3 Milions e-book from Google

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It's been six years since Google announced its plan to digitize vast collections of literary works and make them available to view online. Now the search giant has launched a new eBookstore in the U.S. where users are able to get hold of more than three million digital titles, including the latest best sellers, recommended reads and lots and lots of classics. Google eBooks are compatible with numerous Internet-enabled devices and can also be read online via a free browser-based portal.

Since Google Books first launched in 2004, over 15 million works have been made digital, not just in the U.S. and not just in English. The project to make the information stored in the world's books accessible and useful online has digitized titles from over 100 countries in more than 400 languages. All of these will continue to be available via the Google Books page but a link to the newly launched eBookstore now also features.

Any Google eBookstore purchases - or free to read content such as Great Expectations and Gulliver's Travels - are stored in the cloud, hidden away behind a free password-protected account with unlimited storage.

Google offers automatic device syncing of titles you're currently (digitally) thumbing through, so if you read a chapter on an e-Reader in the morning but decide to pick up the trail on your smartphone's Android app or the eBooks Web Reader on your laptop at work, then the system will know where you left off and deliver the content from there.

However much you get through on your laptop will also be stored and when you take your Apple iOS device to bed for a few pages before sleep, you'll be presented with the story from the point you left it. Of course, for this to work, all of those devices will need access to the Internet but that's not really much of an issue in our modern, connected world.

In addition to grabbing new digital books from the new eBookstore, users can also purchase titles from participating members of the American Booksellers Association and store them in the same virtual library, alongside those bought from Google.

Google eBooks are compatible with a host of digital devices, including Apple's iPad, Sony's e-Readers and the Nook from Barnes & Noble.

There is one device that is conspicuously absent from the list of supported devices - Amazon's Kindle. Google has stated that it is open to supporting the devices but Amazon looks to be taking another route.

In a slightly adversarial move, the company has announced Kindle for the Web that will allow users to read the full Kindle books within a browser. Like Google's eBooks, the new Kindle portal will also allow the synchronization of the library across different devices.

Interestingly, Amazon has also stated that "Bookstores, authors, retailers, bloggers and other website owners will be able to offer Kindle books from their own sites, let their readers start enjoying the full text of these books instantly, and earn affiliate fees for doing so."

Reference:
[1]http://www.gizmag.com/google-launches-3-million-title-ebookstore/17220/

user tracking protection tool in IE 9

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Hot on the heels of a call for a user-controlled tracking prevention mechanism from the FTC comes news that Microsoft is introducing a new privacy feature to the next version of its browser - Internet Explorer 9. The Tracking Protection tool is aimed at helping netizens take control of online tracking from within the browser.

When you visit a website, you may assume that any information about your visit that's collected and stored by the website owners stays with them - but that's not necessarily true. These days, what you see displayed in a browser window is likely to be a patchwork of content provided by numerous other websites across the web. Each of these Third Party sites gets access to some of the information about you that's gleaned from the browser when you access the page.

Some of the hundreds of different sites you might pass through in the course of the week will inevitably use content that originates from the same source. These common sources will be able to see where you have been during your virtual travels and could use this information to generate user profiles.

There are instances when tracking information can be put to good use, such as allowing a shopping site to record purchase information. What's needed is some sort of balance between preserving the ability to have online privacy and the marketing needs of industry.

Microsoft has started the ball rolling with the announcement that the next version of Internet Explorer will feature a mechanism that will allow users to have some control over which third-party site elements within a web page are allowed to collect data about the user and which are not.

The release candidate version of IE9 will include a new opt-in mechanism called Tracking Protection Lists that will allow users to create allow and block lists for Third Party website content, somewhat like the anti-spam black and white lists now operated by most email clients. A user will be able to tell the browser which websites they'd rather not exchange information with and the next time they visit a website containing content sourced from that website, it will be blocked.

The list will remain active until the user turns it off and there will be the facility to publish lists for others to install and use. Users will also be able to install or create more than one list. The feature is still in development and is expected to evolve over time in response to the ever changing privacy debate.

A more detailed introduction to the new feature appears on the IE blog.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/microsoft-tracking-protection-feature-headed-for-ie9/17231/

Splashtop instant-access OS enters public beta

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For those of us who virtually live online, waiting around those few precious minutes for the system to boot into Windows, connect to the Internet and then present the browser is time wasted. For the last few couple of years, more and more new Windows machines have come pre-loaded with something that boots straight into our beloved online world. Splashtop is a browser-based operating system companion that allows users to get online in seconds after pushing the power button on. Now it's being made available for public beta download.

Splashtop was introduced in 2007 and has since found itself being pre-installed on millions of laptops and netbooks from companies like Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and LG. It's a lightweight, web-centric operating system optimized for notebooks and netbooks that takes less than five seconds to load in and get users online.

Read More:
[1] http://www.gizmag.com/splashtop-os-now-available-for-beta-download/17159/

I-slate to bring tablet computing to rural India

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Computers have become an essential part of a child’s education, yet there are currently over 100 million Indian children who attend rural schools that don’t have electricity – no electricity means no computers. Recently, however, a group of organizations from several different countries put their heads together to create the I-slate, a low-cost, low-energy tablet PC designed for use in these schools that runs on solar power. In trials conducted so far, it appears to be a hit with the kids.

The I-slate – not to be confused with the early iPad prototype of the same name – was the result of a collaboration between Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Houston's Rice University and an Indian nonprofit, Villages for Development and Learning Foundation (ViDAL). The project is being led by Rice’s Prof. Krishna Palem, who is also supervising development of the I-slate at NTU’s Institute of Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID).

Palem stated that this is the first of a series of electronic notepads which will utilize a new type of ultra-energy-efficient microchip, that uses a fraction of the electricity consumed by conventional chips. The new chip, which is being developed by ISAID and the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, makes it possible for the I-slate to run on solar power from panels similar to those used in hand-held calculators.

Prototypes of the computer were produced this summer, and tested with a class of 10 to 13 year-olds at a rural school near Hyderabad in August. They reportedly picked up on the technology instantly, and while they didn’t like the placement of the buttons, they enjoyed other features such as the scratch pad app. A second session of tests is scheduled for later this month.

The I-slate team is now planning to further develop the device’s hardware and teaching content, and to perform long-term academic tracking of students who use the computer.

“The research will not just help in the sustainability of our planet but the development of such sustainable, low-cost technologies will also help the poorer communities in the world to close the digital divide,” said NTU President Su Guaning. “It will be life-changing and it will help to improve lives.”

Reference:
[1] Ben Coxworth, http://www.gizmag.com/i-slate-tablet-pc/16900/

The upgradable, recyclable Bloom laptop concept

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It’s a given that we will one day be discarding our present laptop computers. It’s also a given that e-waste is currently a huge problem, that looks like it’s only going to get worse. While most of the materials in a laptop can be recycled, all of those pieces of glass, metal, plastic and circuitry are stuck together pretty tight, and require a lot of time and effort to separate. What is needed are laptops that are designed to be taken apart, for easy recycling – that’s why a group of graduate students from Stanford University made one.

As part of Stanford’s ME310 industrial design course, design software maker Autodesk asked the students to create an easily-recyclable consumer electronics product, using the company's software. What they came up with was the Bloom laptop, which can be completely disassembled by hand, in under 30 seconds, and in ten steps. By contrast, a traditional laptop requires three tools, up to 120 steps, and takes about 45 minutes.

Needless to say, this limits the number of computers that can be taken apart in one day, making the recycling of them less financially-viable. It also leaves the disassembly process in the hands of trained workers, whereas the Bloom can be taken apart by its owner.

A by-product of making the computer modular was the development of a detachable wireless keyboard and trackpad – a feature that allows users to type from wherever they wish, without having the screen right there in their face. Upgrading is also much easier, as users can just pop out the obsolete piece, buy a new one, then pop it in.

The ME310 students won Autodesk’s Inventor of the Month award for this October. They were assisted in the Bloom project by students from Aalto University in Finland.


Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/recyclable-bloom-laptop-concept/16853/

Detecting traffic violations using Mobile automated system

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In July of 2008, the European Union launched ASSETT (Advanced Safety and Driver Support for Essential Road Transport), a program aimed at reducing accidents caused by traffic rule violations. It involves a consortium of 19 partner organizations in 12 countries, but it boils down to one thing thing for European drivers – the police will be handing out more tickets. In order to cover a larger number of vehicles, while making things easier for officers and more fair for motorists, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland is currently testing a mobile system that monitors traffic and notes when infractions occur.

The current version of VTT’s system is contained within a small trailer, which can be towed and set up at any roadside location. Using automated surveillance cameras and a wireless network connection, it detects when drivers are doing things such as not wearing their seatbelts, speeding, and following other vehicles too close. It can also monitor road surface conditions, and calculate traffic emissions.

Information on offending vehicles is recorded and transmitted to a central database, but all other traffic footage is automatically deleted after one month.

The system is presently being tested in the Finnish city of Tampere. Once the testing phase is over, the technology could be implemented directly into police vehicles. VTT estimates that the system could be ready for commercialization by 2013.

Reference:
[1] Ban CoxWorth,  http://www.gizmag.com/mobile-system-detects-traffic-violations/16789/

Playstation Phone

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Engadget has published the first unofficial pics of what appears to be the much-rumored PlayStation phone, which looks like the result of mating a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 with a PSP Go.

According to the report, the (obviously) prototype device – codenamed “Zeus” – sports a touchscreen display in the 3.7 to 4.1-inch size range with a minimum WVGA resolution. On the front are four basic face buttons with a slider sporting the familiar PlayStation face buttons, shoulder buttons and a long multitouch touchpad in place of the analogue joysticks.

The phone also reportedly features a 5-megapixel camera and will be powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor with 512MB of RAM and 1GB of ROM. Although there’s no Memory Stick slot, there is support for microSD cards. The prototype is apparently running Android 2.X but engadget predicts it will ship with Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) when released... probably in 2011.

Responding to calls that the images and details are fake, engadget is adamant its claims are true, saying the information comes from multiple, trusted sources including some people closely connected to the project.

There has been no official announcement from Sony – "Sony Ericsson does not comment on rumors, speculation or unannounced products."

Article Source:
[1] http://www.gizmag.com/playstation-phone/16758/

New Mozilla Customizeable Interface

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In the not-too-distant past most of those who wanted to get online would do so using Internet Explorer. These days though, we are somewhat spoilt by the number of different browsers on offer. But for some that's still not enough - we need to personalize our browser experience. Instead of just skinning a browser to fit in with a particular style or mood, Mozilla Labs is proposing stripping away the user interface (UI) layer altogether and replacing it with a flexible platform where a user can create a new UI using a little web technology savvy.

Seasoned developers can of course modify the UI on many browsers now. Much of what you see in Firefox for instance - the browser chrome - is implemented using a technology called XUL (XML User Interface Language). XUL can be tweaked and twisted to great effect by coding veterans but other potential creative talents might find it hard work. Mozilla Labs has therefore launched a new experiment codenamed "Chromeless" that looks to open up certain sections of a browser to anyone familiar with standard web technologies like HTML, CSS or JavaScript.

The current implementation of the experimental platform brings together a number of Mozilla developments to present the would-be UI developer with a blank canvas running on an XULRunner application. But instead of loading XUL, the main part of the application is an HTML file with extra privileges, such as the ability to access JavaScript modules. This is intended to give the user the opportunity to create a custom browser UI in about the same time as it takes to write a web page.

Mozilla Labs is currently at the pre-alpha prototype phase where the application is capable of loading an HTML page and rendering a browser UI. Anyone wanting to get involved in the experiment is invited to download the source code and instructions from the Chromeless website and start tweaking. Feedback can then be given to the team through the Mozilla Labs Group or by using the #labs tag on irc.mozilla.org.

Specific application programming interfaces (API) that cater for more meaningful UI construction, and the integration of security features to keep Internet content contained within a restricted zone have been penciled in for the next stages of development. The final part of the experiment will be to wrap it all up in a set of development tools "to make it easy to get started with remixing the browser."

Article Source:
Paul Ridden, http://www.gizmag.com/mozilla-chromeless-custom-user-interface-experiment/16717/

virtual tour guide in a pair of glasses

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At this year's CEATEC conference in Chiba, Japan, Docomo previewed the AR Walker augmented reality application that uses a tiny display screen mounted on a pair of glasses, rather than on a mobile phone screen like Layar or other AR apps. While the AR Walker application is not by itself anything new, being able to see annotations of the world around you without having to view it through a mobile phone's camera display is. Docomo has come one step closer to the fictional augmented reality glasses that anime fans might remember from the TV series Dennou Coil, where children wore glasses to view virtual objects superimposed over the real world.

The glasses don't come without some inconvenience however, because they must be connected to your mobile phone upon which the AR application in running. The result is a cumbersome mess of wires, though I should clarify the project is still in the experimental stages.

For the company's walking tour demonstration at CEATEC, the application was operating on Docomo's Windows Mobile based HTC phone, which was then connected to a pair of glasses. I had to stand in a sort of "mock Kyoto" for the demo, comprised of three big screens displaying the street view: one to the front, and one on each side of me.

Through your right eye on the glasses' QVGA display (320x240) you can see an animated mushroom, Docomo's mascot Docomo-Dake, who guides you on your way. Our demo took us through the streets of Kyoto, and the AR annotations explaining the environment were prompted according to which direction you faced. When you look up in the sky, the eye display shows you weather information. Look to the right and you see details of the restaurant on the right-hand side. Off to the left you'll see an annotated view of the inn on the left.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/docomos-ar-walker-is-a-virtual-tour-guide-in-a-pair-of-glasses/16579/

world's first general purpose computer to life

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Charles Babbage was the quintessential "man ahead of his time". In the mid 19th century the English mathematician and inventor developed the concept of a programmable computer and designed complex, steam-powered calculating engines that were never completed during his lifetime. One of these machines – the Difference Engine – was successfully constructed using Babbage's original plans in 1991 and now programmer John Graham-Cumming is on a mission to build a working replica of a second, more complex computing machine known as the Analytical Engine.

Babbage invented the first Difference Engine in 1821. Designed to perform mathematical calculations, the machine would have been made up of 25,000 parts, weighed 15 tons and stretched to 8 ft in height – so portable isn't a word that would apply. Babbage worked on a prototype which was never completed, but some parts of his early attempts to construct the machine survived and are on display at the Museum of Science in London.

Reference and Further Reading:
[1] Noel McKeegan, http://www.gizmag.com/babbage-analytical-engine-replica/16669/

next gen graphing Casio calculator

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A quarter of a century after introducing the world's first graphing calculator, Casio has announced its next generation model that's been designed to deliver graphs and statistical data as they appear in color textbooks. The PRIZM gets a new, modern body design, offers high resolution color graphics and gives students the opportunity to plot graphs over background image curves and then discover the math functions used to create them.

Casio's new PRIZM (fx-CG10) graphing calculator's outer shell now benefits from a more modern, mobile phone-like appearance. Above the rows of input buttons is a high resolution 82,944 dot, 3.7-inch color LCD screen that's said to offer a textbook-like display. There's 61,440 byte program and 16MB storage capacity and the power consumption of 0.6W is claimed to translate to 140 hours of use on four AAA-sized alkaline batteries.

Casio has included something called the Picture Plot function which enables "students to experiment by creating their own graphs over pictures of real-life scenes, and then understand the functions from the graphs that they created on their own." Once the graph has been plotted over any one of 55 types of color images of real-life curved shapes such as the parabola of jets from a water fountain, the student can then perform regression calculations to help them understand what math functions were used to generate the graph overlay.

The PRIZM comes pre-loaded with 40 images which can be used in eight of the calculator's 15 applications and also features a Color Link function that matches spreadsheet values to colors used in graphs to help students better understand changes in trends and values.

The 0.81 x 3.52 x 7.42-inch (20.57 x 89.4 x 188.46mm) graphing calculator has a USB 2.0 port for hooking up to Casio's GREEN SLIM data projectors for display to the whole class or direct connection to a computer to allow students to share calculations using Casio's manager software.

Casio says that the PRIZM will be available from January 2011 for a suggested retail price of US$129.

Reference:
[1] Paul Riden, http://www.gizmag.com/casio-prizm-color-display-graphing-calculator/16625/

high performance, low power usage e-display

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According to University of Cincinnati electrical and computer engineer Jason Heikenfeld, there are two types of electronic devices: things such as e-readers, that require little power but have displays with limited performance, and devices such as smartphones and laptops, that display bright, full-color moving video, but that guzzle batteries. After seven years of development, however, Heikenfeld and collaborators from Gamma Dynamics are now presenting a new type of electronic display. They claim that their “zero-power” electrofluidic system combines the energy efficiency of the one type of device, with the high performance of the other.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/zero-power-electronic-display/16589/

Open Web Concept Phone with Vrtual Keyboard

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As laptop computers continue to shrink in size and mobile phones become more and more powerful, can it be that long before the two merge into a device with the portability of a mobile phone and the functionality of a laptop? While it is just a matter of time before the power of a fully-fledged PC can be crammed inside a device the size of a mobile phone, our fingers aren't getting any smaller so overcoming the problems of interacting with such a small device will require some creative thinking. Creative thinking like that of designer Billy May who has come up with a mobile phone concept called the “Seabird” that is designed to address some of the frustrations people face when using such physically small devices.

May developed the concept phone as part of Mozilla Labs’ Concept Series, which asked people to share ideas and develop concepts around Firefox, the Mozilla projects and the Open Web as a whole. In early 2009, May, who also came up with the Hindsight concept glasses, developed a throwaway concept for an “Open Web Concept Phone”. In response to community feedback on that concept he developed the Seabird that explores what an Open Web phone might look like and how one would interact with it.
Virtual keyboard

The popularity of standard 3 x 4 keypads has declined as the popularity of smartphones has increased and the capabilities of mobile phones have expanded, to the point where QWERTY keypads – be they physical, such as those found on a BlackBerry, or onscreen, such as those found on the iPhone – are now the norm. Still, the size of these miniaturized keyboards is less than ideal, which is why May has opted for a full-sized QWERTY keyboard using a couple of in-built pico projectors.

Article Source, and Further Reading :
http://www.gizmag.com/seabird-open-web-mobile-phone-concept/16475/

Clip-It USB Drive from Verbatim

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Just when you thought that there was no way a Flash drive could be made even more useful, Verbatim turns one into a paperclip. Its new Store 'n' Go Clip-It USB Drive will be available in 2GB and 4GB storage capacities, providing a clever way to send digital multimedia files together with printed documents.

For many businesses, the move towards a paperless office is a slow and difficult one. No matter how many forms and documents are moved online or sent out in digital format, there's a very good chance that a large slice of the communication pie still involves the movement of pieces of paper from A to B, and quite possibly back again. Bridging the gap between the world of paper and a new digital era is the Clip-It USB Drive from Verbatim.

Article Source and Further Reading:
http://www.gizmag.com/verbatim-clipit-flash-drive-paperclip/16465/

the power of speech for charging Mobile phones

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In the search for alternative energy sources there's one form of energy you don't hear much about, which is ironic because I'm referring to sound energy. Sound energy is the energy produced by sound vibrations as they travel through a specific medium. Speakers use electricity to generate sound waves and now scientists from Korea have used zinc oxide, the main ingredient of calamine lotion, to do the reverse – convert sound waves into electricity. They hope ultimately the technology could be used to convert ambient noise to power a mobile phone or generate energy for the national grid from rush hour traffic.

Piezoelectrics are materials capable of turning mechanical energy into electricity, and can be substances as simple as cane sugar, bones, or quartz. Much research in this field has been focused on transforming the movement of a person running, or even the impact of a bullet, into a small electrical current, but although these advanced applications are not yet available in consumer products, scientists have been using piezoelectric materials in environmental sensors and speakers for years.

The Korean researchers were interested in reversing this process however. "Just as speakers transform electric signals into sound, the opposite process – of turning sound into a source of electrical power – is possible," said Young Jun Park and Sang-Woo Kim, authors of the article in journal Advanced Materials.

Piezoelectrics create an electrical charge under stress, and thus zinc oxide, the main ingredient of calamine lotion, was bent into a field of nanowires sandwiched between two electrodes. The researchers subjected the sandwich to sound waves of 100 decibels which produced an electrical current of about 50 millivolts.

On average, a mobile phone operates using a few volts, and as a normal conversation is conducted at about 60-70 decibels it's clear the technology falls some way short of being genuinely useful yet, but the researchers are optimistic that given time they can improve the electric yield. They hope future applications could include mobile phone charging from conversations, or sound-insulating walls near highways that boost the national grid using energy generated from rush hour traffic noise. However, with the increasing popularity of near silent electric vehicles there might be a decreasing window of opportunity for that particular application.

By Tannith Cattermole, Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/mobiles-powered-by-conversation/16417/

Wireless Recharging Technology

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We're all aware of how annoying a tangled mass of electrical wires can be. Fortunately, a research effort from Fujitsu is tackling the problem at its very source. During a conference held in the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers at Osaka Prefecture University, the Japanese electronics giant announced a major step in developing a wireless recharging technology that can work simultaneously with multiple portable devices.

Researchers have been struggling with wireless electricity for some time now, and have come up with a number of different possible solutions, most of which are only at a prototype stage because of technological hurdles that can't be circumvented. As far as wireless charging goes, the two most popular solutions are electromagnetic induction and magnetic resonance.

Electromagnetic induction works by creating a magnetic flux between a power-transmitting and a power-receiving coil. While this is a promising technology for some applications, and particularly for recharging electric cars, it also seems to lack some flexibility since it only works over short distances, and the power transmitter and power receiver need to be in alignment for the system to work properly.

By contrast, the magnetic resonance method appears much more versatile, as it can transport electricity from a single transmitter to multiple receiving devices over a range of several meters and regardless of the relative position of the two ends.

While better in theory, the development of magnetic resonance has been hindered by practical design issues: a number of factors — parasitic capacitance, external magnetic fields, even the batteries in the device to be charged can influence the magnetic fields and drastically decrease the charging efficiency. Furthermore, the smaller the devices, the more they are subject to external influences, making this technology particularly hard to incorporate into mobile phones.

All these issues can be sorted out by properly designing the charging system, but the process takes time. In fact, the development of wireless charging for portable electronics has so far been hindered mainly by problems associated with design and analysis of the systems themselves.

What the Fujitsu researchers developed is essentially a sophisticated simulator that takes into consideration the coil model and the magnetic resonance conditions. This tool can guide manufacturers' decisions in setting the parameters of the wireless chargers in such a way to maximize the charging efficiency for multiple transmitters and receivers even for devices, such as mobile phones, that used to be problematic because of their small size.

The tool, which reportedly reduces design time by a whopping factor of 150, was used to design a compact power receiver and to manufacture prototype mobile phones with built-in wireless charging. The mobile phones can get charged from anywhere within the transmitter's range, reaching 85 pecent efficiency.

Fujitsu said it will use this technology to develop wireless charging systems for mobile phones and other portable devices, which should hit the shelves in 2012. The company is also looking to apply the technology for power transmission between computer chips and to provide mobile charging systems for electric cars.

By Dario Borghino, Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/fujitsu-wireless-magnetic-resonance-recharging-technology/16365/

iPad rides shotgun thanks to car mount from Thanko

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Released this week, Thanko's Car Laptop Holder for iPad is a twist on the company's Car Laptop Holder from a few years back. We have to admit that the method of attachment is not the most elegant, but if you're a driver who needs an iPad in the cab then this might be for you. Just make sure you don't have the WiFi iPad, otherwise you'll probably be hanging out in the garage or parking next to Starbucks all the time.

Of course, drivers should always keep distractions to a minimum and one of the benefits of Thanko's solution is that it mounts on the passenger side (note that the pictures are from Japan, which has right-hand driving). The installation process looks a little tedious, as the kit is essentially an arm system that affixes to the rails underneath your passenger seat – though it's certainly a more favorable solution than some clumsy suction cup or windshield mounts on the market. The arm measures about half a meter (about two feet) and the angle can be adjusted in three places to create the best viewing position.

By Rich Martin, Article Source and Further Reading:
http://www.gizmag.com/ipad-rides-shotgun-thanks-to-car-mount-from-thanko/16323/

The Elonex 710EB eBook

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The Elonex 710EB eBook with full color screen first outed in April this year has now reached pre-order status with a UK availability date of July 31. The 7-inch e-Reader uses an LED backlit LCD display rather than e-Ink, benefits from wireless connectivity, will double up as a photo viewer or media player and has an 8 hour battery life.

When contacted, Elonex said that the final technical specifications are still in a state of flux prior to an end of the month UK availability slot but the 710EB eBook is known to sport a 7-inch LED backlit LCD touchscreen display at 800 x 480 resolution. The current configuration shows an M10 processor with integrated graphics processor, 802.11b/g wireless connectivity and micro-USB and HDMI wired connectivity.

The 7.67 x 4.72 x 0.66 inch 710EB eBook's easy to use touch controlled interface runs on the Android operating system with proprietary Elonex overlay. At the time of writing there's 128MB of system memory and a gigabyte of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD slot to accommodate around 60,000 color eBooks, digital magazines, newspapers, interactive books, comics, cooking books, travel guides and so on. The device supports a number of reader formats including ePub and PDF, benefits from adjustable font sizes for reading comfort and will auto-rotate when appropriate.

Article Source and Further Reading:
http://www.gizmag.com/elonex-710eb-color-touchscreen-ebook/15714/

Apple updates iPod lineup and adds social networking to iTunes

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Apple’s September 1 event saw the announcement of updates to the entire iPod line with the sole exception of the iPod Classic. The iPod touch gains the same high resolution Retina display and A4 chip found on the iPhone 4, along with FaceTime video calling, HD video recording, 3-axis gyro and iOS 4.1, all packed into a new slimmer, lighter form factor. There’s also a completely redesigned square-shaped iPod nano with a multi-touch interface and a redesigned iPod shuffle that sees the reintroduction of clickable “ring” buttons.
iPod touch

Apple’s iPhone without the phone includes most of the features introduced on the iPhone 4, including Apple’s A4 chip, 960 x 640 pixel Retina display, front-facing camera and mic for making FaceTime calls over Wi-Fi to fellow iPod touch or iPhone 4 users, HD video recording, 3-axis gyro and iOS 4.1. The only major difference hardware-wise – aside from the phone functionality – is a lower resolution still camera – 960 x 720 pixels to the iPhone 4’s 5-megapixels.

Recognizing the touch’s popularity as a games console Apple has introduced Game Center, which lets users challenge and play friends or be matched automatically with new opponents. Gamers can also showcase their scores and achievements and check out which games their friends are playing.

The new touch is smaller and lighter than previous models and the iPhone 4, measuring 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.28 inches (111 x 58.9 x 7.2mm) H x W x D, and weighing 3.56 ounces (101g). A single charge will provide up to 40 hours of music playback or seven hours of video playback. It will be available from next week in 8, 16 and 32GB capacities priced at US$229, $299 and $399, respectively.
iPod nano

The new iPod nano sees a new square design that is nearly half the size and weight of the previous generation. Featuring a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with built-in clip the nano is now only slightly larger than the iPod shuffle with the front surface dominated by a new multi-touch display replacing the previous models’ click wheel.


Article Source, and Further Reading: http://www.gizmag.com/apple-updates-ipod-lineup/16218/

Mining Mood Swings on the Real-Time Web

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This article reveals a startup provides free access to real-time data from the social Web.

By Erica Naone

Many companies are turning to social-media sites to gauge the success of a new product and service. The latest activity on Facebook, Twitter, and countless other sites can reveal the public's current mood toward a new film, gadget, or celebrity, and analytics services are springing up to help companies keep track. Social-media analytics startup Viralheat, based in San Jose, CA, is now offering free, real-time access to the data it is collecting on attitudes toward particular topics or products. One of the first customers for this new service--called Social Trends--is ESPN, which plans to use Social Trends to show live popularity rankings for different NFL teams.`
Live data: This widget shows current sentiment toward competing Web browsers.
Credit: Viralheat

Viralheat uses natural-language processing and machine learning to sift through Twitter, Facebook fan pages, viral video sites, and Google Buzz posts to determine the Web's collective sentiment toward everything from popular browsers to Pepsi to Steve Jobs. The company sells its data and analytics service for a monthly fee, but CEO Raj Kadam says that Social Trends will provide a free way to people to access data the company is already collecting. When a paying customer asks Viralheat to track a particular term, they have the option to share that information publicly. Kadam says that about 70 percent of users agree to share this information.

Social Trends uses this information to provide a widget that can be embedded on a blog or website showing the sentiment around particular terms. These widgets stay connected to Viralheat's data stores through an application programming interface (API) and are updated as the company collects more information. Viralheat believes the tool will be particularly useful for news sites wanting up-to-date infographics and for bloggers who want to track trends.

Anyone can create a Social Trends account and then search for terms they'd like to follow, although the company doesn't have data for every possible term. The system lets users create charts tracking a single term or comparing several terms. Kadam says that Viralheat is able to open up live connections to its data because its infrastructure can handle working with large amounts of information. Viralheat custom-built its software and hardware and optimized it for the analysis it needed to do. For example, it created a Web crawler that can sift through data on the Web and manipulate it as it is collected.

Kadam says his company isn't worried that its free offerings will decrease the number of paying customers. Social Trends widgets only offer a snapshot of the data that paying customers get access to (72 metrics instead of just five metrics), he says.

Viralheat is not the only company offering to mine Web users' sentiments toward particular topics or companies. Alec Go, a Stanford University graduate student who created the "Twitter Sentiment" analysis tool, says there are dozens of sites offering such services. But he notes that many commercial analysis packages are closed off from public access.

Experts agree that sentiment-analysis tools are becoming increasingly significant as companies try to stay on top of the discussions happening across the Web. "Companies have a love-hate relationship with social media," says Ed Chi, who is area manager for the Palo Alto Research Center's Augmented Social Cognition team. These companies recognize that social media can spread a message faster than anything else, he says, but they're also aware that it can easily get out of control.

Chi believes that eventually companies will need to track sentiment as part of a comprehensive public-relations effort. Future platforms could classify topics being discussed, suggest possible responses, and analyze a company's message to determine how likely it is to go viral. "Sentiment analysis will be a component of a much larger dashboard," Chi says.

Article Source:
http://www.technologyreview.com/web/26105/

Scandisk postage-stamp-sized integrated SSD

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Ultra-thin tablets, laptops and other mobile devices could be set to look even slimmer with the development of SATA solid state drives no bigger than a postage stamp. SanDisk's new integrated SSD (iSSD) device is just 0.072 inch (1.85mm) thick, tips the scales at a mere 0.029 of an ounce (0.83g) and is currently available in sizes up to 64GB. It's not the fastest SSD solution currently available but hey, it's got to be the smallest.

Before you start breaking open those jars of pennies, the iSSD is only being made available to selected manufacturers for evaluation at the moment. But with just 0.629 x 0.787 x 0.072 inch (16 x 20 x 1.85mm) dimensions and capacities currently ranging from 4GB (the lightest at 0.029oz/0.83g) to 64GB (0.045oz/1.3g), it may not be too long before consumers are being offered capacious, ultra-ultra-thin mobile devices where external storage is thought of as an additional extra rather than an operational necessity.

Article Source and Further Reading: Here

Kogan eBook Reader

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Kogan Technologies has launched a 6-inch eBook reader into the Australian market at a price of just AUD$189 (less than US$170 at time of publication). Around a third of an inch thick and weighing 228.8 g, the eBook Reader boasts good readability in bright sunlight via an 800 x 600 E Ink screen along with simple navigation system and long battery life.

Included with the reader are 1500 free eBooks, most of which are classics by authors as Arthur Conan Doyle, George Orwell, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. Also included are several titles tailored to the Australian – it is great to see that Henry Lawson’s The Romance of the Swag is included.

Kogan’s eReader will sync with Adobe's Digital Editions software for managing eBook libraries and will support some 16 eBook file formats including EPUB, HTML, PDF, TXT, RTF files. It features six different languages (English, Italian, French, Russian, Dutch, and German); a battery life of 10,000 page turns, a leather carrying case, earphones, USB cable, and charger.

The unit runs on the Linux operating system and has 2GB of in-built memory, which can be expanded to 32GB with a SDHC memory card.

The AU$189 price tag has raised the bar for competition within the Australian market. It slightly undercuts Kobo priced at AUD$199 and is roughly AUD$50 cheaper than the Kindle after shipping costs.

Article Source and Furthere reading :  here

Marmota mobile AR identifies landscape features

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Augmented Reality, or AR, is currently one of the hot areas for mobile app development – for some reason, people seem quite smitten with the idea of being able to point their mobile device’s camera at a street, and having information about the buildings and businesses appear on their screen superimposed over the images in real time. Now, a prototype mobile AR device is being tested, that concentrates more on topography than urban exploration. The Marmota mobile AR can tell you things like what the names of those mountain peaks over there are, what their elevation is, and how far away they are.

The Marmota was designed by Michele Zanin, Claudio Andreatta and Paul Chippendale, researchers at the Technologies of Vision Unit (TeV) in the Information Technology Centre of Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) in Trento, Italy. "The system integrates technologies and findings from different disciplines, spanning cartography to computer graphics, and sophisticated machine vision algorithms,” said Zanin. “Each pixel of the image is associated with information such as altitude, latitude, longitude and distance from the observer”.

When activated by a user, the device locates itself with a built-in GPS, then sends that information via the Internet to the central Marmota server at FBK. Once those coordinates have been processed by that server, a data package of about 50 to 120 KB is sent back to the device, and displayed as a high-resolution 360-degree augmented onscreen overlay. The device itself reportedly only uses a small amount of memory, letting the server do all the heavy lifting.

Besides giving specs on mountains, the Marmota can also provide things like the names and locations of counties, roads, hiking trails, rivers and lakes, and will draw these items onto the screen to highlight them. It limits itself to what’s visible from the user’s point of view, so as not to create confusion with an overabundance of information.

TeV has been working on the project since 2007. The Android-based Marmota currently works anywhere in the world between 60 degrees latitude north and 60 degrees south. "User testing will follow in the immediate future and will involve volunteers from outside FBK and will hopefully identify critical points in the system, thus helping us to transform the current 'prototype' into an application that can be enjoyed by the general public” said Zanin.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/marmota-mobile-ar-prototype/16081/

Microsoft unveils Xbox LIVE games lineup for Windows Phone 7

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When Microsoft unveiled its Windows Phone 7 (WP7) Series at Mobile World Congress 2010 in February, it said that the device’s Games hub would put the power of Xbox LIVE in the palm of your hand. With the phone’s planned October release date rapidly approaching, the company has chosen Gamescon 2010 in Germany to reveal the first wave of Xbox LIVE games that will be available on launch.

The first wave of launch games is long and impressive (check out the full 50 game list below), highlighting Microsoft’s recognition that mobile phones are evolving into a major gaming platform. According to research firm In-Stat, mobile gaming is already a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. and will continue to climb.

Microsoft’s own internal research backs that up, showing that 80 percent of gamers in the U.S. have, or will purchase a smartphone this year, and a quarter of what gamers spend on games is spent on mobile gaming.
The list includes Xbox LIVE games from the likes of Gameloft, Konami Digital Entertainment, Namco Bandai, PopCap and THQ. The WP7 will also be supported by content from Microsoft Game Studios (MGS), which now has a dedicated group tasked with delivering all new mobile-specific games and extending the best console games onto Windows Phone 7. This includes companion titles to familiar names, such as "Halo: Waypoint," and "Crackdown 2," designed to extend the experience of these Xbox 360 franchises.
In addition to providing a single location to view and launch games from your full game library, the WP7 is designed to seamlessly integrate Xbox LIVE in other ways. Users will be able to:

• connect to their Xbox LIVE profile and Avatar, or create a new one
• earn, view, track and compare Achievements with friends
• see who’s online and what they’re doing on their consoles, PCs or phones.
• communicate with their Xbox LIVE friends through Xbox LIVE messages
• invite, connect and play against friends on other Windows Phone 7 phones or a PC with turn-based (asynchronous) multiplayer gaming

Microsoft says additional titles in the launch portfolio will be released as the phone’s release date draws nearer, with new Xbox LIVE titles to be added to the games portfolio every week once the phone launches.
For the moment, the list of titles is:

• "3D Brick Breaker Revolution" (Digital Chocolate)
• "Age of Zombies" (Halfbrick)
• "Armor Valley" (Protege Games)
• "Asphalt 5" (Gameloft)
• "Assassins Creed" (Gameloft)
• "Bejeweled™ LIVE" (PopCap)
• "Bloons TD" (Digital Goldfish)
• "Brain Challenge" (Gameloft)
• "Bubble Town 2" (i-Play)
• "Butterfly" (Press Start Studio)
• "CarneyVale Showtime" (MGS)
• "Castlevania" (Konami Digital Entertainment)
• "Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst" (MGS)
• "De Blob Revolution" (THQ)
• "Deal or No Deal 2010" (i-Play)
• "Earthworm Jim" (Gameloft)
• "Fast & Furious 7" (i-Play)
• "Fight Game Rivals" (Rough Cookie)
• "Finger Physics" (Mobliss Inc.)
• "Flight Control" (Namco Bandai)
• "Flowerz" (Carbonated Games)
• "Frogger" (Konami Digital Entertainment)
• "Fruit Ninja" (Halfbrick)
• "Game Chest-Board" (MGS)
• "Game Chest-Card" (MGS)
• "Game Chest-Logic" (MGS)
• "Game Chest-Solitaire" (MGS)
• "GeoDefense" (Critical Thought)
• "Ghostscape" (Psionic)
• "Glow Artisan" (Powerhead Games)
• "Glyder 2" (Glu Mobile)
• "Guitar Hero 5" (Glu Mobile)
• "Halo Waypoint" (MGS)
• "Hexic Rush" (Carbonated Games)
• "I Dig It" (InMotion)
• "iBlast Moki" (Godzilab)
• "ilomilo" (MGS)
• "Implode XL" (IUGO)
• "Iquarium" (Infinite Dreams)
• "Jet Car Stunts" (True Axis)
• "Let's Golf 2" (Gameloft)
• "Little Wheel" (One click dog)
• "Loondon" (Flip N Tale)
• "Max and the Magic Marker" (PressPlay)
• "Mini Squadron" (Supermono Limited)
• "More Brain Exercise" (Namco Bandai)
• "O.M.G." (Arkedo)
• "Puzzle Quest 2" (Namco Bandai)
• "Real Soccer 2" (Gameloft)
• "The Revenants" (Chaotic Moon)
• "Rise of Glory" (Revo Solutions)
• "Rocket Riot" (Codeglue)
• "Splinter Cell Conviction" (Gameloft)
• "Star Wars: Battle for Hoth" (THQ)
• "Star Wars: Cantina" (THQ)
• "The Harvest" (MGS)
• "The Oregon Trail" (Gameloft)
• "Tower Bloxx NY" (Digital Chocolate)
• "Twin Blades" (Press Start Studio)
• "UNO" (Gameloft)
• "Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet" (i-Play)
• "Zombie Attack!" (IUGO)
• "Zombies!!!!" (Babaroga)

Looks like there should be something for everyone.

By Darren Quick, Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/xbox-live-launch-games-for-windows-phone-7/16052/

deviantART launches free HTML5 drawing app

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Digital artists will no doubt be excited to hear that the online art community deviantART has just released Muro, a free, web-based drawing tool. And as an added bonus, Muro is built with HTML5 (read, 'no flash') which means you can use your iPad as a drawing tablet.

Muro is surprisingly powerful for a web-app, with full-blown layer capabilities as well as multiple brushes. In addition, there is a 'basic/pro' toggle switch which allows you to close some features and make the canvas a little bit wider. The app is compatible with Wacom drawing tablets and works with the pressure sensitivity plugin.

"DeviantART Muro is pure fun for anyone," says Angelo Sotira, the company's cofounder. "But it's also a highly sophisticated application that will meet and exceed the needs of professionals in the arts. DeviantART Muro offers the best brushes for pressure sensitivity on the web, and because of its design, we can continually expand the tool's features and functions in response to user comments or to new devices, almost on the fly."

This stated intention to continually improve the drawing application based on user feedback is a great advantage for Muro moving into the future given that deviantART boasts over 14 million members.

While there are a number of web-based image editors and drawing applications online already (see Pixlr and Aviary), most of them are Flash-based. Besides Muro, Mugtug's Sketchpad application is another notable HTML5 alternative on the web, as well as Darkroom, Mugtug's online image editor.

And just a few hours ago Adobe announced that a free Photoshop Express app is now available for the iPad and iPhone. While it's not a dedicated drawing app, it might be a good solution to users who have grown comfortable with Adobe products.

But as far as online drawing applications go, Muro already ranks among the best available on the net.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/deviantart-launches-free-html5-drawing-app/16027/

WikiReader

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 WikiReader, the palm-sized device that makes Wikipedia entries available offline, has gone multilingual. In addition to being able to store the more than three million English language Wikipedia articles, users can now download any of 14 other language versions of Wikipedia along with the virtual keyboards with characters to support them.

The lightweight battery-operated “Wikipedia in your pocket” was designed to provide access to the wealth of information stored in the online collaborative encyclopedia without the need for Internet access. Now readers of Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Norwegian, Greek, French, Finnish, Danish, Dutch, German, Spanish, Welsh, Russian and Hungarian can download those language versions of Wikipedia for referencing on the go.

"Now virtually anyone around the world can use WikiReader to feed their thirst for knowledge," said Openmoko CEO, Sean Moss-Pultz. "We are dedicated to putting knowledge at the fingertips of inquiring minds from the heart of Manhattan to Madrid, even to remote mountains in Nepal, where WikiReaders are now being used in community centers."

Openmoko, creator of WikiReader, encourages the use of multiple language Wikis on a single microSD memory card or storing them on numerous MicroSD cards and swapping them out in the device’s microSD slot. Versions range from 32MB for the Chinese Wikipedia to 5GB for the English language Wikipedia. WikiReader currently supports microSD cards up to 16GB in size.

The International version WikiReader with an 8GB microSD card is available now for US$99.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/wikireader-goes-multilingual/16004/

USB 3.0 adapters

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TRENDnet releases USB 3.0 adapters for laptops and desktop PCs

If your PC is more than a few months old, it's unlikely that you have USB 3.0. An alternative way to get the benefits of the up to 4.8Gbps speeds on offer is to add a USB 3.0 adapter to your existing machine and TRENDnet has now entered this sector by offering a 2 port Express Card Module (TU3-H2EC) for laptops and a 2 port PCI-Express adaptor (TU3-H2PIE) for desktops.

The TU3-H2EC will plug into any free Express Card slot on your Windows based laptop. It comes with a power adaptor to power your USB 3.0 devices.

The TU3-H2PIE will connect to any free PCI-Express slot you have on your windows based PC. It has a 4-pin power connector that you have to plug into the internal power supply to power your device. It is backwards compatible to USB 2.0 so your older USB devices will still work.

Further Reading : Here

Kamra augmented reality mobile browser developer preview announced

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Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have announced the availability of a developer preview of Kamra, a mobile browser based on open web standards. The first augmented reality browser for the KHARMA (KML/HTML Augmented Reality Mobile Architecture) development platform, Kamra offers users multiple simultaneous augmented content overlayed on top of a live video scene.

The KHARMA platform allows for content creation using HTML and JavaScript web development tools already in widespread use and is said to cater for the overlay of almost any web technology into a live scene. At the heart of KHARMA is an extended version of a coding language currently used for such things as Google Earth, called Keyhole Markup Language (KML), which models and stores geographic features for display over a scene.

The platform has been built upon a framework of channel servers, infrastructure servers, geospot servers and an open source, standards-based mobile client. The Kamra browser allows users to open multiple augmented reality content channels, each of these being a URL that delivers visual additions to a live video scene and which could potentially interact with each other for an enhanced browsing experience.

Further Reading : Here

Dattoos would be the ultimate user/machine interface

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Five years ago, Frog Design founder Hartmut Esslinger envisioned a technology that “could influence notions of community, identity, and connectivity with minimal impact on the physical environment.” Using an online design portal, users would select and try out a customized electronic processing device that they would then print onto their own skin. The DNA Tattoo, or Dattoo, could include printable input/output tools such as a camera, microphone, or laser-loudspeaker – it would be up to the user, as would the Dattoo’s aesthetics.

Most intriguingly, it would capture its wearer’s DNA, to ensure an intimate user/machine relationship.
Conceived for the 2005 Forrester Consumer Forum, the Dattoo was a response to the still-increasing trend of self-expression through connectivity technology – in a sense, you could call it the ultimate smart phone skin. The idea was to “realize a state of constant, seamless connectivity and computability requir[ing] the convergence of technology and self.” This meant that the body itself would need to become the interface, and would supply the required energy. Because Dattoos would largely replace three-dimensional tools such as smart phones or laptops, the environment would be spared the costs of producing, transporting and disposing of those items.

Further Reading : Here

iPhone FaceTime not just for faces, declares phone sex industry

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Steve Jobs has done his level best to keep pornography and adult content out of the iPhone App Store, but if the history of the Internet has shown us one thing, it's that any attempt to place a wall between porn and the raging tide of user erections is the definition of futility – for each one you strike down, another one springs up stronger than the first. So it will come as little surprise that the adult industry has scrambled to take advantage of the new iPhone 4's ability to make face-to-face – or face-to-other-bits videocalls.

Can Apple's FaceTime do for videocalling what its iPad has done for tablet PCs? Videophone technology has been a recurring theme in sci-fi over the years, but it's been available for a long time now and the vast majority of calls are still voice-only.

Still, there's one sector of the tech industry that seems to be able to run with new technology faster than any other – and the adult entertainment business has clearly seen a big opportunity in the launch of Apple's iPhone 4, complete with front-facing camera and the FaceTime videocalling app.

Phone sex lines are surprisingly popular, representing a multi-billion dollar industry in the USA alone – and it seems savvy operators have been placing employment ads on various online boards looking for presentable young women to act as FaceTime video phone sex operators.

Presentable is a key term here – this isn't the sort of phone sex job where you could get away with taking calls in fluffy slippers, a bathrobe and curlers… except on very particular fetish lines.

And the technology itself presents a few new challenges that even webcam girls will be unfamiliar with – the front-facing camera on the iPhone 4 is pretty much designed to capture only your face when you're looking at the screen in a videocall… point it at other parts of your anatomy, as callers will no doubt demand, and you won't be able to see what's going on.

I'm sure the ingenuity of the horny will shine through – this is an obvious use of the technology, with Apple's track record and the new iPhone's massive sales suggesting there will be a significant pool to draw a market from – and if there's one thing that can be relied on, it's that randy, lonely men will happily spend money on self-gratification.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/apple-facetime-phone-sex-video/15910/

Kindle DX

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The graphite and display overhaul that Amazon gave its Kindle DX earlier in the month has now been applied to its third generation 6-inch model. The new Kindle will be available with 3G and Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi only, is 15 percent lighter and 21 percent smaller than its predecessor but still retains the 6-inch display and now comes with double the storage capacity.

The 6-inch Kindle will now be available in two options, one with 3G and Wi-Fi and one with Wi-Fi only. The 3G model weighs 8.7 ounces and retains the pencil-like thinness of the previous generation. The Wi-Fi only model is similarly 1/3 of an inch thin but is marginally lighter at just 8.5 ounces. Either way, both models come in lighter than a paperback and thinner than a magazine.

Further Reading : Here

Pandigital

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This article discusses 7-inch color e-reader gets B&N eBookstore integration.
Pandigital digital photo frame manufacturer has announced its entry into the world of e-readers with a novel seven-inch color complete. Readers Android-based multi-touch features gigabytes of internal memory, supported by Mobile ARM processor and has two modes of reading. Users will also benefit from corporate partnerships with Barnes & Noble, provides access to over one million titles as well as services such as book-borrowing LendMe technology.

For the first dip into e-reader market, Pandigital has managed to print a partnership agreement with Barnes & Noble to allow users access to B & N eBookstore and related services. And more than half a million free-to-download classical, e-book service allows users to search, purchase and download the magazine, newspaper and book title with a WiFi connection in seconds.

7-inch 800 x 600 color touchscreen LCD multimedia display novel features edge-to-edge glass, an automatic orientation sensor for portrait and landscape adjustment, SD / MMC card slot for expanding on 1GB internal memory and a mini-USB 2.0 port for direct connection to a computer or laptop. This is supported by the ARM 11 processor running 800MHz Mobile 2-based Android operating system.

In addition to 802.11b/g/n wireless connectivity, this device also benefits from an onboard dictionary, font size can be adjusted, some bookmarks, web browser and email application, a multimedia player, alarm clock, calendar, and, naturally, can be used as a photo viewer also. The 5.5 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches, 16 ounces reader supports most of the common formats including ePub, PDF, HTML, MP3, AAC, JPEG, PNG and MPEG4 video. The battery is said about six hours.

Has a color LCD screen is perhaps more direct response than the Kindle and angle iPad, the benefits of this type of rack, and the contrast is better than e-Ink display. night mode read The novel is able to offer some relief for tired eyes though, inverting the text and background colors to see more wisely.

The novel will be available in early June for U.S. $ 199.99, which includes display stand, USB cable and power adapter.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/pandigital-novel-ereader-announced/15233/

Green IT

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This article give you tips : 5 Steps to Green IT .

The greening of the technology industry is a trend thats developing with impressive velocity, and with good reason. According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, e-waste is the fastest-growing part of the waste stream, and the Environmental Protection Agency estimates e-waste accounts for 2 percent of the municipal solid waste stream in the United States.

Whats more, the toxicity of many materials that drive modern IT operations means that e-waste can end up exacting a higher toll on public health than its 2 percent share would suggest. More than 1,000 chemicals used during electronics production, such as lead, mercury and cadmium, have been linked to cancer, reproductive problems and other illnesses.

Meanwhile, now that technology is as essential to enterprises as the air we breathe, the demand on our power grids has forced technology companies to begin creating and manufacturing more energy-efficient and sustainable products to reduce power consumption.

Certainly, there are environmental reasons for going green, but a green focus also can result in significant savings. Whereas in 1996, when IT departments spent 17 cents of every dollar powering and cooling a new server, IT departments 10 years later were shelling out 48 cents per dollar, according to a September 2006 IDC report. IDC also predicts that number will grow to 70 cents per dollar by 2010. Whatever the goals, IT managers have more options than ever for getting their companies thinking and acting green. eWeek Labs has created the following guide that will help make your company a better friend not only to the planet but also to your organizations pocketbook.

Further Reading : Here

The Top Ten Emerging Information Technology 2010

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Moving into a new decade, technology is only going to become more advanced, and with that, more services are needed to support new technology and its infrastructure. Businesses must use technology to stay in operation and be profitable, but even more; they must be using the newest technology that fits their needs so that they have a competitive advantage and remain profitable. This is especially important in a tough economy as Ann Bednarz highlights in her piece on technology industry trends; if you’re selling to the enterprise, ROI will be crucial to making a sale in 2010 as budgets become tighter and tighter.

When selling an enterprise technology solution, you must communicate how your solution is going to help the customer solve a problem or an opportunity. These technology trends were identified using current business drivers within Fortune 1000 companies and what they’re saying they need to fix or expand in 2010. These are areas will not only be important next year, but over the course of the next few years, and they will have a profound impact on how businesses operate and where they spend their IT budgets.

• Cloud Computing
• Green IT (data center greening, desktop power use)
• Mobile Devices (laptops, smartphones)
• Virtualization
• Security Compliance (government regulations, data breaches)
• IT Cost Optimization
• Outsourcing and Insourcing (service providers)
• Software as a Service (SaaS) (software via the internet)
• E-Commerce
• Grid Computing

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_D_Pickering

Fits.me virtual fitting room: say goodbye to clothing size mishaps

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If you’re like me, the idea of clothes shopping – let alone having to try on multiple sizes of shirts in a tiny dressing room – is downright tedious and a waste of my precious time. So you’ll understand my interest in the Fits.me virtual fitting room. It’s an online changing room where you simply enter your sizing statistics and a robotic mannequin models how various sizes will look on your torso – all from the comfort of your own home.
The Fits.me is a sizing solution developed for online retailers. By providing an online dressing room, it aims to help customers make more informed decisions about their online purchases, increase customer satisfaction and maybe reduce purchase returns due to incorrect sizing.

The customer enters their body measurements – chest, waist, height, arm length and torso type. Then the robotic mannequin proceeds to adjust to the exact size and shape of the customer. Now all that is left to do is to choose a size from small to extra extra large. The customer then sees photos of the mannequin modeling the various sizes of clothing. A front and side view and arm length information is also included. Want a shirt to fit more snugly around the chest? Decrease the shirt size and see what happens. Indulged a little too much lately? Increase the waist measurement and see how that sweater looks now.

At this stage, the Fits.me system is only available for men, but a female fitting room is expected soon. Could this signal the end of strangers taking your inner leg measurement? See Fits.me to try out the virtual fitting room.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/fitsme-virtual-fitting-room-say-goodbye-to-clothing-size-mishaps/15791/

The ten worst passwords on the web, and why you really should read this article

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You’re not fooling anyone with that “123456” password of yours. “Password” isn’t much better, and sorry ladies, but “princess” is also no good. These are among the findings in a report released by Imperva, a data security firm that analyzed 32 million passwords recently exposed in the Rockyou.com breach. Not only did they identify the most common, and thus easily-guessable passwords, but they also suggested some effective methods for creating secure ones.

Rockyou.com is a website where users can develop apps to use on social networking sites. Last December, a hacker gained access to all of Rockyou’s members’ usernames, email addresses and passwords (which had been stored in plain, unencrypted text) and posted the passwords to the Internet. Given that many people use the same username and password for all of their online dealings, such as banking, the results could have been disastrous. Fortunately, the perpetrator seemed to be mainly interested in exposing Rockyou’s insufficient security, as they didn’t post the usernames or emails.

Imperva analyzed the hacked data, and compiled their findings in the Consumer Password Worst Practices report. Of the 32 million passwords involved, the ten most common were:

• 123456
• 12345
• 123456789
• Password
• iloveyou
• princess
• rockyou
• 1234567
• 12345678
• abc123

It was found that almost half of the members used names, slang words, proper words, or trivial passwords such as consecutive digits, or adjacent keys on the keyboard.
So, what sort of password SHOULD people be using?
Imperva made the following recommendations:

• It should contain at least eight characters (30% of users had passwords that were six letters or less)
• It should contain a mix of four different types of characters (i.e: upper case, lower case, numbers, symbols)
• It should not be a name, word, or contain any part of your name or email address

The report also suggests using a different password for every website, not sharing your passwords with third parties, and using the first letters of each word in a sentence as your password (For instance, “this little piggy went to market” would be “tlpWENT2m”).

“The data provides a unique glimpse into the way that users select passwords and an opportunity to evaluate the true strength of passwords as a security mechanism,” said Imperva CTO Amichai Shulman. “Never before has there been such a high volume of real-world passwords to examine.”

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/worst-passwords-on-the-web/13960/

ipad

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Apple has announced that its iPad will be available in an additional nine countries from Friday, July 23. All varieties of both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models will hit Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore.

The release will bring to 19 the number of countries where the iPad is available, following the initial US release on April 30 and the May 28 release to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK that was initially delayed due to US customers snapping up the bulk of stock.

Just 80 days after its initial US release Apple had notched up sales of three million of the devices, putting paid to speculation from pundits before its release that consumers might not embrace a device that sits somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop.

If you’re one of those still questioning the benefits of the iPad check out our hands-on iPad review.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/ipad-release-for-nine-more-countries/15763/

Samsung's Galaxy Beam Smart Projector Phone

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Samsung's Galaxy Beam Smart Projector Phone will be available in Singapore to StarHub customers from July 17. The unit will feature a built-in Texas Instruments DLP Pico Projector which will enable you to project from your phone onto a wall. There's also Offline and No SIM modes, Hand Writing Recognition (English and Simplified Chinese), RSS Reader, Mobile Widgets and much more. This is going to be an amazing new product – it might be worth taking a trip to Singapore just to have a look at one!
Let’s get straight into the specifications:

• Display - 3.7 inch WVGA Super AMOLED
• Camera - 8.0 mega-pixel camera with auto focus and flash
• Projector - Texas Instruments DLPPico Projector
• OS - Android 2.1
• Network - HSUPA 5.76 Mbps / HSDPA 7.2Mbps, 3G (900, 1900, 2100 MHz), EDGE, GPRS
• Video - MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivX, Xvid
• Audio - MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
• Connectivity - Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, DLNA, Mobile AP (wireless internet tethering), TV out, GPS
• Battery - 1800 mAh battery, 7 hours (3G) talk time and 530 hours (3G) standby time

Now comes the fun part. What the phone can do? With the Galaxy Beam, you will be able to project your images and videos onto any flat surface, so you can share your media with a group of people all at once, making it great for business meetings. You will also be able to project streamed media from your phone such as videos, so if you find yourself at a friend’s house with your favorite program about to start and they don’t have the Discovery channel, you can whip out your Samsung Galaxy Beam and save the day.
The Texas Instruments Pico Projector has the ability to project a screen as small as 5 inches and as big as 50 inches.

StarHub will be the first operator globally to launch the Galaxy Beam. The phone will make use of the Android platform (V2.1) and will come with apps such as the StarHub Mobile TV app.
It will also come with the augmented reality browser, Layar. With Layar you will be able to find restaurants and bars, find your way home, find which bands are playing in the area, the list goes on.
The Galaxy Beam will only be available to StarHub customers in Singapore, so to the rest of us, patience is a virtue. If you are in Singapore you can get one starting from $0 (on selected StarHub plans of course). Drooling yet? I am quite excited about this one and I cannot wait to see it in action. Samsung via Phones Online.

Article Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/samsung-galaxy-beam-smart-projector-phone-gt-i8520/15737/

IBM hot water-cooled supercomputer

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IBM has announced that its first-of-a-kind hot water-cooled supercomputer has been installed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich). Named the Aquasar, the system not only consumes up to 40 per cent less energy than an air-cooled machine but the direct utilization of waste heat in the building's heating system translates to an 85 per cent cut in carbon dioxide emissions.

During warm summer months, one of the best places to work is in the server room of a networked office building or data center that uses cool air to prevent processor overheating. Such systems though are not too energy efficient so IBM started on a novel approach to cooling servers about a year ago as part of an initiative to create new technologies to solve business problems. Using warm water as a coolant might seem counter intuitive but the results speak for themselves.

Read More Here !

Free Parking Spot Locator

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It’s a frustrating situation. You’re aimlessly circling the blocks, hoping to stumble across a free parking space, but with no clue as to where such a space might be. Well, as we so often like to say here at Gizmag – “A new invention could change that.” Researchers from Spain’s Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have helped develop a system that detects free parking spots, then guides drivers to the closest ones using a process that’s reportedly better than GPS.

The system is known as XALOC, which stands for (are you ready?) Xarxes de sensors per a la gestió d’Aparcaments públics i LOCalització. For those two or three readers not fluent in Catalan, that translates to “sensor networks for the management of public parking and location.”

Each parking spot in the system has a wireless sensor on the ground, in the middle of the space. These sensors can tell whether or not their space is occupied, and transmit that information to a central data station via the Internet. This information is processed, then sent to display panels on the streets, that indicate the locations of the current free parking spaces.

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Invisible Computer Mouse

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Pranav Mistry, Pattie Maes and Liyan Chang from MIT's Media Lab have managed to create an invisible computer mouse for just a few dollars. Using an Infrared laser and tracking camera, the Mouseless system registers and interprets a user's hand movement and translates it into onscreen actions such as cursor movement and button clicking.

While others take the familiar input peripheral to new levels by cramming as many buttons as possible onto it or making the surface available for multi-touch interaction or even moving the whole experience to the end of a user's leg, Pranav Mistry and colleagues have dispensed with its physical form altogether.

With their Mouseless prototype, a user's hand movements are tracked with a line-capped Infrared laser beam and an Infrared camera. The beam's plane is aimed just above the surface of the user area and when the user cups the hand, as if holding a physical mouse, this breaks the beam at the points where each finger touches the surface The camera then registers and interprets the changing field shapes and translates them into movement or action, such as clicking and double-clicking.

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Yolink: Searching Beyond Search Results

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Search is one of the main tasks performed online, and yet often it doesn't work as well as it should. Take, for example, the common experience of "back-clicking," when a user has to return to the results page several times before finding the information she's looking for. According to a 2009 comScore survey, 30 percent of searches are abandoned in frustration, and two-thirds of the rest required users to refine their queries before getting the desired result.

A new product called Yolink, which launched this week, aims to help users figure out which search results are most relevant. It does this by looking at the contents of the Web pages that a list of search result link to. The company bills itself as a step toward semantic search, because it attempts to find meaning in the contents of a Web page. And it can do this even though most pages aren't marked up in the formats typically used to help machines interpret content. The product is made by TigerLogic, a company based in Irvine, CA.


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Micro Book

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The MicroBook from MOTU aims to bring professional level studio recording capabilities to a Mac or PC computer. The bus-powered USB interface offers users up to four simultaneous inputs as well as a host of studio mixing tools and audio analyzers. It uses industry standard Mac and PC drivers to ensure maximum software compatibility and is small and light enough to fit in a pocket.

Despite its compact size, the MicroBook audio interface packs in some mighty studio quality recording tools for musicians on-the-go or would-be engineers. It can record up to four inputs simultaneously from dedicated guitar and mic sockets at the front and a couple of line-in sockets to the rear. Audio is output via balanced TRS quarter-inch main outs, stereo "mini" line out, S/PDIF digital out, and phones.

Further Reading:
http://www.gizmag.com/microbook-personal-bus-powered-usb-recording-studio/15596/

America's Broadband Dilemma

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For millions of people around the world, broadband Internet access is big part of modern life. We download movies and music, play online games, share photos, and upload information to social-networking sites--all at ever-increasing speeds.

Rates of at least 50 megabits per second--enough to download a DVD-quality movie in about 10 minutes--have become mainstream in cities from Seoul to Stockholm. In the United States, however, the broadband landscape is different: the average download speed is about 10 megabits per second, according to the broadband testing firm Ookla, and only 23 people in 100 have broadband subscriptions, according to the International Telecommunications Union (see "The Global Broadband Spectrum").

Statistics from the Organization for Economic Coöperation and Development rank the United States behind more than a dozen other countries--including South Korea, Japan, Canada, the U.K., Sweden, and Belgium--in both broadband penetration and average advertised speed.

Further Reading: here

A software that make PC Working While Sleeping?

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A particularly troubling aspect of enterprise computer deployment is the need for end user machines to remain switched on day and night. Fully on mind you, not in low power sleep mode. Computer scientists from the University of California, San Diego have developed a software solution which allows PCs to remain on the network even when placed in sleep mode at the end of a working day. The software creates a virtual representation of the computer on the server to handle many of the common overnight tasks, only waking up the physical machine at pre-programmed commands or when it encounters something that it can't deal with itself.

Dubbed "sleep-working" by the scientists who created the SleepServer software, the solution ensures that PCs remain connected and available on a network even after users have placed the machines in low-power mode. The software creates a lightweight virtual image of each computer in an enterprise environment. When a user places a machine in sleep mode at the end of a working day, the SleepServer software activates and the virtual PC image masquerades as the physical PC on the server, responding to network events on behalf of the dozing computer.

Further Reading:

http://www.gizmag.com/computer-sleep-mode-active-server-software/15539/