Monday, May 5, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
First Look: Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue laptops
Unlike Acer's previous beige and black Gemstone laptops, these new Gemstone Blue models have an understated silver and black design. Both the 6920G and 8920G will have a touch-sensitive panel of buttons for controlling video and music playback. The buttons on the pre-production model we saw were responsive and resembled the computer interfaces seen on Star Trek.
The 8920G's 18.3in screen will have a resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels - ideal for displaying 1080p high definition video. A Blu-ray drive is included as standard, although the pre-production model we saw only had a read-only drive and not a Blu-ray writer. The 8920G will also have five discrete speakers built-in for 5.1 surround sound on the go, but we were unable to judge its sound quality at Acer's noisy London launch venue.
The smaller 16in 6920G models won't have the discrete 5.1 surround sound speakers. The most expensive version will have a display resolution of 1920x1080, while cheaper models will be limited to displaying 720p video. The cheapest £700 inc VAT model won't have a Blu-ray drive either.
All Gemstone Blue models will have one of Nvidia' new GeForce 9000M-series graphics chips. Optional extras include remote controls and integrated TV tuners. The Gemstone Blue series will be available in the UK from mid-April.
Sony charges $50 to remove laptop bloatware
Sony is offering to remove some of the trial software it crams onto the hard disks of new laptops -- for a fee.
Buyers of theconfigure-to-orderversions of its Vaio TZ2000 and Vaio TZ2500 laptops can opt to have Sony remove the some of its own applications, in addition to trial software and games.
The "Fresh Start" option, billed as a software optimization, costs US$49.99, and is only available to customers choosing to pay an additional $100 to upgrade the operating system to Windows Vista Business from the Windows Vista Home Premium edition offered as standard.
PC manufacturers are often paid by software publishers to include such trial versions on the computers they ship. Bloatware, as it is often called, poses problems for businesses because it reduces system performance and available hard disk space, makes it harder to maintain a consistent software image across PCs from different sources and may introduce additional security vulnerabilities or -- in the case of games -- unwanted distractions for workers.
Dell was one of the first PC manufacturers to offer to remove bloatware. Last July it introduced Vostro, a range of PCs for small businesses designed to be simpler to manage. Everex followed suit a week later, saying it would eliminate bloatware from a $300 desktop machine for consumers.
Customers opting for Sony's Fresh Start will miss out on software including Microsoft Works SE 9.0 bundled with a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office, Sony's Vaio Creation Suite Photo Software bundled with a 30-day trial version of Corel Paint Shop Pro; the Click to Disc video editor; WinDVD, and a free edition of QuickBooks Simple Start that can only track 20 customers.
Sony justifies the $49.99 fee by saying it covers removal of the unwanted software before shipment -- although selecting the option appears to have no consequences on the estimated shipping date.
Although Sony has other laptops with configure-to-order options, including the FZ, SZ, AR and CR ranges, none of those are available with Fresh Start.
Photos: Acer Aspire 8920 18-inch widescreen laptop
Recently we told you about two new widescreen Acer laptops, the 16-inch Aspire 6920, and the 18.4-inch Aspire 8920 -- part of the Gemstone Blue series. Today Acer sent us a pre-production Aspire 8920 to play with, so it's only right we take a bunch of photos and show it off.
Credit to Acer for being the first to deliver a laptop with an 18.4-inch screen. This runs at a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels and has a true widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. This means movies played on its integrated Blu-ray drive will fit the screen perfectly. Most laptops run at 16:10, which isn't quite what the moviemakers intended.
The next notable inclusion is the capacitive media controls on the far left side. Volume is adjusted by sliding your finger up or down the volume arc, and below that you'll find all the usual media controls such as play, pause, skip, forward and stop -- all of which are touch-sensitive. The design works surprisingly well and reminds us of the instrument panel on the Starship Enterprise.
The Aspire 8920 has an integrated subwoofer. Nothing unusual in that -- many desktop replacements have one -- but the way it's implemented here may surprise you. The tubular hinge between the screen and keyboard section is used as an enclosure to enhance the low notes. Does it work? Does it heck. Looks nice, though.
Core specs include an Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 running at 2.4GHz, 3GB of RAM, twin 250GB hard drives, and the latest ATI Radeon graphics cards. In other words it's a fantastic all-rounder and an ideal replacement for your desktop PC.
The Aspire 8920 is set for an April release. Click 'Next Photo' to have a look at the photos and wait with bated breath for a full review soon. -Rory Reid
Laptop Makers Go for Single Adapter, Both 3G Cell Standards
Source: Washington Post
HP Pavilion dv3000 Entertainment Notebook PC launched in India
Hewlett Packard has launched their latest notebook model in the Indian market.
The company has now introduced HP Pavilion dv3000 Entertainment Notebook PC.
HP said that this model is aimed at mobile professional who requires powerful computing capabilities, convenient security and multimedia features.
Diptesh Ghosh, Country Manager, Consumer Laptops, Hewlett-Packard spoke about this new model: “The HP Pavilion dv3000 has been built to perform under the conditions faced by business professionals who are constantly on the move. For the frequent travelers, we have also packed several of our entertainment features into the notebook for their leisure purposes.”
He added: “As a result of HP’s extensive research across three continents focusing on user preferences, we factored in a full-size keyboard for comfort and a first ever 13.3-inch BrightView screen, which were the two must-haves for the road warrior.”
Are Extra Laptop Features Worth It?
In the automotive world, the real money is made in the options packages. Fancy hubcaps, satellite radio, two-tone paint? Thank you very much, dealers will say, as they pocket sometimes more money than they made selling you the car.
Though buying a new laptop online doesn't involve engaging in negotiations with a dealer, you still have a number of options to choose from. And with business laptops costing as much as $2000, adding a few extras can push the price quite a bit higher. Some features are decidedly optional, while others are becoming de rigueur. Which are worth the money? Let's take a gander.
With no moving parts, flash-memory solid-state drives (SSDs) operate silently and eliminate any risk to the drive from vibration or a sudden drop. SSDs are stunningly expensive at the moment. The largest capacity is just 64GB, and choosing one for your laptop can add from $900 to $1600 to the cost, depending on whether you select it as an option (such as on the base model of Apple's MacBook Air) or if it's available only with certain pricier models (such as with Lenovo and Sony laptops).
Our tests of SSDsshowed mixed results. SSDs have exceedingly high read speeds, making system boots, application launches, and document loads much faster than with a conventional laptop hard drive. Write speeds aren't any better, however, and the overall performance is just a few percentage points faster than that of regular drives. Battery savings appear to be minimal, as well.
The value of an SSD may change dramatically in 2008, however, as 256GB and larger drives hit the market. Thefirst 256GB drive will wholesale for nearly $6000, but like all storage costs over time, SSD prices should plummet as volume and capacity increase. In 2009, a 64GB drive might run just $200 to $300 over a 5400-rpm standard hard drive, and may boost performance and drop power use further.
Wait, unless you're in an industry in which vibration, read time, or the slightest noise matter.
Dell's TrueLife screen, with its promise of a bright, vibrant display, might seem a good option at the time of purchase, but at about $160 for an upgrade to a 17-inch LCD on a business laptop, its benefit is unclear.
Dell claims that TrueLife produces a 10 percent boost in contrast, as well as more vivid colors. Other manufacturers' options, such as Gateway's UltraBright, HP's BrightView, and Toshiba's TruBrite, are similar. (The names seem reminiscent of toothpaste advertising, but we digress.) See "Vibrant Notebook Screens" for an overview of what such displays have to offer.
Travelers who frequently work in awkward lighting conditions, where glare, dimness, or reflections abound, would appreciate this $100 to $200 upgrade. The enhanced screen is useful if you intend to watch DVDs or other video on the laptop, too. The screen technology used varies from company to company; consultPC World's laptop reviewsfor more insight about a particular offering.
If you spend a lot of time squinting at your current laptop display, it's worth it; otherwise, save your pennies.
The network is everywhere! Or so AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and Verizon Wireless would like you to believe. Their third-generation (3G) networks are in most major cities, and in more than 1000 airports. But their cell modems for accessing the data networks are available only in a relatively small number of laptops.
The advantage of a built-in mobile broadband adapter is that it's one fewer thing you have to carry around. And ostensibly the manufacturer has built a better antenna by using the laptop's case to carry a signal. These cards can cost any amount from nothing to $300, depending on a carrier's subsidy and your term of commitment.
New all-metal design for Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro imminent
There are whispers on the web that some of Apple's longest-standing designs, the MacBook and MacBook Pro will be getting redesigns.
Apple Insider is reporting that the new MacBook will dump its plastic enclosure in favour of a more eco-friendly (apparently) aluminium enclosure. That means the long-predicted end for Apple's white enclosures (though the new Time Capsule backup device is, weirdly, in white).
The MacBook Pro will likely feature the low-profile keyboard used on the iMac keyboard and Macbook Air. It's likely it'll be slimmed down, too, but not to the extent that the Air has been (ie it'll still be full powered... we hope!).
And not before time, I reckon. The MacBook Air's biggest appeal is the way it looks (it's so lovely that I took the plunge and bought one last week when my PowerBook G4 finally flopped its final giga - yes, I'm a superficial fool). But the MacBook is really a repackaged iBook and the MacBook Pro is the Powerbook's twin.
Both redesigned laptops are expected to arrive in the middle of the year. Maybe they'll even get names that don't make them sound like MacDonald's sandwiches. But I doubt it.
HP releases customizable PC lineup
April 4, 2008 A webcam with up to 12-megapixel still photo resolution, a 17-inch diagonal flat-panel monitor and a range of customizable desktop PCs which allow consumers to mix and match options are among the highlights from HP's new line-up.
Designed as an entertainment PC the HP Pavilion Elite m9200t customizable PC features the HP Easy Backup button to quickly backup files as well as a variety of options including up to a 1TB hard drive and a Blu-ray DVD writer. Extra storage options include two built-in drive bays.
The HP Pavilion a6460t customizable PC is ENERGY STAR qualified and features an 80 PLUS power supply with entertainment options such as an available Intel Core 2 Quad Processor, wireless LAN card and a TV tuner to watch, record and pause live TV. HP is also offering the enhanced HP Pavilion a6400z customizable PC which can be configured for as low as US$299 with a 1.8 GHz AMD Dual-Core Processor, NVIDIA GeForce 6150 graphics cards, 1GB of memory and a 250 GB hard drive.
The Compaq Presario line of retail desktop PCs also has been updated to include the Compaq Presario SR5450F, which offers a front-panel 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 GB of memory and Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor for under $500.
HP has also released the Media Vault mv2120 designed to make the protection, sharing and connecting to digital content and Internet entertainment – from home or on the go – as easy as possible. It is intended for central storage, content sharing and backup of all computers on a home or small business network. The mv2120 can be set to automatically back up important media and digital files weekly, daily or continuously.
The mv2120 also offers some of the features found in the HP MediaSmart Server, including Photo Webshare, iTunes server and remote access. With Photo Webshare, a photo-sharing website can be created on the Media Vault, while with iTunes server, an iTunes music library can be centralized for playback on any computer running iTunes on the network. Remote access grants designated users enhanced security for accessing important files on the network from any Internet-connected computer. Additionally, the mv2120 offers low power consumption and a smart energy-saving drive spin down feature. It ships with 500 GB capacity, but HP also recently introduced the HP Media Vault mv5100 Pro series, available in 1 TB and 1.5 TB capacities aimed at small businesses.
To accompany its new desktop PCs, HP has also introduced the HP w1707 Vivid Color 17-inch diagonal flat-panel monitor, which offers a high-quality widescreen picture with a BrightView panel, and the new HP Elite Autofocus Webcam, which can record videos and snap high-resolution photos with a resolution of up to 12-megapixels using a 3-megapixel core sensor.
The HP Pavilion customizable desktop PCs can be customized direct from HP or through kiosks located at retail outlets across the US. The HP Pavilion Elite m9200t customizable PC is currently available starting at US$799. The HP Pavilion a6460t ENERGY STAR PC starts at $549, while the the HP Pavilion a6400z customizable PC is currently available starting at $299. The Compaq Presario SR5450F and the HP Elite Autofocus Webcam are expected to be available April 6 starting at $459 and $99 respectively. The HP Media Vault mv2120 is currently available starting at $299 and the HP w1707 Vivid Color Monitor is currently available at $180.
For further info visit HP.
Source: Gizmag
USB Modem WM 1.25
· Details
Description:
This utility allows you to use your Windows Mobile device as a USB Modem to tether your PDA to a desktop computer or a notebook. All internet data are transferred through PDA (acting as a USB Modem) to your computer.
Features
- Support for Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 devices
- Support for Windows XP/2000, Mac OS X and Linux operating systems
- Support for USB, Bluetooth and Infrared (IrCOMM) connectivity
Supported devices
- palm Treo 700w
- palm Treo 700wx
- Sprint PPC-6700
- Verizon XV6700
- palm Treo 750v
- Sprint PPC-6800 (HTC Mogul)
- HTC S710
- HTC TyTN
- Qtek S200
- Motorola Q (USB only)
Please note that only Bluetooth mode is currently supported while working with Mac OS Leopard.
F.A.Q. on WM USB Modem usage
| Download Details | |
| Category: | Misc Internet |
| Company: | By: |
| Version: | 1.25 |
| Date Updated: | 04-02-2008 NEW |
| Downloads: | 11 |
| File Size: | 306K (approx. 1 min. at 56k) |
| Min OS Reqd: | Windows Powered Smartphone |
| License: | Shareware |
| Expires: | 14 days or 30 connections |
| Price: | 19.95 |
| Awards: | |
| Product URL: | |
| Download Now: |
Smallest ECG In The World
The Universal ECG portable PC-based ECG prides itself in being the smallest of its kind in the world, hooking up directly to majority of desktop PCs, notebooks and even Pocket PCs as long as they are powered by Microsoft Windows XP/2000 operating systems, allowing users to perform resting ECG according to their convenience anywhere. The EKG results will then be displayed on the computer screen, where assessment can be done rapidly and accurately. Hopefully the Windows operating system won't just freeze up on its own as you're halfway through getting a reading.
Source: Ubergizmo
When a desktop has less throughput than a laptop
I have a desktop PC running XP Home and a laptop running Vista. The desktop is connected to a router via a cable and the laptop is wireless. The broadband speed on my laptop can run up to 6Mb but my desktop varies from 0.3 to 1.8Mb. Why does my desktop run so much slower than my laptop?
-- Geraint L. Jones
I would expect the broadband speed to be the same for both connections, so let's see if we can figure out why it isn't. The first thing I would do is go to Web site for the vendor of your wireless router and get the latest firmware. Although I don't think this is the issue, using the latest firmware tends to reduce the number of variables we need to look at.
That out of the way, look at the path the cable takes from your laptop to the router. If it is mixed in with power cables, runs near or over a fluorescent light fixture or something with a motor in it, that could be inducing electrical noise into the network cable, which would slow the maximum speed it can support. Even if the cable is in the clear, there could still be damage to the wiring that you can't see without getting inside the insulation, so try a different cable and see if that helps. Another thing to try is a different port on the router
The next thing to look at is the network card itself. I would try hard coding the network card for 100-Megabit speed and full duplex. Auto speed/duplex negotiating can sometimes cause problems. Normally I would expect this to be just a duplex setting problem as a speed setting mismatch should result in no communications occuring at all between the computer and the router.
If the problem persists, try a USB network card and disable the onboard card in your computer. If this resolves the problem, that would indicate that the network card in the computer is having a problem. If so, try locating and installed updated network card drivers to see if this helps with the onboard network card. If this doesn't fix the problem and the USB card does get better speed, you may need to look at replacing the non-USB network card - unless it is integrated into the motherboard, in which case you might just want to stick with the USB card (and if so, you will need to make sure that you disable the first network card permanently).
Review: Shuttle P2 3500G desktop PC
This small form factor PC from Shuttle is branded a gaming machine but, at 6.9kg, weighs less than many big laptops.
Its diminutive size has drawbacks if you intend to upgrade it (there is only one free PCI slot and one mini PCI Express slot) and it also costs a lot compared with bigger gaming PCs.
The P2 3500G is based on Shuttle’s SP35P2 Pro barebone chassis, which uses Intel’s P35 chipset. Shuttle pairs this chipset with just one PCI Express slot, unlike its X38 big brother, which makes it more affordable, but it retains most of the features and performance of the X38 to make it one of the best Shuttle barebones around.
Intel’s low-end quad-core – the Core 2 Quad Q6600 – is present, along with 4GB DDR2 800MHz Cas5 Ram and a 750GB hard disk. The included Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit can only access 3.3GB of Ram – the 64-bit variant is not an option.
The CPU is Intel’s G0 stepping, which has the same multiplier as Intel’s expensive QX6850 CPU and means it’s easily overclockable to 3GHz (often without a voltage increase) by simply flicking the front-side bus from 1,066MHz to 1,333MHz.
The 3500G’s Bios didn’t respond well to being overclocked, though, crashing when we used the
auto-overclock options and booting into Windows at 2.4GHz even when the Bios claimed it was at 3GHz.
The Bios goes completely against tradition by referring to a millivolt offset rather than the whole of the voltage across the processor, but since overclocking invalidates warranties, only enthusiasts will be disappointed by the 3500G’s intricate Bios.
Graphics are handled by an ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512MB of 2.25GHz GDDR4 Ram, which is the fastest ATI graphics card with one GPU. It’s not as fast as Nvidia’s 8800GTS, which is a better card for the most serious gamers, but it does draw less power. Combined with the 80 per cent efficient 400W PSU, the total system drew 95W when idling – an outstanding result for a gaming branded system.
Performance was good throughout, scoring a beefy 8,597 in PCmark05, 7,699 in the CPU section and a decent 1,296 in Cinebench’s multi-CPU test.
Where gaming prowess is concerned, the 3500G scored 20fps (frames per second) in our intensive DirectX 10 World in Conflict benchmark at 1,920x1,200, with high detail settings enabled. Only when we lowered the resolution to 1,680x1,050 and used medium settings was the game playable, averaging 46fps, so a 22in monitor is probably the P2 3500G’s best companion.
The P2 3500G, like most Shuttle computers, does a good job of home theatre PC tasks. There’s no remote control, but there is 802.11b/g Wifi fitted neatly inside the chassis.
The back of the case presents a feast of ports, while three sleek, black front doors reveal a DVD writer, a multiformat card reader and a connectivity panel, respectively. The connectivity panel has a fingerprint reader, headphone and microphone jacks, a mini Firewire port and two USB ports, while a Speed-Link button gives one USB port networking functionality.
A USB cable is supplied, with a male plug either end, which, when connected to the Speed-Link-enabled USB port and another PC activates a 480Mbits/sec network connection between the two. It’s hardware-driven, so there’s no need to install any drivers on either system.
If you can stomach the £200 price compared with a bulkier Dell XPS gaming machine, and don’t plan to overclock, then this is a list topper.
Source: PCW
Apple Sued Over iMac Screen Colors
An iMac owner sued Apple Inc. Monday claiming the 20-inch iMac desktop computers can't display the "millions of colors" Apple promises in promotional materials.
The Cupertino-based company touts that ability on its Web site and other marketing material even though it knows iMac monitors can display only 262,144 true colors, according to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Users are fooled into seeing many more colors because the monitors use technological tricks that involve showing many similar shades at high speeds to create the illusion of the desired shade, according to the lawsuit.
• Click here for FOXNews.com's Personal Technology Center.
Those techniques can cause "crippling" problems for people editing pictures and videos because the colors don't always appear entirely smooth, the lawsuit said.
The plaintiff, Texas resident and iMac owner Chandra Sanders, is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit.
The lawsuit targets the 20-inch "Aluminum iMacs" introduced in August 2007, saying the 24-inch versions are capable of representing millions of colors.
Source: Fox News
Monday, April 7, 2008
Yahoo Again Rejects Microsoft Offer, Saying Bid Is Too Low
Yahoo has rejected Microsoft's latest three-week deadline to complete a deal, saying the current offer still doesn't properly value the Internet company.
Microsoft (MSFT: 29.16, +0.16, +0.55%) set the clock ticking for Yahoo to accept its $41 billion buyout offer in a letter to the Internet pioneer's board Saturday, warning that if a deal wasn't reached by April 26 the software maker would launch a hostile takeover at a less attractive price.
"If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo board," wrote Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.
"If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal," he wrote.
In response Monday, Yahoo (YHOO: 28.36, +0.23, +0.81%) said such talk was "counterproductive" and that Ballmer's view that Yahoo had refused to enter into talks was a "mischaracterization."
In the letter, Ballmer said Yahoo's search share and page views, two measures of the strength of the Web portal company's business, appear to have fallen since the offer was made at the end of January. At the time, Microsoft's cash-and-stock offer was valued at $44.6 billion, or 62% above Yahoo's market value. Judging by Friday's closing share prices, the deal is now worth just under $41 billion.
Source: Fox Business
iFob: Turning iPhones Into Tools of Flirtation
Two Missoula, Mont., entrepreneurs have launched software for the iPhone, iPod touch and laptop computers that upends the conventional sense of social networking. Unlike online dating and friendship Web sites where connections are made in cyberspace, the software's goal is moving people from virtual relationships into real ones.
The software is aimed at the tech-savvy generation who are comfortable mingling online. It's an icebreaker that could lead to a smile or conversation, say Glenn Kreisel and Steve Saroff, who are partners in the company, iCloseby.
They noticed how people in the wireless world of coffee shops, cafes and airports sat near other people, but were e-mailing friends far away. For a variety of reasons, people weren't broaching conversations with people sitting in the same room. Hints about people in pre-computer days, from the magazines, books and newspapers they were reading, often led to conversations. But glimpses into people's interests were harder to discern behind laptops.
"I saw the cafes take a step backward in socializing because of computers and technology," said Kreisel in an e-mail 
Party Line
The duo recently launched the application, iFob, which seeks a niche in the social networking world. It sends out a "homing beacon" at wireless hotspots, alerting other users that you're nearby and receptive to socializing. Someone might broadcast a single line, "I love snowboarding" and see if anyone replies. Eventually, the messaging could lead to a conversation. The software also allows people to just "listen" at a hotspot.
Unlike social networking Web sites, Saroff said the software doesn't require online profiles, resumes, pictures and other facts. It's more casual, Saroff said, where you don't start with a list of social accomplishments, but share personal stuff gradually.
"It is modeled after a party with casual small talk where you selectively reveal information," he said. "It's not like social bores and idiots who barge into conversations or social networking sites that are aimed at ego and weirdness."
Saroff said the technology breaks the "firewall of the computer screen," cutting through some of the isolation and loneliness of technology.
"You look at kids and all they do is IM and text message," he said. "There is a certain age where the most important thing in life is meeting other people.
"Our goal is getting people back to actually talking to each other. And it may be nothing more than a conversation of 'Hey, you're using this weird software, too.' But it's an icebreaker."
Mixed Reactions
Inside Liquid Planet's downtown cafe, Stephanie Peterson, 23, e-mailed friends during a Missoula visit with her boyfriend. She said she could envision herself using the software for networking or socializing, but not for dating.
"It's bound to catch on, it's just a matter of time," she said. "No one really wants to admit it, but it is easier to e-mail because you can avoid all the rejection. It's just words."
Others were more circumspect.
Ryan Small, 25, who coaches men's lacrosse for the University of Montana, said he likes hanging out in coffee shops for the music and atmosphere. He says he owns a cell phone and does a little text messaging, but prefers meeting people through friends.
"It could be a good thing for people who are shy, but I wouldn't use it. To me, it's a cop-out," Small said. "In my world, you've got to face your fears and this is a way of avoiding it. If there was a girl I was interested in, I would just walk up to her."
Others said they enjoy using the Facebook 
Lisa Fong, 27, sitting with her laptop at Break Espresso, said she's comfortable with online connections, but is protective of her privacy. She has MySpace and Facebook accounts, but is careful.
"If people want to add me as a friend on those sites, I usually reply, 'Do I know you?' " Fong said. The new software "would be scary -- it just doesn't appeal to me."
Nathaniel Wilson, 23, a creative writing student at the university, said he could see high schoolers using the software.
"That's the age gap between me and my brother, and he's more into Facebook and technology. I can see something like this being popular."
Free for iPhone, Touch
Saroff said the software is a free download for the iPhone and iPod touch. It costs US$10 for laptop computers. Since the software's release on Jan. 29, he said the iPhone-related sites already have given the software some free visibility.
He said he's also marketing the software for about $10,000 a month on Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG)
Jakki Mohr, a marketing professor at the University of Montana's School of Business Administration and author of a textbook on high- tech marketing, said consumers ultimately will determine if iFob succeeds.
"With this generation, with the way they integrate technology in their lives, this is how they are interacting. It may seem like it is artificial or staged, but these users, they don't feel that way," she said. "It isn't uncommon with these technologies that you figure out the cool application before you figure out the business plan. People who follow that route have been successful, but it is higher risk."
Kreisel said he expects the software to change and evolve.
'No End to What Is Possible'
The name iFob relates to a fob, or a device that is attached to someone -- like watches in the old days and cell phones today. The iCloseby Web site relates the concept of physical proximity.
Russ Fletcher, head of a network
They've developed Freemail, an early e-mail software, and RemoteScan, software that allows scanners to be used in medical and financial facilities.
"There is really no end to what is going to be possible with cell phones that are basically computers,"
Fletcher said. "These are two of the sharpest business guys I know in the area. It is how things are moving forward here."
The two entrepreneurs said they're trying to reconnect people in a wired world.
"There is a whole group of people who are actually trying to meet for a good conversation. There is loneliness to the virtual online world," Saroff said. "It is trying to bring back reality into social networking."
Fastest mobile memory flies in from Korea
HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR, the silicon-slinging arm of Korean car giant Hyundai, said begins shipping the world's fastest mobile chip today, the 1 Gigabit mobile LPDDR2.
The new chip is built on the company’s 66nm process technology and boasts a maximum operating speed of 800Mbps at 1.2V. It is claimed to consum less power but operates at a faster speed than any currently available mobile DDR and comes in a dinky 9mm x 12mm package.
The chippery offers wire-bonded options combining SDRAM/DDR DRAM interfaces, and x16/x32 organizations on a single chip.
Hynix said it plans to start mass production of LPDDR2 in the fourth quarter of this year.
Click here for free thought
Wired magazine’s senior maverick Kevin Kelly has written a justly lauded post about making sense of value in a world in which many digital goods are available for free. He describes the internet as a huge photocopy machine which works by duplicating and distributing information endlessly. This makes the value of an original, exclusive piece of digital culture fall very quickly to zero – a problem that the music business, among others, has been struggling with for a while.
This might all seem very academic, but he’s talking about an issue which has hit the media - and the media habits of pretty much everyone I know - with the force of a wrecking-ball. The twenty some-things I work with simply laugh when I mention an interesting article that I’ve read in a newspaper. They sit in front of a web browser all day surfing free new sites, they can’t understand why I would pay good money to buy the print edition of a paper. Why pay when it’s available for free?
The quantity of music in circulation available for little or no cost to the user is now quite overwhelming. If you work in a wired-up office where people have iTunes on their PCs, you can legally browse and play music from each other’s libraries, many of which have been beefed up by people ripping their sometimes very extensive CD collections. If you’re not fussed about audio quality there are endless new bands to graze on the web, and when your mate comes around with an MP3 player or hard drive chock full of music, it’s not hard to circumvent that pesky digital rights management software and fill your boots with more music than you will ever be able to listen to. Why pay when it’s available for free?
Whatever you may feel about the ethics of file sharing ripped copies of DVDs, I can assure you that quite a few people are doing it, and some of them may live on a street near you. I recently heard a friend discuss the problem of managing his large and expanding digital film collection. He complained that he’d had a copy of The Last King of Scotland for six months and had only just got around to watching it. He’s got loads more films stored on Sky+ box, another 40 stored on his Media Centre PC downloaded from BitTorrent, and his flatmate is a customer of Lovefilm.com, which means he can and does rip each rented DVD before it is sent back to add it to his collection. He is now completely overwhelmed with digital content, and he won’t be making a trip to Blockbusters with his debit card any time soon. Why pay when it’s available for free?
Yet people do pay for stuff, and Mr Kelly comes up with eight reasons why: immediate access; a personalised product; a useful interpretation of the product; a more authentic version of the product; a more conveniently accessible version of the product; a physical embodiment; to act as a patron to the producer of the product; and because it makes it easier for you to find the product in some way. Again, this all sounds rather abstract, but if I use it as a lens for my own digital media consumption, it’s pretty realistic.
I am too lazy and far too ethical to bother with downloading stuff via BitTorrent, and one of the things I love about iTunes, eMusic, and other digital download sites is the instant gratification they provide. Think of a song, click, and you’re listening to it. Accessibility is a huge benefit for which I’m happy to pay a premium. I also use Napster, which is also supremely accessible and which liberates me from the hassles of ownership. It allows me to go from dancing around the living room with my son singing songs from The Jungle Book, to dancing around the living room with my son singing along to a song from The Jungle Book, in about as long as it took to write this sentence.
There are some films that I like so I much that I want to pay for them because I really want the artist to get the money: I cheered on Radiohead for experimenting with a new method of distribution for music, and was happy to pay top whack to the band to download their latest album. Patronage is a real force in the market place. And there are films where I want the full-fat DVD experience because I really do want to enjoy the DVD extras: I want to hear, say, David Fincher talking about Fight Club, and I want to contribute to the halo effect of a film that found its audience on DVD by scoring a copy even years after it was released.
Sadly for producers of content, there is no simple way to work out how to offer content profitably by harnessing these different aspects of the digital content purchasing experience. It’s a painful Darwinian struggle as content providers raise and lower their pay walls on websites, muck around with digital rights management, and gingerly explore the upside down-world of the economics of the free to see what models work.
I’m struck by a couple of things in all this. I can see from my own experience that despite all the panic about doing business in a world of copyright violation and digital theft, I read more editorial, listen to more music, watch more television programming, and see more films than I ever have before. I also have lots more ways to give people money for stuff: micro payments for songs on iTunes, a music subscription service with Napster, pay-per-view films via my cable service, and so on. And I even have a couple of magazine subscriptions, (although the pile of unread Economists in my living room makes me question the wisdom of that decision).
Check out Mr Kelly’s excellent post and see if you agree with his arguments for what might be better than free, but I’d also love to hear from you. Are there any areas of your media diet which have gone completely free, and is there anything you lean forward to pay for with a smile? Enquiring – and worried – content producers everywhere want to know.
IT companies seek outsourcing alternative to India
India is losing its appeal as staffing costs continue to rise and companies face the challenges of high staff turnover and strained infrastructure, reports BusinessWeek.
The country's "advantage as an offshore location is fast eroding - its attractiveness takes a hit with each passing day," wrote analysts at Forrester Research, in a report released earlier this year.
As outsourcing to India becomes more expensive, companies may begin turning to countries such as Argentina, Mexico and Malaysia to cut their IT costs.
The recent Shell outsourcing deal with EDS will see 1,000 new employees hired by the company in Malaysia, despite the company's thousands of IT workers in India.
The rising costs of outsourcing have also hit the public sector, where it is reportedly costing up to 75 per cent more than the market rate, according to a report from Compass last week, a company which helps users of outsourcing check whether they are paying market prices.
Source: OneStopClick
