Technology Effect

Cox Wireless Service Coming in March Cox Communications will launch its wireless service in March in three markets, starting out on Sprint Nextel's network while Cox works to build its own network. The provider of cable TV, broadband and fixed-line voice service announced in October 2008 it would add a mobile component to its offerings by building its own 3G (third-generation) wireless network. The service did launch in 2009 as planned, though only in three markets and on a test basis, using the Sprint infrastructure. Though other U.S. cable companies have had mobile offerings through partnerships, Cox surprised some industry observers by choosing the expensive and time-consuming approach of building its own infrastructure. That quest included buying its own wireless spectrum licenses. Rivals Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks are rolling out branded mobile data services using the Clearwire WiMax network, which they helped to fund. Cox is building its network usi...

Tech companies pitch in for Haiti relief The tech industry is opening up its wallets and its Web sites to help with earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. The moves come in the wake of the massive 7.0 earthquake that left much of Haiti's capital in ruins and millions in the already impoverished country without access to food, clean water, housing, and sanitation. Google has pledged $1 million and set up a special page for donations and added updated satellite imagery of the region to Google Maps. Microsoft has said it will give up to $1.25 million in cash and in-kind donations, as well as match employee contributions as part of its standard program that matches up to $12,000 per worker in donations each year. Apple has set up a donation mechanism within iTunes, while a campaign by the Red Cross and the cellular industry to raise money via text message donations has pulled in more than $4 million, according to a Verizon Wireless spokesman. The text message-based donations mark a major...

In a first, astronomers snatch distant planet's 'fingerprint' PARIS – Astronomers said they had made the first direct capture of a spectrum of light from a planet outside the Solar System, in what was a landmark in the search for extra-terrestrial life. The light was snared from a giant planet that orbits a bright young star called HR 8799 about 130 light years from Earth, the 14-nation European Southern Observatory (ESO) said in a press release. HR 8799 has a mass about one and a half times that of the Sun and hosts a planetary system "that resembles a scaled-up model of our own Solar System," it said. The target was the middle of three planets -- initially spotted in 2008 -- that are between seven and 10 times the mass of Jupiter. The finding is important, because a light spectrum is like a fingerprint, ESO said. Hidden within it are telltales of the chemical elements in the planet's atmosphere. "The result represents a milestone in the search for life...

Apple launches free MobileMe Gallery iPhone app Although you can already access MobileMe galleries from an iPhone simply by visiting their URLs, Apple’s new MobileMe Gallery seeks to make them faster and easier to access. The application is free and comes with a very respectable set of features. Not only can you visit your entire gallery (including password-protected and hidden albums) but you can also view photos and movies published by your friends, access previously-viewed photos even when you don’t have an Internet connection, and e-mail a link to any album from within the app itself. One of MobileMe users’ oft-mentioned complaints is that many of the service's Web apps can't be used on the iPhone and those that do have iPhone app equivalents don't always provide the full functionality. MobileMe Gallery, f or what it's worth, seems to be a genuine improvement over accessing the gallery via Safari: it's easy to find friends' galleries, pictures load snappily...

iPresentee releases Keynote 3D Stuff 3.0 iPresentee, developer of add-ons for Apple's iWork and iLife apps, has released Keynote 3D Stuff 3.0, a package of 3D images to be used with Apple's Keynote, iWeb, and Pages. The Keynote 3D Stuff collection includes 181 3D objects, including a large number of human silhouettes, office objects like pencils, computers, and file cabinets, household items like lamps and chairs, and other whimsical items. Version 3.0 adds 66 new 3D objects to the package, augmenting the 115 included from the previous release. The background of all Keynote 3D Stuff objects is transparent and can be used on any colored background. Within Apple's Keynote, iWeb, and Pages, these objects can be adjusted for size, orientation, and opacity, fitted with shadows, or even overlapped with one another to create extra effects. All Keynote 3D Stuff objects are designed in 3D. Each object is optimized for 1024-by-768-pixel presentations and for Pages documents or iWeb ...