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Sapphire
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
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This might not be gadget-related per say, but it’s definitely worth the space it takes up on this page. We’ve seen Steve Jobs a lot this year. He’s showed us new generation iPod music players in September. He unveiled what the iPad and MacBook Air’s child prodigies look like. Yes, I’m talking about the shiny new 11 and 13 inch Macbook Airs. Every single time we saw him he was wearing that mythical outfit that probably has a trademark by now. Some people may like his style. For fanboys (and girls) Apple has recently released “iWear”, a fashion line that delivers the look and style of its “trendsetting” CEO. The ad campaign that encourages people to “Be like Steve’ will be displayed in major publications and websites during this year’s holiday season.
“This is the next logical step,” says Apple PR chief Katie “100%” Cotton. “Since Steve controls so much of our lives anyway, it just makes sense to let him dress us too.”
Unfortunately iWear is a figment of the overactive but quite funny imagination of Scoopertino. But I’m pretty sure there are at least a couple of Steve Jobs fans out there that would’ve considered buying it, if it was sold in stores. Be sure to read the label in the image above! :)
Nothing is as funny as an advert that pokes fun at the competition. Those “I’m a Mac” commercials are probably more popular than some TV shows. Microsoft naturally counterattacked multiple times. Sony and Microsoft have their own little duel. It’s becoming even more obvious now that Sony’s team can’t help but comment on how “flawed” the Kinect is. Amazon chose to poke some fun at the iPad when it released a commercial in which the Kindle owner could tan and read books while sitting in the sun whereas the iPad owner couldn’t read the screen if his life depended on it.
I won’t mention all the “anti-iPhone” commercials various companies released right after the Antennagate. I’ll just stick to a recently released one from T-Mobile that’s meant to showcase the new myTouch 4G phone. The thing is, while it’s showcasing the new handset, the ad also mocks the iPhone 4 and competing carrier AT&T that holds exclusivity rights over Apple's smartphone. To sum it up, the myTouch 4G can be used to make video calls through 4G and WiFi. iPhone owners, however, will have to go to a location where there’s WiFi. Doesn’t matter that they’re holding a phone which naturally works through a mobile network. No WiFi, no FaceTime. Be sure to watch the ad, it’s definitely worth your 30 seconds.
Somehow I doubt that a huge number of people will keep enough money around to get tired from counting it all. Some people are so fond of credit cards they might not even know what cash looks like. In any case, it’s easy to see the appeal of this concept simply because it can be implemented in banking and replace the bulky and clunky money counting machines. Small businesses will find this extremely useful as well. Designers Wei Hansen, Li Shaochen, Xu Jinrui, Qi Yibin & Zhao Ying came up with this small Counting Ring which is basically a simplified money counting machine.
On the top side of the ring you’ll get a LED display. Just slip it on your thumb and flip through the money as if you were flipping through book pages. The veins on the ring will ensure that every sheet passes and an IR scanner will record how many notes have passed. You’ll see the number of notes on the LED display and manage to count your money effectively. Some people may even think it looks good.
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Sapphire
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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Ok, I’ll be completely honest. The iPad has a major advantage on the market because it has already sold 4.1 million units while other companies haven’t even started shipping their products towards stores yet. I’m quite disappointed by any of the companies who should’ve and could’ve come up with Android alternatives by now. Having seen the Samsung Galaxy Tab and RIM’s Playbook something inside me is still desperate to see that one tablet that would prove considerably better than Apple’s product. One that would wow you from the very first leaked photos that show up on the web.
Until that device appears, we’ll just have to make do with LG’s tablet labeled “H1000B” that just dropped by for a visit at the FCC. Apparently it comes equipped with 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and Windows 7 on board. Not sure what storage capacity you should expect from this one but it will be expandable through an SD card slot. The rest of the spec sheet remains unknown for the time being. You’ll either get to see this before the holiday season or showcased at CES 2011 taking place in January. Either way, it’s nice to see LG join the horde of Apple rivals who will be competing for market share next year.
For some odd reason Sony simply can’t stop talking about Microsoft’s new Kinect for Xbox. Initially, the Playstation maker went on and on about how its Move controller has buttons and the Kinect doesn’t. Users obviously need a ton of buttons. Otherwise they can’t fully enjoy gaming, right? Well, some of us users would sure like it more if Sony put more time and effort into its own devices rather that constantly peeking over the fence and commenting on what competing companies are doing. Now that they’ve passed that moment in time, the people at Sony chose to attack Microsoft again, claiming that the Kinect is a pretty cumbersome device.
Richard Marks, Sony’s research and development exec who contributed to the creation of titles such as EyePet and the EyeToy did show some form of appreciation for the different experience Microsoft’s Kinect would deliver for Xbox 360 owners. “I totally agree that there is this magical feeling with using your hands to select something,” he said. Still, he thinks that the experience would prove tiresome at one point and users will want to return to more conservative types of gaming. We’ll find out whether he’s right or not in a couple of days when the Kinect will finally be released on the market and owners will start commenting, or in the worst scenario complaining about it.
But somehow, I wouldn’t be so sure that the Kinect will become tiresome. What’s really, really fishy is Sony’s concern for the Kinect. It sounds as if they’re trying to convince people, indirectly, that their Move for Sony is much better. Maybe they feel a bit threatened by Microsoft’s sales expectations? The Redmond-based company has mentioned previously that the Kinect will completely surpass the launches of Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and perhaps even its own Xbox 360 as scale and sales. We’ll be able to compare more objectively once the Kinect shows up in stores.
The Playstation phone is quite mysterious nowadays...
We’ve heard plenty about the Playstation Phone through Engadget but we’d like to hear more from Sony. The company hasn’t really confirmed or denied the handset and we’re interested in more statements from execs to try and figure out whether they’re trying to hide the device and we might get to see it in the near future. VentureBeat has tried to keep all of Sony’s statements up to date and come to the conclusion that the company still hasn’t given any indication of whether this handset actually exists.
Sony’s chief financial officer Masaru Kato and Gen Tsuchikawa, the senior general manager of investor relations have both talked about this matter when questioned about the Playstation Phone. In a call in Japanese which was later offered in English, the two execs revealed that the company is interested in coming up with mobile gaming products in the future. “Of course, we can’t talk about specific products, but smartphones and tablets … it is difficult to tell you how we can put the games on them” they said. The statement goes on to explain that last April the company introduced network services it will come up with prototypes for various content in that particular field. Sony is currently trying to figure out what can be done on that specific market but can’t give any information on what products will be created and released. During a second call that took place with US analysts the same two executives were asked to clarify their declarations. An exec stated that Sony finds mobile gaming to be a very important business area but it’s impossible to discuss specific products and features in a conference call.
The back of the Playstation phone prototype, photo from Engadget
While Sony started out with the PSP as a portable gaming console offering many years ago, since then the market has evolved a lot and gaming is now available on mobile phones, tablets and other types of devices. The executive also mentioned that PSP was more concentrated on the core gaming segment and less on the casual gamer that tries to make time pass while commuting or waiting in line. Sony is now trying to appeal to the casual gamer as well but can’t offer more information on how it plans to do that or what product it will release on the market for that purpose. One thing the exec could say was that the company has “those markets addressed and (it) will come out with products and services to capture the broader gaming market”.
Finally, the Sony exec admitted that this is far from a clear-cut answer but requested that everyone waited until the company is ready to announce whichever products and services it manages to come up with. The conclusion? We’re not sure. We could spend hours and thousands of words speculating on this. It somewhat sounds like Sony has already started on something and might get it finished in the next few months or half a year but doesn’t want to spoil the surprise by revealing what that product is.
If a Playstation phone didn’t exist, wouldn’t it be easier for the company just to come out and say it’s not working on that type of device? There’s no reason why they wouldn’t deny it, right? To make everything even more confusing, different translations of the statements above showed up on the web. The only thing that’s left to say is: let’s just wait a while longer until things clear up. Engadget has posted photos of the Playstation phone on multiple occasions and I have a feeling that we’ll get to see more photos and details in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, what do you think about the Playstation phone? Would you want to buy one if Sony released it?
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Sapphire
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
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From all of Apple’s new iPods, people were clearly most interested in the Touch. We were all expecting a retina display (like the iPhone 4), a front facing camera, another camera on the back and FaceTime support. The new Touch brings all that. For your information, the camera on the back is also capable of HD video. Also added to the mix is an Apple A4 core, 3-axis gyroscope and Game Center. In fact, Apple is calling it the ‘iPhone without the phone’. More features obviously translates into more money though. Price tags are as follows: $229 for 8GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB.
Pre-order today and you’ll get one by next week. Apple also took this occasion to reveal that the iPod Touch outsells Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP combined all around the world. This sounds a bit fishy but let’s say we believe Jobs. After all, he didn’t say anything that wasn’t proven true so far.
There’s been a lot of speculation about the 6th generation Nano. I wrote an article right before Apple’s event to check whether the source had accurate information. As it turns out he/she really was right, partially. The shuffle was supposed to look like a mini-touch. Turns out the Nano looks that way.
It’s square and it’s nearly full touch screen, surrounded by a small frame. You’ll get hard volume buttons on the side. You’ll get 24 hours of audio playback and a clip on the back end for easy carrying. There will also be 7 colors to choose from, so the new Nano will definitely match any outfit.
Some people may be a little angry however. That nice camera the previous model used to have is now gone. Oh yes, and there’s no video playback either.
Hey, you win some you loose some. In this case, you loose some features for a device that looks like an iPhone Mini-Me. Apple is already taking pre-orders on this one. It will sell at $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB.
Tonight we’ve finally had the honor of seeing those brand new music players Apple has been cooking for a while. As most rumors suggested, the iPod Nano as well as the Touch got a facelift. A smaller member of the family, the Shuffle, has also been re-designed.
"We're making the iPod shuffle even better by combining clickable buttons and VoiceOver technology, so users can find and enjoy their music without ever looking at their iPod shuffle," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO
Skipping over the technicalities, the shuffle has a button again and it will offer a 15 hour battery life.
You’ll be able to choose between five colors, buy it for $49 and get it by next week, assuming you pre-order one today. Might not have a lot of specs, but it sure looks good.
So, do you personally think the mouse is dead? Some people do. After all, it’s the age of touch we live in. Everything from microwave ovens to umbrellas is going to have a touch screen. Hence, no more need for mice. Microsoft doesn’t agree. After all, it’s been working on the Arc Touch mouse for a long time and has finally managed to release it to the market. Actually, the company has announced it, to be more precise, because the Arc Touch will arrive in stores right before sock season and it’s only available on pre-order for the time being.
What can I say about it after so many rumors and leaks? That I love the way it turns completely flat. I actually envision it slipping in my notebook case, right between the laptop itself and a stack of important documents. Once I’m at my destination (the corner coffee shop or a country far away), I can simply take the mouse out and use it because it’ll only take a second to get it to curve back again.
What’s also exciting about it is that it features a scroll strip, the first to be used on one of Microsoft’s mice. Featuring haptics (the vibration technology) users will get a feel that’s pretty similar to the one they got from a regular mouse with a regular scroll wheel. The rules for using the strip are simple. Move your finger slowly for controlled scrolling. Flick your fingers for hyperfast scrolling. Three tap buttons were also included, one for page up, one for page down and a third one that can be programmed for any function you’d like. Put in two AAA batteries and you’re ready to click your brains out for the next six month. “The reasons people need external mice will not change: comfort and precision.” Mentioned Microsoft’s Brett Ostrum. What can I say about this? Well….he might be right. Now I’ll just go on the couch to surf the web on my iPhone.
Apple’s highly anticipated music-centered event is live. And oh boy did the company come up with a lot of new stuff. Some of it we already knew about while other things were a huge surprise. To get things going Apple’s Steve Jobs was proud to let Google know just how well its iOS is doing.
About a month ago, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt mentioned that Google was activating about 200,000 Android devices a day. In a ‘take this’ sort of approach Jobs announced that Apple is activating 230,000 new iOS devices a day. He was also sure to add that “we think some of our friends are counting upgrades in their numbers.” Obviously referring to Android, Jobs said that Apple isn’t doing that. And if it were, the numbers would be much higher.
Apparently, 120 million iOS devices have also shipped until now. What does this tell us? That Apple is doing quite well. We’re looking forward to hear from Google as the search engine giant may also be making a new announcement regarding the success of its mobile platform as well.
BASINGSTOKE, September 1, 2010 - Motorola today announced DEFY™ enhanced with MOTOBLUR™. Motorola DEFY is a slim, pocketable Android™ smartphone that comes equipped with advanced Web-browsing capabilities and a 3.7" high-resolution touch screen display that provides edge to edge views of your favorite photos, videos and websites.
"DEFY has been designed to handle everything that life throws your way," said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president, portfolio and device product management, Motorola Mobility. "With all the features consumers expect in a smartphone, DEFY packs advanced web browsing, entertainment and messaging capabilities as well as a design that withstands the challenges of everyday life."
Motorola DEFY is dust proof and water resistant protecting you from life's little challenges like a sudden rain shower, spilt drink, or dropping your phone in the sand. It also features a large, resilient display that has outstanding protection against scratch damage. CrystalTalk® PLUS vanquishes noisy environments with two microphones which intelligently filter out background noise and amplify your voice so you don't have to shout.
Motorola DEFY also features the latest version of Motorola's unique solution, MOTOBLUR, which makes it even easier to manage all of your emails, messages and social updates in one easy place with the additions of filtering, resizable widgets, added corporate security and a versatile battery manager.
An Adobe® Flash® Lite® enabled browser and 3.7" WVGA screen allow users to view more of the Web than standard browsers. Create your own entertainment with the 5-megapixel camera with flash, digital zoom and auto focus that lets users capture the best of their social life. DEFY is Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)-enabled to stream, store and share content with compatible devices around the home like HDTVs, game consoles and PCs.
The Connected Music Player brings song lyrics to your songs and enables you to discover, buy and download music, right from your phone. Choose from over 70,000 applications, widgets and games from Android Market™ and enjoy access to Google™ services including Google Search™, Google Maps™ and Gmail™.
Availability DEFY will be available in Europe beginning Q4 2010. For more information please visit www.motorola.com/DEFY
Japan is the place to be if you’re fascinated by random gadgets and new technology. Aside from manufacturing electronics that can be found in probably half of the households around the world, Japanese companies can also come up with fun stuff sometimes. The kind of stuff that makes you feel as excited as a kid even when you’re 50. So yeah, Japan is a pretty nice country to live in I suppose, at least from this point of view. The country’s latest achievement? The world’s smallest fully functional steam locomotive. As tiny as it may be, it can still carry 15 to 20 people around at the same time. It will travel at speeds of about 7-10km an hour and feed on pieces of charcoal. People who plan to travel to Japan will find it alongside the Handshin railway, right next to Iwaya Park. If you’re there, why not go on the train ride of your life? You can also find a video of the locomotive on YouTube.
Sony - ebook readers-new - this is everything you need to know besides a list o prices . PRS-350 Pocket Edition - $180 and - 159 grams PRS-650 Touch Edition - $229 and - 224 grams PRS-950 Daily Edition - $299 and - 254 grams
Following the successful 'till now Apple recipe ,Samsung is going to reveal the "Ipad killer" - the Samsung Galaxy Tab - just like in Apple's case with the Iphone 4 and Ipad - a bigger brother for their Samsung Galaxy Android phone. More news to come from the front-line - 'cuz it looks like a war is starting.
Because the iPhone 4 had some problems along with multiple exciting features, some people believed that Apple was secretly working on releasing a second version of its latest smartphone issue free. This obviously includes a re-designed antenna that wouldn’t require a bumper to function properly.After the release of the iPhone 4, a high number of users started complaining about poor reception and even dropped calls. It seems that a reception-problem-less Iphone 4 will he hitting the market(silently maybe ?) on the 30th of this month. More is coming if we manage to "have a strong reception on the problem"....pun intended.
The fruit operator - Orange launching HD video calls in UK after a succesfull try in Moldova To take advantage of the free HD Voice service, Orange customers must have suitable phones that support the service, with Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung already working on more devices for it, apparently. So far, Nokia's 5230, X6 and E5 models are compatible, along with the Samsung Omnia Pro.
Bioplastic- made from plant material - nice chunk of piece of mind for the eco-friendly,Prius lover, Iphone owner- cases made out of plants- just that .
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Sapphire
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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People who are controlling by nature, as well as game enthusiasts are probably very familiar with EA Games’ Sims. The life simulation series has been around for what seems like ages. Sims
2 was especially popular and there were so many expansion packs for that game that it could easily freeze up your system and take up all your hard drive space. Not far behind, Sims 1 offered a high number of expansions as well. Sims 3 however has so far stuck to the original title only even though it was released a long time ago. Despite it offering considerably better graphics, the latest Sims hasn’t recorded the success of its predecessors and EA Games seems to be adding nothing new to it. In the meantime, the game publisher has announced that it will release Sims Medieval, a new series of games from the Sims line that will move your favorite highly controllable Sims to the middle ages.
While I’m personally looking forward to seeing what the newest Sims title has to offer (as soon as it hits the stores, obviously), EA Games has recently registered the website TheSims4.com. The information was just made available but the company registered the site about two months ago. Does this mean that Sims 4 is being worked on? Could it bring exciting new elements to a game that’s already popular and pretty much the only successful one of this genre? Publishers have registered web sites on previous occasions just in case they’d ever need them. But if you wish, Sims 4 is definitely on the table, and it’s probably just a matter of time until additional information is revealed. The company has obviously declined to comment on this.
We already know, for the most part, what life was like for our ancestors from the 19th century. Some people know all this from movies, while others know from Wikipedia. Regardless of your sources, I’m willing to bet that you had no idea people back then were excellent at crafting…no, not swords, not furniture but prosthetic arms. Yup. Amputees back then didn’t only get a brand new metal hand either, but also a highly fashionable metal accessory. Despite it being from the past, it does look like it was inspired by one of the latest horror movies to hit the cinemas.
The fake metal hand (could have used a better choice of words but chose not to), is currently in the possession of the London Science Museum who cleverly described it for future visitors. Apparently, the elbow joint can be moved by releasing a spring, while the top joint of the wrist will allow a degree of rotation and up and down motion. Fingers will also curl up and straighten out. Obviously, the upper leather part is used to fix the prosthesis to the owner’s remaining upper arm.
Scary? A bit. But once you get past it, you’ll have to admit that this arm goes to show just how crafty our forefathers really were.
As most people may know by now, Apple is holding a music-centered event tomorrow evening in San Francisco. The Cupertino-based company has already sent invites to multiple media members and prepped the building where the event is taking place by decorating it with the same photo that was included in the invites. The picture shows a guitar with an Apple-shaped music whole. Since this is obviously Apple’s way of hinting that the event will be all about music players (hence, the iPod line) and the company is well known for releasing new models of iPods during this period of the year, we can be sure that we’ll get to see a brand new set of iPhones. Now, rumors regarding the forthcoming iPods have been spreading like the plague on the Internet, literally. So I thought It might be a good idea to make a small (-ish) list of all of the rumors and information we have on the new music players.
The first rumor regarding a new iPod Touch surfaced in April this year. Boy Genious Report discovered that the new OS featured on the iPad made reference to new models of music players as well as Apple’s smartphone. At this point, people knew that a new iPod Touch would hit the market. What they didn’t know was when or what it would offer. So for the most part this information proved worthless simply because Apple was bound to release a new iPod Touch eventually, right? Finally, in August multiple rumors revealed significantly more information. Several sites discovered that along with iOS3 (at the time in beta) FaceTime, Apple’s video call feature would get an e-mail upgrade. This means that the service would work by using an e-mail address rather than just a phone number. Of course, this brought forth many questions. Why would Apple add this? Maybe it’s because it would be implementing the feature on devices that don’t have mobile phone capabilities? Could they be prepping for a new iPod? Looks like it, to be honest.
iLounge claimed that it had a highly reliable source who found out that a new iPod line would land within a month’s time (the info was revealed at the beginning of August) and would include a new iPod Nano and iPod touch. The shuffle would also get a replacement, a music player that kind of looks like the touch but is much smaller, about 3 inches in size.
After that, several photos of the iPod Touch (allegedly from various Apple partners) showed parts of a music player that featured a hole for a front-facing camera. Adding to that, other rumors suggest that the new music player will also offer 3G. Last but not least, Apple insider Gruber announced on his daringfireball blog that he expects “a new iPhone 4-caliber iPod Touch (retina display, dual FaceTime-ready cameras), new iTunes TV show rentals, and a new iOS-based Apple TV. The wildcard is whether there’s going to be an App Store for the Apple TV.”
Now why did I spend this time summing everything up? Simply because the event is tomorrow and I’m quite interested in seeing which of these many, many rumors proved to be true. It might serve as an indicator in the future of what sources are reliable and can properly spot products long before they are released on the market
I am pretty sure you are very excited about the new Iphone 4 jailbreak announcement today , and you are already ready to get your hands dirty . I must tell you to read this post before trying jailbreak on your idevice , so that you have all the things at the right place in case something goes wrong , you can avoid having an expensive paperweight.
Open the site http://www.JailbreakMe.com on your Iphone Mobile Safari web browser and begin downloading jailbreak software directly on your mobile phone.
It is that simple . Just a one step installation , that’s it. If you think earlier jailbreak solutions like Spirit were easier , JailbreakMe is a child’s play.
In my next post i will be writing about JailbreakMe Issues. Please stay tuned to Iphone4Jailbreak.org for more updates and news. Subscribe to our feeds or join our Facebook Fan Page . You may Bookmark this page by pressing Cltr+D for future reference . Dont forget to Share the Tutorial with your Facebook Friends and help them do their Jailbreak .
While searching for random stuff on the Internet I often come across fun and exciting devices or concepts that could completely change the way we perceive certain objects. From concepts of computers or eco-friendly solar powered mobile phones to concepts of watches, they all bring something new, something that no one has ever thought about before. Some of these concepts look so good that you even start wondering why such devices aren’t being manufactured right now. After all, you know for sure that they’d sell based on the enthusiasm of the viewers.
Recently, New York designer Svetlana Blum has come up with a concept called the Second Skin. You could say that the Second Skin is a watch and you’d be pretty accurate in your description, but from many points of view, this concept does more than tell you the time. Blum actually managed to turn the object we rely on for reading the time into a highly fashionable accessory. Sure, designers have come up with expensive, well-made watches for many years and they are all worth their highly expensive price tags. The Second Skin looks as if it’s pulled out a 21st century science fiction movie.
The watch is made out of LED and metal. Two rows of LED lights are used to display the hours and he minutes. It shows the exact time every five minutes and the only thing a user has to do to see the time is to touch the display, The LED lights will then light up.
So far, you could say that this watch acts the same way as any other watch on the market. So what’s so special about it? Well, it’s also a high-tech accessory and according to the presentation site it’s also meant to “act trendy users with its hi-tech design.”
After staring at the photos for over ten minutes, I have to say I still can’t tell how you can read the time on this one. So on top of it looking pretty and working well, you’ll also get to confuse your friends who won’t be able to tell what the object on your hand is exactly or how it works. While some people may be extremely fond of this watch and hope to see it in stores in the future (highly unlikely but you never know), some may prefer to stick to the conventional watches that offer a convenient (and standard) method of reading time whenever you want to find out how many minutes are left before that highly important meeting you have to attend. One great thing about these concepts though, is that they inspire different products, more adapted to the needs of our society which we will all get to enjoy in a couple of years from now.
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jollyxter
Friday, August 20, 2010
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Facebook is currently the world’s most popular social networking site and the home of over 500 million users worldwide. Apart from accessing the site from their computers, users can now use their mobile phones as well to keep in touch with friends and have access to Facebook from just about anywhere. While some users would rather stick around Facebook and chat with their friends all day long, they’ll still have to spend some time away from their computers for a number of hours each day. This is also why most social networking sites have gone mobile these days. Users can then easily access the services while on the go, through their mobile phones.
Attempting to further gain users and bring something new to existing users, Facebook has recently announced that it will include a new feature which allows US members to share their whereabouts with friends with the help of their mobile devices.
The service, called Facebook Places finally allows Facebook users to take advantage of ‘location-based’ services on smartphones which are equipped with satellite position tracking capabilities.
“Starting today, you can immediately tell people about that favorite spot with Facebook Places,” said Places product manager Michael Eyal Sharon.”You can share where you are and the friends you’re with in real time from your mobile device.”
So from now on, while visiting a restaurant, museum or bar, Facebook members will be able ‘check in’ to let their friends know, instantly, where they are and with whom. iPhone users will get an application for the service, whereas owners of other smartphones will be able to access the service with their help of web browser software that supports geo-location and HTML5 by visiting the Places website which is touch.facebook.com.
“If you are not in the US you can still see if friends are using it here but you will not be able to check-in,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced. While this feature is currently only available to US users, the company has plans to extend the feature to all smartphones and worldwide. Places is already available as an update for Facebook’s application for the iPhone, while applications for Blackberry, Android or other handsets should come out in the next few months.
Now, the first thing that comes to mind regarding this application is lack of privacy. Your handset will instantly announce your Facebook friends of your whereabouts but you may not want to let them know where you are or with whom. Probably anticipating such concerns, the Facebook team also announced that privacy will be respected and users will be able to control how location information is shared. So if you don’t want to share this type of information, you won’t have to.
Facebook has also thought about developers and has made certain tools available for companies who are interested in creating applications based on Facebook’s new feature. Ben Gertzfield, a Facebook engineer also mentioned that application makers would have to be granted permission by the users before any data regarding their whereabouts was shared.
Today Intel has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire McAfee. Intel got the developer of antivirus software by purchasing all of the company’s common stock at $48 per share. The total acquisition cost was of $7.68 billion. The deal, which was approved by both boards of directors, is expected to close as soon as it gains the approval of McAfee shareholders as well as meet the regulatory clearances and other customary conditions specified in the agreement.
According to Intel, McAfee will work as a wholly owned subsidiary and will be under the control of Intel’s Software and Services group. The acquisition goes to show that security has become an important part of online computing. Apparently Intel believes that today’s security approach doesn’t fully address the billions of new Internet-ready devices (including mobile devices, TVs, cars or ATM machines). In order to provide protection to users of these devices, companies have to come up with a new approach which includes software, hardware and services.
“With the rapid expansion of growth across a vast array of Internet-connected devices, more and more of the elements of our lives have moved online,” said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. “In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences.
Throughout the last period Intel has made a series of software acquisitions, pursuing a deliberate strategy which is focused on leading companies in their industry which deliver software that takes advantage of silicon. The list includes gaming, visual computing, machine software, and now, with after the acquisition of MacAfee, security also. A couple of days ago Intel has also announced acquiring Texas Instruments’ cable modem product line. The purchase was said to enhance Intel’s focus on the cable industry.
Renée James, Intel senior vice president, and general manager of Software and Services Group believes that hardware-enhanced security may lead to breakthroughs in effectively countering threats in the present and future. The company is planning to make connecting to the Internet safer and more secure with the help of the ‘incredibly talented people’ of
McAfee. James also mentioned that Intel is looking forward to introduce a product from this strategic partnership sometime next year. McAfee, a company based in Santa Clara, which was founded in 1987, is the world’s largest security technology company. It recorded approximately $2 million in revenue last year and currently has 6,100 employees. The products and technologies the company has created deliver secure solutions and services to consumers, enterprises as well as governments around the world. With Intel, McAfee will work on product concepts which help strengthen security in the cloud network as well as the different types of computers and devices people now use to browse the Internet.
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jollyxter
Sunday, June 6, 2010
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