Techno-News Blog

July 31, 2012

PC sales weaken on economic woes and mobile devices

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by the BBC

AMD said demand for PC sales may not recover to previous levels. AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) has become the latest firm to warn of weaker-than-expected PC sales. The US computer chip maker highlighted China as an area of particular concern. The news follows a report by research firm IDC which suggested PC shipments to Asia Pacific had begun to shrink between April and June. Economic uncertainty, the rise of mobile devices, the dollar’s strength and the upcoming release of Windows 8 have all been linked to the trend.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18921585#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Obama warns US on cyber-threats

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by the BBC

The US should take the chance to stay ahead of its cyber-adversaries, said Barack Obama. The cyber arms race is beginning, cyber-attacks pose the “most serious economic and national security” challenge America faces, said President Obama. The US President spelled out the scale of the threat in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal. Foreign governments, crime gangs and individuals were probing America’s net defences every day. The US had to do more to put essential defences in place to avoid the debilitating effects of an attack. “It would be the height of irresponsibility to leave a digital backdoor wide open to our cyber-adversaries,” he wrote in the newspaper’s editorial column. Enemies struggling to defeat the US on the terrestrial battlefield may move the conflict to cyberspace, he warned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18928854#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Chirp app sends smartphone data via ‘digital birdsong’

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by Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC

An app that transmits data via a burst of “digital birdsong” aims to simplify the way users share images and other files between smartphones. Chirp plays a two-second long noise that sounds as if it was made by a robotic bird. When heard by other devices it triggers a download. The software was developed by Animal Systems, a spin-off business from University College London (UCL). It is free to use, but companies will be charged a fee for add-on services.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18927928#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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July 30, 2012

iPhone 5 Could Debut in Fourth Quarter, Verizon CFO Hints

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By: Nathan Eddy, eWeek

Verizon’s chief financial officer hints of a “big smartphone” release in the fourth quarter, what many assume to be Apple’s new iPhone.  The latest version of Apple’s popular iPhone smartphone may be released in the fourth quarter of this year, Verizon chief financial officer Fran Shammo hinted during the company’s quarterly conference call on Thursday. Shammo dropped the hint during the question and answer section of the call, referencing a “big smartphone” release the company expected in that time period. Rumors have been running rampant on the release of the new iPhone, colloquially referred to as the iPhone 5, with some pegging the release date as soon as August, but the wide majority of reports putting the release sometime in September or October. Several blogs recently reported that the new iPhone was already in production, and Taobao, China’s largest e-commerce site, is already offering the device for sale as a preorder, complete with renderings of what the phone will look like, alongside technical specifications, according to a report last week from Reuters.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/iPhone-5-Could-Debut-in-Fourth-Quarter-Verizon-CFO-Hints-777547/

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An Inkjet Nozzle Inspired by the Human Eye

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by David Zax, Technology Review

This may or may not be a problem you knew you had, but your inkjet printer’s nozzle occasionally clogs. Our technological age won’t stand for that, so researchers at Missouri University have designed a new sort of nozzle that won’t clog. The interesting bit? It’s modeled after the human eye. “The nozzle cover we invented was inspired by the human eye,” said Jae Wan Kwon, associate professor in the College of Engineering at MU, in a release, who developed the mechanism with grad student Riberet Almieda. “The eye and an ink jet nozzle have a common problem: they must not be allowed to dry while, simultaneously, they must open.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428568/an-inkjet-nozzle-inspired-by-the-human-eye/

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Meet Georgie, a Smartphone for the Blind

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by David Zax, Technology Review

There’s a new smartphone interface designed especially for the blind, reports the BBC. Powered by Android, the suite of applications are “designed by the blind and visually impaired, for the blind and visually impaired,” as Glenn Tookey, the CEO of Sight and Sound Technology, the company behind Georgie, explains. In some ways Georgie is like Siri, in the way that a virtual personal assistant is central to the experience. But there are loads of features that are either unique to Georgie, or have been given new pride of place in the interface.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428567/meet-georgie-a-smartphone-for-the-blind/

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July 29, 2012

Solar Charger Made for Africa Coming to the U.S.

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by Martin LaMonica, Technology Review

It won’t run your refrigerator, but this solar panel with a battery will charge small electronics and power a light during a blackout. It’s not often that technology designed in the United States for people in developing countries comes back to the U.S. But that’s exactly what’s happening with an off-grid solar charger. San Francisco-based startup Fenix International has raised enough money on Kickstarter to offer its ReadySet solar charging kit in the U.S. The $300 package includes a 15-watt solar panel about the size of a lunch tray, a battery with USB and car-charging ports, and an LED light. The company expects U.S. customers will use it to charge small electronics, such as tablets and cell phones, with solar power.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428569/solar-charger-made-for-africa-coming-to-the-us/

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Solar Trade War Hurts Chinese Imports

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by Kevin Bullis, Technology Review

China is opening an investigation of whether the U.S. has unfairly subsidized raw materials for solar panels destined for Chinese manufacturers, or whether U.S. companies have been selling these materials at unfair prices. The move seems to be in retaliation to large tariffs recently imposed by the United States on solar panels imported from China, alleging unfair trade practices. Those tariffs seem to be having an effect on imports from China, which have fallen by 45 percent, according to the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428571/solar-trade-war-hurts-chinese-imports/

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Yahoo Needs a New Technology

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by Rachel Metz, Technology Review

Marissa Mayer has the sparkle of her former employer, Google, but starting out this week as Yahoo’s newest CEO—its fifth in three years, technically—she faces the same problem that beset her predecessors: What do you do with a company that still makes plenty of money off of a huge online audience but has no technological edge? Yahoo, an Internet search pioneer back in the ’90s, has long struggled to innovate technologically while rival Google has thrived.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428537/yahoo-needs-a-new-technology/

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July 28, 2012

Open-source: so much more than just software and freebies

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by Stephen Chapman, Between the Lines

Typically, when you see or hear the words “open-source,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many, “open-source” is synonymous with “free software,” but in reality, it’s so much more than that: it’s a movement; a chance to improve lives; a chance for success; a total lifestyle change. In this article, I hope to shed some light on what open-source really is — and more importantly — why everyone should care about it, or at least be aware of it.

http://www.zdnet.com/open-source-so-much-more-than-just-software-and-freebies-7000001261/

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The Nexus 7 is only missing one thing

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By Jason D. O’Grady, The Apple Core

The new Nexus 7 from Google is a lot of tablet for $200. Is it as good as the iPad 3? Well, not exactly, but it’s also half the price. I took delivery of a 16GB model today (which bumps the price up to $250) and I’m duly impressed with its specs, build quality and overall feel in my fist few hours of using it. Early reviews (CNet, Engadget, Verge) similarly sing its praises. It’s the first “pure Google” tab (hence the “Nexus” moniker), it’s the best $200 tab, its fast and responsive (courtesy of its quad-core Tegra 3 processor,) yadda. And all of it is true, especially the bit about it being pure Google — no one dislikes Android skins more than I do — plus the N7 enjoys the distinction of being the first tablet running Android 4.1 “Jellybean,” the smoothest and slickest build of Android yet.

http://www.zdnet.com/the-nexus-7-is-only-missing-one-thing-7000001182/

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Why all the consumer love at Microsoft?

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By Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet

Many of Microsoft’s enterprise users — and those of us who love unearthing juicy details about products like System Center, Forefront, and the like — have been bemoaning Microsoft’s increasingly consumer-centric obsessions. Sure, Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner might still be taking some half-hearted public pot shots at Oracle, VMWare and IBM. And Microsoft’s Dynamics ERP wares, now a billion dollar business in their own right (not even including Dynamics CRM) might get their day in the sun every once in a while. But the real reason the Softies are putting so many of their eggs in the Xbox, Kinect, the newly announced Home Premium Office 365, and Windows 8 consumer-friendly apps and games is consumer is Microsoft’s weak spot. Or… if you are a glass half full kind of gal/guy… consumer is where there’s the most room for future growth.

http://www.zdnet.com/why-all-the-consumer-love-at-microsoft-its-the-weak-spot-7000001253/

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July 27, 2012

Dropbox Users Targeted By Spam, Possible Address Leak To Blame?

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by SARAH PEREZ, TechCrunch

Some Dropbox users have begun reporting that their accounts are under attack from spam, but what’s more troubling is that, in select cases, the spam is hitting accounts where users claim their email address is only used on Dropbox and not elsewhere on the web. In other words, it’s a unique and private email address, which means there’s an increased possibility that the spam may be related to an address leak on Dropbox’s part. That’s not necessarily the case, however. Spambots sometimes try random emails until they get a hit, the users may have malware on their PCs which has captured their email through other methods (like a keylogger, for example), and there’s a chance that another third-party app which integrates with Dropbox may actually be the source of the problem. Dropbox is looking into these claims right now, according to the latest official word from the company.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/17/dropbox-users-targeted-by-spam-possible-address-leak-to-blame/

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Chrome For iOS Now Owns 1.5% Of iOS Browser Market

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by FREDERIC LARDINOIS, TechCrunch

At it’s I/O developer conference last month, Google launched Chrome for iOS. Despite the fact that it’s being held back by Apple’s security protocols and can’t use its own rendering engine, Chrome has been among the most popular free downloads in Apple’s App Store since then. According to the latest data from online advertising network Chitika, Chrome for iOS currently has a market share of about 1.5% on its network. Safari, of course, continues to have a virtual monopoly on iOS browsing, but according to Chitika, Chrome continues to see moderate growth on Apple’s mobile platform.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/17/chrome-ios-market-share/

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Microsoft delves into Windows 8 touchscreen keyboard design, wants us to be extra-comfy

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By Jon Fingas, Engadget

Microsoft has lately become big on touchscreens — sometimes, really big — which makes it only natural that the company would want to explore Windows 8’s on-screen keyboard in detail. As User Experience team member Kit Knox explains, the company has made an about-face from the days of unceremoniously foisting touch on a desktop OS. Windows 8’s keyboard is not only optimized for fingers, but accommodates the little subtleties that others might miss, like the typical postures for tablet use and our tendencies to frequently hit certain wrong keys.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/17/microsoft-delves-into-windows-8-touchscreen-keyboard-design/

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July 26, 2012

Ripples from the Raspberry Pi

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by Rory Cellen-Jones, BBC

I went along to a Raspberry Jam in Cambridge, the latest in a series of events where enthusiasts gather to discuss the project, swap experiences and hear about what may be coming next. The audience at the sell-out event heard some breaking news from Eben Upton. Production had ramped up to 4,000 units a day to meet demand, but there was still a backlog of orders. But what really excited the crowd was the announcement that a camera module for the device was coming very soon, priced at $20-$25 and offering 5MP photos and good quality video. “It’s been completely crazy,” Eben Upton told me afterwards. “At Christmas last year we thought we might sell 10,000 of these devices, so to be sitting here with 200,000 out in the wild and plans to get to a million by the end of the year is just incredible.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18853587

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Russia’s parliament votes for internet censorship law

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by the BBC

The Russian search engine Yandex blanked out part of its logo to protest against the law. Russia’s parliament has voted to approve a law that would give the government the power to force certain internet sites offline without a trial. Supporters of the amendment to the Act for Information say it will help the authorities block sites containing images of child abuse and other illegal material. But opponents have warned that censorship could later be extended. The bill still needs to be signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law. It must also be approved by Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council of Russia. Local reports suggest it could come into force by November.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18805039

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Apple u-turn as Mac maker rejoins EPEAT green registry

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by the BBC

Apple has rejoined an environmental ratings scheme a week after quitting the programme. The firm published a letter on its site saying it had realised the move had been “a mistake” after many of its customers had complained. The u-turn follows an announcement by San Francisco city officials that they planned to ban local agencies from buying Apple Mac computers. They said at the time that they hoped Apple would reconsider. Apple helped set up the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registry in 2006. It is designed to identify which electronic devices pose the least risk to the environment.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18837492

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July 25, 2012

How Universal One-Click Payments Will Change Everything

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by Christopher Mims, Technology Review

Stripe, a startup backed by the same band of self-styled Libertarian revolutionaries who founded and then cashed out of PayPal, is set to do to every transaction on the planet what one-click payments did to Apple’s App store and Amazon.com. If the company succeeds, the psychological abstraction of money at the core of the one-click impulse buy could make buying things easier than ever — maybe even too easy — and the backers of Stripe very, very rich.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428511/how-universal-one-click-payments-will-change/

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How To Steer Sound Using Light

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 12:19 am

by The Physics arXiv Blog

Zap an optical fibre with a couple of laser beams and the resulting interference pattern causes an interesting effect–it squeezes the material, an effect known as electrostriction. This creates a compression wave called a phonon, a packet of sound, which travels along the fibre. Not to be outdone, phonons also influence light because they change the refractive index of the material. This bends light and alters its frequency, an effect known as Brillouin scattering. After that, things get complicated. This mechanism sets in train a complex set of feedback effects in which photons generate phonons which influence the photons and so on. The problem is understanding what’s going on. The ability to influence sound with light, and vice versa, could have interesting applications.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428515/how-to-steer-sound-using-light/

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Startup Uses a Smartphone Compass to Track People Indoors

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by Jessica Leber, Technology Review

Way-finding indoors: With Indoor Atlas’s smartphone tool, a developer can map the magnetic field inside a building, the first step to locating people who walk around inside. Indoor Atlas. People have used magnetic compasses to find their way outdoors for centuries. In a twist, a startup has found a way to use the magnetic sensors in smartphones to locate people themselves—this time, indoors, where GPS signals don’t normally reach. Tracking people in this way could lead to mobile maps that work indoors, and let stores target offers to customers standing in front of a particular product.  The Finland-based startup, Indoor Atlas, launched last week as spin-off from the University of Oulu. The company’s technology, intended for mobile software developers to use in other apps, is a new approach in the growing market for systems that track people inside.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428494/startup-uses-a-smartphone-compass-to-track-people/

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