Technology News: Technology

'Inside the World of Dinosaurs' Feeds the Dino Lover in All of Us
February 06, 2012

As near as I can tell, almost every kid goes through an intense dinosaur phase, and for some adults, the fascination remains for decades. Even years after the movie "Jurassic Park" brought dinos to life, I would still eat up all the dinosaur documentary shows I could find, like "Walking With Dinosaurs."

AMD: Shift Happens
February 06, 2012

Last week was the coming-out party for AMD's new CEO, and his core message was that the market was undergoing a shift -- and when markets shift, leadership changes. His point was that Intel's leadership was at risk and that AMD was poised to take over that leadership. The nature of this change is massive, and I doubt we -- I mean any of us -- are fully aware of how much is changing.

Will the Spark Tablet Ignite a FOSS Fire?
February 06, 2012

Now that webOS is making its merry way along the open road, there's no telling what tablets or other mobile devices it may inspire over the upcoming months. In the meantime, the Linux world is all abuzz over what promises to be the very first fully open tablet out there: the Spark, a device slated to ship in May from none other than the KDE Plasma Active community itself.

Facebook to Investors: You Like What You See?
February 04, 2012

Facebook's finally decided to take a head-first dive into the mountain of cash it's been standing on for years. Following several days of heated rumors and years of speculation about when CEO Mark Zuckerberg was finally going to cash in his chips, the company filed an S-1 statement with the SEC, paving the way for an IPO as early as this May.

Leaked Info Offers Glimpse of WinPho's Muscular Future
February 03, 2012

Microsoft is overhauling Windows Phone 8, which is still in development, to make it more competitive with market leaders iOS and Android, according to leaked information. The mobile OS will add support for multicore processors, up to four new screen resolutions, and removable microSD card storage. It will also support near-field communications, the technology that enables e-wallets.

Spark Tablet Coming for the FOSS Crowd
February 03, 2012

The recently announced Spark tablet might prove to be the first Linux-running open source tablet fully capable of being modded by users. It has an open Linux stack on unlocked hardware, and it will come with an open content and services market. The Spark will come under the GNU General Public License from its inception.

Vizio's Widescreen 3D TV: Plenty of Features, Little to Watch
February 03, 2012

Vizio has unveiled a 58-inch 3D widescreen HDTV with a 21:9 aspect ratio -- far more than the standard 16:9 ratio HDTVs use. Users can set the TV to upscale 16:9 content to fill the screen. The sale price for this set will start at US$3,500 -- that includes four pairs of 3D glasses.

WebOS Swings Along the Open Road
February 02, 2012

When HP announced late last year that it would open source webOS, it was hard not to be skeptical. After all, it would be all too easy for a company to whitewash its own abandonment of a project by grandly "donating it to the community." However, that pessimistic view is beginning to fade, thanks to HP's publication last month of an official road map for its webOS plans.

'Mind-Reading' Tech May Give Speechless a New Voice
February 01, 2012

Someday, people whose ability to speak has been damaged by illness or injury may be able to vocalize anyway with the help of technology. Researchers at UC Berkeley have made strides toward translating the words a person thinks into real speech. The researchers used 15 patients undergoing neurosurgery as subjects.

Apple Remakes Final Cut Pro X
February 01, 2012

Apple announced an update Tuesday of its video editing software Final Cut Pro X aimed at quelling dissatisfaction with the product among professional media producers. This latest version of the software, release 10.0.3, is available from the Apple's App Store as a free upgrade for existing Final Cut Pro X users and for $299 for new users. A 30-day free trial version is also available.

Fitness to Go: Anywhere, Anytime Exercise Classes
February 01, 2012

Fitness instructor and personal trainer Yu Hannah Kim has always believed that fitness should be available to anyone. Now, with the launch of her new site, Yufit, she's making that dream a reality. Yufit offers streaming videos for everything from cardio kickboxing and core burn workouts to yoga and stretching.

SMPlayer: A Flexible, Feature-Filled Media Player With a Frustrating Flaw
February 01, 2012

When it comes to playing audio and video files in Linux, media players pretty much all work the same way and have a very similar user interface. It usually all comes down to features. With SMPlayer it depends on what you want to play. Unfortunately, this bug of sorts is something its developer Ricardo Villalba has yet to resolve in the latest release, version 0.7.0.

Apple Fans More Likely to Turn a Blind Eye Than Boycott
January 31, 2012

A sobering account of conditions at Apple's contract factories in China recently appeared in The New York Times. Essentially, the manufacture of those sleek and sexy devices that consumers love so much has been accompanied by 23 deaths and 273 injuries. In a horrific account of one of the deaths, the Times told of Lai Xiadong, who was severely burned and died of his injuries two days later.

Can Anything Stop EMC?
January 31, 2012

A bit over a year ago, the conventional wisdom related to enterprise IT vendors was fairly straightforward: Sheer size and depth of expertise gave end-to-end systems vendors unlimited access to the high ground. As markets recovered from the 2008 recession, enterprise customers would naturally stick with or gravitate toward large established players that could fulfill their every need.

Yoink: Efficient Swatch Snatcher Makes Full-Screen Feel Less Bloated
January 31, 2012

Of all the changes brought about with OS X Lion, full-screen viewing was one that failed to make much of an impression on me, at least at first. Ballooning a window to the edges of the screen and blowing out the menu bar seemed a little restrictive at first. Full-screening an app the way OS X does it just felt uncomfortable and weird.

Nintendo Greases Wii U Wheels
January 30, 2012

Nintendo's Wii U will be out in time for the 2012 holiday season and will feature NFC technology, according to the company. The next-generation Nintendo Wii will also have a handheld controller with a touchscreen that can interact with what's showing on the TV screen.