TECHNO WORLD

2012 Year in tech: A timeline

2012-12-28T22:58:00.001-08:00

Photo: (Getty Images for Extra/Noel Vasquez)

The Year in Tech

JANUARY

January 1st Following a year of production delays for its high-end Karma hybrid, American automaker Fisker officially recalled 239 vehicles. A malfunction with its Li-ion batteries was found to increase the risk of an electrical short circuit and fire. This was far from the end of the company's woes. In August, a Karma owner returned from the grocery store to find the EV engulfed in flames.
January 8th At CES, Acer announced the "world's thinnest Ultrabook," the Aspire S5. The 13.3-inch notebook boasted a thickness of 0.6 inch and a weight just under three pounds. Though other systems like the 0.5-inch Samsung Series 9 would out-svelte the S5 later in the year, Acer's machine showed that the race for the slimmest system was kicking into high gear.
January 9th Also at CES, Nokia unveiled the long-rumored Lumia 900 smartphone as an AT&T exclusive. We liked its 8-megapixel rear camera, strong performance and blazing LTE speeds, but its successor, the Lumia 920, would wow us even more when it debuted in the fall.
January 14th LightSquared's years-long effort to integrate a wholesale 4G LTE network with satellite coverage was quashed by the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, which found that the technology could interfere with GPS equipment. This came on the heels of Sprint reneging its 15-year resource-sharing agreement with LightSquared, and set the tone for many defeats on the company's eventual road to bankruptcy.
January 19th Federal prosecutors shut down popular file-sharing site Megaupload in the US, indicting founder Kim Dotcom and others for copyright violation, conspiracy to commit racketeering and other alleged illegal activities in the process. The takedown coincided with the high-profile online piracy debates brought about by the PIPA and SOPA bills. Megaupload has yet to rise from the dead.

January 19th Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, with the goal of emerging with a completely reorganized business by 2013. The company received $950 million in debtor-in-possession financing, which it said would bolster liquidity and working capital. As a sign not only of the company's troubles, but also of the decline of non-digital photography, Kodak even sold the iconic film arm of its business later in the year.
January 20th Following statements of opposition from Google, Facebook, Twitter and just about every other major tech company, the US Senate and House decided to delay votes on PIPA and SOPA, respectively. The controversial anti-piracy bills called for greater government authority for banning websites that infringe copyrighted material. They've remained in limbo ever since.
January 22nd After months of investor backlash -- and the underwhelming launch of the PlayBook -- RIM announced a switch-up at the top. Co-chief executives Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis stepped down from their positions, and COO Thorsten Heins was appointed to take over as CEO. The news was coupled with rumors that Heins would license the BlackBerry 10 operating system to other handset manufacturers.
Photos: Kodak film canister (AP Photo/Mel Evans); PIPA protest (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

FEBRUARY

February 2nd The internet got a first look at the Windows Phone 8 operating system, codenamed Apollo, when an internal Microsoft video leaked. In it, Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore described support for dual-core CPUs, four screen resolutions, NFC and also hinted at Skype integration. When the OS was released at the end of October, all those features were indeed there.
February 13th Apple announced that Foxconn, one of its major manufacturing outlets -- and the subject of media scrutiny due to worker suicides and a factory explosion -- would receive a voluntary audit from the Fair Labor Association at factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China. The report was said to cover working and living conditions and would include polling thousands of employees.
February 13th The US Justice Department followed the lead of European regulators and gave the green light to Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The $12.5 billion purchase was subject to close inspection due to concern that it would cause competition issues, though Mountain View made it clear it was just interested in Moto's patent portfolio to bolster the Android ecosystem.
February 20th Following reports that Google bypassed Safari's privacy features by tracking users through web ads, Microsoft found the search giant was also bypassing security settings in Internet Explorer to track users via cookies. Mountain View responded by calling Microsoft out for using a "widely non-operational" P3P protocol for privacy protection.
February 22nd While it was released in Japan in December of 2011, Sony's PS Vita (known previously as the Next Generation Portable) finally made its stateside debut, nearly a year after Nintendo's 3DS hit shelves.
February 26th At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, HTC launched its new flagship handset, the One X. Along with the One S and One V also announced at the show, the phone represented a step away from brand dilution and toward a more unified line of products for HTC. Our reviewers gave top marks to the phone, applauding its attractive polycarbonate unibody design, Gorilla Glass-coated display and fantastic camera. The addition of AT&T LTE only sweetened the package.
February 27th Nokia had a big MWC announcement of its own: the 808 PureView, a handset running the Symbian Belle OS on a 1.3GHz single-core chip and offering a ho-hum 640 x 360, 4-inch screen. But the 808 really stood out for being the first smartphone with ultra-high-end camera technology: the shooter boasted a full 41 megapixels and a Carl Zeiss lens capable of continuous-focus 1080p.

February 29th The world's cheapest mini-Linux computer, the Raspberry Pi, went on sale with an asking price of $25 for the Model A version with 256MB of RAM and $35 for the Model B iteration with an extra USB port and an Ethernet hookup. Web retailers were overwhelmed with orders, and the Pi even sold out at distributor Premier Farnell.
Photo: Raspberry Pi (www.sotechdesign.com.au)

MARCH

March 5th As part of Deustche Telekom's OSIRIS project, the company's T-Labs team successfully transferred data over a single optical fiber wavelength channel from Berlin to Hanover and back at a blazing 512 Gbps. It was a mighty impressive demonstration, but rest assured the widespread implementation of this tech was (and is) quite a ways off.
March 6th The Android Market that supplied apps, books and movies to handsets running Google's OS was replaced by a one-stop shop for content called Google Play. The Play store incorporated the former Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore.
March 7th Shedding the numbering convention for its tablet line, Apple announced the aptly named iPad with Retina display. The 9.7-inch panel sported 3.1 million pixels in a 2,048 x 1,536 configuration, and the Retina branding would next show up on the 15-inch MacBook Pro with an even more stunning 2,880 x 1,800 resolution. Just as exciting as all those pixels? The new tablet was Apple's first device to offer LTE connectivity, via AT&T and Verizon.
March 15th Famed Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner leapt from an altitude of more than 13 miles above the Earth, reaching a maximum speed of 364.4 MPH. This jump was just one of several lead-ups to Baumgartner's attempt to break the record of 120,000 feet; in October, he raised the bar with a 128,100-foot dive -- reaching a max speed of 833.9 MPH and breaking the sound barrier in the process.
March 19th Responding to travelers' complaints about gadget restrictions on flights, the FAA told The New York Times it would once again look into the rules regarding the use of laptops, tablets and other non-cellular gadgets on airplanes. Perhaps one tiny baby step in the right direction: in September, the FAA cleared American Airlines crews to use iPads in the cockpit at every point during a flight.
March 29th The Fair Labor Association released the findings from its audit of the Foxconn plants in China where Apple products are made. The group found violations of both FLA code and Chinese legal limits on hours worked, and as a result Apple and Foxconn agreed to drastically reform factory conditions by July 2013. The plant also agreed to raise employee wages and improve safety and health conditions.
March 29th In the wake of RIM's Q4 2012 earnings announcement, the company dropped the news that Jim Balsillie, who had already stepped down as co-CEO, was resigning from his position on the board of directors. In light of a dip in revenue, CEO Thorsten Heins admitted that RIM faced significant business challenges and said he would refocus on the company's enterprise business and BB10 -- which has still yet to launch.
Photo: Jim Balsillie (Jin Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

APRIL

April 3rd Nearly two years after launching on iOS, the extremely popular photo-sharing app Instagram finally made its debut on Android. The app included the same filters offered on the iOS version, and supported Android 2.2 and above.

April 4th Google released a video demoing Project Glass, a wearable heads-up display with Android on board. This would be the first of many high-profile public appearances for the device; two months later at Google I/O, Sergey Brin demoed the project with skydivers over San Francisco, and Mountain View put the glasses up for pre-order at $1,500 a pop.
April 9th Less than a week after the release of Instagram's Android app, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company was planning to purchase the popular photo-sharing platform. Rumors pinpointed the price tag at a cool $1 billion in cash and shares. Instagram's CEO stepped in to reassure users that "the Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love."
April 11th After allegations of anti-competitive pricing practices lead to an investigation of publishers in Europe, the Department of Justice launched its own charge against Apple, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. The DOJ's filing focused on charges that Apple and the publishers conspired to raise the cost of e-books and imposed that model on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

April 11th Allerta, maker of the inPulse Smartwatch, launched a Kickstarter campaign for its new Pebble watch, offering full iOS compatibility and a 1.26-inch, 168 x 144 black and white e-paper display for $99. Within two hours, the smartwatch raised $100,000 in pledges, and it eventually broke Kickstarter's record with a total of $3.3 million raised. Successful though its funding efforts may have been, the project was plagued by delays -- as of mid-December, the watch was slated to debut in early 2013.
April 12th Barnes & Noble unveiled its Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, an e-reader with an illuminated screen meant to let users enjoy e-books without disrupting their sleeping partners. It went on pre-sale for $139. Amazon would release its own version of the illuminated e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, later in the year.
April 23rd Along with introducing Creative Suite 6 -- with 14 applications including Photoshop and InDesign -- Adobe announced its move to the cloud, with a new monthly Creative Cloud plan that would let users access CS6's features over a broadband connection for a monthly fee of $75.
April 28th Two years after Google incurred the wrath of the Justice Department for collecting private data over WiFi while amassing Street View and location information, the DOJ cleared the company of all wiretapping violations. This move came as the DOJ and FCC said they couldn't find evidence that the search giant accessed any of the data it amassed.

MAY

May 3rd At the company's Mobile Unpacked event in London, Samsung announced its latest flagship, the Galaxy S III. The handset touted a new (at the time) 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad chip for the heavy lifting alongside 1GB of RAM. Internals were tucked in behind a 4.8-inch, HD Super AMOLED display with TouchWiz-wrapped Android 4.0.
May 14th What became official for LightSquared on May 14th didn't come as much of a surprise. The company formally turned in its paperwork to begin a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the US Bankruptcy Court of Manhattan. With this, the lofty goal of offering high-speed wireless for more than 260 million mobile users disappeared.
May 16th Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo confirmed what many unlimited data users on the network had long feared. The company announced that with the arrival of VZW's shared data plans, "everyone will be on data share." This meant that eventually, those grandfathered in would be forced into a monthly allowance.

May 17th Facebook gathered up its massive user base and decided to go public. The social network placed 421,233,615 shares of common stock on the table with an initial per-share price of $38. Excitement would be short-lived, though, as investors remained skeptical of ongoing growth and stock prices fell in the following months.
May 22nd After a long courtship and approval from China, Europe and the US of A, Google finalized its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The folks in Mountain View also announced that Dennis Woodside would steer the ship as CEO of Moto's mobile unit for the foreseeable future.
May 25th Giving promise to the future of commercial space exploration and solidifying 2012 as a really good year for Elon Musk, SpaceX's Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully dock with the International Space Station.
May 31st Unfortunately, the long, drawn-out legal quarrel between Google and Oracle didn't wrap up when the infringement verdict arrived in May. Copyright proceedings determined that Google had infringed on parts of Java APIs. However, the judge ruled that Oracle's claim was in fact invalid, as it extended the rights of the copyright holder a bit too far.
Photos: Cell Tower (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File); Mark Zuckerberg at NASDAQ (AP Photo/Nasdaq via Facebook, Zef Nikolla)

JUNE

June 5th More than three years after its official announcement, Tesla delivered the first of its more-affordable Model S EVs to a venture capitalist in the Bay Area. The vehicle was let loose two weeks before the expected June 22nd arrival. Later in the year, the Model S would be voted Motor Trend's Car of the Year.
June 11th Apple trotted out its own Maps application after nixing its long-standing use of Google's tech. However, the software arrived to a barrage of criticism for its glaring flaws, despite the inclusion of features like turn-by-turn navigation. The tech also touted full 3D capabilities, much like the upgrades Google announced mere days before.
June 11th In 2012, we watched as Apple pulled the cover off of its Retina display on a number of devices -- one of which was the next-gen MacBook Pro. The laptop was outfitted with a 220-ppi display panel that boasted a resolution of 2,880 x 1,800 on the 15-inch offering. At the time, the base model was priced at $2,199.
June 14th The hits kept coming for Nokia. In June, the company revealed plans to reduce its workforce by 10,000 before 2013 came to a close. Three executives also made their exit and the outfit sold off all but 10 percent of its stake in the luxury brand Vertu.
June 18th At a presser in LA that was announced just hours beforehand, Microsoft confirmed that a Surface-branded Windows RT slate was in the works. The rather unexpected move into tablet manufacturing touted a VaporMg, all-magnesium frame that wielded NVIDIA's ARM chip to power the business end of matters.

June 20th With its second event in less than a week, Microsoft made Windows Phone 8 official. The exhilaration was short-lived for those who had already jumped on the WP bandwagon, as the company announced that current handsets wouldn't see the new OS. This also proved that the early rumblings about upgrades were in fact false.
June 27th Looking to reveal the next version of its OS in grand fashion, Google detailed the software on its brand-new slate, the Nexus 7. The 7-inch tablet was the first and only device at the time to sport Jelly Bean (Android 4.1). The follow-up to the six-month-old Ice Cream Sandwich tacked on Project Butter and Google Now -- the company's answer to Apple's Siri.
June 28th After numerous outages and a shuffle at the helm, matters continued to get worse for RIM. For Q1 of its 2013 fiscal year, the company reported a $518 million net loss and 5,000 additional job cuts. The company also revealed that BlackBerry 10 smartphones wouldn't break cover until sometime in Q1 of the 2013 calendar year.
Photo: Tesla Model S (Will Lipman)

JULY

July 2nd While it was granted a temporary injunction earlier in the year to halt iPad sales, China's Shenzhen Proview Technology sought compensation for its claim to the iPad trademark. The slates would return and a meager (by Apple's standards, anyway) $60 million was sent to Proview to resolve the matter, thus proving that Cupertino wasn't immune to having to pay up.

July 4th Though the cat was let out of the bag the day before, CERN's huge announcement still packed quite the punch. A new boson was observed with a standard deviation of 5 at 99.9 percent confidence. This preliminary result provided evidence of the heaviest discovery to date and the best proof thus far of the Higgs.
July 10th Riding the biggest first day in Kickstarter history, the Android-based Ouya gaming console took less than 12 hours to rocket past its funding mark of $950,000. Designed by Yves Behar, the unit touted a $99 price tag while being extremely accommodating to devs and lobbying for a wealth of free content.
July 15th Richard Branson had claimed for some time that he'd be on board Virgin Galactic's first commercial tourism flight to space, but he confirmed that said trip would happen at some point during the course of 2013. A mere $200,000 per person nabbed a seat for the voyage aboard the company's SpaceShipTwo craft.
July 16th Mountain View's first female engineer, a top executive and one of its first 20 employees departed this summer. Marissa Mayer decided to leave Google to become Yahoo's new CEO, joining the ranks after Scott Thompson's departure amid a résumé scandal.
July 18th A judge in the UK forced Apple to make nice with Samsung in the public forum. Judge Colin Birss made the Cupertino outfit post on its website and in several publications that Samsung didn't copy the design of the iPad. This action was said to counter the "damaging impression the South Korea-based company was copying Apple's product," but it wouldn't be its last forced apology.
July 23rd Before Nikon's foray into the space, rumblings of Canon's own mirrorless offering swirled around the internet. However, Canon's EOS M wasn't the change of pace from its DSLR offerings that the aforementioned competitor ushered in. The $800 shooter touted a spec sheet reminiscent of the Rebel T4i with an initial launch coming in October.

July 23rd After a battle with pancreatic cancer, Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel to space, died at the age of 61. Ride is remembered most for breaking NASA's gender barrier when she took part in an expedition on the Space Shuttle Challenger in June 1983. She also founded the administration's Office of Exploration.
July 26th Google ramped up its Google Fiber efforts in Kansas City, more than a year after the initial announcement. The extra oomph came in the form of Google Fiber TV -- a service that touts a tailored, searchable UI, 1TB of space on Google Drive and a Nexus 7 slate to help out with the channel surfing.
Photos: Particle Diagram (Courtesy CERN); Marrisa Mayer (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images); Sally Ride (Courtesy NASA)

AUGUST

August 6th With the help of guided entry, a parachute, a powered descent and a sky crane, NASA's Curiosity rover touched down on the surface of Mars. Getting right to work, telemetry and the first images of Gale crater were sent back from the 2,000-pound (900kg) planet-exploring vehicle.
August 12th Another Fisker Karma caught fire this summer in a Woodside, Calif., parking lot. The hybrid EV was powered off and unplugged at the time of the incident, similar to the fire back in the spring. Fisker was quick to point out that its prized electronics weren't the source. An investigation pointed to a cooling fan, causing a recall days later.
August 24th After a three-week trial, a federal court jury presented a verdict in the lengthy patent infringement lawsuit between Samsung and Apple. Samsung was found to have knowingly infringed on Apple patents, with damages totaling more than $1 billion. On the other hand, the jury found Apple not guilty in all five instances cited by Samsung.
August 25th Following complications from heart surgery just a few weeks prior, Neil Armstrong, the first man to take a step on the moon, died at age 82. His pioneering expedition with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft changed the face of space exploration forever.
August 29th It wasn't a huge surprise when the latest supersized offering from Samsung was announced with a new stylus in tow. Screen real estate on the Galaxy Note II expanded to 5.5 inches and S Pen improvements nabbed most of the software tweaks this time around. A second-gen model signaled that the phablet was here to stay.
August 29th Mitt Romney, the GOP's presidential candidate, had already taken to Yahoo Answers to respond to voters' questions when the commander in chief decided to tackle internet inquiries himself. The virtual Q&A with Barack Obama took place via an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, continuing his use of social media throughout a successful re-election campaign.
August 29th A name like Galaxy Camera surely meant placing the Android OS alongside a dose of touch functionality and added connectivity, right? Sure enough, the anticipated shooter was "Unpacked" at IFA with a 4.8-inch (308 ppi) display, onboard Jelly Bean and a standard 1/2.33-inch BSI CMOS sensor capable of 16-megapixel snaps.

August 29th Among the barrage of new gadgets that Sony announced with rapid succession at its IFA presser was the awe-inspiring 84-inch 4K Bravia TV. The 3,840 x 2,160 LCD display is outfitted with an X-Reality Pro Engine and supports greater-than-HD passive 3D upscaling. Thus continued the trend of super-high-res, crazy-expensive TVs.
Photos: Curiosity landing (Courtesy NASA); Neil Armstrong (Courtesy NASA)

SEPTEMBER

September 5th Just nine months after the announcement of its Lumia 900 flagship, Nokia outed its successor, the 920. It may have been just as colorful, but this Windows Phone 8 handset was clearly a cut above, featuring a dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU, a 4.5-inch (1,280 x 768) screen and an 8-megapixel camera packing the outfit's PureView technology.
September 6th Adding even more light to the fight, Amazon introduced its own illuminated entry into the e-reader field with the Kindle Paperwhite. Nearly five months after Barnes & Noble released its glowing reader, Amazon released its own $120 contender with a front-lit display. The screen also featured 25 percent more contrast and a 62 percent increase in resolution over other Kindles.

September 12th In evidence that doubling down on secrecy is easier said than done, Apple introduced a very familiar iPhone 5. Proving the rumor mill right, the phone was both taller and slimmer, and sported a two-tone exterior. That new screen measured four inches and packed a 1,136 x 640 resolution. It was the first iPhone to offer 4G LTE.
September 19th Continuing the unibody construction and naming scheme introduced with the One X, HTC announced its Windows Phone 8X. The colorful WP8 flagship would come in four distinct shades, with a 4.3-inch, 1,280 x 720 Super LCD 2 display; a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor; an 8-megapixel camera; and Beats audio on board.
September 23rd Tesla founder Elon Musk teased the unveiling of the company's Superchargers saying it would "feel like alien spaceships landed at highway rest stops." And he was right. At the event, the company revealed its plans to deploy the otherworldly power pumps across the US, Europe and Asia. The stations were said to charge a Model S with 100 kilowatts in about 30 minutes.
September 25th Google's pet project, Glass, made yet another high-profile cameo on the face of Sergey Brin at the signing of a bill that established rules and regulations for allowing driverless cars on California's roads. Gov. Jerry Brown visited Google HQ in Mountain View to set the stage for the signing.

September 25th Its long-awaited touch-friendly OS refresh was no doubt the star of RIM's BlackBerry Jam developer conference, with the company outing details like a new face for BBM and even a new developer handset. However, it was a rather awkward video featuring a rendition of "Keep on Loving You" that stole the show.
September 28th It wasn't all multi-billion dollar earnings and Foo Fighters performances for Apple this year. Following what may be the company's most public failing of late, CEO Tim Cook issued an apology to its customers for delivering a subpar Maps app. The outfit went as far as to post a list of competitors' solutions to its App Store.

OCTOBER

October 3rd Nearly 10 months after AT&T effectively left T-Mobile at the altar, the carrier was officially courted by another suitor. Deutsche Telekom announced that the magenta one would merge with MetroPCS.

October 14th After what seemed like endless delays, Felix Baumgartner's 128,100-foot jump was on. The daredevil broke records (and the sound barrier) for the highest-ever manned balloon flight as well as speed and altitude records for a free fall.
October 23rd With NASA's shuttle program officially shuttered, 2012 saw a number of the spacecrafts journey to their final resting places. It was Endeavour's stroll down the streets of LA, however, that had the world mesmerized.
October 23rd Steve Jobs was famously opposed to a smaller slate, but that didn't stop Apple's new regime from releasing the iPad mini. In an attempt to gain back a portion of its tablet market share from the proliferation of 7-inch tablets, the company introduced its own 7.9-inch offering.
October 26th And the hype beast came to rest. After more than a year of previews, teases and leaks of Windows 8, Microsoft finally made its touch-friendly OS available to the public, ushering in an army of laptop-tablet hybrids and touchscreen PCs.
October 29th Following the very public embarrassment that was Apple's Maps app, the company announced a shake-up at the top: SVP of iOS software Scott Forstall was on his way out. The head of Apple retail, John Browett, would also be parting ways. Meanwhile, Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi would all take on added responsibility to fill the void.
October 27th Having canceled its own hardware announcement due to Hurricane Sandy just two days prior, Google announced its latest Nexus devices via press release. The Nexus 10 was a 10.5-inch Samsung tablet that appeared to share much of its DNA with the Galaxy Tab 10.1, while the Nexus 4 was a 4.7-inch smartphone with a 1,280 x 768 HD IPS Plus display and Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU. Both were powered by the latest Android build: 4.2 Jelly Bean.

October 30th Setting off a storm of ridiculously cute (or annoying depending on your perspective) Mickey Mouse Star Wars memes, Disney announced plans to buy Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion. The company also voiced its intentions to release a new Star Wars film every two to three years, much to the chagrin of some purists.
Photos: Baumgartner (Red Bull Stratos/Red Bull Content Pool); Space Shuttle Endeavour (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill); George Lucas and Disney characters (AP Photo/Disney, Todd Anderson)

NOVEMBER

November 10th In what appeared to be an attempt to avoid the courtroom drama that marked the Apple v. Samsung case, HTC struck an out-of-court settlement with Cupertino in its own patent suit. The original filing, initiated in March 2010, covered 20 patents related to iOS. This particular suit ended in a 10-year licensing agreement.

November 12th It was a big year for Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky. After overseeing the production and release of one of the company's most anticipated software versions ever, Redmond announced that Sinofsky would be leaving the company. Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller would step in to fill his shoes.
November 13th When HTC announced its Droid DNA, it proved that the Retina display wasn't the only super-high-resolution game in town. Putting the iPhone 5's pixel count to shame with its 5-inch, 1080p Super LCD3 display (that's 440 ppi), the DNA also packed a Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, Android Jelly Bean, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1080p video capture.

November 18th We first got our hands on the Wii U's tablet-like controller in June of last year but it wasn't until its midnight launch event that it would reach consumers. The release came just in time for the holidays and sparked arguments over whether the second screen was a step forward in gaming or merely an over-hyped gimmick.
November 20th It's no secret that HP has had a tough go of things over the past few years. However, perhaps nothing rivaled the death of webOS in terms of bad news like the $9 billion hit the company reported during its Q4 2012 earnings call. The loss was blamed on accounting "improprieties," stemming from its 2011 software acquisition, Autonomy.
November 22nd First doesn't always mean best -- at least according to Popular Science. The publication named Google's Siri competitor, Now, its 2012 innovation of the year, calling it, "the first virtual assistant that truly anticipates your needs." Siri had this to say: "Sorry, I don't understand."
November 29th In further signs of growing political unrest in Syria, all 84 blocks of IP addresses used by the country were taken offline. It was not the first such blackout and again both President Bashar al-Assad's office and rebel forces blamed the opposing party. The US State Department voiced its own opinion, saying it believed Assad cut communications in an attempt to stifle opposition forces. Reports of a return of service surfaced two days later.
November 30th Two recalls and multiple delays later, Fisker put its Karma hybrid on hold once again. The company announced that it would temporarily halt production due to its battery supplier, A123 Systems, applying for bankruptcy in October. Fisker said it would continue production sometime after the outfit was auctioned off.
Photo: Steven Sinofsky (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

DECEMBER

December 3rd Despite the growing popularity of the tablet and simultaneous decline of print media, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. announced that it would shutter its tablet-only magazine The Daily on December 15th. The news sparked debates about the viability of the old-school format in a new computing era.
December 4th It looks like Netflix may be the place to see Episode 8 of the Star Wars franchise on TV. The streaming service signed a licensing deal with Disney that will make it "the exclusive US subscription television service for first-run live-action and animated feature films from The Walt Disney Studios" starting in 2016.
December 6th According to a fellow dinner guest, Steve Jobs once said, "Those jobs aren't coming back," in response to an inquiry from President Barack Obama about what it would take to make the iPhone in the US. It may not be the iPhone, but during an interview with Brian Williams, Apple's current CEO, Tim Cook, did commit to producing "one of our existing Mac lines" stateside.
December 7th In what was no doubt upsetting (but, perhaps, unsurprising) news for backers of the Pebble smartwatch, Allerta announced that the Kickstarter darling was hit with further delays and would not be available for the holiday season.
December 18th Following an uproar sparked by an update to its Terms of Service, Instagram attempted to put an end to "Instagate." The company's co-founder Kevin Systrom took to its blog to clarify the changes, saying the company was simply looking "to experiment with innovative advertising" to increase revenue rather than attempting to sell users' photos as some suspected. Two days later, Instagram reverted to its previous terms.
December 21st
Despite predictions to the contrary, the Apocalypse was not upon us.
Photos: Rupert Murdoch (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file); Disney / Netflix (AP Photo/File)

Apple’s Steve Jobs, A visionary leader, dead at 56

2012-12-28T22:16:00.002-08:00

Visionary Leader - Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, who transformed the worlds of personal computing, music and mobile phones, died on Wednesday at the age of 56 after a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
The co-founder of Apple Inc, one of the world’s great entrepreneurs, was surrounded by his wife and immediate family when he died in Palo Alto, California. Other details were not immediately available.
His death was announced by Apple and sparked an immediate outpouring of sadness and sympathy from world leaders, competitors and other businessmen including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The Silicon Valley icon who gave the world the iPod, iPhone and iPad had stepped down as chief executive of the world’s largest technology company in August, handing the reins to long-time lieutenant Tim Cook.
He was deemed the heart and soul of a company that rivals Exxon Mobil as the most valuable in America.
“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve,” Apple said in a statement.
“His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”
Apple paid homage to their visionary leader by changing their website to a big black-and-white photograph of him with the caption “Steve Jobs: 1955-2011.” The flags outside the company’s headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop flew at half mast.
Jobs’ health had been a controversial topic for years and his battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer a deep concern to Apple fans and investors.
In past years, even board members have confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, was not being forthcoming enough with directors about the true condition of his health.
Now, despite much investor confidence in Cook, who has stood in for his boss during three leaves of absence, there remain concerns about whether Apple would stay a creative force to be reckoned with in the longer term without its visionary.
Jobs died one day after the consumer electronics powerhouse unveiled its latest iPhone, the gadget that transformed mobile communications and catapulted Apple to the highest echelons of the tech world.
His death triggered an immediate outpouring of sympathy.
“The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come,” Gates said. “For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”
Outside an Apple store in New York, mourners laid candles, bouquets of flowers, an apple and an iPod Touch in a makeshift memorial.
“I think half the world found out about his death on an Apple device,” said Robbie Sokolowsky, 32, an employee for an online marketing company, who lit a candle outside the store.
Cook said in a statement that Apple planned to hold a celebration of Jobs’ life for employees “soon”.
APPLE, NEXT, IPHONE
A college dropout, Buddhist and son of adoptive parents, Jobs started Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak in 1976. The company soon introduced the Apple 1 computer.
But it was the Apple II that became a huge success and gave Apple its position as a critical player in the then-nascent PC industry, culminating in a 1980 initial public offering that made Jobs a multimillionaire.
Despite the subsequent success of the Macintosh computer, Jobs’ relationship with top management and the board soured. The company removed most of his powers and then in 1985 he was fired.
Apple’s fortunes waned after that. However, its purchase of NeXT — the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple — in 1997 brought him back into the fold. Later that year, he became interim CEO and in 2000, the company dropped “interim” from his title.
Along the way Jobs also had managed to revolutionize computer animation with his other company, Pixar, but it was the iPhone in 2007 that secured his legacy in the annals of modern technology history.
Forbes estimates Jobs’ net worth at $6.1 billion in 2010, placing him in 42nd place on the list of America’s richest. It was not immediately known how his estate would be handled.
Six years ago, Jobs had talked about how a sense of his mortality was a major driver behind that vision.
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” Jobs said during a Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005.
“Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Personalities Behind Facebook

2012-12-28T22:12:00.002-08:00

We all know Facebook filed its IPO setting the stage for the internet industry’s biggest coming-out party and one of Wall Street’s most hotly anticipated events of 2012, with a valuation of over $100 billion. Here is a look at some of the personalities behind the world’s largest social network.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive and co-founder

We all know Zuckerberg, portrayed as a brilliant, ambitious and ruthless empire-builder in the 2010 movie “The Social Network,” founded Facebook with Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin while at Harvard University in 2004.
The 27-year-old frontman, who has repeatedly said he was in no rush to go public because that might distract employees and dilute his control, decides the direction and product strategy of the company. Forbes estimates Zuckberg’s net worth at $17.5 billion, making him the 14th richest man in the United States.
Peter Thiel, investor and director

The billionaire Stanford alumnus and former Wall Street trader was Facebook’s first outside investor and director. Thiel co-founded online payments service PayPal and sold it to eBay Inc for $1.5 billion in 2002.
Christopher Cox, vice president of product

Cox organizes Facebook’s product strategy and oversees product management and design.
He joined the company in 2005 as a software engineer and was involved in the first versions of Facebook features such as the News Feed and Inbox.
Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships

A former Amazon.com Inc manager who helped develop the “Kindle” digital book reader, Rose oversees Facebook’s partnerships, forging ties with Hollywood film studios, game makers, mobile phone companies and even carmakers. Rose also takes the lead on mergers and acquisitions.
David Fischer, VP of advertising and global operations

Fischer is responsible for much of Facebook’s vast and highly profitable advertising network. He runs sales, advertiser marketing and customer operations.
During seven years at Google Inc, Fischer helped build that company’s online ad network into the largest in the world. Before that, he was deputy chief of staff at the Treasury Department during the Clinton Administration.
Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer

Sandberg, one of the most powerful women in Silicon Valley, oversees business operations including sales, marketing, business development, human resources, public policy and communications.
Another former Google employee, Sandberg built and managed Google’s online sales channels for advertising and publishing and operations for consumer products.
Before working for Google, she was chief of staff at the Treasury Department under President Clinton.

Heroes and Villians of the Hacking world

2012-12-28T22:05:00.002-08:00

The head US National Security Agency recently warned that the notorious internet hacking group, Anonymous, may soon have the ability to attack the entire US power grid. However, this does not mean hackers are all bad people. There are White Hat or ethical hacker too.
They identify security weaknesses in computer systems and networks but instead of taking advantage of these loopholes, expose the weakness to the system’s administrators allowing them to fix the breach. So, like everywhere there are good and bad hackers. Here are some international hacking heroes and villians.
Hero: Steve Wozniak

Co-founder of Apple and the company’s original engineering brain, Woz got his first kicks out of the Blue Box, a phone phreaking device that allowed him and Steve Jobs to make long-distance calls for free by imitating the tones that routed signals on the AT&T network. The duo sold more than 100 Boxes for $150 each.
Hero: Tim Berners-Lee

The World-Wide Web was not on his mind when Lee and a friend were caught hacking at the Oxford University.
Both were banned from using the university’s computers during their study tenure. Maybe that’s why Lee soldered one for himself using iron, TTL gates, an M6800 processor and an old television.
Hero: Linus Torvalds

The star of the ultimate hacking fairytale. Torvalds cobbled together a makeshift operating system titled ‘Linux’ and shared the program at an online forum.
Feeds poured in with fixes, improvements and new features. Code contribution became the USP of Linux, an operating system built on central hacker ethic: free for all.
Hero: Tsutomu Shimomura

Not an intuitive hacker, he was prodded to showcase his skills when Kevin Mitnick hacked Shimomura’s home computer.
The result: a good cop bad cop chase that ended with Mitnick in jail. Shimomura didn’t escape scrutiny: he hacked Mitnick’s cell phone to track him to an apartment near Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Hero: Richard Stallman

Dubbed the father of free software. He earned the badge as a ‘staff hacker’ at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he cracked a password system.
He moved on to tinkering with the code of a printer and finally ended up with the big one: The GNU Project that writes free software and mass produces its operating system.
Villian: Kim Dotcom

Known as Kim Schmitz, Kim Tim Jim Vestor and ‘Kimble’, Dotcom’s hacking credentials are dubious. Be it cracking Citibank to transfer $20 million to Greenpeace, or hacking Osama Bin Laden’s Sudanese account, no claim has been verified.
But he is known for phone phreaking and has been arrested for online piracy.
Villian: Kevin Mitnick

The US Department of Justice says he was “the most wanted computer criminal in United States history.” Mitnick started by bypassing punch cards to hitch free rides on LA buses. Later, he hacked databases of corporate giants like Nokia and Motorala.
Finally a peeved Shimomura out-hacked him and Mitnick was jailed for 5 years.
Villian: Jonathan James

At the age of 16, James installed a backdoor into the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency server and messed with user names, passwords and strategic emails. Next up was the NASA database from which he stole software worth $1.7 million. The result: in 2000, James became the first juvenile to be imprisoned for hacking.
Villian: Kevin Poulsen

Law officers think he was “the Hannibal Lecter of computer crime” but hacker buddies knew him as Dark Dante.
Poulsen’s biggest hit: cracking Los Angeles radio’s phone lines to ensure he was caller number 102, slated to win a Porsche. The FBI got interested when he hacked their database and soon it was prison time for Poulsen.
Villian: Robert Tappan Morris

The brain behind the first computer worm to attack the Internet – the Morris Worm. Released in 1988, it infected over 6,000 machines. Morris claimed he wanted to test the reach of the Net. Law officers didn’t buy the theory: he served three years’ probation, 400 hours of community service and paid a fine of $10,500.

What is DTH service and its uses

2012-12-28T09:37:00.003-08:00

DTH services are available in every nook and corner to avail the service just buy DTH setup box and the service is bundled with 6 months free with 120 channels according to your selection of the package.. These are all sim based , we have to charge it and enjoy the required channels providing by the service provider..

Doordarshan will launch its Direct-To-Home telecast from April 1. Broadcasters like Star and Zee are pushing hard for DTH services in India [ Images ] too.

So what is this DTH all about? How, if at all, does it help the customer? Is it good? Let's find out.

What is DTH?

DTH stands for Direct-To-Home television. DTH is defined as the reception of satellite programmes with a personal dish in an individual home.

DTH does away with the need for the local cable operator and puts the broadcaster directly in touch with the consumer. Only cable operators can receive satellite programmes and they then distribute them to individual homes.

How does DTH work?

A DTH network consists of a broadcasting centre, satellites, encoders, multiplexers, modulators and DTH receivers.

A DTH service provider has to lease Ku-band transponders from the satellite. The encoder converts the audio, video and data signals into the digital format and the multiplexer mixes these signals. At the user end, there will be a small dish antenna and set-top boxes to decode and view numerous channels. On the user's end, receiving dishes can be as small as 45 cm in diametre.

DTH is an encrypted transmission that travels to the consumer directly through a satellite. DTH transmission is received directly by the consumer at his end through the small dish antenna. A set-top box, unlike the regular cable connection, decodes the encrypted transmission.

How does DTH really differ from cable TV?

The way DTH reaches a consumer's home is different from the way cable TV does. In DTH, TV channels would be transmitted from the satellite to a small dish antenna mounted on the window or rooftop of the subscriber's home. So the broadcaster directly connects to the user. The middlemen like local cable operators are not there in the picture.

DTH can also reach the remotest of areas since it does away with the intermediate step of a cable operator and the wires (cables) that come from the cable operator to your house. As we explained above, in DTH signals directly come from the satellite to your DTH dish.

Also, with DTH, a user can scan nearly 700 channels!

Does one need to put two dish antennae and pay double subscription per month if one has two TVs [ Get Quote ]?

For multiple connections in the same premises, one can use the same connection. However, every television set will need to have an individual STB.

Also, DTH is a national service and the STBs enable a viewer to change service providers without changing the STB, even if one moves from one city to another.

Can a CAS set-top box be used for DTH?

No, these are different set-top boxes.

Why is DTH is being discussed now?

Doordarshan plans to launch its DTH telecast from April 1. The government has said it will provide 10,000 dishes free across eight states for increased community viewing of the DTH service. The government is estimated to be investing over Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) in this DTH venture.

There are four serious contenders for DTH services in India: Doordarshan, Star, Zee, and Data Access.

Is DTH superior to cable TV?

Yes. DTH offers better quality picture than cable TV. This is because cable TV in India is analog. Despite digital transmission and reception, the cable transmission is still analog. DTH offers stereophonic sound effects. It can also reach remote areas where terrestrial transmission and cable TV have failed to penetrate. Apart from enhanced picture quality, DTH has also allows for interactive TV services such as movie-on-demand, Internet access, video conferencing and e-mail. But the thing that DTH has going for it is that the powerful broadcasting companies like Star, Zee, etc are pushing for it.

So why are broadcasters pushing for DTH?

In DTH, the payments will be made directly by the subscriber to the satellite company offering the service.

A big problem that broadcasters face in India is the issue of under-reporting of subscribers by cable operators.

Consider the cable operators pyramid. Right at the top is the broadcaster. Next comes the Multi Service Cable Operator (MSOs) like Siticable, InCable, etc. Below them are the Access Cable Operators (ACOs) or your local cable guy who actually lays the wires to your house.

The local cable operators or the ACOs then allegedly under-report the number of subscribers they have bagged because they have to pay the MSOs something like Rs 30-45 per household. Showing a lesser number of households benefits ACOs.

With no way to actually cross check, the MSOs and the broadcasters lose a lot. Broadcasters do not earn much in subscription fees and are mostly dependent on advertisement revenue to cover their costs, which is not sustainable and does not offer high growth in revenues for broadcasters.

The way out of this is to use a set-top box so that it will be clear how many households are actually using cable or going for DTH where broadcasters directly connect to consumers and can actually grow revenues with a growth in the subscriber base.

Why do Doordarshan, Zee, Star think DTH will work in India?

Today, broadcasters believe that the market is ripe for DTH. The prices of the dish and the set-top box have come down significantly. Overall investments required in putting up a DTH infrastructure has dropped and customers are also reaping the benefits of more attractive tariffs.

The major thing that DTH operators are betting on is that the service is coming at a time when the government is pushing for CAS (conditional access system), which will make cable television more expensive, narrowing the tariff gap between DTH and cable.

Will DTH be cheaper than cable or more expensive?

DTH will be definitely more expensive than cable as it exists today.

A set-top box is a must for DTH. Earlier, when CAS made set-top box mandatory for households, the costs between DTH and cable would not have been too wide.

But CAS on the backburner now -- which means no set-top box (a must for DTH), the price gap between DTH and cable will be wide.

In Oct 2002, Siticable, which is owned by Zee, said that the cost of the installation equipment, which includes the receiver dish and the set-top box, would be priced at around Rs 3,900. Siticable is looking to rope in 1 million subscribers in 15 months.

Other estimates say that digital cable set-top box may cost Rs 4,000, a DTH decoder dish is unlikely to cost less than Rs 7,000.

DTH's minimum subscription could be priced around Rs 500 per month.

Some reports say that an entry level DTH STB will cost about Rs 7,000 (including taxes and installation cost at consumers end). A more advanced STB with value added features like PVR (Personal Video Recorder), PSTN connectivity, Gamming console, channel management system, etc. may cost as much as Rs 15,000.

What is the history of DTH in India?

DTH services were first proposed in India in 1996. But they did not pass approval because there were concerns over national security and a cultural invasion. In 1997, the government even imposed a ban when the Rupert Murdoch-owned Indian Sky Broadcasting (ISkyB) was about to launch its DTH services in India.

Finally in 2000, DTH was allowed. The new policy requires all operators to set up earth stations in India within 12 months of getting a license. DTH licenses in India will cost $2.14 million and will be valid for 10 years. The companies offering DTH service will have to have an Indian chief and foreign equity has been capped at 49 per cent. There is no limit on the number of companies that can apply for the DTH license.

So, what's the buzz? Will DTH finally be the one that rules?

The cable system is well entrenched in India and is showing quite rapid growth. If DTH had come to India in 1996-97 (like Star had originally attempted), then it could have made a significant breakthrough.

Europe is an example of this. DTH developed there before cable and now controls nearly 80 per cent of the total satellite television subscriber base. But in US, cable rules because it came before DTH.

DTH will definitely cut into the existing cable user base. It will make the local cable operator less important and take business away from him. It will give consumers greater choice.

But it is likely to be an up market premium product and most middle class households will stick to cable.

Importance of Digital Signature

2012-12-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

A digital signature helps to keep a document that is transmitted electronically authentic - meaning the recipient of the document knows who has created it, and is also assured that there have been no alterations to the document after it left the sender.
The digital signature used by the sender of the document `encrypts' or locks the document. He uses keys to encrypt it. Only the authorised recipient, who has the appropriate key to the document, can open it once he receives it. Software takes care of the digital signature processes.
For more information on how a digital signature keeps a document tamper-proof, please look up this URL: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/

Contact with Extra-Terrestrial life within 12 years

2012-12-27T02:24:00.003-08:00

Contact with Aliens likely within 12 years

Humans could make contact with alien life within 12 years, with the aid of the world’s largest radio telescope, a leading UFO expert has claimed.
One of the key questions whether extra-terrestrial life exists, could be answered by 2024 with the development of a supersized £1.3 billion radio telescope, the Daily Express reported.
The development of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope will unleash “new and exciting possibilities”, according to former UK ministry of defence UFO project leader Nick Pope.
“I will be controversial and give you an exact year of when I believe first confirmation of contact will be made and that is 2024, the year in which if everything goes according to plan the Square Kilometre Array will be fully operational,” said Pope, who studied UFO sightings for 21 years.
The SKA, to be started in 2016, is set to be the world’s largest radio telescope and will answer some of the fundamental unanswered questions of our universe.
Made up of thousands of radio wave receptors covering 4,921 square km of the Earth’s surface in the Australian outback, scientists have claimed it will provide alternative views of the universe than those seen with optical telescopes.
Scientists leading its development have suggested the SKA will be 50 times more sensitive, and will survey the sky 10,000 times faster, than any other telescope.

NASA to turn asteroid into space station

2012-12-27T02:21:00.002-08:00

Asteroid space station to orbit the Moon

London: NASA scientists are planning to capture a 500,000 kg asteroid, relocate it and transform it into a space station for astronauts to refuel at on their way to Mars.
It would be the first time a celestial object has ever been moved by humans, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.
The White House’s Office of Science and technology will consider the USD 2.6 billion plan in the coming weeks as it prepares to set its space exploration agenda for the next decade.
A feasibility report prepared by NASA and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) scientists outlined how they would go about capturing the asteroid.
An ‘asteroid capture capsule’ would be attached to an old Atlas V rocket and directed the asteroid between the Earth and the Moon. Once close, the asteroid capsule would release a 50 ft diameter bag that wrap around the spinning rock using drawstrings, the paper said.
The craft would then turn on its thrusters, using an estimated 300 kg of propellant, to stop the asteroid in its tracks and tow it into a gravitationally neutral spot.
From here space explorers would have a stationary base from which to launch trips deeper into space.
“The idea of exploiting the natural resources of asteroids dates back over a hundred years, but only now has the technology become available to make this idea a reality,” the report said.
“The feasibility is enabled by three key developments: the ability to discover and characterise an adequate number of sufficiently small near-Earth asteroids for capture and return; the ability to implement sufficiently powerful solar electric propulsion systems to enable transportation of the captured asteroid; and the proposed human presence in cislunar space in the 2020s enabling exploration and exploitation of the returned asteroid,” it said.
NASA declined to comment on the project because it said it was in negotiations with the White House, but it is believed that technology would make it possible within 10-12 years.

1960 Classic Ferrari is world’s most expensive car

2012-12-27T02:18:00.000-08:00

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Auctioned for 4 Million Pounds

A 1960 classic Ferrari could fetcha whopping four million pounds and become one of the world’s most expensive cars when it is auctioned next month.
The stunning 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione is one of just 74 models built by the Italian car maker.
It’s three-litre V12 engine gives a 0-60mph time of less than six seconds.
A similar model sold in 2011 for over 3.1 million pounds. The classic Ferrari market has skyrocketed over the past 18 months, The Sun reported.
The 250 GT was the 17th model in the series to roll off the production line in 1960 and has had just four owners over the past 52 years.
US auctioneer Shelby Myers said: “There is nothing that trumps the magnificent style, drivability, and sound of the 250 SWB Berlinetta.
“Ultra-exclusive, it is certainly one of the most desirable Ferraris ever produced. Rarely do such important cars come to public market,” Myers said.

Witness a new Phase of computing in 2013 says Intel

2012-12-27T02:08:00.002-08:00

NewDelhi: “Intel foresees a renewed vigour in computing in 2013 in the highly connected multi-device landscape. Traditional input devices like keyboards and mouse will be challenged by new input methods like voice and gesture recognition,” Intel South Asia Director (Marketing) Sandeep Aurora told reporters.
Tablets, convertibles and newer devices will enter the market blurring the boundaries between PCs and tablets, he added.
Intel, which has a lion’s share in the global computer chip market, will launch its fourth generation of Intel Core processor family in 2013.
This, it claims, will bring faster, thinner, lighter, cooler and more secure systems with built-in graphics.
“The new generation of processors will significantly boost performance of devices from mobiles to tablets to Ultrabooks. As the world of personal computing continues to evolve, Intel will be at the forefront of advancements,” he said.
In March this year, Intel had partnered with handset maker Lava to launch XOLO X900, which marked the chip maker’s global foray into the smartphone segment. Also, lighter and less power consuming laptops —— Ultrabooks —— based on Intel processors hit the global market.
“Ultrabooks were launched in later part of the year and we think 2013 will be the year, we get to truly understand their potential. We will also see device makers bringing out ultra book convertibles (which converts into a tablet),” he said.
Also, Intel will focus on the National Digital Literacy Mission in India, its initiative with industry body Nasscom and other industry players, to create a digitally literate population in the country.
“Intel has impacted over 1 million learners through its Intel Easy Steps Digital Literacy programme in India in 2012.
We remain committed to working with the ecosystem and will work towards fulfilling the government’s vision of having one e—literate person per household by 2020,” Aurora said.

China launches tests 500 km/h super high-speed train

2012-12-26T23:08:00.001-08:00

China launches tests 500 km/h super high-speed train

Beijing: China has launched its first test train that is said to be capable of reaching 500 km per hour from the present 300 km per hour a feat if accomplished would be a big leap forward in high speed train technology.

China's largest rail vehicle maker, CSR Corp Ltd, over the weekend launched the train.

The six-car train with a fair shaped head is the newest in the CRH series.

It has a maximum tractive power of 22,800 kilowatts, compared with 9,600 kilowatts for the CRH380 trains currently in service on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, which holds the world speed record of 300 km per hour.

The grey-coloured train carries testing and data processing facilities, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Ding Sansan, the company's chief technician, said the concept of the the super-speed train design was inspired by China's ancient sword.

The bodywork uses plastic materials reinforced with carbon fiber.

Shen Zhiyun, a locomotive expert and academician said the testing of the super-speed train with speeds of up to 500 km per hour will provide useful reference for current high-speed railway operations.

Apple Technologies

2011-11-21T09:08:00.000-08:00

AAT was asked first to open all the text in the text layout in the form before they occur. Operating in full text on the shape layer.Table used in the core of the design process of AAT is "morx" table. The "morx"table is divided into a series of strings, each string is divided into sub-tables.Processing chain and order sub-table. When each sub-engine layout table foundmore signs in the child table of the control flag, usually from the user settings. This determines whether the sub instruction.Set of features available in the source is accessible by the user through the "feat" table. "Magnificent feat" table provides a localized string pointer, can be used to describe a functional, end-user and the corresponding flag to send the text engine, if you select the function. Intangible characteristics, the user can projectthrough the simple expedient of not including in the "achievement" as the table.Apple uses this method, for example, support the need for ligatures.

Child table can not contextual substitution of glyphs, replacing the context of howthe reordering form and ligation in the form of training related to the contents are sensitive to the actions of the text. Can be used, for example, automatically become a ss in any word, apart from its end.

The "morx" non-contextual glyph substitution subtable is a table of simple mapping between form and alternatives to it. In all the other involving the use offinite state machine.

Android Technology

2011-11-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

Android is a mobile device such as smartphones and Tablet PC operating system. It is led by Google Open Handset Alliance development. Google acquired 52005.The distribution in the initial opening of the Android software developed, the company Android in November 2007 announced the creation of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 80 hardware, software and telecommunications companies committed to promoting open standards for mobile devices. Google launched the Android under the Apache license code, a free software license.The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is responsible for the maintenance and development of Android.

Android Linux-based kernel is the kernel, middleware, libraries and software applications in C and runs on an application framework, which includes support for Apache Harmony based on Java library to write the API. Android Dalvik virtual machine to use the time to compile and run the compiled Java code.Android has a large community of developers to write applications ("Application") to extend the capabilities of the device. Developers write the main Java.There over 250,000 Android.Android market applications is in charge of Google's online app store.