Techno-News Blog

by Jonathan Fildes, BBC News

The software has a familiar look Microsoft has unleashed its latest weapon in its ongoing battle with Google. The software giant has launched its flagship product Office 2010, aimed at businesses and home users. The latest version of the software has a free online component – called Office Web Apps. Analysts believe the web offering is a response to Google, which has been encroaching on Microsoft’s core business with its free online tools.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10107799.stm

by Tom Krazit, CNet news.com

Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed plans to release a tablet computer running software from Google at some point, but did not elaborate on timing. The Wall Street Journal spoke to McAdam, who said “we’re looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience.” The two companies signed a partnership last year to develop a family of mobile devices based on Android, although it’s not clear if McAdam is referring to Android, Chrome OS, or just Google applications running atop something else.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20004731-265.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

by Brooke Crothers, CNet news.com

Intel showed two future products–a dual-core Netbook and tablet design–at its 2010 investor meeting Tuesday, and didn’t waste time in touting the advantages of an Intel-based tablet over the Apple iPad. Intel Vice President Mooly Eden, who heads the chipmaker’s client group, flourished a tablet and didn’t mince words when comparing it with the iPad (though he didn’t mention the iPad by name). “You’ll have USB, you’ll have SATA (Serial ATA connector for storage devices), a cheaper memory solution, and you’ll even be able to connect to your printer,” he said. “And performance? We’ll be able to deliver dual-core,” he said, referring to the tablet.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20004730-64.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

by Jessica Dolcourt, Cnet news.com

Any urbanite knows that directions aren’t created equally. Pedestrians can usually go wherever their feet can take them, but road traffic has to contend with hated one-way streets. Don’t even get us started on cyclists. Luckily for bike riders toting Android phones in their messenger bags, a few days after Google added directions specifically for cyclists, the Maps team rolled biking guidance into the Android app.

http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-20004734-251.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

by BBC

Twitter has fixed a major bug that saw many users of the service appear to lose all of their followers and friends. The problem began when a flaw was uncovered that allowed people to force others to “follow” them on the site. People who typed “accept” followed by a person’s Twitter name forced the user to be added to their list of followers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10106166.stm

by Mark Ward, BBC

The pool of net addresses is almost empty. In less than 18 months there will be no more big blocks of net addresses to give out, estimates suggest. Predictions name 9 September 2011 as the date on which the last of those tranches is released for net firms and others to use. Everything connected to the net needs an “IP address” to ensure data reaches the right person or device.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10105978.stm

by Fiji times

The fusion of computer expertise is moving very slowly in Fiji and a whole generation of teachers still teaching would have missed the opportunity to enhance their teaching without skills. These were the sentiments shared by educationist and former Fiji Teachers Union president Krishna Datt in Pacific Harbour yesterday. “Those who may have the expertise do not have the technology readily accessible for use,” he said. “This group has to be identified and in-service provided in a systematic way either after school, during holidays or during school terms.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=145850

by Jeffrey Burt, eWeek

EMC CEO Joe Tucci said the conventional wisdom is predicting that the cloud computing space will be dominated by a small number of large players, such as Amazon and Google, offering massive public clouds. In his EMC World 2010 keynote, Tucci said that EMC sees a future with tens of thousands of smaller, private clouds and hundreds of public ones.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/EMC-CEO-Tucci-Future-Will-Include-Many-Clouds-797042/?kc=rss

by Don Reisinger, eWeek

Microsoft is one of the most compelling companies in the tech industry. Aside from the fact that it’s huge, the company has decided to make a play for several major markets, including software, mobile and browsers. In some cases, Microsoft holds a dominant market share. In other cases, the company is trying desperately to stay afloat as the competition continues to offer more compelling alternatives. And it’s companies like Google and Apple that are starting to emerge as front-runners. Let’s take a look at why Microsoft isn’t the company that it once was.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/10-Reasons-Why-Microsofts-Tech-Dominance-Is-Over-755040/?kc=rss

by Zee, The Next Web

Android based phones outsold the iPhone in the U.S. for the first time last quarter according to a report from Market Research firm NPD. Google’s Android-based smartphones accounted for 28% of smartphone sales, while the iPhone accounted for 21%. Research In Motion’s Blackberry outsold both with 36% of the sales.

http://bit.ly/aCJjad

by Nick Bilton, New York Times

A security flaw was discovered on the Facebook Web site early Wednesday morning that enabled users to see private chats taking place between friends. Another security issue allowed users to see their online friends’ pending social requests. The major security oversight, which was reported by TechCrunch, is made visible through a “Preview My Profile…” function on a user’s privacy page, which has been available sin’ce September 2008.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/facebook-security-flaw-publicizes-private-chats/

by Chuck Hollis, New York Times

All the PCs and laptops are basically not being used. All the Macs are not being used. All have been powered off. Everyone in the family is waiting for their turn at the iPad. My wife asserted her rightful place in the hierarchy later that evening, and took it upstairs to the bedroom to relax while watching TV. Tap, tap, tap. Occasionally, she showed me something interesting she found online. And smiling.

http://chucksblog.emc.com/chucks_blog/2010/05/what-ipads-did-to-my-family.html

by Claire Cain Miller, New York Times

Leave it to the early adopters to find a way to get their hands on an iPad even if they live abroad, where Apple will not begin selling iPads until the end of May. Their solution, to avoid going on living without an iPad for even a month longer than the Americans? EBay. EBay has been observing a brisk trade in iPads, with 65 percent of those sold on the site going to buyers in other countries. International sales spiked in mid-April, when impatient foreigners learned that Apple would delay international sales by a month because of unexpectedly high demand in the United States.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/the-ipad-travels-the-world-via-ebay/

by Maggie Shiels, BBC News

Amazon’s Kindle is currently a market leader. Search giant Google is set to launch its own online e-book store in 2010. The Amazon Kindle is linked to books from the company’s own store and similarly with Apple’s iBookstore. “It is a different approach to what most readers today have and the vision is to be able to access books in a device agnostic way,” said Google spokesperson Gabriel Sticker.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10098111.stm

by BBC

Blu-ray is turning to 3D to release films such as Avatar, Toy Story and Ice Age. As net users become more familiar with downloading, sales of video disc are starting to slip. Sales of DVDs dropped 13% from 2008 to 2009 while digital alternatives, such as video streaming and on-demand movie sites, grew significantly.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8668634.stm

by BBC

The iPad will go on sale in nine countries outside the US on 28 May, Apple says The world’s biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia, has filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming the iPad 3G and iPhone infringe five of its patents. Nokia claims the infringements involve technology used to enhance speech and data transmission and antenna innovations for compact devices. This is the latest salvo in a long-running legal battle between the two companies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8669529.stm

by Jamillah Knowles, BBC

 Leslie Fishlock created Geek Girl Camp in the United States. Its projects include donating laptops to women in need and repairing old laptops to give to women returning to education. However the organisation is best known for its boot camp – a full day of workshops covering all sorts of technology from social media, PC and Mac maintenance, podcasting and programming.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8663593.stm

by: Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google May 6 said it will enable users to access Google Reader, Blogger and Picasa Web Albums from Google Apps in fall 2010, satisfying nine of the top 20 requests Apps users make from the company. The move signals an expansion of Google Apps beyond collaboration to other modes of information-sharing. This could provide some measure of defense as Google seeks to stave off challengers, such as IBM, Cisco and Microsoft, whose Office 2010 suite launches May 12.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Google-Apps-Expanding-as-Google-Preps-for-Office-2010-490666/?kc=rss

by Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek

Microsoft will launch Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 May 12, making the productivity suite immediately available to businesses, roughly a month before consumers. While Microsoft hopes that Office 2010 will allow it to command the productivity-software segment, the company faces challenges in two areas: cloud-based productivity apps such as Google Apps, which are drawing the attention of both consumers and businesses, and depressed business spending, which has affected uptake of Microsoft’s other recent flagship product, Windows 7. Microsoft will doubtlessly offer a full-court press in an attempt to disseminate Office 2010 to as many consumers and businesses as possible.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/Microsoft-Office-2010-Faces-Google-Apps-Economy-506865/?kc=rss

by Clint Boulton, eWeek

In a move to boost search result relevance, Google is rolling out several new search features that help users refine their search results. Users can now slice and dice search results by content type and receive more relevant search options from Google, which, along with rivals Microsoft Bing and Yahoo, is striving to make search smarter. These changes, which began rolling out May 5 across 37 languages, live in the left-hand panel. You might not be able to see them yet, so eWEEK offers a glimpse of them in this slide show.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/Google-Earth-Crisis-Response-Site-Tracks-Gulf-Oil-Spill-766405/?kc=rss

by Clint Boulton, eWeek

In a move to boost search result relevance, Google is rolling out several new search features that help users refine their search results. Users can now slice and dice search results by content type and receive more relevant search options from Google, which, along with rivals Microsoft Bing and Yahoo, is striving to make search smarter. These changes, which began rolling out May 5 across 37 languages, live in the left-hand panel. You might not be able to see them yet, so eWEEK offers a glimpse of them in this slide show.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/Peeking-at-Googles-New-Search-User-Interface-364397/?kc=rss