May, 2009 — Tech News and Analysis

Archive for May 2009

The big news this weekend: Susan Boyle lost Britain’s Got Talent! Oh yes, the international phenomenon was actually competing in a silly little TV show. It seems the web video-powered hype cycle was too short for this particular contest, with Boyle’s breakthrough performance now seven … Read More »

Boston-Power Swings Into Electric-Vehicle Batteries

With all the attention on electric vehicles these days, laptop battery manufacturers are rushing to get in on the action. The latest is Massachusetts-based Boston-Power, which on Monday unveiled a new battery, called Swing, for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The company hasn’t released any details … Read More »

 
 

Will O3D Get Google Back Into Virtual Worlds?

When Google launched its O3D browser plug-in for displaying rich 3D graphics last month, I was dubious that the virtual world industry would eagerly embrace it as a platform for future MMOs. Most of the larger casual virtual worlds, like Habbo and … Read More »

There have been as many new carbon management startups launched over the past year as super model-based reality TV shows — the promise of the carbon markets boosted by U.S. regulation are just too attractive to entrepreneurs. But one 18-month-old sustainable software startup, Hara, … Read More »

Chipmakers Get Tied Up in Home Networking

Wireless networking gets all the love in today’s mobile world, but inside the home, wires will still play a key role in delivering entertainment and other content. Your set-top box may sport an Ethernet port, but it still connects to the wall via coaxial cable. Wires … Read More »

The buzz around the much-awaited Palm Pre has started. The make-or-break device that will define the destiny of the iconic handheld maker will hit the market later this week. Here is my super-quick hand-on review. Read More »

iPhone, Web Offer Lonely Planet A New Life

It is fashionable for media companies to paint themselves as victims of an increasingly Google-dominated planet. Desperate publishers are happy to collude or play ball with anyone who offers them a straw. Instead, they should be looking at various opportunities offered by technology to … Read More »

I read a lot of e-books, if you follow the Mobile Tech Manor column I do weekly, you know just how much I enjoy reading e-books. I have long been an advocate of reading books on my mobile phone, and I still read a lot … Read More »

In Music, Apple's Strength Becomes a Vulnerability

One of Apple’s great successes this decade has been its ability to unite the cell phone, the portable MP3 player and the music store in one ingenious handheld device, the iPhone. As new applications arise that allow on-demand streaming music on non-Apple phones such as those … Read More »

Cloud Computing: Enter the “Stacker"

There exists, as I have previously noted, sufficient motivation for more advanced resource controls in IT infrastructure components. But while there are encouraging indications that component manufacturers are responding to this need, we have some distance yet to travel. Horizontal aggregation As we consider infrastructure components, … Read More »

How to Become a More Frugal Web Worker

Ever heard the phrase “Spend less than you earn?” Personally, I like to take it a notch higher and spend much, much less than I earn. I can’t help it. I think I’m frugal by nature and that contributes a lot to my feeling of security … Read More »

More Must Reads

Liz Gannes said it best in a chat today: “Infomercial spoofs are too easy, yet so good.” So many ridiculous products available for sale, so many commercials attempting to convince Americans that they secretly want. And so many parodies have come out as a … Read More »

Every so often a new technology emerges that changes everything. In the world of storage, the last major media shift was the move to hard disk drives (HDDs) from tape. While tape is still around today as a target for backups and archiving … Read More »

Our friends at Buzz Corps are changing their name to Ivy Worldwide, a fitting change to more accurately reflect their global position. You may not be familiar with Buzz Corps, but they were the brains behind the HP Magic Giveaway contest we ran awhile back that … Read More »

The Snapdragon Smartbook that Qualcomm is readying for mass distribution has me excited, I must admit. The early looks we’ve gotten of these new mobile devices show a great deal of promise for the mobile worker who needs a light but capable tool for working … Read More »

Google has added video recording capabilities to the HTC G1 through an update of its Android operating system that was sent out wirelessly to T-Mobile customers this week. Android version 1.5, code-named Cupcake, also features video sharing via YouTube, email and MMS. Read More »

In the same way that there is an economic gap between rich and poor, there has emerged in the Internet sector a creativity gap. Instead of an upper class and a lower class, however, the creativity gap consists of a leading class and a lagging class. … Read More »

Just when you thought the weekend couldn’t get any better, along comes a selection of the freshest picks from the App Store. This week I’ve selected four playful picks for you to toy with over the weekend. It’s not all fun and games, though, as before we … Read More »

MoTR 173 is 33 minutes long and is a 30.3 MB file in MP3 format. CLICK HERE to download the file and listen directly. HOSTS: James Kendrick (Houston), Matthew Miller (Seattle) and Kevin C. Tofel (Philadelphia) TOPICS: Pre-planning for after the exclusive Sprint deal Where’s the “HD” … Read More »

When we consider cloud services — and the apparent lack of significant quality of service (QoS) control in them — we must also consider the relationship between QoS and capacity. Specifically, with sufficient capacity, do we even care about QoS controls? Is it a question of … Read More »

Ocean power has suffered some setbacks recently, such as Pelamis’ bellyflop in Portugal and the UK’s WaveHub losing a developer, but the industry isn’t slowing down — in fact, it’s been a busy month for tidal technology. While … Read More »

Android anticipation continued to pick up steam this week, fueled in part by Google executive Andy Rubin’s proclamation that 18-20 smartphones based on the OS would be released later this year, by some 8-9 different manufacturers. Rubin also shed light on how the OEMs must … Read More »

We’ve all heard talk about remote work being more sustainable than sitting in an air conditioned office block with your car parked in the basement. But just how sustainable is your remote work? Here are a few ideas that might help you cut your greenhouse emissions and … Read More »

In today’s world, companies, entities, people and concepts are naked without data. Making business decisions or predicting trends using data analysis is perhaps the only way to survive the future. However, it is not the raw data, but how you analyze it that matters. In other … Read More »

There’s no shortage of companies toiling away to provide you with an easy-to-use, low-maintenance system for monitoring your home energy use. But if you’re a DIY geek and think something a little more hands-on would be cool — or if you want to manage not just … Read More »

You wouldn’t be reading this post if it weren’t for web designers. It’s web designers who help make it possible for us to have the best and easiest web experience possible. Web design is a large and growing field; despite the downturn, Dice.com currently lists nearly … Read More »

Cablevision was handed a nice victory this afternoon as the United States Solicitor General recommended that the Supreme Court not take up the case against the cable company’s remote storage DVR (also known as the networked DVR). The move helps pave the way for Cablevision to … Read More »

The word has just come in from Verizon confirming an update to the BlackBerry OS for the BlackBerry Storm. The update will bring the OS to version 4.7.0.148 and will address almost 100 fixes and improvements. It will be available May 31 at 3 pm … Read More »

Obama on Cybersecurity and the Smart Grid: The White House today published a road map for fixing U.S. cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and called for the U.S. to “implement, for high-value activities (e.g., the Smart Grid), an opt-in array of interoperable identity management systems to build trust for … Read More »

We’d like to thank this week’s NewTeeVee sponsor: thePlatform: Download a free white paper on video syndication Read More »

There’s a lot to love about the iPhone, but its ability to manage email is, well, lacking — especially when it comes to search. All My Mail is a new app from Attassa that lets you search across your web-based email accounts, including attachments … Read More »

I am impressed with the quality of the webcam on the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450. Here’s a test snap to show the photo quality of the webcam: Read More »

The Internet is important and we must protect it. That’s the gist behind the blog post laying out the reasons for creating the office of a national cybersecurity chief to oversee the security of our nation’s communications networks and electronic infrastructure. But securing the Internet … Read More »

Just in case you missed any of them, here are the five most popular posts on WebWorkerDaily this week: 7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Home Office Celine outlines seven simple steps you can take to make your home office a more pleasant working environment. 10 Golden … Read More »

The practice of wireframing is common to most web production professionals. Oddly, there’s no clear market leader or category-defining product in this space; even solutions such as Adobe’s Creative Suite lack dedicated wireframing or rapid prototyping tools. There are, however, a number of useful smaller … Read More »

Warning: The below post contains spoilers for the upcoming Roland Emmerich-directed film “2012,” starring John Cusack, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover. Trust me, you’re not missing much. Back in the winter of 2008, I had more than a few good reasons to be excited for 2012, … Read More »

Siliconrumors has posted a news item claiming that its “sources” have indicated Apple is preparing some new additions to its MacBook Air family of laptops. In short, the rumors talk of an integrated 3G radio assembly, allowing connectivity to high-speed cell networks. Also touted is a … Read More »

I’ve only had my hands on the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 notebook for a few hours now but as I always do I want to share my quick impressions of this thin, 14-inch laptop with you. I’m writing this in the local coffeeshop right now … Read More »

It might seem far off, but electric car infrastructure startups such as Coulomb Technologies and Better Place may soon foster opportunities for the classic “two guys in a garage” model of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley in order to find a place in the often capital-intensive development … Read More »

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