Techno-News Blog

By QUENTIN HARDY, NY Times

Enter OneID, founded by Steve Kirsch, a well-known Silicon Valley multimillionaire who founded, among other companies, the search engine Infoseek. His technology confirms who you are by combining the private security “keys” of several devices, which are then encrypted in a “blob” in a remote data center. Supposedly your personal information, including your name and address, passwords and credit card data, cannot be obtained there, either. When you want to log on to a Web site, OneID checks the security of the site, then determines who you are by confirming three different digital signatures on different devices. Merchants never see your credit card information but receive a clearance from OneID.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/oneid-aims-to-unite-devices-to-fight-hackers/

By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER, New York Times

Acknowledging that some searches were giving people stale results, Google revised its methods on Thursday to make the answers timelier. It is one of the biggest tweaks to Google’s search algorithm, affecting about 35 percent of all searches. The new algorithm is a recognition that Google, whose dominance depends on providing the most useful results, is being increasingly challenged by services like Twitter and Facebook, which have trained people to expect constant updates with seconds-old news. It is also a reflection of how people use the Web as a real-time news feed — that if, for example, you search for a baseball score, you probably want to find the score of a game being played at the moment, not last week, which is what Google often gave you.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/google-changes-search-algorithm-trying-to-make-results-more-timely/

By QUENTIN HARDY, New York Times

Custom made and mass produced are getting harder to tell apart. Autodesk, a maker of software for architects and industrial designers, will start giving away consumer software on Monday that enables the design and manufacture of statues, models and other three-dimensional objects. You can even design a model of something by photographing it from multiple angles with a cellphone. “We are entering a period where the consumer is a designer and manufacturer, too,” said Carl Bass, the chief executive of Autodesk. “We are entering a period where the entire act of making things, seeing how they are used and what the manufacturing process is will change.”

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/autodesk-boosts-3-d-printing/

By: Darryl K. Taft, eWeek

IBM predicts that during this year’s hot November holiday season, an unprecedented 15 percent of people in the United States logging onto a retailer’s Website are expected to do so through a mobile device. IBM came to this conclusion based on cloud analytics findings from the company’s cache of analytics solutions. Indeed, based on data from the IBM Coremetrics Benchmark, all online holiday shopping in November is also expected to grow as much as 15 percent versus November 2010, with the growing influence of mobile devices such as iPads and Android phones being among the key factors.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/IBM-Predicts-Mobile-Holiday-Shopping-Madness-692315/?kc=rss

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

In a move that could be a bold bet or a gambit for misdirection, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is reportedly mulling offering paid cable TV services as a way to build out its ultra-high-speed Internet service. The Wall Street Journal said the search engine provider has engaged in “exploratory” discussions about launching such as service in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., with TV powerhouses such as Time Warner and Walt Disney.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/Googles-Cable-TV-Plan-Gamble-or-Gambit-215090/?kc=rss

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google’s YouTube video sharing property and Chrome Web browser have both been more closely integrated with Google+, the company’s young social network. Since its June launch, Google+ users have been able to watch YouTube videos with their friends, family or colleagues via the Hangouts group video chat application, which enables up to 10 users to watch YouTube clips, music videos or even movies and discuss them in real time. Google in August added the ability for YouTube users with Google+ accounts to start Hangouts right from YouTube with the click of a button. Google+ and YouTube got a lot cozier Nov. 3, offering something of an ad-hoc streaming music, video or movie player.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Google-Gets-Tighter-With-YouTube-Chrome-815464/?kc=rss

by the BBC

EU and US cybersecurity officials have tested how they would co-ordinate their response to a hacking attack. The exercise in Brussels marked the first time the two bodies have role-played the scenario together. The stress tests follow a similar event involving the European nations last year. Organisers said afterwards that states “must increase their efforts”. UK intelligence agency, GCHQ, recently warned of a “disturbing” number of cyber attacks against Britain. Other countries have also seen a rise in the number of targeted strikes. “Recent high profile cyber attacks show that global threats need global action,” said EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15579292

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google’s Android operating system grabbed 44.8 percent market share through September, up from 43.7 percent share as it increased its lead of the U.S. smartphone market. Apple’s iPhone took 27.4 percent share, up from 27.3 percent in August,according to comScore. iOS should show an uptick in iOS gains after October and November, when sales of the new iPhone 4S are counted. Apple began selling that phone, which has an 8 megapixel camera, faster processor and the Siri personal assistant, Oct. 14 in several countries worldwide. It will be interesting to see whether iPhone 4S sales have a deleterious effect on Android handset sales through the holiday season.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Android-Approaches-45-Share-Before-iPhone-4S-Effect-442136/?kc=rss

by the BBC

Google has overhauled the way it serves up results in response to search queries. The update is designed to work out whether a person wants up-to-date results or historical data. The US firm estimated the alterations to its core algorithm would make a difference to about 35% of searches. The changes try to make results more relevant and beef up features which Google believes set it apart from rivals. By contrast, Microsoft’s Bing search engine emphasises social search.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15590285

By: Brian T. Horowitz, eWeek

Health resources were among the federal government Websites with the most traffic in September, according to a new report by digital business analytics firm comScore. Three of the top 10 federal government sites were health-related, according to the firm. They were NIH.gov (National Institutes of Health), CDC.gov (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and USDA.gov (Department of Agriculture). Rounding out the top 10 federal government sites were Commerce.gov (Department of Commerce), Ed.gov (Department of Education), IRS.gov, SSA.gov (Social Security Administration), NASA.gov, State.gov (Department of State) and USAJobs.gov (Office of Personnel Management).

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/Health-Sites-Rank-High-in-Federal-Government-Web-Traffic-comScore-512189/

by Rebecca Kutzer-Rice, Smarter Technology

The CIO of the federal government has an updated set of IT goals that look beyond cloud computing and data center consolidation. The “Future First” plan emphasizes deployment of and preparedness for new and emerging technologies. In August, Steven VanRoekel took office as the new CIO of the United States. In a recently released plan, VanRoekel outlined a new “future-ready” set of goals that emphasizes innovation as the key to federal IT. VanRoekel’s goals align in many ways with those of former federal CIO Vivek Kundra. Both plans emphasize cloud technologies and the consolidation of federal data centers. VanRoekel is now pushing these goals further by stressing new and emerging technologies.

http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/FutureFocused-Goals-for-Federal-IT/

By Chenda Ngak, CBS Wired for Women

Last week, Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg was quoted as saying that if he had to do it all over again, he’d stay in Boston. “If I were starting now, I would have stayed in Boston,” Zuckerberg is reported to have said at Y Combinator’s Startup School at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. “[Silicon Valley] is a little short-term focused, and that bothers me.” It sounds like the young entrepreneur is nostalgic for the city of his Alma mater Harvard, and according to the Boston Herald that’s why he’s poaching the East Coast for talent. It’s been reported that Zuckerberg is touring Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University for engineers and computer scientists. Zuckerberg is slated to meet with over 200 co

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20128947-501465/mark-zuckerberg-tours-the-east-coast-for-engineering-talent/

by Jonathan Angel, eWeek Windows for Devices

Celio Corporation announced “ScreenSlider,” software that allows Android devices to act as external touchscreen displays for Windows PCs. The company’s technology is also being used in “Prodigy One Pro” automotive head units from Directus, designed to mirror output from a connected Android phone.

http://www.windowsfordevices.com/c/a/News/Celio-ScreenSlider-and-Directus-Prodigy-One-Pro/

By Kate Greene, Technology Review

We live in an increasingly touchy-feely tech world, with various ways for smart phones and tablet computers to sense our finger taps and gestures. Now a new type of touch technology, developed by researchers at the University of Munich and the Hasso Plattner Institute, could lead to touch sensitivity being added to everyday items such as clothing, headphone wires, coffee tables, and even pieces of paper.

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/39036/?p1=MstRcnt

by David Zax, Technology Review

Owners of those brand new iPhone 4S’s have been reporting problems. A glitch was leading to rapid battery drain for some users; while Siri, the much-touted “virtual personal assistant,” went silent for others. The short battery life problem first came to the fore late last week, with some users reporting a battery life of just about 12 hours. This week, Apple confirmed: “A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices. We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.” Late on Thursday, VentureBeat reported that some users who had been having Siri problems were finding their virtual assistant back in action, all of a sudden. Asked where she was all day, Siri replied with a series of day spas and hair salons.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/helloworld/27315/?p1=blogs

by David Zax,Technology Review

One of the apps I use most on my iPhone–indeed, perhaps the app I use the most–is a product dependent on technology from Apple’s rival, Google. It’s the Maps app, and as a person lacking any innate sense of direction, I use it just about wherever I go. Ever since the iPhone first came on the scene in 2007, Apple has been dependent on Google Maps. But there have been hints that Apple, at least since 2009, has been planning a rival service. In that year, it bought a mapping company called Placebase; last year, it scooped up a 3-D mapping company called Poly9. This week, 9to5Mac confirms that Apple has now purchased a third mapping company, C3 Technologies, which mysteriously shut down in August following its acquisition from a then-unnamed buyer.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/helloworld/27312/?p1=blogs

By Tom Simonite, Technology Review

A new iPad app from Yahoo can recognize any TV show by listening to the audio, and automatically serve up related Web content, such as news stories related to a news broadcast or play-by-play stats for a ballgame. The app, called IntoNow, is a refreshed and improved version of technology that Yahoo acquired by buying a startup with the same name. When the company was swallowed by Yahoo in May, it was only able to share information over Facebook and Twitter about what show a user was watching. By using Yahoo technology that can recognize the meaning of text, the IntoNow version released today is much more capable, says Adam Cahan, who founded IntoNow and is now a Yahoo executive.

http://www.technologyreview.com/web/39047/?p1=A3

by Christopher Mims, Technology Review

Amazon makes so much on Prime that digital media has become the perfect loss leader for the company. Amazon’s new “Kindle Owner’s Library” allows any Kindle owner who is a member of Amazon Prime to check out one book a month and keep it as long as they want. It joins Amazon’s video streaming service as one of the perks of Prime membership, which, at $80 a year, also grants members free 2-day shipping on anything to come out of Amazon’s warehouses. But how can Amazon afford to give away all this free (albeit digital) media? As Slate Technology columnist Farhad Manjoo pointed out, Amazon customers who join Prime increase their spending on the site on average $500 a year, presumably because of the free shipping.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27313/?p1=blogs

by the BBC

The battery life of Apple’s new iPhone 4S is under scrutiny after thousands of users reported problems. In some cases, people claimed that their phone battery was draining by up to 15% every hour, even when the device was not being used. Users who have installed Apple’s new operating system – iOS 5 – on older models have also reported problems. Apple told the BBC it had no comment on the issue. The problems have generated a huge amount of discussion on Apple’s forums.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15559721

By P. J. Connolly, eWeek

Although Apple’s iPhone 4S is identical in dimension to last year’s iPhone 4, and some observers had staked their reputations on the fifth-generation phone being branded as “iPhone 5,” the 4S is overall a vast improvement on its predecessor, thanks in no small part to the inclusion of the Siri voice control technology as a defining feature that sets off the new iPhone from everything else in the market. That’s not to say that the new iPhone is all that it’s cracked up to be; questions remain about its battery life, and about its ability to be easily moved from one carrier to another. But compared to what came before it, the iPhone 4S is truly a breath of fresh air. On the outside, the iPhone 4S looks much as the iPhone 4 did. It’s identical in physical form and slightly heavier, by a tenth of an ounce.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Apples-iPhone-4S-Breaks-New-Ground-675577/?kc=rss

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google’s Chrome Web browser enjoyed its biggest monthly market share boost ever and could pass Mozilla’s Firefox browser in early 2012, according to new data from Net Applications. The market researcher put Chrome at 17.6 percent through October, an impressive 1.4 percent gain from the fledgling browser’s September share of 16.2 percent. The only other time Chrome grew more than 1 percent month-to-month by Net Applications calculations is when the browser grew more than 1.2 percent, from 14.3 percent to 15.5 percent. Mozilla Firefox, meanwhile, rose from 22.48 percent in September to 22.51 percent last month. But Firefox’s share is falling more often than it gains and Chrome today is within 5 percent of Firefox.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Google-Chrome-Tops-17-Share-Guns-for-Firefox-287912/?kc=rss