Microsoft unveiling ARM-powered Windows OS

Microsoft products currently run exclusively on Intel chips, but according to a Bloomberg report, that could soon change. Sources have said that the software giant is developing a Windows operating system that would run on ARM's chip architecture. The new OS will supposedly be unveiled at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in January.

The rumored low-power operating system would be targeted toward tablets and smartphones, Bloomberg said. If the rumors are true, this would be a dramatic shift for Microsoft, considering the company's longstanding relationship with Intel.

The move makes business sense, however, considering the explosive growth in the use of mobile devices in recent years. A low-power OS based on ARM's blueprint would open up new markets for Microsoft. More companies would be able to run Windows on their hardware, as ARM powers a majority of tablets and mobile devices. Intel's chips, on the other hand, require a lot more power, so aren't as suited for battery-powered devices.

While it could be a gain for both Microsoft and ARM, this report doesn't bode well for Intel. Currently almost all PCs and laptops use Intel's x86 chip product line. Computer manufacturers, though, would have more opportunities, since they would be free to build ARM-based products capable of running Windows.

Android 3.0: Coming In March?

In the world of Android, things can move pretty fast.

Case in point: Just weeks ago, Google took the wraps off of Android Gingerbread, the latest and greatest version of its mobile operating system. Aside from the newly launched Samsung Nexus S device, no phone even has the software yet -- heck, plenty of users are still waiting for the Android 2.2 upgrade -- but that's not stopping people from looking even further ahead.

They're looking, of course, toward Honeycomb -- the next major stop on Google's Android development track. All signs point to Honeycomb bringing some significant changes to the Android OS; if everything goes as expected, it'll be the first version of Android to be fully optimized for tablets. And if a report published this week is correct, it'll make its way into the world in March.

20 Years of Browsers

Twenty years ago this month, Tim Berners-Lee compiled and tested the very first Web browser, WorldWideWeb. To celebrate this anniversary, let's take a look back through the Web browser family photo album. You'll see everything from baby pictures to portraits of the mature products that users enjoy today. 

Synology releases NAS server for the budget-conscious

Synology has released latest NAS storage addition to its DiskStation range, the DS211+. Designed to cater for the budget-conscious business user or power user, the device includes two hot-swappable drive bays with support for the latest 3TB drives. Depending on whether a users chooses to set it up in a RAID configuration, the DS211+ offers up to 6TB of storage.

It ships with Synology’s DiskStation Manager software that offers users the ability to automatically back up data whether it is attached to a PC, Mac or Linux network. Users can access data stored on the device wirelessly over their network or via the internet. It also offers support for streaming media to UPnP enabled devices. The DS211+ includes an SD card slot that allows users to directly import photo to the device.

The Synology DS211+ is shipping now for $400.

Unique Eyelid Branding Technique Used By BMW In Advertisement (video)

If you think marketing and advertising campaigns already consume to much of your daily life from TV, magazine and the Internet. You might be interested to know that BMW has started experimenting with an even stronger way to make sure you remember their advertising message using a new flash projection technique that brands the BMW logo onto viewers eyelids for a short time.

 

Their new advert was shown at a movie theater in Germany, and managed to leave viewers with an image of the BMW logo on the back of their eyelids. Watch the video after the jump to see how this new advertising method was achieved.

This new type of advertising worries me as in a flash of light any company could now affect your perceived thoughts of a product and make you part with your hard earned cash even easier. What are your thoughts, should this type of advertising be used on consumers?

Hitachi Ships Thin 7mm 500GB HDD

Hitachi has announced that it is now shipping its new and very thin 500GB HDD called the Travelstar Z5K500. The new HDD is a single platter drive that is only 7mm thick. The average 2.5-inch HDD is a 9.5mm form factor.

The new and thin form factor allows the Hitachi HDD to be used in standard 9.5mm devices and it can be used in ultraportable devices that need a thinner HDD as well. The drive is not only thin, but it has low power needs too with 1.8W in operation and 0.55W at idle. The drive is also very quiet with 1.9 bels idle and 2.1 bels when in use.
Hitachi has also shown off a new G-Drive Slim external storage drive that is the thinnest external storage drive on the market. It has 500GB of storage and will ship early in Q1. Pricing for the external drive and the 2.5-inch HDD alone are not announced at this time.

And the winner is...

The next revision to the web document creation language has generated a lot of excitement in web circles, the most headline-grabbing change of course being the option for creators to choose how audio and video are delivered to a user's computer. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has just announced the results of a browser test where all of the top players were pitted against each other to see how well they cope with HTML5. And the winner is...

The W3C put the very latest builds of Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer through a barrage of over 200 tests to determine HTML5 compatibility. While none of the browsers managed 100 per cent support for the whole of the forthcoming web specification, one of them did better than any of the others – Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer 9 Platform Review 6 managed full marks in all but a couple of the main feature tests, with only Opera notching up a zero in the foreigncontent department. Chrome scored full marks in four of the seven feature categories, Firefox and Opera managed three and Safari just two.

The test suite consists of challenges agreed to by the HTML Working Group, and testing is ongoing. Current results can be viewed at the HTML5 test suite conformance page.

So, it's a "well done" to Microsoft and a "must do better" to the others. There's still a bit of time to work on problem areas, though, as the specification is still in working draft format.

break-even fusion reactions?

Even with all the developments taking place in the areas of alternative energy such as solar and wind power, nuclear fusion still remains the holy grail of clean electricity generation. However, after decades of worldwide research costing billions of dollars, the goal of achieving “net-gain,” where more energy is produced than is required to trigger the fusion chain reaction, still remains elusive. Now researchers at Sandia Labs are claiming a breakthrough that could see break-even fusion reactions in as little as two to three years. Research into producing energy from seawater using controlled nuclear fusion is taking place on a number of different fronts. To bring two light atomic nuclei together with enough force that they fuse, resulting in a heavier nucleus and a large amount of energy, some approaches are looking at the use of powerful lasers, while others are focusing on superconducting magnets called tokamaks, in what is known as Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF). Z-pinch Yet another approach involves Z-pinch – a type of plasma confinement system that uses an electrical current in the plasma (essentially a cloud of ions) to generate a magnetic field that compresses it. The pinch method, which Sandia calls a dark-horse contender in the fusion race, contracts plasma so suddenly and tightly that hydrogen isotopes from seawater, placed in a capsule within the plasma, should fuse. Until now, instabilities known as magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instabilities, which arise wherever electromagnetic forces are used to pinch plasma, have proven an impediment to the process. This instability rapidly crimps the cylindrically contracting plasma until it resembles a string of sausages or some other equally useless shapes, thereby causing a loss of the perfect symmetry of forces necessary to fuse the material. So although fast Z-pinches, which take place in less than 100 nanoseconds, have already proven successful in creating fusion, (as evidenced by the production of some neutrons), MRT instability has been a major reason that not enough neutrons have been produced to provide a source of reliable electrical power. Wires vs solid aluminum liner Traditionally, scientists would use an array of spidery wires to create a compressed, X-ray generating ion cloud. The X-rays were then used to compress the fusion fuel. The wires were known to be the source of the MRT problem, because even minute dips in a current carrying surface – imperfections merely 10 nanometers in amplitude – can grow exponentially in amplitude to millimeter scales. Because it was impossible to reliably reproduce such imperfections with the wires to allow them to study the instability, Sandia researcher Steve Slutz suggested that the magnetic pinching forces could be used to directly fuse fuel by compressing a solid aluminum liner around fusion material preheated by a laser. Whereas accurate etching wasn’t an option for the fragile wire arrays, the researchers could etch the aluminum liner, creating instabilities to whatever degree they desired, thereby allowing them to measure the growth of MRT instabilities. This new data could then be used to create more accurate simulations and enable the researchers to better tweak the conditions of future Z firings, more effectively combating the effect of the instability. The researchers believe that with thick liners and control of the MRT, the Z machine could achieve an output of 100 kilojoules to match the 100 kilojoules input in as little as two or three years. “That would be scientific break-even,” said project lead Daniel Sinars. “No one has achieved that.” The Sandia Labs research is reported in a paper in the October 29 issue of Physical Review Letters.

the computer's in the wall!

Jack PC technology enables the conversion of any standard LAN port into a desktop computer solution. The patented modular layered construction is claimed to give the device the world's smallest thin-client core and comes with either a 333MHz (800MHz x86 equivalent) or a 500MHz (1.2GHz x86 equivalent) RMI Au processor. There's also up to 256MB disk-on-chip storage , which may not seem like much, but most of the data storage needs will be taken care of by the data center. Similarly, the onboard memory options run from 64MB to 128MB DDR.

The Jack PC can be installed into walls, floor or users' desks where only the connection plate is showing. This effectively protects the internals from any accidental damage that might be caused by well-meaning self-fixers, as well as deterring would-be thieves from making off with the company's computer assets.

Connectivity comes courtesy of four USB ports for attaching peripherals such as the keyboard and mouse, with support for wireless connectivity possible via an optional USB adapter. Optional PS/2 and serial port connectivity is also available. Either VGA or DVI versions are offered, providing support for up to 1600 x 1200 pixel resolution and dual display setups and backed up by 128-bit 3D graphics acceleration with separate SDRAM display memory of either 4MB or 8MB.

The Jack PC can either run on power-over-ethernet or via a separate power source and offers low power benefits to business (max 5W/0.35W in sleep). With a U.S. mount, it has maximum dimensions of just 2.78 x 4.56 x 1.58-inches (6.96 x 11.4 x 3.95cm), weighs in at 12 ounces (350g) and works with Xcalibur Global Management software that caters for data center management and monitoring of the entire network.

As well as providing end users with desktop computers, the solution can be used for other office functions such as running a printer, terminal emulation and various ICA/RDP/VDI applications.

Mangalore's Akshay Raj Wins Doodle 4 Google (D4G) Competition

Most of us doodle on page margins, books, walls, and even on our palms. Now, leading search engine, Google India has organised this year’s national Doodle 4 Google contest to mark Children’s Day. Nikhil Rungta, marketing head, Google India, said, “Doodle 4 Google is a great opportunity for students to explore the intersection of art and technology.

SUNDAY, November 14, (News Locale) - The Doodle4Google (D4G) competition for the Children's Day in India has unearthed a winner in the form of 14-year-old Akshay Raj of Mangalore. Akshay, who studies in the ninth standard at the St. Aloysius High School, won the competition for his doodle named ‘Technically and Naturally Growing India.' His work can be viewed throughout the day on Google India homepage . Akshay's doodle was chosen from over 1,08,000 doodles received as part of the doodle4google competition hosted by search engine giant Google Inc. Dennis Hwang, the original Google Doodler, chose the winner of the competition, which was themed on ‘My Dream for India.'

From all the doodles submitted across the country, 9051 doodles entered the quarter-final round and 41 semi-finalists were chosen. From this list, the winner was picked up by Mr Hwang and Ms Jennifer Horn, who created the Google Gandhi doodle.

Akshay's doodle was deemed as the winner of the d4g competition based on “artistic merit, creativity, and expression of the theme," Google India announced. Besides having the pleasure of seeing his doodle on the Google homepage, Akshay also won a Technology Starter Package. A Rs. 2 lakh technology grant has been awarded to his school.

Intel Creating Pillow-Proofing Tech for Laptops

The joys of working from home are many -- peace, quiet, wear whatever
you like -- but the greatest may be the cozy warmth of using a laptop
in bed. Unfortunately, as the folds of the bedclothes impede the cooling
airflow through the machine, it becomes hotter and hotter, to the
detriment of the laptop and its surroundings.

Now, Intel is promising secret "pillow-proof" technology to prevent this overheating.

Details are scarce at this point, but we're ready.

Read More from Source-->

Shweeb Monorail

Google Invests $1 million in Shweeb’s Pedal-Powered Bike Monorail

In 2008 Google Inc. initiated Project 10^100 as a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible. People from around the world submitted over 150,000 ideas that they wanted to bring to life. "Drive innovation in public transportation" was one of the five winning ideas, voted on by the public. Google Inc. subsequently searched the globe and selected Shweeb as the organisation with the most forward looking transportation vision and with the relevant expertise to implement such an idea. In September 2010 Google Inc. announced an investment of USD 1 million in SHL to assist with transit research and development.

About Shweeb:

By integrating the unique properties of monorail and recumbent cycle technologies, Shweeb delivers a personal, efficient, and cost-effective transport solution with applications for urban commuting, recreational and fitness markets.

Shweeb’s bike-powered monorail currently has a 200m cycle track in Rotorua, New Zealand, where is it billed as an “adrenalin-fueled” adventure. There, users are suspended from the track in transparent pods and can ‘cycle’ around the landscape at speeds of up to 45km/h.



The system has been a big hit with tourists.

Shweeb will soon announce the location where they will build the first transit Shweeb for public use!

The original adventure ride concept system is situated at Agroventures Park in Rotorua, New Zealand.==>

Halo Intersceptor

Halo Intersceptor : Car, Helicopter, Jet And Boat All-In-One

British designer Philip Pauley has created a concept car called the Halo Intersceptor thats transforms (with the use of a few extras) in to a Helicopter, Jet and Boat.It,s just an innovative design on which search has begun.

Click here to Check out it's 3d design

From the main car section the user would then use either the Halo 120, Halo 46 and Halo 22 to transform.

The Halo 120 section converts the vehicle into a little private jet that can climb 25,890 feet a minute, Halo 46 is a helicopter with a seating capacity for four and Halo 22 is a 36-foot-long powerboat with a race-bred double hull and an engine you can throttle up to 63 knots.

Quantum Hackers Use Lasers to Crack Powerful Encryption Without Leaving a Trace

Quantum cryptography is one of the most secure known means of transmitting data, due to the fact that even if a third party does intercept a quantum signal, that interference changes the encryption key, making the tampering apparent to parties at both ends. But a handful of quantum hackers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim recently performed successful hacks of two commercial quantum cryptographic systems -- and they did so without leaving a trace. 



The quantum hackers got around the rules of quantum physics by simply intercepting the incoming signal and generating a brand new one to send on to the receiver. To do so, they shined a continuous 1-milliwatt laser at the receiver's detector, blinding it while they intercepted the sender's signal. 



You can check out the hackers' "how we did it" site. 

Super Hi-Vision

Forget HD Video What You Need Is Super Hi-Vision

Full HD video looks amazing, but it seems that there is a new video format being tested called Super Hi-Vision, which offers a massive sixteen times the resolution of Full HD video.

The new format displays video in a massive 7,680 x 4,320 pixel resolution, and the BBC and NHK have just delivered a trial broadcast using the new video format to viewers in Japan.

 

Rather than being transmitted via satellite, the Super Hi-Vision was transmitted over the Internet at a massive 24GB per second.

NHK is hoping that they will have the technology ready for the 2012 Olympics.

We suspect it might just be a few years before we see this technology appearing in our living rooms, so that shiny new HDTV you just bought is safe for now.

 

Samsung WiMAX 2 test hits 330Mbps

Samsung WiMAX 2 test hits 330Mbps

Yes, it's only a demonstration. Even so, Samsung's trial of WiMAX 2 technology that touched speeds of 330Mbps is still impressive.

Samsung is holding a public demonstration of the yet-to-be-finalized WiMAX 2 standard at the CEATEC IT and electronics tradeshow in Japan this week. In teaming up with Japan's UQ Communications ISP, Samsung is wirelessly streaming full-HD 3D videos over a WiMAX 2 trial network. WiMAX 2 is an evolution of the WiMAX standard that is currently used by Clearwire and Sprint to deliver the fastest wireless data services in the United States, with typical download speeds in the 4Gbps to 5Gbps range.





Clearwire is the only major U.S. carrier to operate a wireless network based on the 802.16e WiMAX standard. Clearwire wholesales access to its network out to companies that want to offer customers high-speed wireless data services but that do not own WiMAX infrastructure of their own, including Sprint, Comcast and Time-Warner Cable. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are all planning to commercially launch LTE services at some point over the next two years.

Both WiMAX and LTE are hitting the market during a time when Cisco projects that mobile Internet traffic will double every year between now and 2013, when it will total an average of 2.2 million terabytes per month. Cisco predicts that the biggest driver for the traffic increase will come from video, which will account for roughly 64% of all mobile data traffic in 2013. In 2008, video traffic averaged around 13,000 TB per month, or roughly 39% of all mobile traffic. By 2013, video traffic will increase by more than 100 times and will average around 1.3 million TB per month, Cisco projects.

 

Trojans Dominate Malware

Trojans Dominate Malware, Security Firm Reports

More than half (55 percent) of all new malware identified in Q3 of this year were Trojans, said PandaLabs.

The research arm of Panda Security says most of these were banker trojans designed to trick web users into navigating to fake financial sites so cybercriminals can steal login details and passwords.

Artwork: Chip TaylorThe use of e-mail in distributing malware, once the most favored method, has declined. Instead, cybercriminals are resulting to social media-related infections, including Clickjacing attacks on social networks such as Facebook and poisoned search results.

Panda also said 95 percent of all e-mail received during Q3 was spam, and 50 percent of this was sent from just ten countries, which included India, Brazil and Russia. For the first time, the UK has fallen out of the list of the world's biggest spam-producing countries.

The security firm also said over the past three months it has a number of attacks on Google Android phones, which could be the beginning of a wave of threats targeting smartphones.

"We are also beginning to see legitimate Android apps compressed with self-extracting files, designed to infect when the application is extracted. In other words, Android apps are being used as bait to infect computers with self-extracting files," PandaLabs said.

 

Hate Actual Keys

MIT Students Love iPhone-Powered Doors,

iDoor Hydraulic-Powered Door

Chris Varenhorst

Chris Varenhorst, the MIT engineering student responsible for this hydraulic-powered door that can be opened with the tap of an iPhone app or the rap of a secret knock sequence, says that after a long day of studying, he doesn't want to waste time messing with keys. We have a different theory.


Maybe, just like a brilliant mathematician who forgets how to perform basic arithmetic (or tie his shoes), this bookworm can't remember how to open a lock. Either way, there's a lot to love about this DIY project. Varenhorst took a an old Pentium III computer running Ubuntu, a Phidget control board, plus a handfull of servos, solenoids, pistons and actuators, hacking them all together into this elaborate, iPhone-controlled door system.

E-King S700 Is The Worlds First e-Notepad

Chinese company E-King has developed what they are calling, the worlds first e-Notepad, the E-King S700, which features a 7 inch display, plus WiFi and 3G connections.

The E-King S700 can be used for scanning documents like business cards with the built in 3 megapixel camera, it also features handwriting input via a stylus and can also be used for drawing. 

Other features on the E-King S700 include fingerprint recognition
technology, and a colour touchscreen display. It will go on sale before
the end of the year, there are no pricing details as yet.

HP Envy 17 3D Notebook Goes On Sale

HP announced the new HP Envy 17 3D notebook last month, and they have now just started selling it, although prices start at $1,599 for the base model before you add in any custom options.



HP Envy 17 3D features a 17.3 inch 3D ultra BrightView display that is capable of displaying full HD video in 1080p in 3D.

The HP Envy 17 3D offers support for 3D and Blu-ray and it comes with a pair of active shutter glasses so you can view the 3D content, there is also 2TB of storage, a choice of Intel Core i7 processors, and ATI HD5850 graphics.