Group items tagged

Mozilla is testing a computer tablet that runs Firefox. This tablet is slightly bigger that the ones that are out right now, but it helps bring elements to the screen, such as tabs, for example. This tablet might be ideal to people who are used to the computer layout and bigger screens and menu bars at the top o f the internet screen.

Apple having their own line of Big screen TV's would be very interesting to see because apple is very good at connecting their devices such as the ipod the iphone the macs and the ipad. Adding an apple big screen TV would be very cool especially with the new icloud application that syncs all of your apple devices together. Having your TV synced with you ipod would make listening to music controllable from the TV and adding Siri to the TV would aslo be a very nice added luxury to have.

Nokia is developing a new device that is bendable. it is supposed to work similarly to other touch screen devices, but instead of pinching to zoom in and out, you would bend the screen. i think this is a good idea for children, because i assume that since the screen is bendable, it is shatterproof. this is ideal for clumsy children who often drop things

This article states how the Kindle E-reader has evolved over the years, how Amazon has lowered its book prices so much so people would buy e-readers and book buyers would go to Amazon.com and get books instead of going to a book store, and how people try to destroy Amazon for almost having a monopoly of it. Many people like this because new Kindle E-readers cost from $69 to about $100 and many of their book cost from about $1 and up. Also Amazon helped self publishing authors sell their books. The Kindle E-reader has evolved from being a big electronic book with many books in it and having pages flipping crazy if your hand was in the place. Now it has evolved to be a slim e-reader with a brighter screen and having cheap books to buy and not as clunky. A few years ago Apple and five big publishing companies made a contract to stop Amazon from selling books so cheap. The publishing companies would only sell books on apple products. In April of this year the Department of Justice sued Apple and the five publishing companies to stop Apple from trying to get the monopoly on selling books on their products. It is portable computing because people know can have hundreds of books in a device the size of a small book and you don't need to keep buying bookshelves that take a lot of space and the books it has are cheap. It is very light and people can take it anywhere they want to. It is eLifestyle because you a many people in the bus or subway reading away on their e-reader comfortably without having a big book to carry. Many people use it because they can't carry that much weight.    

If you're the type of person who loves Samsung and has every product they have released, then you'll probably get interested in their new product, the Samsung Galaxy Camera. This camera will be based off the Galaxy S III. That means it'll have a screen size of around 4.8'', have the TouchWiz UI, and JellyBean. However, instead of the original 8 Mp camera on the SIII, this'll have 16Mp camera with xenon flash. Too me, I think Samsung is taking it a bit too far. Yes I know that their are many competitors out there trying to steal the competition, but I thought that Samsung releasing their Smart Tv's was already the big thing. I have to admit, this is an innovative product. No doubt there'll be many good things to be said about it in the future.

This article, by Somnini Sengupta on the New York Times, is an in-depth look on free speech on the internet, and drawing the line between free expression and hate speech. An anti-Islamic video recently posted on YouTube has brought up the debate over where internet companies decide to draw that line. After the killing of a US ambassador and three other Americans, Google has restricted access to the video in Egypt and Lybia. Google continued to restrict the video in five other countries where it violated local laws. The question about free speech proves to be a problem where it can lead to hate speech. There are continual debates over whether hate speech includes speech that can lead to violence, or demeans a group by race or religion. Politically unstable countries, such as Pakistan, have blocked YouTube altogether. Many internet companies such as Facebook and Twitter, receive the same problems on content as well. Social networks of communication and freedom of expression can also become outlets and channels of hateful and demeaning speech. However, it is also difficult to screen such large amounts of user uploaded content at a time. Although these social networking sites may not condone the views expressed by their users, they can do little to prevent the upload and viewing by hundreds of millions of daily active users. As represented by the anti-Islamic video, these views can affect events, actions, and the lives of people the world over. This can relate to us as students because we can see how widespread the internet is, and how much larger it will become. Everything we post online is recorded and forever preserved; once it's out there, it's out there. Whether what we post reach the desired recipient or a nation, words, coupled with the internet, have immense power, and should be treated with respect. This reflects on smaller scale issues such as cyber bullying, where what we post may intentionally or unintentionally harm our peers. Yes, I believe that free spee

This article describes how scientists are working to create new top off the line security. As we've seen in many sci-fi movies ; there is such a thing as eye scanners. they have existed for sometime now, but they have been primitive and worked just by using the iris of your eye. This could be faked easily by someone just taking a picture of your eye and simply holding it to the screen. This new technology however is a lot more sophisticated. It uses your eyes "fixations" and "saccades" to determine if it is really you. Fixations is how your eye behaves when it is still and saccades is how your eye behaves when it is moving from point to point. This new technology is a breakthrough in security, as it is virtually impossible to fake. no more stolen passwords, or hacked systems. Now unless its really you, the system wont let the person in. THis is extremely important as it prevents theft, hacking, and many other problems. To conclude, this technology is extremely important to our security and will greatly contribute to our future

This article is about how graphene, a material made up of only carbon, could revolutionize smartphones and other other portable devices. Graphene is 100 times stronger than steel and can be made so thin, an ounce of it could cover 28 football fields. Touch screens made with this material would be very strong, light, flexible ,and  and as thin as a piece of paper. A device could be able to fold and fit easily into a pocket. Other possible uses for graphene are thin solar panels, and bionic implants in humans. Once scientists are able to produce large amounts of graphene economically all these products could exist. I chose the tag "portable computing" because this article focuses mostly on the use of graphene for portable smartphones and devices. This material could completely change the portable computing industry.  In my opinion I think graphene has a large potential and scientists should work to make products made with this available as soon as possible. 

This article discuses the fact that google TV is now getting a voice search. I think this is a very good thing because it would save a great deal of time for everyone while they are scrolling through google. You now do not need to spend countless minutes scrolling through pages and pages of information and finding what you need. The voice search will allows you to find the exact information you need at a certain point of time. Google's also adding Primetime, an unobtrusive improvement to the on-screen guide. In my opinion this would be a good addition to google. I and lots of other students use google for help with homework, assignments, and just general research. Now students will be able to find the exact information they need, and in a very short period of time.

The new Nexus 10 is better than the iPad because it's lighter, it's thinner, it's easier to hold, and it has big loud speakers you can actually hear. The iPad feels precious and glass wants to shatter. The aluminum just wants to get scratched and dent. The Nexus 10 feels like it's built for working and playing. Its outer shell is made out of rubber so you can grip it. The edges are sloped so you can hold it in a variety of ways. The Nexus 10 has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 which is better than the iPads 2048 x 1536. The Nexus 10's wide screen is good for movies and is great for playing games because the speakers are on the front. The Nexus 10 supports multiple users on one tablet, the iPad doesn't. This is portable computing because the Nexus 10 has some many better things than the iPad and you get your money's worth if you do get the Nexus 10. 

This article talks about how Google is rumored to release a second-generation Nexus 7 tablet. There is said to have more screen resolution, a thinner bezel and an unspecified Qualcomm CPU.  There is no info or pricing, and Google has not confirmed any information yet.  If this information is accurate, then this will be good news for Google.  The first generation Nexus tablet had huge successes, and its predecessor should share the same success.  Also, Google has chosen to go with Qualcomm, a digital wireless telecommunications producer.  This will allow the Nexus 7 Second-generation to save power,  as they are going to drop the current Nexus 7's NVIDIA Tegra 3.  This new tablet sounds very promissing, and will help the company make a large profit while being user friendly.

This article is about a new Playstation controller, which is thought to be made for the next-gen console the PS4.  Sony is expected to release information about this new gaming console on February 20th, in New York.  The Playstation 4 is going to be the next console in the line of Playstations, following the PS3 which is currently outdated by many computers.  The PS4 will need to compete with the rumored XBox 720, as they are expected to be released around the same time this year, before Christmas.  Sony's ability to innovate and add touch screen technology to their controller will help make the playstation 4 ahead of the other gaming consoles, such as the XBox and computers.  This will also help Sony generate sales, as it will include new technology to older controller designs, and make it more appealing tp consumers.

This article talks chiefly about Google Glass, a new type of device that Google aims at putting out on the consumer market by the end of this year. First, it discusses how even though our technology satisfies all our wants and needs, we are often severely distracted by it. We are looking at everything through a screen that we hold in a way that acts as a barrier between us and the world. What Google is trying to do with Glass is make doing simple things like using GPS and replying to texts a lot more easier. With Glass, you don't have to walk around looking down on your phone oblivious to all that goes around you to find your way to the place you need to get to. Some problems with Glass are that it needs data through Wi-Fi on its own and that if it has no connection it's functionality is greatly limited. Since Glass can record video and it's almost unnoticeable, there is a privacy concern because many people may get filmed on video without them knowing. Also, because most of the interaction is through voice commands, it may become hectic to use the device if it does not understand you when you speak. Right now Google Glass may seem like a gimmick but the longer people are exposed to it the more they will understand its value and potential uses. Basically the question is not if people will use Google Glass, but when.

This article is about the 10 mistake not to do when designing a mobile app. 1. Don't Begin Wireframes or Designs Without a Flow map 2. Don't Disregard the Development Budget. 3. Don't Start With Low Resolutions & Avoid Bitmaps. 4. Don't Undersize The Hit Area. 5. Don't Gratuitously Use Intro Animations. 6. Don't Leave Users Hanging. 7. Don't Blindly Copy Style From Other Operating Systems. 8. Don't Overstuff Pixel-Dense Screens. 9. Don't Assume Everyone Will Use Your App The Same Way You Do. 10. Don't Forget About Gestures, But Don't Abuse Them Either.

This article talks about new apps in apple called Magic Reader Flips. This app is used to turn pages without using your hands. By nodding your head, pages can be turned. You just turn your head left or right and MagicReader will move to the next or to previous page. Once it detects your face, you can move your face to change the pages. This app was was created for people who didn't want to flip pages with dirty hands. however it is only used on PDFs documents. This relates to our course because this app represents how much our technology has improved since the past and how much we are dependent on it because every app is becoming famous and is used to make our lives easier. This is kind of sad because we are too dependent on technology that we have hard time living without them and we use those technology to do such a simple tasks such as flipping pages. 

This article is about the Magic Reader, it is like an iPad but it responds to your head movement rather than the touch from your finger. The pro of this is that you wouldn't need to touch the screen and get it all dirty and greasy like what would happen on the iPad if you were reading on eReader. The Magic Reader takes one second to scan and recognize your face and every time you would nod the page will turn wherever you would nod your head towards. I think that it is convenient but after a while I think that I would get annoyed after constantly nodding your head instead of simply sliding your finger gently.

This article is about an add on that turns your smartphone's camera into a three axis joystick. This was developed by researches from Keio University as an approach to the problem-- getting your screen blocked by your finger when you play. This works by tracking how the markers move as the elastic device deforms. 

Mozilla is making progress in its effort to bring Firefox to Windows 8′s Metro Environment. It is not yet an app but will soon be one. It will be the primary browser for the Xbox360. Bondy also touts Firefox's integration with Windows 8′s global search feature which allows you to search the web from any screen.

Everyone who has Google Chrome must of seen this coming. If you were to type in "let it snow" in the search box, the search results page will begin to fill up with frost and snow. Oh, but i'm not done yet. Once your screen is starting to fill up with snow, you can draw on it, IT'S JUST LIKE MAKING A SNOW ANGEL BUT ON THE COMPUTER! And when you want to clear the frost away, you can click the "defrost" button. If you want more easter eggs from Google, you can type in "DO A BARREL ROLE" (FROM STAR FOX) causing your screen to spin. Also check out "TILT" "ASCII ART" AND "RECURSION"

This article was a piece of knowledge to one who is looking for a better browser. I find it convenient that this new and improved Firefox is better. This browser would be more efficient and to myself I find that much better. When the pages load faster and you have the ability to accomplish more things without a struggle it makes me use the certain browser more. You can even see the HTML which is also useful when you want to see how a certain thing was done. 

What is Microsoft thinking!? You can't release a major version of an OS that is used by about 90% of the market and just remove something everyone has been using for the past decade. I tried the Windows 8 Developer Preview and Metro is OK, but it's not something you seriously want to use with a mouse, which is a problem for business that don't spend money on touch screens, mainly because their employees don't need them. But now they go ahead and remove the start button completely, making it a hot corner instead, which can be really hard to use at times. When I'm at my computer, I want to be productive, and the standard start menu is the way to do that. I like pretty interfaces, but I also like things that just work, and that's what the start menu is to me. Long story short, if you have an OS as big as Windows, don't make big UI changes like this, because it can really turn out bad and confusing.