AT&T expands into wireless home security, automation

·        AT&T is joining the expanding field of home security and automation, introducing a wireless service that will let homeowners use their mobile devices to remotely set alarms, turn on lights or even shut off water.

·        Called AT&T Digital Life.

·        It will run on AT&T's IP-based wireless platform and can be accessed via smart phones, tablets or PCs.

·        And despite being from AT&T, it will work regardless of the user's wireless carrier.

·        Suppose to begin trials for it this summer.

·        Companies are starting to take advantage of people’s reliability on mobile devices.

 

Tech Article 5/4

Pebble

• Works with iPhone & Android phones
• Similar to bluetooth headset, but it’s a watch
• Unlocks some information on your phone and shows it on your watch
• For example, you could use the watch when you’re biking by using an app that records your distance.

Video!

Tech Article 4/20

Computer monitor uses sensor to promote better posture

·        Philips ErgoSensor Monitor, a desktop display that keeps an eye on one's posture.

·        The 24-inch LCD monitor uses a built-in CMOS sensor to determine your distance from the screen and your neck angle while sitting.

·        The monitor works with software made by DigitalOptics Corporation, and, like a worried mother, will remind you to straighten your back, keep your distance from the display, and take breaks from sitting at the computer.

·        According to Philips, the sensor measures your inter-pupillary distance -- the distance two pupils -- to determine whether you're sitting at an optimal distance from the monitor.

·     Philips ErgoSensor monitor is not in action yet.

 

tech article 3/16

Crowds Storm Stored For Apple's Next iPad

• It's official: the new iPad has landed in the U.S. 

• Apple stores started opening in the U.S. at 8 a.m. local time, giving eager consumers first dibs on the company's highly-anticipated third-generation tablet. 

• As for the iPad's U.S. release, don't expect every person to flash smiles at Apple stores. The Los Angeles Times reports dozens of protesters are expected to show up at locations in New York, San Francisco and Washington to "bring attention to concerns about the welfare of the Chinese factory workers who churn out the devices to satisfy a growing global demand." 

Tech Article 3/9

Fun With Google Maps

·      Google maps= Internet’s most interactive map

·      To heaven, hell, & back- type in driving directions from Fenton to the fates of heaven & Google will direct you to the gates of Heaven Funeral Home in Detroit. Type in Hell & you’ll get directions to Hell, Mich. Ask for greatest place on earth, it will point you towards Disney.

·      Lord of the Rings lore- Type walking directions starting at The Shire with a destination at Mordor & Google will warn “Use caution- one does not simply walk to Mordor.”

·      Osama Bin Laden’s Hideout Compound- Type this into search bar & you’ll be brought to Pakistan, complete with pictures of the Bin Laden compound.

·      Shipwrecked- a cargo ship that sank in the Wingate Reef lies on its side off the coast of Sudan. S.S. Jassim is one of the largest shipwrecks on Google maps. To see it, type the coordinates: 19 38’45.99”N 37 17’42.17.E

Tech Article 3/2

Microsoft plans Windows 8 ARM presentation at Mobile World Congress

·       The biggest addition out of the many new features in Windows 8 is its new ARM-based flavor, called Windows 8 WOA.

·       They planned a showcase event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

·       Running on the smaller, more efficient ARM platform

·       With Windows 8 scheduled for a retail release this fall and the company committed to releasing WOA at the same time, development is coming down to the wire

·       Microsoft has already stated that it has partnered with chip makers Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, & Nvidia to make reference designs available to manufacturers, who will sell Windows 8 ARM laptops and tablets as consumer electronics appliances (like smartphones) not traditional PCs

Tech Article 2/17

Apple's iPads harder to find in China

·      Amazon, which was selling the iPad through resellers, is not an authorized reseller

·      Government officials have seized dozens of the devices off retail shelves on the mainland amid a contentious trademark battle Apple is facing over the iPad name, China's state-run media reports

·      Proview has also asked mainland officials to ban Apple's import and export of the iPad.

·      If sales of Apple's iPads are banned in China, the company could lose at least $1.4 billion in annual sales.

Tech Article 2/10

5 Tech Tools for the Super Bowl

·     Official mobile app

o   The NFL has rolled out an app for the big game for both Apple & Android devices.

·     Apps for the all-important commercials

o    "Super Ads: Super Bowl Commercials" and "A+ Super Bowl Commercials" had supposedly has amazing commercials.

·      Google's Game Day

o    "Game Day With Google” where users can write about their Super Bowl Sunday.

·     Twitter

·     Large TV

Tech Article 1/20/12

The opposite of evil: Google named best place to work in America

·    The search giant on Thursday was named by Fortune magazine as the best place to work in America.

·    Google capped a year when it hired about 7,000 people

·    Ranging from the new 40,000 square-foot park that the company built for its employees at its Mountain View headquarters last year, to the fleet of electric Chevy Volts and Nissan Leafs that Googlers can check out for free to run errands at lunch time.

·    The search giant says it won the Best Place to Work title not because it focuses on perks, but because it focuses on people.

·    18-week maternity leaves at 100 percent pay

Tech Article 1/13/12

Sony Shows Off Radical New “Crystal” LED TV

·    There are LCD TVs that are called "LED TVs" because they use light-emitting diodes to back light the LCD screen.

·       The Times Square Jumbotron  produces a picture by lighting up an array of red, green and blue lights, in combinations of brightness, in order to fool your eyes into seeing all the different colors of the visible spectrum

o      This is the same thing but smaller.

·       This TV doesn't have a separate light source, so it can theoretically be thinner.

·       Because each pixel can turn off when it's not needed, the black levels can be truly black, and respond faster than LCD when they are.

·       Because of the way the system uses the red, green and blue lights to create colors, Sony says it has achieved the ability to make more colors, increasing the "color gamut."

·       This is just a prototype.

 

Report: Android Market Hits 400,000 Apps

·     Google's Android Market reportedly skated past the 400,000 app mark last weekend.

·        According to app store tracker Distimo, the growth in the Android Market was driven chiefly by free apps, which comprised 68 percent of the available applications in the store by the end of 2011, up from 60% from last April. 

·        He numbers have not been confirmed by Google. However, last month Google announced that customers have downloaded more than 10 billion apps from the Android Market, an increase from 1 billion in July 2010.

·        Apple's App Store reached 400,000 apps in June 2011. However, the caveat here is that iOS apps must pass a strict approval process before they're allowed in, while developers are free to upload their apps to the Android Market directly. 

·        Launched in October 2008, the Android Market also now boasts more than 100,000 active publishers, Distimo added.

Organizing Information

     I organize my computer based on very specific things because I am constantly making new documents for projects. First, I have a different folder for each class. Inside that folder, I have a folder for each marking period. In those folders are the documents that I have created. For pictures, I have a folder for each event. If there are a bunch of pictures I used for a project, such as for a project for iMovie, the pictures get saved in the folder for that subject, but in a separate folder containing only those pictures. Music for used for that project on iMovie is saved in a different playlist on iTunes. Basically, my organization technique is creating folders within folders. Instead of a hierarchical system, I organize the documents by their name (alphabetical order). This organization process makes it faster and easier to find certain things.

Tagging something or a certain word means more weight is given to those words when searched. It is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a certain piece of information, such as a digital image or internet bookmark. This makes it easier to find things. Tagging is a great way to organize. An example of tagging is when Facebook users tag their friends in pictures. Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, and search for bookmarks of online resources.

Tech Article 12/16

Almost 1/2 of US Mobiles are now Smartphones

• 64 percent of 25– 34-year-olds and 53 percent of 18– 24-year-olds now own smartphones. 
• 49 percent say they frequently use their smartphones while shopping.
•  Teens ages 13 to 17 send/receive the most texts (average of 3417/month).
•  Number of messages sent by those 55+ has more than doubled compared to 2009.
• Social networking is increasingly popular on mobile devices: Android smartphones and iPhone users spend more time on Facebook on their phones than any other mobile application.