Apple MacBook Spring 2010

Features=Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD)
Apple sneaked in a few minor updates to the basic white polycarbonate $999 MacBook this morning--a move widely anticipated by the Internet rumor mill.For your $200, you essentially get identical components, but also an extra 2GB of RAM, an SD card slot, and an aluminum unibody chassis (the plastic version also has a unibody design these days), but not a bigger hard drive, faster processor, or too many other major bells and whistles. Worth noting, however, is that the Pro models all have backlit keyboards these days (and a IEEE 1394 port, but those are becoming increasingly rare in laptops).
via:youtube.com
Tgas:
Apple MacBook Spring 2010 Core Duo 2.4GHz 2GB RAM 250GB HDD notebook computers laptop consumer electronics programs photography widescreen technology

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Google Wi-Fi Data Capture

Google is under global scrutiny for its “accidental” gathering of wi-fi data while driving about photographing the world with its Street View camera cars. In the court of public opinion Google’s actions cross ethical boundaries, but whether or not the activities were illegaldepends on the laws in place for the given jurisdiction. Businesses in the United States should understand that the interception of publicly available data traversing the airwaves is probably not illegal.

Granted, “probably” is not a very legally precise term, but the reality is that publicly-available wireless networks fall into a legal gray area that isn’t defined very well. Google didn’t “steal” anything, or even violate any expectation of privacy per se. All Google did was intercept airwaves that were trespassing in its vehicles.

The lesson for businesses and IT administrators is that you have to put forth some effort to at least give the appearance that you intend for the information to be private in order for there to be any inherent expectation of privacy. The burden should not be on Google, or the general public to have to determine whether the data you let freely fly about unencrypted is meant to be shared or is intended for a specific audience…..

Some will equate Google’s actions to someone taking property from a business with an unlocked door. The comparison is not apples to apples, though. If a business has an unlocked, or even a wide open door, passersby still know that entering it would be trespassing, and that taking property from inside would be stealing.

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However, in Google’s case, it is more like the business took its property and set it out in the middle of the street. In fact, it might not even be in front of the business, or even on the same street–since the wi-fi signal from the wireless router is broadcast for a respectable distance in all directions. If someone were walking down the street and found a laptop, or a copy machine in the middle of the street, taking it would be neither trespassing, nor stealing–just serendipitous.

There have been cases where individuals have been fined or prosecuted for accessing open wireless networks. A Michigan man was fined and forced to perform community service for accessing a local café’s wireless network without being a customer. An Illinois man plead guilty and received a fine after being caught riding on the wireless network of a non-profit agency from his parked car.

I would argue that even those actions were not technically illegal. If I am out in public with my laptop or iPad, and it detects an available, unencrypted network to connect to, there is no way for me to know whether the owner meant for that network to be private, or if it is intended as a public hotspot. A wireless network is a wireless network, and some devices are configured to connect to any available wireless signal.

Google, however, did not “access” the open networks. It simply intercepted the unencrypted data that businesses and individuals beamed through the air willy-nilly. The data was left in the middle of the street so to speak, and Google gathered it as it drove through collecting photograps.

In Google’s case, the legal issues may just be beginning, though. Some countries, like Germany, have a much different opinion of privacy and different laws in place. Even in the United States, there may still be legal avenues for pursuing Google. But, if Google simply collected data that was publicly available, and never even accessed or used the data in any way as they claim, I fail to see where it did anything wrong.

If you want to stay out of the legal gray area, and protect your data you must turn on encryption for your wireless network. WEP encryption is pathetically simple to crack–trivial for anyone interested, but even WEP at least implies that you intended the data to be private. For better protection, you should employ WPA, or better yet WPA-2 encryption.

If you have a business–like a coffee shop or book store–where you want to share a public wireless network, but only with patrons and only under certain conditions, then you should implement some sort of initial notice or login screen that explains the policy for acceptable use of the wi-fi connection.

I am not a lawyer, and I don’t play one on TV–or even on the Internet, but the bottom line is that if someone walking or driving by can intercept your unencrypted data as it trespasses into their airspace, it’s not your data any more.

via:fun2chill.com

Tags

camera, Capture, cars, Data, device, Front, global, Gmail, Google, information, Internet, networks, position, street view, U.S, Wi-Fi, wireless

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Google VS Skype

Google announced today that it has made a cash offer to acquire Global IP Solutions (GIPS).

A leader in the real-time VoIP processing space for both voice and video, GIPS doesn’t have any consumer-facing products; instead, it provides services that work on the backend for products like Yahoo! Messenger, Citrix and WebEx.

This is an interesting acquisition for Google (Google), who already has a number of consumer products that could benefit from GIPS technologies. Not only does GIPS provide voice processing for VoIP calls that could potentially improve gTalk (Gtalk) and Google Voice (Google Voice), GIPS also has a large focus on real-time video transmissions, both on the client and mobile side.

Our first thought when looking at this announcement was that Google could provide some really formidable competition to Skype (Skype).

In a statement to its customers, GIPS said that following the completion of the offer, Google intends to continue servicing existing GIPS customers in accordance with their contracts. At the completion of the contract, those customers will have the opportunity to transition to “new offerings developed by Google.”

That statement is equally interesting, as it positions Google to offer white label services to other companies. While Google does have some white label deals, most of what it does is more consumer or customer facing.

While the official announcement about this deal says that it is “not currently expected to require approval by competition authorities in any jurisdiction,” the fact that Google’s competitors, including Yahoo and Baidu, use GIPS technology in their respective messaging clients might mean otherwise.

via:mashable

tags:google,skype,google vs skype,google gadgets,google news,cquisitions, global ip solutions, Google, Google Voice, Skype, voip

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Garmin-Asus Garminfone review

The holy matrimony between smartphone and personal navigation device just keeps getting stronger, scorning dedicated GPS units like forgotten flings and leaving navigation-free handsets wandering lost and alone. Garmin-Asus has been flirting with the perfect bond with its Nuvifone series for some time now, but rather tragically from a branding perspective its strongest attempt yet comes without the nuvi moniker. It's the T-Mobile Garminfone, and its Android underpinnings go a long way toward making the best mix of PND and smartphone to date.

Design

Compared to the Nuvifone G60, which took ages to become a reality, the Garminfone blossomed from announcement to functional piece of hardware in a (relatively) amazing single month period. You'll have to wait a few more weeks before this one starts popping up at T-Mobile stores sometime in June, but it should be worth it.

We're guessing that accelerated pace is thanks at least in part to internals shared with the G60. The phones are a very similar size and shape and, with similar specs, it's clear to see who the Garminfone's daddy is. That does leave this handset feeling a bit dated, partly thanks to the miniUSB port that is a bit antiquarian in today's microUSB world. Also odd is the complete lack of a headphone jack, leaving you stuck with a miniUSB adapter. Honestly we're not sure if that's a step up or a step down from the G60's 2.5mm output.

Overall, though, the phone has a nice design, with a subtly rubberized back cover that fits so well it took us a moment to figure out how to get it off. That back is split by a brushed metal highlight, giving a high-end look, and the 3 megapixel camera finds itself wedged atop that, which delivers decent images (an example of which is below). Pictures are stored to microSD expansion, with a measly 2GB card included.

The right side contains the volume rocker and camera button, the power button is middle top, and below the screen reside four touch buttons plus a five-way rocker. The touch buttons are the standard Android crop except that search has been replaced by a phone button, meaning you're a single press from the dialing screen -- a very useful substitution.

The screen is a 3.5-inch capacitive HVGA unit. It's bright, clear, and very responsive to touches, but it sits atop a device that is definitely on the large side. Stacking it up against its beefy Android cousin, theMotorola Droid, the Garminfone is virtually the same height and width, coming in only a few mm thinner. With the Droid that heft nets you a physical keyboard, yet Garmin-Asus couldn't even manage to fit a headphone jack in here? Curious.

For your $199 the phone comes with a windshield mount and a car charger, which can either plug into the phone directly or into the mount thanks to contacts that charge the phone while it's docked. It's a nice feature and one you'll definitely need: after roughly an hour on the road the battery in our Garminfone was down to about a third remaining, but in day-to-day usage it matched the Droid's wireless endurance.

Software

The Garminfone runs on Android, but you'd really never know it at a casual glance. The initial home screen looks much like the other Nuvifone UIs, with large buttons for calling and navigation along with smaller icons running up the side for less frequent tasks. With the Garminfone you can grab that list on the side and give it a tug, revealing a separate stack of icons. In here you see the Market app and the Android underpinnings become clear.

This seems to be built upon Android 1.6, and while we're not sure of the version we are sure that it isn't capable of running some of the 2.0 and above apps in the Market. Other apps download and run fine, even Google Maps with Navigation, but chances are you won't want to be using that -- more on that in a moment.

Google Maps on the phone does not support multitouch gestures, but the built-in browser and gallery apps do, meaning pinch-to-zoom is a possibility. The browser also supports the spring bump effect when scrolling to the top or the bottom of the page, something you don't often see outside of the iPhone.

Garminfone interface

There are fewer things left alone here than changed, with everything from the lock screen to the OS settings menus completely re-invented. It is, perhaps, slightly more intuitive for a casual user than the default Android install, but we fear that power-users won't feel at home here. For one thing, there's no way to create folders or to organize your app icons onto multiple pages. There's just that big list. You can drag entries around to change order, or move them to and from that smaller list on the side of the home page, but if you're not the selective sort when it comes to downloading you'll be doing a lot of scrolling.

Also, the Android home pages have been hidden, only accessible when doing a long press of the home key. Instead of getting the usual task-switching menu that you'd expect you get five blank pages that you can fill with widgets, widgets, and more widgets -- but no app shortcuts.

Navigation

So naturally the big story here is with the navigation, and quite simply it's good. Very good, as you'd expect from a phone that sacrifices two thirds of its home page to giant nav-related icons. For those familiar with the earlier Garmin-Asus phones the interface here is quite similar, but for those who aren't we'll give you the details.

First-off, let's make it clear that this works completely offline, unlike Google Navigation, meaning you can still get directions even if you're standing in the darkest of data coverage black holes when beginning your trip -- and with T-Mobile if you're not close enough to a highway to hear the trucks rumbling by that's a real possibility. Only the Google Local Search portion of navigation requires an active data connection, which you will want to be using whenever possible. The offline POI database here is good but failed to find a local theater that opened two years ago, never mind a two-month-old restaurant. Local Search found both.

Once you know where you're going, things are quite good. Address entry is painless, and you'll get an overhead view of the destination from which you can scroll around and even get a 360 flyby view. Tap "Go!" and you're on your way following either driving or walking directions, the latter with public transportation mixed in -- but only in limited markets where Garmin's cityXplorer extension covers.

You can also easily create routes, either adding a waypoint to the route you're currently on or using a dedicated app that allows you to plot your course before you turn a wheel. This is something sorely lacking in Google Navigation and that we're glad to see here. Once you get going POIs can be searched near your current location or on the current route and, if you find something, it can be easily added as a via point. The only problem here is we weren't able to find a way to skip a point that's been added to your route, meaning if you decide that Taco Bell break perhaps isn't such a good idea the phone will keep trying to convince you otherwise -- loudly. The speaker on the back of this phone is powerful enough to ensure that even those in the back seat will know exactly what the courteous and friendly omniscient navigator is telling you to do.

Traffic data is included here for free, though the phone warns you that you may wind up seeing a few ads mixed in from time to time to cover it. (We didn't see any during the course of this review.) If traffic is noticed anywhere along or near your route the phone will throw up an indicator to warn you. Tapping that lets you view a map of all local traffic problems or just see which incidents are along the way. It's perhaps not quite as detailed as TomTom's latest traffic interface, but it's comprehensive and quick enough to tell you what you need to know. You can also get a list of all nearby traffic issues.

Additionally, the on-screen speed limit display will help to keep you from becoming a traffic issue yourself, a nice feature that we wish worked on more secondary roads. About the only thing we don't like is that there's no way to display POIs on the map as you travel, which does keep things clear and focused, but if you always like to know where the closest gas station is you'll need to keep searching. Oh, and the lack of an auto-dimming night mode is unfortunate as well. This screen is bright enough to be blinding once the stars come out.

Wrap-up

For $199, the Garminfone is an interesting choice. While T-Mobile's selection of Android handsets continues to expand (most excitingly with the upcoming myTouch 3G Slide), fans of little green robots still don't exactly have a lot of choices on that carrier, which makes the 1.6 build of Android on here a bit easier to stomach. It's worth noting that, given the extensive customization, we'd be surprised if a 2.0 or 2.1 update hits this phone any time soon -- if ever.

That, plus the somewhat limited ability to personalize the OS compared to a stock build, means this is probably not an ideal choice for the most serious of Android users. But, with multitouch on-tap and fantastic navigation built-in, you're not missing an awful lot -- and it really is fantastic navigation. It's nearly as good as Google Navigation in terms of interface and usability, but trumps that competition by working fully offline and easily matches the best mobile navigation options on other platforms.

So, as we have in the past with Garmin-Asus offerings we again have to conclude that this is not a phone for power users, but the inclusion of the Android Market does mean that the group of people who would feel constrained is much smaller than with the G60, for example. Compared to that option the Garminfone is far less a nav device with a phone built in and far more of an equal share of both. A match made in heaven? Pretty darned close.

via:engadget.com

Tags:android, android 1.6, Android1.6, asus, feature, featured, features, garmin, garmin-asus, garmin-asus garminfone, Garmin-asusGarminfone, garminfone, gps, navigation, pnd, review, smartphone, t-mobile, t-mobile garminfone, T-mobileGarminfone, video

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Nokia Cola Chargable Phone

If this new mobile phone concept push through, we’ll have prices of Coa-Cola products rising all over the world. Imagine, a bottle of Coke to power up your mobile phone?

“The concept is using bio battery to replace the traditional battery to create a pollution free environment. Bio battery is an ecologically friendly energy generates electricity from carbohydrates (currently sugar) and utilizes enzymes as the catalyst.By using bio battery as the power source of the phone, it only needs a pack of sugary drink and it generates water and oxygen while the battery dies out. Bio battery has the potential to operate three to four times longer on a single charge than conventional lithium batteries and it could be fully biodegradable.

via

techbuz.net

tags:DOS emulation · DOSBox · DosEmulation · emulation · Google Nexus One ·GoogleNexusOne · HTC nexus one · HtcNexusOne · N1 · Nexus One ·NexusOne · os · video · Virtual machine · VirtualMachine · windows ·windows 3.1 · Windows 3.11 · Windows 3.x · Windows Phone · windows phones · Windows3.1 · Windows3.11 · Windows3.x · WindowsPhone ·WindowsPhones

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Lenovo Launches Desktop PC With AMD Chips

Lenovo has extended its use of Advanced Micro Devices processors in PCs with the launch of a new desktop Thursday. The PC maker announced the ThinkCentre A63 desktop, which runs on a choice of AMD’s Sempron, Athlon or Phenom processors. The desktop, targeted at small and medium-size businesses, is priced starting at US$329. The company earlier this month released its first ThinkPad laptops with AMD chips to expand that line to budget buyers. The AMD-based ThinkPad Edge laptops are priced starting at $500.
AMD is also trying to expand its market presence as it tries to compete more effectively with Intel. Intel’s micro processors are used in more than 80 percent of the world’s PCs. The ThinkCentre A63 desktop will use dual-core, triple-core or quad-core chips manufactured using AMD’s latest 45-nanometer process, which should bring more power efficiency to the systems, Lenovo said. AMD is due to upgrade its processor designs later this year when it releases a platform called Leo, which could include chips with up to six cores. Lenovo also introduced two high-performance desktop PCs Thursday, the ThinkCentre M90 and M90p, targeted at businesses. The systems will run Intel’s Nehalem-based Core i5 and Core i7 chips with up to four cores…..

The M90 and M90p desktops will be able to boot up in as little as 35 seconds and shut down in as little as 9.6 seconds based on special software that Lenovo has developed for the Windows 7 OS. The systems will also support multitouch finger input when paired with the L2461x monitor from Lenovo, according to the company.

The desktops, available in tower and small form-factor designs, will start shipping in February. The M90 and M90p desktops are priced starting $779 and $899, respectively.

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