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Archive for September, 2009

Web Designers Have New Translation Tool From Google

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Web designers have a lot of great tools at their disposal thanks to Google. Recently, Google added another tool to the menu. Language translation functionality can now be added to web pages allowing web visitors to have their home language auto-detected and translated from the source content. All a web designer will need to do is add a little bit of code to their pages for the tool to become available. The system will support fifty one languages.

language translation web design

Top: Source Google. Shows a page after translation using the service. This page was translated from English.

API code view for design

Above: Installing the tool will be simple and easy. Web designers and developers will be able to set some basic preferences and generate a code snippet to paste into their builds.

Microsoft Seeks To Block Counterfeit Windows From Receiving Auto Updates

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Microsoft’s Genuine Windows team has decided on a new approach to stop the distribution and use of counterfeit Windows copies. Microsoft will now block users of counterfeit Windows copies from receiving  security-oriented downloads like patches or defensive software. This decision did not come easy to the Microsoft team, as one possible outcome of this decision may aid the spread of viruses and malware.

Twitter Tests Long Awaited Social List Feature

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Users have long wanted a feature to group Twitter friends together for easy filtration. The feature will allow for the creation of both public and private filter lists. Users may even be able to subscribe directly to a list of a Twitter user. Lists promise to be a very interesting way to discover new accounts.

Developers will be able to use an API for the lists feature and invent new tools.

Social lists - web software

Got Short Links? Myspace Does

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

twitter-relationshipsMyspace has become the second most used link-shortening service on Twitter, just behind bit.ly. MySpace’s “lnk.ms” was used on 15.66 percent of all tweets containing links for the past 24 hours according to tracking service Tweetmeme.

One of the next details that will be sought from the activities of Myspace will be the number of users that are syncing with Twitter. Only last week did Myspace begin two-way syncing with Twitter.

Wireless Recharging Comes To A Laptop Near You

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Latitude Z by Dell - supports wireless charging batteryDell is not know for being an innovator for laptop engineering. It comes as an interesting surprise that Dell is releasing a new business laptop that has a feature not found on any other laptop in the market currently.

The Latitude Z, a very thin business notebook, charges wirelessly.

Now, this wireless charging isn’t as portable as your cell phone. There is an inductive pad that’s built into a laptop stand. The speed of the charge is good though. It can fully recharge in about the same time as a regular, wired laptop.

Apple Announces 2 Billion iPhone and iPod Touch Apps Downloaded

Monday, September 28th, 2009

iPhone iconsApple announces that 2 billion iPhone and iPod touch apps have been downloaded on the iTunes Store since the store launched on July 11, 2008.

The total number of apps for sale on the store is now 85,000.

Approximately 50 million iPhone and iPod Touches have been sold.

New Memory Chips Will Melt And Freeze Tiny Crystals

Monday, September 28th, 2009

crystal-memory-computer-chipsSamsung Electronics, South Korea, has begun production on a brand new type of memory chip for computers that will melt and freeze tiny crystals in a process called phase-change memory (PCM). These chips will store electronic information in a crystalline cell, which would allow machines to be turned on and off instantly because the PCM data stored in the crystals would be frozen in place.

This approach to computer memory will gain popularity because it’s counterpart, solid memory storage (like flash memory) becomes less stable at very tiny scales. PCM memory doesn’t rely on the charge of electrons. In recent experiments, PCM memory actually improves the smaller it becomes, because it’s speed is linked to the size of it’s crystals. In recent experiments these crystals could be engaged (from a off to on state — melt and refreeze the crystal ) in just 16 nanoseconds. This is far faster than existing technology.

Reference:
Nanosecond switching in GeTe phase change memory cells, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 043108 (2009); doi:10.1063/1.3191670

http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=APPLAB000095000004043108000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes

Windows 7 Launch Party Marketing A Flop

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Microsoft is hoping to get people to host Windows 7 launch parties in their own homes with family and friends. As Microsoft tries to build some hype about the Windows 7 launch scheduled for Oct. 22, they have released a series of videos to show how easy it can be to throw a Windows 7 launch party.

Microsoft Windows 7 launch partyAverage users and main stream media have been disgusted with Microsoft’s latest advertisements for Windows 7 launch parties. One Washington Post reader commented on the ads, saying “If Microsoft had been put in charge of marketing sex, the human race would have ended long ago, because no one would be caught dead doing something that uncool.” CNBC commented on the ads calling them yet another one of the company’s “campy viral campaign[s].”

In yet another wonderfully entertaining article, Charlie Brooker, a self-professed bigot against everything Mac, describes his horror at watching the series of marketing videos as a mix of “vertigo, disgust, anger and embarrassment,” which he dubbed “shitasmia.”

TheRegister.com called the events “bogus,” feeling that Microsoft is coming across as having to “bribe” users into a sense of prideful enthusiasm.

Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ

Google Chrome Frame May Speed Up Your Internet Explorer 8

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Google Chrome Frame Improves Explorer Google Chrome Frame is an open source plug-in that outfits the Internet Explorer browser with HTML 5 and other fantastic open web technologies.

Initial tests using Google’s Chrome Frame show that Internet Explorer 8 runs 9.6 times faster than without Google’s technology.

Google released a statement that Chrome Frame not only speeds up the notoriously slow browser but provides Internet Explorer users with HTML 5 support, which are both necessary for use with advanced Web applications.

To start using Google Chrome Frame all web developers / designers have to do is add a single tag:

<meta http-equiv=”X-UA-Compatible” content=”chrome=1″>

Once this tag is detected, it switches automatically to using Google Chrome’s ultra fast WebKit-based rendering engine.

ISP Emails Spreadsheet of Customer Login Info Accidentally

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

British ISP Demon Internet made a huge mistake by emailing a spreadsheet containing 3,600 customer private info including user names and passwords. The email containing the sensitive data was mailed to customers of its new ebilling system.

Police and NHS trusts were among the customers found in the spreadsheets.