Items tagged with IM
Fueled by the recent NSA leaks brought forth by Edward Snowden regarding PRISM, along with other government eavesdropping programs that have since been brought to light, Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde and a small team have begun work on what I hope becomes a de facto chat client: Hemlis. What sets Hemlis apart isn't so much that it offers end-to-end encryption, but the fact that it does so via an app with beautiful aesthetics. The technology behind Hemlis includes the reliable XMPP chat protocol along with PGP - the latter a common email component for privacy buffs. Ultimately, the client will be released for both iOS and Android, but I'm hoping that the project will prove successful enough...
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There's a lot more to history and archeology than just uncovering the past. Sometimes recreating the past in our present time is the best way to understand how people lived thousands of years ago. One such project, the Rome Reborn project of the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, seeks to digitally rebuild the city of Rome "as it might have appeared at the height of its urban development in the time of Constantine the Great in A.D. 320."The first version of the Rome Reborn project was ten years in the making and was completed only last year. It included digital models of the terrain and over 7,000 structures--250 of which were highly detailed. The source...
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You may recall the "Off the Air" Apple ad, which reminded consumers that if necessary, a Mac Genius at an Apple store could transfer their files from their PC to a Mac for them. After all, the ad said, "fear of switching is the foundation of customer loyalty for PCs." Well, now Belkin is adding fuel to the fire with a cable that purportedly eases the transfer of files and settings from XP or Vista to a Mac. Ironically, in 2006, Microsoft touted a cable from Belkin that helped move from XP to Vista, and even gave away the cables as part of its CES press kits. The new cable, the Belkin Switch-to-Mac Cable has an MSRP of $49.99 and reportedly: ... provides a simple way to transfer files, settings,...
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SANDISK INTRODUCES ExtremeFFS – NEW FLASH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING SSD PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY SanDisk Also Proposes Two Metrics for End-Users to Measure Performanceand Endurance: virtualRPM (vRPM) and Long-Term Data Endurance (LDE) ExtremeFFS™ greatly accelerates SSD random write speeds and endurance vRPM allows consumers to measure and compare SSD and hard disk drive performance Industry encouraged to adopt a simple endurance metric to determine the lifespan of an SSD LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Nov. 5, 2008 —SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today unveiled an advanced flash file system for solid-state drives (SSDs) that yields dramatic improvement in performance and reliability...
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Although an application store on a mobile phone isn’t exactly new, the idea of having this functionality on a BlackBerry is. At the BlackBerry Developer Conference, RIM announced a new online application storefront and a new on-device application center for BlackBerry smartphones. RIM plans to launch the application storefront in March 2009. Developers can start submitting applications and content for inclusion in the storefront starting in December. This storefront will allow developers to set their own prices for applications and retain 80% of the revenue generated from sales of their applications. PayPal will provide payment services within the application storefront. Under the plan, organizations...
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It's no secret that most radio talk shows have a slight delay before a caller's audio reaches the air. The obvious reason: to make sure no "f-bombs" reach the sensitive ears of the public --- or the FCC. Well, Microsoft has been awarded a patent that might eliminate the need for that delay. The patent, 7437290, is for "Automatic censorship of audio data for broadcast" was first filed in 2004. Here's how it's described: An input audio data stream comprising speech is processed by an automatic censoring filter in either a real-time mode, or a batch mode, producing censored speech that has been altered so that undesired words or phrases are either unintelligible or inaudible. The automatic censoring...
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It was just a matter of time, but the defective Nvidia mobile GPUs that keep coming to light in a growing number of laptops models have finally made the unfortunate leap to desktops. Hewlett-Packard (HP) is reporting that 38 different models in its Slimline Desktop PC line are potentially affected by possibly defective Nvidia-based GPUs. HP reports that the affected models "may not boot or may not display video," and has implemented a "Limited Warranty Service Enhancement" that "provides for a motherboard replacement at no charge for 12 months from the date your one-year Hardware Limited Warranty expires or until December 31, 2009, whichever is sooner." Owners who have already paid for repairs...
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How do you roll out computer access to 1.8 million students at $70 per seat? The answer: Virtualization. The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is undertaking a "massive 5,000-school educational computing initiative" to build computer labs and give computer access to almost two million Indian children. But instead of requiring one computer per user, the system being put in place, supplied by NComputing, will allow up to seven users simultaneous access to a single computer. Credit: NComputingGet those images of a bunch of kids crowded around a single keyboard and display out of your heads--that's not how this system works. The system will utilize NComputing's X300 kit that essentially...
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The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Google-sponsored GeoEye-1 satellite, which was launched on September 6, has begun capturing image data from its orbit 423 miles above Earth. The satellite had been undergoing calibration and check out since launch, but transmitted its first, full color half-meter ground resolution images yesterday.Although the first images released from the Satellite are half-meter ground resolution, GeoEye-1 is actually capable of capturing much more precise images. Due to U.S. licensing restrictions, commercial customers--like Google--can only be given access to imagery that has been processed to half-meter ground resolution. But the GeoEye-1 satellite actually...
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XOHM, Intel and WiMAX Partners Celebrate New 4G Broadband Era in Baltimore4G mobile service provides XOHM customers a city-sized hotspot. New Intel-based notebooks, other WiMAX-ready devices on roadmap. XOHM retail push includes Web, area Mall kiosks and select Best Buy stores. Symbolic "wire-cutting" event signifies Internet freedom and mobility. Baltimore – Oct. 8, 2008 – Catalysts of a new 4G wireless broadband era gathered today in Baltimore as Sprint (NYSE: S), Intel and their WiMAX ecosystem partners celebrated the recent launch of XOHM mobile 4G service, and announced new access devices and retail strategies at an Inner Harbor event. The occasion marked a business model transformation...
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Acer Leads the Industry with the Introduction of the First Wireless 4G WiMAX-Enabled Notebooks for the U.S. MarketAspire 4930-6862 and Aspire 6930-6771 unveiled at first U.S. WiMAX network launch in Baltimore SAN JOSE, Calif. and BALTIMORE -- Acer America, part of the world’s third largest PC company (source: Gartner data, 2Q 2008), today unveiled its first WiMAX-enabled notebooks – Aspire 4930-6862 and Aspire 6930-6771 – in support of the nation’s first U.S. WiMAX wireless broadband network launched by XOHM in Baltimore. Demonstrating the company’s focus on delivering innovative technology solutions, the Aspire 4930-6862 and Aspire 6930-6771 are WiMAX-enabled Intel® Centrino 2-based notebooks...
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Baltimore is the first city to get full-on WiMAX deployment, and other U.S. cities are slated to come online soon, such as Chicago and Washington D.C. Using Intel's WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5050 "Echo Peak" chipset, Toshiba will soon start selling the Satellite U405-ST550W with integrated WiMAX support. The Satellite U405-ST550W Laptop will come configured with: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Intel Centrino® 2 Processor Technology Intel® WiMAX / Wi-Fi Link 13.3" Widescreen Display With TruBrite® Technology High-speed eSATA/USB Sleep-And-Charge Combo Port Built-in Webcam With Face Recognition 320GB Hard Drive 4GB RAM Toshiba Supports Introduction of Mobile WiMAX with the Launch...
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It looks like the rumored spin-off of AMD's manufacturing operations is just hours away now and reports are starting to ping across the wire of a "significant announcement" that AMD CEO Dirk Meyer will be making shortly. In fact, we've been invited to a press web cast at 8AM EST that AMD will hold in the morning. Historically, AMD has taken largely an in-house fabrication model for their wafer fabrication. However, capitalizing this effort is a huge recurring and perpetual investment that frankly only makes sense if there are significant and off-setting economies of scale. As process geometries are being driven hard by AMD's primary competitor,...
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Kingston Technology Releases Limited Edition HyperX Modules with Black Heatspreaders -- Available Only at Newegg Fountain Valley, CA – October 6, 2008 – Kingston Technology Co., Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced its popular 1066MHz HyperX DDR2 memory modules are available with limited edition black heatspreaders, exclusively for U.S. customers at online e-tailer Newegg.com. Available for Kingston part # KHX8500AD2K2/4G, the black heatspreaders show off Kingston's enthusiast memory in a new light while guaranteeing the same thermal performance benefits as the famous signature blue heatspreaders. The promotion is for a limited time only and available while supplies...
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If an image is worth a thousand words, what are a thousand images worth? What they're not worth is your time waiting for them to load on a Web page. While the Web is primarily a visual medium, the more image-heavy a Web page becomes, the longer it takes to load before you can see its entire contents. Even pages with just a few images can take a seemingly inordinate amount of time to load if the images aren't properly optimized for Web viewing. Everyone from professional Web page designers to casual bloggers walk the delicate line between including relevant content on a page and causing download bloat. Smush it smushing the People.com front page Some have tools like Photoshop and GIMP and are...
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With Windows 7 slated for either late 2009 or early 2008, those of us foolish enough to buy into Microsoft's hype over Windows Vista Ultimate Extras are probably running out of time in which we might see a really useful Extra come down the pipe. The latest set of underwhelming Extras were released last week, so quietly we sure didn't notice. Microsoft announced them in a blog post on the official Windows Vista blog. The new release includes: Microsoft Tinker: Microsoft Tinker is a casual game that provides players with short puzzle game play sessions set in a warm, calming environment. Ultimate Extras Sounds from Microsoft Tinker: Based on the positive feedback we received from the release of...
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Jack Thompson, best known for his crusade against video games, which he considers to be overly violent and to contain too much sexual content, has been disbarred. His most famous crusade was against Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, after the famous "Hot Coffee" content was exposed (no pun intended).The Florida Supreme Court has ordered his permanent disbarment (.PDF), though it has given him 30 days to "close out his practice."The Court approves the corrected referee's report and John Bruce Thompson is permanently disbarred, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. OK,...
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In our continuing coverage of technologies that are enabling convergence and mobility, we have news from Motorola that they're serious in their commitment to capitalizing on convergence and connectivity in the multimedia living room of tomorrow. Dubbed the au BOX (case sensitive, please...), Motorola plans to enable customers to take their multimedia content with them on their cell phone. KDDI, a major mobile carrier in Japan plans to offer the au BOX service first which will allow subscribers to tap into their personal music, video and image libraries, while on the road. And with the help of a setup box? You are correct, sir. Unfortunately the roll-out is only...
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In a move that will leave many saying, "Duh! What took so long," the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) has just added movie and TV streaming to its site. IMDb has long been the first stop for many (IMDb.com claims 57 million users) looking to find information related to movies, TV shows, and the people associated with them, such as actors and filmmakers. Available now, the Amazon.com-owned company hosts "over 6,000 full-length feature films and TV episodes for free." This new features is currenly labeled as a "Beta." IMDb.com will feature a rotating selection of video content from providers such as "CBS, Hulu, Sony Pictures Television and over 500 independent filmmakers." Content will include...
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NVIDIA and Opera team to accelerate the full web on mobile devicesOpera 9.5 Browser Licensed and Optimized For Tegra Processors SANTA CLARA, CA -- September 9, 2008 -- Browsing the Internet on a mobile device will take a leap forward with today's announcement that NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) and Opera Software (OSE: OPERA) are collaborating to bring the full desktop Web-browsing experience, including support for JavaScript, accelerated vector, and video content, to smartphones and mobile Internet devices. As a result, NVIDIA will offer an optimized Opera 9.5 browser in its suite of pre-integrated, in-house and third-party software for the NVIDIA Tegra family of computer-on-chip Windows...
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AMD Delivers Optimum Platform for Virtualization with Microsoft- Combined Offering Expected to Benefit Underserved Mid-Market by Offering Reduced Cost, Superior Flexibility for Web-based Workloads - SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- September 8, 2008 --AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the availability of robust new virtualization solutions powered by a combination of technologies from AMD and Microsoft Corp. This new deployment model uses AMD Opteron processors with AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology together with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V to deliver significant efficiencies to enterprises large and small. Mid-market companies in particular, which have traditionally been slower to implement...
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In May, the FCC announced that Wilmington, North Carolina had volunteered to be the victims, er, first community to switch completely over to digital TV. Although there were concerns that Tropical Storm Hanna would cause a postponement of the switch, the FCC announced on Sunday that the experiment would still go live on Monday, Sept. 8th.About 15% of Americans still get their TV over-the-air, via antennas, and when the switch to DTV takes place, many of them will require converter boxes. Coupons to subsidize the cost of these boxes are available, with a value of $40. Each household can get 2 of these coupons.In a press release, the FCC said: The early digital switch in...
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