Techno-News Blog

By Clint Boulton, eWeek

Talk of Google Chromebooks rose to a fever pitch in May following their introduction at Google I/O, with Samsung and Acer planning to sell notebooks based on the Chrome operating system starting June 15 through Amazon.com and Best Buy online. Chromebooks, which boot up in 8 seconds simply by lifting the lid, include a file system that supports documents and a media player for video and music. It also provides integration with Picasa to let users manage their photos on Chrome computers. Recently iFixit tore down the Samsung Series 5 3G Chromebook, which eWEEK saw first hand, to discover what was under the hood of these speedy, Web surfing devices.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Samsung-Series-5-Chromebook-Teardown-Reveals-Spartan-Efficient-Design-314084/?kc=rss

By: Chris Preimesberger, eWeek

Samsung Electronics on June 9 launched its first 1TB internal hard disk drive for use in notebooks and other mobile PCs. The Spinpoint M8 consists of two 500GB platters in a 9.5mm-height form factor, so as to fit into a high number of portable computers. Spinpoint M8 is currently in mass production and available worldwide with the 1TB drive at about $129.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Data-Storage/Samsung-Launches-1TB-HDD-for-Notebooks-211014/?kc=rss

by Joseph B. Giacquinta, Jo Anne Bauer, Jane E. Levin, Google Book Summary

As personal computers have become more available, there has been a great deal of optimism for educational reform through wide computer use, both at school and in the home. Beyond a Technology’s Promise takes a hard look at the home computer scene. The research reported in the book focuses on whether families are using computers to help children learn academic skills and, if so, how well they are doing it.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Beyond_technology_s_promise.html?id=l4dX6owUSNYC

by the BBC

The BBC will broadcast the men’s and women’s singles finals at this year’s Wimbledon Championships live in 3D. The matches, scheduled to be played on Saturday 2 July and Sunday 3 July, will be the first programmes to be shown in 3D by the BBC. The free-to-air broadcast will be available to anyone who has access to a 3D TV set and HD Channels. Danielle Nagler, head of BBC HD and 3D, said: “We’re bringing audiences a new way of getting close to the action.” She added: “I’m sure that 3D will only add to the drama as the world’s greatest players compete for the championship.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/9506439.stm

By Jane Wakefield, BBC

Jared Cohen wants what every Miss World contestant used to want – world peace. But as the head of a new Google spin-off, dubbed Google Ideas, he might be in more of a position to achieve it. Mr Cohen describes the venture as think/do-tank aiming to find web-based solutions for some of the world’s most difficult problems. “There are a lot of challenges out there, from the radicalisation of youths to fragile states. We are trying to reframe some of those challenges and find solutions,” he said. One quite simple idea is to use the internet, as the “ultimate distraction technology” to persuade youths away from radical preachers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13525440

by the BBC

Facebook has apologised for the way it rolled-out a new system that recognises users’ faces. The social network said that it should have done more to notify members about the global launch. Its Tag Suggestions feature scans photos and automatically picks out existing friends. Although users have the option to switch it off, some complained that they were not explicitly asked if they wanted it activated. Facebook said that the system was intended to speed up the process of assigning a name to a picture, known as tagging. It was introduced in the US in December 2010 but has only now been launched globally.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13693791

By Mark Ward, BBC News

The world is full of hackers, or so it seems. In the past few months barely a day has gone by without news of a fresh security breach. Multi-national companies have been left counting the cost of assaults on their e-mail systems and websites. Members of the public have had their personal information stolen and pasted all over the internet. In the early decades of the 21st century the word “hacker” has become synonymous with people who lurk in darkened rooms, anonymously terrorising the internet. But it was not always that way. The original hackers were benign creatures. Students, in fact.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13686141

By Katia Moskvitch, BBC

Still not very used to having a full-size car jump out at you from a billboard? Or seeing a building you pass on your way to work suddenly crumble to pieces – only to be rebuilt seconds later? Such realistic 3D content, once constrained to four cinema walls and seen via clunky glasses, is starting to pour from pretty much anything with a screen.More and more businesses are embracing the technology, using 3D for adverts on giant screens and cereal boxes, or by helping you pick furniture through an immersive online 3D experience. It is also appearing on mobile devices – the first 3D advert has recently been launched for the iPad.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13702953

by the BBC

The breach exposed the names of customers, account numbers and contact information. But other key data, such as date of birth and card security codes were not compromised, the bank said in a statement. Citigroup is the latest in a string of high profile companies to be targeted by cyber criminals. It has been criticised for not telling customers about the breach when it happened in May. “We are contacting customers whose information was impacted. Citi has implemented enhanced procedures to prevent a recurrence of this type of event,” a Citi spokesman said in a statement to the Reuters news agency.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13711528

by Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American

Kimura donned a white fingerless glove laden with wireless sensors, plugged her “augmented” violin into her laptop onstage, and proceeded to demonstrate how she is redefining the relationship musicians have with both their instruments and their music. After a few moments setting up her interactive bowing technology Kimura launched into her composition Voyage Apollonian, during which her bow strokes controlled an animation sequence created by New York University computer science professor Ken Perlin. As she played, the glove’s sensors sent data to software running on her laptop, prompting a black-and-white butterfly on the large screen behind her to morph into various shapes and patterns before returning to its original winged configuration.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=kimura-augmented-violin-subharmonics

by Jim Steyer, Huffington Post

Children today are growing up in the midst of a technological revolution that is changing the very nature of childhood. Our kids can be connected 24/7 to everyone and everything, whether it’s through the computer in their homes or the mobile devices in their pockets. This immersion in media and technology profoundly shapes their social, emotional, and physical development. That’s why Common Sense Media exists: to help families, educators, industry leaders, and policy makers educate, empower, and protect our children. Through our ratings and reviews, parent advice, educational curriculum, and policy initiatives, Common Sense Media is empowering kids and families with the tools they need to thrive in a constantly changing media landscape, both nationally and in local communities around the country.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-steyer/making-digital-citizenshi_b_868025.html

By John Brandon, Tech Radar

Mark Zuckerberg gets all the attention as the creator of Facebook. But there are countless unheralded tech luminaries who worked long hours and rarely slept to make sure we can call up any site on the net, buy a book on Amazon and store our music online. These five superstars are rarely mentioned alongside Steve Jobs – but they probably should be. We tracked them down to find out what they’re up to.

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/unsung-heroes-of-tech-where-are-they-now–960697

by Jessica Remo, Clark-Garwood Patch

The program culminated in 10 Johnson students playing a Jeopardy game against Watson. The students in the audience cheered on their classmates, united in an attempt to take down the computing behemoth. Johnson students did incredibly well against Watson. Although they ultimately succumbed to the system’s lightning-fast answers, the Johnson team was beating Watson at one point, especially after learning to choose the categories that were more difficult for system to tackle.

http://clark.patch.com/articles/johnson-students-take-on-ibms-watson

By: Rob Reuteman, CNBC.com

Experts may argue about what constitutes a “green job” or how many of them currently exist in the U.S. economy, but everyone seems to agree there will be many more of them in the coming decades. Growing support for energy independence and a cleaner environment is driving a mix of market forces and legislative mandates toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. Twenty-nine states have ordered their utilities to produce up to 30 percent of power through renewable energy in the next couple decades. In addition, the federal economic stimulus plan earmarked more than $70 billion in direct spending, tax breaks and loan guarantees for the nation’s energy economy, most of it for “green” energy.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43249813

By Tara Malone, Chicago Tribune

Illinois education officials today unveiled plans to build a virtual network that would give teachers on-the-spot access to everything from lesson plans to student progress reports. The open-source technology system comes with help from the private sector. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York pledged to build the network with input from Illinois and four other states handpicked to pilot the program. A specific dollar amount is not yet known, but Gates Foundation officials said Thursday they have committed to fund the project that could as much as $100 million. Illinois joins Colorado, New York, North Carolina and Massachusetts in piloting the program that could take effect within the next year. The Council of Chief State School Officers selected the five states, foundation officials said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-grants-to-fund-education-computer-network-20110602,0,2223996.story

by the BBC

French TV and radio presenters have been banned from mentioning social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter on air. The country’s broadcasting watchdog has ruled that doing so would break guidelines on advertising. Stations can still talk about services without naming them, it said. The French government is seen by many internet watchers as overly keen to regulate in relation to new media and the web.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13665125

by the BBC

Apple’s new iCloud service allows photos, documents and music to be passed from one device to another over the web. The data is stored in Apple’s servers and can also be accessed wirelessly by phones, computers and tablets. The company’s upcoming launch of the service follows those of rivals Amazon and Google who have already launched their own cloud based services. Rory Cellan-Jones has been looking at iCloud’s competition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13683880

by the BBC

Readers can “flick” through pages from historic early or first editions A “treasure trove” of more than 60,000 19th Century books is being made available by the British Library in a new iPad application. The paid-for app will be launched in full this summer, but until then a thousand titles can be browsed for free. All titles are in the public domain, and include Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Unlike e-books, the app uses scanned copies of original editions. Its creators say this gives readers the best way to experience old books the way the classic authors intended – including additions like pull-out maps and original illustrations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13683880

by Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC

The BBC’s technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones investigates how much we put our personal data at risk by storing it on servers and hard drives that are not our own.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9505747.stm

By Darryl K. Taft, eWeek

IBM has been on an acquisition spree for some time now, and IBM senior management has said acquisitions will remain a part of the company’s growth strategy through 2015. IBM has had a history of making strategic acquisitions over the years, but big software buys did not start until former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner set out to get Lotus in 1995 and then Tivoli in 1996. However, under the leadership of Samuel Palmisano since 2002, IBM launched a series of acquisitions. Particularly, with analytics as a major focus, in the last four years, IBM has invested more than $14 billion in 24 acquisitions to expand its analytics capabilities. IBM has also dedicated more than 7,000 business consultants with industry expertise to help clients understand their data and put this information to use.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Web-Services-Web-20-and-SOA/IBMs-Top-25-Acquisitions-Aim-for-Analytics-Cloud-Software-Domination-460588/?kc=rss

By: Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek

Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at San Francisco’s Moscone Center June 6 to kick off his company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. Following his introduction, a series of Apple executives detailed the upcoming Mac OS X “Lion” and iOS 5 operating systems, as well as the company’s iCloud service. New features of Mac OS Lion include a baked-in Mac App Store, which offers access to a wide variety of full-screen apps. A spiritual descendent of the App Store long available for iOS devices like the iPhone and the iPad, the Mac App Store is perhaps one of the biggest examples of how Apple’s advances in mobile-device software are beginning to influence its work on laptops and desktops. Clicking the LaunchPad icon in the Mac’s dock will open a grid-like page of apps and folders reminiscent of iOS.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/Apple-iCloud-iOS-5-Mac-OS-X-Lion-Aim-to-Boost-Google-Microsoft-Competition-711188/?kc=rss