Google still polishing Chrome OS, postpones launch

It’s taking longer than Google Inc. anticipated to deliver a new operating system designed to make computers run faster.

After more than a year building a much—anticipated system around its Chrome Web browser, Google announced Tuesday that the first laptops powered by the new software won’t hit the stores until the middle of next year. The revised timetable is about six months behind Google’s goal of having the Chrome OS completed in time for it to debut during the current holiday season.

Google’s engineers decided they needed more time to fix bugs and fine tune the Chrome OS before the company launches its ambitious challenge to computers running on long—established operating systems made by larger rivals, Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc.

While Google polishes the Chrome OS, it will collect user feedback through a pilot program allowing a relatively small number of consumers and businesses to test unbranded devices running the software. Consumers will be invited to receive the test laptops through the Chrome Web browser and Google’s YouTube video site. The companies getting the Chrome OS machines include AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, Kraft Foods Inc. Logitech International, and Virgin Airlines.

Acer Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. will make the first Chrome OS laptops available in stores next year. The prices of the machines will be determined by the manufacturers next year.

The postponement threatens to intensify the competitive challenges facing the Chrome OS machines. More people already are snapping up sleek, touch—screen tablets such as Apple Inc.’s iPad to surf the Web and run a variety of applications customized for the devices. Apple sold about 7.5 million iPads in the first six months after its April debut and the tablet is expected to be among the top—selling gadgets this holiday season.

The rising popularity of the iPad and an array of copycats has started to undercut sales of lightweight laptops, or “netbooks,” according to industry analysts. Even the next version of Google’s Android operating system for touch—screen devices is supposed to include more features tailored for tablets.

The Chrome OS computers will have a 12.1 inch display screen and standard—sized keyboard, but no hard drive. That means the Chrome OS computers will need online access to run more programs. Google is teaming up with Verizon Communications to sell Internet access over Verizon’s wireless network when there is no other way to connect to the Web. The data plans will cost as little as $9.99 per month and won’t require a long—term commitment. 

Google decided to build its own computer operating system primarily because it views the hundreds of millions of machines powered by Microsoft’s dominant Windows software as plodding, cumbersome relics unable to provide speedy Web surfing. The Chrome OS machines are being designed so they’re ready to navigate the Internet within a few seconds after hitting the power button, much like a television set.

By making it easier and more appealing for people to spend time online, Google hopes to attract more traffic to its dominant Internet search engine and boost its revenue by selling more of the ads that generate most of its income. 

The push for a speedier Web experience prompted Google to introduce the Chrome browser more than two years ago. Although it still lags behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and the Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox, Chrome has steadily been winning converts. Google says Chrome now has 120 million active users worldwide today, up from about 30 million at the beginning of the year.

Chrome will soon get even faster by pulling up websites as people type in an address, in the same manner that Google’s search engine displays different results with each keystroke. For example, typing “e:” in Chrome’s navigation bar display ESPN’s site in the browser, if that is a destination that the user frequently visits.

To help whet consumers’ appetite for the new Chrome OS machines, Google unveiled a new store that will distribute Web applications that offer more features and better graphics than the content found on standard Web pages. The Web apps store opened Monday with about 500 free and for-fee applications, meeting the end-of-the-year deadline Google established when it announced the idea in May.

The New York Times Co., Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated magazine and video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. are among the major companies already offering applications. Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. also previewed an application that for the first time will allow other merchants to sell electronic books for its Kindle reader. The app enables Kindle books to be read through a Web browser.

Like custom programs designed for the iPad and mobile phones, the Chrome applications store could help publishers bring in more revenue from subscriptions and advertising.

Scientists develop self-healing plastics

Real-life Transformers just got a little closer to reality.
Resarchers have now figured out a way to build plastic material that heals itself, Australia's IT News reports.
The new material contains a fiber optic "nervous system" of sorts, which scientist can employ to detect and address cracks over time. (This is a different technique than the stretchable, electronic fabrics Imec is working on in Belgium.)
Laboratory testing has shown the material capable of restoring up to 96 percent of an object's original strength, according to the report.
Researchers said the material could be used in composite structures that humans couldn't normally reach, such as the Mars Rovers, inside satellites, or inside wind turbines.
Here's how it works: the internal network transmitted infrared light from a one-watt laser, a process that highlights any loss of light due to cracks. The surrounding plastic then absorbs the lost light, heating the material and making it 11 times tougher. In turn, that prevents it from spreading, the report said.
The U.S. National Science Foundation funded the work; the Journal of Applied Physics published the results last month. Products could be manufactured using the new material within as little as two years, according to the report.
Shape memory polymers are essentially plastics that return to their original shape when heated.
Microsoft is also working on a shape-memory polymer display that offers genuine tactile feedback, which could usher in a new generation of touch screens.

Opera 11 released

The 11th version of Opera has finally arrived, and it brings great new features.
The latest version brings a whole new way to manage tabs, a feature that it calls "Tab stacking" . This feature gives tab management another dimension, as you are able to group tabs together in a stack, after which they can be handled like a single tab. Tab stacks can be expanded, collapsed and unstacked. For more about this feature more, you can check out our preview of the beta build ‒ it hasn't changed feature-wise since then ‒  or have a look at following video demonstration of the feature:

Another great feature in Opera 11 is extension support. Opera has added a new extension mechanism in this version that allows developers to add features to the browser. Additionally Opera users can now download extensions from the new Opera extensions website hosted at addons.opera.com. Some popular browser extensions such as LastPass  and YouTube video downloader and ad blockers are already available, and there are now hundreds of extensions for Opera fans to choose from. You can check out a list of seven great extensions that we've picked out here.
This version also features changes to the address field, which aim to reduce the amount of unnecessary data shown, and give you information about your security and connectivity status in a single glance. For those who like using gesture controls, Opera 11 now has a visual cuing system that helps you through gestures, helping you learn how to use them and discover more gestures. Also, Opera now has a setting that allows you to change the default behavior of browser plugins, which can now be set to load on demand rather than automatically.
Opera 11 is available to download for Windows, Linux and Mac OSX, form the Opera website. The 11th version even breaks the trend of increasing software sizes by reducing the browser download size by 30%.

Samsung targets youth with Internet TV

Eyeing the growing number of youths in India, Samsung is planning a major shift in its strategy by introducing Internet TV, also called ‘Smart TV', where a user can simultaneously surf and watch TV.

“The Internet@TV feature in the Samsung premium 3D, LED and LCD TVs allows users to seamlessly integrate a broad array of Internet content where they can surf the web, download or stream applications from various categories such as video, game, sports, lifestyle and info on the Samsung Application store,” Samsung India Deputy Managing Director Ravinder Zutshi told The Hindu.

Quoting a new global research, Mr. Zutshi said today more than 60 per cent of young adults aged 16 to 35 said they would like to watch TV while simultaneously chatting online. These consumers were leading the development of ‘Internet or Social TV'. “The concept is new and exciting and Samsung is leading this trend by making its Internet@TV application available on its premium flat panel television range, priced between Rs.54,000 and Rs.4 lakh,” he said.

Pointing out that the concept of Internet TV was still in its nascent stage in India, Mr. Zutshi further said: “Through Samsung Internet@TV features widgets that are there in the high-end TVs, consumers can access as many as 33 applications such as YouTube, Picasa, Google maps, AP news sticker, AccuWeather.com, Facebook, Getty images, History Channel, Sudoku, Twitter and USA Today.” Samsung India is considering providing some Indian contents too through its application to make the concept popular in the country.

It also provides a feature MOIP (Multimedia over IP) that can be used for video-conferencing using large screen or video/voice call using Skype service.

Though Samsung applications are for free, a customer will have to pay for downloading contents from the Internet.

“Going beyond entertainment, Samsung TV will soon become a hub of infotainment, with a great deal of interactivity through the applications — access to the latest news reports, staying connected with friends, live streaming of HD videos from the web, personal photo viewing from mobile devices, interacting with friends including the ability to record, pause and search video content — all this with the push of a button on the remote control,” Mr. Zutshi said.

Mr. Zutshi further said globally, Samsung Electronics had already seen 10 lakh TV application downloaded from Samsung Apps, the world's first HDTV-based application store, where users can purchase and download applications from an expanding range of content and service providers, directly from their TV. The company's 200th TV application is now live via the platform. Samsung had reached these milestones in less than a year after the initial launch of Samsung Apps. In the first half of 2010, Samsung took over 66 per cent of the U.S. connected TV market, he added.

Wireless-NGN: the future of communication

Wireless represents the fastest-growing segment of the telecom industry; it is poised to undergo significant technological change as 3G LTE and 4G wireless are emerging at a faster rate.

At the same time, NGNs (Next Generation Networks) represent a fundamental paradigm shift in the wireline and wireless core networks from circuit switching to packet switching.

The two will become highly synergistic over time and wireless-NGN integration will be both technically and economically feasible almost immediately.

Seamless integration

Next Generation Networks (NGN) are converged voice/data multi-service networks that operate in a multi-vendor environment. NGN is an architecture that provides seamless integration of both new and traditional telecommunications services across high-speed packet networks, interworking among clients of heterogeneous capabilities.

This architecture is usually structured around four major layers of technology: the core connectivity layer includes routing and switching, network and access gateways; the access and customer-premises equipment (CPE) layer includes the various technologies used to reach customers; the application server layer contains enhanced services and value-added applications; the management layer provides network services and business management functions.

Each of these layers is supported by a number of standards that are key to the successful implementation of an NGN.

The architecture and implementation of the Next Generation Network (NGN) must be based on open, standard-based interfaces and protocols. This is essential to achieve multi-vendor interworking and to accelerate the rate on innovation.

NGN is based on a distributed architecture that helps greatly to reduce the implementation costs while giving flexibility in the actual deployment.

Customizable services

The NGN is able to support highly customizable services that are easily and rapidly created as well as deployed economically throughout the network. While it is important to enable new services, it is also critical to preserve the existing services provided by the legacy network.

Next Generation Networks (NGN) technology, is a new initiative created collectively by ITU (International Telecommunication Union), ETSI (European Telecom Standards Institute), and 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) that aims at delivering all these new communication features on a “network agnostic” or otherwise called “heterogeneous networks” communication environment, is one where the only discriminating factors for service provisioning will be the user himself, his selected service types and the desired quality of service (QoS).

A single solution

In this respect, the NGN technology provides a single solution for various network types integration, and of all communication technologies it embraces (fixed, mobile, wireless), and addresses the problems in providing service “ubiquity” and “seamlessness” connectivity, besides dealing with issues such as, zero service disruption for moving, roaming, handover users and QoS guarantee among different technology networks with diverse QoS.

Next generation networks have finally been identified as network with the following common characteristics: convergence of various data communication types over the IP, i.e. data, multimedia, voice, video; fixed, wireless and mobile network convergence; access to a common set of services that can be provided over multiple access network types (ADSL, UTRAN, WiFi, WiMAX, etc) with features like user handover and roaming capabilities; IP-based core transport networks; possibility for using any terminal type (PC, PDA, mobile telephone, set-top boxes, etc); seamless terminal, user and personal mobility; user-driven service creation environments; common set of services, admission policies, authentication type, always possible network accessibility regardless of the user connection type to the network.

Migration of mobile networks to NGN is driven by the enhanced capability of 3G UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Service) access networks and standardization process is more elaborate as for fixed networks case.

Migration speed

Speed of this migration will depend on widespread acceptance and appropriation of new services by end-users; but also on the maturity of the newly introduced technologies.

A. GANESAN

Former Deputy General Manager, BSNL, Chennai

aruganesan@hotmail.com

Microsoft unveils new privacy feature for IE

An upcoming version of Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer browser will let users add lists of sites that they don’t want tracking them, a peace offering amid uproar over the sneaky ways that websites watch their users as they bounce around the Internet.

The new feature, however, won’t be as sweeping as a “do not track” option that the Federal Trade Commission is proposing to limit advertisers’ ability to do that. Users will have to create or find their own lists of sites they want to block.

And the feature won’t be automatically turned on when it debuts with the release of Internet Explorer 9 early next year.

Part of the reason for the uproar over tracking is that it’s hard to tell which sites you’re sharing information with. Websites use many third-party advertising partners, and some may use shady surveillance schemes, perhaps without the knowledge of the websites.

Requiring users to sort out which sites are good and bad puts the onus on the wrong people, said Anup Ghosh, founder and chief scientist of Invincea, which makes software that works with Internet Explorer to improve security.

“With this kind of ‘do not track’ list, the industry is not held accountable for not tracking. It’s the user that’s responsible. They kind of got it backward,” he said. “Users aren’t equipped to make these kinds of decisions, nor do they want to.”

A familiar refrain among security and privacy professionals is that Internet users by and large don’t fully appreciate the extent to which sites harvest their personal information.

Visiting a modern website is less like a handshake between two friends than it is glad-handing a room full of strangers. Unless you have tinkered with your security settings, in most browsers, you implicitly give any site you visit permission for it and all of its advertising partners to track you. The tracking happens silently, and your browsing habits are sold and analyzed by advertising firms looking for ways to show you more relevant ads.

Ghosh said it would be more useful for Microsoft to work directly with privacy groups to identify and create lists of sites that engage in controversial forms of tracking.

Dean Hachamovitch, who leads Internet Explorer development for Microsoft, said Microsoft isn’t doing that because it doesn’t want to judge which sites are OK to track consumers.

“Choosing a tracking protection list is a statement around what the consumer wants out of the box, and in some ways that is completely up to the consumer,” Hachamovitch said.

Privacy worries and corporate interests often collide in building a browser, which is why the privacy features that do make it into the finished product are often compromises between competing interests.

As a seller of Internet advertising, Microsoft has to weigh two needs- consumers’ desire to be completely shielded consumers from tracking, and its advertising customers’ need to monitor people to sell them more targeted ads.

Also, an insistence on complete privacy, by turning off tracking features altogether and cranking up the privacy protections all the way, can make surfing the Internet difficult because sites will forget who you are and your browser will forget where it’s been.

Jules Polonetsky, former chief privacy officer for AOL Inc. and online ad network DoubleClick, which is now owned by Google Inc., said that although most consumers probably won’t use the new Internet Explorer features, they will likely appeal to people who are concerned about online privacy.

Industry trade groups, consumer groups, privacy watchdogs and government agencies will likely create lists of sites for consumers to plug into the new tool, said Polonetsky, who now serves as co-chair and director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a Washington think tank that gets funding from big technology companies and advertisers.

Polonetsky said the features are an improvement over the filtering feature in the current version of Internet Explorer. That feature requires users to turn it on every time they use the Internet. And once it’s turned on, it blocks not only online ad networks, but also online news feeds and all sorts of other third-party content that appears on Web sites.

LG announces first dual-core phone- The LG Optimus 2x

LG announced the world’s first dual core mobile phone which is being called the Optimus 2x. The much awaited phone has a nVidia Tegra 2 chip at its core. The presence of a dual core processor guarantees a much better web browsing and multitasking experience, claims LG. As for now, this is the world’s first smartphone having a dual core processor. Tegra 2 also has a low power consuming GPU, having the first 1080p video processor,  which is claimed to make web browsing twice as fast and gaming five times as fast. The phone is a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy S and a comparison video shows the humiliation of the Galaxy S when pitted against the Optimus 2x.
The Optimus 2x boasts of 1080p HD video recording. In addition to this it also supports HDMI mirroring. This feature will allow you to duplicate whatever the phone’s 4-inch WVGA screen is displaying on an external screen in full HD quality. This feature also supports the streaming of games making the Optimus 2x an attractive gaming device. It will be able to connect wirelessly to an external compatible screen. Other features include a 8 megapixel camera at the back. It is also suited for video chatting with a 1.3 megapixel camera in the front.  Similar to the iPhone, the phone has an accelerometer and gyro sensor for extremely precise motion sensing. It has 8 GB on board memory and supports an external memory card of up to 32 GB. On the software front, the phone comes with Android 2.2(Froyo) and is eligible for an upgrade to Android 2.3(Gingerbread). The phone comes across as a dynamic multimedia package with excellent hardware specs and Android to go with it. It will be available in South Korea in the next month followed by release in Europe and Asia.
In related news, rumors of a dual core  HTC smart phone dubbed ‘Scorpion’ surfaced. The phone is rumored to have a 1.5 Ghz processor and Android 2.2. HTC spokesperson denied the existence of any phone by that name.
The Optimus 2x is one of the many dual core phones coming this year. Though it has been the first phone to be announced, we can expect a plethora of different dual core phones coming this year. Battery consumption of such a phone remains a concern and we will have to wait and see how they performs.