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T-Mobile Takes a Baby Step Toward 4G

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

T-Mobile on Wednesday said that it would offer the United States’ fastest 3G wireless network by upgrading its existing 3G service to High-Speed Packet Access Plus 3.5G technology. By the end of the year, T-Mobile expects to have HSPA+ deployed in more than 100 metropolitan areas reaching 185 million people. It also demonstrated the first netbook to run on its cellular data network, a Dell Inspiron Mini 10. T-Mobile launched its HSPA+ network service in Philadelphia last fall.

AbiWord: Like MS Word but Without the Junk

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Word processing is perhaps one of the most essential uses for a computer on any platform. The Linux OS offers more obscure word processors than other OSes; however, few of these apps offer users the staying power of AbiWord. The closest competitor to AbiWord is OpenOffice Writer, and AbiWord, like many other word processing apps in Linux, lacks a fully developed suite of programs such as spreadsheet and presentation apps that rival the functionality of OpenOffice. Still, it excels at processing words and is far ahead of other Linux writing tools.

Nanobots Flip Off Cancer Switch in Cells

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:56:43 +0000

There is now proof that a Nobel Prize-winning technology can deliver targeted therapy directly to cancer tumor cells, say a team of California Institute of Technology researchers led by Mark Davis, who published their findings in Nature. Their clinical trial showed that a specialized polymer nanoparticle injected into patients’ bloodstreams did indeed carry a genetic off-switch message to cancer cells, rendering their proteins unable to replicate.

Who’s the Boss in Cloud Land?

admin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Cloud computing — certainly a hot topic at the RSA conference held earlier this month in San Francisco — is in some ways being eclipsed by security and accountability concerns. Who owns the data? Who is answerable if the cloud fails? Who is responsible if a virtual machine holding data from a company under strict governance is parked next to one that is unregulated on the same physical server? Why does it seem so easy for hackers to attack data that’s online, and if a corporation’s data is in a cloud that’s hacked, who has to stand up and take the licking?

Living in a Constant State of Red-Alert Security

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Literally every day at Betanews, we get at least one security vendor “alert” of some type, warning us to be on the lookout for the latest malware. The message is always the same: Advise users to stay vigilant, to keep patching, to upgrade their antivirus to the latest editions. However, the profiles of the malware typically look the same, too — stuff you might click on by accident, links pretending to be from your “best friend” in an e-mail message, ads for products that look too good to be true.

‘Street Fighter IV’ on iPhone: Loud, Dumb and Fun as Ever

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

I can’t bring myself to download a first-person shooter game on my iPhone anymore, just because I know I’ll get sick of it before the third level. Its icon will sit there on the screen, its data will languish on the drive. Delete it? Can’t. Might get stuck in an elevator, beat all the games I actually like, and have nothing left to do but count the minutes. Nothing against the companies that make these things; I just can’t abide any game in that genre that won’t let you touch physical buttons.

Mobile App Devs and the Quest for Cash

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Everyone seems to be getting into the mobile app game — but is anyone actually making any money doing it? The consensus is yes — but there is more than one way to make money. Alexander Bartfeld took a hard look at the market before launching his software development company six months ago. Everyone was trying to make money off the Internet, he said. Instead, the developers making money were the ones that realized the Web is a tool to draw customers to existing offerings and improve productivity.

Encryption: Why Stop With Laptops?

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Over the past few years, it seems like there’s one technology that almost everyone is deploying: laptop encryption. All over the industry, in nearly every vertical, it seems like everybody has either just deployed, is deploying, or is about to deploy some type of encryption technology to protect laptop data. When you think about it, it really isn’t all that much of a surprise — the technology is ubiquitous and low-cost, and the rollout can be done piecemeal at a pace comfortable for each individual organization.

Why Keeping the Bar Low May Be Good for Google

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

The Google model survived the dot-com mess but its success seems based largely on the belief that advertising can fund everything. If the users are unhappy, well it doesn’t really matter. In fact, Google’s customers (the folks paying them money) and the folks they actually serve are quiet different, causing me to question the viability of many of their non-search efforts. Often we look at Microsoft’s struggle to expand out of Windows and Office and find the result troubling, but if we look at Google’s attempts to expand out of search, they have been pretty much pathetic.

North Korea’s ‘Red Star’ Linux, and Is FOSS an Enemy of the State?

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

If a totalitarian regime uses Linux, does that mean Linux is an enemy of the state? That’s the mind-bending question of the day following some politically charged Linuxy news that emerged over the past few weeks. North Korea, it appears, has developed its own Linux-based operating system. With a strong similarity to the Windows user interface, Red Star even comes with a Readme file including quotes from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il about how important it is for the republic “to have its own Linux-based operating system compatible with Korean traditions.”

Data Storage: It’s Time to Grow Up

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Today’s data-storage customer has lost his voice in a sea of vendor jockeying and positioning. This glut of vendors creates a noisy industry and a crowded marketplace, where all vendors sound the same and marketing materials are nearly indistinguishable from vendor to vendor. Directly because of this confusion, many data storage customers have chosen to stick with practices that they are familiar with, regardless of whether those behaviors prove detrimental to their storage environment.

FCC Testing Tool May Out ISPs’ Bogus Speed Claims

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:27:59 +0000

The FCC unveiled a set of digital tools for consumers Friday to figure out the state of national broadband service in the United States. One tool, the Consumer Broadband Test, measures broadband service speed and latency and is available in online fixed and mobile app versions. The other is the Broadband Dead Zone Report. “The FCC’s new digital tools will arm users with real-time information about their broadband connection and the agency with useful data about service across the country,” FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said.

Old Dogs, a Straying Audience and New Media Tricks

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Census Bureau has started mailing out its forms, so I would like to take this opportunity to announce a new demographic category for those of us who will be writing “journalist” in the “occupation” box: Old New Media Dogs. T-shirts and business cards are forthcoming. I’ve spent the last week attending a couple of conferences and speaking to a university class as a proud member of this cohort, and it’s been encouraging to see a few other ONMDs in the audiences.

Verizon Tips Its 4G Handset Hand

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:50:46 +0000

Verizon will have the first handset running on its Long-Term Evolution 4G network by the middle of next year — about six months ahead of schedule — according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The development of LTE means faster cellular data transfers than the 3G networks now in widespread use by U.S. carriers, though exactly when LTE will become common has long been a source of uncertainty. “Reports have had LTE available by 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and nobody was quite sure when,” Chris Nicoll, a research fellow at the Yankee Group, told TechNewsWorld.

Ubuntu Dumps the Brown

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Color is not typically a topic of much discussion on the Linux blogs, but in recent weeks, it’s been drawing a lot of attention. Why, you ask? Simple: Ubuntu recently announced a major change to its longstanding “Human” earthtone-palette theme and branding. “I don’t know whether to call it ‘poo brown’ or ‘dirt brown,’ but either way it is seriously awful,” said Slashdot blogger hairyfeet. The new theme is meant to focus on the concept of “Light,” and it uses primarily hues in the dark purple and orange ranges.

Vlingo Faces Off With the Dragon: A Speech-to-Text Smackdown

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

When Apple enabled in-app purchases for iPhone applications, it seemed as though the days of “free” and “paid” versions of any given app were coming to an end. Soon, I thought, everything in the store would start out free as a teaser and then charge for an upgrade. That hasn’t exactly panned out universally, but Vlingo’s new voice application does charge in the way I thought all apps would charge by now. You can download it for free, but getting to the premium features costs $10. Vlingo is a speech-to-text app that can use that text in any of six general ways.

Google Maps Out Happy Trails for Bicycle Riders

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:46:06 +0000

In a move sure to make the grade with cyclists across the United States, Google on Wednesday added bicycle routes to its Google Maps service. Biking directions and extensive bike trail data are now available for the United States through Google Maps, giving cyclists nationwide a way to customize their trips, figure out the most efficient routes, make use of bike lanes and avoid big hills. More than 12,000 miles of trails are now included in biking directions and outlined directly on maps through the service thanks to a partnership with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Perceived Security vs. Real Vulnerability: Is Your Data at Risk?

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

With global organizations depending on the sharing of sensitive information to support everything from financial transactions to patient care records, many believe they are relying on secure methods to exchange data with trusted partners. However, there is often a significant and alarming gap between perceived security and real vulnerability. To handle transmission of valuable company data, typical methods that are considered secure include FTP technology, “secure email,” regular email, courier services and the postal service.

Valve Opens Pipeline for Mac Gaming

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:09:58 +0000

Valve one of the largest distributors of online games, has announced that it will make its Steam online gaming service and proprietary gaming engine, Source, available on the Mac. The service, Steamworks for the Mac, comes equipped with Steam Play, a feature that allows play on either a PC or Mac at no additional charge. It also supports Steamworks APIs. The inclusion of WebKit into Steam and of OpenGL into Source gives the company a lot of flexibility, according to John Cook, director of Steam Development.

Security and Privacy? Forget About It

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:32:20 +0000

As the Obama administration grapples with the thorny issue of beefing up the United States’ cybersecurity infrastructure, and as security experts warn of impending cyberwarfare, a debate is raging over how much surveillance is enough. One of the biggest problems about implementing cybersecurity is that it involves a measure of surveillance, and the line between surveillance and snooping is razor thin. Thin enough, in fact, that Einstein 3 has aroused privacy concerns because it can examine the content of email.

Software Blog » classifieds

T-Mobile Takes a Baby Step Toward 4G

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AbiWord: Like MS Word but Without the Junk

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‘Street Fighter IV’ on iPhone: Loud, Dumb and Fun as Ever

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Mobile App Devs and the Quest for Cash

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Encryption: Why Stop With Laptops?

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