Technology archive for 2011-06-10

Nothing like a little software update to get the weekend started right... right? Just days after Samsung shipped the first consumer units of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 (you can find our review here), the Android 3.1 update that first struck Motorola's Xoom is now gracing the Limited Edition models that were handed out at Google I/O 2011. We've confirmed here at Engadget HQ that the update is indeed percolating, with Americans needing to simply register with Samsung (select "UK" in the options list, it's cool) and proceed to the Software Update within the Settings pane. If you've applied the update, let us know how things went in comments below; if you ran into any issues, give those More Coverage links a look. Either way: lucky![Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition gets Android 3.1 update, that much cooler originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:Cafepress IPO Filing Gives A Glimpse At A Crowdsourced Business Model  —  Another day, another tech company is filing for a public offering.  This time it's Cafepress, which allows users to design, buy and sell merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, bags, mugs, bumper stickers and more.

By now, CIOs everywhere have felt at least a little pressure to bring new-fangled tablets to the enterprise: Apple iPads, BlackBerry PlayBooks, even Android machines. But many claim security on tablets remains woefully immature--or is it?

If you've installed Snow Leopard's Security Update 2011-003, you have the benefit of Apple's protection against various malware attacks, most notably the recent Mac Defender Trojan Horse variants. This protection will locate and, in some cases, delete malware that shows up on your drive.

Google has issued a stern warning to Web publishers that carry its ads after noticing that some of them are improperly altering ad formats, behavior and targeting.

U.S. tech hiring for the second half of 2011 will increase as the gradually improving economy results in companies updating their IT systems after scaling back during the recession, according to a hiring survey from technology job website Dice.com.

tripleevenfall sends in a PCMag story about how Microsoft's problems in driving Windows Phone 7 adoption stem in part from how the phones are represented to customers in carriers' stores. Quoting:"At AT&T, the salesperson was a recent iPhone to Android convert. She was enthusiastic about WP7 devices, saying that Netflix was on WP7 and not available on her Android, and looked embarrassed when she walked me over to AT&T's unkempt WP7 display shelf. ... At a Verizon reseller kiosk, a salesman clearly tried to deter me from buying a WP7 device altogether. Not only did not he appear to know the fundamental difference between Windows Mobile and WP7, his kiosk didn't even offer WP7 devices and said you'd only find WP7 demo products at a few of Verizon's big retail stores. 'Honestly, only 1 out of 500 customers comes in here asking for a Windows phone,' he said. 'Verizon won't roll them out to kiosks until it performs better on the market.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Brad McCarty / The Next Web:Apple sued by iCloud Communications over iCloud trademark  —  Well that didn't take long.  In a suit filed yesterday in the US Disctrict Court in Arizona, a company named iCloud Communications, LLC has claimed trademark infringements against Apple over the use of the name iCloud.

This got a bit lost amid all the WWDC 2011 hubbub earlier this week, but Apple quietly delivered a bit of bad news to steadfast Windows XP users with its iCloud announcement. Unlike its MobileMe service and recent versions of iTunes, which have somewhat surprisingly supported Windows XP all this time, use of Apple's iCloud service on a PC will require either Windows Vista or Windows 7. Of course, XP users shouldn't feel too bad about being left behind -- as TUAW notes, Apple's only extended support for the Mac version of iTunes 10.3 back to OS X 10.5, which was just released in 2007 (when Windows XP was already starting to tell other upstart operating systems to get off its lawn).[Thanks, Stephen]Windows XP users will finally need to upgrade to enter the iCloud originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  TUAW  | Email this | Comments

itwbennett writes "Now in its second day of productivity destruction, Google's Guitar Doodle is still making music, beautiful music. Here's a roundup of some of YouTube's best, from beginner favorite Seven Nation Army to an ambitious version of Paint it Black, and, yes, Stairway to Heaven." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:Apple slams Amazon's Android e-store as ‘inferior’  —  In legal clash, also calls out Android security gaffes, including malicious apps infiltrating Google's download center  —  Computerworld - Apple this week called Amazon's Appstore for Android “inferior” as it urged a federal court …

Each year Apple gives away gray, cubic statues for excellence in iOS and Mac OS X app design and development. Here are your 2011 ADA winners:

Zothecula writes "Adventurous motorcyclists might be familiar with the thrill of getting airborne at the top of a rise, but the Hoverbike is set to take catching some air to a whole new level. With a 1170 cc 4-stroke engine delivering 80 kW driving two ducted propellers, the inventor of the Hoverbike, Chris Malloy, says with its high thrust to weight ratio, the Hoverbike should be able to reach an estimated height of more than 10,000 feet and reach an indicated airspeed of 150 knots (278 km/h or 173 mph). At the moment these are only theoretical figures as the Hoverbike hasn't been put through its paces yet, but Malloy has constructed a prototype Hoverbike and plans to conduct real world flight tests in a couple of months." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Erin Lindsay / White House Blog:What Our Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers Told Us  —  Over the past few months, we've been working to improve the White House's social media presence to provide our Facebook fans and Twitter followers with timely, relevant and interesting updates about what's happening at the White House and around the Administration.

Congratulations Tennessee! Governor Bill Haslam, has put your state in the national spotlight and, for once, it has nothing to do with Bonnaroo or how bad the Titans are. The republican executive of the state signed a ban on "distressing images" into law last week that we're sure constitutional lawyers are going to have a field day with. Anyone who sends or posts an image online (and yes, that includes TwitPics) that they "reasonably should know" would "cause emotional distress" could face several months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. The best part? Anyone who stumbles across the image is a viable "victim" under the law and the government doesn't even have to prove any harmful intent. So, Tennessee residents who aren't cautious enough using Google image search could get a few people in trouble. Another, and perhaps more perturbing, part of the same bill also seeks to circumvent restrictions on obtaining private messages and information from social networking sites without a search warrant. We give it about a month before this gets struck down on obvious grounds that it's unconstitutional.Tennessee law bans 'distressing images,' opens your Facebook inbox originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Techdirt, Ars Technica  | Email this | Comments

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:Spotify Signs Universal Music, May Really Get to the U.S., After All  —  Spotify has signed an American distribution deal with Universal Music Group, the world's largest music label.  The pact means that the streaming music company now has U.S. deals in place with three of the four largest labels …

Apple has asked that it be allowed to intervene in a patent lawsuit brought by Lodsys against seven small independent iOS application developers.

In a week where Apple was giving developers an up-close look at the next versions of Mac OS and iOS at its Worldwide Developer Conference, the company also offered something more immediate for iMac users--a firmware update aimed at fixing a waking problem affecting some desktops.

An instructional DVD company will pay $250,000 to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for allegedly fake reviews posted by affiliates.

Google Chromebooks can now to be pre-ordered at Amazon.com and BestBuy. Expected ship date: June 15.

When building a critical iPad app in-house, follow these four tips.

Implementing business analytics has risen to the top of midmarket CIOs' to-do lists, according to a new IBM study announced Friday during an event in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Cisco is now facing a second lawsuit alleging that the company's technology and training aided in identifying and monitoring Chinese dissidents.

Office 365 beta suffering some nagging issues a few weeks before the service is likely to go live.

The Nokia X7 is getting some promotional help from Transformers Optimus Prime and Starscream in a press conference in Hong Kong.

sciencehabit writes "In the ponds of northern Europe lives a tiny brown spider with a bubble on its back. The 10-millimeter-long Argyroneta aquatica is the only spider in the world that spends its entire life underwater. But just like land spiders, it needs oxygen to breathe. So every so often, it leaves its underwater web home to visit the surface and brings back a bubble of air that sticks to its hairy abdomen. It deposits the bubble into a little silk air tank spun for the purpose. This 'diving bell,' researchers have now found, is not just a repository. It's actually a gill that sucks oxygen from the water, allowing the spider to stay under for up to 24 hours." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A recent system update on my Android phone led me to stick with the stock interface and not customize things so much. This led me to realize that the Android 'fiddling ratio' is extremely high.

John Markoff / New York Times:I.B.M. Researchers Create High-Speed Graphene Circuits  —  I.B.M. researchers said Thursday that they had designed high-speed circuits from graphene, an ultra-thin material that has a host of promising applications from high-bandwidth communication to a new generation of low-cost smartphone and television displays.

Kevin Kelleher / Fortune:The checkered past of Groupon's chairman  —  Groupon's largest shareholder and chairman, Eric Lefkofsky, has a back story investors might want to know.  FORTUNE — “Lets start having fun... lets get funky... let's announce everything... let's be WILDLY positive in our forecasts …

gupg writes "When China built the world's fastest supercomputer based on NVIDIA GPUs last year, a lot of naysayers said this was just a stunt machine. Well, guess what — here comes the science! They are working on better material for solar panels and they ran the world's fastest simulation ever. NVIDIA (whose GPUs accelerate these applications as a co-processor) blogged on this a while ago, where they talk about how the US really needs to up its investment in high performance computing." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

We're only a fortnight away from Sprint's launch of the HTC EVO View 4G, and we were beginning to wonder if we'd see the WiMax tablet wander into Washington, DC anytime soon. Today is the day, friends, as we just dug up some test reports for the HTC PG41200 tablet with WiMAX support. While the documents don't offer up any more juicy details, we won't have to wait terribly long before we can fork over $400 for the privilege of holding this baby in our own hands. Head past the break for more imagery.Continue reading HTC EVO View 4G tries to sneak through FCC, gets caughtHTC EVO View 4G tries to sneak through FCC, gets caught originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  FCC  | Email this | Comments

Brian Heater / Engadget:MOTOBLUR name phased out due to public feedback  —  The first rule of MOTOBLUR is do not talk about MOTOBLUR.  Not in public at least.  We got a bit of a mixed message on the matter, while discussing the newly announced Motorola Photon 4G with the company.

Microsoft is looking to make the user interface on its Windows Phones, Windows 8 PCs/tablets and Xbox console more similar in appearance. But it seems Microsoft's plan goes beyond the user...

Here's something not too surprising: T-Mobile is touting the benefits of its merger with AT&T to the Federal Communications Commission.

Like Apple or not, it has been an amazing transformation from a struggling has-been to the one of the world's richest companies. See how much you know.

Facebook's newly rolled out 'Happening Now' feature contains a major friend-permissions bug, according to some users.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- words Panasonic has clearly taken to heart with the Toughbook 19. It's time for the rugged, 10-inch convertible tablet to get its annual refresh and not much has changed visibly. Instead, the company gave its internals a boost with some Sandy Bridge goodness and slapped a new TransflectivePlus screen in this military-grade machine for computing in direct sunlight. Impressively, the Core i5 found inside is not of the ULV variety, it's a standard voltage 2520m powering this completely sealed, fanless design. Additionally, the Toughbook 19 now comes standard with 4GB of RAM and has a pair of SSD options for added durability. You'll be able to pick one up, and use it as a frisbee, in September starting at $3,349. While you wait, feel free to check out the PR after the break.Continue reading Panasonic Toughbook 19 scores upgraded internals to match its mighty shellPanasonic Toughbook 19 scores upgraded internals to match its mighty shell originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Hugo Miller / Bloomberg:RIM Shareholder Calls for Separation of Chairman, CEO Roles  —  A Research In Motion Ltd. shareholder called for the company to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive officer and to name an independent board member to the chairman's post.  —  Northwest & Ethical Investments LP …

suraj.sun sends this excerpt from Ars Technica:"If you pull out your cell phone to make a video of police officers arresting a suspect, are you 'secretly recording' them? 'No' seems like the obvious answer, but that's precisely the claim that three police officers made to justify their arrest of a Boston man. In arguments before the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Wednesday, the city also denied the man's claim that his First or Fourth Amendment rights had been violated. The case will be an important test of whether the Constitution protects individuals' right to record the police while they are on duty. Many states have 'one-party notification' wiretapping laws that allow any party to a conversation to secretly record it. But under the strict 'two-party notification' laws in Massachusetts, it's a crime to 'secretly record' audio communications unless 'all parties to such communication' have given their consent. The police arrested Glik for breaking this law. For good measure, they also charged Glik—who did no more than stand a few feet away with his cell phone—with 'aiding the escape of a prisoner' and 'disturbing the peace.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Robin Wauters / CrunchGear:RIM: BlackBerry PlayBook Hitting 16 Additional Markets Over The Next 30 Days  —  BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) this morning announced intentions to debut the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in an additional 16 markets over the next 30 days, including the UK, Hong Kong, France, India, Spain and Australia.

TORONTO (Reuters) - An investor in Research In Motion has pushed for a shareholder vote on whether Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie should retain shared roles as chairmen of the board and chief executives at the BlackBerry maker.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU countries agreed on Friday on tougher sanctions against people conducting cyber attacks such as those registered in recent weeks against the French government, European institutions and Citigroup.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Online radio company Pandora Media Inc raised the proposed value of its initial public offering by almost 50 percent, hoping to catch the investor fever that has taken Internet companies such as LinkedIn to new heights.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Online radio company Pandora Media Inc raised the proposed value of its initial public offering by almost 50 percent, hoping to catch the investor fever that has taken Internet companies such as LinkedIn to new heights.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU countries agreed on Friday on tougher sanctions against people conducting cyber attacks such as those registered in recent weeks against the French government, European institutions and Citigroup.

Tom Brewster / IT PRO:Anonymous warns of Spain arrest revenge  —  Anonymous warns of Spain arrest revenge  —  Spanish police arrest three men suspected of being involved in the Anonymous hacking group, which has told the world to expect a response.  —  Anonymous has warned about repercussions following arrests …

Tom Warren / WinRumors:Microsoft reveals Xbox LIVE will be built into Windows 8 … Microsoft has revealed that its Xbox LIVE service will be built into PCs in the future.  —  Mike Delman, Microsoft's vice president of global marketing in the interactive entertainment business unit, revealed the company's plans in an interview this week.

An anonymous reader writes "Nintendo's recent update for the 3DS brought some interesting new features, including something the company may not have intended: the capacity for homebrew coders to create their own software on the platform." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Shadow group claims to have hacked Sony PlayStation networks, credit card databases, government websites.