Google open-sources LevelDB, a non-relational database

Non-relational databases are seeing a lot of interest these days as alternative to relational / SQL-based databases. While they are not exact equivalents, not replacements, non-relational databases are simply better suited for certain kinds of data, and today there is a plethora of options for those looking for a NoSQL solution. Google has just added yet another to this field.

LevelDB is a key-value storage engine written in C++, and its source code has now been released under a BSD-style license. Google designed LevelDB as a building block for a higher-level storage system, and it will in fact form the basis for the IndexedDB API – a new web standard for using apps that need a database – in future versions of Google Chrome.

Unlike MySQL or even non-relational databases such as MongoDB and CouchDB, LevelDB is not a server that multiple clients can connect to and operate remotely or even locally. It is a library included in your application to give it support for LevelDB as a data store, similar to SQLite.

Alibaba to launch Aliyun, an Android-compatible cloud-based mobile and tablet OS

Hong Kong-based e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group has announced it will be launching its first mobile operating system, called Aliyun. The first phone, manufactured by Beijing Tianyu, is expected to go on sale in China by the end of the month.

Made by the Alibaba Cloud Computing unit, the new Aliyun OS was designed to operate across a variety of form factors, including tablets. Seeking to give customers a multitude of apps to choose from, Aliyun will also be “fully compatible” with Android apps. The OS is also cloud based, with a variety of essential native services and applications working remotely, from email to storage.
Beijing Tianyu will also be releasing a tablet based on Aliyun before the end of the year, and Alibaba seems confident it will convince other manufacturers to use its new mobile operating system. The first phone will be priced at around $416, and seems to pack some decent hardware – bearing an Nvidia chipset. Alibaba is reportedly also in talks with Qualcomm to provide hardware in the future.

Apart from its supposed complete compatibility with Android apps, Aliyun will need more going for it to have a fighting chance against Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7. What Alibaba is betting on are the cloud-based services of the system, and perhaps an ecosystem driven by their own e-commerce products. The benefits of cloud-based services are many, but unfortunately best realized where connectivity is perennial and cheap.
 

Apple takes top spot in global smarpthone sales, trailed by Samsung and Nokia

The latest results in the ongoing battle of global smartphone manufacturers are in, with reports from market research firms Strategy Analytics and IDC showing some interesting developments in the second quarter of this year. The market as a whole has grown 76.3% since Q2 last year, with Apple and Samsung definitely looking to have enjoyed most of the benefits.Q2 2011 saw Apple more than double its smartphone sales since the corresponding quarter last year, going from 8.4 million units to 20.3 million. Samsung did spectacularly well in the same period, with sales growing more than six times from 3.1 million units to 19.2 million. Nokia’s smartphone sales on the other hand fell by a third in the second quarter, shipping 16.7 units compared to 23.8 million the previous year
The smartphone market shares have certainly been reshuffled, and now have three nearly equal behemoths on top – with Apple holding 18.5% for the first spot, Samsung is second with 17.5%, and Nokia third with 15.2%. Other manufacturers make up 48.9% of the sales, up from 43.4% in Q2 2010.

The Q2 reports also held some interesting statistics for feature phones – the overall market reduced for the first time in two years, with all manufacturers seeing declines in sales. Nokia, the biggest feature phone manufacturer – shipped 71.8 million units, down from 87.3 million the previous year. Could it be the effect of those low-cost Android ‘smartphones’?

Overall, and not just because Apple doesn’t make feature phones, Nokia still retains the top position with 88.5 million feature and smartphones sold this quarter, though that number has dropped sharply from 111.1 million units the previous year. Samsung retains the number two position, with 70.2 million units sold overall. As they stand for now, market shares show Nokia holding 24.5%, Samsung at 20.5%, LG third at 6.9%, and Apple an impressive fourth, at 5.6% of the market.

AMD reveals pricing and release date of the first 8-core Bulldozer Zambezi FX CPUs

AMD has revealed the approximate retail pricing of its first eight-core Bulldozer processors on a promotional webpage - $300. Part of its upcoming FX-Series, which also includes four and six core processors, the eight-core Bulldozers are codenamed Zambezi, with the first two to be released the FX-8100 and FX-8150 models.
The AMD Bulldozer FX-8150 is the top-end offerin - based on the 32nm process, it has a 3.6GHz core clock that can turbo up to 4.2GHz, all whilst maintaining a TDP of 125W. At the $300 pricing, AMD puts it roughly at the same price as Intel’s current Sandy Bridge Core i7-2600 offering, a quad-core processor. However, AMD expects it to compete directly against Intel’s upcoming Sandy Bridge Extreme processors, expected in Q4 2011, and Ivy Bridge processors, expected in Q1 2012.

The first Bulldozer processors are expected to be the Zambezi offerings, and are to be launched on September 19. Also expected with them are the four-core and six-core FX-4100 and FX-6100.

Sony Ericsson adding Qriocity movie streaming to XPERIAs in August

Sony Ericsson has announced that the Sony Qriocity streaming video service will be landing on select smartphones from the company’s range as of August 1, with a choice of content from NBC, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and more. Arriving first on the XPERIA mini and mini pro, the Qriocity video app will allow for both rentals and purchases of titles.
After the two compact Android devices, Sony Ericsson will push out phased updates for the XPERIA Arc, neo, PLAY, Pro and acro, while the XPERIA active and XPERIA ray will have the app preloaded when they go on sale. Nine countries will support the service, at least initially – the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, Japan (albeit from the end of August), Canada and the United States – though the actual content on offer will vary depending on location.

Unfortunately, those with any other Sony Ericsson Android device, such as the XPERIA X10, won’t be getting any of the Qriocity fun. The company has confirmed that it’s exclusive to the 2011 line-up, though we wouldn’t be surprised to see Android hackers change that, at least unofficially.

Car Electronics Responsible For Large Number Of Recalls

In recent decades, cars are becoming increasingly reliant on electronic control of many sub-systems, from ignition and engine control systems to anti-lock brakes and communication/navigation components. While some of these features are selling points for modern vehicles, they can also be a source of major headaches for automakers and vehicle owners.

According to safety expert Sean Kane at Safety Research and Strategies, Inc, electronics recalls (when defined broadly), accounted for over twenty-five percent of total recalls in the past twelve months. When narrowed down to software-related problems, there were still a whopping 24 recall campaigns as well as a significant increase in warranty claims and defects.

It is only logical, that as vehicles incorporate more integrated electronics systems, the number of electrical problems will increase. This is because, in addition to problems introduce by individual electronic systems, integration issues will multiply that number. A system that works perfectly well individually, may not work so well with other systems in the vehicle.

An additional problem with these types of defects in particular, is that they are often intermittent which makes diagnosing and fixing the root cause of the defect very time consuming and difficult. Mr. Kane ties this into the Toyota sudden acceleration problem that has been so difficult to track down:
As electronic systems continue to proliferate in modern vehicles, these problems will, unfortunately, continue to present themselves. We can only hope that as engineers and technicians gain additional experience designing systems and diagnosing problems, they will be able to anticipate sources of defects and the most serious problems which can lead to accidents and injuries or deaths such as Toyota’s sudden acceleration fiasco, can be avoided.

Microsoft's Web map exposes phone, PC locations

Microsoft has collected the locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other Wi-Fi devices around the world and makes them available on the Web without taking the privacy precautions that competitors have, CNET has learned.

The vast database available through Live.com publishes the precise geographical location, which can point to a street address and sometimes even a corner of a building, of Android phones, Apple devices, and other Wi-Fi enabled gadgets.

Unlike Google and Skyhook Wireless, which have compiled similar lists of these unique Wi-Fi addresses, Microsoft has not taken any measures to curb access to its database. Google tightened controls last month in response to a June 15 CNET article, and Skyhook uses a limited form of geolocation to protect privacy.

Microsoft assembled the database through crowdsourced data gathering from Windows Phone 7 devices and through what it calls "managed driving" by Street View-like vehicles that record Wi-Fi signals accessible from public roads. Its Web interface is, the company says, intended to provide "search results, weather, movie times, maps and directions based on a device's current location."
Stanford researcher Elie Bursztein says Microsoft should adopt the same location-privacy protections that Google implemented last month.



CNET has confirmed how Live.com's interface works independently and also with Elie Bursztein, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Security Laboratory who recently analyzed Microsoft's application programming interface, or API. He plans to summarize his findings in a related talk with two other researchers at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas next week.

Bursztein recommended that Microsoft adopt some of the same limits that its competitors already have. "I think what Google does is the smart thing to do," he said. "It's a pretty good solution."
Reid Kuhn, a program manger with Microsoft's Windows Phone Engineering Team, sent CNET this statement: "To provide location-based services, Microsoft collects publicly broadcast cell tower IDs and MAC addresses of Wi-Fi access points via both user devices and managed driving. If a user chooses to use their smartphone or mobile device as a Wi-Fi access point, their MAC address may also be included as a part of our service. However, since mobile devices typically move from one place to another they are not helpful in providing location. Once we determine that a device is not in a fixed location, we remove it from our list of active MAC addresses."

Microsoft did not, however, respond to questions whether its database includes only Wi-Fi devices acting as access points, or whether client devices using the networks have been swept in as well--something that Google did with its Street View cars. A May blog post touts "Transparency About Microsoft's Practices," but doesn't provide details.

If Microsoft collects and publishes only the Wi-Fi addresses of access points, the privacy concerns are lessened. But millions of phones and computers are used as access points--tethering is one example, and the feature is built into Apple's OS X operating system--meaning that their locations could be monitored.

It's true that Wi-Fi addresses, also called MAC addresses, aren't typically transmitted over the Internet. But anyone within Wi-Fi range can record yours, and it's easy to narrow down which addresses correspond to which manufacturer.

Someone, such as a suspicious spouse, who can navigate to the About screen on an iPhone or a laptop's configuration menu can obtain it in a few seconds as well. And hobbyist hacker Samy Kamkar created a proof-of-concept code last year that uses what's known as a cross-site scripting attack to grab the location of Wi-Fi routers that can be seen from an unsuspecting visitor's computer.

A Microsoft representative pointed CNET to a list of Web pages, including one describing how geolocation works in Internet Explorer 9 and another discusses Windows Phone 7 and geolocation. Microsoft does not appear to provide an opt-out mechanism that would allow someone to remove his or her Wi-Fi address from the Live.com database.

Microsoft's database extends beyond U.S. locations. A CNET test of a range of Wi-Fi addresses used by HTC devices showed that Live.com returned locations linked to street addresses in Leon, Spain; Westminster, London; a suburb of Tokyo, Japan; and Cologne, Germany.

Some Wi-Fi addresses appeared to change positions, meaning the Live.com database--located at http://inference.location.live.com--could be used to track the movements of a handheld device. In addition, some Wi-Fi addresses were added or deleted to the database over the period of a few days.

Google has taken multiple privacy steps that Microsoft has not, including using geolocation to filter requests (to find out where a wireless device is, you already have to know it's approximate location to about one city block). Another is that the search company's database does not appear to include the Wi-Fi addresses of Android devices acting as wireless hotspots.

The Digital Puppeteer Behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Recently, a number of filmmakers converged on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. They were there to show of the motion-capture tech behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the reboot/prequel set to hit theaters on August 5th. And what they had to show was remarkable.

The original Planet of the Apes films, and the subsequent Tim Burton misstep, were all notable for their use of makeup and prosthesis to portray the eponymous apes. But Rise is a very different story--instead of taking place well in the future, it takes place in present-day San Francisco. And instead of featuring the decidedly humanoid apes who rule the planet ages hence, the apes in question for this film are, well, actual apes--apes subjected to cruel experiments who then lead a revolution against their human oppressors.

As the film's director Rupert Wyatt recently explained, "There was no way we could put actors in... simian suits and pull it off." That left two choices: real apes, or motion-capture performances. For a story about the cruel misuse of apes, the irony and hypocrisy of the former was too unbearable. And fortunately for Wyatt, in the wake of Lord of the Rings and Avatar, motion-capture technology has ushered in a new era of digitally-assisted acting. Wyatt's team contracted WETA Digital, the group co-founded by Rings director Peter Jackson, to handle the special effects on the new Apes movie. And, in another smart move, he tapped Andy Serkis, who knows a thing or two about embodying simians (he played the title role in Jackson's King Kong) to play the role of Caesar, the beleaguered ape who leads the primate rebellion in the new film.

After years of playing CGI characters--Serkis was also the man behind the Rings series' Gollum--Serkis has become quite adept at explaining the technology behind his performances. A few months ago, he gave a tour of the Vancouver set to Popular Mechanics's Erin McCarthy, explaining how the technology relates to the markers placed all over his body as he lopes around the stage:
WETA Digital's technology has evolved over the years to enable a few "firsts" for the new Apes film. Rings brought us the first fully emotive digital character, and Avatar marked the first time those characters could be rendered in real time for the director to see. But with Apes, for the first time, according to The Seven Sees, "the performance capture and live-action sequences [are filmed] at the same time." What's more, point out several outlets, it's the first time mo-cap has been sophisticated enough to confidently move outside, for massive exterior shoots beyond the tightly-controlled sound-stage. As Serkis told Total Film, "Basically this film represents one of the first and biggest examples of having multiple [performance capture] actors on a live-action set.... The Golden Gate sequence must be a world record in terms of the size of the capture area."

The pre-release buzz, the conference at CalTech, and the few moody clips that have emerged all point to one question: will this be the year an actor finally gets an Oscar nomination for breathing life into a digital creature? It's a debate this Serkis's Gollum kicked off a decade ago--and it's a debate The Hollywood Reporter thinks we could be in for again soon. "It's no different than live action acting," Serkis told the paper. "And I never considered [it] anything else but live action acting."

If the Academy finally agrees, it will be the technology, in the end, that helped Serkis make his case.

Windows 8 Build 8042 is Ready

Microsoft’s Windows 8 has been under development and it looks like the early builds have started appearing. The last build was said to be compiled, earlier this month, on the 7th of July. The 8042 build is a Milestone 3 build and is nowhere close to the final product, should you want to find and try it. WinBeta has revealed that Microsoft is working on a solid build for their BUILD Developers Conference in mid-September. Any other builds in the near future seem very unlikely. Some of the things noticed in recent builds is that Windows Live is a big part of the Windows 8 OS, and it’s being integrated in several areas. Currently, Windows 8 isn’t syncing with any of the Windows Live services online.
The last build known to have leaked was version 7989. That build included a new booting screen, as well as a fresh new wallpaper. There’s also news that Microsoft employees are using Windows 8. There’s no news on when the next leaked build might come out, but early adopters are already playing around with some of the new features of Windows 8 that is Microsoft’s attempt to build an operating system that’s designed both for PCs, as well as tablets. Many speculated that Microsoft would show a preview build at the Worldwide Partner Conference held a couple of weeks back, instead there was only mention of Windows Server 8 being launched alongside Windows 8.

CAP Announces Advanced Digital Technology for 2012 Programs

NORTHFIELD, Ill., July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) will introduce online imaging technology, DigitalScope, for use in its laboratory proficiency testing (Surveys) programs in 2012 at the 2011 AACC (American Association for Clinical Chemistry) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, July 26-28. The first product to benefit from the technology, Virtual Peripheral Blood Smear (VPBS), is scheduled to ship on August 1, 2011.

"DigitalScope is a game-changing advancement in whole slide imaging that radically enhances the CAP's Surveys Program," said Charles Roussel, CAP Chief Executive Officer. "It delivers a user experience that is as close as possible to real-life microscopy. DigitalScope enables viewing slides on a computer the same way you would view them on a microscope with advanced zoom, brightness and contrast functions."

The CAP Surveys Program is the world's largest laboratory peer-comparison program in which the CAP provides individual laboratories with unknown specimens for testing. Participants analyze the specimens and return the results for inter-laboratory evaluation. In turn, each laboratory receives an individual performance report and a summary report of the results of all participating laboratories.

The CAP is partnering with Proficiency Testing Service (PTS), which owns and developed DigitalScope, for use of the technology in several Surveys in multiple laboratory disciplines, including:

    Anatomic Pathology
    Andrology
    Bacteriology
    Clinical Microscopy
    Cytology
    Hematology
    Microbiology
    Mycology
    Parasitology


Potential applications extend beyond proficiency testing to include education.

"DigitalScope is similar to a 'Google Earth' for slides," said Nick Serafy, PTS President and Chief Executive Officer. "Scanned whole slide images appear on a computer screen in a manner strikingly close to viewing through a microscope. It eliminates any 'tiling' as the user navigates the image."
On-site at AACC in the CAP's exhibit (Booth #2443) stations will be available to experience DigitalScope. Also, CAP members, physicians who specialize in pathology, will be in the exhibit to speak about the Surveys Programs, running the gamut of laboratory medicine disciplines, e.g., chemistry, hematology and microbiology, and quality management tools.

Is A Windows 8 Tablet PC That’s Like An Apple iPad 2 Possible?

Now before you go all crazy I don’t mean making a Windows 8 tablet that’s running a mobile operating system like iOS on the Apple iPad 2. What I mean by building a Windows 8 tablet PC that offers iPad 2 benefits. Benefits that include 10 hours of battery life, quick boot and instant-on from sleep, speedy operation throughout the operating system, and a physical weight of 1.33 pounds. Is a Windows tablet with those features even possible?

In the history of the tablet PC there have been some lightweight models but those models were supplied with some very low-end specifications which ruined the Windows experiences. Also in the tablet PC’s history there have been some very powerful models released but they were also very expensive (close to $1000 starting prices), heavy (more than 3x an iPad 2), and battery life was iffy.

Microsoft Windows 8 demo at Computex 2011 for partners Everything about the Windows tablet PC’s past says that an iPad 2-like tablet is not possible. However Microsoft has unveiled Windows 8, and unlike previous Windows tablets the Windows 8 models can use ARM processors instead of the X86 Intel or AMD chips.

Microsoft has shown off Windows 8 running on ARM in a few live demonstrations but those demos haven’t shown anything that could be considered really amazing. In the demos the presenters have only shown Windows 8 on ARM doing one major task (playing a H.264 HD video or running Notepad), basically the demos have shown things that people already knew modern ARM processors were able to do. I haven’t seen a demo that shows multiple programs running at once.

I don’t know about you but when I’m using a full operating system like Windows I’m doing more than just one thing at a time. As I write this article on my Windows 7 computer I’m running 83 processes with six major programs running (Google Chrome, Firefox, Foobar2000, WordPad, VLC Player, and MajicJack) and my computer isn’t lagging at all.

Microsoft presents Windows 8 like it will be a Windows 7-like experience but with a new touch-friendly mode that’s available for users to mess around with on a touchscreen. Right now with Windows 7 Microsoft offers various versions for buyers to run on their PC, there is even a stripped down version for low-powered computers like net-books (Windows 7 Starter Edition). Will Microsoft have a Windows 8 Tablet Edition available for ARM-powered tablets?

The Apple iPad 2 runs on an ARM processor and the operating system that was built specifically for that type of processor. When Microsoft launches Windows 8 it’s not really clear if they will offer an ARM only edition but my guess is they won’t it due to the extra confusion that would create. You see all the applications that Windows 7 can run right now on X86 processors aren’t coded for ARM support. Microsoft has spoken about creating tailored apps for Windows 8 that work for ARM powered tablet PC’s but it’s only talk about this point.

Microsoft is expected to launch Windows 8 sometime in the early part of 2012, and tablet PC’s running the OS might get shown off at CES in early January of 2012. Now whether a Windows 8 OEM or even Microsoft themselves will have a tablet ready, that can offer those iPad 2 benefits mentioned above, by early 2012 for a live demonstration is unknown.

Gals go Electronic, guys Mechanical

CHENNAI: Do engineering subjects have a gender bias? Yes, would be the more probable answer if the trend in engineering admissions at Anna University, Chennai is anything to go by. Electronics and Communication Engineering, as usual, is emerging as the favorite subject among girls while the boys preferred Mechanical Engineering and related subjects, according to admission statistics.Two weeks after the Tamil Nadu Engineering Counseling began, close to 5,500 girls opted for Electronics and Communication while only 2,500 boys chose the same subject. Computer Science Engineering and Information Technology were the other favorite subjects among girls. Close to 3,500 girls chose computer science compared to 1,500 boys and nearly 2,000 girls chose IT compared to 900 boys.Meanwhile, boys were queuing up for Mechanical Engineering and related subjects, like Aeronautical and Automobile Engineering. Only 44 girls have chosen Mechanical Engineering out of the 5,570 seats allotted. And, out of the 272 seats allotted in Automobile Engineering, only 2 girls have taken the stream."Girls usually consider Mechanical Engineering to be a 'boys' subject' as it has a lot to do with learning about machines," says R S Ayushi, who opted for the stream in a city based college. "I found machines and mechanics interesting since childhood, which is why I chose this subject. But I had trouble convincing my friends to take up the same," she says."Electronics Communication or Computer Science will ensure a corporate job and a lifestyle that girls prefer rather than working in harsh environments with machines or aircraft or automobiles," says Jayesh Mukundan, an HR Consultant with a leading IT firm in the city. "Women find the IT work atmosphere more comfortable while the men prefer some adventure. This is the trend largely observed in most parts of India." But contrary to popular belief, Jayesh says that mechanical engineers these days do not deal with harsh environments as the field has more or less become similar to the IT sector. "Put simply, you work with software sitting inside an air conditioned office much like in IT."Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering were the gender neutral subjects with both boys and girls opting for them in more or less same numbers. Unlike last year when it was first introduced, engineering courses in Tamil medium also seemed to have got a head start with more students choosing it in the first two weeks of counseling, which implies that students with high marks are opting for courses in Tamil.

Motoring Gadgets: Becoming Increasingly Popular

With many people relying on their cars for reasons such as traveling, leisure and commuting, keeping your car in good condition is imperative. The increased popularity of motoring gadgets has helped to keep cars looking stylish, improving their performance and adding in an extra bit of fun!

In recent times, it’s become apparent that being unique is of great importance to people in the UK and a way that you can express yourself is through breaking the mould of having an average car and filling it with motoring gadgets that can express your personality through the appearance of your vehicle and the gadgets that it contains.

Motoring gadgets can prove to be extremely useful, there are gadgets that can help you safety-wise, that are useful in times of crisis. Although people are reluctant to purchase safety gadgets as they think they’ll never use them, this is not always the case. The average numbers of car incidents in a person’s life is seven, so it’s always best to be fully prepared.

It’s undeniable that motoring gadgets add an element of fun to your journey. There are gadgets that gadget fans wouldn’t go without in their vehicle! There is a wide variety of products available that can make your trip more exhilarating and are a good conversation starter. To many people, having a car packed with interesting accessories is imperative and fun motoring gadgets are also seen as perfect presents for any car driver.

Cars are used on a daily basis by the majority of drivers and with some people using them for long periods of time, they can pack them full of exciting gizmo’s and motoring gadgets that are sure to make their trips more exciting and keep them entertained!

A vast range of drivers enjoy having motoring gadgets in their vehicles. It’s common for drivers to research motoring gadgets online before they purchase them.

'Old' iPhone Still Impresses, iPhone 5 Next

As industry observers point to a September release date for the iPhone 5, surprising analysis shows that the previous iPhone is still selling strongly on U.S. carriers.The sell-through of the iPhone 4 at Verizon and AT&T last quarter are "quite impressive," says Mogan Keegan's Tavis McCourt, especially considering the device is 12-months old -- a lifetime in smartphone years.
At AT&T, iPhone sales beat non-iPhone sales outstripped Android and other non-iOS devices by a margin of two-one. Non-iPhone sales dominated Verizon however, giving the two carriers 7.1 million non-iPhone sales and 5.9 million iPhone sales respectively.

McCourt attributes the discrepancy at Verizon due to Verizon's strong selection of 4G phones, including the HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution and Samsung's Droid Charge. Comparing carrier activations in this way, McCourt thinks, "strips out any channel inventory changes, and shows that the iPhone is broadly gaining share in a rather dramatic fashion. We would also note that this is a product that is 12 months old. Pretty impressive."

Apple's sell-through is expected to increase even more once the anticipated iPhone 5 comes, he believes. Checks indicate that may be sooner rather than later.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that the iPhone 5 is already entering testing at major U.S. mobile carriers, giving muster to a 2011 release date.AT&T has been testing the iPhone 5 since July 6, Web site Chiphazard reported, with the test serving as the final stage before hitting mass production.

"Our sources claim that the next generation iPhone is in the hands of beta testers right now," according to the report.  "They are running tests, including but not limited to signal reception and connectivity tests.

AT&T would not comment on the findings.

The report corroborates supply chain checks by Wall Street analysts that indicate Apple has already stepped up manufacturing orders in China and other places.

Most observers have pegged the new phone to come in Q4, likely September, with some even venturing to say two models will emerge -- a minor upgrade this year, followed by a major change in 2012.

Indeed, anticipation for the iPhone 5 has already dampens sales  of the current iPhone 4 model.

The Wall Street consensus expects Apple to move nearly 17 million of its venerable iPhone 4 phones this quarter but Sanford Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi says the Street is not taking into account the slowdown due to the upcoming iPhone 5.

Sacconaghi sees a "wide range" of possible unit volume numbers for that fiscal Q4, from 13.1 million units to 20.7 million units, depending a lot on timing of the iPhone 5.

"In the best case, the iPhone launches in the first weekend of September and iPhone sales until then decline only 15 percent quarter for quarter," he said.
The launch weekend could see 3M iPhone sales (compared to 1.7M last year, when the iPhone launched in 5 countries that accounted for a then estimated ~60 percent of iPhone sales), given the boost from Verizon this year, where we expect the iPhone to launch simultaneously.

Apple iOS versus Android

Things are looking a little rough for Android right now. Its increased popularity is not only attracting millions of new fans but is also attracting unwanted patent attention from competitors unhappy with its success.

Earlier this week Apple won a significant patent claim against HTC, one of the main proponents of Google’s Android OS. The win, over two software-related patents, positions Apple to go after other handset makers that use similar technologies. Apple already has pending cases against Samsung and Motorola, both heavy Android users.

This preliminary ruling is an important win for Apple as it looks likely that almost all Android devices will infringe on the two patents, filed in 1994 and 1996. If this is the case then Apple’s suits against Samsung and Motorola would be significantly strengthened.

Although the real focus of attention for Apple is actually Android, the strategy is not to go after Android (and therefore Google) directly but to make life difficult for smartphone makers, and discourage them from producing Android-based devices.
Globally Android is racing ahead of Apple’s iOS in market share with Gartner estimating that Android now holds 38% market share and Apple’s iOS 16%. HTC and Samsung in particular have focused much of their energy on the Android market over the past couple of years and played a significant part in Android’s success to date. Now it could earn them ever increasing amounts of negative attention from Apple and other software makers.
Microsoft’s Android windfall

In HTC’s case this is already happening with HTC reportedly paying Microsoft $5 for each Android phone it sells. Although HTC hasn’t publicly admitted to this, all evidence suggests that this is true. The agreement goes back to April 2010 when HTC and Microsoft “signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for HTC’s mobile phones running the Android mobile platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will receive royalties from HTC.”

Ironically this means that Microsoft is probably making more money from Android’s success than it is from selling its own Windows Phone 7-based devices. Estimates of Windows Phone 7 sales range between 2 and 4 million devices to date. Compare that with Android which has more than 500,000 devices activated daily. At $5 each, that’s $2.5 million for Microsoft’s coffers each day.

Users seem largely unconcerned by the patent wars going on behind the scenes in the smartphone market, even though at least one survey suggests that US users have a preference for Apple’s iOS over Android. The reality is that Android is now available in so many different devices that it is far easier for consumers to buy an Android phone than it is to buy an iPhone. Also, Android is shipping on high-end smartphones, entry-level smartphones and tablet PCs and so covers most of the mobile device market.

The remainder of 2011 is sure to see an increasing number of patent battles in the smartphone market as all the big players fight for their niche.

Dolby rolls out 7.1, intros new consumer tech

Dolby Laboratories invited the tech and gadget press to San Francisco to sample its new 7.1 Surround Sound technology, the latest 3D theater improvements, and a suite of consumer items that bring Dolby sound into the home.

The 7.1 system configuration adds two additional rear speakers to the conventional 5.1 arrangement in theaters, creating a set of four surround channels and three front channels. Multiple in-theater demonstrations--including a screening of 7.1-native "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon"--featured how 7.1 forges a more 360-degree sound environment. "Cars 2" and the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" were also mixed and presented in 7.1, but the sheer audio assault of Michael Bay's robotized chaos in "Dark of the Moon" was the obvious choice if Dolby wanted to show off a bit.

One crucial consumer-themed portion of the press event unveiled the latest features of Dolby's Home Theater software. The system allows users to create and save their own stereo surround presets for AV receivers, Blu-ray players, televisions, game systems, and PCs. The latest features can now manipulate the sound outputs of smartphones and tablets to simulate Dolby surround effects using an HDMI output.

Samsung Funded Study Indicates 3D Not Good For Eyes

Unfortunately. There’s no indicator yet that the South Korean giant has responded to the University of California-Berkeley research their R&D arm funded. We do have a funny feeling they’ll want to have the study hush hushed even after it’s been published on the Journal of Vision. It’s simply too damning of the 3D medium.

The disturbing evidence has all to do with vergence and focal points. Of the 24 people selected as test subjects, every single one complained of eye strain after viewing 3D video clips. The only good news is the contrasting 2D videos merited zero results.

 The even worse part is a second leg of testing where participants revealed they felt fatigued by 3D. The small bit of redemption comes from the fact that the same worrying ill-effects don’t apply to big screens in cinemas. It’s only when 3D is compressed for home viewing that it becomes problematic, thanks to the human eye being unable to comfortably absorb the display’s vergence and focal points.

Electronic Gadgets Harm Eyes, Says Journal of Vision Study

When respected elders advice that it’s not right to watch TV or other electronic gadgets for so long as they could harm the eyes, they are right in saying so. A new study, named as Journal of Vision study, has revealed the prolonged viewing of mobiles and 3D devices often leads to visual discomfort, tiredness and sometimes headaches.

Researchers have found the reason for this cause; according to them, these displays put strain on our eyes, as we have to focus on the screens and concurrently have to regulate the distance of the content. They have referred to it as "vergence-accommodation”.

Martin Banks, Professor of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California, Berkeley, said people watch stereo-3-D displays, the eyes have to focus to accommodate to distance of the screens, as that is the only source from where light would come. At same time, eyes perform another function simultaneously, and that is to meet to the distance of the stereo content, which might be in front or behind the screen. This leads to discomfort to eyes.

Devices like mobile phone and desktop displays prove to be less comfortable than content placed behind the screen.Discomfort associated with viewing stereo 3-D is a major problem, and its use should be limited.

LG Providing Latest Optimus 3D Carphone

LG is a famous brand in gadgets and now for the gadget lovers, the LG recently launched its new carphone which is called by Optimus 3D. This latest gadgets of LG comes in black color as well as comes featured with a lot of unique functions and features such as a glasses-free 4.3-inch screen, 1,500mAh battery, dual-channel Texas Instruments OMAP4 processor, 4GB LP DDR2, 8GB memory with 1,500mAh battery, and more.
There are quite so many types of latest gadgets are available in the world-wide market but LG is also superb and best for its quality and smart looks. Other feature includes a 1080p video playback, HDMI output, and dual 5-megapixel cameras you can easily take it any time or anywhere on traveling. I am so impressed with this new optimus 3d carphone it is quite more interesting.

Cost Details:

    On contracts price: £35 to £40
    On PAY: £449.99

20th Century Fox bringing movie downloads to Android in October

Google’s Android is getting a welcomed addition to its media offerings this Fall. Twentieth Century Fox has announced a new service that will bring Fox movie downloads to Android devices. This marks a first for film studios offering content on Android.
The service won’t exactly allow movies to be downloaded directly to phones. Customers will need to initially buy a physical Blu-ray disc of a Fox movie. Afterward, they will be allowed to download a digital Android-friendly copy of the movie from Fox’s website to a computer, which can then be side loaded onto the Android device.

Android users can expect to see the service beginning in October—Fox is starting the service off with X-Men: First Class. The download service will hit the US first along with the UK, France and Germany.

This can be significant. The Google OS has faced a severe poverty in movie services. Only recently has Google integrated eBooks and the new Youtube Movies service for all Android 2.2+ phones; services which allow books and movies to be rented directly from the market storefront. Netflix has also introduced an Android app, but only recently doubled its compatible list to 24 devices.
The reason why Android has been sulking while the iPhone basks in the convenience of the iTunes music and video store is due to the lack of playback and copy-protection technologies. However, Google has since acquired Widevine, a rights-management company with technology that addresses those issues. After taking out Symbian, Android’s growth may equip it well enough to start taking on Apple’s dominance in the field.
Fox will further be developing a new app for smartphones and tablets that will be used while watching movies on the TV, enhancing entertainment. Twentieth Century Fox’s senior VP Vincent Marcais told Financial Times, “Given its strong growth as a mobile operating system, the support for Android is an important move for us.”

Aldebaran Robotics Gives NAO a New Brain, And Much More

Aldebaran Robotics, the creators of the well known NAO humanoid robot, obviously have a strong commitment to advancing the state of the art in robotics technology and applications. During the RoboCup 2011 competition in Instanbul they unveiled the 4th generation NAO loaded with new enhancements, improved performance, and features requested and suggested by their rapidly growing user base in leading educational, academic, and research facilities from all over the world.

While the external appearance of NAO V4 may not have changed in obvious ways (don't worry, NAO still has the cute, lovable, boyish character that's made him so popular), the changes under the hood are really impressive and will make it much easier and attractive to users developing robotic applications as well as researchers.

The NAO V4 version isn't scheduled to ship until Fall 2011, though it is available for pre-order now, so we don't have firm test results or user feedback yet. Based on information directly from Aldebaran, the improvements and enhancements that users can look forward to include:

Hardware-

1.     New embedded 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor - more onboard processing, allowing developers to move a significant portion of their application to NAO making it much more autonomous
2.     Onboard Bluetooth - it's a little surprising to realize that earlier NAO versions didn't have embedded Bluetooth built-in.
3.     New Vision system - completely redesigned with new dual HD cameras and a dedicated video processor so that both cameras can be used simultaneously.

Software-

1.     New voice recognition algorithm - working with Nuance, Aldebaran has been able to give NAO V4 faster and more accurate voice recognition as well as new word spotting and isolation capability.
2.     Smart stiffness control - improves NAO's reliability and durability
3.     Anti-self-collision system - sounds puzzling... Did older NAO versions run into themselves often? I'm sure there will be further clarification on this feature coming from Aldebaran soon.
4.     Improved walk algorithm - enables faster walking as well as making it easier to customize the robots walking motion.
5.     NAO resource managerI was hoping to hear more about the company's plans to open-source part of the NAO platform code, but apparently the company isn't ready to share the details quite yet. I'll keep you advised as more information becomes available.

Good Technology reports blowout quarter for iPhone 4, iPad 2

Good Technology's latest report on enterprise deployment of mobile devices shows that iOS device activations continue to dominate the enterprise sector. Last quarter, iOS devices accounted for just under 70 percent of device activations, with the iPhone retaking the lead from Android activations and iPads representing 20 percent of total activations.

Good's report for this quarter (PDF) shows iOS's dominance of enterprise activations continuing to trend upward. The iPhone represented 2/3 of all smartphone activations, with Android taking the remaining third. iOS devices accounted for 75 percent of device activations for the quarter, and total iPad activations outnumbered all Android device activations combined due to heavy workforce deployment of the iPad 2.

"While Android may be gaining smartphone market share with consumers, our business users are clearly gravitating to the iPad and doing so in large numbers," said John Herrema, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Good Technology. iPads accounted for 95 percent of total tablet activations, which represents a moderate decline from the 99 percent lead the iPad enjoyed last quarter. The Motorola Xoom was once again the most popular Android tablet for the quarter. Good expects Android to narrow the activation cap eventually, but the company says "we don't see that happening in 2011. The iPad 2 simply has too much momentum, especially when it comes to the large company-driven activations we are seeing."

Good's report indicates that the Financial Services sector is accounting for the majority of iPad activations, with 47 percent of net monthly activations for the device. Good notes that the iPad is deployed as a "complimentary" device not meant to replace a laptop or PC, but the iPad is proving to be a viable choice for "executives, sales and client services staff, insurance agents and adjusters, and doctors."

Despite being nearly a year old during the quarter measured, iPhone 4 activation rates actually grew during the quarter, accounting for 22 percent of device activations. All five of the top five devices were Apple products: the iPhone 4, iPad 2, Verizon iPhone 4, iPad, and iPhone 3GS. The remaining top ten devices (four Android phones and the iPhone 3G (!) accounted for a total 2 percent of device activations.

Good's analysis doesn't account for RIM devices or Windows Phone 7, but other reports have shown that RIM is sinking fast and Windows Phone 7 accounts for a tiny sliver of the overall market -- some reports have shown Windows Phone 7 activations outpaced by earlier versions of Windows Mobile. The window that Good Technology provides into enterprise deployment of mobile devices, while limited by those factors, still shows that Apple's mobile platform is seeing a level of growth that defies the traditional view of enterprise IT being hostile to deploying Apple's products.

Apple introduces the world’s first Thunderbolt Display; gives the Mac Mini an update

This is basically 27-inches of Thunderbolt goodness, LED style! The display is a 27-inch display has edge-to-edge glass design, aluminum an glass enclosure and uses the IPS technology. The aspect ratio is 16:9, and has a 178-degree viewing angle. The built-in ambient light sensor adjusts brightness according the brightness around you.This display is compatible with any Thunderbolt capable MacBook, and is being positioned as the ‘ultimate docking station’. Users can access FaceTime HD camera, high quality audio, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt ports. This display/docking station will connect to the MacBook Pro or the MacBook Air, and charge then when in use.“The Apple Thunderbolt Display is the ultimate docking station for your Mac notebook,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With just one cable, users can dock with their new display and connect to high performance peripherals, network connections and audio devices.”

According to Apple, the Thunderbolt Display is the world’s first display to include Thunderbolt I/O technology. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, each Thunderbolt port delivers PCI Express directly to external peripherals such as high performance storage and RAID arrays, supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Thunderbolt-based Macs with discrete graphics can drive two external displays giving professional users over 7 million additional pixels of display real estate and the ability to daisy chain additional Thunderbolt devices, as well as video and audio capture devices.

The Thunderbolt display will retail for Rs 56,900.

Along with the new Thunderbolt display, and the MacBook Air refresh, Apple has also showered some love on the Mac Mini  Users can now select a version from the latest range of the Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors. For discrete graphics, the ATI Radeon HD 6630M solution has been introduced with the new Mac Mini. The new OS, the OSX Lion will come pre-loaded on the machine.

Apple seems to be giving the Thunderbolt i/o technology loving to almost all its products, and the Mac Mini too gets these capabilities. Users can configure up to 8GB of RAM, faster 7200rpm hard drive or even a 256GB flash drive. What the Mac Mini doesn’t get is an optical drive, and that seems to be critical to keeping the Mac Mini’s size down. The current version has 7.7-inches in width and just 1.4-inches in height.

Prices of the new Mac Mini
Intel Core i5 2.3GHz dual core, 2GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive: Rs. 44,900
Option to add memory up to 8GB and a 750GB hard drive.

Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz dual-core, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive: Rs. 54,900
Options to upgrade to a 2.7GHz dual-core Core i7 processor, up to 8GB of memory, and a 750GB hard drive with an option to add or replace with a 256GB solid-state drive.

Intel Core i7 2.0 GHz quad-core with Lion Server, 4GB of memory and dual 500GB hard drives: Rs. 56,900
Options to upgrade include adding memory up to 8GB, two 750GB hard drives, or up to two 256GB solid state drives.

Google+ population doubles to 20 million members in a week

According to ComScore's latest report, Google+ now has over 20 million users, just three weeks since its launch. The member base has doubled in the week gone by since Google CEO, Larry Page announced the 10 million member milestone for the fledgling social networking site.“It is definitely the fastest ascent to 20 million visitors that I can think of,” said Andrew Lipsman, ComScore’s vice president of industry analysis, speaking to the Los Angeles Times.The rapid growth of Google+ in its field trial period is certainly raising eyebrows the world over, tasked with taking on the social networking giant – Facebook – which has more than 750 million members, hundreds of millions of members that log in daily. Google+ shows some serious promise...

Beetel Teletech to launch a low-cost 7-inch Android Froyo tablet next month

After having seen a number of brands going head to head in the smartphone segment in India, it's time for tablets. Of late we have seen various brands launching their tablets in India. Motorola Xoom, HTC Flyer, Acer Iconia Tab A500, BlackBerry's playbook and Apple's ipad 2are some of the prominent names in that series. And the latest to join the bandwagon is Beetel Teletech. If reports are to be believed, the Bharti group company is going to launch a seven-inch tablet PC by next month.

Detailed information about the specifications of the unnamed Bharti tablet is still not available. But what we know is that it will run Android 2.2 OS with 3G support. And it will feature a two sided camera. The tablet is likely to be a low-priced one.

Beetel Teletech, which is a prominent name in fixed-line equipment market, is also one of the newest entrants in the mobile telephony. The company has already rolled out 16 models in the country. And it has set its sights on the tablets – a booming segment in the country. The company seems to be banking on the popularity of Android OS for consolidating its position in the market.

India's home-grown tablets have gradually making their place in the market. Recently, Bangalore-based EAFT Technologies launched their own Android-run tablet called Magtile Marathon Prior to the MagicTile, Olive Telecom, MSI and HCL Technologies have launched their tablet PCs in India. And it's pretty apparent local mobile phone companies like Micromax are also willing to try their luck in this segment.

50% of Android Users Satisfied with OS...

According to the results of a survey conducted by Change Wave Research over a three-month period, only 50% of Android users are “very satisfied” with their smartphones’ operating system. The survey was conducted from April to June this year and involved 4,163 respondents, 89% of which are U.S.-based and 11% of which are non-U.S.-based.

Meanwhile, 70% of Apple’s iOS users reported being “very satisfied” with their devices’ operating system. The Change Wave report noted that, although only 27% of Windows OS users are “very satisfied” with the OS, 57% of Windows Phone 7 users are “very satisfied.”
In terms of customer satisfaction for their devices’ operating systems, iOS is leading by a huge percentage, while Windows Phone 7 follows behind, edging Android by only 7%.
Apple’s iOS remains the most-desired operating system according to the survey, with 46% of the respondents saying they want iOS on smartphones they plan to buy within the next 3 months. In contrast, 32% of the respondents indicated Android as their top OS choice for smartphone purchase in the next 3 months.
Change Wave’s report also noted strong demand (48%) for the iPhone as the preferred device for future purchasing among North Americans despite Apple’s not having released any new handset recently. Motorola’s market share fell to 8% from 12% in the Change Wave survey conducted in March this year. Change Wave explains that the 4-point decline in Motorola’s market share can be partly attributed to Verizon’s launching of the iPhone earlier this year.
What about you? What operating system is on your smartphone and how satisfied are you with the OS? Why do you think only half of Android users are very satisfied with it?

Kinect used to create sword-fighting robot

Robot-building students at Stanford university have created a sword-fighting robot arm with the help of a Kinect sensor. The robot reacts to the actions of an opponent in both offensive and defensive ways.
Stanford University's professor of computer science, Oussama Khatib, explained to MSNBC that "we were recently at a conference in Shanghai and a company was showing two robots fencing and this is easy because every robot knows exactly what the other robot is doing. The challenge here is how can you get a robot to understand what the human is doing?"
Kinect provided a solution to this problem. The students used the Kinect to enable the robot to pick out objects such as its opponent's sword in a 3D environment, which means it can react by moving into the best defensive position. You can see it in action in the video below.
In addition to the sword-fighting robot, which the team have affectionately named the JediBot, the students have also developed a robot arm that can cook burgers on a grill.
The JediBot joins a long list of creative uses for the Kinect sensor.

G-Connect – Latest Creation By G-Technology

Hitachi’s production, G-Technology unit has shocked people with external drives and now is moving towards the crossbred approach directing G-Connect. The users of smartphones and tablets can access portable Wi-Fi as well as wireless storage with the help of G-Connect. Slew was the thinnest external drive that is of 2.5 inch produced by Hitachi. After the huge success of Hitachi’s G-Connect, it is moving towards the progress of G-Connect. The design of G-Connect unit is done with the nomadic content hoarders in mind. This little rogue claims 500 GB of mobile storage and has the ability to simultaneously support more than five different devices on its wireless network 802.11n as well as when it is connected through Ethernet it serves as Wi-Fi access point.
Five standard definition movies can be downloaded or three HD flicks can be stream up with the strong G-connect. Even at 9.7 ounces it will not add to much of weight to tremor the gadget. The network can be framed with a password for the protection where security is the major concerned for people or you can even store less mentioned content in any private folder. People who are making use of iOS can further enhance their G-experience by downloading the applications accompanied which will make them view as well as admission their G-Stored documents and media from the ease of their devices.
G-Connect from G-Technology which is a wireless storage device designed for the access of the content via the iPad and the iPhone. It is used to access the contents that are not already loaded on the mobile devices which include movies, books, music as well as documents. G-Connect has the capability to wireless brook content with high definition to up to three devices as well as standard definition content up to five devices simultaneously. Wi-Fi internet access point can be operated by more than five users . It is very easy to use. You can either load content wireless or through a fast USB 2.0 port from a computer to G-Connect. You can quickly and conveniently access the applications of iPhone and iPad and with the facility of password you are protected with a secured control over valuable content.
A valuable storage device for office, hotel, home or even dorm-room can be viewed in the form of G-connect . The Wi-Fi button can be switched On and Off with the help of power button that appears on the drive of G-connect. The compact case in the reasonable form is accompanied by it. The feature of flexibility makes it possible to expand the use of drive. Suppose you are at a hotel, you are able to share hotel’s Ethernet across multiple devices even if you are using Wi-Fi to access that data too. People who are interested in buying G-Connect can go to G-Technology’s website and purchase it for $200 or they can wait until it comes into the retail market that is predicted to be next month. We provide you with different Data recovery services. To get updated information on data recovery visit London data recovery  services.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray Coming Soon on O2

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray was announced in June this year and is labelled as a stylish Android smartphone. 

A short while ago Three announced that they will be adding the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray to its portfolio but no availability date was mentioned. That mystery now seems to be cleared up as O2 have stated that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray will be available from them in September

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray will be available in a Black and Champagne colour ( see above ).

Th Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is a slim chap at only 9.4mm in depth and comes with the Android 2.3 operating system ( Gingerbread ). The power comes from it's 1 GHz processor.

The key features of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray are its Reality display with Mobile Bravia engine, a 3.3" touchscreen, an 8.1 Megapixel camera with Exmor technology for light conditions, HD video functionality and for social networking it comes with 'Facebook inside Xperia".

3G now know the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is ready for delivery sometime in September but as yet no pricing has been confirmed.

India, US join hands to tackle cyber crime...

With cyber-crime becoming a common phenomenon in recent times, India and the US have joined hands to tackle the global menace. The two nations have signed an accord on cyber security under which they will intensify exchange of information on threats to networks and computers. They will work together on developing technologies against cyber-attacks. The two allies will also work on a software platform to make available non-sensitive government data to the public.The data sharing platform will be similar to the US data.gov project. It may be recalled that the US had launched www.data.gov web-portal in May 2009 with some 47 data sets. The web portal presently provides access to information related to the US on about 4 lakh parameters. According to reports, India will soon...

Google Pea Doodle celebrates Gregor Mendel's 189th birthday....

 

Google has paid tribute to Czech-German Augustinian friar and scientist Gregor Mendel on his 189th birth anniversary by putting up an assortment of green peas as its home page logo, better known as Google Doddle.When clicked upon, the doodle directs the visitors to the search result page with “Gregor Mendel” as keyword. The doodle, quite innovative, refers to Mendel's study on the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants.

Gregor Mendel (July 20, 1822 – January 6, 1884) is also known as the "father of modern genetics". Mendel's study on pea plants showed that the inheritance of traits follows particular laws, which were named after him. Contributions of Mendel weren't recognized until the early 20th century. Several independent rediscoveries of his laws helped establish the foundation of the modern science of genetics.

The Mendel doodle, unlike some of the recent doodles, is static. Google of late has frequently replaced its home page logo with a doodle to commemorate events and birthdays. The Les Paul Doodle and Lunar eclipse doodle were some of the animated, interactive and dynamic doodles in recent times.

The artistic take on its home page has helped Google gain immense popularity over the past few years. Google doodle team has put up doodles on events with national or international importance. The doodle themes also ranged from news events to important dates in the history.

Next Xbox to feature 'Avatar'-like graphics?

The next Xbox could boast a dramatically improved graphical experience, AMD's director of ISV relationship management, Neal Robison, told Official Xbox Magazine in an interview published yesterday.
According to Robison, whose company has been heavily involved in Xbox graphics hardware, the next iteration in Microsoft's console line will come "pretty darn close" to offering the graphical sophistication of 2009 megahit "Avatar." The movie set new standards in computer-generated graphics, and was celebrated by critics and graphical technicians alike for its breathtaking visuals.
Even better for those who want more-realistic gameplay experiences, Robison says artificial intelligence will be markedly better in the next Xbox. He told Official Xbox Magazine that the upcoming console will have the power to assign "individual personalities" to pedestrians on a crowded, in-game city street, thus making them act more human-like. In most Xbox games today, pedestrians can only do one thing, such as walk, run away from something that supposedly scares them, or say something with the game's character.
Developers will likely benefit most from the improvements Robison claims are coming to the next Xbox. He told the magazine that "right now, the higher-end game developers are really maxing out what the 360 is capable of doing," which means a refresh might be in order.
Of course, when that refresh will actually happen remains to be seen. Earlier this year, video game blog Kotaku cited "industry sources" that claimed both Microsoft and Sony would be launching follow ups to the Xbox 360 & PS3 in 2014
But debate rages over whether new consoles are really needed in today's marketplace. As Electronic Arts CFO Eric Brown pointed out last year, there aren't any good reasons for Microsoft or Sony to release new consoles anytime soon.
"Today we have two of the three consoles that operate in full high-definition and are running games at 60 frames per second," Brown said "If you step back and say if it's a multibillion capital dollar investment for the next generation, the question I would ask is 'if you were to produce that then what would you display it on?' There's really nothing in terms of broadly available consumer viewing technology other than 1080p flat panel televisions. And so you could upgrade in theory, but you wouldn't get the obvious graphical benefit that we saw really drove the sharp transitions in the prior cycle."
Nintendo, on the other hand, is planning to launch a follow-up to its Wii console next year. That device,called the Wii U, will feature a 6.2-inch touch-screen-equipped controller and offer improved graphical capabilities.

Hybrid Cars, The Latest Technology to Save Fuel

When technology strikes, nothing is left unconquered. Hybrid cars are one of the latest additions in car technology to end up the battle on fuel price hike. A Hybrid vehicle uses two control sources to be in motion, the use of internal combustion engine and an electric source. What are the power sources of hybrid vehicles? Below are five power sources used for hybrid vehicles:

Photo by Toyota Motor Europe
• Waste from its internal combustion engine
• Wind
• Solar
• Compressed air
• Electricity
Hybrid vehicle types are sedans, coupes, pickups, SUVs, vans and wagons. Hybrid vehicles are known to be fuel efficient but you may want to reconsider your budget because they come with a hefty price tag.
Hybrid vehicles are in demand in the market, the price maybe expensive but the savings you get in terms of fuel consumption can compensate its price. Be amazed with the hybrid vehicles because they are the answer to minimize your fuel consumption.

Google begin iPhone app for Google+

The Google+ app lets public read their watercourse of posts from public they follow and comment on them. Google launched its an iOS app to use its Google+ service today, an significant landmark for the chicken social network that today caters to the techie in crowd.

Google Senior Vice leader Vic Gundotra announced the iOS Google+ app today. “Share just the accurate objects, with just the correct circles,” he said.
Google+ prolonged to arrive at more than 10 million people last week and still is increasing. When it launched, Google issued an Android app to use it, but iOS consumers were left just with the Web interface.
Like the Android app, the iOS version lets public monitor their brook of posts from public they follow, the “incoming” posts from public who follow them, and nearby posts from those who are geologically neighboring.

gScreen Space Book double screen laptop

Just so you identify that you are not dreaming you are seeing a laptop with double screens. I’m attractive certain that someone has most likely imaginary this before, as who wouldn’t desire a double screen laptop? After all, I frequently have three windows going on my laptop at some given time. The gScreen SpaceBook have two 17.3 inch screens. It also have a quad core Intel Core i7-740M processor, 8GB of RAM, as well as a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M video card.
Does that sound high-quality to you? It positively does to me. Right now, I am in the procedure of knowledge how to make apps. I could certain use a double screen laptop for my work. Here is the disadvantage: it weighs in at ten pounds.
The gScreen SpaceBook (not to be puzzled with Facebook) is obtainable for pre order for about $2,795. That is attractive luxurious for a laptop, and it reminds me of the days when laptops used to be very heavy and cost fairly a bit. Allowing for that those old-school laptops laid the groundwork for the laptops that we contain now; maybe the SpaceBook will set a similar standard. Perhaps we are looking at a prospect where every laptop has double screens.

Apple’s board discussing eventual Steve Jobs successor

According to The wall Street journel, some of Apple’s board members have been informally discussing an eventual successor to Steve Jobs since the CEO began his latest medical leave earlier this year. These board members “have discussed CEO succession with executive recruiters and at least one head of a high-profile technology company,” though the Journal says they’re not actively engaged in recruiting a new CEO. The Journal notes that not all board members have been involved in the discussion (obviously Jobs himself wouldn’t have been), and it also says management succession plans are discussed at every board meeting, though such plans are “sworn to secrecy.”
Steve Jobs reportedly responded to the report via email, saying “I think it’s hogwash.” Either this means the Journal’s report is inaccurate in some way, or Jobs may have been kept out of the loop on the discussions. For his part, Jobs has given no indication that he will step down anytime soon, though many financial analysts have grown increasingly skittish following the CEO’s ongoing (and over-publicized) medical issues and Apple’s intense privacy surrounding the succession plan.

Sex not weapon of choice for online gamers, survey says....

A survey about online gaming habits conducted on 2052 people was commissioned by Doritos. 49 percent of the women in the survey admitted playing online games. Of these online game-playing women, more (84 percent of them) enjoyed playing online games than those who enjoyed any other popular recreational pastime, like working out (preferred by 62 percent), going shopping (71 percent), taking a bath (75 percent), or having sex (70 percent). Not too surprisingly skewed, when the group being surveryed was composed entirely of women who played online games.

On a side note, it seems that playing hard to get just got a new meaning, and, that game programmers really know what almost half the surveyed women want! Other reported statistics include the fact that 17 percent, or 1 in 5 female online gamers, admitted playing online games in bed. On average, women were found to play online games longer than men, at 3.5 hours per week. Women also spend a marginally larger percent of their online time gaming than men - 23.1 percent compared to 22.3 percent

If you were wondering why exactly Doritos commissioned a survey about online gaming, it’s because Doritos was launching its online campaign – the Doritos Dip Desperado Facebook game.

Nvidia announces its fastest notebook GPU, the GeForce GTX 580M

Nvidia has launched the Fermi-based GeForce GTX 580M GPU, which it claims is the highest performing graphics processing unit  for notebooks ever. Based on the new GF114 core on the 40nm fabrication process, the GTX 580M GPU will ship first in the the M17x and M18x laptops of Alienware. Nvidia says users can now expect better near-desktop performance on a notebook.

“The best game support. The best gaming features. The best gaming performance available anywhere. That’s the essence of the GeForce GTX 580M,” says Rene Haas, general manager of notebook products at Nvidia. “With power like this, you can turn all the knobs to 11.”

In terms of specs, the GTX 580M has 32 render back ends, 8 tessellation engines, 384 stream processing units, 64 texture units, and a  256-bit memory controller. The core clock speed is 620MHz, while the stream processor clocks in at 1240MHz. Partners are recommended to clock the GDDR5 memory at 1.5GHz.

With the new GPU, Nvidia claims, the gamers can play at full 1080p high-definition resolutions with several advanced technology features including PhysX engine support, CUDA architecture support, SLI technology, 3D Vision, Optimus technology and so on. Nvidia's most recent desktop GPUs, namely theGeforce GTX 590 and GTX 560 Ti had evoked overwhelming response from the gamers and critics.

The Alienware M18x, the first notebook PC to feature the GeForce GTX 580M, gives users the option of running two GeForce GTX 580M GPUs in SLI. The other Alienware notebook PC, M17x, offers Optimus technology to deliver up to 5 hours of battery life, and uses the 580M to maximu, offering 100 frames per second performance in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

“Gamers aspire to experience games at their highest settings,” says Eddy Goyanes, product marketing manager for Alienware. “Alienware activates the technology designed to enable those aspirations. With the launch of the GeForce GTX 580M on the Alienware M17x, and a dual card option on the M18x, that synergy continues - Alienware delivers the ultimate gaming experience.”

The company has also announced GeForce GTX 570M GPU, which it says gives at least 20 percent faster performance than the previous generation product it replaces.

AMD launches the world's fastest mobile graphics card, the Radeon HD 6990M

While AMD has been relatively quiet in the recent past about the growing prowess and adoption of its laptop graphics technologies, it has now decided to snatch some of the much publicise recent glory of Nvidia’s Geforce GTX 580M GPU by releasing the AMD Radeon HD 6990M as contender for the crown of the world’s Fastest mpbile graphics card card. Claiming 25% better performance than the previous top-end HD 6970M offering, the HD 6990M is based on the same Northern Islands family’s Barts core as the 6970M, but with more stream processors, and faster clocks.

Yes Barts, and not the full-fledged Cayman architecture of the desktop HD 6990 GPU. Specifications of the HD 6990M GPU include a core clock speed of 715MHz, 2GB of GDDR5 RAM at 3.6GHz memory clock speed, a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 115.2GB/s, 32 ROPs, 56 texture units, and 1120 stream processors. The core clock of the card can be overclocked up to 740Mhz. The most noticeable difference between the GTX 580M and HD 6990M, apart from CUDA and PhysX, will have to be the lack of a switchable graphics solution like Nvidia Optimus for the AMD Radeon HD 6990M. This could have a serious impact on battery life, figures of which were notably omitted from the introductory announcement.

The AMD Radeon HD 6990M is already out in markets, starting with gaming laptops like the Alienware M18x (seen below), which offers it in single of CrossFire configurations.

Electronic Arts(EA) to buy PopCap games; build casual and social gaming portfolio...

Gaming giant EA will be acquiring Seattle-based developer, PopCap. Known for its casual, mobile and social games, like Plants vs. Zombies, Bejewelled, and Zuma, PopCap has developed titles for a wide variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, mobiles phones, and iOS devices.

The deal is expected to go through by August this year, with EA spending roughly $750 million dollars to acquire PopCap. It is reportedly also going to pay PopCap $550m more, if they meet certain performance targets.

Speaking about the deal, EA’s John Riccitiello said: "EA and PopCap are a compelling combination. PopCap's great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA's momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business."

David Roberts, CEO of PopCap, added: "We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games. By working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience."

Google unveils URL shortcut for their webpages - g.co

Google had created a website called “goo.gl” last year, opening its public URL shortening tool for everyone. It ensured that the users were no more dependent on Google Toolbar or Feed burner to use the tool. And now Google has come up with its own URL shortcut called “g.co” that will only link to official Google products and services.

Google says on its blog that the 'g.co' link ensures it will only direct to web pages that are owned by Google and that only Google is authorized to create those g.co shortcuts. “That means you can visit a g.co shortcut confident you will always end up at a page for a Google product or service.”

Google also clears air on future of the existing "goo.gl." It says, “There’s no need to fret about the fate of goo.gl; we like it as much as you do, and nothing is changing on that front. It will continue to be our public URL shortened that anybody can use to shorten URLs across the web.”

The url shortening tools are becoming increasingly popular as they enable users to shrink up long, unwieldy URLs. Google's dedicated g.co addresses for its own services also add some security to the scary world of URL expansion, assuring users that a 'g.co' page will always be a legitimate, Google-curated page.

Nearly a month ago, Twitter had rolled out an automatic version of its t.co URL shortening service. The feature allowed users to paste a URL of any length in their tweets.

Kootol Software sends notice to Apple, MS and others over patent rights

Of late a number of tech companies have been involved in several legal issues, accusing each other of stealing technology. Whether it is Apple HTC or Samsung, several known brands are locked in legal spat. And the latest to add fuel to the fire is India-based Kootol Software. The Indian company announced that it had sent notice to as many as 30 companies including brands like Apple and Microsoft, over the alleged unauthentic use of Kootol’s core technology in their products.

Other companies to whom Kootol sent notice are Yahoo, Google, Bharti Airtel Ltd., Webaroo Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd., Amazon, AOL, Nokia, Bebo Inc., ExactTarget Inc., Ford Motor, Foursquare Inc., Quora Inc., Salesforce.com Inc., Seesmic Inc., IBM, Linkedin, MySpace, NING Inc., Research In Motion Inc., Siemens Enterprise Communications Inc., Sina.com Technology Co. Ltd., StatusNet Inc., PopBox Inc., Twitpic Inc., Peek Inc., The Iconfactory Inc., Ubermedia Inc., Yammer Inc., Facebook and Twitter.

Kootol Software said in its press release that it has US Patent Application No. 11/995,343 titled "A Method and System for Communication, Advertising, Searching, Sharing and Dynamically Providing a Journal Feed".

“The corresponding patent has been also filed in India, Canada and Europe (EPO). This exclusive license agreement is for the one of the embodiment (part) of the patent, which allows exclusive patent license rights to the company for a unique core technology providing a dynamic and real-time communication technology.”

The notice comes almost a month after Kootol issued a similar warning to Twitter. The company said in its statement that Twitter's technology infringed on the company's patented tech. The statement further quoted the company as saying that it was is in the process of examining the position and that the purpose of serving this notice was to bring the fact to the attention of Twitter Inc.

BSNL launch VVoIP service in India, enables low-cost voice calls

State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched its Voice and Video over Internet Protocol (VVoIP) service in the country. BSNL has partnered with Sai Infosystem (SiS) to kick off the high speed Internet phone services. With the new services, BSNL subscribers will be able to make audio and video calls at will on any landline, mobile or Internet Protocol phone anywhere in the world, provided both the ends have video phone equipment.

Sam Pitroda, advisor to the Prime Minister of India on public information, infrastructure and innovation, launched the service by making first VVoIP call. The service will be initially available in Ahmedabad and by the end of this month, the service will be launched in the entire Gujarat state. According to officials, by the end of March 2012, the service will be available pan-India.

According to BSNL officials, the new service is going to be economical as compared to other conventional video conferencing services. The state-run company is also said to be working with leading international carriers to ensure smooth international calls.

The customers will be charged 40 paise per minute for audio and Rs. 2 per minute for video calls within the country over VVoIP. The international call charges are also pretty low as a call to the US will cost Rs. 1.20 per minute, to the UK it will cost Rs. 1.20 on land-line, Rs. 7.20  to mobile, and Rs. 1.20 per minute to China. BSNL will offer the VVoIP services at a monthly rental of Rs. 150 only.