Archive for the ‘News’ Category
The Buzz Is All About Google
New day, new announcement about a new product development/cash-generator from those leviathans of Silicon Valley. This time, however, it is something they can slip under the door onto the mat without any effort on their or our part. As a way to launch a new product, they have it pretty easy, given that Buzz is an add-on for GMail, their web-based email service.
Apparently, in the coming days, users of GMail will see the link to Buzz appear under their Inbox link, and they are automatically connected to their contacts in a way similar to followers in Twitter, and Friends in Facebook. It all sounds good, but I haven’t seen my link yet in the Apps version, so it makes me wonder what I have to do.
Given that they search everything that comes in and out of my email account, maybe I should write a lovely email about them and see if that does the trick?
New iPhone OS
Apple have announced a new OS for their ubiquitous iPhone. Amongst the amazing new features is “copy and paste”, which apparently allows you to copy one piece of text from one place, and then move it all the way to somewhere else.
Who knows – it might just catch on.
Google Earth – the missing 70%
Google have released a new version of their mapping software package, Google Earth, and this time it makes inroads into tackling the 70% of the Earth’s surface that previous versions have neglected – the bits covered in water.
Granted, you can’t really blame them for leaving it out, given that the average punter isn’t going to be interested in looking at mile after mile of water (although some people have devoted significant time to spotting boats in the midst of all that nothing).
It is only really in the past 40 years that we have begun to map the undersea surface, through the use of satellite and thermal/sonar imaging, and this understanding has allowed us to solve the problem that vexed the Victorian geologists and evolutionists – why are some species spread across the continents, and others not? The answer, the undersea mapping told us, is that the Earth’s crust is constantly moving and being replaced, and the continents, far from being static, were once clumped together and are still moving around on the surface of the molten interior.
Only 5% of the Earth’s ocean floor has been explored (by humans at least), and so scientists and technologists alike have welcomed the development of this side to Google Earth. Instead of spotting sunbathers on ocean-going yachts, perhaps those with a few spare hours could put their minds and eyes to something a bit more important, and not even get wet in the process.
Happy 40th Mr Mouse
Funny to think that it’s been 40 years since someone (Doug Engelbart) came up with the idea for the first computer mouse.
Made of wood, and with one button, it shook up the traditional ideas of computing and redefined how people should interact and use computers – they should help us.
Many of the things we take for granted today, and perhaps thought had only been around since the 80s and the first usable PC-based word processors, were demonstrated at that show in California in 1968. Copying, pasting and clipping text files and hyperlinking - all things previously unheard of, were unveiled by Engelbart and the team behind NLS, the name of the system to put the ideas into practice.
What is perhaps most significant about the event was that NLS was adopted by the Stanford Research Institute who, together with UCLA, formed one of the two ends of the first link in the Arpanet network – what we now call the Internet.
I think we should all raise a glass to Mr Engelbart today.
Read more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7768481.stm
Mail Goggles
It’s late. You’ve had a few drinks. Instead of waiting until the morning to send that email, you’ve sat hunched over the keyboard and spat out a bilious missive to a client or a friend/ex, or (worse), declared undying love.
Go on, you can admit it. You’ve done it.
Now, in recognition of all those emails sent in haste, never to be recalled (wouldn’t THAT be a great invention – a “retract” button), Google has come up with a solution that although won’t stop you altogether, will at least make you think twice before pushing “send”. It’s called Mail Goggles, works with their GMail service, and the idea is that it presents you with a series of simple maths questions that you must answer correctly before being able to send the message.
It works during those key night-time hours when alcohol or just sheer exhaustion can play a big part in thinking whether something is a good idea or not. I think it’s just a shame they don’t do one for the phone too.
There’s a challenge for you, Google bods.
Google Chrome Web Browser Launches
Google has launched its first foray into the web browser market. It’s no surprise that they’ve extended their reach into this area, given that their business is based around the web and web marketing. Perhaps it is surprising that they’ve waited this long, but it comes at a time when both Mozilla and Microsoft have both launched the new versions of their popular browsers Firefox and Internet Explorer respectively.
At first look it is a very neat browser, with nice touches such as highlighted web addresses with the main domain of the site you are visiting in black, so you can easily see where you are – difficult on some sites with vast URLs.
No crashes yet, but we’re only a few hours in, so will keep you posted!
Data security
The latest furore surrounding the loss of a memory stick with the data of all the prisoners in the UK is surprising in a number of ways.
However, the media have chosen to focus on the loss of the key itself, but I don’t think that is the surprising thing; I mean, we all lose things from time to time, especially something barely bigger than an AA battery.
The really surprising thing to me is why I can ensure that we can have all our company disks and portable media encrypted in less than a few hours for the sake of a £150 outlay, but a government contractor with contracts worth north of £50 million over the past few years hasn’t put a similar system in place.
What have they spent all that money on I wonder?
If you deal with any commercially or personally sensitive information, and if you’re in business, then that means you, then do yourselves a favour and invest a small sum in getting things secured.
IBM races to make hi-tech memory
Handheld gadgets storing thousands of hours of film footage could soon be a reality thanks to IBM scientists.
Researchers for the computer giant are working on a technology known as racetrack memory which uses tiny magnetic boundaries to store data.
In a paper in the journal Science, the team at IBM’s Almaden lab in California outline ways to make the building blocks of the novel storage medium.
The capacity of MP3 players could increase 100 times from present levels.
But the IBM team say racetrack memory is still seven to eight years away from commercial use.
Computer viruses hit one million
According to Symantec, the online security company, the number of viruses, worms and trojans in circulation has reached the one million mark.
Our experience has shown that for the sake of £50 or so, it is well worth investing in a comprehensive virus-scanning and backup solution, as the inconvenience of losing your data is simply incalculable – never mind the cost to your business.