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Monday, February 21, 2011

NASA to launch newest Earth-observation satellite (AP) : Technet

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NASA to launch newest Earth-observation satellite (AP) : Technet

NASA to launch newest Earth-observation satellite (AP)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 11:32 AM PST

ALICIA CHANG, Associated Press Alicia Chang, Associated Press – Mon Feb 21, 2:32 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – NASA is set to launch its latest Earth-orbiting satellite on a $424 million mission to analyze airborne grit spewed by volcanoes, forest fires, smokestacks and tailpipes.

The Glory satellite is slated to blast off before dawn Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Taurus XL rocket. Once boosted to an altitude of 440 miles, it will join a fleet of satellites that has been collecting climate data for years.

Its main job will be to study fine airborne particles known as aerosols. Smaller than the diameter of a human hair, these ubiquitous specks can track great distances across the globe and are largely responsible for producing hazy skies.

Scientists know very little about aerosols and their effect on climate. A better understanding is critical to improving climate models.

"We need to know these particles much better than we do," said project scientist Michael Mishchenko of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Over the past century, average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit worldwide. Scientists blame carbon dioxide, mostly from the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels, as the chief cause of global warming.

Unlike greenhouse gases that linger in the atmosphere for years, aerosols are short-lived — staying aloft for weeks — so it's much harder to measure them than carbon dioxide.

Most of the aerosols — roughly 90 percent — comes from natural sources such as volcanic ash, desert dust and smoke from forest fires. The rest is from human activity.

Aerosols can influence both warming and cooling of the planet depending on their color and chemical makeup. They can result in cooling by scattering sunlight back into space; they also can absorb solar energy, warming the atmosphere.

Dozens of satellites have studied aerosols over the past 50 years. But Glory is designed to make the most accurate aerosol measurements from space by studying how widely distributed they are and their various properties.

Besides tracking aerosols in the atmosphere, Glory will also monitor changes in solar activity to determine the sun's effect on climate.

Glory will be launched aboard a four-stage Taurus XL rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. The mission marks Taurus XL's return to flight after a failure in 2009 that resulted in the loss of a NASA global warming satellite.

Glory, which weighs about half of a Volkswagen Beetle, will operate for at least three years. The spacecraft chassis was recycled from a mission that never flew and had to be retrofitted to accommodate the two key instruments.

The mission was supposed to fly last November, but a problem with the solar panels delayed launch by three months. Once in low-Earth orbit, Glory will join a convoy of satellites already collecting climate information.

The spacecraft's unusual name was derived from an atmospheric phenomenon caused by the scattering of sunlight by water droplets in a cloud.

Tickets, coupons among uses for tap-to-pay phones (AP)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 09:03 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – 14 mins ago

BARCELONA, Spain – Cell phones are usually used to communicate with people far away. This year, they'll get the ability to do the opposite: communicate with things that are close enough to touch.

It may not sound immediately useful, but phones will get some surprising capabilities with the addition of chips for so-called Near Field Communications, a wireless technology with a range intentionally limited to just a few inches.

The phones will be able to talk to payment terminals designed for "smart cards," replacing credit and debit cards. They could be used as mass transit passes. You could tap two phones together to exchange contact information.

Or you could tap a "smart tag" on a poster, product or sticker to get your phone to do something, such as retrieving information from the Internet or placing a call to the product's customer support line. Yankee Group analyst Nick Holland likens these tags to the links that take us from Web page to Web page, only now they're in the real world.

Adding NFC is like adding a whole new capability on the level of GPS navigation or a camera, Holland said.

The industry has been talking about including NFC in phones for years, mainly to turn them into "electronic wallets." Beyond a few trials, nothing much has happened, except in Japan and Hong Kong, where these systems have caught on for mass-transit ticketing.

But at the world's largest cell-phone trade show, held last week in Barcelona, Spain, it was clear that the log-jam has loosened, in part because NFC chips are now cheaper. Millions of NFC-equipped phones will be in consumer hands in the U.S. and Europe before the end of the year.

Jim Balsillie, the co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., said at the show that "many if not most" BlackBerrys will have NFC chips this year. Google Inc.'s Nexus S already has one, and the company's latest Android software for that and other phones has NFC support. Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of phones, has committed to putting NFC chips in all its next-generation smart phones.

Based on job postings at Apple Inc., there's speculation the new iPhone model due this summer will have an NFC chip. Apple wouldn't comment.

NFC turns the limitation of short-range communications into an advantage. When an NFC terminal senses an NFC-equipped phone, it knows that's because the user is holding it right up close and wants to interact in some way — for instance, paying for a can of Coke.

That means a lot of the complexity that comes with establishing wireless links — like logging on to a Wi-Fi hotspot or "pairing" Bluetooth devices with each other — can be dispensed with. Tap and something happens . but your phone will probably still ask you if you really want that can of Coke.

The simplicity of NFC also lets it cut through the complications of existing mobile payment systems, which let you send money through an app or text message. These systems have been more popular in Europe.

It's possible to upgrade some current phones with NFC chips. Small memory cards that are accepted by some phones can be given NFC capabilities. Both MasterCard and Visa are experimenting with "jackets" for the iPhone that have NFC chips, for instance.

But not all phones are compatible with these solutions, so the most likely way to get NFC into consumer's hands is with new phones. Research firm Yankee Group estimates that there will be 151 million NFC-enabled phones in 2014, up from 834,000 in 2010.

The wide support from phone manufacturers comes after nearly a decade of much talk but little action. Bill Gajda, head of Visa Inc.'s push into mobile payments, said the NFC idea has faced "a series of chicken-and-egg problems."

Phone makers didn't want to include the chips in their phones if the wireless carriers didn't want them. Wireless carriers saw no use for the chips if merchants didn't have terminals that accepted them. Merchants didn't want to invest in terminals if there would be no phones to use them.

With phone makers and wireless carriers now supporting the idea, the hope is that stores will take the jump too, Gajda said. McDonald's Corp. restaurants in the U.S. and a few other chains already have contactless payment terminals, installed to accept cards that work on a principle similar to NFC. When New York City taxi cabs were upgraded to accept credit cards starting two years ago, they got contactless terminals too.

The Smart Card Alliance estimates that there are half a million contactless terminals in the U.S., in 150,000 to 200,000 locations. That compares to perhaps 6 million locations in the U.S. with traditional card readers, as estimated by Todd Ablowitz, an electronic-payments consultant.

On the phone company side, France Telecom SA's Orange and Deutsche Telekom AG of Germany are rolling out NFC.

In the U.S., three of the four largest wireless carriers: Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA, have formed a joint venture, ISIS, to roll out payment services in limited regions of the country in the next year.

It's not clear that payment services will attract consumers to NFC phones, given that using a phone over a card only saves a few seconds.

Rajeev Chand, head of research at investment bank Rutberg & Co., believes ticketing will be the "entry point" for NFC, as speed matters more when passing turnstiles.

In stores, phones with NFC could be popular if they do more than merely replace a wallet of credit and debit cards. They could help merchants track and reward loyal customers, replacing both loyalty cards and printed coupons.

On the payments side, well, NFC is only going to go so far, in Holland's opinion. It will take time for the terminals to spread, and cash isn't going away anytime soon.

"You're still going to have to carry your wallet for the next 20 years," the analyst said.

Top Alibaba executives resign after fraud probe (AP)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 02:52 AM PST

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach, Ap Business Writer – Mon Feb 21, 5:52 am ET

SHANGHAI – Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says two of its top executives are resigning to take responsibility after a probe discovered more than 2,000 suppliers had defrauded customers, sometimes with the alleged collusion of its sales staff.

Alibaba said in a notice Monday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its chief executive and chief operating officers, who were not implicated by the investigation, were resigning to take responsibility for the company's "breakdown in integrity."

The company said 100 sales representatives, out of a total workforce of 14,000, allegedly involved in defrauding customers were fired. Some supervisors and sales managers had either intentionally or negligently allowed the creation of fraudulent "storefronts" by letting some 2,326 suppliers evade authentication and verification measures, it said.

Most purchases involved offerings of popular consumer electronics at bargain prices with low required minimum orders. "The methods of the perpetrators suggest that they have engineered an organized and systemic attack on the integrity of the Alibaba.com platform for illegal gains," the company said.

"The investigation concluded that the pursuit of short-term financial gain at all cost had tainted parts of our sales organization, risking serious damage to our company's core values," it said.

Jack Ma, the entrepreneurial whiz and former English teacher who founded Alibaba in 1999, said he was sending a strong message meant to reinforce trust in his company, which has thrived in this age of online commerce and outsourcing.

"One of our most important values is integrity. That means the integrity of our employees and the integrity of our online marketplaces as trusted and safe places for our small business customers," Ma said in a statement.

Jonathan Lu Zhaoxi, CEO of affiliated Chinese e-commerce company Taobao, will replace David Wei Zhe as Alibaba's CEO, the notice said. It did not say who would replace resigning COO Elvis Lee Shi-Huei.

Alibaba, based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, claims more than 56 million registered users in more than 240 countries and regions.

The company says it investigated after noticing an increase in complaints of fraud by buyers using its websites in late 2009. The probe found that 1,219 of its "Gold Supplier" customers who joined in 2009 and 1,107 that joined in 2010 had engaged in fraud against buyers.

Alibaba terminated the "storefronts" of those allegedly fraudulent customers and will collaborate with authorities to seek redress, said company spokeswoman Linda Kozlowski.

But such efforts would depend partly on buyers deciding to take legal action, she said.

The average amount of fraud involved in the cases was less than $1,200, the company said. It gave no total amount involved. But Kozlowski said the company has paid out $1.7 million since 2009 from a fund set up to redistribute to buyers any revenues from companies found to be engaged in fraud.

"We decided we did not want to take revenue from fraud," she said.

Alibaba, whose shares are traded in Hong Kong, says the cases would not have an impact on its overall finances.

Cuban asks Obama, Google chief for free Internet (AFP)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 05:02 PM PST

– Mon Feb 21, 8:02 pm ET

HAVANA (AFP) – Cuban folk star Silvio Rodriguez urged US President Barack Obama and Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Monday to provide free Internet to developing countries.

"It's a simple proposal: the world is very unequal, and a lot of pain could be avoided with action that could turn into a worldwide qualitative step forward," Rodriguez said in a blog post at segundacita.blogspot.com.

"I am sure that it is something within reach of privileged minds (and budgets).

"So you owners of the Internet and President Obama: build a satellite network to give free Internet to the developing world," wrote the 63-year-old singer.

Earlier this month, the Americas' only communist government hailed a new undersea fiber optic cable connecting it to socialist ally Venezuela as a blow to the decades-old US embargo.

Despite the revamped access, authorities say Internet use will be limited to "social" purposes and that priority would be given to a limited set of users in universities and other educational institutions.

Deputy Minister of Information Jorge Luis Perdomo insisted earlier this month that "there is no political obstacle" to Internet access in Cuba.

But the opposition and dissidents charge the government is imposing ideological restrictions that aim to maintain authorities' control on sources of information and expression.

U.K. distributor releases "Anuvahood" cellphone app (Reuters)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 05:11 PM PST

By Stuart Kemp Stuart Kemp – Mon Feb 21, 8:11 pm ET

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) – U.K. indie distributor Revolver is pushing traditional boundaries for its rollout of "Anuvahood," a British urban comedy movie, by launching its own cellphone app across the three main platforms, iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

The app comes complete with character profiles, games and an inbuilt trailer and goes live February 21.

The distributor has developed the app to include audio clips from the film's main characters, a live Twitter feed, an urban themed quiz that interacts with Facebook and the official "Anuvahood" trailer.

Written and directed by Adam Deacon -- star of U.K. box offices successes "KIDulthood" and "Shank" -- "Anuvahood" follows the story of Kenneth as he pursues his dream of becoming a famous MC. The film also features Eddie Kadi, Jaime Winstone and Richard Blackwood.

The app, developed in partnership with Grapple Mobile, forms an integral part of the wider marketing plan and full social media strategy that Revolver has constructed to support this film, Revolver said.

Revolver CEO Justin Marciano said: "This app will help us to reach out across both our solid core young fan base and to the wider film-going audiences who are increasingly engaged with film marketing campaigns via online and mobile interaction."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

Social media, cellphone video fuel Arab protests (AFP)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 06:38 PM PST

by Chris Lefkow Chris Lefkow – 2 hrs 39 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Social media, cellphone cameras, satellite television, restive youth and years of pent-up anger are proving to be a toxic mix for authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.

In clip after clip of footage from the street protests that have been sweeping the region, demonstrators -- mostly young men -- can be seen among the crowds holding mobile phone cameras aloft to document the scenes.

The shaky footage of peaceful protests -- and images of horrific carnage -- have been uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and other sites and aired on pan-Arab satellite television stations like Al-Jazeera.

Google-owned YouTube has been highlighting amateur footage from the unrest -- such as clips from Libya from a user who goes by the name "enoughgaddafi" -- at its news and politics channel, CitizenTube.

In Bahrain and Libya, graphic pictures and raw video of harsh crackdowns by the security forces on crowds of protesters earned international condemnation for their governments and further fueled popular anger in the streets.

Micah Sifry, co-founder of politics and technology blog techPresident noted in a recent blog post that mobile phone coverage in the Middle East is far higher than Internet penetration.

"The biggest factor in the unfolding events, to me, appears to be the emergent power of young people, compounded by how urbanized they are and how connected they are by mobile phones," Sifry said.

"Could it be that what we're witnessing is the political coming of age of Generation TXT?"

The extent to which social media contributed to the toppling of the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia -- and protests of varying size and intensity in Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Yemen -- is a matter of debate.

But Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Libya's Moamer Kadhafi took the threats posed by the Internet seriously enough, apparently, when they took the extraordinary step of attempting to cut their own people off the Web.

Wael Ghonim, the Google executive and cyber activist who emerged as a leader of the anti-government protests in Egypt, said social media played a crucial role in the events that led to Mubarak's ouster after three decades of iron-fisted rule.

"Without Facebook, without Twitter, without Google, without You Tube, this would have never happened," Ghonim told CBS television's "60 Minutes."

"If there was no social networks it would have never been sparked," said Ghonim, who started the Facebook page "We Are All Khaled Said" credited with helping mobilize the demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Alec Ross, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's senior adviser for innovation, said social media played an "important role" in the events in Egypt and Tunisia but "technology did not create the dissent movements there."

"It did not make the dissent movements successful -- people did," Ross told AFP. "They were not Facebook revolutions or Twitter revolutions."

"Technology served as an accelerant," he said. "A movement that historically would have taken months or years was compressed into far shorter time cycles."

In Egypt, social media helped bring together people from diverse social, political and economic circles and merged them into a united force, Ross said.

"Having connected online they were more likely to come together offline," said Ross, a leader of the State Department's social media efforts.

Ross said the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia were notable for their lack of recognizable leaders, and networked communications helped make this possible.

"The Che Guevara of the 21st century is the network," he said. "It no longer takes a single charismatic revolutionary figure to inspire and organize the masses.

"Rather, in the digital age, leadership can be far more distributed and that's something that we clearly saw in Tunisia and Egypt," he said.

Giffords wishes husband happy birthday on Twitter (AP)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 04:17 PM PST

Xbox Kinect Vs. Sony PS3: How 2 Companies Handle Hacking (Mashable)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 02:54 PM PST

Jolie O'Dell Jolie O'dell – Mon Feb 21, 5:54 pm ET

Imagine you're a gaming console manufacturer, and some kid hacks your console to do "neat tricks." Do you help him or sue him?

The question isn't a hypothetical one; currently, two rival companies have each taken one of these roads. What remains to be seen is which approach will be more profitable, both financially and in terms of gamer goodwill.

Microsoft is set to release a Kinect software developer kit (SDK) to academics and enthusiasts later this spring; the company really is welcoming hackers and curious minds to go to town on its hands-free gestural control interface.

Who could have guessed that the Windows maker, which has struggled to shake an unjustly stodgy image, would be the first to invite experimental development on its gaming platform? Or that its biggest rival in the gaming space, Sony and the PlayStation 3, would be gathering some bad PR of its own for suing PS3 hackers at the same time?

Why Is Sony Suing?

Here's the skinny: Sony is suing, among other entities, George Hotz, a.k.a. geohot, a 21-year-old hacker who is well known for his iPhone jailbreaking. In fact, Hotz created the first-ever public software exploit for jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS. After working on jailbreak software for the iPhone 4, iPad and a slew of other Apple devices, Hotz turned his attention to the PlayStation 3.

Hotz hacked on the PS3 for at least seven months, successfully opening up the console for homebrew games and PS2 emulation. Along the way, he released the root key (also known as the metldr key), which decrypted the PS3's loaders, allowing anyone who wanted to open up their own PS3s to do so.

Because of that, Hotz is now knee-deep in a bitter lawsuit with Sony, a lawsuit that's cost him more than he can afford to pay. In fact, he had to beg the Internet for the more than $10,000 he needed to cover his legal bills.

While Sony says Hotz violated copyrights and committed computer fraud, Hotz, who claims to have never played a pirated game in his life, retorts, "They don't really care about piracy; they care about control."

How Microsoft Is Helping Hackers

In a stark contrast, Microsoft seems to not give two shakes about control, at least as far as hacking with the Kinect is concerned.

The company's brand new gestural control system is as hot as it is financially successful. While many corporations would keep a money-maker like that tightly locked down, Microsoft is doing everything it can to invite more hackers to play with and create experiments with the Kinect.

Microsoft's big test came last November when a prominent Google engineer staged a Kinect-hacking contest. Previously, Microsoft had made statements that it wanted to make Kinect tamper-proof and would work with law enforcement to ensure that it remained so. But the company changed its tune last November, saying it was "excited to see that people are so inspired" by the possibilities inherent in the Kinect.

Since then, hackers have used the Kinect for everything from World of Warcraft "magic" to music video production.

And today, given the success of Kinect hacking for Xbox, Microsoft announced it will release a non-commercial "Kinect for Windows" SDK. The company says the reason for "a starter kit for application developers is to make it easier for academic research and enthusiast communities to create even richer experiences using Kinect technology."

The SDK is coming from Microsoft Research (MSR) in collaboration with the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB), and it will give devs "deep Kinect system capabilities such as audio, system APIs, and direct control of the sensor."

A commercial version of the SDK will be available soon.

Which Company Is Right?

The bigger picture Microsoft is trying to convey is that, as a company, Microsoft has long been excited about natural user interfaces; and it wants you, the hacker, to be excited about them, too. Granted, there are still likely some strings attached, and we doubt the company would be tickled to have you blog about Xbox jailbreak codes.

Nevertheless, suing users who hack your console versus helping users who hack (part of) your console are two interesting and opposed actions that are likely to be judged with great relish in the court of popular opinion.

How should Sony be handling geohot and other PS3 hackers who just want to make the console do neat tricks? Is this lawsuit really doing anything other than garnering the multinational corporation a boatload of bad PR?

In the comments, tell us what you would do if you were a Sony exec. We look forward to reading your responses.

4 Powerful and Free Firefox Extensions For Business (PC World)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 02:05 PM PST

Keir Thomas Keir Thomas – Mon Feb 21, 5:05 pm ET

Many businesses have switched away from Internet Explorer in the past few years, and while Firefox is a popular tool in the corporate world, few workers exploit its full power. However, just a handful of free extensions can provide invaluable business tools.

We've picked out four of the best extensions that are also free of charge. You can search for and install all of them using the Addon Manager within Firefox (From Tools select Add-ons, then click the Get Add-ons button in the window that appears).

Forex Currency Converter

This handy plugin does just one thing. Once installed, it'll turn any currency amounts listed on a Web page into hyperlinks. When the links are clicked, a small floating window appears that can convert the amount to any other currency based on current exchange rates, with data from iforex.com.

In other words, if you're browsing a European site and are thinking of ordering a product, simply clicking the price in euros will allow you to instantly and accurately see what it is in U.S. dollars.

A silly irritation is that the add-on doesn't detect the currency, so you'll need to select it from a dropdown list in the pop-up window. However, the pop-up remembers what you selected last time, so if you frequently have to convert Euros to US dollars, for example, there'll be little hassle.

LinkedIn Companion for Firefox

Described as the Facebook of the business world, LinkedIn allows you to network with others in your profession. If you're a fan of the site then the official LinkedIn Companion for Firefox extension is a must.

The add-on does three main things. The first is to add a button beneath the bookmarks toolbar that displays a menu, showing shortcuts to various sections of the LinkedIn Web site. It also allows you to share the Web page you're browsing on your LinkedIn profile, and tracks recently-viewed profiles.

Secondly, the extension adds LinkedIn entries to the Firefox search box so you can quickly search both the LinkedIn site and also its jobs section.

Thirdly, and arguably most useful of all, the add-on places a small LinkedIn icon alongside the name of contacts within Web mail services, such as Gmail and Hotmail. Clicking this then shows a pop-up window with a short précis of their LinkedIn profile, if they have one. Clicking the link will display their whole profile and you can add them as a contact.

The only irritation with the add-on is that the browser interface button takes up a whole toolbar of its own, wasting screen space.

gPDF

Despite its name, the gPDF is an add-on designed to allow the quick and easy viewing of office files within Firefox, including but not limited to PDFs. It's extremely simple to use: once installed, single-clicking any link within a Web page that points to a PDF, Word document (both .doc and .docx), Excel spreadsheet (.xls and .xlsx), or PowerPoint presentation (.ppt and .pptx) will open them in the Google Docs viewer. Clicking rich-text files (.rtf), comma-separated value spreadsheets (.csv) or OpenOffice.org files will open them in Zoho Viewer.

In both cases you don't need to have a Google Docs or Zoho Office account, or be logged into them.

Thanks to gPDF, for most office documents there's no longer any need to download and view them in the relevant program, which can take a lot of time.

You can still download files manually by right-clicking them and selecting Save As, although in both Google Docs and Zoho Viewer you can select to save-out the file after viewing using the menu options.

OutWit Docs

Describing itself as a 'document harvester', OutWit Docs is a clever little plugin that transforms Google into an office document search engine. Just click the OutWit button next to the home icon on your browser toolbar and a separate search window will open. Entering a search term in the usual search field at the top right will search Google but only return Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, CSV or PDF files.

As such, OutWit Docs is an excellent business research tool. Double-clicking any file in the results will download and open it instantly, while you can "catch" documents for further investigation later by dragging them to the Catch box. By checking a box beneath the Catch box you can also cause the files to be downloaded automatically when they're caught.

Although it's not the prettiest add-on, OutWit Docs is first-rate for those who have to search online for business materials.

Game Input Device Controlled By Kissing [VIDEO] (Mashable)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 01:27 PM PST

Charlie White Charlie White – Mon Feb 21, 4:27 pm ET


There's already a variety of ways to control a videogame, and now artist Hye Yeon Nam has one more. She's figured out how to roll an on-screen bowling ball with a lot of rapid tongue action.

How does Kiss Controller work? It's done with magnets. One of the players provides sensor input by with a small magnet stuck to the tongue, while the other wears a headset receiver that senses the direction and speed of that magnet. According to Hye, the object of the game is to "increase the speed of the ball by moving the tongue faster while kissing."

From what we can see in the video, this experimental adventure is either an art project, an excuse for this young artist/inventor to do some very special research with her lab partner, or both. But who knows, maybe this research could result in some unforeseen input device, maybe even the next Kinect or PlayStation Move?

Looks like this project missed Valentine's Day by about a week. Perhaps the idea could be combined with existing input devices that are capable of controlling objects using brainpower, such as that XWave headset we tested that let us move graphics on an iPhone screen using the power of the relaxing mind.

Better yet, let's just keep the kissing and the gaming separate, at least for now. Technology will catch up eventually.

Amazon app store won't require a device (Appolicious)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 01:34 PM PST

California School District Battles Truancy with GPS (PC World)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 10:19 AM PST

Brennon Slattery Brennon Slattery – Mon Feb 21, 1:19 pm ET

Students with a tendency towards truancy in California's Anaheim Union High School District are being assigned GPS units to make sure they're going to school on time, according to The Orange County Register. The GPS units are the size of a (chunky) cellphone and are developed by Dallas-based AIM Truancy Solutions, which operates in more than 100 middle and high schools in three states.

The Anaheim Union High School District is part of a volunteer six-week pilot program that is outfitting seventh and eighth grade students who have more than three unexcused absences with these devices. In Austin, Texas, where this experiment also ran, it was used for middle and high school students who had racked up between 20 to 25 absences.

When asked by the Orange County Register why the devices are handheld rather than strapped to the students, Miller Sylvan, regional director of AIM Truancy Solutions, said, "We don't want to criminalize the kids or have them wear any bracelet or something around their ankle that would stigmatize them."

Every school day, the participants receive an automated phone call reminding them to get to school on time. They are then required to enter a code that tracks their location during their departure for school, arrival at school, lunch period, departure from school and at 8 p.m., the Register reports.

The devices cost between $300 and $400 apiece. All together, the six-week program costs about $8 per day for each student, or $18,000. It's estimated that schools lose $35 per day for each absent student, so AIM Truancy Solution's program is a cost savings.

Some parents weren't thrilled with the program. "This makes us seem like common criminals," one parent, whose child accumulated six unexcused absences, told the Register.

But perhaps carrying a GPS unit and regularly logging one's location is better than the alternative: Police Investigator Armando Pardo told the Register that if the District Attorney prosecutes, truant students could be sent to juvie and get smacked with a $2000 fine.

"Nearly two-thirds of the students enrolled in AIM [in the fall semester of 2010] achieved perfect attendance while on the initial program, and all students combined averaged 97 percent attendance," according to a press release.

The Smithsonian calls on gaming public to choose most artistic video games (Digital Trends)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 10:25 AM PST

Aemon Malone Aemon Malone – Mon Feb 21, 1:25 pm ET

The Smithsonian is recognized as an authority on historic relics and art from bygone eras, certainly. But it's not exactly known for its expertise on digital entertainment. That might be why the Smithsonian is enlisting the help of the gaming public for next year's "The Art of Video Games" exhibition.

Gamers, or just those who appreciate the graphic artistry of video games, can choose from a pool of 240 titles, released on 20 consoles and covering four genres: action, adventure, target and combat/strategy. Voters can select up to 80 titles after registering on the exhibition's website.

Of course, as processors have gotten faster and disk space cheaper, game developers have increasingly infused gameplay with spectacular, movie-like visuals. But that doesn't mean the Smithsonian is going to overlook gaming's humble beginnings. The exhibitions curators have decided to cover the entire history of gaming from 1981′s Pac-Man to 2010′s Call of Duty: Black Ops. The pool of titles were selected for their innovations in design, visual appeal and graphical achievements.

Voting will continue online until April 7 and the results will be announced in May. The exhibition is slated to open in March 2012 and will be held at the The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. The exhibition is expected to include stills, interviews with designers as well as five playable games: Pac-Man, The Secret of Monkey Island, Super Mario Brothers, Myst and World of Warcraft

Rumor Roundup: The MacBook Pro Edition (Mashable)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 12:23 PM PST

Christina Warren Christina Warren – Mon Feb 21, 3:23 pm ET

Various rumors and web reports indicate that Apple will be releasing updates to its MacBook Pro line later this week, possibly as soon as Thursday. It's about time, too -- with the exception of the redesigned MacBook Air, Apple hasn't updated its best-selling MacBook Pro lineup since April 2010.

The latest rumors of the new machines run the gamut -- everything from faster processors and integrated SSDs to larger trackpads and support for Light Peak is on the table. Separating fact from fiction is tough -- even the best Apple predictors have imperfect track records, but we've done what we can to tally up the big rumors. We'll also offer up our own thoughts on how plausible or implausible something sounds.

Rumor 1: Launch Date This Week

Sources: iSpazio (Italian Mac blog), AppleInsider

Rumor: As the MacBook Pro supply chain tightens across the world, five new MacBook Pro models are set to debut this week, most likely on Thursday.

Plausibility: Almost guaranteed. The second-best indicator of new Apple products are fluctuations in supply chain availability for items that tend to sell at a regular pace. When estimated shipping dates start to to drift upward, it's usually a good sign that a new model series is about to drop.

The best indicator of new Apple products is the inevitable leaking of SKU and model numbers. Best Buy inadvertently leaked five new Apple SKUs on Sunday.

Other Thoughts: There are currently six laptops in the MacBook Pro lineup and it isn't clear what model has been dropped from the lineup. Our guess is one of the 15-inch variants or the 17-inch MacBook Pro is on its way out.

AppleInsider reports that the reason for the Thursday release date (Apple products usually come put on a Tuesday) is intentional -- February 24, 2011 is Steve Jobs's 56th birthday.

Rumor 2: New Models Will Use Intel's Sandy Bridge

Sources: CNET (for MacBook Air), PCMag, AppleInsider

Rumor: Apple will be one of the first OEMs to ship laptops running on Intel's new Sandy Bridge architecture.

Plausibility: 60%. Apple tends to be the first or the last OEM to jump on a major Intel platform. The Mac Pro line tends to be at the front-of-the-line with the latest chip architectures while Apple tends to wait a few cycles for its notebook systems. The big promise of Sandy Bridge, however, could indicate Apple wants to try to stay ahead of the curve.

Other Thoughts: Last month, Intel discovered a design flaw in Sandy Bridge's companion chipset. This flaw required the company to recall shipments and delay production -- it will also cost the company $1 billion in revenue and replacement costs. All reports indicate that Apple will not be affected by this delay.

Rumor 3: Bigger Trackpad and OS-only SSD

Sources: BGR

Rumor: The new MacBook Pro will feature glass trackpads that are even larger than those on current MacBook Pro units. Additionally, the OS will be loaded onto a separate integrated 8-16GB SSD drive for fast startups and access, but additional data will be stored on a traditional hard drive.

Plausibility: The larger trackpad rumor sounds quite possible -- especially as Apple prepares to get more into gesture support with Mac OS X Lion. As for the separate SSD OS drive -- a hybrid solution like this is certain appealing and if completely seamless, we think it could work. Still, we're not completely convinced. We do think that Apple will be pushing SSD options or making the SSD standard on several MacBook Pro models, but we just don't know about this hybrid approach.

Other Thoughts: We haven't heard anything one way or another about the DVD drive in the MacBook Pro. We wonder if Apple will be adding the option to forego the drive as it does on the Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server.

Rumor 4: Liquidmetal MacBook Pro

Sources: MacTrust [Site is down] via Cult of Mac

Rumor: The next MacBook Pro will trade in the unibody aluminum design for a case made from Liquidmetal -- a metal that has similar properties and processing abilities as plastic. Apple signed an exclusive agreement to use Liquidmetal in its products last year and MacTrust contends that the MacBook Pro will be where the technology makes its debut.

Plausibility: As cool as Liquidmetal sounds, we're going to say this has only a 10% chance of actually being true. As Leader Kahney said, "this is Tony Stark stuff" -- which makes us think that the first real implementations of the technology is still a few release cycles away.

Other Thoughts: Liquidmetal has amazing potential as a construction element. Purportedly stronger and lighter than aluminum, Liquidmetal could reduce the weight of a laptop while still making it more resilient to the nicks and dings that unibody MacBook Pro owners know all too well.

Rumor 5: Light Peak

Sources: CNET

Rumor: Apple is going to announce its adoption of Intel's Light Peak technology and introduce its first products using the technology in the first half of 2011.

Plausibility: Again, as cool as this sounds, we're going to say this has almost no chance of being true. With bi-directional speeds of 10 gigabits a second, Light Peak has the potential to be the next USB (that is, ubiquitous and on every device known to man). Of course, it could also wind up as the next FireWire (superior to the competition in every way but not ubiquitous or widely adopted outside of certain industries and manufacturers). Regardless, we don't expect to see any shipping Light Peak products -- let alone from Apple -- for quite a few more months.

Other Thoughts: Intel has been working on Light Peak -- which is basically a super connector cable that can be used for basically any type of computer component -- monitor, hard drive, printer, etc. -- for years. Because the technology was originally demonstrated on a machine running Mac OS X in 2009, it's assumed Apple is at least tangentially interested in the technology.

CNET's report -- which itself was skeptical that Apple would launch the technology in the next MacBook Pro, indicates that Apple will be calling the technology something other than Light Peak. Additional reports have circulated today indicating that the next iPad could have Light Peak support. To us, the iPad rumors sound even less plausible than the MacBook Pro reports.

Hit Us With Your Rumors

With the understanding that absolutely no one can top the incredible John Moltz when it comes to Crazy Apple Rumors, let your craziest most outlandish predictions for the new MacBook Pro lineup be known in the comments. For our more mature readers, feel free to share what logical, well-reasoned predictions you have as well.

Microsoft Salutes Kinect Enthusiasts with Windows SDK (PC World)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 01:53 PM PST

Matt Peckham Matt Peckham – Mon Feb 21, 4:53 pm ET

While Sony's busily plotting to litigate PS3 hackers, it seems Microsoft's getting busy courting them. The company says it plans to release a non-commercial Kinect for Windows software development kit this spring.

That's certainly a turnaround from their initially standoffish stance last November.

[PCWorld's full Kinect review]

According to Microsoft, it's part of their research wing's strategy to embrace application developers by "[making] it easier for academic research and enthusiast communities to create even richer experiences using Kinect technology."

Surprised? Don't be. Steve Ballmer's long maintained the company planned to get in front of Kinect for Windows.

Call it Kinect for Windows SDK, because Microsoft is, and it's coming from Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) and Microsoft Research (MSR), the company's R&D subdivision "dedicated to conducting both basic and applied research in computer science and software engineering."

MSR's home page lists some 800 researchers working in eight locations around the world, including Asia, India, and Egypt. Some of its projects include HD View (a "camera for the web" ), Image Composite Editor (a tool that lets you stitch photos together to create panoramas), and Songsmith, a tool to generate musical accompaniment that matches a singer's voice. All told, they list some 550 projects in the hopper.

What do you get in the starter kit? According to Microsoft, "access to deep Kinect system capabilities such as audio, system APIs, and direct control of the sensor." The company plans to follow with a commercial version of the SDK farther down the road, though how much farther they're not saying.

Kinect for Windows SDK apparently dovetails with Microsoft's Natural User Interfaces (NUI) initiative, which includes Kinect for Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7, Microsoft Surface 2.0, and Bing for Mobile and Office 2010 Mini Translator.

While this probably won't stop hackers from continuing to poke around in the margins, it should increase the volume of "who'd 'a thunk?" motion-control ideas. We've certainly amused ourselves here at PC World collating Kinect hacks the past few months, including 8 Great Kinect Hacks, a Holographic Kinect Hack From a Galaxy Far, Far Away, and our Top 15 Kinect Hacks (So Far).

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Fujitsu to Launch Windows 7 Business Tablet (PC World)

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 03:10 AM PST

Martyn Williams Martyn Williams – Mon Feb 21, 6:10 am ET

Japan's Fujitsu will soon launch a tablet PC for enterprise users that packs security features not available in most consumer machines.

The Stylistic Q550 will get its official unveiling at next week's Cebit trade show in Germany and has a fingerprint reader, smartcard slot and trusted-platform module (TPM), the company said. (See video of the tablet PC on YouTube.)

The computer will run Windows 7 Professional and uses an Intel "Oak Trail" Atom processor. It has a 10-inch LED touchscreen. Unlike previous Stylistic tablets that required a stylus, the touch interface on the new model also works with a finger.

Other features include front and rear cameras, a 32GB or 64GB solid-state disk (SSD) drive, an optional 3G module and a USB port.

Fujitsu says a combination of the low-power processor and LED-backlit screen have helped extend the battery life to around eight hours.

It should appear in Europe in April.

The security features in the tablet PC could answer the demands of some enterprises, but it remains to be seen if tablet computing will take off among corporate users. Tablet PCs have been tried several times in the last decade and have failed to find widespread adoption each time.

The current tablet boom among consumers will likely have some companies looking anew at the products.

Martyn Williams covers Japan and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Martyn on Twitter at @martyn_williams. Martyn's e-mail address is martyn_williams@idg.com
at 9:34 PM

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