iPhone 3.0

Apple’s iPhone 3.0 OS update is arriving on Wednesday and it brings with it a whole pile of changes.
Apple will be rolling out the iPhone 3.0 OS update. This will come pre-installed on the iPhone 3G S but will also come as a free update for iPhone 3G owners – and even for iPod touch owners too

Scribd signs up Simon & Schuster, adds 5,000 books to its e-book site

Scribd, the upstart San Francisco publisher of online content, today added stalwart New York book publisher Simon & Schuster to its roster of partners.

Read more at Source
Los Angeles Times

Borland acquisition now in doubt

Micro Focus' bid to acquire Borland Software is not a done deal. Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that a counter proposal could be in the works, and in a separate action, a law firm is soliciting disaffected shareholders for a class action against the company's board of directors.

Read more at Source: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/33528

IBM adopting Harmony for production Java systems

IBM has begun to use libraries from the Apache Harmony project in some of its production-level Java software, it was revealed at JavaOne last week. The move comes after years of IBM quietly contributing code to the Apache Harmony project, and it marked the first time IBM had publicly discussed its use of the software. When Craig Hayman, vice president of WebSphere, took the stage at JavaOne, he was ostensibly talking about hosting Java application servers in the cloud and backing them up with what he called “extreme transaction processing” through creative caching. Then Hayman spoke about Apache Harmony.“In our regular shipping offerings, like WebSphere CE and Lotus Notes, we're using many of the Harmony libraries inside our JVM, and inside our core code. We contribute a lot to the Harmony codebase,” said Hayman


Read more at source: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/33547

Intel to launch Pine Trail platform in October?

Last month, during a conference call with analysts, Intel formally introduced a new mobile platform designed to power the next generation of netbooks and other mobile devices. Codenamed Pine Trail, the new platform basically integrates a microprocessor core, graphics processor, and north bridge functionality into a single piece of silicon, code-named Pineview, while a separate Tiger Point chipset will handle I/O operations.

Source

Take A Look Inside - MacBook Pro 13"

Apple recently introduced a 13" variation into its MacBook Pro line and from the outside, it looks much like its 15 and 17 inch cousins. But how about from the inside?


Look here

Aspire One Grows at Record Rate

The first Acer Aspire One had a 9-inch screen and was extremely popular. It will however be phased out and replaced with a 10-inch variant, and an 11.6" version is in the making already.

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Dangerous computers plague America 79,000 victims in over a decade - and they're getting more dangerous

Got your helmet, gloves, eye protection and body armour? Good, then you're safe to switch your computer on.

A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports that computers are becoming more and more dangerous, with nearly 79,000 people falling victim to impact, trips, strains and falls as a result of their PC.

Over the period of the 12-year study, computer ownership in the US tripled while the rate of accidents involving them went up seven-fold.

Everyone is at risk from treacherous technology

The deadly devices were indiscriminate in dealing out danger, harming individuals aged from 1 month to 89 years, although injuries to children accounted for a third of all cases.

More than half (59 per cent) of accidents involved moving the computer or a related component, with hitting or getting caught on a part of the computer the most common cause of injury (37 per cent), followed by equipment falling on the victim (21 per cent) and sneaky PCs reaching out to trip people over (18 per cent).

Unsurprisingly given the study's 1994 to 2006 range, the most dangerous component proved to be the monitor, accounting for nearly a quarter of all wounds. This has decreased in recent years as LCD monitors replaced bulky CRT screens.

Other surprisingly hazardous components include towers, keyboards, printers and even mice.

The report's authors offer no explanation as to why the injury rate has outstripped the increase in ownership of computers, and don't specify whether owning a PC or a Mac affects your chance of being maimed.

Source

Red Hat releases Fedora 11, debuts Fedora Community Fedora 11, the latest version of Red Hat's home user-oriented Linux distro, debuted today.

GOOD new for all those LINUX lovers out there...Yet another version, check it out.

Community is key with Fedora. As the free, open-source, home-oriented version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Fedora Project relies on the developer and tester community to keep the operating system to its semiannual release schedule. A new version of the OS, Fedora 11, was released today and is available for download.

In terms of major upgrades, Fedora 11 has received several. PackageKit, the software management application introduced in Fedora 9, has been extended from automatically installing new codecs when they're needed to also include new fonts and Internet media types. Audio and video setup has been improved with Fedora 11, which now includes the PulseAudio sound server to simplify audio control; and the Kernel Modsetting feature (KMS) for expedited graphical boot has been expanded to include more graphics processors from Intel, Nvidia, and ATI.

Fingerprint scanning has been simplified into a single authentication mechanism, and package updating has been simplified with the inclusion of Presto, a yum plugin that lessens the amount of data that has to be downloaded for updates.

Fedora 11 also now uses ext4 as the default file system instead of ext3, and also includes improved virtual console, better support for Asian languages with the iBus input method, and the WinGW cross-compiler for developers.

Testing in beta for this release is the Fedora Community portal, which lets developers and contributors more closely interact with the community through a dashboard that tracks the latest contributions, conversations, and updates through a graphical front end.

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Get security updates for microsoft

Microsoft releases security updates on the second Tuesday of every month. Today Microsoft released 10 new security updates.

Get security updates

Ericsson made an agreement with KSC(Zain)

Ericsson made an agreement with a leading mobile telecommunication company KSC(Zain) under which Ericsson will operate nation wide network of Zain in Nigeria.
Source:
http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/releases/20090608-1320896.shtml

Technorati Profile

Screen Distortion Reported on Some Palm Pres

Screen Distortion Reported on Some Palm Pre
Visit:

http://technologyexpert.blogspot.com/2009/06/screen-distortion-reported-on-some-palm.html

Technorati Profile

Apple and Google Consider App-Sharing Tools

Smartphone software makers weigh features that will make it easier to share downloadable apps, upending the way we acquire and use wireless games and tools


These days, downloading software applications for a smartphone is a breeze. But good luck trying to share that fun game or handy work-productivity tool with someone else. Sure, a handful of apps feature "tell a friend" buttons that let you alert others to an application you found useful, but if they want to check it out for themselves, they'll have to download it or look over your shoulder.

view whole story at:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2009/tc2009062_417984.htm

Expected From Apple

Hopes are running high for products that the secretive corporation will unveil at the conference next week. Rumors about new iPhones, upgraded MacBooks and a highly anticipated touchscreen tablet abound, and there's even gossip about a possible partnership with Verizon.
But as wonderful as all those items sound, they remain unconfirmed by Apple. And frankly, some of the rumors sound too good to be true.
What should we realistically expect? The following is a list of everything Wired.com has heard about WWDC, accompanied by our analysis on which rumored announcements will or will not become a reality.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/biztech/06/04/wired.apple.wwdc/index.html

Hewlett-Packard and Dell Avoid Big PC Party

Hewlett-Packard and Dell keep missing the introduction of computing revolutions.
Two years ago, Asustek unveiled the first netbook here at the Computex computer industry tradeshow in Taipei. The little, cheap laptops have proved the PC industry’s savior during the recession, keeping shipments going while interest in bigger laptops and PCs wanes.

source:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/hewlett-packard-and-dell-avoid-big-pc-party/

Nintendo Selling Black Wii in Japan This Summer

Back when the Nintendo Wii launched in 2006, the company showed possible console colors: White, red, silver, lime green and black. White was the launch color, and that's all customers have had. Until now. Today, Nintendo announced that it will be launching a black-colored Wii in Japan on August 1 for ¥25,000 (US$260). Besides the console, Nintendo will be selling black Wii peripherals as well.

Intel gets official with new Core i7, mobile chips

Many gamers have been waiting for the update of the "Nehalem" Core i7, which was introduced last November. Intel's update Tuesday includes the newly minted i7-975 (8M L3 cache, 4 cores, 8 threads, 3.33GHz, 6.4 GT/s QPI). This is priced at $999.
source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10256570-64.html

Acer Will Use Moblin Linux Across Its Products

Acer plans to roll out moblin linux operating system in its products.

source:

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090603/tc_pcworld/acerwillusemoblinlinuxacrossitsproducts

Microsoft Slates Windows 7 Delivery for October

Windows 7 will be available for computers from 22nd october.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Microsoft-Slates-Windows-7-Delivery-for-October-67239.html

Nintendo unmoved by rivals' plans

Nintendo's games developer Shigeru Miyamoto has told BBC that they are not worried by microsoft and sony's new controllers.
check out the whole story at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8080698.stm

Microsoft at E3: Look, Nintendo, No Controllers!

Microsoft wowed the E3 video game convention with a demonstration of Project Natal, a motion-sensing Xbox technology in development. With Nintendo's popular Wii, players use a handheld wand; however, Natal uses cameras to sense a player's full body movements. Despite the riveting demo, Natal is still unproven in terms of its actual gaming performance, and release timing is up in the air.

source:

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Microsoft-at-E3-Look-Nintendo-No-Controllers-67221.html

Fantasy features of an Apple tablet

Apple is rumored to be working on something bigger than an iPod Touch, but smaller than a MacBook. Past patent applications filed by the company and whispers from contract manufacturers point to a midsize gadget with a screen of 7 to 8 inches in the works, perhaps scheduled to debut early next year.

for more information visit

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/02/apple.tablet/index.html

Android Netbooks Coming From Acer and ASUSTeK

Android, the open-source operating system from Google, is now in the ring against the heavyweight champion for computers, Microsoft Windows. In the latest round Tuesday, laptop makers Acer and ASUSTeK Computer said they will release netbooks with Android later this year.

The announcements were made at Computex, a huge computer trade show now taking place in Taiwan.

These moves follow the successful launch of an Android-based smartphone, the T-Mobile G1, last October. This past weekend, Qualcomm said it's expanding its Snapdragon chipset for a new category called smartbooks, which will also run Android. Other Android-based devices have also been announced for release later this year.

'Driver for Your Printer?'

Of course, also coming later this year, or early in 2010, is the latest incarnation of Microsoft's operating system, Windows 7. Some observers have speculated that the growth of the Linux-based Android and other non-Windows operating systems could pressure Microsoft to speed up Windows 7's final release, as well as possibly reduce the price.

Acer's Aspire One netbook will reportedly cost less than the Windows XP equivalent and, as the third-largest maker of PCs in the world, Acer's adoption of Android is notable.

Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said the essential problem of any Linux OS competing against Windows is simply that "consumers prefer Windows." He pointed out that Android, which was initially targeted for smartphones, has "almost no programs" that could begin to compete with Microsoft Office and other common applications.

But, Greengart noted, it's not just applications. "Let's say you want to print" using an Android-based computer, he said. "Is there a driver for your printer?"

'Long Way to Go'

Greengart said Android is doing well in the smartphone market, with more than a million G1 phones sold by T-Mobile in the U.S. Because of the Google brand name, he added, the OS might have a "better shot over time" of bridging the gap it now has in the software ecosystem.

Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, said "we've got a long way to go before we're going to see Android as a rival to Windows."

Netbooks, he said, are seen as a replacement or complement to laptops and, for that role, it needs the office applications that run on the dominant OS, Windows. "The whole Android-on-netbooks story doesn't look particularly promising right now," he said, adding that the big question is what vendors will do to change that.

Some observers have noted that Linux on netbooks has been slow to catch on because of the different versions, or distributions, but Android could coalesce into the primary Linux choice. There's no doubt, Gartenberg said, that "Android is the most important Linux distribution out there" for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Google is behind it.

AMD answers Intel with six-core processor

AMD launched its first six-core processor, which will compete against Intel's "Dunnington" chip.

The Cray XT5m supercomputer will use the Istanbul chip

The "Istanbul" Opteron processor is for high-end server computers that use two, four, and eight processors or "sockets." Intel has been shipping a six-core processor for this market since September of last year and will bring out a processor based on its new Nehalem architecture for this segment later this year.

Among other new features, AMD is touting an Istanbul technology called HT Assist. The previous way of retrieving data from the processor's memory was "like checking every room in your house for your car keys," said Pat Patla, AMD's general manager of the server workstation group, in a phone interview last week. With HT Assist, "You know where your car keys are," he said. "It's much more efficient and takes out a lot of traffic," Patla added.

Patla also said that AMD is ahead of schedule with this chip, in stark contrast with the company's ill-fated quad-core Barcelona processor, which saw repeated delays. "Within almost a 15-month period of time we were able to design the product, tape out the product (final stage before production), verify the product and launch," Patla said about Istanbul.

Systems based on six-core AMD Opteron processors are expected to be available beginning this month from server suppliers including Cray, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sun Microsystems, AMD said Monday.

Istanbul boasts up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt over the previous-generation quad-core processors.

New PSP Go leaked before E3

Sony is expected to announce a new version of the PSP at E3, to expand its line of handheld games consoles

There has been a lot of speculation -- as usual -- about what the games companies are going to announce at the E3 trade show, and Ars Technica has confirmed the PSP Go, which will sell alongside the current model. It says:

Luckily, we don't have to guess, as we have the support of our very well-informed mole. His information? Not only is the PSP Go real, but we'll be seeing a slimmed-down PS3 in August or September. However, this news likely won't be announced during E3.

Games site VG247 added that "Someone's grabbed a video from the June issue of Qore of PSP Go in action." The video, at YouTube, has since been removed, but Eurogamer has a whole gallery of product shots apparently from the same source.

If it's a hoax, it's been done very thoroughly, and it has taken a lot of people in…

The video says the PSP Go has a smaller 3.8-inch wide screen and no UMD drive for movies, but you'll be able to download those from the PlayStation Network. It has 16GB of Flash memory, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It will be "coming this fall". Over the long term, Sony expects more casual games will be developed for the PSP Go than the standard PSP.

INTEL LAUNCHES CHIPS FOR LOW-COST, THIN LABTOPS

Intel is launching its line of processors for thin, inexpensive laptops at the Computex tech conference in Taipei. Intel marketing chief Sean Maloney talked about this in a phone interview.

"It's clear that people like devices to be thin and light," said Maloney, who was speaking from the Computex conference in Taipei where he will be giving a keynote on Tuesday.

"We've really taken that to heart and come out with a complete top-to-bottom range of microprocessors that enable radically longer battery life and much smaller designs," said Maloney, referring to Intel's new lineup of consumer ultra-low-voltage (CULV) processors.

Maloney continued. "There are a lot of computers being announced here (Computex) that look like conventional notebooks in terms of how wide the screens are, but they're super-thin, the performance is very good, and they get up to nine hours battery life without a big, fat battery at the back," he said.

MSI X340 X-Slim laptop is one of the first CULV laptops

(Credit: MSI)

"It's a big change for industry. It means the technology weaves its way into your life more because you're going to have all-day notebooks," Maloney said.

The new processors will encompass the Core 2, Pentium, and Celeron processor architectures, according to Maloney.

Prices for these new laptops will start at $399 and range up to $2,000 in some cases, Maloney said.

And will laptops based on these chips impact the sales of Netbooks? "I don't think so," Maloney said, but added: "It's a loser mentality to not develop one segment because you're worried about the other."

Maloney continued. "The demographics (for Netbooks) that's completely untouched is kids between the ages of 7 and 12. So, the Netbook market is still at a very early stage," he said.

In addition, Intel unveiled the Mobile Intel GS40 Express Chipset for the new ULV-based laptops. This "value" chipset enables ULV-based laptops to support HD (high-definition) playback, Windows Vista Premium support and native support for integrated HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface).

Wireles options will include embedded WiMAX or Intel "My Wi-Fi" technology. My Wi-Fi transforms a laptop into a WiFi personal area network, connecting directly with up to eight Wi-Fi-certified devices, according to Intel.

Though a crush of new thin laptops are expected, the MSI X340 is one of the first. The X340 has a 13.4-inch screen, weighs 2.86 pounds, and measures .78 inches thick.