19212576
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geek4 writes:
Microsoft plans to introduce multi-tasking and IE9 to Windows Phone in 2011
Microsoft is planning to introduce multi-tasking and full integration with Internet Explorer 9 in future updates to its Windows Phone mobile operating system later this year.
During a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that the company planned to make Internet a “first-class citizen” on the phone, bringing together HTML5 support and powerful graphics hardware acceleration, designed to drastically improve user experience.
IE9 on Windows Phone will use the same core browsing engine as on PCs, offering super-fast web surfing and helping to build its strength against other mobile platforms.
Multi-tasking
Microsoft also talked about the importance of multi-tasking, and claims it can now offer fast task switching without causing serious detriment to the battery life. In particular, Microsoft said, this will improve the experience of using third party applications.
In a demo, a Microsoft engineer showed how a music application called ‘Slacker’ could keep music playing in the background while the user moved between different applications. By holding down the ‘back’ button, users can also see all their recently accessed applications, allowing them to switch easily between them.
“People want a phone that makes information much more accessible,” said Ballmer (above). “The market has been swamped with phones with fairly similar design. Users just see a sea of icons. Our smart design improves user experience.”
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GMGruman writes:
The high-speed trading exchanges that conduct the business of buying and selling stocks and mutual funds are so fast that hackers can introduce delays of a few microseconds completely unnoticed by today's network monitoring technology — and manipulate prices in the process to reap millions of dollars to the detriment of everyone else, InfoWorld's Bill Snyder reports. This kind of activity creates new reason to distrust Wall Street and shows how the computer networks we all rely on for conducting business and moving information are ripe for undetectable hacking.
18253950
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geek4 writes:
hjhjhIBM predicts holographic phones by 2015, batteries charged by air, cities heated by servers, and more
In 2015, we will be using mobile phones that will project a 3D holographic image of callers, claims IBM in a list of predictions of future technologies culled from a survey of 3,000 IBM scientists. 3D displays are also the focus of work between Intel and Nokia in the development of a holographic interface.
Cities heated by servers and advanced city traffic monitoring are also listed as being among the prevalent technologies of the next five years, according to a Bloomberg article.
17841232
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geek4 writes:
Automatically routed canisters could replace lorries with an Internet of things, says Foodtubes
A group of academics is proposing a system of underground tunnels which could deliver food and other goods in all weathers with massive energy savings.
The Foodtubes group wants to put goods in metal capsules 2m long, which are shifted through underground polyethylene tubes at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, directed by linear induction motors and routed by intelligent software to their destinations.
The group, which includes an Oxford physics professor and logistics experts, wants £15 million to build a £5 mile test circuit, and believes the scheme could fund itself if used by large supermarkets and local councils, and could expand because it uses an open architecture.
17564818
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geek4 writes:
A Dutch company has launched what it calls “the world’s simplest phone”, targeting users who are sick of new-generation models
Only capable of making and receiving calls, John’s Phone is dubbed the world’s simplest mobile phone, specifically designed for anti-smartphones users.
It does not provide any hi-tech features. No apps. No Internet. No camera. No text messaging. All you have to do – in fact, all you can do – is call, talk and hang up.
Named after the company that created it – John Doe, a full-service advertising agency in Amsterdam – the phone is designed for users who are fed up with smartphones and their hi-tech functions.
Its extreme simplicity is designed to appeal to technophobes, the elderly and young kids buying their first phones.
17315706
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geek4 writes:
An analysis of Google Android Froyo's open source kernel has uncovered 88 critical flaws that could expose users' personal information
An analysis of the kernel used in Google’s Android smartphone software has turned up 88 high-risk security flaws that could be used to expose users’ personal information, security firm Coverity said in a report published on Tuesday.
The results, published in the 2010 edition of the Coverity Scan Open Source Integrity Report, are based on an analysis of the Froyo kernel used in HTC’s Droid Incredible handset.
Enterprise fears
The results arrive as Android is increasing its market share and increasingly being used in the enterprise.
While Android implementations vary from device to device, Coverity said the same flaws were likely to exist in other handsets as well. Coverity uncovered a total of 359 bugs, about one-quarter of which were classified as high-risk.Link to Original Source
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cgriffin21 writes:
HTC on Wednesday confirmed two new Android smartphones, the HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z, that include what the vendor is calling an "enhanced version" of its HTC Sense user interface that includes everything from video editing software to a mapping tool. The HTC Sense's new features include the ability to record HD videos and edit images with various camera effects. HTC Locations, another new feature, provides on-demand mapping, and there's also an integrated e-reader and an e-book store powered by Kobo.
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crimeandpunishment writes:
Twitter is going multimedia. The text-messaging site has a new look with a new push. There's a new pane making it easier for users to check out photos and videos....and in doing so, come back to the site more frequently and stay there longer, which of course means more advertising revenue. Twitter's co-founder Biz Stone says "We are still figuring out all the new possibilities". The new look is expected to roll out around the world over the next few days.
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harrymcc writes:
Skyfire, a browser formerly available only for Windows Mobile and Symbian, is releasing a beta for Android. The most notable feature: It can identify Flash video on Web pages and convert it to HTML5 and H.264 on the fly, so it'll play on Android phones. It doesn't support all video, and may be rendered somewhat superfluous when Adobe ships Flash Player 10.1 for Android--but it's an impressive trick.
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MongooseCN writes:
The image Microsoft doesn't want you to see: Too tired to stay awake. These Chinese workers earn just 34p an hour (about 52 cents in US dollars), work 15 hours shifts and deal with other abuses to package US made products.
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davecl writes:
The Planck satellite has released its first new science images, showing the large scale filamentary structure of cold dust in our own galaxy. This release coincides with the completion of its first survey of the entire sky, a couple of weeks ago. There's lots more work to be done, and more observations to be made, before results are ready on the Big Bang, but these images demonstrate Planck's performance and capability. Read more on the Planck mission blog (which I maintain).
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justice4all writes:
Nokia has filed a US patent for a phone charger that harvests kinetic energy
The technology has been used in laptops, PDAs and GPS receivers, according to Nokia. Essentially, the mobile devices would be powered, in part, through the movements of their owners.
