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Make a private monitor from an old LCD monitor

2011-11-28T08:55:00.001+01:00

You can finally do something with my old LCD monitor that you have lying around in the garage. Turn it into a spy monitor! For everyone else it will look like just a white screen, but not for you, because you will have a special "magic" points.

All you need - a pair of old glasses, paper cutter and paint thinner.

That's what I used:

Of course it's LCD monitor
disposable 3D glasses from the cinema (old sunglasses are fine)
solvent (or equivalents)
paper knife
screwdriver
paper towels
Superglue

Step 1. Take the monitor.

Find your old monitor, which you are willing to sacrifice.

Remove the plastic frame by unscrewing all the screws on the back.

Step 2. Cut a polarizing film.

Most LCD monitors have on the glass cover of the two films: the polarization of light to filter, you will not want to see and matte antiglare film. We do not need anti-glare, and the polarization we use in our glasses.
It's time to take a knife and cut the film along the edge of the screen. Do not be afraid to press, metal not scratch the glass when there is no ralichnyh crumbs and dust.

* Tip of the comments: Not all monitors coverage of the two films is bonded, for some, they simply imposed and if you remove the protective metal edge of the matrix, they can be simply removed without cutting.

Then pulls the film from the screen. Do not forget to save the polarizing film, just remember its orientation.

Step 3. Clear your screen by adhesive.

After you have removed the film is likely to remain the glue on the screen, go to the dirty work.
Clean off the glue with a solvent and paper towels.

I found that if you cover the screen with paper towels soaked in solvent and allow them to lie down, remove the adhesive will be easier. Just remover, you can use any piece of plastic or wood, just scraping the glue off the screen.

Be careful, be careful that the solvent would not fall on the plastic frame.

Step 4. Work on your monitor is completed.

Once you've scraped all the glue, you can collect the monitor. Before you make a score, you can test the monitor with the polarization of the film!

Step 5. Remove the old lenses.

To create the points I used disposable 3D glasses from the theater, but you can use lyuby others.

Squeeze a glass or take points if possible.

Step 6. Scan, tracing the borders, cut.

If you plan to use the CNC machine and laser cutting machine, scan and get the image contour elements (tracing the boundaries).
* Author of the article deals with the activity in order, so here and there so strange to the majority proposal

I scanned the windows, you can use them as a model for their location. Remember that film is important for the polarization of its orientation. The parties also have the values (front / rear).

Just to cut the lenses you can use all the same knife for paper.

Step 7. We collect glasses and enjoy!

You can collect points, you are ready for what would be a bit to have fun!

People might think you're crazy, staring at the white screen, sitting in the sun glasses!

But I think it makes the venture even more fun!

Dissed by Logitech, Google TV Soldiers On

2011-11-12T19:17:00.001+01:00

Logitech introduced its Revue Google TV box in 2010, which promptly flopped with consumers.

After serious launch missteps and all signs pointing to poor consumer adoption, Google TV has a tough road ahead — and now hardware partner Logitech isn’t making things any easier for Google’s smart TV software platform.

Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca threw Google under the bus in a conference call with analysts and investors on Thursday, first reported by The Verge. De Luca cited the failed launch of Google TV as the primary reason why Logitech had disappointing Q1 financials; the company reported nearly $30 million in losses for the quarter. In part, Google TV contributed significantly to losses of “Well over $100 million in operating profits.”

As a result, Logitech is jumping ship. De Luca said the company has “no plans to introduce another box to replace Revue,” and will let its existing inventory run down to zero. It’s massive damage control for “[executing] a full scale launch with a beta product [which] cost us dearly,” as De Luca put it.

In 2010, the company bet big on Google TV, manufacturing way more devices than it should have. “We expected everybody to line up for Christmas and buy these boxes [at] $300,” De Luca said. “That was a big mistake.”

A costly mistake, at that. Then CEO Gerald P. Quindlen was booted, the company missed its Q1 estimate by a mile, and as a result, Logitech slashed the Revue’s price to one third of what it initially asked. Painfully, more devices were returned in the first quarter than Logitech was even able to sell.

Despite its awfully rocky start, Google is currently ramping up for a second go at its smart TV software package. Last month, Google launched version two of Google TV, complete with a revamped user interface, Android Market app access, improved content discovery mechanisms, and more tightly integrated YouTube functionality. It’s what VP of product management Mario Queiroz considers the second leg of “a marathon project, [rather than] a sprint.”

A good portion of Google’s so-called marathon plan involves remedying big mistakes of the past, including streamlining what many saw as complicated peripheral hardware.

“They tried to make the Google TV experience too much like a computer,” Forrester analyst James McQuivey said in an interview. “Companies like Logitech invested in these complicated peripherals, and they’re too complex for people.”

The first generation of Google TV peripherals were indeed a mish-mash of combined keyboard/remote frankenware, a reminder of the failed Web TV controllers first introduced in the mid-90s. “It doesn’t make any sense to add another remote to people’s lives,” McQuivey said.

Google has said it’s working with its partners on redesigning the controller hardware, and will offer a streamlined, less-complex version of a TV controller in the future. The partner working on the project is ostensibly Sony, the other major manufacturer to offer a Google TV set-top box.

Sony did not respond to requests for comment.

But Google may not have all its eggs in Sony’s basket in the wake of Logitech’s pull-out. Google is rumored to be in talks with South Korean electronics conglomerate LG on producing its own version of a Google TV set-top box, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

An LG spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

To be even less dependent on the remote control hardware of partner manufacturers, however, Google could focus on another market segment in which it already has momentum: smartphones.

“Google hasn’t paid attention to the fact that you don’t even need another remote when you have an Android phone,” McQuivey said. “It might be the case that Logitech never needs to make another remote, and Google TV can still be a successful product.”

Google is also beefing up on the content side of its TV operation, recently announcing a renewed deal with Disney Interactive to bring more original content to a co-branded YouTube channel. And recently Google announced it would bring over 100 different genre-specific channels to YouTube, boosting efforts to bring original content to the streaming video platform. Beefing up YouTube is especially relevant to the most recent release of Google TV, which features tighter YouTube integration and a better-performing YouTube app.

Further, Google could be in the early stages of creating its own “triple play”-style cable TV service.

Fortunately, existing Logitech box owners won’t be left out in the cold. “Logitech users can still expect to get a V2 update within the coming weeks,” a Google spokesperson told us. Currently, Google TV version 2 is rolling out to Sony boxes.

Coping with the backlash of De Luca’s harsh comments, Logitech doesn’t want its existing Revue owners to feel abandoned. “…Logitech remains committed to all of its Logitech Revue customers and will continue to provide them with customer support under our warranty policy,” a Logitech spokeswoman told Wired.com in a statement. The company also plans to continue supporting other Revue peripherals, including its TV camera and mini-keyboard.

Microsoft’s Kinect development kit now supports Windows 8

2011-11-05T10:50:00.001+01:00

Summary: Microsoft has rolled out Beta 2 of its Kinect for Windows development kit and has added support for Windows 8 with the refresh.

Earlier this week, Microsoft officials said the company planned to release a version of its Kinect sensor software development kit (SDK) for Windows for commercial usage in early 2012.

On November 4, Microsoft updated the other version of the Kinect for Windows SDK — the one that is licensed for enthusiasts/hobbyists, which the company introduced in beta form earlier this summer. This SDK is available under a custom Microsoft academic license.

The Kinect for Windows SDK Beta 2 adds support for the Windows 8 Developer preview that Microsoft released in September. (This means the SDK now works on both Windows 7 and the Windows 8 Developer Preview as a Desktop Application.)

As explained by Microsoft in the ReadMe for Beta 2, “Developing Kinect enabled applications is essentially the same as developing other Windows applications, except that this SDK provides support for the features of the Kinect sensor (color images, depth images, audio, skeletal data, etc.).”

In addition to Windows 8 support, the Beta 2 SDK includes these changes and more, as listed in the ReadMe:

Significant improvements to skeletal tracking, including faster skeletal frame delivery and multithreading/multicore support
Accuracy has been improved overall, resulting in more precise tracking.
When using 2 Kinects, developers can now specify which one is used for skeletal tracking.
API (application programming interface) support for detecting and managing device status changes, such as device unplugged, device plugged in, power unplugged, etc.
Support for building 64-bit applications. Previously, only 32-bit applications could be built.
Inclusion of a new C# sample: KinectAudioDemo.

I’ve asked Microsoft officials when they expect the hobbyist version of the Kinect Windows SDK to go final and have been told no comment. I’ve also asked whether the coming commercial version of the SDK will be beta or final when Microsoft makes it available next year and was told via a spokesperson: “Microsoft can confirm the release of the Kinect for Windows commercial program early next year, but does not have further details to share at this time.”

Microsoft officials said earlier this week there are more than 200 businesses in its Kinect for Windows pilot program, investigating potential commercial uses of the Kinect sensor when combined with Windows PCs.

Hands-on with the Samsung Focus S Windows Phone

2011-11-05T10:48:00.000+01:00

We stopped by Samsung’s offices in New York City recently to check out its brand new high-end Focus S Windows Phone. It is powered by Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, the latest iteration of the operating system, and packs a number of features that put the phone on a par with the Galaxy S II. It offers a stellar 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, a 1.4GHz processor, support for AT&T’s HSPA+ network, an 8-megapixel camera and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera or video chat. We loved how thin the device was at just 8.5-millimeters and, thanks to its plastic body, it looks a bit like the Galaxy S II from afar. AT&T will launch the Focus S sometime this fall for $199.99 this fall. We’ll be bringing you a review as soon as we can but in the meantime you can get a closer look at the phone by checking out our gallery below.

HTC Rezound hands-on

2011-11-05T10:46:00.000+01:00

We just spent a couple minutes with HTC’s latest and greatest, the HTC Rezound for Verizon Wireless complete with Beats audio, and it’s surely positioned as an iconic media device. It’s reasonably thin, packs 4G LTE, a super high resolution 720p display which looks amazing, and that’s not mentioning the 8-megapixel camera with improved optics and low-light performance. And then, of course, there’s Beats audio processing that will work with the included Beats headphones or ones you might already own. All in all, Verizon’s lineup for the holidays is incredible, and the HTC Rezound will surely be music to a media-centric person’s ears. Check out all of the photos in our gallery!

Do Yourself a Favor: Set Up These Custom Typing Shortcuts on Your iPhone Right Now

2011-10-13T07:06:00.001+01:00

It seems Apple added text expansion to iOS 5 and decided not to mention it. This is a great, highly-desired feature that can save you tons of time typing frequent phrases and long words. Here's how to set it up and the phrases you'll want to add right away.

Set Up Text Expansion (Shortcuts)

First things first, let's get text expansion (or Shortcuts, as Apple calls it) set up. To get it set up, either watch the video up top or follow these steps:

Open up the Settings app on your iPhone's home screen.
Tap the General section.
Tap the Keyboard section.
Swipe down to the bottom and tap the button labeled "Add New Shortcut..."
Under "Phrase" type the phrase you want the shortcut to expand to, and under "Shortcut" type the shortcut you want to type instead. For example, if you wanted "brb" to expand to "be right back", you'd type "brb" for the shortcut and "be right back" for the phrase.
Tap save when you're done.

You'll need to repeat this process for all the text expansion shortcuts you want to add. You can always delete them by swiping left over them on the keyboard settings page and tapping the delete button (much like anything else in iOS).

Phrases You Should Add Right Now

Here are some phrases you'll want to add to your iPhone right now. The nice thing about the feature is it works much like autocorrect, so you can set a text expansion shortcut to a portion of a word and it'll only expand if you type a space after the shortcut. For example, you could have a shortcut called "sig" and type the word signature without worrying about the shortcut expanding when you don't want it to expand. This opens up plenty of simple shortcut options. Here are the ones we think everyone will find useful right away.

Note: These shortcuts shouldn't be added in uppercase (unless you want to), but are just shown that way to make them easier to read in this post.

EML -> your@emailaddress.com, so you never need to type your email when sending a message to yourself or sharing it with someone else.
PHN -> your phone number, so you can easily share your phone number without the need to type it or even remember it.
ADDR -> your address, so you don't have to type out the entire thing.
SIG -> your email signature, in case you only want to use it sometimes and not with every message.
CTCL -> can't talk, I'll call you later, when you need to tell a friend you'll get back to them a bit later but aren't able to call (or answer their call).
FMIN -> I'll be there in five minutes, for when you want to text someone that you're five minutes away but only have a few moments to type it.
BRB -> be right back, for those of you who IM frequently on your iDevice.
THX -> thanks!, is one example of many ways you can abbreviate common endings to messages.

How to Get a Siri-Like Personal Assistant on Your Android Phone for Free

2011-10-13T07:02:00.000+01:00

If you watched last week's iPhone 4S announcement with your Android phone and went a little green with envy when Siri, iOS's new voice-recognizing personal assistant, was announced and demoed on stage, buck up. You've got a lot of great voice recognition apps to choose from on Android that can help you keep up with friends, look up the weather, find local businesses, and more. Here are a look at your options.

If you haven't looked into voice recognition apps on Android before, you may be surprised at how many applications get the job done. None of the apps currently available for Android are quite as well integrated with the OS as Siri is be with iOS (sorry), but some of them come closer than others, and you can bet that all of them will be updated and improved now that Siri is available for iOS. Best of all, they're all free.

The One You Already Have: Google Voice Actions

If you have an Android phone, you already have Google Voice Actions for Androidinstalled. When everyone got their first look at Siri on the iPhone 4S, most people jumped to the assumption that Siri was just Voice Actions for iOS. That's not true—Siri does more than Voie Actions, but Voice Actions is the closest thing Android users to a voice-operated personal assistant.

Pros: Voice Actions can control a large swath of Android functions. You can place phone calls, listen to music by track name, artist, or album, send SMS or email messages, get driving and turn-by-turn navigation directions, search the web, and more. If you're clever, you can get information like weather, word definitions, maps and information about local businesses, and more just by using voice actions intelligently. For example, tap the Voice Actions icon and speak "weather in Washington, DC," Voice Search will do a Google search for it, and Google's mobile page will give you an interactive display of the weather forecast.

Cons: The trouble with Voice Actions is that it's only well integrated with core Android functions. You won't be able to schedule calendar appointments, schedule appointments with other people, update Twitter or Facebook, or issue complex commands that require passing information to any application other than Google Search. Additionally, you need to actually tap the Voice Search icon (or long-press the search key) every time you want to issue a request, which makes it less than ideal for hands-free situations, like when you're driving. Finally, Voice Search is a simple command-response application, as in, you speak a command and it replies with whatever it has. If it's wrong, you reissue the command by starting over. There's no back-and-forth with Voice Actions.

The Most Hands-Free: Vlingo

Vlingo has been around for a long time, much longer than voice control has been in-style on smartphones. Vlingo has text-to-speech and speech-to-speech clients for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Nokia, and Windows Mobile, and while none of them have particularly deep integration with their respective operating system, the app does reach beyond core applications and comes closest to the kind of back-and-forth with advanced commands that Siri offers.

Pros: Vlingo allows you to do all of the basics: you can send SMS messages and emails, place phone calls, and search the web. You can also search for local businesses and restaurants using natural language, so saying "find pizza" will search for local pizza delivery restaurants. Saying "taxi" will search for the nearest cab company. You can also launch applications through Vlingo by speaking their name, or update Facebook and Twitter through the app. It's speech-to-text engine is good, and unlike Voice Actions, it rarely misinterpreted my contact names or spoken words.

The developers behind Vlingo have even tossed in some tie-ins to other applications: if you say "find hotels in New York City," the app will ask you if you want to install Kayak or if you just want to search the web. Say "Buy movie tickets for Real Steel in Washington DC," the app will open your default browser, go to Fandango, bring up the page for Real Steel, and offer me showtimes at nearby theaters.

Finally, Vlingo's strongest suit is that you can tell it to start listening as soon as you open the app, and when you enter Vlingo's "in-car" mode, you can say "Hey Vlingo," out loud and the app will accept commands. It's Vlingo's depth of features and its ability to have a back-and-forth conversation with you that make it the closest thing Android users have to Siri. Check outthis video to see Vlingo in action.

Cons: The only real problem with Vlingo is that too many of its commands shunt you to other applications that have no voice-activated features. When you're using "in-car" mode, Vlingo will ask you if you want to leave Vlingo to open your browser or another app to complete the action, but it doesn't let you say yes or no from that screen, and you have to touch the screen to either go forward or cancel the operation. The same is true for a number of Vlingo's other features as well. Saying "Check in to China Garden" simply opens Foursquare and does a search for China Garden, which saves time, but falls just a little short.

Also, if you stray too far from any of Vlingo's known search and command terms, you'll confuse it and it'll shunt you to a web search. That's fine in some cases, but the fact that you can't just ask what the weather is without doing a Google search is a little disappointing. Vlingo is great, but the most frustrating thing about the app is that it seems to go so far, only to stop short of perfection.

The Most Conversational: Edwin

Edwin is a utility we've covered before, and while it's lacking the bells and whistles of its competition, it adds voice response and speech-to-speech to Google's native voice actions. It also allows you to make your voice commands a bit more conversational. Most of its commands are passed through to Google Voice Actions, where they're executed or the results are spoken back to you.

Pros: Edwin's strength is in how conversational the app is. If it has a direct response, it'll speak it out loud. Ask "What's the weather in Washington DC," and the app will respond aloud with current conditions. Ask about another city, and the app will look it up and respond there as well. You can even ask the app "Where am I," and it'll respond, right down to your block number. The app has a large button you press once to make the app start listening. Best of all, if it understands, it'll respond. If the app needs to do a web search or open an application, it'll prompt you to select an app, or it'll go to the browser and perform a search.

Cons: The big problem with Edwin is that it doesn't have a rich command list of its own, and when it doesn't understand something, it suffers the same problem Voice Actions does: it just fails. The app also has a difficult time processing some commands, like navigation and SMS messages—it'll understand that you want to navigate, and it'll understand that you want to send an SMS message, but it won't pick up where you want to go or who you want to send the message to. The app definitely needs some improvements, and when testing it, I ran into a number of bugs and errors. In some cases, Edwin forgot my location and couldn't retrieve weather information, and in others it stopped being able to obtain weather information entirely. Your mileage with Edwin may vary, but at the very least it'll talk back to you.

The Most Flexible: SpeakToIt Assistant

SpeakToIt Assistant is a relatively new speech-to-speech and speech-to-text assistant in the Android market. The app prides itself on being customizable, and on giving you a cartoon avatar that you can customize and configure to be your personal assistant. (If you don't like the default sexy librarian, you've got an absurd amount of options for customizing your assistant with a range of other fantasy cartoon options.) The app does have some back-and-forth conversational abilities, and it definitely recognizes a wide array of phrases and commands. The developers behind SpeakToIt claim that it's always learning, and they're working to give the app more commands that it can directly respond to with each update.

Pros: SpeakToIt definitely understands everything that Voice Actions understands and then some. You can ask it to find stock information for you, what the weather is in a far-off place, to send an email or SMS, update your social networks, check-in to a location on Foursquare, and more. The app can also post items to your Evernote account, and it greets you—sometimes with your name after you've said it aloud—when you open the application.

Unlike some of the other applications, you can make your assistant male or female, customize their appearance, and change their voice, albeit slightly. It wins for being the most customizable, and the app with the largest library of in-app commands and pass-through terms. It's clear that the developers of SpeakToIt want you to be able to get as much information as possible inside the app before being shunted to another application or to a Google search. It can even update Facebook and Twitter on your behalf. Check out this video to see SpeakToIt Assistant in action.

Cons: Unfortunately, SpeakToIt Assistant tries very hard to be a personal assistant on the surface that some of the finer touches are lost. SpeakToIt's chosen voice is the default Android voice synthesizer, making it sound more stilted and unnatural than the others, especially when it's trying to hold a conversation with you. Grammar errors in the on-screen text make it difficult to work with at times, and the fact that you have to tap a small microphone button on-screen every time you want to speak to the application difficult to use when driving or if you want a hands-free experience.

Still, SpeakToIt Assistant is in beta, and most of its shortcomings can be easily overcome with additional development. Given that development, the app could grow to be more useful. As it is, it's a touch gimmicky.

So Which Is the Best?

If we could only suggest one, Vlingo is definitely the most mature application with its hooks into the most services. It's also the one under the most active development, and the one with the best hands-free and speech-to-speech functionality. However, its competition is hot on its heels.

Google's own Voice Actions is built-in to every Android phone, and its unlikely that Google has any intention of holding still now that Siri will be deeply integrated with iOS. Similarly, SpeakToIt Assistant may be new and still rough around the edges, but it has a lot of potential and it gives you a very personable and customizable caricature to interact with.

The good news for Android users watching Siri's development is that there are plenty of alternatives and options that bring the promise of text-to-speech and speech-to-speech to Android devices. None of them are perfect, and they're not deeply integrated with all of the common features and functions that you would expect from a real voice-activated assistant. Still, there are plenty solid options to give Siri a run for its money, and expect them all to improve very shortly.

Hands on with the HTC Titan

2011-10-13T06:56:00.000+01:00

We already ran a quick hands-on when HTC unveiled the Titan back in September, but now we’ve spent some time with a review unit and it’s time to revisit this beastly Windows Phone. If ever there was a handset that deserved its given name, it is this phone — the HTC Titan is nothing short of titanic. It’s large, it’s powerful and it’s about as solid as they come. The build materials include metal, hardened plastic that is anything but cheap-feeling, and of course a huge sheet of glass that covers the face of the phone. Windows Phone Mango is a smooth operator on first-generation Windows Phones, so you can imagine how quick it is with the Titan’s 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset running the show. The massive 4.7-inch display spreads the Titan’s 480 x 800-pixel resolution a bit wide, but the screen is nice and bright just like the HTC Arrive. Is this the Windows Phone we’ve been hoping for? You’ll have to wait for our full review to find out but in the meantime, be sure to check out our photo gallery below.

Touchscreen Braille Writer Lets the Blind Type on a Tablet

2011-10-13T06:51:00.000+01:00

One group of people has traditionally been left out of our modern tablet revolution: the visually impaired. Our slick, button-less touchscreens are essentially useless to those who rely on touch to navigate around a computer interface, unless voice-control features are built in to the device and its OS.

But a Stanford team of three has helped change that. Tasked to create a character-recognition program that would turn pages of Braille into readable text on an Android tablet, student Adam Duran, with the help of two mentor-professors, ended up creating something even more useful than his original assignment: a touchscreen-based Braille writer.

Currently a senior at New Mexico State University, Duran arrived at Stanford in June to take part in a two-month program offered by the Army High-Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC). The program is a competition: Participants are given research assignments, ranging in the past fromaerospace modeling to parallel computing, and vie for honors awarded at the end of the summer. This year, projects aimed to solve a problem using the Android platform. Duran and his team’s project, titled “A virtual Braille keyboard,” was this year’s winner for “Best Android Application.”

Duran was challenged to use the camera on a mobile device, like the Motorola Xoom, to create an app that transforms physical pages of Braille text into readable text on the device. From the get-go, there were problems with this plan.

“How does a blind person orient a printed page so that the computer knows which side is up? How does a blind person ensure proper lighting of the paper?” Duran said in an interview with Stanford News. “Plus, the technology, while definitely helpful, would be limited in day-to-day application.”

So Duran and his mentors, Adrian Lew, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Sohan Dharmaraja, a Stanford Ph.D. candidate studying computational mathematics, decided to develop a writerapp, instead of a reader. Currently, the visually impaired must use desktop-based screen-reading software or specially-designed laptops with Braille displays in order to type using a computer.

Because a blind person can’t locate the keys of a virtual keyboard on a flat, glossy touchscreen, the team decided to bring the keys themselves to the user’s fingertips. Specifically, when the user sets eight fingers on the device, virtual keys align underneath each of the user’s fingers. The team’s Braille keyboard is comprised of eight keys: six that are used to compose a Braille character, a carriage return, and a backspace key. If the user gets disoriented, he or she can re-establish the keyboard layout with a lift and re-application of the hands.

“The solution is so simple, so beautiful. It was fun to see,” Lew said. Such a keyboard is also useful because it customizes itself to the user, adjusting the onscreen keys based on the user’s finger size and spacing. (I wish my iOS keyboard did that!)

Duran demoed the app blind-folded, typing out an email address as well as complicated mathematical and scientific formulas, proving the keyboard could be useful to educators, students and researchers. He also got to see a blind person use his app for the first time, which he said was an indescribable feeling, “It was the best.”

Lew said via email, “We do not yet know how exactly this will reach final users, but we are committed to make it happen.” The team has several options they will be considering over the next few weeks, so perhaps we could even see an app end up in the Android Market soon.

The tablet-based system costs 10 times less than most modern Braille typing solutions, and, based on the video below, appears to be anything but vapor.

With Siri, the iPhone Finds Its Voice

2011-10-13T06:49:00.001+01:00

Apple iPhone 4S
Mobile Phones

· $200 for 16GB, $300 for 32GB, $400 for 64GB with a 2-year contract
· Apple

Apple never specified what the “S” stands for in iPhone 4S, and it may as well stand for Siri.

Sure, the fifth-generation iPhone’s superb camera and speedy dual-core processor are classy additions. But Siri is the reason people should buy this phone.

When I step out of my apartment today, a reminder will pop up on my iPhone 4S to deposit checks at the bank. Tonight I’m meeting my friend Peter, who wants to eat steak, so I can say, “I want prime rib” to find steakhouses nearby. I have a meeting with a colleague Alexis this Thursday, and I can add that in my calendar just by saying, “Schedule meeting with Alexis on Thursday at 3 p.m.”

With Siri and Apple’s new Reminders to-do list app, it’s unlikely I’ll forget anything important again because the process is so effortless.

I did all of this with the iPhone 4S’s new built-in app Siri, a voice-recognition technology that Apple inherited when it acquired Siri Inc., a San Jose-based startup, in 2010. The enhanced voice tool is an iteration on Apple’s previous Voice Control feature that debuted in the iPhone 3GS in 2009, which only allowed voice-powered phone dialing and music selection.

To give you an idea of how convenient Siri is, it takes about three seconds to create a reminder with a voice command, as opposed to the 10 seconds it takes me to manually type an event into a to-do list or calendar entry. Before, with the standard iPhone calendar, I would often forget to add an event because I was too busy to type it, and as a result I would forget I had something scheduled altogether. With Siri and Apple’s new Reminders to-do list app, it’s unlikely I’ll forget anything important again because the process is so effortless.

It’s kind of like having the unpaid intern of my dreams at my beck and call, organizing my life for me. I think Siri on the iPhone is a life changer, and this is only the beginning.

Voice-powered artificial intelligence like Siri and Google Voice are shaping up to become the next-generation user interface. The first iPhone’s introduction of capacitive touchscreens were a major leap into making technology fluent to people of all ages and skill levels. The sense of touch is one of the first experiences we become accustomed to after we’re born, so it wasn’t surprising to see that even children and our grandparents could pick up an iPhone or an iPad and figure out how to use it in seconds. Swiping, tapping and pinching interactive objects on a screen? No problem.

Voice-controlled UI is the logical next step. We learn how to speak when we’re infants, and most of us can talk faster than we type. Therefore, as the technology matures, voice commands will become the quickest way to get in and out of our phones (until Apple or Google figure out mobile telekinesis).

Just imagine what powerful voice-recognition software means for people who barely touch keyboards or mice. And imagine how important this tool is for the visually impaired — their lives are about to get much easier. In the coming years, voice control is going to be huge.

Currently Siri works with some core features of the iPhone, and Apple’s initial partners incorporating the voice-powered AI are Wolfram Alpha and Yelp. That means in its beta state, Siri is limited to controlling the iPhone’s built-in apps (e-mail, SMS, phone, iPod, calendar, web search, looking up directions), finding restaurants or businesses with Yelp, or performing gimmicky calculations such as “How many inches to the moon?” with Wolfram Alpha.

If you hold the iPhone up to your ear, Siri is activated, so it looks like you’re talking to someone on the phone rather than talking to the phone itself.

You would think that dictating commands to a phone would look awkward in public, but Apple thought of a trick to make this less weird. By default, if you hold the iPhone up to your ear, Siri is activated, so it looks like you’re talking to someone on the phone rather than talking to the phone itself. Clever, huh?

I suspect most iPhone 4S customers will primarily be using Siri for controlling the iPhone’s default apps, such as creating reminders, setting the alarm clock and composing an e-mail or text message.

But if and when Apple opens up Siri to third-party app makers, the possibilities are endless. Some hypothetical examples include using Siri to pay your credit card bill through the Chase app, or to order your Chinese delivery through GrubHub, or to book your flight through the Kayak app.

Seeing as Google has already opened voice-recognition to Android programmers, it’s a safe bet we’ll see Apple eventually allow third-party iPhone apps to take advantage of Siri, too.

I’ve spent a week with an iPhone 4S loaned to me from Apple, and I got hooked on Siri quickly. Creating Reminders with Siri was the most useful. I found it silly, however, that items you create with Reminders do not show up in the Calendar app. That means if I create reminders and calendar events, I have to open two different apps to see everything I have to do. I’m hoping Apple integrates Reminders into Siri in a future update.

The only other problem with the iPhone 4S is that once you start using the robot assistant, you’ll wish it did a lot more. It is limited, but really good at what it can do so far.

Here are some of my favorite examples from experimenting with Siri:

Me: “I’m drunk.”

Siri: “I found a number of cabs fairly close to you.” (Perfect; it didn’t dial my ex-girlfriend.)

Me: “I have a flat tire.”

Siri: “I found 14 towing services. 12 of them are fairly close to you.”

Me: “Remind me to steal a ream of paper when I arrive at the office.”

Siri: “Here’s your reminder for when you get to work: Steal a ream of paper. Shall I create it?”

Me: “I’m going to kill myself.”

Siri: “I found four mental health agencies. Three of them are fairly close to you.” (This was just a test — don’t be alarmed.)

And here are some examples of where Siri let me down:

Me: “Book me a table at Mission Beach Cafe tonight at 7.”

Siri: “OK, here’s Mission Beach Cafe. It looks pretty close to you.” (No option to book the restaurant. That’s disappointing because before Apple’s acquisition, the older Siri app had partnered with OpenTable.com to book restaurants for you.)

Me: “Add Steve Urkel to my address book.”

Siri: “Sorry, Brian X. — I’m not allowed to create contacts.” (Shucks. It still takes too long to add a new person to my address book, and the third-party app Bump for wirelessly swapping contact information is very poorly designed.)

Me: “Lower screen brightness.”

Siri: “Sorry, I don’t understand ‘Lower screen brightness.’” (This would be really useful, because it takes too many steps to do this on the iPhone normally.)

Me: “Remind me to buy toothpaste when I arrive at Safeway.”

Siri: “When would you like me to remind you?” (Turns out Siri and the Reminders app can’t yet create a geo-fence for anywhere besides your office location or your home. And dammit, I forgot to buy toothpaste again when I was at Safeway yesterday.)

With all that said, the list of what Siri can already do is quite long, and this is a great start. It will be exciting to see where Apple, and presumably its army of app developers, take voice-powered AI in the years to come.

Performance, camera and dual-antennae

Oh, yeah, the iPhone 4S includes upgrades for the processor, antenna and camera, too.

The new Apple phone has the same dual-core A5 chip as the iPad 2, and the performance boost will be most noticeable when playing games, launching apps and browsing the web.

Besides browsing and playing games, the smaller parts that make up the whole iOS experience all feel faster. Everything from typing to sending a text, and from powering on the phone to taking a photo is zippier.

Here’s a quick SunSpider benchmark comparing the iPhone 4S’ browser speed with that of an iPhone 4 running iOS 5 (less is better):

iPhone 4S: 2,232.2 milliseconds
iPhone 4: 3,679.2 milliseconds

Apple also made several improvements to the iPhone camera. The camera sensor has a large 4.3 millimeter f/2.4 aperture lens — which is getting close to the same size as a really good point-and-shoot camera. The bigger the aperture, the more light and clarity.

The camera resolution was upped to 8 megapixels, and not only are the number of pixels increased; more light gets into each pixel thanks to backside-illumination technology. That basically means you can take artsy photos in low-light conditions. My test shots in a dimly lit bar looked pretty good, but in dark settings, it doesn’t hurt to just try shooting with the flash.

And then there’s the antenna. Now that metal band surrounding the iPhone contains two antennae for your cellular services, and when you’re on a call, the handset will automatically switch to the antenna that’s pulling a stronger signal.

From my experience, talking on an iPhone 4S on AT&T sounds noticeably clearer than it did on past iPhones I’ve owned. In areas with good reception, the handset still hasn’t dropped a call. And no, I haven’t experienced any degraded call performance when holding the phone “the wrong way.”

However, in dead zones where there is spotty AT&T coverage (pretty common here in San Francisco), the reception is still poor. There’s not much a phone can fix about an overloaded network, even with a fancy dual antenna.

Though these are all nice improvements, the antenna, camera and processor upgrades are minor compared to the addition of Siri. The previous iPhone 4 already took great pictures for a phone, the antenna was OK (despite the notorious grip-of-death design flaw), and it was already plenty fast. Siri is the fancy bow on the package that makes this a sharp upgrade overall.

Should you upgrade?

For people who own an older iPhone, such as the 3GS, or for those looking to dump a creaky Android phone, the decision is obvious: The iPhone 4S will be a big jump in performance, camera quality and call clarity, and Siri will be a fat bonus.

If you’re an iPhone 4 owner thinking about upgrading, you have a tougher choice to make. Thanks to the two-year contract imposed by AT&T and Verizon, you’re not yet eligible to pay the $200 upgrade fee for a new phone, so you’d have to spend over $600 just to get the 4S.

I think it’d be wiser for iPhone 4 owners to wait another year for the next iPhone, which will probably be dubbed the iPhone 5 and sport a radical new design and more internal enhancements, if the pattern holds.

But be warned, iPhone 4 owners: If you try Siri for a few minutes, reaching for that credit card will seem irresistible. Try not to give in. I’m betting that some clever hackers out there in the jailbreak community will figure out how to integrate Siri into older iPhones. So if you’re brave enough to tinker, I suggest waiting to see what they come up with before blowing a huge wad of cash just to have Siri.

The iPhone 4S looks exactly the same as its predecessor — but who cares? If it was shaped even slightly differently or came in a new color, people would still go nuts over the stuff that’s more important anyway: the insides. And both inside and out, this is a magnificent smartphone.

The late Steve Jobs once called the computer the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds. I think of the smartphone as the rocket ship for our minds. With increasingly powerful sensors and technologies, and access to hundreds of thousands of apps enabling us to do just about anything, the iPhone keeps soaring to incredible heights and taking us to places with limitless potential. I guess that’s what you have to do to create a ding in the universe.

WIRED Siri is the best androgynous unpaid intern you’ll ever meet. Dual-core guts make for faster apps and a smoother interface. Camera is much-improved. Call quality gets a boost.

TIRED Siri is limited in what it can do and understand. Looks the same as the iPhone 4 — what’s up with that? A two-year contract means you may not be eligible for the best upgrade pricing.

Top 10 Tactics for Diagnosing and Fixing Your Sick Technology

2011-10-10T07:27:00.001+01:00

Technology is great until it breaks and you have to spend hours trying to figure out what's wrong before you can even fix the problem. Often times the entire ordeal will take even longer because you've failed to consider the obvious, or a particular strategy that worked in the past. Here are our top 10 tactics for diagnosing and solving the many problems that occur with your computers, smartphones, web sites, and more.

10. Disable Crap You Don't Need

When something goes wrong, it's probably your fault. Computers certainly have their issues all on their own, but more often than not you're going to cause a problem yourself. For example, AdBlock—as great as it is—can cause web sites to look like they're not loading properly (or at all). It can prevent video playback if you have video ad blocking enabled, too. It should work, in general, but it's not perfect and screws up from time to time. The same goes for any drivers or extensions in your computer. Sometimes you'll install something incompatible by accident. Keep track of what you do and look at the third-party stuff you're using to test and see if it's causing the problem. Often times you can figure out which extension or driver (or whatever) is the problem by going down the list and considering if it relates to your issue.

9. Take a Break

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If you're working on a frustrating problem for more than 10 minutes, it's probably a good time to take a break. Take a walk, get a cup of coffee, or do something else that will take your mind off the issues. Focus is only good when it won't lead to an aneurism. Sometimes you just have to take a step back so you can approach the issues a bit later with a fresh perspective. It can be hard to do, but it's often necessary.

8. Talk It Out with a Troubleshooting Buddy

When you're stuck and don't know what to do next, sometimes the best way to figure it out is to talk about it with someone else. Under ideal circumstances you have a troubleshooting buddy you can bother to discuss the problem and hopefully get some suggestions as well. If not, non-techies aren't so bad either. Discuss the issue with them. Explain it to them in terms they'll understand. It doesn't matter so much if they can offer any help. The fact that they're listening and you're thinking about the problem in different terms can often lead you towards a solution—or at least the beginnings of one. If you're stuck and don't know what to do, stop searching online and talk it out. After a few minutes you should have some new ideas to try.

7. Make Sure It's Not Just You

When a web site isn't working, sometimes it's not the internet. Sometimes it's just you. How can you tell? You could ask a friend or just use something like Down for Everyone or Just Me? Go there and type in the web site in question. DFEOJM.com will let you know if it can reach the page or not. If it can't, it'll report that it's down for everyone. If it can, you might want to restart your router and, if necessary, start looking into other possible causes.

6. Check Your Logs

Logs are your friend, even if you don't know half of what they're saying. When they seem like a foreign language, even a quick glance can tell you what might be causing the problem. You might not understand the error codes or any of the details, but you should be able to see if the error pertains to a specific application or task. This will, at least, give you a lede to investigate so you can focus on discovering what the problem really is. If you're running Windows, here's a tutorial on finding your log files. If you're on Mac, just open the Console applications in Hard Drive —> Applications —> Utilities. If you do understand log files, then you're in really great shape (and probably do not need to be reading this tip.)

5. Perform Regular Maintenance Tasks

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Regular maintenance is important, whether you're on a Mac, Windows, or Linux PC. Sometimes the issue you're seeing is the result of a permissions error, a bad cache file, hard drive fragmentation, a messy registry, and so on. Obviously these issues don't apply to every operating system, but performing maintenance tasks for your specific OS (guides linked earlier in this paragraph) can often clear up the problem. And, if you make these maintenance tasks a recurring duty, you may not run into some issues at all.

4. Set Up Remote Access

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Whether you need to fix an issue on your own computer when you're away or you're helping out a friend or family member,setting up remote access makes a huge different in the troubleshooting process. When you can't be there, it's as close as you can get. There are many options, too. You can simply set up VNC or use a service to take the hassle out of the process. Many chat apps like Skype and iChat have screen sharing features as well, so you're bound to be able to get through if someone else is around. When you can't be there to troubleshoot the problem yourself, remote access is the next best thing.

3. Use Alternative Search Engines When Looking for Help

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Google's great, but it's not the best place to go for everything. More geek-oriented search engines like DuckDuckGo tend to turn up better results when you're looking for troubleshooting assistance. When you're trying to find someone else with your problem, you want a search engine that's going to dig up plenty of forum posts with discussions and, hopefully, solutions. If your primary search engine isn't turning up what you want, try DuckDuckGo instead.

2. Hit Up Helpful Q&A Web Sites

When you're not sure what to do or who to ask for help, there are places online designed to solve your problems. As mentioned in #3, there are plenty of specific forums, but sites like StackExchange offer a focused format for asking questions and getting answers on a variety of topics. (We have a few other suggestions as well.) If none of those sites do the trick, you can always email us. We're always on the lookout for good Ask Lifehacker topics, so if your issue is broad enough it may be a good problem for us to solve for you. Alternatively, our Help Yourself and Open Threads are good places to ask each other for assistance on a more specific issue.

1. Restart

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Seriously. We often forget to do it and it regularly solves the problem. It doesn't matter if it's an old Super Nintendo, a brand new laptop, or your smart or dumb phone—restarting is, in most cases, the first thing you should try when there's a seemingly unsolvable problem. Remember to do it and save yourself a lot of trouble.

Five Best Ways to Use a Regular Phone for Internet Calls

2011-10-10T07:24:00.000+01:00

If you're ready to cut the cord to your traditional landline telephone and use your broadband internet connection as your phone line, you have plenty of options, especially if you're interested in continuing to use the phones you already have in your home for VoIP calling. This week we're going to look at some services that allow you to connect your regular home phones to the internet for cheap internet calls.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which services you used to transition your home telephone service from a traditional carrier to your broadband connection, and you responded with great suggestions. Now we're back to highlight the top five, based on your nominations.

Ooma

Ooma prides itself on quick setup, and richly featured devices and services. When the company launched a few years ago, they were one of the first to offer you the ability to port your phone number (for a charge, of course) and call any number in the United States—including other land lines—completely for free. They still do, and even though there's more competition now, Ooma still makes setup easy and offers competitive international rates. If you sign up for Ooma's subscription "Ooma Premier" service ($119.99/yr or $9.99/mo,) you get a second line, three-way calling, call forwarding, Google Voice extensions, personal blacklists, enhanced voicemail features (many of which are already available with Google Voice,) and more. To get started with Ooma, you'll need to drop $199.99 on an Ooma appliance, and up to $249.99 for an appliance with a Bluetooth or wireless adapter so you can extend service into other rooms or use a Bluetooth headset with it. Ooma-ready phone handsets will set you back an additional $49.99, and the Ooma mobile apps for iOS and Android will cost you $9.99.

Obihai

Obihai is the manufacturer behind the Obi100 and Obi110 VoIP conversion boxes. The beauty of the Obi line of products is that if you set them up correctly, all of your calls can be completely free. They integrate well with Google Voice, and while you can certainly plug on into your broadband connection at home and use your home phones over VoIP, you can also download the Obion mobile apps for your smartphone to send and recieve calls through your Obi on the go (wireless charges still apply, but long distance and tolls won't.) If you have a friend with an Obi device in their honme, you can call them over the internet, using your home phone, completely for free, and others can call you direct, or call a friend with a local Obi and get routed through to yours, avoiding long-distance charges. Getting on-board with Obihai will cost you $43.99 for the Obi100, or $49.99 for the Obi110 (which allows you to bridge calls between VoIP and a land-line.) Those of you who nominated Obihai made note that the combination of an Obi device and Google Voice gave you the closest thing to having a full-fledged phone company, complete with enhanced features, for a single one-time charge.

Vonage

Vonage was one of the first VoIP services to make it big—huge marketing campaigns and a robust VoIP solution that allowed you to use your home phone and avoid long-distance charges didn't hurt. Unlike some of the other contestants in the lineup, Vonage doesn't offer you a one-time purchase, after which you're on your own unless you want premium services. Instead, you trade in your traditional phone company for Vonage, and you still get a monthly bill, just from Vonage instead of your phone company. That bill can range from $11.99 to $49.99 domestically, and tack on between $14.99 and $54.99 internationally if you need to make global calls. At the same time though, they offer you a VoIP appliance for free, and all of the features that a traditional phone company would offer you for a much lower price. That subscription price also includes voicemail, caller ID, forwarding, Vonage "extensions," or the ability to ring multiple numbers, and more. Vonage is ideal for the user interested in switching to VoIP, but doesn't want the hassle of setting up an appliance themselves, or hooking up with Google Voice for extended features.

Skype

Skype is more than just a computer-to-computer calling service: the service has come a long way and offers a number of solutions that allow you to use your home phone with Skype to call your friends on their computers or their land lines. Skype's new FREETALK appliances allow you to connect any traditional phone in your home to your broadband internet connection and place local and long-distance calls through Skype. If you'd prefer, you can buy Skype's branded cordless phones that do it all for you. One of the nice things about Skype's home phone service is that you can use it in conjunction with your Skype account on your mobile phone or desktop computer, making Skype a complete replacement for all of your calls: mobile, VoIP, and computer-to-computer. Of course, the FREEtALK applicances will set you back between $39.99 and $59.99 depending on the types of phone calls you plan to make, and the Skype-branded phones will cost you between $69.99 and $89.99 depending on the ones you want. You'll have to sign up for an annual subscription or add credits to your Skype account to continue using them. Also, keep in mind that Skype does not offer E911 or emergency calling.

Nettalk

NetTalk is another VoIP service that combines cheap appliances that connect your home phone to your broadband internet ocnnection with subscription services that replace your traditional phone company. NetTalk is cheap: their appliance will set you back $69.99 and comes with a year of service, after which you'll pay $29.99/year. The tiny NetTalk Duo adapter gives you free calls over your broadband connection across the US and Canada using your traditional home phone, free conference calling, and affordable international calling plans (although you'll have to be up on that month's per-minute rate to the country you plan to call.) NetTalk is one of the cheapest subscription services in the roundup, but that's mostly because they don't upsell you on advanced features like call forwarding, voicemail, and other services that Google Voice offers: they're a low-cost, no-nonsense VoIP solution.

Unlocked iPhone 4S not available until November, won’t support CDMA

2011-10-10T07:16:00.005+01:00

We know that the new iPhone 4S is a world phone, with support for GSM and CDMA networks. So you should be able to buy an unlocked one and use it on any network in the world that carries the iPhone, right? As it turns out, that isn’t quite the case. The unlocked model of the 4S won’t support the CDMA basebands used on Sprint and Verizon. Oh, and did we mention that the unlocked iPhone 4S won’t be available until November?

With the contract version of the iPhone 4S having capabilities for both GSM and CDMA, why would CDMA get the shaft on the unlocked model? This is likely because international networks are much more likely to be GSM. If you’re a globetrotter who is toting an unlocked phone, you aren’t going to call a local CDMA carrier to have your phone temporarily activated. Instead, you’ll buy a pre-paid SIM card, and pop it in. Of course SIM cards are the turf of GSM.

As for the news that the unlocked version won’t be available for at least another month, that means that only contract-laden iPhones can be purchased during the initial launch. Sure, you can drop $650 (or more) to buy one for full retail if you aren’t eligible for an upgrade, but it will still require a new 2-year agreement.

What does this mean? If you’re a world traveler, who wants to use your iPhone 4S everywhere you go, you’re still covered. You can still use your contract-laden iPhone 4S (which is available for pre-order now) to do that, or you can wait for the unlocked one next month. Either way, you will still be able to connect to any GSM network worldwide by switching up the SIM card. The only difference is that you won’t be able to use that contract-free one on Sprint or Verizon in the US.

Unlocked models will ring up at the same prices as the full retail contract-laden iPhone 4S. That would be $649 for 16GB, $749 for 32GB, and a whopping $849 for 64GB.

AT&T wants to bring 4G icon to iPhone 4S

2011-10-10T07:15:00.004+01:00

You thought the 4G agnosticism that Apple expressed during their iPhone 4S unveiling was going to be the end of the story? Think again. AT&T has confirmed to us that they are working with Apple to add a 4G icon to the status bar of the iPhone 4S.

After initial reports that AT&T was pushing for the icon, an AT&T representative confirmed to Geek.com that they are “working together [with Apple] on this.”

4G has been a muddy term in wireless marketing. All four US carriers claim to have 4G, though speeds can vary wildly. LTE (currently available on Verizon, is in the early stages on AT&T, and is being planned by Sprint) is now generally accepted as “true 4G,” though even it is a compromise over the original standards set forth for 4G.

As presented by Apple, AT&T’s version of the iPhone 4S will have download speeds of “up to 14.4 Mbps.” As we previously reported, though, your real-world speeds won’t likely get anywhere close to that. Owners of AT&T’s Android HSPA+ phones can tell you that their download speeds can often be indistinguishable from 3G speeds.

AT&T’s website curiously makes no mention of the term 4G in advertising, so perhaps Apple insisted that it not be used (at least at launch). But since the AT&T 4S should have the same speeds as the Atrix 4G, Inspire 4G, or LG Thrill 4G (the three devices Apple compared it to in the keynote), it isn’t surprising that AT&T would also describe their iPhone as 4G.

While those of us that frequent Geek likely know about the vastly different technologies that are all called “4G,” your typical customer may be less likely to. Even statistics like Mbps aren’t likely to mean a lot to some. That’s when the use of the term in marketing can get confusing. If Joe Phone Shopper walks into Best Buy, is he going to know the difference between the “4G” that the AT&T iPhone 4S has and the much faster 4G that Verizon’s Droid Bionic supports (using LTE)?

We have reached out for further clarification from AT&T, and will keep you posted when more details are available.

Apple Announces iPhone 4S, Available October 14

2011-10-10T07:11:00.000+01:00

iPhone 4S

Apple finally delivers its next generation iPhone; 64GB model to cost $399 on contract

Fourteen months -- that's how long it's been since Apple released the iPhone 4. That phone touted a 3.5” (640x960) "Retina" display, speedy A4 processor, a problem-prone external antenna, a 5MP camera, and has been a huge success for the company. Sales of the iPhone 4 account for over half of all iPhone models sold since 2007.

Since the iPhone 4's introduction, however, the Android competition has grown even more fierce and now command 56 percent of the U.S. smartphone market. Apple needs another hit to keep its smartphone momentum (and cash) flowing, so the company today announced the iPhone 4S.

Siri in action

I. The "new" iPhone 4S
Judging from its exterior appearance, not much seems changed from the iPhone 4 we’ve all come to know since June 2010 (April 2010 if you count the Gizmodo leak). In fact, the design looks nearly identical to the CDMA iPhone 4 with its improved antenna design that debuted on Verizon’s network earlier this year.

On the inside, however, things have changed for the better. Instead of the single-core A4 processor, the iPhone 4S is now packing a scaled down version of the dual-core A5 processor that initially debuted on the iPad 2. Apple claims that the processor is twice as fast and the updated graphics core in the new iPhone 4S allows it to be up to 7 times faster than the iPhone 4.

When it comes to battery life, Apple claims up to 8 hours of 3G talk times, 14 hours of 2G talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, and 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing with the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 4S now also a fully functional dual-mode “world” phone that can operate on CDMA and GSM networks (the iPhone 4S supports the “4G-esque” HSDPA standard; 14.4Mbps down). IFixit initially pointed out in early February that the Verizon iPhone 4 contained a dual-mode CDMA/GSM chip that supports HSDPA, but that functionality was disabled.

An important note -- this iPhone does not have HSPA+. HSPA+ (aka. "evolved HSPA") requires a fast downlink and a fast uplink. The new iPhone has a high-speed downlink, but a traditional 3G speed uplink.

The iPhone 4S has an 8MP (3264x2448) camera with backside illumination to allow for 73 percent more light. It also includes what Apple calls a Hybrid IR filter and a five-element lens. In addition, the iPhone 4S is capable of recording video in 1080p and includes video image stabilization.

iPod touch, now available in white

Also new with the iPhone 4S is an "assistant" called Siri. Siri allows you to speak to your iPhone using normal speech patterns and receive a response. For example, "What is the weather like today" will give you a readout of the forecast for your current location. You could also say "Set alarm for 8am" and Siri will automatically fulfill your request. Or saying "Find me an Italian restaurant in New York City" will provide you with a listing of restaurants in that area, and so forth.

Siri will you to do anything from setting calendar event to respond to text messages. It can even read back message text for you (or compose it if you wish, like in an email for example).

Siri functionality is featured in most of Apple's built-in apps for iOS.

Of course, with each new iPhone release comes a new version of iOS, and this year is no exception. The iPhone 4S comes pre-loaded with iOS 5 (which we have discussed in detail here). IOS 5 brings a host of improvements to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad/iPad 2 including a revamped notification system, wireless updates, system-wide Twitter integration, updates to Mail and Safari, iMessage, and iCloud.

IOS 5 and iCloud will be available to download on October 12. The iPhone 4 will be available on October 14 for $199 (16GB), $299, (32GB), and $399 (64GB) with a two-year contract. Pre-orders start October 7.

Also, as has been widely reported, Sprint is now jumping on the iPhone bandwagon. The third-place U.S. wireless carrier will get its own version of the iPhone 4S that operates on a 3G network instead of WiMAX. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has made it clear that its loss of subscribers (and hence revenue) can be partially attributed to not having the iPhone on its network. That excuse won’t fly anymore, however, so we’ll be eager to see how many new customers Sprint picks up when it reports its earnings for the quarter.

II. New iPods are also on the way
The iPod nano has been updated to include swipe functionality to navigate between apps and 16 new clock faces (for those that are “hip” to turning your iPod nano into a watch). The new nano is priced at $129 for the 8GB model and $149 for the 16GB model.

Apple hasn't updated the hardware for the iPod touch, but it did announce that it would now be available in white with price points of $199, $299, and $399 for 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB of storage respectively.

HTC Announces Sensation XL with Beats Audio, Record Earnings

2011-10-10T07:06:00.000+01:00

HTC's Sensation XL ships with urBeats headphones

When HTC announced a deal with Beats Electronics, we knew it wouldn't be long before branded smartphones would start hitting the market. First up was the Sensation XE with its 1.5GHz processor.

Now we have the Sensation XL which was just announced today. The Sensation XL obviously has Beats Audio integration along with a massive 4.7" display (Engadget says that the screen resolution is still 800x480). The smartphone is 9.9mm thick, features an aluminum body, 16GB of internal storage, 8MP rear camera (f/2.2, 28mm, dual-LED flash) 1600 mAh battery, and packs in a 1.5GHz single-core processor (Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon). The Sensation XL is running Android 2.3 with HTC Sense 3.5 tacked on.

The Sensation XL will also ship with a pair of urBeats headphones.

“With Beats Audio, the HTC Sensation XL continues HTC’s commitment of delivering the best audio possible on your phone whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie or playing a game,” said HTC CEO Peter Chou. “This is an amazing example of why our partnership with Beats makes so much sense for customers today and into the future.”

In other HTC news, the company announced that third quarter revenue jumped 79 percent to $4.4 billion USD while net income rose 68 percent to $612 million USD.

Sony Looking to Buy Ericsson Share of Mobile Phone Partnership

2011-10-10T07:04:00.000+01:00

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

Deal could be worth $1.3 billion to Ericsson says analyst

In the smartphone world, there are several players out there and many of them are banking on the popularity of Google’s Android operating system for continued success. Sony Ericsson was one of the firms that came later to the Android game.

Reuters reports that Sony is in talks to buy out the Ericsson stake in the mobile phone company. That would mean the smartphones would be solely under the Sony brand. Considering one of the more interesting smartphones to come out of the partnership between the two firms was the Xperia Play that is heavily focused on gaming, it's not surprising that Sony want the devices under its own brand.

Right now, Sony makes tablets, music players, and computers under its name and the only products offered under the Sony-Ericsson brand are mobile phones. According to Reuters, the negotiations with Sony and Ericsson have been ongoing for weeks. The Sony Ericsson brand is a 50:50 joint venture and the decade-long deal that started the venture must be reapproved this month.

A source close to the deal that Sony was talking buyout as of Friday. The deal could net Ericsson $1.3 billion depending on what the telecom patents Ericsson holds and uses in the smartphones are worth according to analyst Yoshiharu Izumi of J.P. Morgan in Tokyo.

Izumi said, "Up to now Sony's products and network services have all been separate. Unifying them would be positive. If they can leverage their games and other network services I think they can lift their share."

The Sony Ericsson venture has reportedly turned a profit of 90 million euros as of last year after a massive loss of 836 million euros in 2009. However, its share of the cell phone market has dropped from fourth place to 9th place in only a few years time.

Google, Samsung Delay Galaxy Nexus Reveal Out of Respect for Steve Jobs

2011-10-10T07:03:00.001+01:00

Steve Jobs effect on the tech industry is still being felt

Many were anxiously awaiting the announcement of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone on October 11, as the smartphone will spearhead the launch of Ice Cream Sandwich (the next version of Google's Android mobile operating system). However, both Samsung and Google have decided to postpone the event.


Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Earlier today, the two companies issued this joint statement:

Samsung and Google decide to postpone the new product announcement at CTIA Fall. We agree that it is just not the right time to announce a new product. New date and venue will be shortly announced.

However, later today, a Samsung spokesperson confirmed that the reason for the delay was out of respect for Steve Jobs:

We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs's passing. We do not have information on the rescheduling of the event.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs died on Wednesday at the age of 56. He battled pancreatic cancer and later received a liver transplant. Jobs temporarily left Apple on medical leave three times to address his health concerns. He vacated his duties as CEO of Apple in late August, handing over the baton to Tim Cook.

Nuance to Buy Swype for $100M USD, Form Unholy Input Alliance

2011-10-10T07:01:00.001+01:00

Swype and T9: new BFFs (Source: Swype (left); Android Guys (right))

The company that brought you Siri, Ford Sync, and T9 adds another tool to its portfolio

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NUAN) is a juggernaut in the field of input technologies. It produces some of the best voice recognition software around, in the form of its Dragon speech-to-text software. The company's voice recognition technology has been applied to power diverse systems outside the PC, as well, including Ford Motor Company's (F) Sync,Ford's MyFord Touch, and Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL)Siri app. And Nuance's T9 phone keyboard input technology is still one of the most used input methods in smartphones and feature phones.

By comparison Swype, Inc. is a more humble input startup, focusing solely on touch-keyboard technologies. It was co-founded by Randy Marsden, developer of the onscreen keyboard found in recent versions of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows operating system, and Cliff Kushler, co-inventor of T9.

Now Kushler's startup has been folded into current T9 owner Nuance's portfolio, thanks to a $100M USD acquisition.

Nuance and Swype have both confirmed the deal.

With the acquisition Nuance approaches a monopoly on mobile input technology, though there's still a few cheeky mobile input startups out there. Google Inc. (GOOG), Microsoft, Apple, and Research in Motion, Ltd. (TSE:RIM) all have one thing in common in the mobile market -- they all rely heavily on T9 and/or Swype for fast input.

While the move may mean less competition, it also opens the door to some exciting possibilities that would not previously have been possible due to the potential for litigation between Swype and Nuance. For example, Nuance could now attempt to create a Swype-style implementation of T9, for faster typing on compact touch screens or narrow screen modes (i.e. portrait mode).

Mr. Kushler and Mr. Mardsen hardly seem the type to rest on their laurels. It should be interesting what kinds of input they dream up next. Our guess is that there's more startups in store for the Swype co-founder, once they finish helping their company transition to its new role as a Nuance unit.

Razer Onza Xbox Controller Offers Gripping Gameplay

2011-10-10T06:45:00.002+01:00

Inventing excuses after losing, dying, or in general just playing like crap is a time-honored tradition among gamers. We’ve heard them all — teammates who don’t pull their own weight, cheaters, tons of lag, screen glare, and worst of all, faulty or unresponsive controllers.

So here’s the bad news: Razer’s Onza TE will make covering up your ineptitude with hardware-based justifications even less tenable. But don’t panic. The good news is you might not have to make as many.

At just $10 more than Microsoft’s standard-issue wired controllers (and the same price as the wireless versions), the Onza TE is an undeniable value whether you’re a seasoned fragger or casual gamer. Yes, you’ll have to deal with a cord — Microsoft doesn’t license its wireless tech to third party peripheral makers — but at 15 feet, you should still have plenty of wiggle room from couch to console. In fact, like the rest of the controller, even that cord is thoughtfully designed. Made of lightweight, braided cable, it also comes with a quick release USB connector should anyone accidentally trip over it.

As for the controller itself, the first thing you’ll notice is that it has a drastically different feel then the standard Microsoft models. It’s not only lighter, thanks to the lack of a battery pack, it’s also slimmer and slightly more angular. Razer also coated the Onza TE with a rubberized, non-slip finish, ensuring that even Cheetos-stained fingers will maintain a firm hold.

But as with Razer’s other gaming peripherals, the Onza TE’s true appeal is in its ample opportunity for customization. To that end, both of the controller’s analog sticks have adjustable resistance rings, letting you tighten or loosen the amount of force needed to tilt them. You also get two separate, fully-mappable buttons located just above the triggers dedicated to whatever task you deem fit. (I was fond of mapping my reload button to right one).

Razer also threw in what it calls “hyper response technology” into its ABXY face buttons. This is actually just a fancy name for using mechanical switches beneath the buttons. And if you’ve suffered the mushy membrane switches that Microsoft uses in its standard controllers, the advantages will become immediately apparent. Not only is the depressing distance for each button much shorter, you’ll also get a satisfying click each time you do it. Even better? Those buttons are backlit.

The adjustable analog sticks also come in handy in multiple gaming situations. Dialing in the precise resistance when controlling the errant camera in L.A. Noire or loosening things up and adding a bit more precision as you’re aiming down your ACOG scope was simply a matter of twisting the rings on the analog sticks to the right or left.

Of course, none of this is to say the Onza TE will actually make up for lack of skill. But after using it for more than two weeks I can say it’ll make going back to any other controller nearly impossible.

Mango Is a Fresh New Flavor for Windows Phones

2011-10-10T06:42:00.001+01:00

When Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system debuted, it stood apart visually from other mobile OSes. Windows Phone 7 eschewed the desktop-like interfaces seen on iOS and Android. Instead, it went with rectangular “Live Tiles” that host various apps and interactions, organizing them in a constantly cascading home screen. It was just as intuitive and overall, it functioned well. But a year later, it feels stale.

Luckily, Microsoft has rolled out a juicy update to the Windows Phone family: Mango.

Mango will be available as an upgrade on any Windows Phone 7 device starting Tuesday.

The “Metro” UI and general navigation through the platform remain largely unchanged from Windows Phone 7, but Windows Mango (officially, version number 7.5) makes some notable improvements to the way it integrates social networking. The web browser has been upgraded. It also does everything a mobile OS is supposed to do — use hardware sensors, search and app discovery features to help make the most of your handset. Basically, Mango bumps Windows Phone from good to great.

Microsoft loaned me a Samsung Focus handset (for AT&T) loaded with the new release. Mango will be available as an upgrade on any Windows Phone 7 device starting Tuesday.

After a quick boot, the phone’s lockscreen shows you the vitals: time, date, what’s next on your calendar, and message alerts. You swipe upwards to send it on its way and reveal the home screen filled with rectangle-filled Live Tiles. Phone, People, Messaging, Mail — you have full control over what Live Tiles display and what order they’re in.

But that’s all the same as before.

The biggest change to Windows Phone 7 is in the revamped People Hub, where your phone, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contacts can be stored together in one big, long alphabetical list. As in Windows Phone 7, you have filters: All, What’s New and Recent. All is that big list of all of your contacts; What’s New is a recent social media activity stream, which you can keep lumped together chronologically or organize by platform (just Facebook updates, just tweets); and Recent shows the people you’ve called, messaged or e-mailed most recently.

You can simply search by name to dig up a contact from the All list, but the most effective way to utilize the People Hub is by organizing your contacts into groups. For instance, on my test phone, I created groups for Family, Housemates and Wired. Once your groups are organized, click through to see a grid of their images (pulled from their Facebook or Twitter profiles, or a photo you set yourself), names, or their most recent status updates. Below that, you get the option to send a text or e-mail to everyone in the group. Flick to the right and you get “What’s New”, a collection of their most recent social networking updates. Flick again and you get pictures members of the group have uploaded. As a person who hates the clutter, repetitiveness and general bullshit I have to wade through on Facebook (Really? A newsfeed next to my Newsfeed?), this is a godsend. Now I can just check out the friends and contacts I’m immediately concerned with without slogging through all the narcissistic whining of people I keep forgetting to hide from my Facebook Newsfeed. Depending on my mood, I can check out just the streams from my college friends, my San Francisco friends or my colleagues at work. You can even pin a group (or a single contact) as a live tile to your home screen. Tres bien!

The only downside to this whole scheme is that if you sync your Twitter and Facebook accounts to the phone, all of those contacts get dumped into your contact list. The resulting alphabetical list is completely unmanageable, but again, you can search for a specific name. I found the Recents filter to be the most useful.

In the messaging app, the speech bubbles of you and your contact are now differentiated with a gradient of your chosen color scheme — your sent messages are a few shades darker than your messaging contact’s. Before, both were the same shade, so this is an improvement.

Just like in Windows 7, if you’ve synced your Google account to the phone, the Calendar app only syncs your primary account’s calendar. However, if you’ve synced your Facebook account to the phone, it will also sync Facebook events to your calendar, which is convenient.

UPDATE: In the original post, this review incorrectly stated Mango couldn’t link multiple e-mail accounts and couldn’t properly filter social networking contacts. These oversights have been corrected.

In Windows Mango, the default search engine app is Internet Explorer 9, and the browser is a significant upgrade over Windows Phone 7’s IE8. Pages load quickly, and sites like Reddit load up without error (in WP7, the text on Reddit wouldn’t load properly). The only problems I noticed with the sites I visited were some occasional spacing issues on headlines. Like in iOS, Flash (and Silverlight) aren’t supported. With Mango, the browser’s chrome (the URL bar and nav) shows up in both portrait and landscape modes. In Windows Phone 7, the chrome disappeared in landscape orientation to allow for a sort of “reading mode.” Microsoft says users didn’t like that, so it put it back.

Rather than provide you with a straight list of search results, Mango will show you an app as the top result whenever it’s appropriate.

But you don’t have to use the browser to search. There’s a hardware button for that.

When you use the phone’s capacitive search button, it takes you straight to Bing search. Rather than provide you with a straight list of search results, Mango will show you an app as the top result whenever it’s appropriate. It shows apps you have on your phone, or apps you can download that are related to your search, or could be used to help your search. This is followed by news results (the most recent buzz about your search topic), web results, and related searches. If there aren’t any app results pertaining to your search, then often a sponsored site will take that top spot.

Search for “Angry Birds” and the first result is a link to the Angry Birds app. Search for “Mexican Food” and the first hit is a sponsored result for the local Wahoo’s location, followed by a Wikipedia page and other web links.

Mango also adds a Google Goggles-like visual search and Shazam-esque music search to the mix. Visual search didn’t work that well when I tried to scan barcodes. The only item I could get to scan properly was my deodorant. Book cover scans didn’t return any positive results at all. The text identification and translation function worked decently. Music search, however, was fantastic. It identified everything from nuanced classical to lyric-heavy pop. The only thing that threw it off was the beginning of “People Are People” by Depeche Mode, which admittedly, sounds similar to a number of other Depeche Mode songs. Once the vocals kicked in, Mango identified the song in a snap.

If you’re searching location, Bing Maps can be a little slow to load on the zoom when the data connection isn’t that strong, but if you zoom all the way in on some public buildings, like the mall, a floorplan pops up and you can see maps of each floor level. It’s a nice tool for optimizing where you’re going to park on your next mall trip.

Windows Mango also ships with some new and improved default apps. Pinned to the homescreen is an app called Local Scout, which is essentially Microsoft’s answer to Yelp. Give it permission to determine your location, and it collects the top-rated nearby places to drink, dine, shop, or have fun. You can choose to organize places by distance, rating, relevance, cuisine, shop category or attraction type. You can scroll through reviews culled from Citysearch, TripAdvisor and Open Table, among others.

The choice to make this app built-in is a smart one, as the results are useful and appropriate. If you have a favorite restaurant or destination, you can choose to pin it to the homescreen from the app. But aside from making it easy to call them, I don’t really see why you’d need to do that unless your favorite restaurant is constantly changing its hours or something.

Overall, the Mango upgrade presents Windows Phone owners with a more complete package than the launch version. Interface details have been well-thought-out and executed. If you’ve already got a Windows Phone 7 device, I see no reason not to upgrade. And if you don’t have one, consider checking one out.

Computer Virus Hits U.S. Drone Fleet

2011-10-10T06:38:00.001+01:00

A computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones.

The virus, first detected nearly two weeks ago by the military’s Host-Based Security System, has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. Nor have there been any confirmed incidents of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. But the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech’s computers, network security specialists say. And the infection underscores the ongoing security risks in what has become the U.S. military’s most important weapons system.

“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

Military network security specialists aren’t sure whether the virus and its so-called “keylogger” payload were introduced intentionally or by accident; it may be a common piece of malware that just happened to make its way into these sensitive networks. The specialists don’t know exactly how far the virus has spread. But they’re sure that the infection has hit both classified and unclassified machines at Creech. That raises the possibility, at least, that secret data may have been captured by the keylogger, and then transmitted over the public internet to someone outside the military chain of command.

Drones have become America’s tool of choice in both its conventional and shadow wars, allowing U.S. forces to attack targets and spy on its foes without risking American lives. Since President Obama assumed office, a fleet of approximately 30 CIA-directed drones have hit targets in Pakistan more than 230 times; all told, these drones have killed more than 2,000 suspected militants and civilians, according to the Washington Post. More than 150 additional Predator and Reaper drones, under U.S. Air Force control, watch over the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. American military drones struck 92 times in Libya between mid-April and late August. And late last month, an American drone killed top terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki — part of an escalating unmanned air assault in the Horn of Africa and southern Arabian peninsula.

But despite their widespread use, the drone systems are known to have security flaws. Many Reapers and Predators don’t encrypt the video they transmit to American troops on the ground. In the summer of 2009, U.S. forces discovered “days and days and hours and hours” of the drone footage on the laptops of Iraqi insurgents. A $26 piece of software allowed the militants to capture the video.

The lion’s share of U.S. drone missions are flown by Air Force pilots stationed at Creech, a tiny outpost in the barren Nevada desert, 20 miles north of a state prison and adjacent to a one-story casino. In a nondescript building, down a largely unmarked hallway, is a series of rooms, each with a rack of servers and a “ground control station,” or GCS. There, a drone pilot and a sensor operator sit in their flight suits in front of a series of screens. In the pilot’s hand is the joystick, guiding the drone as it soars above Afghanistan, Iraq, or some other battlefield.

Some of the GCSs are classified secret, and used for conventional warzone surveillance duty. The GCSs handling more exotic operations are top secret. None of the remote cockpits are supposed to be connected to the public internet. Which means they are supposed to be largely immune to viruses and other network security threats.

But time and time again, the so-called “air gaps” between classified and public networks have been bridged, largely through the use of discs and removable drives. In late 2008, for example, the drives helped introduce the agent.btz worm to hundreds of thousands of Defense Department computers. The Pentagon is still disinfecting machines, three years later.

Use of the drives is now severely restricted throughout the military. But the base at Creech was one of the exceptions, until the virus hit. Predator and Reaper crews use removable hard drives to load map updates and transport mission videos from one computer to another. The virus is believed to have spread through these removable drives. Drone units at other Air Force bases worldwide have now been ordered to stop their use.

In the meantime, technicians at Creech are trying to get the virus off the GCS machines. It has not been easy. At first, they followed removal instructions posted on the website of the Kaspersky security firm. “But the virus kept coming back,” a source familiar with the infection says. Eventually, the technicians had to use a software tool called BCWipe to completely erase the GCS’ internal hard drives. “That meant rebuilding them from scratch” — a time-consuming effort.

The Air Force declined to comment directly on the virus. “We generally do not discuss specific vulnerabilities, threats, or responses to our computer networks, since that helps people looking to exploit or attack our systems to refine their approach,” says Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, a spokesman for Air Combat Command, which oversees the drones and all other Air Force tactical aircraft. “We invest a lot in protecting and monitoring our systems to counter threats and ensure security, which includes a comprehensive response to viruses, worms, and other malware we discover.”

However, insiders say that senior officers at Creech are being briefed daily on the virus.

“It’s getting a lot of attention,” the source says. “But no one’s panicking. Yet.”

‘Arab Spring’ on the Hudson: Social Media’s The Same The World Over

2011-10-10T06:37:00.000+01:00

They number in the thousands now, mostly college kids and young adults. They’ve occupied prime public downtown spaces. They’re marching, holding up signs for the cameras, handing out literature, making and listening to speeches. Drumming and chanting, heard for blocks around, is perpetual background noise. A sea of blue plastic tarps dot the area, covering mattresses, sleeping bags and the meager possessions of protesters in what has become something of a tent city.

The dissidents have moved in. The police have already used pepper spray, batons and made hundreds of arrests. The nation’s leaders, and those who aspire to high office, are now being forced now to weigh in.

The whole world is watching, and waiting. There is no way of knowing when, or perhaps more troublingly, how this will all end.

‘We get 20 tweets every 10-15 seconds, so it’s hard to keep up. You aren’t even finished reading the 20 and you get 20 more and it just keeps going. This is how it’s been for 18 days’

But this isn’t Cairo or Tunis, where earlier this year mass protests ignited the “Arab Spring” and the Tunisian and Egyptian people overthrew dictators in a matter of (semi) peaceful weeks. This is Liberty Square in downtown Manhattan, the centre of American finance. The movement is “Occupy Wall Street.” The sound bite is “we are the 99%.” The demands are … unclear.

OWS — #occupywallstreet in the parlance that really matters in the age of Twitter — started small. On September 17, the first day of the protests, the fledgling group’s one loudspeaker was stolen mischievously by a passer-by, organizers were clueless when asked how food would be distributed, and police were content just to watch and wait. The feeling for some was that there wouldn’t be a real revolution unless they were actually being attacked. In the dismayed words of one Anonymous member there, “this is a hippie jam fest.”

But the demonstration grew and matured over three weeks, and is now spreading to other cities, even overseas. There is talk of an “Occupy the FED” demonstration — and the similarities earlier Middle East uprisings don’t end there: Many got the word to join the protest via social media, and organizers are maintaining momentum and keeping tabs on thing the same way

Check out Raw File’s Photo Gallery: ‘Occupy Wall Street Ignites Political Hackathon‘

“We get 20 tweets every 10-15 seconds, so it’s hard to keep up. You aren’t even finished reading the 20 and you get 20 more and it just keeps going. This is how it’s been for 18 days,” Eric Gibbs, one of the volunteers manning what appeared to be the command center of the movement, told Wired.com when we visited this week.

“What impresses me about media coverage of #occupywallstreet is how inattentive it is to a sleeping factor: the social media ignition moment,” said one of those Tweets, from New York University journalism professor and social media watcher Jay Rosen.

Continue reading ”Arab Spring’ on the Hudson: Social Media’s The Same The World Over’ …

It’s impossible not to make the Arab Spring analogy, especially when the organization’s own site openly encourages a favorable comparison. “We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants,” reads the site. And, of course the words “Arab Spring” link to the Wikipedia page, in case you missed all that earlier this year. Like the Spring, there is no charismatic leader, a sound bite and a plurality of populist voices. This was successful and North Africa and is proving successful here.

‘What impresses me about media coverage of #occupywallstreet is how inattentive it is to a sleeping factor: the social media ignition moment’ — Jay Rosen

Gibbs stands in front of four computers pushed together on a card table, all equipped with web cams and with Livestream and Twitter pages open on three of the four. The fourth was being used to write a speech for the march. From below yet another tarp comes the buzz of generator, powering this DIY tech-hub, but it is kept from sight due to police prohibition.

Gibbs easily confesses his inexperience in political activism, but believes that most people here are like himself, called to action via the internet. In his case, this was via occupywallst.org’s chat room, where found himself in a room of foreigners who wanted to know what was going on. They told him to get downtown.

Gibbs opened a Twitter account on day one of the occupation, and re-posted #OccupyWallStreet’s activity into the chat. Now, at day 20, he is one of the many voices coming from Liberty Square, keeping the world informed, play-by-play.

It’s hard to hear him over din of what might be called the embodiment of their social media strategy: A comrade is shouting into his computer, answering questions from the Livestream chat room run from the Occupy Wall Street site. His pace is rapid-fire and his responses are passionate.

This is really how the world is watching: On the marches, they bring these computers, USB hot-spots plugged in, and show the world what is happening, as it happens. “Before we didn’t even have the webcams, we were just marching around with the computer facing the crowd, it was kind of weird,” Gibbs laughed.

Twitter and Facebook proved to be, and continue to be, a way to move information quickly, personally, and largely under the radar. Feeds and pages have materialized all over the country in solidarity of the OWS movement, each group now reaching a different, more localized audience.

“It’s much more diffuse and potent, and can be spread faster,” said Mark Bray, a volunteer who was standing under a cardboard sign with the word “press” scrawled onto it. “People can get the information without having to go out of their way. You can bump into it on Facebook without having to go to a specific website. In my experience, in just a short period of time its really changed things and brought this whole thing a lot more life.” This is certainly true, and like the movements they seek to emulate, social media’s coverage of the protests and the arrests has uncovered a latent anger felt by many in country that never thought to object until they saw others who held similar beliefs.

What doesn’t necessarily connect are the goals. The press is having a much harder time interpreting Occupy Wall Street than it did with the movements in Tunisia and Egypt. One reason for this is because this time the narrative is unclear.

In the Arab Spring the goal was clear: Overthrow dictatorships that had been in place for decades.

How does one stop corporate greed in the United States, exactly?

But if the outcome isn’t clear — to anyone — the tipping point of frustration seems easy enough to pinpoint.

“It’s capitalism for us, and socialism for the capitalists, I think is a fair way to describe it,” Michael Lewis, financial reporter and author of Boomerang, told CBS Sunday Morning.

iPhone 4S versus Galaxy S II: Apple may still win

2011-10-07T08:16:00.001+01:00

iPhone 4S

Samsung Galaxy S2

Apple with the iPhone 4S launch finally put out its answer to the Galaxy S II. Some might say it's catching up: both have dual-core processors, eight-megapixel cameras, and 1080p video. But Apple isn't necessarily just bringing itself up to par; we'll see in a quick breakdown where the 4S might be pulling ahead as well as where it has room to grow.

On paper, Samsung looks like it may still have an edge. Apple hasn't said what changes it's made to the A5 on the iPhone, but the 1.2GHz Exynos isn't necessarily faster. Any design changes and the OS itself can make a difference. We know that Apple is using a dynamic clock speed to ramp up performance when needed, but it also has a much faster graphics chip. The iPad 2's dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 is known to be twice as fast as the Galaxy S II's Mali-400; even if Apple has to scale down the A5 to fit, it will still be noticeably better.

Photography and videography could also be different. While the cameras are numerically very similar, Apple has software advantages: faster shooting, grid lines in still shots, and multi-face detection. Video is image stabilized and has live noise reduction, too. More importantly, the iPhone is simply faster at getting to the camera: users can get to the camera right from the lock screen. Until Ice Cream Sandwich reaches the Galaxy S II, users have to unlock the phone and find the camera app like anyone else.

Screen quality is more subjective. We were very spoiled by the 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus on the Galaxy S II we reviewed -- it's one of the best-looking displays ever on a phone -- but it's not perfect. While very acceptably sharp, at 480x800 it's a noticeably lower pixel density. The iPhone 4S is now considered small in an era where four-inch screens are common, but at 640x960, it's higher density even than the Korea-only Galaxy S II HD LTE and LG Optimus LTE.

Moreover, some just like smaller phones. Ask those with smaller hands or who just prefer a tight grip which phone they would prefer. Larger screens help with readability from a distance, but they don't help every instance and do take up bulk. Not many phones can claim to have a dual-mode radio (for CDMA and GSM) as well as 64GB of storage in such a size, either.

We won't get into the merits of iOS 5 versus Android 2.3. Siri does have an unambiguous edge over Samsung's choice of Vlingo, however. Both are useful. Only Apple's, however, promises natural, multi-app guidance. We'll have to test both to make sure, but we're hearing that Siri works as well as promised and is almost Star Trek-like in what it supports.

Where does Apple fall short? By far the most important gap is in design. Apple will still have the higher build quality, but Apple has for once knowingly conceded in the thickness wars. Depending on which version you get, the Galaxy S II is as thin as just over 0.33 inches. That's only slightly thinner, but it's symbolic and helps mitigate some of that larger screen area.

Apple also clearly doesn't value the front camera. It's still VGA, just 0.3 megapixels, where Samsung has as much as a two-megapixel sensor. The difference won't always matter, but it's the difference between strictly functional and having some room for creativity.

Depending on your carrier, the Galaxy S II can be faster online. AT&T and T-Mobile owners get 21Mbps and even 42Mbps data. Sprint is the only one that might be caught behind with WiMAX. Still, performance will depend on real-world speeds. As some AT&T users will attest, some areas don't get much from the peak speeds, and T-Mobile owners don't always have as much coverage. LTE? It's unambiguously faster, but with limited coverage and battery life as short as four to five hours on some of Verizon's LTE Android phones, it's not ready to match up with Apple's battery expectations.

If there's a real danger, it's just that the iPhone is a by-the-numbers upgrade. We knew what to expect, and even Siri wasn't entirely unanticipated. An iPhone 4 owner perfectly happy with the performance just won't have a reason to upgrade, as will those who just bought an Android phone in the past year. But to say Apple's just breaking even or even lagging is as much of a stretch. It's potentially faster, it's more pocketable, and it may stay on top for software. Sometimes, it's what's you see in practice that matters more.

IPhone 4S Disappoints Consumers, Investors; Siri App Kicked Out of App Store

2011-10-07T08:07:00.000+01:00

A lack of hardware updates leaves customers and investors disappointed in the new iPhone 4S

Through a good portion of 2011, many awaited the big iPhone 5 announcement with the traditional amped-up presentation to show off all the new features an Apple fan could hope for. Instead, what they got was the iPhone 4S and a presentation that lacked the charisma of former CEO Steve Jobs.

The iPhone 4S, which was announced yesterday, does give customers a few changes to look forward to. It's trading in the single-core A4 processor for a dual-core A5 processor. Also, it has 8-megapixel camera with backside illumination (the iPhone 4 had a 5MP camera), the new mobile operating system iOS 5, and it can operate on CDMA and GSM networks.

A main addition to the 4S is the voice assistant called Siri. Siri has been a third-party app that could be downloaded for iOS devices, but now, a more fluid and user-friendly version of the app is integrated into the iPhone 4S. The app was removed from Apple's App Store after presenting the 4S yesterday, and the servers were taken offline. The Siri servers, however, are back online with the following message: "I've been replaced! The new Siri is even smarter and better looking than me, and waiting for you on the iPhone 4S. I'll be leaving for home Oct. 15th. Until then...how can I help you?"

While a newer, better version of Siri voice command is a nice addition to the 4S; it may not be enough to encourage current iPhone 4 users to switch to the latest addition to the iPhone family. Many were disappointed by the lack of external changes, saying they had hoped for a thinner phone with a larger screen. The iPhone's appearance has not changed in over a year, unless you count the release of the white iPhone 4.

"It's been 16 months and all you've got is an A5 processor in the existing iPhone 4," said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners. "It's a mild disappointment, but they're still going to be selling millions of units."

The iPhone 4S may sell during the upcoming holiday season due to the expiration of two-year 3GS contracts, but Android-powered smartphones are at the top of their game and Apple really could have used a home run with a new device to intensify competition. Android-powered smartphones had voice command features integrated into their systems already, and the hardware/software is continuously changing. Apple's decision to not update hardware in the 4S may lead to more Android-related purchases, putting the iPhone maker behind by the time it releases the iPhone 5.

According to a Nielsen study, Android-powered smartphones are No. 1 in the U.S. with a 43 percent market share leaving the iPhone at No. 2 with a 28 percent market share.

Consumers and investors are disappointed in the 4S release, but Apple has some other tricks up its sleeve. Along with the 4S announcement came the news of a $99 iPhone 4 and a free iPhone 3GS for those who sign long-term contracts with their wireless carriers. This will appeal to low-end markets and give Apple an edge in a whole new area.

"Apple is hitting Nokia where it's vulnerable," said Michael Yoshikami, CEO of YCMNet Advisors. "How many billions of people in emerging markets would love to have an iPhone? These are a growing demographic."

The iPhone 4S will be available starting at $199 on October 14.