Technology Effect

Microsoft and Nokia have announced that they are holding a joint event later this month in Cologne, Germany. The party is set for August 17 and promises “exciting actions and surprises” that will make it an evening to remember. Free food, free drinks, live act, and DJ, what else could you ask for? Well, maybe Nokia’s first Windows Phone Mango device? Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango update was recently released to manufacturing, which supports a rumored September launch of various Mango devices. A Fujitsu-Toshiba handset with Mango has already been officially revealed, but it’s set for a Japan-only release. Nokia’s Mango device, codenamed the “Sea Ray” was leaked in June when Nokia CEO Stephen Elop unveiled the handset in an internal meeting. The device appears near identical to the Nokia N9 that runs on the MeeGo OS, featuring a sleek button-less front-face covered with gorilla glass on a pillow-shaped body sporting an 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. Another vide...

Sony’s first entries into the tablet market are the codenamed S1 and S2 Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets. The company has already revealed them to the public with plenty of teaser videos and even a press preview, although most details on the tablets still remain a mystery. Today, however, some new information on these slates have emerged. According to CNET, a source familiar with the company’s plans for the S1 and S2 tablets, says that the duo will be available in both 16GB and 32GB models. The S1 tablet will have both a Wi-Fi-only model as well as a Wi-Fi and 3G model. The S2, however, will only come in a Wi-Fi and 3G capable model. Additionally, the source points out that the S1 will feature a 9.4-inch IPS display with TruBlack and Bravia display technologies as well as a full-sized SD card slot. And when probed about battery life, the source mentioned that the S1 is “comparable to the iPad 2.” Accessories such as a dock and at least one Bluetooth keyboard are planned f...

A screenshot of multimedia design program Adobe Edge as provided by Adobe Systems. (Adobe Systems) Adobe Systems released Edge — their HTML5 design tool — at midnight Monday. Edge is the most aggressive move yet by Adobe to establish a foothold among developers in the HTML5 arena. Edge is a motion and interaction design tool for visual web and interactive designers who want to use web standards to create animated Web content in HTML, CSS and java script. Edge works natively with Web standards, rather than working with a proprietary format, allowing designers to bring in an existing design and enhance it. Asked if Edge is a sign that Adobe is abandoning its multimedia platform, Flash, Adobe’s Web Segment Group Product Manager Devin Fernandez said that wasn’t the case, insisting the development of Edge is an addition to Adobe’s suite of multimedia design products — not a replacement. Fernandez cited Flash’s continued use in high-end video and data-driven a...

Miriam Salpeter If you have an ear to the online sphere, you know Google+, Google’s newest social platform, is all the rage. While Google+ is still in invitation-only mode, early results indicate it could be a keeper. The Wall Street Journal estimates Google+ had 20 million visitors in three weeks. (Google declines to comment, and leaders are cagey when asked for specifics.) Many early adopters are excitedly proclaiming the new network a replacement for everything from LinkedIn to Twitter to Facebook. No one knows how things will shake out in the social networking sphere, but there is no doubt Google+ heightens the importance of your Google profile. If you use Google for search and have a profile already, you may have noticed Google provides search results “from people you know.” Current Google search results may include links (even on page one) identified as being shared by your community, assuming your contacts sha...

Skype 5.5 for Windows was officially released Wednesday after being available in beta form, and the Internet calling software and the social network continue to become more intertwined. The update allows users to see which of their Facebook friends are online and instant-message with them via a Facebook Contacts tab, without leaving the application. Users can also perform Facebook tasks including status updates, commenting on posts, and liking posts directly via the Skype homepage. Skype 5.5 for Windows also features streamlined controls for video and group calls, a new call control toolbar with redesigned icons, easier saving of phone numbers in the section labeled “call phones,” and an improved graphics interface when calls are placed on hold. Readers, are you using Skype 5.5 for Windows yet?

Are apps a trend or are they here to stay? There has been plenty written and talked about regarding the so-called phenomenon of the app ecosystem. Developer conferences, trade shows, meet-ups and more have all popped up over the past few years as people have recognized the app economy and looked to capitalize on it. I believe apps are a vital part of the software ecosystem going forward, and here is why. The Role of Software If you look back at the history of computing all the way from the mainframe, mini, microcomputer, desktop, notebook etc it has always followed the same value chain. Hardware, software and then services. This evolution started with fragmented hardware which then became standardized. That was followed by the rise of software which was also standardized to a degree, but most importantly software was developed which took advantage of the standardized hardware. Lastly the value chain moved to services. Services were the glue that tied t...

Remember that 9mm 2.5-inch GoFlex external HDD that Seagate teased us with back at CES? You're looking at it. The company has just gone official with the newly christened GoFlex Slim, a performance-oriented, multifaceted drive that's slimmer than your mother's last smartphone. The final product will boast USB 3.0 support, a 7200RPM drive (ours was 320GB), a three-year warranty and a price tag that's still being determined. By the numbers, you're looking at a pocketable drive weighing 0.356 pounds and measuring 4.91- x 3.07- x 0.354-inches, but due to the GoFlex attachment on the bottom, you'll need the special SuperSpeed USB cable that Seagate includes in order to make contact. In our testing, it managed to transfer files at upwards of 40MB/sec when attached to a USB 3.0 system, which ain't half bad for a drive that's powered via USB and slimmer than a pencil. It'll hit US retailers on August 5th, and at just $99, you know you'll b...

For anyone grasping tightly onto an Android 1.6+ device , you’re once again being treated with yet another tasteful update for Google Maps. Naturally, Google’s highly prized mobile platform is getting in with the latest version of Google Maps – and with this one, it’s now version 5.3 . Although some people might not be all that into “checking in” to various places, like Foursqaure, Google is nonetheless attempting to get its users to get on board with this trend. Specifically, the new update features things like the ability to check in at home once you’ve set the location in Google Latitude, adding specific feedback to certain places when you rate them, and access to your very own location history dashboard. With the location dashboard, it actually breaks down the amount of time you’re at work, home, or elsewhere – thus giving you a detailed look at what you do on a weekly basis. Definitely more focused on Latitude aspects more than anything, hopefully it’ll get use...

With all the advancements in the mobile arena, many people claim that we have reached our limits. “What else is left to be done?” they ask, and the truth is, over the last few years, we have taken giant steps forward. Having said that, there is always room for more. The mobile space will continue to move forward at an increased rate, both in terms of enhancements to the technology we already have, and the introduction of new and exciting technologies. Of course, these new technologies will benefit first and foremost the end user when it comes to how they interact with their phones. There is, however, another realm in which new mobile advancements will change the world. Mobile advertising is already a booming industry and advertisers are now realizing that spending their resources on traditional marketing such as newspapers or billboards, might not be as effective as reaching audiences on their mobile devices. Mobile advertising is already advancing at an extreme pace and ne...

Like Google's web search, Twitter started off life doing one single thing and doing it very well. And, just like Google, it's kept adding subtle little enhancements along its way to becoming a mature internet tool. Today, its own famously simplistic search functionality has take a turn through the makeover booth and has emerged shinier, happier, and much smarter on the other side. No longer do you need to have, for example, the specific names of your favorite smartphone jailbreak artists, you just search for the general term and Twitter will do some actual searching for you instead of merely matching your query to usernames. You can even step up to an advanced search, where adding the ":)" and ":(" operators determines whether you'll get happy or downbeat tweets on the topic. Come to think of it, that is pretty advanced. Yo Google, where are your emoticon operators? ...

  Remember Gmail Motion, the new feature that lets you use body gestures to compose and send emails in Gmail? It was obviously an April Fools’ joke, but now it’s also real, courtesy of the folks from the Institute of Creative Technologies. The technology is jokingly dubbed SLOOW – Software Library Optimizing Obligatory Waving – and it uses a Microsoft Kinect camera to control Gmail. The same team used the technology, which is actually called Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST), to play World of Warcraft using only body motions in December 2010. Amazingly enough, it works pretty much as Google had intended: You can type text into Gmail by using body gestures, and send an email by “licking” the stamp and slapping it onto an imaginary envelope. Check out the video below for a demonstration.

email share email share   Maintaining an empty Gmail inbox should be classified as a superpower. It’s just not something that most humans can do. But the day when mere mortals master the task might be getting closer. ActiveInbox , a Gmail plugin five years in the making, launched a product this week that organizes emails into manageable projects and tasks. CEO Andy Mitchell based the product on David Allen’s “ Getting Things Done ” (GTD) productivity philosophy, which aims to “transform personal overwhelm and overload into an integrated system of stress-free productivity.” Its first iterations were hence named GTDGmail and (after a letter from Google’s legal team) GTDEmail. The first ActiveInbox product is a free plugin for Firefox and Chrome that adds a to-do list and project manager to the left sidebar of Gmail. Users can add items to the list using a task bar that appears at the top of each email. They can mark e-mails as “action,” “waiting on,” or “some day” and...

  Epsilon, the world’s largest permission-based email marketing services company that serves TiVo users and many more, reported a breach in its security Friday, and the list of companies affected keeps on growing. TiVo users had a rude awakening this morning, finding out the email address they’d given to TiVo as part of their account registration had been compromised. According to SecurityWeek , Epsilon is currently disclosing even more companies whose email marketing lists had been compromised. Noticing the problem first with grocery retailer Kroger, Epsilon continues releasing company names that were affected by the breach. Here’s the list gathered so far: Kroger TiVo US Bank JPMorgan Chase Capital One Citi McKinsey & Company Ritz-Carlton Rewards Marriott Rewards New York & Company Brookstone Walgreens The College Board (added 4/3 @8:20am) Home Shopping Network (HSN)(added 4/3 @10:22am) LL Bean (added 4/3 @1:20pm) Disney Destinati...

  A huge security breach has exposed the names and email addresses of customers of major brands, including Target, Best Buy, Walgreen’s, Capital One, and more. UPDATE: Apparently, a slew of hotel chain rewards programs have also been hit by the Epsilon breach; affected chains include Hilton, Red Roof Inn, Ritz-Carlton and Marriott. While most of these companies are understandably mum on how many customers might be at risk, it’s not inconceivable that millions of users’ information may have been accessed by an unauthorized party. Epsilon, a digital marketing firm that does a fair amount of email marketing, notified its clients Friday that “an unauthorized entry into Epsilon’s email system” had occurred. The firm stated at the time that the compromised data “was limited to email addresses and/or customer names only. A rigorous assessment determined that no other personal identifiable information associated with those names was at risk.” By yesterday, we knew the names of...

  Angry Birds fans can’t get enough of the bird-hurling application and game franchise from mobile developer Rovio. Angry Birds Rio , the latest iOS and Android edition of the game, features a theme based on the upcoming FOX animated motion picture Rio . The app saw ten million downloads in its first ten days after release. The milestone metric spans all free and paid versions available in the App Store [iTunes link], Android Marketplace and Amazon Appstore . The stat was first announced on Rovio’s Twitter account. The news is a flashy tidbit of information that demonstrates Rovio’s stronghold in the mobile gaming genre. Everything the company releases in the Angry Birds franchise is an instant hit, plush toys included. The impressive figure also demonstrates why investors were keen on forking over $42 million and could help lay the groundwork for a profitable IPO.