Month: December 2010

Military Bans Removable Media

In an interesting twist in the WikiLeaks saga, the U.S. military has banned the use of all CDs, DVDs, thumb drives and every other form of removable media. The punishment isn’t death, but transferring files via Sneakernet may risk a court martial.

Maj. Gen. Richard Webber, commander of Air Force Network Operations, issued the Dec. 3 “Cyber Control Order” — obtained by Danger Room — which directs airmen to “immediately cease use of removable media on all systems, servers, and stand alone machines residing on SIPRNET,” the Defense Department’s secret network. Similar directives have gone out to the military’s other branches.

Pfc. Bradley Manning, who claims to have leaked a number of documents to WikiLeaks, says he “downloaded hundreds of thousands of files from SIPRNET to a CD marked Lady Gaga.” This is only one in a number of moves the government is making to keep their data more secure. It makes you wonder if Paul Carr is right. In a recent post, he says that “maybe millions” of people previously had access to these “secret” government documents. Now, since this whole WikiLeaks thing, we may never see a leak like this again.

Now, however, thanks to Wikileaks, all of that is likely to stop. What’s also likely to stop is the routine documenting of casual conversations, the candid sharing of opinions between allies – and a whole bunch of other acts of openness which if Wikileaks actually meant a word it said, the organisation should be all for. And for… what? So that millions of us who had no real business – beyond a basic prurient interest – in knowing what conversations are being had behind closed diplomatic doors could feel important. Well, great. Responsible openness’ loss is a few million busybodies’ gain.

via Wired

Google eBooks, Google Maps, and Gmail for Android

Google, as usual, made big moves this week across some of their most important apps. Google eBooks launched earlier this week, giving you access to millions of eBooks on your own terms. Cloud storage makes it easy to access your ebooks from multiple devices and screens. The simple interface keeps the focus on the content. Google also officially launched Chrome OS and began sending out free CR-48 netbooks pre-installed with Google Chrome OS to developers, reviewers, and a few other random folks. As part of the Chrome OS launch, the Google Chrome Web Store opened it’s doors to make it easy to find and install web applications in both the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. Google also put rumors of a Nexus Two to rest by announcing the Nexus S.

Google Maps 5.0 is coming to an Android near you and it looks pretty awesome. Not only are maps drawn using 3-D vector graphics, but the simpler data format allows for downloads of 100 times less data than the old format. This gives you faster load times, smooth zooming, rotation, and did I mention the maps are now in 3D?

The new 3D building models will start to appear as you get down to the street view level, and you can even tilt the map using a two-finger swipe gesture, altering the map’s vertical orientation to offer a sense of a building’s height. Imagine popping out of the subway in NYC and instantly recognizing where you’re at by checking out the buildings around you in 3D. 100 cities, like New York, will be supported from the outset. — via Gizmodo

The most important updates for me are in the Gmail for Android. Almost since the first day I got my phone, there were a few things I didn’t like about the Gmail app and it looks like Google was reading my mind because they’ve fixed every one in this update.

• A more advanced Compose feature allows for inline replies, so I can delete personal information from emails before forwarding them to my blogs or other social sites.
• Send messages from any of your accounts that are already configured in the desktop/web version of Gmail.
• More advanced support of Priority Inbox, including setting it as your default Inbox and manually changing priority of email messages.

Angry Birds Flies the Coop

With their insane popularity across iPhones and Android devices, it was inevitable that Rovio’s Angry Birds would get too big for their britches. Frustrated with Android’s purchasing system, Rovio made Angry Birds free with ads on the Android platform. Now, they will take that idea a step further, allowing in-app purchases of the ad-free version of the Angry Birds game via a carrier-billing system called Bad Piggy Bank. They will also begin selling virtual goods through this system, starting with The Mighty Eagle.

via GigaOm

It’s that time of year again and, based on “the aggregation of billions of search queries people typed into Google this year,” Google shows Nicki Minaj as the 4th fastest-rising search query of 2010. She comes in right behind Justin Beiber in 3rd. Google says that “Zeitgeist captures the spirit of 2010.”

If you’re like me, looking at charts and graphs is only so exciting. That’s whythe folks that brought you the Google Wave Cinema have created a video which highlights everything from the Gulf Oil Spill to the Bed Intruder. Check out Google Zeitgeist: The Video below.

via TechCrunch

Engadget has exclusive video of the Playstation Phone, now being called the ‘Zeus Z1,’ in action. Specifically, the video shows the phone running Qualcomm’s Neocore benchmark app. The phone was only able to push 24.4fps, while a similar test run on the new Nexus S did closer to 55.6fps. 24fps is probably not going to cut it on a device made mostly for gaming, but we have to remember that this is still the prototype stage. The hardware and software could be changed at any time.

Still, some are wondering if we’re just making too much of the Playstation Phone. The PSP Go wasn’t wildly successful and this new device seems to amount to the same except with phone capabilities. In any case, the fact that the rumors keep getting so much attention says that consumers are interested. Let’s just hope Sony can deliver.

It looks like Google is making good on their promise to send out free CR-48 netbooks in order to get the public using Google Chrome OS. The generic, not-so-shiny netbooks have already been reviewed by a number of sites. First impressions are positive. It’s important to remember that the goal here isn’t for Google to start manufacturing laptops just as the goal of the Nexus One and new Nexus S were not to get Google into the smartphone market. The point is to highlight Google Chrome OS.

Gizmodo calls the device the “antithesis of shiny MacBooks.” The entire netbook is in a black matte finish. There are no F-keys gracing the top of this keyboard, only the types of buttons you’d find on a web browser: back, forward, reload, and the like. The most talked-about feature of the CR-48 seems to be its speed. Not necessarily speed in general operations, but its ability to quickly jump to action with near instant shutdown and resume.

The netbook has an almost Droid-like quality, but there are some concerns. It is a netbook powered by an atom processor, so you won’t be doing anything too intense with it without delays. Flash seems to be the biggest problem with the CR-48. As Engadget points out: Adobe hasn’t built Flash acceleration yet for Linux, and there’s not a hardware acceleration chip.” This makes for a pretty bad experience on sites like Hulu and YouTube.

It will be interesting to see if laptop and netbook manufacturers take the idea of the Google Chrome OS powered CR-48 and run with it.

One could say it all started when WikiLeaks a series of U.S. diplomatic cables. These are documents containing information about our government that were supposed to be secret. Shortly after the release of these documents, the WikiLeaks website was attacked, which prompted a move to Amazon for hosting. From there, things moved pretty fast. Amazon dropped WikiLeaks, which many say was under pressure from the State Department. WikiLeaks also lost their DNS and ended up moving to Switzerland.

This was not the end, though. MasterCard, Visa, PayPal and others began denying service to WikiLeaks, tying up their finances. Upset by this turn of events, anonymous Internet users across the web decided to retaliate on behalf of WikiLeaks. Operation Payback, originally organized to protest the MPAA and RIAA, went back into effect. This is an organized group of anonymous Internet users with special software that allows them to coordinate attacks on any site of their choosing.

Operation Payback operatives primarily communicate via IRC, but have also set up Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for communications. Many of these have been shut down by Facebook and Twitter, but seem to spring right back up elsewhere. In the same way that the documents released by WikiLeaks can never be scraped completely from the web, this group continues to spread and change.

Anonymous is not WikiLeaks, and the more famous whistle-blower does not seem to be pulling the strings. Nor, in fact, does anyone. At any point, anybody can show up in one of several IRC conversations and make a case for a target. Whoever else is there registers a vote, or an argument.

While the attacks are organized, there really isn’t much organization to the Anonymous group itself. The closest thing to leaders are a group of around 10 OPs who are the ones with access to the big red buttons, but they don’t necessarily direct the group’s actions.

About ten people, called “OPs”, are able to launch an attack. If any OP abuses his power—if he fails to heed what anons call “the hive mind” in IRC conversations— the other OPs can lock him out of the chat. If any anon fails to be inspired by the target, she can remove her own computer from the volunteer botnet, reducing its effect. Anonymous is a 24-hour Athenian democracy, run by a quorum of whoever happens to be awake. It’s hard even to define Anonymous as a “group”, since not all members participate in all projects.

The group seems to wield a lot of power on the Internet as many prominent sites have faced downtime or outages once the hive mind set its sites on them. Regardless of their individual motivations, this group is no joke. Even if some entity wanted to stop them, who could they go after?

more at The Economist

Notion Ink has opened up pre-orders for their Adam tablet device today. There are some limitations though. If you haven’t been active on the Notion Ink blog, you may be out of luck.

I don’t want anyone who follows this blog to wait any more . We all are special and should get some extra benefit. The pre-booking will be available only for the ones who have posted a comment on this blog (for a limited period of time), and only after this interval the world will have the access. In short, family first! (It also means that those who start commenting NOW, are not counted in this list)

Interestingly enough, it looks like Notion Ink did a little photoshop work on their promotional graphic. In the original photo, the bezel around the screen was a bit thicker than in an image uploaded later. While Notion Ink indicates their device will be competetive with the iPad, I doubt it can magically change it’s screen dimensions.

via CrunchGear, Notion Ink, Engadget

Sony announced today that the Sony Dash, which is pretty much a tricked out alarm clock that doubles as a nifty tablet, can now get Hulu Plus subscription service. Hulu Plus subscribers will now gain access to the service’s “robust current TV offerings” directly on Dash. This includes “thousands” of the latest TV episodes, movies and more.

Hulu Plus, available for $9.99 per month, joins the existing Dash platform of more than 1,000 free apps including social networking, news, weather, sports, online radio and video and more, provided by chumby industries, inc. and Sony’s BRAVIA® Internet Video service.

“The addition of Hulu Plus serves as an ideal example of how Dash continues to evolve and improve over time” said Brennan Mullin, senior vice president of Sony Electronics’ personal imaging and audio business. “With Hulu on board, the Dash platform has the ability to deliver a huge variety of online entertainment instantly to consumers’ homes on top of glanceable, real-time tidbits of information.”

While the Sony Dash isn’t going to be putting the iPad out of business, it looks to be a pretty versatile and simple device for light tablet users. It’s currently available for about $199 at www.sonystyle.com, Sony Style® retail stores and throughout the Sony Retailer Network nationwide. And, Justin Bieber loves this thing so it must be good, right?

via Engadget, Gearlog

The Nexus Two…uh…Nexus S officially launched yesterday and those who have had a chance to use the device have some nice things to say. The quality Samsung hardware combined with the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system make for a very snappy and pleasing experience.

As Slashgear points out, the Nexus S brings a “glossy black plastic housing, touch-sensitive buttons and general hand-feel” which is reminiscent of other Galaxy S devices. The most interesting physical characteristic is the screen, which is actually curved. It makes the phone surprisingly more useful as the screen curves to meet your fingers as you slide up and down.

Most important to note with the Nexus S is what’s under the hood. It features a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, which is the same as you might find in other Samsung handsets. What shines is Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Compared to other Android phones with similar processors, the Nexus S provides a much snappier and responsive experience as “homescreen panes and apps whip about with no delay.”

Google CEO Eric Schmidt briefly demonstrated the Nexus S at the recent Web 2.0 Expo and Google VP Marissa Mayer was seen with one at LeWeb 2010 today, demonstrating the new Google Maps 5.0. Check Slashgear for photos and video.

What do you think about the Nexus S?

At a live event in San Francisco today, Google officially launched Chrome OS, a lightweight and fast operating system based on the similarly speedy Chrome web browser. The event kicked off with a little background on Chrome and an update on just how fast it has become.

When Chrome was first announced two years ago, its new javascript engine, V8, was 8x faster than the fastest existing engine. And it was 16x faster than IE. We’ve continued to improve, and today we are announcing an enchancement called Crankshaft. This makes the engine up to 2x faster than it is today depending on the benchmark. It’s 50x as fast as the fastest web browsers 2 years ago and 100x faster than IE was two years ago.

In addition to a need for speed, it seems many of us have grown a need for apps. The Chrome Web Store aims to fill that need by making it simple and easy to purchase, download, and install applications. These are not specific to the Chrome web browser as they are just your standard advanced web applications. The convenience with Chrome is in easy access to these apps via shortcuts. The Chrome Web Store is great for developers as it provides an easy way to market and sell web applications. Of course, it looks just like iTunes.

Chrome OS itself is just about what you would expect. It’s the speed of the Chrome browser, but it’s running the entire computer. Every Chrome netbook will ship with built in data connectivity and you can switch between WiFi and cellular. Printing is done using Google Cloud Print (currently in beta), which sounds similar to Apple’s AirPrint, but possible more flexible.

Google has partnered with Verizon to offer 100 MB of free data every month for 2 years. The plans are pay-as-you-go and start at $9.99. There are no activation, overage, or cancellation fees and you can activate the service on your own. There is also a day pass which gives you unlimited access for the entire day for $9.99.

Google Chrome OS takes security in mind for the workplace. Automatic updates, sandboxing, data encryption, and verification on boot make the system secure. SVP Citrix Systems Gordon Payne demonstrated an upcoming Citrix Receiver: “We’re accessing Excel in Chrome but it’s running on the server in the data center — the private cloud of the company. So it’s safe, secure, runs in the data center. It’s fast (faster than launching on a PC).” This is coming in the first half of next year.

Acer and Samsung will be selling notebooks with Google Chrome OS in mid 2011 with other OEMS to follow. The Chrome OS team admits that it’s not done yet and has some bugs. In addition, Google is launching a pilot program to get this device in the hands of developers. As part of this program, Google may let you have a CR-48 notebook running Google Chrome OS , but there are some restrictions:

Consumers will be able to apply for this, but Google isn’t giving it away to just anyone. On its Facebook Fan Page, they ran a promotion a couple days, announcing a sticker for a Chrome laptop, if you did that quiz, you get a notebook. If you go to youtube.com/googlechrome and make a video showing why you’re an ideal candidate for this, you’ll have a chance to snag a notebook.

You can also apply or the CR-48 at this link.

via TechCrunch

Digitimes reports that Toshiba is developing a set of 3 tablets which will debut at CES 2011 in about a month. Each of the three tablets will run one of Android, Google Chrome OS, or Windows 7.

The three new tablet PCs are expected to adopt different operating systems: Microsoft’s Windows 7 and Google’s Android and Chrome OS. Two models are expected to adopt 10.1-inch panels with the remaining one to adopt a 11.6-inch panel. The three tablet PCs are being positioned by Toshiba as an extension of PC products.

Not only is Toshiba jumping on the Chrome OS bandwagon, but Computer World reports that we may see netbooks running Google Chrome OS as early as…today. Google recently announced an event for today, Dec 7th in San Francisco. Google had promised a 2010 deadline for the release of Chrome OS, but the OS is still buggy and many are wondering if it’s going to catch the eye of holiday shoppers.

What do you think about Chrome OS?

Google has officially launched their Google eBooks service, which we previously referred to as Google Editions. According to Google, the service offers 3 million eBooks from your choice of book sellers and devices.

Today is the first page in a new chapter of our mission to improve access to the cultural and educational treasures we know as books. Google eBooks will be available in the U.S. from a new Google eBookstore. You can browse and search through the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than three million titles including hundreds of thousands for sale. Find the latest bestsellers like James Patterson’s Cross Fire and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, dig into popular reads like Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken and catch up on the classics like Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Gulliver’s Travels.

As with most Google services, Google eBooks was designed to be open. It works on all types of devices from laptops and desktops to netbooks, tablets, smartphones, and e-readers. Your ebooks are available across all of your devices via the cloud and you get unlimited data storage for those ebooks connected to your gmail account.

You can get your eBooks from the Google eBookstore or from one of their independent bookseller partners: Powell’s, Alibris and participating members of the American Booksellers Association. Google paints a picture of ebook simplicity, saying “you choose where to buy your ebooks like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them.”

As a final note, Google touches on the vast amount of data stored in their Google Books product, which works alongside the Google eBooks service. They call Google eBooks an “initial step toward giving you greater access to the vast variety of information and entertainment found in books.”

They have made Android and Apple Apps available for free download. Check it out and tell us what you think.

Nexus S is Here

The much-anticipated Nexus S Android phone is finally here. The phone was only a rumor when we first mentioned it appearing in Best Buy. Eric Schmidt later showed up with what many believed to be the Nexus S at the Web 2.0 Summit. Samsung and Google were said to be working on the Nexus 2, which Eric Schmidt said wouldn’t happen. It’s not really a lie as we later find out the Nexus Two would be called the Nexus S and would be manufactured by Samsung.

Today, we’re pleased to introduce the latest version of the Android platform, Gingerbread, and unveil the next Android device from the Nexus line of mobile products—Nexus S. And for developers, the Gingerbread SDK/NDK is now available as well.

via Introducing Nexus S

As of 6pm EST, the Tumblr social blogging service has been down. Approximately 16hrs later, it’s still down, displaying a message on the site that says “We’ll be back shortly.” Last I checked, 16hrs is quite a far cry from “shortly.” Early on, Tumblr fans across the Web took to their Twitters, Facebooks, and even FriendFeeds to express their displeasure in being denied from what many see as their main source of entertainment on the Internet. Much of the language is definitely NSFW.

Shortly after news broke about the outage, Tumblr responded on their Twitter account, saying: “We’re working quickly to recover from a major issue in one of our database clusters. We’re incredibly sorry for the inconvenience.”

If it’s taking this long to fix a database issue, I’m thinking their may be some loss of information. Cross your fingers, Tumblr fans.

via CenterNetworks, The Next Web

This weekend, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on 60 Minutes. Many are calling the interview a simple PR move by Facebook. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg interviewed with Kara Swisher of All Things D. The main take-away from that interview was that Zuckerberg sweats a lot. Not a good image to carry around when you’re the CEO of the most popular social networking site on the planet. This time around, we saw a different Zuckerberg, one who can do the PR dance with the best of them.

Stahl herself even recognizes the marked change in Zuckerberg from the first time she interviewed him in 2008; at one point in voiceover, Stahl notes remembering “his awkwardness from three years ago, and how he rarely blinks.” She immediately follows with how “he’s far more relaxed now, easier to smile, and noticeably more confident,” a sight that we as viewers can easily recognize as well.

The interview came at the same time as Facebook launched new profile layouts. The profile changes are focused on highlighting the user and making it “easier for you to tell your story and learn about your friends.” The profile begins with some basic information about you, including things like your hometown and where you work.

From there, it moves on to photos because “there’s often no better way to learn about a person than through photos.” Just after a short paragraph about your background, you have a section with the most recently tagged photos of you. This is a nice feature, but makes it even more important to untag yourself when you get caught up in some silly meme by your friends. The Facebook Featured Friends featured now lets you highlight some of your favorite friends, just like MySpace. You can even organize them into groups.

All in all, the profile changes are not that drastic, but I’m sure there are already droves of users creating numerous Facebook Groups and Fan Pages to share how much they hate the changes.

How do you like your new profile?

via SocialWayne, Facebook, Forbes

Google Makes Being Bad to Customers Bad for Business

The New York Times reported that one company, Decor My Eyes, was able to game the Google algorithms to get customers. The twist here is that they didn’t find some slick tech exploit or technique, they just engaged in a campaign of harassment against the costumer. This garnered a lot of negative attention on the web due to bad reviews, but that didn’t stop them from ranking well in the search engines. As far as Google’s ranking algorithm was concerned, there was no difference between a bad review and a good review, both could get you on the first page of the search results…until now. In response to the story, Google actually changed their algorithms.

We were horrified to read about Ms. Rodriguez’s dreadful experience. Even though our initial analysis pointed to this being an edge case and not a widespread problem in our search results, we immediately convened a team that looked carefully at the issue. That team developed an initial algorithmic solution, implemented it, and the solution is already live. I am here to tell you that being bad is, and hopefully will always be, bad for business in Google’s search results.

While this seems like a logical response, some argue that Google should remain a “dumb” search engine. Do you think this is a smart move or is Google, as a search engine, over-stepping their bounds?

Flock 3.5 Comes Out Swinging After RockMelt Launch

For some odd reason, the tech world was buzzing with the launch of the RockMelt social web browser. Everyone acted as if Flock didn’t even exist and this seems to have sparked the Flock team to action. Flock has been in the game since 2005 and recently announced that it now has 9.5 million users based on installs. They aren’t going to roll over and let RockMelt take their shine. In addition to moving the backend from Chromium 5 to Chromium 7, Flock has created a 24 point comparison chart which goes in on the infant RockMelt browser. I’m not sure which is better at this point, but I spend a lot of time in my browser and connected to social media so it’s interesting to finally see real competition in this space. Who will come out on top?

via Mashable

RIM Kicks Kik

Kik seemed like the best thing since sliced bread when it began to gain popularity earlier this month. Who can balk at free real-time texting that works across just about all major mobile platforms? Actually, someone did balk and that someone is RIM. They didn’t take kindly to Kik and kicked Kik out of the Blackberry app store on the 12th, just a few weeks after their re-launch. A pretty big blow to a service which grabbed 2.5 million users after only a month. It’s easy to see why RIM would be upset with Kik competing with their Blackberry Messenger service and Blackberry has made this clear by filing a lawsuit against Kik. The lawsuit alleges patent infringement, user privacy violations, and what could be seen as corporate espionage as Kik CEO Ted Livingston worked at RIM as part of the BBM group in 2007 to 2008.

Verizon LTE Too Fast for Your Data Plan

According to PC Magazine, the new Verizon LTE network can blow through your $50 5GB data plan in about 32 minutes. This pretty much makes the service useless for anyone who would want to actually use the service. Verizon has always hinted that the launch of LTE would change the way plans are structured and it’s pretty obvious that a basic tiered model isn’t going to cut it. Hopefully, we will see plans and features geared toward power users in the future. For now, LTE will only work for casual users and hardcore geeks should probably steer clear.