chosen in the gallery below, and read our story here for links to our coverage of the products in the list.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/eWEEK-Labs-Names-the-Top-Products-of-2010-203236/

By Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google didn’t shock anyone with the announcement that Chrome Operating System netbooks wouldn’t arrive until 2011. But that doesn’t mean that the Chrome OS update event in San Francisco didn’t come with some surprises. There was the unveiling of Crankshaft, a new compilation infrastructure for V8, the Chrome JavaScript engine responsible for making the browser so speedy. There was the formal launch of the Chrome Webstore, which has more than 500 Web applications, including two programs from Amazon and one each from The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. Think of the Chrome Web Store as Apple’s App Store, but for Chrome OS netbooks (and, eventually, Chrome OS tablets) instead of iPhones and iPads. Finally, in the biggest surprise of all, Google launched a pilot program using black, unbranded Chrome OS netbooks.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/Google-Chrome-OS-for-Netbooks-15-Essential-Features-712765/

by the BBC

Tweeting from court is to be allowed after a ruling from the Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales. He said live text-based communication would be allowed as long as the judge believed it would not interfere with the administration of justice. Lord Judge’s ruling was prompted after journalists used Twitter at the bail hearing of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to give live updates. The interim guidance has immediate effect but a review will be conducted. The interim guidance covers the use of mobile, e-mail and social media such as Twitter, and internet-enabled laptops.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12038088

by the BBC

The fallout from a patent dispute between Kodak and web photo site Shutterfly could embroil many online image sites, says patent experts. Kodak claimed it owns patents regarding the display of online images that is being infringed by Shutterfly. The photo-sharing site disputes these claims and has launched a counter suit. But the landmark case could have ramifications for other popular online photo sites such as Yahoo’s Flickr and Google’s Picassa. The past two years have seen a number of cases launched that claim online photo sites have breached patents.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12050694

By Maggie Shiels, BBC

US regulators have approved new rules meant to prohibit broadband companies from interfering with internet traffic. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 on the principle known as net neutrality; a tenet that ensures all web traffic is treated equally. The rules have been criticised for setting different standards for fixed line broadband and mobile operators.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12046874

by Warwick Ashford, Computer Weekly

Less than a third of global businesses have an IT risk management programme capable of dealing with the risks related to the use of new technologies, a study has revealed. Just one in ten consider new and emerging IT trends very important for the information security function to consider, according to Ernst & Young’s 13th annual Global Information Security Survey. Some 60% of respondents see a significant increase in use of external service providers and adoption of new technologies, such as cloud computing, as an increased risk.

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2010/12/07/244370/Study-finds-businesses-unready-for-risks-from-new-technology.htm

By Lucas Mearian, ComputerWorld

Samsung today announced a new 8GB dual inline memory module (DIMM) that stacks memory chips on top of each other, which increases the density of the memory by 50% compared to conventional DIMM technology. Samsung’s new registered or buffered (RDIMM) product is based on its current Green DDR3 DRAM and 40 nanometer (nm)-sized circuitry. The new memory module is aimed at the server and enterprise storage markets. The three-dimensional (3D) chip stacking process is referred to in the memory industry as through silicon via (TSV). Samsung said the TSV process saves up to 40% of the power consumed by a conventional RDIMM. Using the TSV technology will greatly improve chip density in next-generation server systems, Samsung said, making it attractive for high-density, high-performance systems.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9200278/Samsung_to_release_3D_memory_modules_with_50_greater_density

By Erik Sherman, bNet

View more Most people classify Google as a company that uses technology to find new ways to do business. But with the announcement of its eBookstore, the search giant has used technology in a way that, if successful, will actually support an older approach to publishing that could give it an advantage over such revolutionary competitors as Apple and Amazon.

http://www.bnet.com/blog/technology-business/google-ebooks-marrying-new-technology-with-an-old-business-approach/7197

by Benzinga

A small seafood restaurant attracts new customers with virtually no marketing budget. A four-person iPad case manufacturer generates more than one million dollars in revenue in four months with only four employees. A voiceover company is able to connect thousands of artists with opportunities, all without expensive hardware and software. A law firm increases access to key information while dramatically reducing technology-related costs and risks. And these four companies are hardly unique. “A new breed of small businesses is using emerging technologies to do things simply impossible even ten years ago,” says Phil Simon, author of “The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses Is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies.” “No longer is it a disadvantage to be small,” Simon continues. “In fact, today it’s actually an advantage.”

http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/10/12/p680280/is-the-new-small-the-next-big-thing

By Gregg Keizer, Computer World

“The idea [in Crankshaft] is to heavily optimize code that is frequently executed and not waste time optimizing code that is not,” the two engineers said. “Because of this, benchmarks that finish in just a few milliseconds, such as SunSpider, will show little improvement with Crankshaft. The more work an application does, the bigger the gains will be. In the V8 tests, Chrome’s canary build was over twice as fast as Firefox 4 current beta and Opera Software’s Opera 11 preview. When pitted against Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) beta, Chrome was more than five times faster.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9200531/How_fast_is_Google_Chrome_really_?taxonomyId=18

by Tim Berners-Lee, Scientific American

The world wide web went live, on my physical desktop in Geneva, Switzerland, in December 1990. It consisted of one Web site and one browser, which happened to be on the same computer. The simple setup demonstrated a profound concept: that any person could share information with anyone else, anywhere. In this spirit, the Web spread quickly from the grassroots up. Today, at its 20th anniversary, the Web is thoroughly integrated into our daily lives. We take it for granted, expecting it to “be there” at any instant, like electricity.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=long-live-the-web

by Unistar-Sparco Computers, Inc

The GENUS phone is the first satellite phone that looks and acts like a smartphone by merging cellular and satellite capabilities and is built to work anywhere in the United States during natural and man-made disasters, emergencies and power or network outages. “Satellite phones are ideal for any federal, state and local government agency for maintaining critical communications during all emergencies, weather events and disasters” said Unistar-Sparco General Manager, Eduardo A. Perez-Glez. “This is proven technology, affordable and easy-to-use. We are seeing a great demand by first-responders, military bases and federal agencies and also by firms who want to support their government clients in any emergency scenario—this is a new generation of satellite phone and we are making it accessible to everyone.”

http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=557364&Itemid=34

by David Sarno, Los Angeles Times

Google Inc. is penning the next chapter in the story of electronic books. Today the Mountain View, Calif., technology giant is unveiling its long-expected “Google eBooks” platform, an e-book store that contains 3 million volumes, most of which are free public domain works. But hundreds of thousands of Google’s e-books will be paid titles from major and minor publishers. Those will include many bestsellers and, Google says, the vast majority of books already commercially available in electronic form. By opening its eBookStore, Google is pitting itself squarely against established digital booksellers, including the market leader Amazon.com and relative

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/12/google-amazon-apple-barnes-noble-with-new-e-book-store-kindle.html

by George Heymont, Huffington Post

While the most apparent uses of robots are for military applications, performing routine chores, and helping to care for the elderly, man’s vanity and arrogance have not diminished in the time since Capek’s play had its world premiere. Nor has this famous scene from 1983’s WarGames stopped scientists from trying to put critical, irreversible decisions in the hands of computers. Although some of the inventors interviewed for Plug and Pray like to boast that they expect artificial intelligence will eventually allow robots to do anything a human being can do — and even have the same rights as citizens — this German documentary does not include evidence that any code has been written that would allow a robot to experience projectile vomiting, explosive diarrhea, hot flashes, or irregular menstrual cycles.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-heymont/will-robotics-take-the-ar_b_792336.html?ir=Technology

by Roland Buerk, BBC

Japan is pioneering robot technology to help make everyday life easier for people with disabilities. Pioneering inventions include a robot guide for the blind, and robotic legs which can help disabled people stand up and walk. (video)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11920689

by the BBC

Every community in the UK will gain access to super-fast broadband by 2015 under plans outlined today. The private sector is to deliver broadband to two thirds of the UK. Other, mainly rural, areas will receive public funds to build a “digital hub” with a fibre optic internet connection. Ministers say they aim for the UK to have Europe’s best broadband network. “The reason we want to do this is very simple — it’s about jobs,” says Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11922424

By Maggie Shiels, BBC

Google has delayed the launch of its much anticipated laptop, powered by its Chrome operating system, until 2011. Instead, Google announced a pilot programme aimed at people who “live on the web”. Chrome OS is Google’s boldest bid yet to challenge Microsoft’s market dominance with Windows software. Google has already gone after Microsoft’s Office software with its Google Docs product.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11941601

By Bonnie Adler, Minuteman

Westport may not have Steve Jobs, but it does have David Pogue. The effervescent, amusing and creative New York Times technology columnist, blogger and videographer is the hottest new celebrity in town. Certainly the eager crowd filling every seat and available space along the walls at the Westport Public Library McManus room on Monday night would have to agree. The crowd came to hear Pogue’s ideas about the hottest new gifts for Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa. So what’s the number one gift this season? Drum roll, please! Of course, it’s the iPad, the newest portable computing tablet by Apple, and according to Pogue, the hottest gift for six to 12 year old kids (and others).

http://www.minutemannewscenter.com/articles/2010/12/03/westport/news/doc4cf6691cd4898305374641.txt

By Brian Anthony Hernandez, BusinessNewsDaily

The era of talentless fame is over, proclaims Business Insider’s Alyson Shontell in a recent column titled “Move Over Kim And Britney: Tech Entrepreneurs Are The New Rock Stars.” Stealing the spotlight from Kim Kardashian and Britney Spears is “an unseemly group of brilliant nerds and college dropouts who make millions on websites they create.” “Facebook, Foursquare, Groupon, and Twitter are changing the way we socialize while their founders are becoming socialites,” Shontell wrote. “With sweatpants-swagger and late-night launch parties, tech entrepreneurs are the new people to watch. … These young, self-made millionaires even party like rock stars.”

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/tech-entrepreneurs-the-new-rockstars-0769/

by Byron Kennard, Huffington Post

Human beings are whizzes at devising new tools. It’s what we do best. But, alas, we’re not so hot at collaborating politically for the long-term common good. Case in point: the persistent inability of the federal government to grapple with the threat of climate change. This has stumped environmentalists desperately calling on the power of government to curb global warming through legislation. Maybe environmentalists should call on a higher power. Technology is often more powerful than law. Sometimes a new technology kicks the door open, walks in, and takes over, politics be damned.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/byron-kennard/hey-climate-activists-whe_b_791299.html