You Can Now Turn Your Own Computer Into A Pogoplug - TechCrunch

Pogoplug is today releasing new software that basically turns any PC or Mac into a Pogoplug device, no additional hardware required.

The software could be useful to stream pictures, music or movies to another computer or a mobile device (Android, iPhone, iPad, etc.), and since multiple devices can be linked to a single account, you can access files from any of them individually or see all the files across multiple computers in a single screen (called One View).

Access to all your files (to download them remotely or share them with others), and also the streaming of photos to any device, is free with the software. To stream music or movies, however, you’l need a premium upgrade ($29.00 fee). One purchase of a Pogoplug Premium software license can be installed on all computers tied to a single account.

In essence, Pogoplug’s new software can turn your personal computer into a personal cloud storage device, with no additional hardware required. This is, needless to say, a very crowded space to operate in what with Dropbox, iCloud, Box.net, Amazon Cloud Drive and the plethora of alternative cloud storage services out there.

The company behind Pogoplug, Cloud Engines, was founded in 2007 and currently has 50 employees. The company has raised a total of $25 million in funding to date, from investors like Foundry Group, Softbank Capital and Morgan Stanley.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with a satellite office in Tel Aviv.

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Pre-caffeine: Harry Potter, Facebook, Bagleheads! - msnbc.com

via BoingBoing.net

Our pre-caffeine roundup is a collection of the hottest, strangest, and most amusing stories of the morning. Here's everything that you need to know before taking that first sip of coffee today:

Ooooh! J.K. Rowling unveiled the details to the mysterious Harry Potter website!

The Winklevoss twins are finally not suing Facebook anymore. 

Also: Sir-Mix-A-Lot likes Facebook games and he cannot lie.

LinkedIn is just too complex and confusing for the ladies, according to LinkedIn.

iPhone drinks Android's milkshake. (Remember when we used to say that all the time?)

The FBI and seven other countries seized computers and servers used to run a $72 million "scareware" that hit 960,000 victims. So that's exciting. 

One-third of social networking users have never changed their passwords for their accounts, and another 15 percent say it's been more than a year since they've done so. (Bad social networking users! BAD!)

 Stick a fork in BlackBerry ... looks like RIM is done.

Who doesn't want to make a 3-D print of their head? (Go MakerBot!)

So "Bagelheads,"  who get their night life look via toroidal saline forehead injections, are big in Japan.

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Follow her on Twitter and/or the Facebook , won't you? 

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Huawei Unveils Tablet Computer Based on Google's Android Operating System - Bloomberg

Huawei ’s new MediaPad tablet with 7-inch screen will runGoogle Inc.’s Android Honeycomb 3.2 operating system, Victor Xu, chief marketing officer of the company’s device business unit, said at a press conference. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg

Huawei ’s new MediaPad tablet with 7-inch screen will run Google Inc.’s Android Honeycomb 3.2 operating system, Victor Xu, chief marketing officer of the company’s device business unit, said at a press conference. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg

Huawei Technologies Co., China’s largest phone-network equipment maker, introduced its second line of tablet computers in eight months, as the company expands its push into consumer markets.

Huawei’s new MediaPad tablet with 7-inch screen will run Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android Honeycomb 3.2 operating system, Victor Xu, chief marketing officer of the company’s device business unit, said at a press conference.

Chief Executive Officer Ren Zhengfei is broadening offerings of devices such as smartphones and tablet computers to maintain sales growth amid slower demand for its traditional phone-network gear. The thrust into consumer markets, along with a drive to expand business-computing services, aims to triple annual sales to about $100 billion in the next five to 10 years, Shenzhen-based Huawei said in April.

Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad currently dominates the global tablet market. Competition from new entrants will cut Apple’s share of the market for the device to about 50 percent next year, from almost 100 percent when the Cupertino, California-based company began selling the iPad a year ago, IHS ISuppli said in April.

Huawei had introduced the 7-inch Ideos S7 running the Android system at a Beijing trade show in October. Huawei’s S7 tablet and an updated S7 Slim announced in February are already on sale in Europe and Asia.

The MediaPad will be sold globally and will have more than six hours of battery life, according to the statement. The device comes pre-installed with software to operate the social networking sites of Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., it said.

Huawei captured 1 percent of global tablet shipments in the first quarter and the company will have to work to build brand awareness with tablet buyers, according to Neil Mawston, a London-based analyst at Strategy Analytics.

“Huawei’s portfolio of tablets is currently limited, distribution is modest, and despite having a strong global position in cellular laptop dongles, Huawei’s brand is not yet widely known among consumers for computing devices,” Mawston wrote in a June 17 e-mail.

Huawei in April forecast total sales this year will climb to 199 billion yuan ($31 billion) from 185.2 billion yuan last year. Still, sales growth this year will be less than half the 24 percent increase in revenue last year as the company faces challenges including yuan appreciation, a shortage of labor and accelerating inflation.

Sales of smartphones and other handheld devices may increase to $20 billion in the next five years, from $5 billion last year, the company said in April.

Huawei got 65 percent of its revenue from outside China last year, up from 60 percent in 2009, according to the company’s annual report. Overseas sales jumped 34 percent at Huawei to 120.4 billion yuan last year, according to the report.

Its sales in China gained 9.7 percent to 64.8 billion yuan. China accounted for 35 percent of the company’s sales last year, down from 40 percent in 2009. Net income rose 30 percent to 23.8 billion yuan, from 18.3 billion yuan a year earlier.

The company is entirely employee-owned and the Chinese government holds no shares, according to its website. The company employs 110,000 worldwide, the annual report said.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net

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Google extends voice search to PCs - domain-B

Google has extended voice search available so far on Android phones, to personal computers. Google announced the new feature last week at its search event in San Francisco.

With the voice search option, users can speak their search requests in English while sitting in front of their office and home computers, instead of manually typing it out.
According to analysts, with such features aimed at simplification of search results, Google hopes to extend its dominance in the internet's most lucrative market so far: steering people to the information they want as quickly as possible. With more search requests, Google gets more opportunities to display ads that generate most of its revenue.

Currently, the spoken-request option for desktop computers is available only on Google's Chrome browser and it can be activated by clicking on a microphone icon inside Google's search box on Google.com. However, Google's India website Google.co.in does not offer this feature.

The internet search company hopes to eventually make all the features available on Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox browsers, both of which have wider audiences than Chrome. The feature will, over time, be developed to allow requests in other languages, too.

The speech-recognition technology is built around a database of more than 230 billion words. These words have been taken from processing spoken requests over phones in the past two and a half years.

However, according to analysts, all of those words won't necessarily translate to accurate searches as a lot depends on the manner in which Google's algorithms handle the words when they're paired or strung together with other words. In their tests, eweek.com researchers have found that Voice Search was able to accurately process 6 out of 10 of its variegated search queries.

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Commtouch launches mobile browsing security solution - Globes

Internet security solutions developer Commtouch Software Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTCH; TASE: CTCH) today launched its GlobalView URL Filtering for Mobile, which enables real-time protection for mobile device users browsing the web.

The company notes that high-powered mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are, in many cases, supplementing or replacing personal computers as a favored means of browsing the Internet. As a result, users are becoming exposed to the same undesirable content prevalent on other platforms, as well as newly created threats that are specific to mobile devices.

GlobalView URL Filtering is currently available for operating systems and environments that run a Java Virtual Machine, such as Android. The company plans to support other mobile operating systems, such as iOS, QNX and other BlackBerry operating systems, and Windows Phone 7.

The company cites a study by Infonetics Research security analyst Jeff Wilson, who says, ?2010 saw a massive increase in mobile vulnerabilities, the first mobile botnet, malicious Android apps, and a mobile Zeus variant, and these events have businesses and consumers on edge. The mobile security client software market is forecast to have a 40% CAGR from 2010 to 2015."

Commtouch's solution can protect their mobile devices from phishing sites or sites that download viruses and malicious content, and achieve regulatory compliance. Organizations can limit their liability, improve productivity and comply with required standards by enforcing web access policies, and parents can use the solution to protect their children from inappropriate web content such as pornography, gambling, violence and hate sites.

Commtouch CTO Amir Lev said, ?The market for Internet security solutions for mobile devices is growing, as their use for browsing increases and new threats are introduced into the mobile ecosystem. Commtouch?s GlobalView URL Filtering is a good match for the tight memory requirements of portable devices, which must rely on endpoint-based protection due to their mobility."

Commtouch's share price closed at $3.25 on Nasdaq yesterday, giving a market cap of $78 million, and rose 7% by midday on the TASE to NIS 11.78.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com -

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How to control computers remotely with your Android phone - CNET (blog)

Are you tired of providing on-site tech support for your friends and family? Providing support remotely is an easy way to help them while maintaining your sanity. If you don't have a computer nearby, but have your Android phone, you can still help. Here's how:

Computer setup
Step 1:
On the computer you want to remote control, download "TeamViewer QuickSupport" from TeamViewer. The downloaded file is named TeamViewerQS_en.exe. The program is self-contained so it does not need to be installed.

Step 2:
Double-click on the TeamViewerQS_en.exe file to launch TeamViewer on the computer you want to control.

Step 3:
At the main screen, the numeric ID of that system is listed and a numeric password for that session. Make a note of the ID and password as you'll need that information later.

Step 4:
If you're setting this up on someone else's computer, you may want to create a shortcut for them or place the file on their desktop so they can find it more easily when they need your help. Once you've connected to the computer, a small window with a session list will pop up in the lower right-hand corner.

A session list will pop up on the remote computer.

Android setup
Step 1:
On your Android phone, install TeamViewer from the Android Market and launch it. In the first box, enter the ID of the "partner" computer. In the second box, enter the password and tap the "Connect to partner" button.

(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee)

Step 2:
Once connected, you'll see gesture control instructions.

(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee)

Step 3:
Close the instruction screen to see the desktop of the remote computer.

The desktop can be zoomed in or out.

(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee)

You've got control! Now you can help your in-law's figure out how to use Netflix streaming or add an RSS feed to Google Reader. You can help someone with just about anything he or she might need help with, without having to physically be there. You can use the mouse, type, print, and even reboot the remote computer.

The Android version of TeamViewer does have a few limitations, compared with the computer version. The Android version does not support local audio, text chat , video chat, or file transfers.

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Samsung, Google, Pfizer, Hershey, Apple: Intellectual Property - Bloomberg

Samsung Electronics Co. failed to convince a federal judge it should be able to examine samples of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s new products, including fourth-generation mobile telephones and tablet computers.

As part of the discovery process in a patent-infringement lawsuit brought by Cupertino, California-based Apple, Samsung in May asked to see its rival’s latest iPads and iPhones, according to court papers.

“Samsung has cited no case” in which a plaintiff must produce future products in a similar context, and “Samsung does not need access to these products” at this stage in the litigation, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh wrote in an order signed June 21 in San Jose, California.

Apple sued South Korea’s Samsung alleging unfair trade competition, unjust enrichment and trademark and patent- infringement in products that “blatantly imitate” Apple’s products, according to an amended complaint filed June 16.

The case is Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., 11CV1846, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

For more patent news, click here.

Google’s ‘Photovine’ to Be Used for Photo Social Networking

Google Inc., which operates the world’s most used search engine, filed a trademark application that may indicate what it wants to do with its photo-oriented acquisitions.

The Mountain View, California-based company is seeking to register the term “photovine,” according to the database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. According to the application, filed June 7, “photovine” is to be used for communication services, non-downloadable computer software, and on-line social-networking services.

Google acquired Picasa, which enables online photo storage and sharing, in 2004. Last year, the company picked up Picnic Inc., a site that enables online photo-cropping and retouching.

At that time, a Google official said the company would be working on integration of Picnic’s functionality and the addition of new features.

Pfizer to Receive Damages in Corex/Orex Trademark Dispute

Pfizer Inc. (PFE)’s India-based unit Pfizer Ltd. was awarded money damages in its trademark dispute with Omax Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., India’s Economic Times reported.

The Delhi high court said Omax’s use of Orex for its cough syrup was too similar to Pfizer’s Corex cough syrup trademark, according to the Economic Times.

The similarity in the names might cause customers to think “they were buying the product of the company which is respected and well-known,” the court said in its ruling and Economic Times reported.

Hershey Sues Radisson Over Use of ‘Hershey’ in Hotel Name

Hershey Co. (HSY)’s Hershey Entertainment & Resort Co. sued Carlson Cos.’ Radisson Hotels International unit for trademark infringement.

The lawsuit, filed June 17 in federal court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is related to a name change on a Radisson property. Hershey, the maker of Hershey bars and chocolate kisses, objects to the inclusion of the word “Hershey” in the name of the former Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, now known as the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Hershey.

Hershey operates its own resorts near the company’s amusement park and other attractions in central Pennsylvania.

In its court papers, the chocolate company notes that the hotel is neither in Harrisburg nor Hershey, Pennsylvania. The hotel isn’t even “located in the same county as the town of Hershey,” according to the complaint.

The case file includes a series of letters between for Hershey and Radisson. One of the letters, sent on Radisson’s behalf by Samuel W. Apicelli of Philadelphia’s Duane Morris LLP, said that in addition to being a trademark, Hershey is also a zip code in Pennsylvania. He argued that no one can be restricted from using an indicator of geographic origin.

In its complaint, Hershey asked the court to bar Radisson from using “Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Hershey.” It also seeks money damages, an order for the recall and destruction of all infringing promotional materials, and an order for the hotel chain to pay for corrective advertising to dispel any consumer impression that the hotel is affiliated with the chocolate company.

Hershey also asked for an order for the deactivation of websites that infringe, and for awards of attorney fees and litigation costs.

Joan Cronson, a Carlson spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the company hadn’t yet received a copy of the complaint and would review it with the hotel. The Pennsylvania hotel is a franchise that is independently owned and operated, she said.

Hershey is represented by Harvey Freedenberg and Rebecca A. Finkenbinder of McNees Wallace & Nurck LLC of Harrisburg.

The case is Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co. v. Radisson Hotels International Inc., 1:11-cv-01159-SHR, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg).

Apple Bid to Bar Amazon ‘Appstore’ Will ‘Likely’ Be Denied

Apple Inc. will “probably” lose its court bid to stop Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) from using the term “Appstore” for a service selling programs for Android devices, a federal judge said.

Apple, whose top-selling product is the iPhone, claimed it would be irreparably harmed because the value of its own App Store will be eroded as consumers confuse the two services.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said yesterday after a hearing in Oakland, California, that she is “probably” going to deny the motion because Apple hasn’t demonstrated confusion among consumers. Hamilton said she will review court filings before issuing a final decision.

Apple’s difficulty demonstrating “real evidence of actual confusion” among consumers is a “stumbling block for Apple,” Hamilton said in court. “I’m troubled by the showing that you’ve made so far, but that’s where you’re likely not to prevail at this early juncture.”

Like “honeybaked ham,” a product made by a Michigan company, App Store has come to be identified by consumers as an Apple service selling downloadable programs for the iPhone and other company devices, Apple said in court filings.

Apple has spent hundreds of millions of dollars advertising the service since it was launched in 2008 and will suffer irreparable damage by associations with Amazon’s Appstore service, which provides fewer safeguards against viruses and data security issues, the company’s filings said.

Amy Bessette, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, sued Seattle-based Amazon for trademark infringement in March and asked for a preliminary court order barring the online retailer’s use of “Appstore,” pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

Amazon says the words “App Store” are generic and Apple doesn’t have exclusive rights to them. Even if the term wasn’t generic, Apple can’t show that consumers would confuse the two services because Apple’s service only sells downloads for the iPhone and other Apple devices, Amazon said in court filings.

The largest online retailer is seeking dismissal of Apple’s lawsuit and a court order allowing it to use the term to sell programs for Android devices. Android is the Google Inc. (GOOG) operating system used by handset makers including Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.

Amazon’s Appstore offering downloads of software for Android devices opened March 22.

The case is Apple Inc. v. Amazon.com Inc., 11-01327, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

For more trademark news, click here.

U.K. Content Owners’ Copyright Proposal Leaked on Website

A copyright-enforcement proposal under discussion by five organizations representing content industries was leaked to the public in advance of its release.

The proposal, “the Potential for a Voluntary Code,” was posted on the website of the London-based Open Rights Group, a digital-rights advocacy organization.

The eight-page paper, stamped “confidential,” discusses methods of getting judicial approval of proposed measures to inhibit access to major infringing sites.

Groups involved in the development of the proposal are the Football Association Premier League Ltd., the Publishers Association, BPI Ltd., the Motion Picture Association and the Alliance for Cinema and Television, according to a footnote on the proposal.

The aim of the proposal is the establishment of a system “that protects copyright owner’s property rights by substantially inhibiting infringement while protecting the legitimate interests of consumers, site operators and service providers, including (where relevant) access to services and information and freedom of expression.”

The proposal suggests the establishing of an “expert body” to manage and implement the system. This body would be “under the guidance of a council composed of those with the relevant skills and experience but who do not have current direct interests in the relevant industries,” according the leaked document.

This council and the “expert body” would have the ability to decide whether a website is “substantially focused on infringement,” and recommend a court order blocking access.

Consumer Focus, a London-based consumer-advocacy group, issued a statement addressing the proposal. The case for website blocking hasn’t been made, and the content owners didn’t identify which websites they think should be blocked, the group said.

Eircom’s Three-Strikes Policy Under Scrutiny from Government

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is investigating the terms of Eircom Ltd.’s agreement with music companies over music piracy, Silicon Republic reported.

The office is looking at the “proportionality’ of Eircom’s three-strikes response to music piracy, according to Silicon Republic.

Eircom sent letters to as many as of 300 of its Internet- service customers who were incorrectly identified as music pirates and provided them with a 50 euro ($72) credit on their next Eircom bill, Silicon Republic reported.

The data-protection commission got involved after it received a complaint about a false piracy notification, and is looking at whether the four levels of warning and response is proportional to the alleged offenses, according to Silicon Republic.

U.K. Student Faces Extradition for Copyright Infringement

A 23-year-old student at the U.K.’s Sheffield Hallam University faces potential extradition to the U.S. to face charges of criminal copyright infringement, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported.

Richard O’Dwyer was accused of setting up a website that provided links through which films and television programs could be downloaded without authorization, according to the Daily Mail. The site has since been shut down, the newspaper reported.

O’Dwyer was arrested in May and spent one night in jail before he appeared at a preliminary hearing, according to the newspaper.

For more copyright news, click here.

SNR Denton Adds Pamela K. Fulmer to San Francisco IP Practice

SNR Denton LLP hired Pamela K. Fulmer for its intellectual- property practice in San Francisco, the Chicago-based firm said in a statement yesterday.

Fulmer, who joins from Washington’s Jones Day, is a litigator who has represented clients in patent, copyright, trademark and trade-secret disputes.

Her clients come from the e-commerce, Internet, cellular communications, e-mail messaging and security, computer hardware and software, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and consumer products industries, as well as entertainment and media.

She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and a law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

To contact the reporter on this story: Victoria Slind-Flor in Oakland, California, at vslindflor@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.

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Over 1 Million Users Make Wyse PocketCloud One of the Most Popular Mobile ... - Marketwire (press release)

SOURCE: Wyse Technology

PocketCloud Now Features Premium Services for Optimized User Experience, Multimedia Streaming, Enhanced File Browsing, and Remote Printing

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 23, 2011) - Wyse Technology, the global leader in cloud client computing, today announced version 2.1 of PocketCloud for iOS. PocketCloud 2.1 elevates the iPad experience with a tablet-optimized interface, taking full advantage of the larger screen, while improving performance for all devices. Wyse is also announcing it's reached over one million total downloads across iOS and Android devices, quadrupling its downloads in the last six months alone.

Consistently ranked as one of the Top 10 free business apps in the Apple App Store, version 2.1 also adds the optional PocketCloud Premium subscription service to the free app, giving users the ability to download, print, and email files, as well as stream videos and music from their home or work computers on-the-go.

"PocketCloud version 2.1 represents our dedication to providing the most features to our users at a price that anyone can afford," said Daniel Barreto, general manager of the Mobile Business Unit at Wyse Technology. "The introduction of PocketCloud Premium subscription service gives all our free app users access to the same great features our business users have come to expect."

PocketCloud is already well known for providing the highest quality remote access experience on iOS devices. Version 2.1 refreshes the user interface to better support the tablet experience. The upgrades include a split-screen view while setting up and choosing the computer for your remote connection which is more in line with the native iOS experience, and a new setup wizard that makes getting connected even simpler and faster.

With PocketCloud 2.1, users of the free app now have the option to add the PocketCloud Premium subscription service through an easy in-app purchase. For just $1 a month, you can stream video and music from your home or work computers directly to your iPhone or iPad over 3G and Wi-Fi. PocketCloud Premium also includes a file browser, which makes searching for files on a remote computer and transferring them to an iPhone or iPad a snap. It also features a thin browser that enables fast Web browsing, access to Flash sites and videos, and even uses the bookmarks and history from a computer.

The new premium features with this release include the ability to download files to your iOS device and view, email, or print them with Apple AirPrint all while on-the-go. Video streaming has also been updated to allow users to seek and control playback from the selection of the video they wish to view.

With over one million downloads PocketCloud is definitive remote desktop solution available for the iOS and Android platforms. Unlike competitors that require near-professional setup at a higher cost, PocketCloud's intuitive UI and competitive price makes the mobile Internet a more powerful tool for managing all your data, by enabling fast and secure access to all the files and media on a computer or virtual environment.

Download PocketCloud now for free from the iTunes Store at: http://bit.ly/fzSy1a.

To learn more about PocketCloud, PocketCloud Pro, and their optional Premium services that can be purchased from within the apps, please visit www.wyse.com/pocketcloud.

About Wyse Technology
Wyse Technology is the global leader in Cloud Client Computing. The Wyse portfolio includes industry-leading thin, zero and cloud PC client solutions with advanced management, desktop virtualization and cloud software supporting desktops, laptops and next generation mobile devices. Cloud client computing replaces the outdated computing model of the unsecure, unreliable, energy-intensive and expensive PC, all while delivering lower TCO and a superior user experience. Wyse has shipped more than 20 million units and has over 200 million people interacting with their products each day, enabling the leading private, public, hybrid and government cloud implementations worldwide. Wyse partners with industry-leading IT vendors, including Cisco®, Citrix®, IBM®, Microsoft, and VMware® as well as globally-recognized distribution and service partners. Wyse is headquartered in San Jose, California, U.S.A., with offices worldwide. More information can be found at www.wyse.com or by calling 1-800-GET-WYSE.

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How Nokia was disrupted. Part 2 - Unwired View

In this two part article I look and try to understand what happened to Nokia over the past 4 years and what’s next for the company.

In short – what happened was pretty simple. Nokia was disrupted by the new model of true mobile computing invented by Apple and then accelerated by Google’s Android.

In the first part of this post I  looked at how disruption in general works, and how the disruption of Nokia started. The second part looks at how Nokia tried to fight back, lost and surrendered. And what may happen to Nokia next.

Nokia’s response to the new disruptive true mobile computing threat – was a classic incumbent. First dismissing the new development as niche and not a threat. Then quietly developing a competitive answer, without any real understanding what they are competing against. With phone hardware/feature guys in charge, their first try at a real mobile computer – Nokia N97 – was born crippled by underpowered CPU and too little RAM. The platform- S60 5th edition, with it’s thin touch layer over the aging phone/keypress optimized OS – was buggy as hell and a nightmare in usability. Developer tools were still antique, nightmare to learn and use. Early versions of Nokia (OVI) app store – boderline unusable too.

Their next try – Nokia N8 and Symbian^3 – could have fared better, but it was too little to turn things around and, what’s worse – it was way too late. Symbian^3 had a significant performance/usability improvements over S60/S^1. Had it come out in late 2009 or, at least as promised, early 2010 and then have been quickly followed by a major interface revamp in the second half of 2010, Nokia could have pulled through. Symbian^3 had a good chance to stand up against Android 1.6, and Nokia N8 was pretty competitive compared to the Android phones on the market for most of the first half of 2010. It’s possible that N8 could have even lured some potential iPhone 3GS buyers in early 2010.

Alas, it was not meant to be. In a typical incumbent fashion, Nokia first spent 2 years in a futile effort to modernize S60. Then, when they finally figured there’s no way to make it work, they severely underestimated the time and effort it would take to rewrite Symbian for the touch world. So Symbian^3 was late by at least 6 months from the planned launch date, probably a year to really help. And the typical phone company penny pinching – putting in a weaker CPU/GPU into Nokia N8 (680 ARM11 CPU/Broadcom BCM2727 GPU) then a year old iPhone 3GS had (600MHz Cortex A8 CPU/PowerVR SGX535 GPU), on a flagship that was supposed to show Nokia’s technological prowess, didn’t help either.

By the time N8 shipped – October 2010, it was up against iPhone 4 and a slew of Android 2.2 competitors on fast 1GHz Snapdragon chips. The only way Nokia could compete against them – was price. The pent-up demand from longtime Nokia fans, holiday shopping season, huge marketing initiative and comparatively low Nokia N8 and other S^3 handset price, helped to bump up Nokia smart device sales volumes a only a bit in Q4 2010.

And by early 2011, Nokia smartphone sales started slowing down. Then, this spring, preparing for the arrival of their next generation dual core powered Android 2.3 devices, competitors slashed prices for their last year’s flagships. Suddenly Nokia N8 had to compete with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Desire not only on price, but in the overall user experience as well. Similar thing happened to the available Symbian^3 devices at all price points. In many cases, competitors were able to match prices of cheap Symbian^1 handsets with much more attractive offerings too.

That was pretty much game over for Nokia as we know it.

Nokia smart phone sales this April/May started falling off the cliff, with little hope of recovery. I strongly doubt that Symbian Anna, the new phones like X7 or the promised 1GHz Symbian devices this fall will help much. Especially when next generation iPhone will push iPhone 4 prices near the high end Symbian price range, while early 2011 Androids will get even cheaper.

And, in a typical incumbent fashion, the latest Nokia flagship, N9 is too little too late, again. Even Nokia itself doesn’t seem to believe that it can make a difference.

The main problem with Nokia N9 and Symbian Anna is that they are Nokia’s answer to a problem – user interface – that Android and iOS solved before 2011. And while Nokia is joining this battle of the past, Apple and Google have moved on to a bigger and better things. Building out a cloud services, creating working wireless payment systems for developed world, improving accessory/device integration, disrupting PC industry, making their mobile platforms a central point for home automation and more.

Some would like to blame Feb. 11th Microsoft partnership/Symbian death announcement for current Nokia woes, insisting that while Nokia had some execution issues, it was on the verge of turning around. The announcement may have had some limited effect, but I don’t think the effect was that big. Latest in Nokia software achievements – Symbian Anna and Meego 1.2/Harmattan, especially the time it took to make them market ready, only confirms it. Nokia problems were much deeper, started way before Feb 11th, were already visible early last year, the crash started in the second half of 2010 and Nokia was simply too slow to do anything about it.

So the game over for Nokia? Is this the end?

Not necessarily. Not all disrupted companies disappear. Some of them just lose the former influence in the industry, go through a major restructuring and, focusing on their key strengths, continue to live and sometimes prosper. Just look at IBM, who’s mainframe business was disrupted by the advent of mini and then micro computers, and who went through near death experience and major rethinking of it’s purpose during the nineties. This is where Nokia may be headed.

While I have some doubts of whether Nokia can survive 2011 as an independent company – those doubts are mostly related to the sharp decrease of Nokia share value. With Nokia as a company so cheap now, it can start attracting hostile takeover bids and I ‘m not sure it will be able to fend them off. As for the core business itself, even if Nokia starts losing money due to the crashing smartphone sales and declining mobile phone volumes, it should have enough cushion to get through 2011. And if Nokia’s bet on Windows Phone pays off in 2012, Nokia will survive and might even prosper eventually.

It’s just over for the Nokia as we knew it – a dominant force and trend setter in mobile industry. Nokia lost the battle for the current generation of mobile platforms and surrendered. From now on it should be important, but just one of the many mainly hardware players in the new true mobile computing world.

I know, the abrupt abandonment of Symbian and it’s next generation successor – Meego – upset a lot of loyal Nokia fans. Especially when, according to Nokia public statements all through 2010, Nokia transition was almost over, and the next generation Symbian and Meego devices were just around the corner. The problem is, these next generation devices – N97, N900, N8 and now N9 – have been just around the corner and then ready to turn Nokia’s fortunes around, for years. None of them arrived in time or were good enough to do that. Nokia N9 shows that, given time, Nokia can come up with software that may be good enough for a mobile computing platform. But there is no time, industry is moving too fast.  And, probably because of it’s deep roots as a hardware company, Nokia is unable to keep up. It took almost 2 years for Nokia to get from Maemo 5-N900 to Maemo 6/Meego 1.2 Harmattan-N9. Android went from 1.6 to 2.1-2.3 (Gingerbread) and 3.1 (Honeycomb) in the same time frame, while Apple delivered iOS4 and iOS5. Google and Apple are moving too fast, solidifying their lead in the things that matter in true mobile computing every month.

Faced with this unpalatable truth, Nokia surrendered and turned to another former smart phone industry incumbent –Microsoft. Microsoft recognized the disruption happening in mobile world years before Nokia, then took radical steps to save their business in time when it could still help. And had the necessary competencies to do it. They are still very late in the game, but, by most accounts, their new mobile computing platform –Windows Phone- is good enough to compete with the new incumbents – Apple and Google. It just lacks commitment from mobile device hardware makers and distribution.

With Nokia’s excellence in hardware and power in distribution, this alliance just might work.

With all the talk about next generation true mobile computing devices (mistakenly called smartphones today) people usually forget that smartphones are only a half of Nokia mobile device business. The other part is mobile phones. And while the top, most lucrative part of mobile phone business has been taken over by smartphones/mobile computers, more then 70% of mobile devices sold in the world are still phones. And there is a big question how much of those 70% are actually susceptible to mobile computing disruption anytime soon.

Both iPhone and Android are designed around and strongly rely on internet connectivity for a great deal of their functionality. And they use huge amounts of mobile data compared even to smart phones. Take the connectivity away, and mobile computers lose a lot of their appeal. But mobile data is pretty expensive, and it’s unlikely it will get much cheaper anytime soon. Even in developed countries, there’s only a finite number of users who are ready or can afford to pay premiums for a data connection required to get the most from the iPhone or Android handset. In more poor countries, the amount of such users is even smaller. And as those who can afford and are ready to spend on mobile data get their mobile computers, moving down market might become a bit of a problem for data hogging devices. Data frugality may soon become much more important then anything else. Michael Mace of Mobile Opportunity just penned an excellent post about this issue.

There’s no doubt that even the lowest end mobile phones will be getting more and more computer like functionality. But will they become true mobile computers with app/net centric design, like the smartphones at the top end of the market did? Probably not for at least quite a few years yet. Vendors will have to figure out how to deliver computing experiences on a very thin data pipe. And here lies the opportunity for Nokia. While nobody seem to want Symbian devices anymore, Nokia S40 phones are still selling pretty well. Some recent developments hint that Nokia has quite an interesting vision how to add a mobile computer functionality to S40. And data frugality plays a very important role in this vision.

First – it’s Nokia Browser for S40, which, similar to Opera Mini – compresses internet pages on Nokia servers and can reduce data consumption by up to 90%. Then there are Nokia Web Tools for S40 enabling Web App development for S40 browser. Nokia Maps are now shipping on a number of S40 handsets, and require no or very limited data connection to work. Nokia is also working on a new full touch interface for it’s (S40) mobile phones, and N9 shows that they may have finally figured out how to make full touch centric UIs well. And then there’s a biggie announced during Nokia Connection event on June 21st. Nokia is porting Qt core to S40. Which will transform S40 into a smartphone platform overnight. And, with S40 sales volumes, it could become the biggest smartphone platform in world pretty quick. If Nokia is able to execute this vision well, they may soon have a new platform for mid-tier and lower end smart devices, which could succeed were Symbian has failed. And become a major competitor to Android and iOS in lower end, data constrained environment.

Unfortunately this is just a vision for Nokia now, or, more accurately – some hints of the vision Nokia may have for S40 mobile phones. And vision without an execution is just a dream. Nokia had many beautiful dreams about Symbian/Meego/Qt/OVI over the past few years and look where they are now. If Nokia fails execute again on their Microsoft alliance and on whatever they have in store for S40, then all bets are off. Nokia may be history much sooner then you think.

So let’s hope the new management have learned their lessons from past Nokia failures, and can finally deliver on the execution front. For now, the talk sounds pretty good to me. We’ll know if they can do the walk in the next 6-10 months.

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Freeze Tag Acquires Cross-Platform Technology Framework, Announces Stock ... - MarketWatch (press release)

TUSTIN, Calif., (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Freeze Tag /quotes/zigman/4887563 FRZT 0.00% , a leading creator of family-friendly video games, has acquired the rights to a technology framework that enables the Company to rapidly port PC/Mac games to iOS and Android platforms, thus reducing development costs and time-to-market for the smartphone and media tablet markets.

"This framework allows us to develop once on the PC," said Craig Holland, CEO of Freeze Tag. "Then from the same code base, we can create iOS and Android versions of our games and tap into these high growth markets."

Smartphone and media tablet sales continue to increase as consumers snap up iPhones, iPads and Android devices. According to research firm Gartner, sales of media tablets that operate on the iOS (Apple) and Android (Google) operating systems will grow from 17 million units in 2010 to over 251 million units in 2015. A recent study released by Google's AdMob found that "gaming" was the number one activity on media tablets, with 84% of the tablet owners polled indicating they used their device for playing games.

"With brilliant color displays and interactive touch screens," said Holland, "smartphones and media tablets are ideal gaming devices."

Freeze Tag also announced the trading of its stock on the OTCBB. The company's symbol is FRZT.

About Freeze Tag, Inc.

Freeze Tag is a leading creator of casual or "family" games. Freeze Tag's "family friendly fun" games have been downloaded millions of times on mobile devices (iPhone/iPad, tablets), and PC/Mac computers. For more information, visit the Freeze Tag website at www.freezetag.com . Freeze Tag, Inc. common stock is quoted on the OTCBB under the symbol "FRZT."

Safe Harbor Notice

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Freeze Tag, Inc. cautions that statements made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. Freeze Tag, Inc. undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release.

SOURCE: Freeze Tag, Inc.

Freeze Tag, Inc. Craig Holland 715-210-3850 press@freezetag.com

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Mobile devices overtake computers on Wi-Fi networks - GigaOm

Mobile devices, led by the iPad and Android phones and tablets, have overtaken computers on Wi-Fi networks, according to a new report from cloud networking provider Meraki. It’s another sign that mobile is increasingly the way people access the Internet, bypassing traditional computers in their hunt for information.

Meraki said that in 2010, Windows and Mac OS X accounted for 64 percent of devices that accessed Wi-Fi networks, while iOS (the iPhone and the iPod touch at the time) accounted for 32 percent and Android was just 1 percent. A year later, iOS — bolstered by the iPad — and Android now represent 58 percent of Wi-Fi devices, while Windows and Mac OS X account for 36 percent. The numbers have gone up since March, when Om got some Wi-Fi usage statistics from Meraki, which found that the iPhone accounted for 23.5 percent of connections, while Android had 5.2 percent and the iPad took 3.4 percent.

Meraki said for the most recent study, it surveyed more than 100,000 devices accessing general use, public and educational Wi-Fi networks across the U.S., looking at usage and operating systems from 2010 to 2011. The study compared the first half of 2010 with the first half of this year.

The iPhone was the most popular device on Wi-Fi networks, with a 32-percent share. Android now accounts for 11 percent of devices on Meraki’s networks, equal to the iPod touch alone. Those numbers will certainly increase for Android as its installed base grows. Meraki also found that the iPad was a power device, consuming almost 200 megabytes per month, about four times as much as the average for Android, iPhone and iPod touch devices.

The numbers shouldn’t be too surprising considering we’re at a point where mobile devices are in the process of overtaking computer sales. And with many public Wi-Fi spots, it’s more practical to browse with a mobile device than a laptop. Kiren Sekar, director of marketing at Meraki, said the number of computers that hit Wi-Fi networks continues to grow, but the pace of mobile device growth has been much higher.

“Smartphones and tablets are so much more mobile than laptops; the idea of someone pulling out a laptop in a store to check email, Facebook or prices — it’s very impractical,” said Sekar. “What we’re seeing with these mobile devices is it’s practical and enjoyable to do that.”

This was going to happen at some point, but the quick pace with which mobile devices have taken over is impressive. More than half of mobile phones sold this year in the U.S. are expected to be smartphones; add in tablets, Wi-Fi enabled media players, gaming devices and connected cameras, and it’s clear that the way people use the Internet is shifting dramatically.

It’s also another reminder that content owners and publishers should be preparing for more people using mobile devices to consume their content. Right now, many sites are still not optimized for mobile, which can be a lost monetization opportunity. Make no mistake; the world is turning mobile, and it’s happening right now. Better to get with the program than get left behind.

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HP expands recall of Batteries of laptop due to fire hazard - Clarksville online

Consumers urged to recheck notebook models and batteries

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Hp Laptop Battery Recall

Name of Product: Lithium-ion batteries used in HP and Compaq notebook computers

Units: About 162,600 additional batteries (54,000 and 70,000 batteries were previously recalled in May 2010 and May 2009, respectively)

Importer: Hewlett-Packard Company, of Palo Alto, CA.

Hazard: The recalled lithium-ion batteries can overheat and rupture, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Since the May 2010 recall expansion, HP has received 40 additional reports of batteries that overheated and ruptured, resulting in seven burn injuries, one smoke inhalation injury, and 36 instances of property damage.

Description: The recalled lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are used with various model series of HP and Compaq notebook computers and include batteries that consumers were informed were not included in previous recalls. The chart below includes all notebook model numbers associated with batteries recalled to date. The computer model number is located at the top of the service label on the bottom of the notebook computer. Not all batteries matching the bar codes are being recalled.

Battery Bar Codes (^ in the code
can be any letter or number)dv2000, dv2500, dv2700, dv6000, dv6500,dv6700,dx6000, dx6500, dx670062940^^AXV^^^^, 65035^^B7U^^^^, 65035^^B7V^^^^, 65035^^BGU^^^^, 65035^^BGV^^^^65033^^B7U^^^^, 65033^^B7V^^^^, 65033^^BGU^^^^, 65033^^BGV^^^^A900C700

F500, F700

V3000, V3500, V3700, V6000, V6500, V6700

62940^^AXV^^^^, 65035^^B7U^^^^, 65035^^B7V^^^^, 65035^^BGU^^^^, 65035^^BGV^^^^62940^^AXV^^^^, 65035^^B7U^^^^, 65035^^B7V^^^^, 65035^^BGU^^^^, 65035^^BGV^^^^6510b, 6515b, 6710b, 6710s, 6715b, 6715s67150^^AXU^^^^, 67150^^AXV^^^^67059^^V8U^^^^, 67059^^V8V^^^^

Sold at: Computer and electronics stores nationwide, hp.com and hpshopping.com from July 2007 through July 2008 for between $500.00 and $3,000. The battery packs were also sold separately for between $100.00 and $160.00.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the batteries from their notebook computer and contact HP to determine if their battery is included in this recall. Consumers who had previously checked their batteries and were informed they were not included in previous announcements are urged to check again. Consumers with recalled batteries will receive a free replacement battery. After removing the recalled battery from their notebook computer, consumers may use the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, visit the HP Battery Replacement Program website at www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement or call 888-202-4320 between 7:00am and 7:00pm CT Monday through Friday.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about your experience with the product on www.saferproducts.gov

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Under federal law, it is illegal to attempt to sell or resell this or any other recalled product.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, go online to: www.saferproducts.gov, call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 800-638-8270 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain this news release and product safety information at www.cpsc.gov. To join a free e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

News
Burn Hazard, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, HP, HP Battery Replacement Program, Lithium-Ion Batteries, Notebook, Recall, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Eight Manufacturers Recall Pool and In-Ground Spa Drain Covers Due to Incorrect Ratings June 3rd, 2011STIHL Recalls Yard Power Products Due to Burn and Fire Hazards May 31st, 2011CPSC Warns Memorial Day Weekend Among the Deadliest Holidays for ATV Riders May 29th, 2011Dream on Me Recalls Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation, Laceration, and Fall Hazards May 28th, 2011Additional Fingertip Amputations and Lacerations Prompt Reannouncement of November 2009 Recall of Strollers by Maclaren USA May 19th, 2011Consumers Urged To Stop Using phil&teds USA Clip-on Chairs Due To Serious Dangers Posed To Children May 9th, 2011Toro Recalls Power Clear Snowblowers and Recycler Mowers Due to Fire or Burn Hazard April 27th, 2011Wrist Rattles and Baby Booties Recalled by Midwest-CBK Due to Choking Hazard April 18th, 2011Redken 5th Avenue NYC Recalls Guts Spray Mousse Foam Due to Risk of Rupture April 16th, 2011Infantino Recalls Toy Activity Trucks Due to Choking Hazard April 13th, 2011

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iCloud, cloud computing services promise to change the way in which we use computers - Washington Post

Apple founder Steve Jobs announced a free service Monday that allows consumers to store vast amounts of music, video, photos and documents on the Web, one of several emerging “cloud” computing offerings that are diminishing the need for a computer.

Once a pioneer of the personal computer, Jobs forecast that his new iCloud service would replace the PC as the hub for people’s multimedia needs, making it far easier for them to gain access to their digital libraries on phones, tablets and a multitude of other devices that have an Internet connection.

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs has briefly emerged from a medical leave as the company unveiled a new storage service and new software for Mac computers and mobile devices. (June 6)

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“Keeping these devices in sync is driving us crazy,” he said at a company conference in San Francisco. “We have a great solution for this problem. We are going to demote the PC to just be a device.”

The irony of Jobs’s statements was not lost on analysts who noted his role in putting a PC into nearly every household in the country.

“The whole idea of a standalone personal computer with a big processor is going the way of the VCR,” said Paul Saffo, managing director of foresight at Discern Analytics. “Steve Jobs, who delivered personal computing to the rest of us, is now doing more through the iCloud to get rid of personal computing than anyone.”

A wave of new technologies such as cloud computing is shuffling the industry’s leaders, elevating the likes of Apple, Amazon and Google while forcing once-dominant companies such as Microsoft and Dell to reinvent themselves to keep up.

Saffo added that some of those companies haven’t quite figured it out. Founder Michael Dell was rehired at Dell largely to deal with the emergence of the cloud, Saffo said, and Microsoft is just “stumbling.”

“It’s a rough transition for those used to selling keyboards,” he said.

While cloud computing offers convenience — Apple gives a user access to the same songs and files on up to 10 devices virtually anywhere — the technology could make personal data less secure, some analysts said. Most consumers already use the cloud, whether they know it or not, through Gmail, Facebook, the Kindle, or the photo-sharing Web site Flickr.

Chris Calabrese of the American Civil Liberties Union said privacy laws that apply to cloud computing are out of date. “It’s not like putting your data in a desk drawer,” he said. Although the government needs a judge’s order to seize a hard drive, a subpoena is often enough authority to obtain cloud data, he said.

Companies also have a lot of access to personal data. Amazon’s Kindle, an electronic book reader that relies on cloud computing, is “a microcosm of promise and perils of the cloud,” Saffo said.

“The company doesn’t just know what you read, but how long you spend on a particular page. The cloud knows more about you than you know,” he said. “Information we want to have lost will hang around a lot longer than we imagine.”

That’s not dissuading government agencies from embracing cloud computing. A recent report issued by the Office of Management and Budget said 25 agencies have listed 78 applications to move to the cloud within the year. Many agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department are moving services such as e-mail to the cloud, said Paul Garver, chief executive of Quest Software.

Not all of them have contingency plans. In a recent Quest Software survey, more than 90 percent of federal agencies that use the cloud in some capacity said they didn’t know how to remove their data if something went wrong.

The cloud is also susceptible to crashes. When Amazon’s cloud servers went down last month, multiple Web sites crashed, and in February, thousands of Gmail users temporarily lost e-mails after an outage.

But Dan Pitt, executive director of the Open Networking Foundation, a nonprofit that looks at cloud computing, hopes that problems will be ironed out.

“I think we’ll get there. Cloud computing is going to become ubiquitous. Even if consumers don’t know it,” he said.

Jobs touted the advantages of his firm’s cloud services over competitors. For one, Apple has sealed deals with several music companies, so customers can access songs on the cloud without having to upload their library. Apple’s offering is also free, unlike Amazon’s, which charges $50 for 50 gigabytes. Apple allows a maximum of five gigabytes, but doesn’t count songs, apps, photos and iBooks toward that limit.

For about $25 a year, Apple will allow users to access songs they own but were not purchased through iTunes.

Jobs said iCloud will run with iWork, its office suite, putting it in direct competition with Microsoft’s dominant Office Suite and Google’s suite of basic office Web applications.

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DNA computer can calculate square roots - Wee (blog)

DNA is as software, tell our make cellular and molecular what do - except it uses biochemical reactions rather than electronic circuits of computers, that we are accustomed.

Now, researchers have built the molecular computer greater, more sophisticated zero using DNA molecules - instead of computer chips.

Right now, thiscomputer DNAcan perform logic operations, such as calculating roots square for several hours.

But speed, however, is not Canada.

One day, these biochemical circuits may be injected into biological systems - such as living cells or blood samples - to monitor levels of chemicals. If this happens, they would be able to diagnose and treat diseases.

In fact, with the calculation in a cell may provide new ways of looking at disease using the terminology and the similar logic as Google search engine.

By these circuits of engineering, researchers can explore how the info is treated in biological systems and finally the design of biochemical pathways with decision making capabilities. Less powerful molecular computers have been around since the 1990s.

As a classical computer, the computer of the DNA uses logic gates that deal with signals received by simple rules. However, these doors are made of carefully designed DNA molecules, not Silicon. Input and output signals are also made of DNA, rather than of being electrical impulses, Nature News explains.

Caltech Lulu Qian and Erik Winfree designed their new circuit - made 74 single-strand DNA - to find the square root of numbers up to 15 and the Tower of the answer to the nearest whole number.

Different types of DNA strands represent 1 and 0, binary numbers used in standard digital circuits. They took advantage of the natural capacity of DNA of zip (when only two strands of bind DNA together complementary sites) and uncompress, explains Science News:

The basic design includes two types of synthetic DNA in a test tube: DNA molecules simple free floating as lone wolves and double strand those with a small notch of open DNA called an "openness." DNA single strand cruises solo until bumping in a pair of interlaced strands of DNA with a prominent consideration. The anchor of lone wolves on this salient by compression, possibly start off the coast of one of the two original components. After the compression and decompression are performed, a new molecule of double-stranded and single stranded lone wolf floating around the test tube.

In designing precisely these cascades of DNA, the team could spraying representing the 1001 in binary notation, or 9, in the mixture of molecules and isolate a binary response, once completed the reactions as a result. In this case, the answer to this question was a square root: binary 11, or 3.

(If I mixed too many metaphors or if it is still unclear, see the section of the "counting in binary" Wiki and then take a look at a chart of Ars Technica).

A set of 4 fluorescent colours was used to communicate binary response to two digits. For each digit of the answer, a single color would signal a 1? "while the other would signal"0"." Up to 130 different double-stranded molecules exist in the same test tube.

"If you can get chemistry to something as totally foreign as the calculation of the square root of a binary number to four digits," Winfree said, "then you can probably get it to do many other things too.

Teams are already applying the design to cheaper and more deployable detection of the disease means. Circuit biochemical to diagnose malaria, for example, calculates its response using chemical substances in the blood.

"We would like to make chemical systems that can probe their molecular environments, process chemical signals, make decisions and take action at chemical products level", says Winfree.

The study was published in Science last week.

Image: DNA molecules in the largest of its type synthetic circuit / Lulu Qian, Caltech

Janet Fang is a writer of contribution for SmartPlanet.

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Ordinateurs, non commerçants maintenant faire la grande majorité de Wall Street métiers (vidéo) - Huffington Post

Follow  Goldman Sachs,  Wall Street, 60 Minutes, New York Stock Exchange, SEC Chairman, Securities And Exchange Commission, High-Frequency Trading, Mary Shapiro, Ted Kaufman, Business News share this story Get Business AlertsSign UpSubmit this storydiggredditstumble

Computers are king, even on Wall Street.

Today, close to 70 percent of all the trades on Wall Street are conducted by high-frequency traders, or super-computers that can buy and sell stock faster than it takes for someone to blink, according to a segment airing on 60 Minutes on Sunday.

"Humans are not involved in the trading because humans are way too slow to trade on the kinds of opportunities that we're trying to capture," Tradeworx Chief Executive Manoj Narang says in the segment. "We're trying to capture opportunities that exist for only fractions of a second."

Defenders of high-frequency trading argue that the innovation helps the greater market by increasing both liquidity and volume, to the benefit not only the computer's operators but also long-term investors. Its detractors, on the other hand, say high-frequency trading acts as a form of insider trading that decreases confidence in the integrity of the system.

From the policy side, there are fears that high-frequency trading poses a threat to market stability. "What's the impact of that algorithm that has behaved in an unexpected way, on lots of other investors in the marketplace?" asks Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Shapiro.

The SEC's concern is well documented. After last month's flash crash, when the Dow Jones unexpectedly plummeted nearly 600 points and then rebounded within 15 minutes, the regulatory agency put much of the blame squarely on aggressive selling by a high-frequency trading computer.

Watch the 60 Minutes segment here:

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17 Year-old was arrested in thefts of laptops in public schools - New York Times

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Les ordinateurs ont été disparaître des écoles dans le Bronx et Manhattan à un rythme alarmant cette année. Soixante-dix-sept portables ont été volés à lui seule, une école 73 de l'école publique dans le Bronx, dans deux cambriolages séparés à la fin mai. Tout compte fait, plus de 100 ordinateurs ont été prélevés sur une demi-douzaine écoles.

Le lundi, la police a annoncé l'arrestation de 17 ans qui ils croient est à rapprocher les cambriolages. Les jeunes, Pedro Delacruz, a été arrêté le vendredi après un agent a approché et il a essayé de s'enfuir, la police a dit. Dans son sac de voyage, les autorités ont dit trouvé deux ordinateurs portables marqués comme la propriété du ministère de l'éducation de la ville, ainsi que le tournevis et autres outils qu'ils croient ont été utilisés dans les cambriolages, conformément à une plainte pénale. M. Delacruz a été inculpé de possession de biens volés et autres chefs d'accusation.

Peu de temps après son arrestation, m. Delacruz conduit la police à une unité de stockage où ils ont trouvé les portables Dell 21 appartenant au département de l'éducation, ainsi que les autres équipements volés, comme les postes de radio portatifs, appartenant à la ville, conformément à une seconde plainte pénale.

Malgré les accusations, il existe encore plus de 100 manquant des ordinateurs d'école portées disparues. La police croit que m. Delacruz faisait partie d'un anneau et que les autres membres restent au sens large.

Chauncy Young, un organisateur d'un groupe appelé les Parents Unie de Highbridge, dit beaucoup d'enfants à 73 P.S. n'avaient pas les ordinateurs dans leurs maisons et s'est appuyé sur ceux à l'école, dont un des parents a déclaré ont été achetés avec l'argent de la subvention.

Les cambriolages a également surpris les résidents locaux.

« Wow, » dit Alex Avat, qui dirige un centre informatique dans le bâtiment où m. Delacruz vit, non loin du P.S. 73. « C'est trop » dit-il, lorsque l'apprentissage que comme de nombreux 50 portables à la fois avaient été prises.

Une femme qui est venu à la porte à l'adresse du m. Delacruz lundi et identifiée comme sa sœur dit les autorités « n'ont la preuve » contre son frère. La femme, qui ne donnerait pas son nom, a également dit que pendant un mois au printemps, lorsque plusieurs d'entre les cambriolages s'est produits, son frère était en République dominicaine.

La femme a ajouté qu'elle croyait que son frère appartenant à seulement deux ordinateurs et qu'il avait acheté les deux utilisé.

Un garde de sécurité à l'école secondaire Cardinal Hayes dans le Bronx est venu à travers trois jeunes hommes durant une introduction par effraction en mars, a déclaré le président de l'école, Joseph Tierney, ajoutant que les trois intrus ont fui sans avoir volé quelque chose. La police croit qu'effraction faisait partie du plus grand patron.

« Ces portables sont comme des poissons dans un tonneau » pour les voleurs, dit un ancien détective de New York, Martin Davin, qui travaille maintenant pour une entreprise qui produit des logiciels pour suivre les portables volés. « Une fois qu'ils entendent sur leur venir à l'école, la planification de vol commence. »

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