Articles in ‘Tech News’

• Google presents shiny new Chrome

  by Webfusion in misc, Tech News on June 10th, 2011 Post a comment

  As perhaps an indicator of Google’s longer term desire to control the browser market and perhaps further integrate our search lives, Google this week has launched Version 12 of it’s Chrome browser, making more established browsers like Internet Explorer (9) and Firefox (5)  sound antiquated to the untrained ear.

  Announced via Google’s official Chrome blog, Chrome 12 is certainly the best version yet, with improved security, privacy and better graphics support. There are more comprehensive malware and phishing protections and warnings before you download certain types of malicious files. There is also more control over the sort of data stored on your pc too so you can minimise the information third parties may be able to get about you.

  Google have always been keen to highlight Chrome’s multi-media capability and with Chrome 12 hardware-accelerated 3D CSS is now supported meaning fancier, better-looking web pages and web apps will load more slickly in the browser.  The Chrome Experiments website has some impressive examples of the capabilites of the browser.

  We would expect if past patterns are to be followed, Chrome 13 (or even 14) could be with us before the turn of the year. To download Chrome 12 have a look here.

• Video searching in a Blinkx of an eye

  by Webfusion in Business trends, misc, Social Media, Tech News on April 20th, 2011 Post a comment

  While Google’s investment in YouTube may bring new content and glory to the video site’s profile as a leading search engine in its own right, a rival video search really is setting the specifications.

  The story behind Blinkx is an intriguing one. Set up as a ‘lab’ type project within powerhouse Autonomy, Sri Lankan-born Brit, Suranga Chandratillake whose brainchild it was, has since led the split from Autonomy to create Blinkx as a stand-alone company reporting revenues of $27.4 million in September 2010.

  The technology skills developed at Autonomy however make it a much more in-depth video search crawler. Whereas You-Tube et al, take their indexing from video title and the odd keyword and description, Blinkx goes beyond that and looks at the content of the video as well. Using speech recognition, scene change detection and even facial recognition and text recognition from within the film, Blinkx claims to be the most advanced video search engine in the world. Literally indexing the very substance of each of the videos it includes.

  That is a growing index too. More than 35 million hours are already within its database including tv and viral content and that is growing by the day.

  If you’ve not yet got it bookmarked it is well worth a look.

• Connecting on the road

  by Webfusion in misc, Tech News on March 25th, 2011 Post a comment

  Those of you old enough to remember 80s TV show KnightRider will recall that KITT was the car of the future that every young kid – and big kid – wanted when they grew up. Yet, other than sat nav, the talking car has never really appeared – until now.

  In our hyper-connected world, where household appliances are even wired to the internet and we apparently tweet more in the bathroom than any other place in the house, yet the car – our chosen form of transport – is one of the least connected places in our lives, until now.

  BMW has developed a prototype system that allows drivers to compose full-text e-mails and text messages using voice commands. Using speech-recognition algorithms, drivers, as well as passengers can dictate original messages from over a million recognized words in the database. Not rocket science we know but this appears to be the first dictation software developed with car voice activation in mind.

  The system, claims BMW, allows you to compose e-mails with the same ease that you would have with a PC in an office. No taking your eyes off of the road or using your hands and clear enough recognition to make it all worthwhile. Even on a long drive you could technically respond to an e-mail dictating your response and using voice commands to edit including delete, move, or replace. Imagine how much more productive the daily commute would become.

  BMW suggest the system could be sold as an option on production models within three years as the first of a a new wave of voice-activated ideas including full internet search somewhere further along the plan.

  Distracted driving was to partial blame in the deaths of 5474 people and 448,000 injuries in car or motorcycle crashes on U.S. roads and streets, according to the , National Center for Statistics and Analysis but many safety campaigners wonder whether hands-free voice-activated systems are any safer than the existing pushing of buttons. Technically concentrating on the item you are dictating means your full attention is nto on the road which still leaves you distracted.

  Yet, in the longer-term – and the technology is already part of the way there – we all expect cars to virtually drive themselves to their pre-programmed destination anyway, with the minimum of driver intervention, at which time dictating lengthy tomes would be a regular time-waster for the average driver. The technology is there and expect it to be put to useone way or another over the next few years.

  Would you buy a car simply because it had the ability to dictate mail?

   

• Keeping students connected

  by Webfusion in Business trends, misc, Tech News on March 9th, 2011 1 Comment

  Figures are constantly bombarding us about the uptake of new technology amongst the youth of today and just why marketeers need to take notice and advantage of that.

  The Government announcement today adds credence to that. In a time of austerity the Federal Communications Commission is to roll out $9million of funding to help schools extend wireless internet connections beyond the classroom.

  Initially to fund just 20 pilot projects around the country, the funding will pay for wireless broadband connections for laptops, smart phones and other mobile devices to encourage students to stay connected when the school bell rings.

  The scheme ‘Learning On-the-Go’ aims to reach nearly 35,000 students across 14 states in the 2011-2012 school year.

• …is at 30,000 feet

  by Webfusion in Social Media, Tech News on February 2nd, 2011 Post a comment

  Back last year we suggested that a growing number of us are moving to a position of being unable to survive without social media. So with reports of people updating statuses and tweeting thoughts from every room in the house it is perhaps no surprise that demand is there for people to be able to to update their Facebook profile while flying high in the sky.

  In-flight web access on internal flights in nothing new, but until now has been prohibitively expensive for the majority of flyers. Now however we can all update our statuses in the clouds. Several airlines (including AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines, U.S. Airways and Virgin America) have teamed up with Gogo Inflight Internet in a deal with Ford to offer free in-flight Facebook access throughout the month of February.

  Obviously, safety remains a priority so phones, etc will need to be turned off for take-off and landing but once the flight staff say it is safe to turn on,  travelers may boot up tablets, phones, laptops, etc and access the inflight Gogo Wi-Fi network. Click on the Ford sponsored Facebook banner and you can access Facebook during your flight.
  Beyond Facebook and you’ll have to pay a fee, starting at $4.95 so you may be limited to what you can click within Facebook that may direct outside. However, with Facebook apparently the number-one website visited by travelers and plenty of interesting postings that could come from it, it looks a development well worth monitoring.

  Is in-flight Facebook access a click too far? Would you use the service?

• This how we do it…

  by Webfusion in Tech News on December 16th, 2010 Post a comment

  When you next login to Facebook the chances are your newest friend request will be from your Grandma rather than your former kindergarten friends, so says the latest report from the The Pew Internet and American Life Project.

  The report  produced annually gives an insight into who, what for and why Americans are using the internet and this year’s Generations 2010 report offers some interesting results. We all appreciate the way we use the internet is changing as technology develops but the report also shows different age groups are discovering new avenues to make the most of being online. Headline findings include US teenagers abandoning blogs and their grand-parents flooding to Facebook,

  Even compared to last year’s report the balance of who is using the internet for what has dramatically changed, as the silver-surfer generation begin to dominate in certain sectors.

  The findings suggest that those dubbed the “millennials,” or “Generation Y” – aged 18-33 – are most likely to use wireless internet, laptop, social networking sites or be participants in virtual worlds. However, for things like online banking and accessing government website data it is the older people who lead the way.

  Multi-media really has taken a grip of our lives. Of the adults surveyed, the numbers watching video online leapt from 52% back in 2008 to 66% in the 2010 report. Music online is also much more popular, with 51% of adults listening online compared to just 34%  back in June 2004.

  Yet, with the increased popularity of Facebook, etc, the writing looks to be literally on the wall for the future of online journalism. One of the only activities showing a decrease in popularity over previous reports was blogging. Only half as many of the teenage respondents now write their own blog now when compared to the figures in 2006.

  And what of that rise in Facebookers? Amazingly the biggest rise in numbers has come from those aged 74 and older. Since 2008 that sector have quadrupled their Facebook usage.

  Is your Grandma online?

• Pirates lose appeal

  by Webfusion in Tech News on November 26th, 2010 Post a comment

  Way back in April last year we reported the guilty verdicts  of copyright infringement for the  founders of the popular BitTorrent tracker the Pirate Bay.

  After being sentenced to large fines and prison terms, they appealed the verdict, the result of which has finally been decided: Another “guilty” verdict.

  Despite slightly reduced prison sentences there were larger fines as a result of the appeal but importantly it sent out a firm response to those looking to tout copyright laws.

  The Swedish Appeal Court reduced Peter Sunde’s sentence to eight months in prison, Fredrik Neij  10 months and Carl Lundström’s sentence was reduced to four months. All must pay their share of an adjusted $6.5 million fine, increased after the appeal court considered the losses to the copyright owners to be more than originally decided.

  Fourth founder, Gottfrid Svartholm, was not present at the court hearings due to medical circumstances not included in the verdict -  his case to be reviewed at a later date.

  Bit-torrent and sharing sites of course still exist and still abuse copyright legislation but this latest decision is likely to see anincrease in the number of actions being taken to close down illegal sites.

• Amazon flexes it’s Kindle muscles

  by Webfusion in Domains, marketing, Tech News on November 12th, 2010 Post a comment

  It is 18 months since we announced the arrival of Amazon‘s Kindle DX, then the latest e-reader of its kind. The newest Kindles with Wi-Fi and much better specifications appear to have finally seen them  make the step from stand-alone electronic text reader to an almost fully functioned handheld device. With the increased interest from a wider market that comes with that, they have this week begin to flex their muscles in ensuring publishers use the Kindle platform for their content.

  Following closely behind a similar deal now being offered to book publishers Amazon.com this week said it will give a bigger cut of revenue for periodicals sold on its Kindle Store. At a time when print costs for magazines and periodicals are hitting profits and hard copy sales are falling this could be a very incisive move. Royalties of 70 percent for publishers will be offered from next month, and although previously each publisher has had its own deal the new rate means most will now be doubling their take on each sale.

  Amazon’s strength is not just in the strong sales of the Kindle device either. It has swiftly moved in recent months to ensure that even those not buying its hardware can still purchase and read Kindle format books. There are apps for  Apple’s iPhone and iPad; Research In Motion’s BlackBerry; Android-powered devices, Macs and PCs. Until now newspapers and magazines for Kindle have only been available for Kindle hardware but expect that to change. To benefit from the new 70 percent split publishers will have to agree to offer their periodicals on all the platforms where Kindle content can be read, as well as in all territories for which the publisher has rights. The vision is “Buy Once, Read Everywhere”, with Whispersync technology allowing users to sync across devices what their last page was, so they don’t lose their place.

  Last month, Amazon also announced plans for a lending feature for Kindle content. The concept would allow each digital book to be lent once for 14 days, during which the lender cannot read the loaned book – just like you might do among family and friends with your traditional paperback.

  It certainly looks set to be an exciting year ahead for Kindle users and publishers.

• Why testing is important to identify security flaws

  by Webfusion in Tech News on October 6th, 2010 1 Comment

  The importance of full testing of online functions before going live was highlighted by news in recent days that election officials in the District of Columbia had to suspend testing on an online voting service aimed at allowing overseas voters to cast their ballots via the Web in the November elections.

  Testing on the new Digital Vote by Mail system was halted after security vulnerabilities were discovered during a public testing last week by a team of security researchers.

  While full details have not yet been revealed, ComputerWorld reports that  one flaw was so serious that it allowed a researcher to take complete control of the web application and tweak it. With an almost comical exposé of the security failing he then altered the application so that it played a tune as ‘voters’ cast their preference.

  Testing is back underway but it has led to a change in policy for the way the Digital Vote by Mail system will work. Voters will no longer be able to submit their vote electronically but those registered overseas voters and qualified military will be able to use the system to download an electronic blank voting paper that they can email or fax back.

  While it may be a blow to those trying to encourage technological progression in the promotion of democracy, it does serve to identify the vital importance of testing new web features before releasing them to the public. The question is how much testing is enough?

• A week without social media?

  by Webfusion in Tech News on September 17th, 2010 1 Comment

  If you’ve got friends at Harrisburg University who seems to be ignoring you this week don’t fret. This week (week beginning September 13) the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania  has been blocking IP addresses and shutting down access to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and instant messenging in an attempt to get students and staff to think about social media when they are not available.

  It’s a fairly novel idea but Steve Infanti Vice President of Communications at Harrisburg thinks it might lead to more effcient use of social media in the longer term  “Our goal is to challenge people to think about how they came to rely on it We too have used lots of social media, some successfully, some of it not so successfully. University faculty, in particular, use social media to communicate with colleagues about curriculum ideas, but what if they had to rely on face-to-face meetings? We wondered would the process take longer, or would the outcomes be any different.”

  The fact that the move has come from a science and technology focused university where new media and online business are high on the academic programme suggests this is a social experiment with some sort of merit. We could probably all admit to ‘wasting’ hours every week using online tools without any real end benefit. If the end result is more efficient use of new media, technology and social tools then the week will have proven very successful.

  We will be keeping an eye out for the feedback and can’t help wondering if the university hardware will be able to cope with the likely surge when the week expires and it’s community rushes to catch up with their week just gone.

  Could you live for a week without social media?