Techno-News Blog Ray Schroeder, editor, OTEL - University of Illinois at Springfield |
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited - Declan McCullagh, CNet news.cnet.com
The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes. FBI Director Robert Mueller supports storing Internet users' "origin and destination information," a bureau attorney said at a federal task force meeting on Thursday.
Barnes & Noble rolls out second Nook update - David Carnoy, Cnet news.cnet.com
Barnes & Noble says its version 1.2 software upgrade adds features to the Nook and improves performance. A new software upgrade is now available to owners of Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader. This is the second upgrade since the device launched in early December and it appears to be more substantial than the first, which arrived shortly after the product shipped and addressed a handful of small but pervasive bugs.
Add-ons in Firefox's first mobile browser - Jessica Dolcourt, Cnet news.cnet.com
In week since Mozilla released the first Firefox browser for mobile phones, we've had a better chance to explore the Web on the Nokia N900. Firefox for Maemo, as it's called, is also available for the N810 Internet Tablet. We go over some of our observations in the First Look video here, pointing out that extensions, in particular, are the browser's most notable innovation for Firefox mobile. Monday, February 08, 2010
Olympics to athletes: Go ahead and tweet - Ina Fried, CNEt news.cnet.com
The International Olympic Committee on Friday made it clear that athletes should feel free to share their experiences via Twitter at the upcoming Games in Vancouver. In a post on its own Twitter feed, the IOC pointed to its detailed rules (PDF) for bloggers, but summarized its position with the succinctness called for in a tweet. "Athletes go ahead and Tweet as long as it is about your own personal experience at the Games," the IOC said on the microblogging site.
The Apple iPad: First Impressions - David Pogue, NY Times
Apple finally unveiled its tablet computer, the iPad. Thus concludes Phase 1 of the standard Apple new-category roll-out: months of feverish speculation and hype online, without any official indication by Apple that the product even exists. Now Phase 2 can begin: the bashing by the bloggers who’ve never even tried it: “No physical keyboard!” “No removable battery!” “Way too expensive!” “Doesn’t multitask!” “No memory-card slot!”
Bogus Tech Measurements - David Pogue, New York Times
Most people get cranky about politics, or the economy, or what passes for music these days. But you know what gets me cranky? Bogus measurements. Measurements for Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-book readerDay in and day out, the electronics industry manipulates us. They publish “speeds and feeds” in big bold type—measurements that turn out to mean almost nothing. It’s all just misdirection. Sunday, February 07, 2010
Apple's iPad May Include Built-In Camera, Suggest Reports - Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek
Apple's iPad, the company's upcoming tablet PC, may contain a built-in camera, at least according to an Apple product repair company that posted photos of an alleged iPad frame with a space for a camera module. Other sources have posted photos from the device's Jan. 27 launch event showing what could be a camera hole on an iPad held by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Whether these rumors pan out in a succeeding version of the iPad, the tablet seems firmly bent on challenging a variety of rival devices, including the Amazon Kindle in the e-reader space.
Backup and Delete - Lincoln Spector, PC World
Dwight Schoffer wants to know the downside of backing his data to a flash drive, then deleting it from his hard drive. Making one backup, then deleting the file from your hard drive, is no better than not backing up at all. You're still violating Spector's First Law of Computing: Never have only one copy of anything. [Ed Note: I also am a big fan of http://dropbox.com]
Make the Most of Your 'Home' and 'End' Keys - Rick Broida, PC World
You know me: I love a good keyboard shortcut. The Home and End keys aren't shortcuts in the traditional sense, but many users never bother to lay a finger on them--and that's a mistake. Indeed, you may hold Home and End in the same regard as Pause/Break and Scroll Lock, but while those keys are downright useless, your Page Up/Page Down neighbors most certainly are not. Saturday, February 06, 2010
How to make the iPad a better music device - Matt Rosoff, Digital Noise CNet.com
I was at Apple's iPad launch on Wednesday, and maybe it was just Steve Jobs' reality distortion field, but I don't quite understand why the haters are piling on. A lot of PC-centric commentators are dismissing the iPad as an overpriced gadget, wondering why it's lacking features that are standard on even the cheapest notebook computers, like Flash support, multitasking, USB inputs to connect peripherals, and video outputs (HDMI would be nice). These are legitimate complaints--for a notebook replacement. But the iPad isn't a notebook replacement, and I don't think users will carry it with them on business trips. (Apple's iWork demo confused matters, admittedly.)
A Video Demonstration of the iPad - NEW YORK TIMES
Brad Stone, who covered the introduction of the Apple iPad on Wednesday, got his hands on the device for a few minutes of play. The video shows just how fast the apps open.
We Can iHandle It, AT&T Says - JENNA WORTHAM, New York Times
During a call to investors and analysts on Thursday, John Stankey, president of AT&T’s operations division, said the company was gearing up for the introduction of new smartphones and the iPad on its network. “We’ve got an aggressive plan to benefit everyone,” Mr. Stankey said. The company said that this year it plans to pour an additional $2 billion into its wireless network and the wired data infrastructure that supports it, bringing its total expenditure into the range of $18 billion to $19 billion. As part of that spending, the company said it would be adding 2,000 new cell sites and upgrading existing cell sites with fiber-optic connectivity to help increase capacity, among other things. The company also pointed to its recent efforts to roll out its 7.2 HSPA update to existing 3G cell sites, which it says will double the speed of data transfers. Friday, February 05, 2010
Results of Study on Cellphone Use Surprise Researchers - THE NEW YORK TIMES
Over on our sister blog, Wheels, Cheryl Jensen writes that laws banning cellphone use while driving have not resulted in a reduction in car crashes. The study was conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute. “The new study, which was completed in December, looked at crashes (and not just at those involving cellphones) in those four places and found no decrease in accidents, despite the bans’ having reduced the use of hand-held cellphones 41 to 76 percent.”
Verizon Expects to Cut 13,000 Jobs in 2010 - Don E. Sears, eWeek
Land lines are not what they used to be, and telecommunications workers are feeling the pain. For the past two years, Verizon has been divesting legacy telephone-based services and moving toward a wireless and Internet-only business while finding smaller companies to take on its debt.
Will Strong iPad Sales Undo ATandT's San Francisco, NY Efforts? - Michelle Maisto, eWeek
Apple surprised many people during its iPad launch by sticking with AT&T as its mobile carrier. AT&T, which faced quite a few jabs in about its iPhone service in 2009, says it's addressing network issues in its two most problematic cities, New York and San Francisco. But will a successful iPad launch add stresses AT&T can't afford? Thursday, February 04, 2010
IT Infrastructure: Google Leans on GeoEye-1 Satellite for Celestial Views - eWeek
When the earthquake devastated Haiti Jan. 12, Google sprang into action, launching satellite imagery from Google Earth and Google Maps to help the world see how the quake leveled the island. To do this, Google relied on high-resolution imagery from the GeoEye-1 satellite. Google and satellite maker GeoEye have enjoyed a fruitful partnership, with Google using GeoEye-1 imagery for the 2009 Presidential inauguration, views of the pyramids in Egypt, and images showing urban expansion in China. On Jan. 25, Google added a new 'GeoEye Featured Imagery' layer in Google Earth. Learn more about the the Google-GeoEye relationship in this eWEEK slide show.
Handheld Cell Phone Bans Not Reducing Crashes - Roy Mark, eWeek
The Highway Loss Data Institute reports that laws banning using handheld mobile phones while driving or sending text messages while driving didn't lead to reduced numbers of collision claims.
Apple iPad Challenges Google's Chrome Cloud Computing Designs - Clint Boulton, eWeek
Apple stands ready to challenge Google in the cloud computing wars with the new iPad, Gartner analysts say. The iPad is geared to provide the most compelling mobile Internet experience users have seen to date, but Google later in 2010 is expected to bring its own vision for mobile Web consumption in the form of netbooks based on its Chrome Operating System. Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Google phases out support for IE6 - BBC
Microsoft has already released versions 7 and 8 of Internet Explorer Google has begun to phase out support for Internet Explorer 6, the browser identified as the weak link in a cyber attack on the search engine. The firm said from 1 March some of its services, such as Google Docs, would not work "properly" with the browser. It recommended individuals and firms upgrade "as soon as possible".
The rise of the web's digital elites - BBC
Twenty years ago, the web was colonised by a group of early adopters who believed that the ideal society was equal - every person had a right to get involved, there should be no hierarchy, and rules would be mutually determined for the common good. People like American writer Stewart Brand, critic Howard Rheingold, and the Grateful Dead's John Perry Barlow believed the sanctity of the individual was superior to that of the nation state, and that contact with people from across the globe would be enough to solve the world's ills.
Deadline looms for Google Books deal - BBC
Authors are split over the deal. Amazon has urged a New York court to reject a deal that would allow Google to build a vast digital library. The online retailer says that if Google is given exclusive rights to scan books for use on the internet, it is "likely to lead to a monopoly". Interested groups and authors have until 28 January to file objections to the project to a US court. |
