Techno-News Blog

by Lance Whitney, CNET news.com

E-book readers that use e-ink are getting a splash of color, courtesy of a new e-paper technology. Display maker E Ink announced today the release of its new color e-paper, called E Ink Triton, which will offer e-book makers a way to add color to their e-ink devices. The new technology will make its debut with a color e-book reader set to be released in China next March by Chinese e-reader vendor Hanvon, an E Ink representative told CNET. “E Ink Triton marks a major milestone in the e-book revolution,” Hanvon’s Chairman Liu Yingjian said in a statement.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20022237-93.html

by Matthew, Gadget Venue

Some new touch screen technology is being created that would allow devices such as the Apple iPhone to work when the user is wearing gloves or using a pen. The touchscreen technology has screens ranging from 3 to 10 inches in size (iPhone to iPad size) and still uses a capacitive touch type technology using projection.

http://www.gadgetvenue.com/ipad-2-iphone-5-touch-technology-11094018/

by IBM

The Cu-32 Custom Logic offering employs unique IBM technology — designed by IBM Research — to dramatically increase the memory capacity and processing speeds of chips used in fiber-optic and wireless networks, and in such gear as routers and switches. The technology can help manufacturers and network operators handle the data deluge driven by consumers’ appetites for smart phones and other Web-connected devices. Systems using chips made with Cu-32 for example, can result in:

Cellular infrastructure that can move one year’s worth of text messages (six trillion, worldwide in 2010) in less than ten seconds;(1)

A consumer downloading a feature-length film on a smart phone in less than ten seconds; or a HD version in under a minute;(2)

Routers that can stream every motion picture ever produced in less than one minute;(3)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/made-in-ibm-labs-new-chip-technology-paves-the-way-to-a-faster-internet-2010-11-09?reflink=MW_news_stmp

by Yevgeniy Sverdlik, Datacenter Dynamics

IBM Labs has created a new chip-making technology, which says can result in network routers that can stream every motion picture ever made in less than one minute. Other examples of performance of systems using the Cu-32 Custom Logic technology include cellular infrastructure that can move six trillion text messages in less than ten seconds; or mobile-device download time for a feature film of less than ten seconds, according to an IBM news release. The Cu-32 Custom Logic technology, designed by IBM Research, dramatically increases memory capacity and processing speeds of semiconductors used in fiber-optic and wireless networks, as well as in switches and routers. It was developed to address the “exploding number of Internet-connected devices and the tidal wave of data they are generating.”

http://goo.gl/mnCZy

by Joshua Schnell, Macgasm

There’s a lot of amazing things going on with AMOLED display technologies. We’ve had our eye on it since CES last year, but it seems like things continue to get better with the Samsung technology. While this news isn’t directly related to Apple in any way, it’s simply too cool to pass off. Today at FPD 2010 in Japan, there were some pretty interesting AMOLED displays on showcase. I couldn’t help but start to imagine where this type of technology could lead us in the coming years. Could you imagine having some of these things replacing paper? Heck, could you imagine a major newspaper outlet delivering their news on one of these things every single day.

http://www.macgasm.net/2010/11/10/samsung-shows-amoled-display-technology/

by Sylvie Barak, Unplugged

A whopping six trillion text messages were sent by mobile users across the planet last year, but computing powerhouse IBM believes that’s small fry, having just developed chip technology which can purportedly pump out those six trillion text messages in just ten seconds. The new chip-making technology is called the Cu-32 Custom Logic and was designed by IBM Research — to dramatically increase the memory capacity and processing speeds of chips used in fiber-optic and wireless networks and in gear like routers and switches. “Teens will have to type faster to keep up with the advances that IBM’s new chip technology holds for service providers,” an IBM rep told RCR jokingly.

http://unplugged.rcrwireless.com/index.php/20101110/components/5076/ibm-new-chip-technology-huge-boost-to-wireless-devices-and-networks/

By: Chris Preimesberger, eWeek

Facebook, closing in on signing up its 600 millionth user, is already the No. 1 social networking service in the world. Now it wants to become the largest and most important real-time messenger by combining the world’s most-often-used digital media: SMS texting, e-mail, chat and regular Facebook messages.  

Facebook Messages, which the company launched in invitation-only mode Nov. 15, also enables people to communicate with their friends using any connected device they want. The bottom line is this: A person using Facebook Messages can send one message on any device, using any of the four media noted above, to anyone else using the service who, likewise, can use any media and device. It’s a blurring — and a clarification — of digital communications as we know it.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Facebook-Combines-Email-Chat-Texting-into-New-Messages-Service-749744/?kc=rss

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google Nov. 15 refreshed its Google Product Search service, Google Shopper App, and added popular products and aisle tabs in time for Black Friday. Google Nov. 15 unveiled an improved Google Product Search service, partnering with retail giants such as Best Buy and Williams-Sonoma to surface goods for online shoppers who are nearby. The search engine partnered with more than 70 retailers and software makers such as Oracle, JDA and Epicor to index inventory of local Best Buys and other outlets. The software makers provide special adapters to funnel retailers’ inventory data to Google Product Search.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Google-Product-Search-Boosts-Local-Shopping-Vs-Amazon-722366/?kc=rss

By: Don E. Sears, eWeek

Rumor has it that Yahoo is cutting anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of its consumer products division which could be between 650 and 2,500 individuals by the end of the year, according to anonymously sourced reports from TechCrunch and AllThingsDigital. Yahoo disputed the numbers will be as high as 20 percent, but declined to elaborate any further on layoff details. “Yahoo is always evaluating expenses to align with the company’s financial goals,” said a Yahoo spokesperson in a statement. “However, a 20 percent reduction in Yahoo’s workforce across the board is misleading and inaccurate.”

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/Yahoo-Layoff-Rumors-Abound-as-Does-Freelance-Hiring-659303/?kc=rss

by Angela Gonzales, Phoenix Business Journal

Dr. David Adelson, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, is attempting to develop brain-computer interface technology. He hopes the study will lead to advances that will help amputees control artificial limbs with their minds. Talia Le Duff, a feisty 11-year-old who suffers from epileptic seizures, can move a computer cursor with her mind. No, she doesn’t have telekinesis. Doctors at Phoenix Children’s Hospital recently implanted electrodes on her brain to help determine where her seizures are originating. While the electrodes were in place, doctors conducted an experiment as part of an entirely different project to see whether she could move things with her mind.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/print-edition/2010/11/05/brain-computer-interface.html

by Tris Hussey, the Next Web

Making the rounds today from Techie Buzz is a discussion about a WordPress plugin called “BlogPress SEO”. Now, as you know, any plugin that promises linkbacks without you having to work at it is clearly doing something that’s not above the board. That promise, among others, is what BlogPress SEO states. From what we’re reading over at Yoast and Mtekk, the plugin has back doors that will let the author bypass the login screen completely and be into the admin area of your blog in a snap. Even Matt Cutts, head of the webspam team at Google gives his warning over Twitter.

http://goo.gl/KVKbQ

by Jacob Friedman, Next Web

Facebook is trying to stake its claim on Google’s turf. The consensus in the technology world is that Facebook’s Monday event will see the release of a Facebook email service of some kind, a direct shot at Google’s Gmail. While this is the most blatant shot that Facebook has taken at Google, it’s hardly the only one. Moreover, Google has fired a few volleys of its own at the social network giant. This most recent bout between the two companies, as well as recent tensions and accusations of employee poaching, raises one glaring question: Since when is the technology industry a gang war? That is, why are Facebook and Google horning in on each other’s turf?

http://goo.gl/Epwbx

By: Cameron Sturdevant, eWeek

When it comes to choosing a user platform, the choice may soon have less to do with selecting a physical hardware platform and more to do with accommodating actual user workloads. I had just finished my review of VMware View 4.5 when I walked past a Chase bank branch opening up at the corner of Market and Second Streets here in San Francisco. As our industry stands on the cusp of virtualized user workloads, it was somewhat shocking to see a bunch of PCs being hauled into a brand new bank. The branch office, set to open Nov. 16, is filled with new office furniture and what appear to be new PCs at more than a half-dozen desks. In fairness, I don’t know if the PCs are new or simply recycled from the Chase depot, but I had to ask myself why, in a heavily regulated industry and in an office in the heart of technology land, would a business install physical desktop computers when a good alternative—virtual desktops—exists?

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/VMware-Microsoft-are-Building-Virtual-Desktop-Technology-864026/?kc=rss

By: Chris Preimesberger, eWeek

Just in time for the holidays, the world’s largest chipmaker lowers prices on its entire line of solid-state drives. It also introduced a new model to its catalog. Intel is getting into the holiday season frame of mind early this year by giving its OEMs and consumer customers a special gift. The world’s largest chipmaker said Nov. 12 that it has lowered prices by 10 percent to 20 percent on its entire line of solid-state drives. It also introduced a new model to the catalog. SSDs are designed to replace hard disk drives in a PC and provide substantial read/write performance boosts for notebook or desktop PCs.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Data-Storage/Intel-Lowers-Pricing-on-SSDs-728293/?kc=rss

By Don E. Sears, eWeek

There’s no secret in the formula: For the most part, the more IT skills you have, the better pay you get. The following alphabetical gallery lists the top 25 skills in technology with increased demand in pay for the third quarter. These are non-certified skills, meaning they don’t necessarily require a technology worker to have a certification, yet they do require experience. These skills were sourced by Foote Partners, a Vero Beach, Fla., technology research company that tracks certified and non-certified IT skills. One certified skill that lost value over the summer was security, which had been the most resilient and consistently growing skill set for four straight years.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/NonCertified-Technology-Skills-the-Top-25-Right-Now-629710/?kc=rss

by Paul Sawers, the Next Web

So you’ve got a company Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr and YouTube account…great news. But to harness the power of social media requires far more effort than simply setting up a company profile. And how do you ensure staff doesn’t commit a social media howler? It’s all very well slating that one annoying client with your colleagues in the staff canteen. But with social media there’s a level of transparency that companies must address.

http://goo.gl/TnhlL

by Brad McCarty, the Next Web

As we reported only a few days ago, the Xbox 360 (likely because of Kinect) and the iPad are set to rule this year’s Christmas shopping lists. With the American non-holiday of Black Friday just around the corner, many people are already preparing their ideas and crowd-surfing strategies. But I’m here to throw an idea your way – don’t buy an iPad. That’s not to say that the iPad shouldn’t be on your radar of eventual purchases. Quite the contrary in fact. We’ve already given you every reason to buy (or not to buy) one. It’s a great device, but it’s very likely going to be old news in the not-so-distant future.

http://goo.gl/gdeyk

by Martin Bryant, the Next Web

SoundCloud is one of the hottest services in web audio and yet it gets very little attention from the tech press. Yesterday, SoudCloud announced that there are now 100 third party apps using its API. That sounds to us like a good time to take a look at different ways you can use it yourself. Launched in 2007 as a way of helping musicians share work and collaborate on songs, Berlin-based SoundCloud has developed into what is now a highly flexible way of working online with any type of audio. Like a “YouTube for audio”, all clips uploaded to SoundCloud are searchable by others and can be embedded in web pages.

http://goo.gl/b1XNi

By Kabir Chibber, BBC

The centre of academic life at most universities is the library. The rows and rows of dusty, hastily-mended bound books and journals hint at a vast world of knowledge and draw a link between generations of students who have roamed the halls. But students in the engineering department at the University of Texas in San Antonio (UTSA) do not get that experience. Instead, they download whatever they want to any one of the terminals or their laptops. In September, the UTSA opened the first completely bookless library on a university campus in the US.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11735404

by the BBC

More and more people are being taken to court due to offensive and defamatory twittering. Media lawyer, Paul Gilbert, joined BBC Breakfast to make clear that tweeters can be sued for defamatory comments whilst comedian David Schneider believes it is all about the context of the comment. (video)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11743036

By Maggie Shiels, BBC News

Advocacy groups have welcomed reports that the US government plans to boost the policing of online privacy with new laws and a new watchdog. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration was set to unveil its new strategy in the coming weeks. A more hands-on approach would mark a break from previous governments that relied on industry self-regulation. Google and Facebook have been at the forefront of consumer privacy concerns.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11748346