|
|
March 02 
MSN has decided to reevaluate how to market these filter blogs. And in the interim they're shutting us down. Naturally, I've still got to have somewhere to wax technical, so if you want more gadget posts, tech news and similar info, head over to Nerds of the North. That's me and fellow geek, Sasquatch Venezia, getting into all kinds of geek trouble (hint: we're going to rewire a Prius in a few weeks).
Meantime, thanks for reading Technology Filter and maybe we'll all get together here again in the future.
Posted by Oliver
- Web 2.0 apps still struggling. In yet another attempt to keep up with the Web 2.0 hype, Adobe moved a version of its Photoshop photo processing software online. But though the concept was cool from a programmer's perspective, it didn't do much for photographers. Seem they prefer the old-fashioned way. (Source: InformationWeek)
- Mystery of Peru's 13 towers solved. Scientists say they've figured out what those 13 stone towers in Peru have been doing there for the last 2400 years. Turns out they're some kind of solar observatory. Seems watching the sun is popular in Peru, since there's an even older observatory in Lima. (Source: Playfuls)
- Microsoft not innovative enough? The EU has found a new reason to nuke Microsoft. In its recent statement regarding its objections to Microsoft pertaining to the EU's 2004 antitrust ruling, they've decided that Microsoft has completed the interoperability information required, but that the communications protocols it uses in Windows aren't innovative enough for Microsoft to be charging royalites for their use. Basically, that things like TCP/IP networking and Kerberos encryption are technologies that are freely available, so why should Microsoft charge for them. Someone in Redmond is popping Advils. (Source: BetaNews)
- Treo to move to Finland? Seems Nokia is in talks to buy Palm, the maker of the Treo smartphone. Palm's been trying to find someone to buy it for some time and recently Nokia has come out as the leading suitor. Seems a strange move for them, tho, since Nokia already has smartphone market share and an excellent product line all its own. Then again, maybe they're just tryigng to grab the Palm OS since their own smartphone OS isn't nearly as popular among third-party developers. (Source: InfoWorld)
March 01 
Sony's managed a software update for all those folks who braved the bad press and bought a PlayStation 3 anyway. The new firmware is version 1.54. It doesn't have anything massively new, but there's good news if you're using your PS3's WiFi abilities. The new firmware supports better security in the form of TKIP and WPA-PSK as well as AOSS (for use with Buffalo hardware).
On the usage side, they've added the ability to use a picture as an avatar and support for video chat with a USB camera. It's a pretty big file, so download 'em while it's hot, just click here.
Posted by Oliver 
Apple COO Timothy Cook was recently quoted as saying the iPhone wouldn't have any problem selling because the populace at large feels that free cell phones are "worthless." Those are the cell phones you get with the $29.99 limited-minutes basic cell phone plan that the guy in the Verizon store is trained to talk you out of.
Now those phones don't have what the iPhone does. No cool touch display, no music or movie playing ability, no ability to easily sync with your email reader or your contact database, and darn sure no way to surf the Web. But is that what people who look at these plans are really seeking? I don't think so. I think all they want is a phone they can put in their pocket.
And what do these phones do nowadays--still more than a basic cell phone 10 years ago, that's what. Cell phone clarity is good, coverage is...well, let's say better than 10 years ago, and most of them have an internal contact database, advanced phone features like caller ID and call waiting. And some of the $49.99 jobs also have a camera, the ability to surf the cell provider's internal wireless data network (not the Web, but it's got stuff on it) and if you buy a third-party syncing program, you can even sync them to the calendar and contact software on your PC.
Frankly, that's quite a bit for $50. Now here comes the Apple iPhone and its competitors from companies like Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and more. All these phones sport way cool media features and PDA-style abilities. They also sport price tags from $199 to $499. And that's just the base phone. Add on an extra long-life battery, a car charger and hands-free set, a Bluetooth headset and a decent carrying case and you're up between $300 and $600.
So which would you choose. I'm a geek, so I'm naturally drawn to the data-type phone. But if I could suppress my nerd-like nature, I'd realize that the times I use my data phone for real data purposes are still fairly rare. And that if I actually use its media abilities for an hour or so I'd better have an extra battery in my pocket or I won't be talking to anybody.
So is that kind of reality going to catch up to the iPhone? I predict a wash. The Apple name will carry its sales in the short term, right after its release. But if it doesn't solve the battery problem and doesn't really offer anything that a $199 smart phone doesn't then it's going to have problems long-term.
Posted by Oliver Tech Term of the Day: Looking for a new email service? Likely, you're using a POP3 account, but just as likely that you've seen an offering for IMAP. That's the Internet Message Access Protocol, and it's definitely a step up from POP3. Currently in version 4, IMAP accounts allow you to read and manipulate your messages without having to download all of them. You can also create folders and even screen your emails using things like the subject line. Bottom line: IMAP is better.
- More Second Life goodies. The Web's second-fastest growing virtual world, Second Life, is going to add voice over IP functionality. This means more than being able to use a virtual phone. It means that your SL avatar will be able to use VoIP to actually talk to another SL avatar--no matter where that avatar's human user might really be. Purty cool, but they better manage that network pretty carefully. (Source: MSNBC)
- The Weather Channel gets local. To make users feel more..at home, The Weather Channel has partnered with Microsoft to offer detailed road maps online combined with satellite weather imagery. So you not only know what the weather's like in your part of the state, you know what it's like on your particular street. (Source: MSNBC)
- SimCity goes dual screen. The venerable SimCity franchise is coming back for yet another version, and this time Electronic Arts is giving it the dual screen treatment. It's called SimCity DS and that stands for the Nintendo DS for which the game is being specifically built. No word on when it'll be on the PC platfrom. But in addition to multiple screens, you'll also get more interactivity in the form of trading city data with other SimCity DS players online, and things like blowing into your microphone to put out fires. Gonna have to try that to see if it's cool or just dorky. (Source: IGN)
- Leakage on Firefox 3.0. The current Firefox 2.0 browser is darn skippy, but in anticipation of an explosion of Web 2.0 applications, the folks at Mozilla are giving it a serious overhaul for version 3.0, due out later this year. It's in alpha right now, but the gearheads at Mozilla are claiming they intend to build the browser so it can run Web apps that will perform as smoothly as regular desktop apps. More power to 'em. (Source: InfoWorld)
Posted by Oliver February 28 Tech Term of the Day: You've heard about it, but what exactly is Open Source? You've probably heard it as a quick way to get free software, but it's a bit more involved. This term refers to principles that outline a different way to distribute software. YOu build some software under open source and when you distribute it you must make the source code--the stuff your programmers actually wrote--available to the public. Other folks can then use that source code in their own projects and even modify it as long as they also submit those changes for modification. No one can use your source code in a straight commercial product, that's against all open source licensing agreements. There are over 50 different open source licenses, however, though most of them agree on the rules above. How do open source companies make money? They don't charge for software, they charge for support.
- Ozzie comments on Google. Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief technical officer, came out and commented on Google publicly. He says watching the Googlers rake in all that ad money was a wake-up call for Microsoft, but that Redmond won't simply follow Google. Hey says they're laying the groundwork for new online technologies all their. Wonder if this will be a new round in the battle for control of the Internet. (Source: MSNBC)
- Space debris a real threat to ISS. A recent study did some math on the likelihood of a some kinf of space debris tagging the International Space Station, penetrating its hull and pretty much taking it out. Turns out that math says there's about a 55% chance of this little disaster occurring. Someone needs to invent shields. (Source: MSNBC)
- Corel dubuts free WordPerfect in beta. Everyone's hopping on the Web 2.0 pie, so why not Corel. The company just released a version of its venerable WordPerfect word processor in a free version with both online and offline functionality. The version is still in beta, but expect to see a load of press on it in the next few days. (Source: BetaNews)
- Addicted to your BlackBerry? Check out CrackBerry. A new site launched today, CrackBerry.com, that's aimed at helping BlackBerry addicts, users and abusers, to find help separating themselves from their digital additictions. You can find folks with similar problems, find articles on helping yourself and discussion threads where you can discuss how strange you are in a really cutting-edge way. (Source: PC World)
Posted by Oliver February 27 Tech Term of the Day: (I wonder if I'll be able to sell these next year on one of those once-a-day calendars. Probably not. Sigh.) It's called Usenet and it's the ancestor of all those innovative 'social' networking sites popping up today--including Spaces, by the way. Usenet is just a huge library of discussion threads on all kinds of topics, anything from science to religion to hobbies to new kinds of porno. All this stuff is stored on a vast arsenal of private and commercial servers around the globe. Accessing these discussions requires a special kind of reader software (sometimes part of your browser [Firefox] or maybe regular email program [Outlook 2007; Thunderbird]) called, appropriately enough, a news reader. Plug this in, get a subscription to one of these news servers and you get access to this huge library of discussion threads with names like alt.binaries.misc.woodworking. Complex names, but still pretty easy to see that this one would include lots of tool nerds like me messaging each other about woodworking in general. Because it requires special software and a subscription to a news server, however, Usenet is fast losing popularity to blogging sites or social networking sites, which are mostly free and usable with just a Web browser. But it's far from dead today, so if you're interested in making new friends, get a news reader and check it out.
- Environmentalists get trendy. Guess they got tired of infomercials on Animal Planet. So environmentalists are spreading awareness another way: cell phone ring tones. Call me and my phone rings the theme to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Call a cell phone using one of these greentones and you might hear the snarl of a tiger or the grunting of a chimpanzee. Okaaayyyy. (Source: MSNBC)
- Apple TV gets delayed till March. Stevie Jobs hyped a home entertainment gadget a little while back, called Apple TV. Just a box that would stream TV and home media content to your computer from your television using your home network or the Internet. Supposed to be out now, but now not till March. That's pretty close, but if you absolutely must have this feature today, check out the original TV streaming gadget: the Slingbox. Their Mac client just got done, so you're good to go. I think it's cheaper, too. (Source: MSNBC)
- More MP3 patent madness. Now another patent troll company has gotten into the act. It's a small Texas-based firm, called Texas MP3; and it's just filed patent infringement suits based on patents it says it bought from SigmaTel, apparently another little-known MP3 pioneer. Armed with these patents, this new company is suing Apple, Samsung and SanDisk. Not sure what would happent to us if they actually won--'cause I ain't giving up my 22GB of MP3s. (Source: BetaNews)
- SanDisk builds a read-only Flash card. Despite the HUGE <g> threat posed by the above Texas patent troll, SanDisk has managed to keep rolling out products. The next one to come down the pike will be SanDisk's read-only flash memory card, aimed at digi-cams. Why? Because it'll be able to store photos without degradation for 100 years. Pretty cool backup device. Just have to build a new kind of photo album to hold those things. (Source: PC Mag)
Posted by Oliver February 26 
I think someone else was selling software to do this earlier last year, but this is an online service that doesn't require any software purchasing. Just upload the photo you'd like to poster-ize to BlockPosters, then decide how many 8.5-11" sheets of paper you want to spread it across (the site has guidelines). Click enter and BlockPosters converts your image into an Adobe Acrobat file (.PDF) which has the photo cut up into the required number of pages. Open the PDF in Acrobat and hit 'print'. Your poster gets printed page by page. Taping it together is your problem, tho.
Posted by Oliver Tech Term of the Day: It's a history lesson. There once was a man named Norm Abramson--no, not the New Yankee Workshop guy, that's Norm Abrams. Abramson was a computer scientist who wanted to surf, so he moved to Honolulu. The ocean kind of surfing; the Internet hadn't been invented in the late 1960s. But that other kind of surfing was on Abramson's subconscious so he invented something called ALOHAnet. One of the first computer networks, it was ALOHAnet's protocols that formed the basis for what we now call Ethernet, the stuff that largely powers the Internet and your home networks. Another reason to love Hawaii.
- Surveillance cams hype their smarts again. Companies making surveillance cameras are partnering with bleeding-edge software companies to bring Big Brother all kinds of new smart eye capabilities. So a computer analyzing images sent by a surveillance cam might soon be able to know how tall and heavy you are (not too hard nowadays) or analyze how you're walking and estimate the chances you're hiding something (that's the hype). I use the word hype there because the last time they pushed this it was facial recognition. And that didn't work too well in the real world. Guess we'll see how they do this time. (Source: MSNBC)
- NASA spells out how to control flaky astronauts. So Britney's self-inflicted skull buzzing didn't quite drive the NASA kook story out of the news. Could have, but NASA went and leaked their procedures for dealing with loopy astronauts--not in general, just in space. Not too sophisticated, by the way. Lots about tying them up with duct tape or bungee cords and maybe hitting them with tranquilizers. (Wasn't that what they did in Armageddon?) (Source: MSNBC)
- A search engine for Web videos. Seems everything is getting its own search engine these days. This one is by a company called Blinkx, and what that startup has done is build a search engine specifically designed to let you find whatever Web video you're looking for. Based their search tech on actually searching inside the video data rather than just associated text and tags. (Source: New York Times)
- BitTorrent links up with Hollywood. If you haven't used BitTorrent then just imagine a giant menu of ripped CDs, DVDs, software, even books and other sundries all available for free download from random sites around the globe. All spread around the Web in such a hopeless tangle of peer-to-peer hosts that authorities have no chance of trapping the content pirates. Well, BitTorrent just made a deal with Hollywood to open its own digital content store, featuring officially sanctioned content from the big movie and record houses...for sale, not free download. No word that the original BitTorrent network will die, but we'll see what happens. (Source: Variety)
Posted by Oliver February 23 Tech Term of the Day: It's Wine. Sure, one definition is the delicious grape-based beverage that sometimes makes life bearable. But it's also an emulation technology that lets Unix folks run Windows application on operating systems like Linux.
- Alberta boys heavy porn users. A study shows that 13-year-old Alberta boys have used porn more times than they can count because their parents aren't paying attention. 'Course, I sincerely doubt this relegated either to Alberta or 13-year-old boys. (Source: MSNBC)
- Chimps learning about tools. While 13-year-old Canadian boys are devolving, scientists are watching chimps evolve; finding out that the primates are fashioning spears to hunt smaller animals for meat. It also looks like real new behavior since the adult males aren't doing it, only the younger adolescent males and females. Hey, it's a technology story. Just a really early technology story. (Source: MSNBC)
- Microsoft down another $1.5 billion. Ouch. Alcatel-Lucent filed suit against Microsoft recently regarding some supposed infringements by Microsoft on patents owned by Alcatel-Lucent. Those patents regarded MP3 technology, and it turns out they were true enough to cost Redmond a billion and a half in damages. (Source: InfoWorld)
- Reward for VA hard drive. The Birmingham Alabama VA Medical Center apparently lost an external hard drive last week. Not that big a deal except it carries personal info on about a half million people. So the FBI is investigating and the hospital is now offering a $25,000 reward for return of the drive. Just hope whoever returns it doesn't just copy the whole thing first. Gonna be a hell of a HIPAA audit for that hospital. (Source: BetaNews)
Posted by Oliver
|
|
|
|
technology filterProfileFriendsBlogMore 
Tools 
Profile
Blog
Lists
Friends
