Computing – Page 28

Flash 10.1 Update announced for (almost) everything

October 5, 2009 Doug Groves Adobe, Android, Flash, ION, OMAP4, Palm Pre, Snapdragon, Symbian, tegra, Windows Mobile3 Comments

As the above video demonstrates, it looks like hardware acceleration for Flash video and websites is finally about to become a reality. Adobe announced this week that the Flash 10.1 beta will support a number of mobile platforms, including Nvidia’s ION and Tegra chipsets as well as OMAP4 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor. The ION GPU provides advanced graphics for low powered and low cost devices such as netbooks and small form factor PCs like the Acer Aspire Revo and ASRock ION 330. Both the Tegra and Snapdragon are high powered…

Microsoft Security Essentials: Worth The Price And Then Some

September 30, 2009October 2, 2009 Doug Groves anti virus, Microsoft, Security Essentials1 Comment

I’ll be the first to admit that I hate anti-virus software so much, I never use it, except in test cases. I’ll also admit that I would NEVER recommend anyone NOT run anti-virus on their PC. Part of the reason I don’t run it is anti-virus is that historically it’s interfered with specialized software I use at work in post-production. The other part is that I generally don’t tread on the dangerous side of the internet. To put aside fears of being infected, I do run regular system scans with…

Network Outage

September 30, 2009September 30, 2009 Doug Groves 1 Comment

Just wanted to send out an apology to our readers about the down time today. Our ISP had a major networking issue which kept the site offline for about 6 hours.

The Canadian Broadband Wars Heat Up

September 24, 2009September 24, 2009 Doug Groves Bell, broadband, CRTC, net neutrality, online rights, Telus2 Comments

A new initiative was recently launched to battle the CRTC rulings regarding Bell and Telus and access to network infrastructure. Competitivebroadband.com, which is comprised of a wide range of independent ISPs and coalitions, is aiming squarely at making the consumer aware of, and getting them involved with, the proceedings. From their mission statement… Following the decision by the CRTC, which was released on 11 December 2008, MTS Allstream decided to petition the federal Cabinet, which has the power to reverse this decision. Others have also made their views known in…

Acer Aspire AS 1410 aka Timeline Review

September 22, 2009October 19, 2009 Doug Groves Acer, AS 1410, Aspire, netbook, review, thin and light9 Comments

Ever since the netbook market took off, tech pundits have been asking “What are the defining characteristics of a netbook?” Is it price, size, storage or some combination thereof? I can safely say that Aspire AS 1410 (also known as the Acer Timeline in Europe but oddly rebranded here) should not only be considered on the fence between netbooks and ‘thin and light’ machines. It pretty much IS the fence. With an 11.4″, 1366 x768 display and a full sized keyboard that feels as expansive as the prairies compared to…

87 cool things: A presentation by Google’s Creative Labs

September 21, 2009September 30, 2009 Danny X 0 comment

I’m at Advertising Week in New York City, and I just left the theatre at the Times Center on West 41st after a brilliant presentation that was led by Andy Berndt, the managing director of Google’s Creative Labs. The point of the discussion was to talk about how devices like home-brewed APIs, webcams and video have all contributed to the success of digital campaigns, collaborations, and events. Berndt’s points were illustrated by what he considered to be the 87 most creative, unique, exciting and interesting online creations Google could find….

Flickr Generates Virtual Cities

September 18, 2009 Doug Groves 3D, visualization1 Comment

Last year, Microsoft released its Photosynth application, which allows users to build 3D environments based on their photo libraries. Now, computer scientists at the University of Washington’s Graphics and Imaging Laboratory have one upped Photosynth by using the same imaging algorithms to create full, virtual cities of Venice, Rome and the Croation city of Dubrovnik, by analyzing thousands of photos posted on Flickr. The same labs created the algorithms for the Photosynth software, but have now been drastically enhanced to take pools of photos ranging up to the 100’s of…

Wacom Bamboo Touch Tablet

September 17, 2009 Doug Groves Bamboo, hypothesis, Wacom5 Comments

It’s been a long time since there’s been a major change in a product line from tablet maker Wacom. All that has changed though. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, Wacom makes tablets that allow you to draw naturally on a computer. Using a piezoelectric pen, the harder you press on the surface, the thicker the line, or the heavier the ink flow, which makes the old days of trying to draw with a mouse seem positively comical. The last time Wacom introduced something revolutionary as opposed to…

Facebook becomes profitable. Mark Zuckerberg orders pizza to celebrate.

September 16, 2009 Danny X 0 comment

For the first time ever, Facebook is making money. In a blog post by CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, the site generated more money than is spent last quarter, putting them half a year ahead of their own projections: Earlier this year, we said we expected to be cash flow positive sometime in 2010, and I’m pleased to share that we achieved this milestone last quarter. This is important to us because it sets Facebook up to be a strong independent service for the long term.

Canadian Copyright Consultation: Deadline Extended

The deadline to make submissions to the public copyright consultation has been extended until Tuesday night. In case you haven’t already voiced your opinion, there are a number of ways to do so… If you missed last night’s deadline, there is still time to craft your own submission, use a form letter, or send out a quick email. [via speakoutoncopyright.ca] The speakoutoncopyright.ca link also has a number of recent submissions, links to public roundtables and much more.

WiFi 802.11n Greenlit?

September 14, 2009 Doug Groves 802.11n, WiFi2 Comments

It was a long time coming, but the high speed WiFi standard that’s been available in ‘draft’ mode for what seems like forever has finally been approved. According to a PCWorld article… Despite lack of an official announcement, task group chairman has sent out a notification to a listserv for task group members. For years now, the draft version, which is essentially beta, has been available on a number of networking devices, and millions of users have been able to take advantage of marked wireless transfer speeds. Many existing routers…

Apple holds “Rock & Roll” event, takes a big bag of “Meh”, sells it to the faithful

September 9, 2009 Danny X Apple, iPhone, ipod, ipod nano, it's only rock and roll (but we like it), itunes0 comment

Steve Jobs re-took the stage today as Apple held another of their trademark media events, announcing updates to iTunes, the iPhone, and the iPod.