Techno-News Blog

By Chris Preimesberger, eWeek

Big data—and the demands that its collection, processing and security put on IT resources—is on about every IT decision maker’s mind right about now. The so-called Four V’s of Big Data—volume, variety, velocity and value—are holding true as defining terms for this relatively new IT phenomenon. The amount of data is growing faster than we know, the types of data formats continue to increase, the data is moving faster than ever before and the analysis of it is proving to be surprisingly valuable for businesses in categories many had never dreamed of. This slide show touches on 10 important trends in this sector, particularly with regard to the popular batch-processing system Apache Hadoop.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Data-Storage/Big-Data-Analytics-Is-Just-Starting-to-Reach-Its-Potential-10-Reasons-Why-457684/

By: Chris Preimesberger, eWeek

Google’s new Nexus 7, introduced to the world at a San Francisco media event on June 27, is a powerful new tablet that will compete not only with the Apple iPad, but also Amazon’s Kindle and other late-model tablets on the market. The first thing you notice when you pick up Google’s new Asus-built, Android Jelly Bean 4.1-powered Nexus 7 tablet is it’s light, it feels comfortable in your hand and it only costs $199. The Google Nexus 7 is also quick to respond—both in delivering the feature or service requested (browser, email, video, music, etc.) and in its touch control. The new version of Google’s Android operating system, Jelly Bean 4.1, sports a lot of new features, even though it is a point release. These include a new interface, new developer tools and plenty of new software add-ons. Jelly Bean 4.1 also includes Voice to Type, which earned a loud ovation from the 6,000 attendees at the conference. The user does not have to be online to use this feature. The pricing alone will sway a lot of people on the fence about tablet costs.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Google-Nexus-7-Tablet-Impresses-With-Light-Design-Features-Price-513950/

By: Darryl K. Taft, eWeek

Firefox 15 has hit the Mozilla pre-beta Aurora channel, and it features a redesigned, built-in debugger. Mozilla has released Firefox 15 to its pre-beta Aurora channel and the new release comes with some major new features and improvements to the built-in tools for Web developers. Perhaps the biggest change in Firefox 15 is that it ships with a debugger that developers can use to find issues with their JavaScript code. The debugger is available via the Web Developer menu.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Firefox-15-Coming-With-SoupedUp-Debugger-304877/

by the BBC

US experts have developed what they say are the most biologically-accurate robotic legs yet. Writing in the Journal of Neural Engineering, they said the work could help understanding of how babies learn to walk – and spinal-injury treatment. They created a version of the message system that generates the rhythmic muscle signals that control walking. A UK expert said the work was exciting because the robot mimics control and not just movement. The team, from the University of Arizona, were able to replicate the central pattern generator (CPG) – a nerve cell (neuronal) network in the lumbar region of the spinal cord that generates rhythmic muscle signals. The CPG produces, and then controls, these signals by gathering information from different parts of the body involved in walking, responding to the environment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18724114#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

by Justin Stoneman, BBC

The government says it now believes that the country’s internet infrastructure will be able to cope with demand during the Olympic Games. The Cabinet Office had previously told businesses to prepare counter measures in case internet service providers (ISPs) introduced download limits or even experienced failures. However, it said it now believes efforts to address extra demand has offset these risks. Business groups have welcomed the news. The Cabinet Office’s Preparing Your Business For The Games report, issued in February said: “In very severe cases there may be drop-outs due to an increased number of people accessing the internet. In addition, ISPs may introduce data caps during peak times to try and spread the loading and give a more equal service to their entire customer base.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18734269#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

by the BBC

The Raspberry Pi runs off an operating system saved onto an attached Secure Digital memory card. Children and young people getting to grips with the bare-bones Raspberry Pi computer could win cash prizes for their programming prowess. The foundation that created the Raspberry Pi has kicked off a programming competition for youngsters. Prizes of $1,000 (£645) will be given to the child and teenager who have written the best software for the Pi. The first competition runs for two months, but in the future the Pi foundation will run weekly contests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18770688#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

By Michelle Maisto, eWeek

The 4.1 version, Google says, is the fastest and smoothest version of Android yet, improving on the “simplicity and beauty” of ICS and bringing a new search experience. In Jelly Bean, widgets are resizable, unwanted photos can be deleted with a quick swipe, and the keyboard has been made more accurate and more relevant, with improved text-to-speech capabilities and better guesses for the next word to be typed. Search results have also become lovelier, with relevant information collected together on a stylized card. However, the biggest question for smartphone and tablet users is when will the Jelly Bean update be available? At the I/O show, Google introduced the Nexus 7, its answer to the Apple iPad. The Nexus 7 will be the only device to ship with Jelly Bean preinstalled; other devices will receive updates through their carriers. The Nexus 7 will ship in mid- to late July, and other devices will receive the update shortly after the tablet goes on sale.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Android-Jelly-Bean-Which-Smartphones-Tablets-Will-Get-the-Upgrade-First-135129/

by Technology Review

In July’s business report Technology Review examines the cutting edge of automation—the jobs it is destroying and the prosperity it is creating. During the month, we’ll explore the latest in commercial robotics and reveal how IT advances are bringing automation to jobs never before done by machines.

http://www.technologyreview.com/businessreport/the-future-of-work/

by David Talbot, Technology Review

Beyond merely tracking where you’ve been and where you are, your smartphone might soon actually know where you are going—in part by recording what your friends do. Researchers in the U.K. have come up with an algorithm that follows your own mobility patterns and adjusts for anomalies by factoring in the patterns of people in your social group (defined as people who are mutual contacts on each other’s smartphones). The method is remarkably accurate. In a study on 200 people willing to be tracked, the system was, on average, less than 20 meters off when it predicted where any given person would be 24 hours later.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428441/a-phone-that-knows-where-youre-going/

by David Zax, Technology Review

You thought your worldview was secure, with your addiction to Google Maps. Then you were willing to reconsider, when you heard about how awesome Apple Maps would be. But now you may have to prepare for an outright cartographic battle royale, with Amazon now stepping into the fray. GigaOm reports that Amazon closed a deal to acquire the New York-based 3D mapping startup UpNext. Since the Kindle Fire doesn’t have a dedicated, native mapping app, the acquisition might point to an era of a beefed-up Kindle Fire, or even that Kindle smart phone there’s been speculation about. The UpNext team will reportedly move to Seattle to lead Amazon’s expedition into the world of mapping.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428426/amazon-maps/

by David Talbot, Technology Review

A recent study suggests that computers could be better than seasoned police analysts at predicting when and where crime will strike next in a busy city. Software tested in Los Angeles was twice as good as human analysts at predicting where burglaries and car break-ins might happen, according to a company deploying the technology. When police in an L.A. precinct called Foothill division followed the computer’s advice—and focused their patrols within the areas identified—those areas experienced a 25 percent drop in reported burglaries, an anomaly compared to neighboring areas.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428354/la-cops-embrace-crime-predicting-algorithm/

by Antonio Regalado, Technology Review

Now a combination of growing computing power and advances in data crunching mean automation is primed to threaten not just tax preparers and travel agents but higher-rung jobs such as those in the medical and legal professions, where software can increasingly do things like analyze images and understand speech more accurately and in more contexts than ever before. Any work that is repetitive or fairly well structured is open to full or partial automation. Being human confers less and less of an advantage these days. Some economists believe automation may explain why U.S. economic output has grown since 2007 while the number of jobs has fallen.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428402/automate-or-perish/

by Jane Wakefield, BBC

Half of all US 10-year-olds read poorly, according to Dr Michael Levine, executive director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, which was set up to research how digital media impact on learning. One of the centre’s studies, using an iPod Touch, found that the vocabulary of 13 five-year-olds improved by an average of 27% after using an educational app called Martha Speaks. Another study, using a different educational app, had a similar result, with three-year-olds showing a 17% gain. Its latest research compared how children learned using traditional books versus e-readers. The conclusion was that for young children traditional books were more effective in focusing attention on literacy skills while e-readers helped older children maintain attention and excitement with books.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18105992#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

by Spencer Kelly

Just one week after Google announced its entry into the tablet market with a 7-inch tablet, sources say Apple is planning to release a so-called “iPad mini” later this year. Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced it will offer upgrades for its new operating system Windows 8 for just under $40.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9735526.stm

by the BBC

Robot avatars have got a step closer to being the real world doubles of those who are paralysed or have locked-in-syndrome. Scientists have made a robot move on a human’s behalf by monitoring thoughts about movement, reports New Scientist. The man-machine link joined a man in a brain scanner in Israel and a robot wandering a laboratory in France. The person controlling the robot could also see through the eyes of his electronic surrogate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18721658#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

by Jason Hiner, ZDNet

This is a topic that we’ve debated before and we’re certainly going to be debating again in the future. This is where a lot of big stuff is happening — like Apple riding strong iPhone and iPad sales to pass Microsoft and IBM and become the world’s most valuable technology company. And, it’s where a lot of big stuff is going to be happening in the next several years — thin clients, desktop virtualization, PC/smartphone convergence, BYOD, and more.

http://www.zdnet.com/debate/can-pc-makers-survive-in-a-post-pc-world/10087383/

by James Kendrick, ZDNet

The Microsoft secret event that unveiled the new company-branded tablets sent a wake-up call to the PC industry. The folks in Redmond were no longer happy to let OEMs release me-too PCs to showcase the revolutionary new Windows 8. Microsoft is making a statement that it is in it to win it, but it may run into the same hardware pricing quandary its partners have faced for years. Microsoft knows that Windows 8 is going to fly off the shelf in good numbers. Every desktop, all-in-one system, laptop, and now tablet sold by its partners will have Windows 8 or Windows RT preinstalled once the OS is released. Millions of systems sold = millions of Windows 8 licenses sold, the formula Microsoft has found successful for years.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-surface-tablets-high-end-hardware-but-better-be-cheap-7000000402/

by Lawrence Dignan, ZDNet

Microsoft’s big bet on the Surface — and alienation of the ecosystem — may have thrown OEMs under a bus, but users could benefit. Jason and Mary Jo debated how Microsoft’s moves would impact users. The reality is we don’t know. Overall, though, Mary Jo made a more compelling argument. Sometimes you have to rattle your partners if you want to compete.

http://www.zdnet.com/debate/did-microsoft-throw-users-under-the-bus/10087543/

by David Zax, Technology Review

Sometimes we get so excited about the features and form factor of a device, we forget about what’s inside. As the brains behind the Microsoft Surface tablet and the Google Nexus 7, Nvidia’s Tegra chip is fast becoming one of the more important components out there. Its mobile business in particular is “gaining momentum,” per one analyst. Previously, notes BusinessWeek, the chip market has been dominated by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips, as well as Apple’s proprietary A4 and A5 chips. But Tegra is taking off. The Tegra 3 will not only power the Microsoft and Google tablets; it’s also the brains behind a couple of in-car infotainment systems, including the ones found in forthcoming Lamborghini and Audi models.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428413/nvidias-rise/

By Sharon Gaudin, Computer World

Twitter has received more government requests for user information in the first six months of this year than it did in all of 2011, the company reported this week. Taking a page from Google, the micro-blogging site released on Monday its first Twitter Transparency Reportlisting government requests for user information and to withhold content, and copyright holders DMCA takedown notices. Google has had its own Transparency Report for the past several years and yesterday tweeted “props” to Twitter for releasing a similar report. “Wednesday marks Independence Day here in the United States,” wrote Jeremy Kessel, Twitter’s manager of legal policy. “Beyond the fireworks and barbecue, July 4th serves as an important reminder of the need to hold governments accountable, especially on behalf of those who may not have a chance to do so themselves.”

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9228767/Twitter_gets_transparent_releases_list_of_government_data_requests

By Maggie Koerth-Baker, Boing Boing

Xeni posted last week about the EU’s rather ridiculous “Science: It’s a Girl Thing!” video, which was aimed at recruiting girls to science careers and, instead, hit enough vacuous stereotypes of femininity that it ended up seeming like a parody of itself. This seems like a nice moment to note that the Txchnologist website is currently posting articles in the theme of “Women in Science and Technology”. One of those pieces is an interview with Margo Seltzer, an actual female scientist. Dr. Seltzer teaches computer science at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Most science and technology professions have a hard time attracting and retaining women, and computer science is no exception. Only a quarter of employed computer scientists are women. Txchnologist asked Seltzer about her perspective on the problem, and what steps she thinks might help make computer science more female-friendly.

http://boingboing.net/2012/07/03/public-image-self-image-and.html