Latest News - Page 4403

MeeGo's future is looking a little grim at this time with little to no takeup from partners which has resulted in Intel apparently putting its in-house OS on hold well into 2012, if not eventually choosing to bomb it entirely.

With Nokia choosing to stick to variants of Symbian (Belle being a newly launched revision) and setting its sights ahead on Windows Phone (apart from the N9, the only phone Nokia chose to use MeeGo on), and most other smartphone and tablet makers opting for Android or WP7, it's become a case of 'can't beat 'em? Then join 'em' for Intel which Digitimes reports is looking to transfer efforts into Android and WP work.

However, with that said, Windows Phone raises a question in that it currently only runs on ARM processors; even more specifically, due to chassis guidelines from Microsoft around what WP7 partners are allowed to use, a Qualcomm Snapdragon.

Today brings reason to celebrate for Google, marking Chrome's third anniversary since the open source web browser was first launched. This is a browser that needs no introduction with it being a widely favoured choice across the globe, in businesses, at home and on the go.

Things have certainly come a long way even in the three years since Chrome graced the web, making significant strides in speed, simplicity and security.

At this special time, to give insight to the evolution of major web technologies and browsers, Google has also put together a fantastic interactive infographic built using HTML5 that looks at all things web/browser wise as far back as the early 1990s when Netscape was king.

Creative have unleashed the ZEN X-Fi3 Bluetooth Touch MP3 player. The ZEN X-Fi3 sports the apt-X codec which brings superior Bluetooth transmission, and also features X-Fi technology which restores rich detail and retains high level of clarity for audio tracks. It's housed in a stylishly-designed player which delivers the best wireless audio while you're on the move. ZEN X-Fi3 also supports a huge range of audio formats inclusive of FLAC for die-hard lossless audio fans.

The player also includes video output so you can share movies and photos with family and friends on your big-screen. Bluetooth connectivity allows you to easily connect to compatible stereo Bluetooth speakers and headphones. The ZEN X-Fi3 also features responsive touch keys for easy navigation and playback control and surprisingly, a microSD card slot for additional storage. An integrated FM radio is also included.

Skype have just released some new products, FREETALK ConnectMe Home Phone Adapter for Skype and a New Skype-enabled Cordless Phone from GE. Currently Skype powers calls through a large range of devices, on computers (Windows, Mac or Linux), iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones and even Skype-enabled HDTV or Blu-ray players. Today, Skype are talking about their FREETALK ConnectMe Home Phone Adapter for Skype.

The FREETALK ConnectMe Home Phone Adapter for Skype allows hassle-free, plug-and-play simplicity that uses your existing handset to make free Skype-to-Skype calls, including low-cost calls to landlines and mobile phones worldwide at Skype's great low rates. All that is requires is to connect this to your home phone, broadband and landline and after, enjoy making Skype calls anywhere.

Sony is trying to push music players in a new direction with the introduction of a prototype, Android-based Walkman. The new Walkman prototype is designed "for music lovers by music lovers," said engineer Shinichiro Torii in an interview at the IFA electronics show. The new Walkman does have a few tricks up its sleeves, unlike normal Walkman's where they only played music, the new Android-based Walkman has the ability to run thousands of Android applications from the Android Market.

This new ability pushes into line with Apple's iPod Touch which has the ability to run apps, as well as the large market of smartphones which run Android or iOS. The prototype has been dubbed Walkman Mobile Entertainment Player (for now).

General manager of digital music player product planning (what a job title!), Toshimichi Nagashima says:

This is our first try to make convergence between Android products and our own technology," said Toshimichi Nagashima, general manager of digital music player product planning, but more appear likely in the future. After reviewing the customers' acceptance, we'll decide how to expand this kind of product. We have some confidence for this product. We may expand this kind of product in the future after getting some feedback.

Amazon's 10.1-inch tablet PC will go into mass production in early 2012 with Foxconn Electronics handling orders according to sources from upstream component suppliers. Foxconn also handles Amazon's Kindle e-book readers with estimated volumes sitting at around 15-18 million units which accounts for 60-70% of the entire global e-book reader shipments from the total of 25-30 million units in 2011.

Amazon's 7-inch tablet PC, which is supplied by Quanta Computer, is expected to start shipping in October.

IFA 2011 - Sony just got done with one of the first major press conferences of IFA 2011 in Berlin, Germany where as expected they unveiled two Android tablets.

While few hardware specs were discussed during the announcement, the Sony tablet S will go on sale in September in Europe and cost 479 euros. And a little later on in November, Sony will bring out the Sony tablet P which will come in at 599 euros.

Some of the big featured discussed is that both tablets will come with full Playstation certfication. The big nosie being made by Sony during the announcement were that Sony tablets are "simple and beautiful to use". A feature called "Simple App" was mentioned brefiedly that is a new way by Sony to organise app which is said to "help users spend less time navigating the app store and more time to just use and play wat they want".

Additionally, both tablets will come with cross-device connectivity that allows you to use your tablet to control your Sony Bravia television and stream movies etc to it from within your house. Clearly Sony has worked hard to leverage all of its business units into its tablet line including games, movies, TV shows and Sony brand music. One of the last lines delivered was, "so much to enjoy". It seems like it - you'll have to wait a little bit longer and then we'll find out for sure.

Microsoft are finally adding native ISO mounting support to their upcoming OS, Windows 8. Microsoft have said that in Windows 8, double-clicking an ISO file will automatically mount it as a virtual optical drive. This works in the same way Daemon Tools and Power ISO work, which I have used for the better part of my life. Microsoft will also built in support for Virtual Hard Disk files that are used with virtual machines.

It is in the same fashion with a double-click, it will mount the image automatically. Instead of coming up as an optical drive, it will detect as a separate hard drive, with an eject button. I'm not only surprised, but I'm also so very happy that Microsoft are finally supporting ISOs in Windows. I have a NAS at home and for years now (5+) I have not used an optical disc. When I do, I'll get it to my HDD and make it an ISO. It's much easier to manage, much, much easier and Microsoft have impressed me by adding this support.

How will game companies react? Only time will tell... piracy still does, rule. Even though game revenue is higher than ever, I'm sure people like Cevat Yerli from Crytek will... cry about this news.

American internet users rejoice! YouTube requests might get delivered faster today with Google, OpenDNS and several content delivery networks announcing the Global Internet Speed Up effort. Finding ways to speed up the internet and deliver ever-increasing high quality streaming and downloads to users across the globe is getting harder. The Speed Up effort tries to dodge around this by making sure a user's request for content goes to a server near it, making delivery faster and more efficient from a bandwidth perspective.

At the center of this new wonderful speed up is the creation of a standard that attached location data to a DNS request so a user's request for content goes to a server nearby. This is definitely an upgrade as usually the content comes from the address of the DNS server and not the user's location. For example, an Austin, Texas-based customer who types in the URL for a YouTube video will share part of his IP address as part of the DNS request.

This way, the domain system server can route the request to a Google data center in Dallas, as opposed to one in Ireland. A simple solution, but would net great gains for people who have servers close to them. The new code goes into effect on Tuesday with 30 million OpenDNS users and Google's Public DNS service users visiting content hosted on the participating CDNs will immediately benefit.

Apple has seeded iTunes Beta 6.1 to developers in the US, it includes a new feature you should be on the look out for, iTunes Match. iTunes match allows users to upload music to Apple's beta service of iCloud. This will allow users to store their entire collection online in the iCloud for $25 per year. It also has something quite nifty, say you own an album and it's on your computer - but this album is also on the iTunes servers, it will shift it from the servers to your iCloud account. This saves valuable time and most importantly, bandwidth.

This also allows you to get access to the 256kbps AAC version from within the iCloud, even if your copy was in lower quality. Does this mean people can rip Apple off? How would you do that? Well, if you had an illegally obtained album of music, you could sync it with iTunes and iCloud and have it in your account. How would Apple tell between your illegal music and purchased music? Considering they're making $25 per year from potentially hundreds of millions of customers, are Apple supporting piracy?

If you want to get your mits on iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1, you'll need to be an Apple developer which is a $99 per annum fee.