Pages

Search Technology News

Friday, December 31, 2010

Skype says software to blame for 24-hour outage

A software glitch caused Skype's major outage last week, the Internet calling and messaging service said Wednesday.

In a blog post, chief information officer Lars Rabbe said the 24-hour outage that cut service for nearly all of Skype's users stemmed from a problem in a version of Skype's software for computers running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.

Rabbe said the issue, which began last Wednesday, started when a group of servers running offline instant messaging overloaded. This caused some computers to get delayed responses from those servers, and an older version of Skype's Windows software improperly processed the responses, crashing Skype for about 20 percent of users.

Computers that crashed included numerous "supernodes" — computers Skype likens to phone directories, helping users connect with each other — which resulted in a much larger outage as other available supernodes couldn't handle all the user traffic.

On average, 124 million people use Skype each month, though the total number of registered users is more than four times that. In a video posted on the Skype blog, Bates said the problems "completely took almost every user offline."

The service went down for almost all of its users starting at midday Eastern time on Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, things had improved to the point where about 21 million users were logged in, said CEO Tony Bates. That was 10 percent less than the usual traffic for the time of day, as some people still could not log on.

At that point, voice calling, video-chatting and text-based instant messaging were working for most users, Bates said, but other features, such as offline instant messaging and group video calls, were still down.

Skype has since returned to operating normally. The Luxembourg-based company said customers who pre-pay for service or are on pay-as-you-go plans will receive an e-mail with a voucher for 30 minutes of free calling to landlines anywhere in the world. Subscribers will be credited with a week's extra subscription service.

Skype's software offers a range of free services, including the ability to make voice or video calls and send instant messages to other Skype users. Users pay for services such as making calls from a PC to a landline or cell phone.

Skype's popularity around the globe stems in large part from the free or cheap calls it provides. Other Internet-based calling services that compete with the traditional phone system also have problems with consistent service. Earlier this year, AT&T Inc.'s Internet-based "U-verse" phone system went down for several hours, affecting 1.15 million customers.

A year ago, eBay Inc. sold its majority stake in the business for about $2 billion to an investor group that includes Skype's founders. Skype has indicated that it wants to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Star activity of 2010: Logging into Twitter and Facebook

When the 20th century was still young, Cole Porter famously crooned “...birds do it, bees do it/ Even educated fleas do it/ Let’s do it, let’s fall in love!” ...With Twitter and Facebook, we could add, as the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close.

SRK and Big B do it, Priyanka and Bipasha do it, Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi do it, even Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi do it. So the aam enabled-aadmi can hardly be blamed for following suit. There is no doubt that social networking has been the star activity of 2010, and promiscuity in it has been the catalyst for many of the highs (or some would say, lows) of this year.

Time was when social networking meant being seen at all the power gatherings of the year — preferably arriving fashionably late and being mobbed by adoring acolytes to the sycopated clicks of Page Three cameras.

Now, no air-kissing social gadfly or well-connected VIP has truly arrived until there are tweets and Facebook mobile updates — or at the very least, bouts of BBMing — from them in real time on every muah and bon mot exchanged.

And that goes for all kinds of gatherings. From marketing to market researching, PR to e-commerce, fan sites to transcontinental family & friends connectivity, social media is the answer to everything. “It’s made us wilder and more circumspect!” laughs PR professional and social diarist Nikhil Khanna.

So, not only are b****y fashionistas and bratty bigda betas doing it, the now iffy genre of lobbyists and blustery image managers are doin’ it too; even politicos don’t want to be left out of the party.

If the somewhat more sustained, less indiscreet Facebook and blogging options are added to the short-term gratification of tweeting, it can safely be said practically everyone’s been doing it in 2010 — in some form or the other. No wonder the population of mobile and internet users is multiplying so fast!

“Social networking platforms have not only helped build an emotional connect but also deepen relationships,” says Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands. “Time and distances no longer matter when we want to communicate with friends now.” Yes, social media’s love-fest truly knows no bounds, geographic, familial, political or parochial. So cyberspace is now an orgy of voices and insta-opinions, unadulterated and often unintelligible.

“Social media today blurs the lines between privacy and voyeurism,” avers brand consultant and compulsive Facebook updater Suhel Seth. “It is seen both as a badge of arrival and of promoting envy... Facebook allows people to be more voyeuristic while Twitter is the more ‘engaged’ medium with godliness built in, thanks to followers!”

Indeed, crowd-pulling used to be a function of oratory and charisma; now, popularity and celebrity is measured by social network followers as much as box office takings or election victory margins.

Not that it always works. Twittering Tharoor won the Thiruvananthapuram seat by polling a total of 3,26,725 votes in 2009, but lost his ministerial gaddi in 2010 despite having over 6 lakh Twitter followers.

Many battles raging in Twittersphere

It must be added, however, that Tharoor got public kudos from Shahrukh Khan, no less, for his Twitter numbers and a channel even gave him an award for his ‘achievement’!

That was cold comfort, though, for the articulate Congress MP as his world came crashing down thanks to a single vengeful Twitter from Lalit Modi: “A big? I was told by him not to get into who owns Rendezvous. Specially Sunanda Pushkar. Why? The same has been minuted in my records...” The rest is history.

The slew of senior journalists in the dock over the Radia revelations also realised too late the power of a million mutinous tweets now. First they vented their ire in posts and then their protestations. Finally, they bowed to the clamour of tweets and offered their mea culpas.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Google pushes education software thru app stores

Google is talking with educational-software companies to help build a marketplace for online learning programs, an industry whose value may approach $5 billion this year.

Games and instructional tools for teachers from companies such as Grockit and Aviary are already offered in the Google Apps Marketplace, an online store that opened in March. Google, the world’s largest search engine, seeks to lure more educational developers and is stepping up efforts to generate revenue from the project, executives say.

Software sales for US schools and colleges this year should surpass the 2009 total of $4.6 billion, according to Parthenon Group. That could provide a new growth stream for Google, which gets most of its sales from search advertising.

The company works with schools, providing free word processing, e-mail and spreadsheet programs to students and teachers. Now it wants to help outside developers sell applications to educators.

“If we can provide access to education apps to our 10 million users in thousands of schools, then that would be a win all around,” said Obadiah Greenberg, Google’s business development manager for education.

Most software makers with products on Google Apps Marketplace now collect all revenue from sales generated through the site. In the coming months, Mountain View, California-based Google plans to begin taking a 20% share of sales, Greenberg said.

‘Google Guru’

Programs in the Apps Marketplace can be operated inside the private Web domains many schools have set up with Google, said James Birchfield, instructional technology specialist at Harwich Public Schools in Massachusetts.

“A teacher logs into a Google Apps account and they can access anything in the marketplace,” said Birchfield, who is known by colleagues as the “Google guru.” “It gives you a one-stop-shop kind of thing where we know we can integrate it and we know where it’s all saved.”

Aviary Education, one of the first education apps offered on the site, is a free Web-based tool that lets students edit images and audio recordings in a private environment that can be monitored by a teacher.

It’s often used by teachers who want students to record class presentations and share them online, said Michael Galpert, co-founder of New York-based Aviary.

“The more that they promote Google services in the classroom, the larger the audience we get,” Galpert said. The company now gets most of its new customers through Google’s Marketplace, he said.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Govt asks DoT to test BlackBerry's cloud based interception system

India’s Interior ministry has asked the telecoms department to validate BlackBerry maker Research in Motion’s claims that it had installed a ‘cloud computing based system’ to legally intercept Messenger services on its handsets.

Earlier this month, as first reported by ET, Canada’s RIM had told the home ministry that it had complied with the Indian government’s mandate to provide interception tools for BlackBerry Messenger chats.

"We are happy to confirm that as per the compliance schedule agreed by both Research in Motion and the Ministry Of Home Affairs , RIM infrastructure is ready to receive and process via the cloud computing based system, lawfully intercepted BlackBerry messenger data from India service providers," the Canadian company's vice president of industry, government and university relations, Robert E Crow had said in a communication to the home ministry.

In a communication to the telecoms department, home ministry’s joint secretary Dharmendra Sharma said that RIM had agreed to provide a final solution to its messenger chat services by January 31, 2001, while adding that ‘according to the Canadian company, the cloud based computing system was the final solution it was putting in place by January-end’ for this facility. ET reviewed the December 23 communication from the home ministry to the telecoms department on this issue.

On Thursday, ET had reported that RIM had offered to to install a network data analysis system at its premises in India, to end the three-year standoff between the Canadian company and security agencies here that have been demanding access to BlackBerry communications. But, RIM on Thursday in a statement said that it had not provided any access to its highly-secure corporate emails.

"There will be no change to the security model of BlackBerry Enterprise Service,” the company said. "The government of India has in fact accepted and acknowledged that any concerns about the use of strong encryption for corporate and government data is not a matter specific to BlackBerry and that lawful access to such encrypted data is actually an industry matter," its statement added.

The home ministry’s note sent internally said that RIM’s network data analysis system, which it proposed to install in India, had the capabilities to automatically decode data flowing on the Canadian company’s network, "In the final solution proposed by RIM, the decoding will be automatic. Intercepted and decoded data will not travel out of India. RIM has proposed to install [network data analysis systems] in India. In the final solution, intercepted and decoded data will travel between service providers and RIM India,” the home ministry note issued by its deputy director Arvind Kumar had added.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

It's all about going smart and sleek in 2010

Slim is in, not only in the fashion world, but also in the tech world, with gadgets ranging from smartphones to personal computers adopting a sleeker avatar in 2010.

The growing desire of consumers to carry their world in their pockets has not only forced handset-makers to come up with slim and sleek phones, but also personal computer-makers to innovate and come up with a different form factor for PCs.

2010 saw the launch of new tablet devices, which added to the excitement.

Although Apple's iPad is yet to arrive in India, the Dell Streak, Olive Pad and Samsung Galaxy Tab were launched in the second half of the year.

The competition was not just about going sleek, but getting smarter as well. In 2010, smartphones continued to attract more share of the average Indian's wallet, a trend that was seen in previous years as well.

"Smartphones are the fastest growing market segment, registering over 50 per cent growth in 2010 over 2009. Smartphone sales are expected to grow 60 per cent in 2011 over 2010," global IT research firm Gartner's Principal Analyst, Anshul Gupta, told PTI.

Going by analysts, the availability of a plethora of operating systems for smartphones will further bring down prices and even make the gadgets a mass-market product.

Moreover, the emergence of new and low-price brands -- especially in growing markets such as India and China -- has also resulted in higher sales of smartphones.

The new features in smartphones include 3G, or third-generation, data transfer capabilities and versatile applications, such as pre-loaded e-book readers.

Sales of mobile phones in India are expected to reach 155 million units this year and jump further to over 225 million units in 2014.

Currently, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Asus, HTC, Blackberry, HTC and Dell offer smartphones in India, with a price tag ranging from Rs 6,500 to Rs 31,000.

As per global IT and telecommunications research and analysis firm International Data Corporation (IDC), emerging mobile phone-makers in India accounted for 33.2 per cent of total handset shipments in the April-June quarter of 2010.

With the latest features and innovations being made available even on low-price handsets, the thin line between a basic and a smart handset is also blurring.

A mobile today has become the 'Swiss Knife' of the modern world, because while it might not have a corkscrew or a nail cutter, it is a phone, a data-handler and a one-stop gadget for all entertainment and communication needs.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Facebook tops Google as most visited site in U.S.

Facebook surpassed Google for the first time as the most visited website in the United States for most of 2010.

The social network site edged out Google.com with 8.9 percent of all U.S. visits between January and November 2010, while Google.com ranked second with about 7.2 percent of all visits, according to online measurement service Experian Hitwise.

Facebook's move to the top spot shows just how quickly the site has grown in popularity. Within the span of six years, Facebook has become the world's largest Web social network with roughly half a billion users worldwide.

Google.com dominated the top spot as the most visited website in the United States in 2009 and 2008. News Corp's MySpace was the No. 1 visited website in 2007. It is ranked No. 7.

However, when all of Google's properties are considered -- such as YouTube and email, for instance -- Google still reigns as the most visited site at 9.9 percent between January and November 2010. Facebook follows at 8.9 percent. Yahoo and all of its properties ranked third at 8.1 percent.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

WikiLeaks backers say Zimbabwe websites shut down

Cyber activists say they have brought down Zimbabwean government websites after the president's wife sued a newspaper for publishing a WikiLeaks cable linking her with illicit diamond trading.

President Robert Mugabe's wife Grace is suing a private newspaper for $15 million for publishing details from U.S. cables on WikiLeaks saying she gained "tremendous profits" from illicit diamonds.

The activists, acting under the name Anonymous, said in a statement on their website: "We are targeting Mugabe and his regime in the ZANU-PF who have outlawed the free press and threaten to sue anyone publishing WikiLeaks."

The Zimbabwean government web portal www.gta.gov.zw was unreachable on Thursday, while the Finance Ministry's website, www.zimtreasury.gov.zw, displayed a message saying it was under maintenance.

Anonymous previously shut down the sites of Visa and Mastercard after they restricted payments to WikiLeaks.

The WikiLeaks site has enraged the United States and affected its relations with some countries by publishing hundreds of leaked confidential cables from U.S. diplomats. It says it has a total of a quarter of a million cables.

Its next data release early next year is widely expected to centre on Bank of America.

The WikiLeaks founder and editor in chief, Julian Assange, is on bail and under house arrest in Britain preparing to fight extradition to Sweden, where authorities want to question him about alleged sexual offences.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Virus attacks Android phones in China - researchers

A powerful virus targeting smart phones in China running Google Inc's Android operating system may represent the most sophisticated bug to target mobile devices to date, security researchers said on Thursday.

Anti-virus firm Lookout Mobile Security estimates that the number of phones that have been infected by the virus, dubbed Geinimi, ranges from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

Researchers said that the virus has yet to wreak havoc, though, and that they were unsure what its authors were seeking to accomplish.

"It is not clear to us what the purpose of it is," said Kevin Mahaffey, chief technology officer for Lookout. "It could be anything from a malicious advertising network to an attempt to create a botnet."

A botnet is an army of enslaved computers that its controllers can compromise for identity theft, use to launch attacks to shut down websites or turn into spam email servers.

Still, the emergence of Geinimi underlines concerns that hackers are shifting from focusing on attacking PCs to targeting mobile devices as sales of the powerful handheld computers take off and users increasingly put sensitive data in their pockets.

Phones become contaminated with Geinimi when users download software applications that have been repackaged to include the virus, according to researchers from Lookout and Symantec Corp.

Tainted programs include versions of the video games Monkey Jump 2, President vs. Aliens, City Defense and Baseball Superstars 2010, according to Lookout.

Lookout researchers said that so far they have only found the tainted software at third-party apps stores targeting the Chinese market. Legitimate versions of the applications in the official Android market appear to be safe, they said.

Compromised phones call back to a remote computer for instructions on what to do at five-minute intervals. Then they transmit information on the device's location, its hardware ID and SIM card back to the remote computer.

So far the remote computers have been collecting data but have not issued any other orders to the infected phones, Mahaffey said.

Liam Murchu, a research manager with anti-virus software maker Symantec, said that infected devices could be ordered to make calls, send text messages and download other malicious software onto the phones.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

5 NEW TECH INITIATIVES FROM OBAMA

In 2008, candidate Barack Obama changed the campaign game, heavily employing mobile technology and the Internet to raise funds and his popularity. Citizens texted "HOPE" to spread the word. YouTube videos helped clear up the Jeremiah Wright controversy and brought in outside supporters like Obama Girl. These Internet-based efforts, much like Kennedy with television, helped candidate Obama race through the primaries and into the White House. But what about President Obama?

It's been two years since the President was elected, and despite his declining approval ratings, there's no denying that he has made technological contributions to the government, the presidency and the country's day-to-day running.

But has Obama’s high-tech vision completely transcended from his campaign to his presidency? Decide for yourself. We offer you five of the current administration’s technology initiatives.

The Country’s First CIO and CTO
The Obama administration’s goals to inspire technological innovation and increase accessibility to all Americans call for specialized leadership. Thus, to help develop and implement 21st century technology policy, the president appointed the country’s first- ever Chief Technology and Information Officers, Aneesh Chopra, and Vivek Kundra, respectively, both of whom have been kept busy.

“The president chose to elevate the technology role by naming my position to be an assistant to the president,” Chopra said. “Every piece of paper that comes before the president on policy matters gets a thorough review for considering how technology will interface with that policy.”

In May 2009, Kundra helped launch Data.gov, the government information database discussed earlier. Additionally, he has been in charge of setting up the federal government’s first cloud computing portal, which allows for easier data sharing between government agencies and departments.

Chopra has been instrumental in getting the Open Government Directive on its feet, and has focused heavily on using technology to make health care more accessible and affordable.

“In the Obama administration, technology, data and innovation have been critical components of the President’s priorities from day one,” said Chopra.

Open Government Directive
President Obama campaigned heavily on the promise of an open, transparent government. On his first day in office, he took the first step towards increased accountability by signing the “Transparency and Open Government” memorandum, directing federal agencies to improve communications and collaborative efforts between the federal government and the people.

In December 2009, the administration unveiled the Open Government Directive, which sett a timeline for all executive agencies to publish high-value data sets on the web. A staple of the directive, Data.gov, serves as a repository for public government information -- from unemployment statistics to aviation accident reports.

Criticism of Obama’s online portals revolve around accessibility. Many data sets require special software to read and most don’t exactly peak the public’s interest. According to Tom Glaisyer, a Knight media fellow at the New American Foundation, the government information initiative is still in its beginning stage. Businesses and developers are still figuring out how to organize the information to provide meaning for most Americans.

“Larger numerical data sets are a good component, but they aren’t the whole story,” Glaisyer said.

Besides transparency, another goal of the Open Government Directive is to increase public engagement in executive affairs. Chairman of the Economic Council Austan Goolsbee’s whiteboard visualizations appear to be a step in the direction. Meanwhile, sites like Challenge.gov, where citizens can contribute ideas for federal agencies, and Federalregister.gov, which opens up the doors to the nation’s federal newspaper, are designed to increase participation. But they’re just a start.

“We need to develop more ways to engage effectively with government employees,” Glaisyer said. “It requires as much face-to-face engagement as online.”

Expanding Internet Access
In this Information Age, Internet access provides billions of people with instant access to banking services, health information, shopping, and education. But, approximately 100 million Americans -- most making relatively low incomes -- remain without Internet access.

“As more and more things move online, if you don’t have access, if you don’t know how to use it -- you’re going to be at a disadvantage,” said Ben Lennett, senior policy analyst of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation headquartered in the nation’s capitol.

There is hope for those stranded in an Internet wasteland, though. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, $7.2 billion has been set aside to provide all Americans with an affordable, 100 megabit-per-second Internet connection by 2020. To bring so-called broadband to the masses, the government will make grants available to rural areas so that they can build up the necessary infrastructure that will expand computer center capacity and support sustainable broadband initiatives.

While the broadband plan’s implementation is still in its infancy, many are questioning whether access can really be made “affordable” in a market dominated by just a few Internet providers. As basic economics will tell you, consumers have a lot more power when they have more choices.

Some policy analysts maintain an open access policy is necessary to keeping costs down. This would require one company to build out a network that rival companies could compete and invest in. Without such competition, affordable access may not find its way to many Americans’ homes.

“Unfortunately, the FCC has ignored the competition question,” Lennett said. “Clearly, there is a correlation between competition and price. Until that becomes a national priority, I’m not sure where we can go from there.”

New Technology for the Deaf and Blind
The emergence of new technology presents new challenges for millions of blind and deaf Americans. Thus, President Obama signed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act on October 20, 2010.

The law aims to provide deaf and blind people with the same level of access to new technologies as their fellow, non-disabled Americans. For example, one provision requires all mobile companies to make web browsers, email and text messaging on smart phones easy to use for the visually and hearing impaired.

Paul Schroeder, vice president of programs and policy at the American Foundation for the Blind in New York City, helped write the legislation. Besides smart phones, Shoeffer and other disability rights-advocates also pushed to increase ease-of-access to television programming, DVD menus, and program guides on cable television.

“We want to use these technologies right along side our non-disabled peers,” Schoeffer said. “We hope this new law will set forth directions for companies to make their products more accessible and set the rules of the road.”

Promoting Green Energy Technology
President Obama is making great strides in promoting and investing in renewable energy technology and energy efficiency programs.

The Recovery Act allocated about $70 billion for energy-related programs, including research and development in weatherization assistance, vehicle technologies, biomass, fuel cells, geothermal technologies and solar and wind energy.

For example, the Cape Wind Farm in the sea surrounding Massachusetts remains one of the most notable, yet controversial, clean energy projects approved by the Obama administration. On May 17, 2010, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar signed the lease for the country’s first-ever offshore wind project, which had been fighting for approval for ten years.

And it’s not just the sea the Obama administration has its eyes on. On October 6, 2010 Salazar signed the first of six leases for large-scale solar energy projects on public land. Unfortunately, most of these loan-guarantee projects and research grants come with heavy paperwork and take some time to implement.

“It’s going to take time to expand the capacity [of renewable energy]. But we have very explicit goals the President is holding the Department of Energy to, including expanding the capacity of renewable energy sources,” said Chopra.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

China Clamps Down on Web Telephony

Chinese regulators are clamping down on Internet-phone services that aren't provided by the country's state-owned telecommunications companies, according to Chinese media, a move that could make services like Skype SA unavailable in the world's most populous country.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said voice-over-Internet protocol, also known as VoIP, services are illegal on the Chinese mainland unless they are provided by China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Ltd., according to a report in Shanghai Daily on Thursday. The newspaper said the ministry hadn't determined a timetable for implementing the ruling, which was released earlier this month.

Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., said he was unaware of the development, but added that it sounded consistent with the government's prior actions. "The Chinese government regulates the Internet according to its laws and by following international standards," he said.

The decision could become a roadblock for Luxembourg-based Skype, which last week suffered a global service disruption that lasted for roughly a day. The company is seeking new users, especially business customers that pay to use premium services, as it gears up for an initial public offering.

Skype is currently not banned in China, a Skype spokeswoman said. Chinese Internet users can continue to use the service via the company's joint-venture partner TOM Online Inc., of Beijing, the spokeswoman added.

The Chinese government's decision comes after a year in which tension mounted between the country's government and Internet businesses hoping to offer products and services to its population of 1.3 billion persons.

Earlier this year, Google Inc. sparked a standoff with Beijing when it said it was no longer willing to comply with China's self-censorship rules.

The standoff was diffused when Google routed some of its most popular services such as its search engine through the company's Hong Kong site, which operates under different laws.

Google also operates a quasi-Internet phone service, called Google Voice. It is unclear whether that service will also be impacted by China's decision. Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Thursday, December 30, 2010

What's In Store for Technology in 2011

 It has been a big year in personal technology, from the debut and early success of Apple's iPad, to the rise and continuous improvement of Google's Android smart phone platform, to the continued surge in social services led by Facebook and Twitter.

So I thought I'd take a look at the challenges and opportunities facing some major players in consumer tech in 2011. As with all my columns, this one is focused only on products and services provided directly to consumers, rather than to businesses. Also, as usual, this column isn't meant to offer investment advice or to evaluate the management skills or financial condition of companies. It is a look at the products and competitive positions of the key contenders as they enter the new year.

Apple: Coming off a highly successful 2010, in which it introduced a new category of portable computer—the multitouch tablet—and sold millions of the product, Apple will have to withstand an onslaught of competitors by wowing consumers again with the second version of the iPad. At the same time, it will have to make a widely expected transition for the iPhone from a single carrier in the U.S., AT&T, to a second, likely Verizon. This could present a new opportunity to reach lots of new customers, but the sleek phone will have to work well on different network technology. At the same time, Apple will be hoping its planned new Macintosh operating system, Lion, can preserve the surprising momentum of the high-priced Mac, which the company is trying to enhance with certain iPad-like features, such as an app store and longer battery life.

In 2011, Apple also is likely to try to address two areas where it has been weak: cloud computing and social networking. Both its MobileMe cloud service and its Ping social network had rough starts, and MobileMe charges $100 a year for services others give away. Apple is so popular, it has a huge opportunity to link users of its family of devices and of iTunes via the cloud and social networks, but it will have to aim higher and execute better. The second area where it likely hopes to improve is in the living room. The new, cheaper Apple TV is selling better than its predecessor but still lacks much Internet content. To break through, Apple will have to strike landmark deals with media companies.

Google: The search giant, also riding high, is now in so many product areas it competes with nearly everyone. In its core search business, it must focus on fending off a surprisingly strong challenge from Microsoft's Bing by giving consumers more attractive, actionable results. Its Android operating system is a big hit, but still isn't as polished or easy to use as the iPhone's software, and even a Google official admitted it is still "an enthusiast product for early adopters." One big test will be the forthcoming Honeycomb version of Android, meant for tablets that challenge the iPad.

A separate group at Google will try in 2011 to revolutionize the PC operating-system business and muscle in on incumbents Microsoft and Apple. Its new Chrome OS will power notebooks that essentially act as Web browsers, and run programs stored in the cloud, not on a hard disk. They also store all your files in the cloud. We'll learn in 2011 how many consumers are comfortable with that approach.

Google also may take another whack at social networking, where it hasn't made much of a dent after its Buzz service failed to take off. And it will have to rework its overly complex Google TV effort to bring Internet video to the living room.

Microsoft: The software giant still generates strong consumer loyalty with its older products, like Windows and Office and Xbox, all of which have had updates in the past year or two. But it faces big challenges in two hot areas: smart phones and tablets. Its new Windows Phone 7 platform has some nice design features, but also some missing capabilities that need to be addressed. Initial sales seem respectable, but will have to accelerate to get Microsoft back in a game it once led. The company also is a long way from the 300,000 apps available for the iPhone or the 100,000 for Android.

In tablets, Microsoft is hinting that a new version of Windows is being designed with a tablet focus to complement its PC focus. That product can't be too late, given the rapid rise of the iPad and the many planned Android and other tablets for 2011. One golden opportunity Microsoft has is to expand the reach of its brilliant Kinect technology for games to other forms of computing. This system can recognize individual users and interpret gestures without the use of a controller device.

Meanwhile, Microsoft hopes to seize on a surge in concern about privacy to help keep its diminishing lead in browsers by building new privacy features, unavailable so far in other browsers, into the 2011 version of Internet Explorer.

RIM: The BlackBerry maker had a good 2010 in some ways, though sales were propped up by two-for-one giveaways, and consumer surveys show enthusiasm fading for the iconic smart phone. It needs a radically new user interface to keep up with iPhone and Android, and a lot more third-party apps. But it can't afford to alienate its fan base. The company has an answer: a new software platform called QNX, but is vague on when that will show up on the BlackBerry. For 2011, RIM's big move will be a new QNX-based tablet, the PlayBook, which looks speedy and highly attractive in the limited demos RIM has provided. What isn't clear is how much the PlayBook will be aimed at consumers, as company officials have consistently stressed its appeal to businesses.

HP: The technology behemoth's laptops and printers have proved popular with consumers. But it hasn't had any real presence in smart-phones, tablets or consumer cloud services. To solve the problems, in 2010 HP bought innovative but struggling Palm, whose smart-phone operating system, webOS, and phones, the Pre and Pixi, got good reviews but sold poorly and didn't attract many third-party apps. In 2011, HP hopes to use its ample money and talent to revive webOS with new phones and tablets to challenge Apple and Android. A successful Palm re-launch, with the new initiatives from RIM and Microsoft, would be good for consumers by providing more choice and competition. HP also hopes to boost home printing with a new line of printers that can print anything emailed across the Internet and wirelessly print from Apple's hand-held devices.

Facebook and Twitter: The twin leaders in social networking were red-hot in 2010, attracting vast numbers of users. They have huge opportunities for further success, but face challenges. Smaller services, like social-coupon company Groupon, continue to emerge with new social and community ideas consumers like. Apple and Google could be big headaches if they get social right in 2011. Facebook must continue its recent initiative to let members share personal details with more limited groups of friends, and to find ways to make money while offering more privacy, which has been a thorn in its side. Twitter is on a mission to get more than an active minority to post, while convincing people it is a valuable way to keep up with news and opinion even if you never post.

Despite the poor economy, the consumer-tech companies continue to show vibrancy, innovation and success. But every year brings challenges and surprises, and 2011 promises to be another fascinating ride.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Changes in video games prompt optimism for 2011

Video game makers leave behind a year of slow sales in 2010, but are hopeful that a new generation of games for tablet computers, mobile phones and Web social networks will spur a return to growth in 2011.
The explosion of mobile games like "Infinity Blade" on iPhone and "Angry Birds" on Android smartphones has lured new consumers into playing games. At the same time, video game company Zynga has turned social network FaceBook into a hugely successful platform with hits like "Farmville" (55 million monthly players) and "CityVille" (44 million and counting).
"Before we were figuring out how to make social games, now we are mastering the art of making social games," said Mark Skaggs, vice president of product development at Zynga.
He said the next generation of FaceBook games will have "deeper gameplay, more polish, and be much more and better social experiences."
North American sales of video game hardware, software and accessories are expected to reach $20.9 billion for 2010 by the time all sales are totaled after the holidays. That figure is down four percent from 2009, according to Jesse Divnich, vice president of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research.
Yet, despite the economic slump that continues to impact gamers' disposable income, industry players expect 2011 to bring a wave of new revenue from items such as downloadable content, mobile games, and in-game micro-transactions.
Adding the new sources of revenue, Arvind Bhatia, senior research analyst at Sterne Agee, sees U.S. and European game sales up 5 percent for 2010 and another 5 percent for 2011.
AHEAD AT CES
At January's giant International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, companies such as Samsung and Verizon will unveil new smartphones and tablet devices to extend the reach of games to more consumers.
Michael Cai, the head of video game research at Interpret, said over half of tablet owners today (52 percent) are playing games on their devices. Gaming is the second most popular activity on iPads and other tablets, behind surfing the Web.
"I think one of the big trends of 2011 is cross-platform gameplay, that is, game experiences that are continuous across mobile, television, PC, social media, console and interactive toys," said Jesse Schell, assistant professor of entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon University.
"As these technologies get more and more ingrained in our lives, game experiences across them will become more connected and more continuous," he added
One reason for optimism is the performance of game sales at the end of 2010. "Call of Duty: Black Ops," for example, sold 8.4 million copies in the U.S. alone in November. Last week, its maker Activision Blizzard Inc said the game accounted for more than $1 billion in sales.
"Black Ops" is one of a growing number of titles shown in stereoscopic 3D, which should appeal to buyers of new 3D TVs that will be promoted heavily at the winter CES by companies such as Sony, Vizio and Panasonic who cater to gamers.
At CES, which runs from Jan. 6-9, Sony will showcase stereoscopic 3D games like "MLB 11: The Show," "Killzone 3D," and "Motorstorm: Apocalypse." Nintendo will promote its Nintendo 3DS autostereoscopic (glasses-free 3D) portable device, which will launch Feb. 26 in Japan and in other territories shortly thereafter.
Sony and Microsoft jumped into the motion controlled game this fall with PlayStation Move and Kinect for Xbox 360, and both are selling strongly and helping the bottom line for the game industry late in 2010.
"There had been doubts on whether the casual consumer, who ballooned industry sales in 2008 and 2009, would return given the plethora of much cheaper entertainment options such as mobile and social networking games," said Divnich. "With November 2010 sales being up across the board, it is clear that the casual and mainstream base is still willing to make significant video game purchases."

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Children Under 6 Shouldn't Play 3-D Games On 3DS

Nintendo Co. has issued a warning that children under the age of 6 shouldn't play three-dimensional games on its soon-to-be-released hand-held game machine, as looking at 3-D images for a long period of time can have a harmful effect on the growth of young children's eyes.

The company posted the disclaimer at the bottom of its Japanese-language website promoting a three-day event in Japan where people can try its new Nintendo 3DS, due to launch Feb. 26 in Japan. It asks that six-year-olds and those younger play games on the 3DS in two-dimension mode.

"For children under the age of six, looking at 3-D images for a long time could possibly have a negative impact on the growth of their eyes," Nintendo said on the website. It also warned that users should take breaks every 30 minutes when playing games in 3-D and stop playing immediately if they feel ill.

Nintendo has had more success than its competitors with adolescents and younger children, though it is unclear what age group the 3DS will target upon its release next year.

The Nintendo 3DS is the company's most-anticipated videogame hardware product since the Wii home console in 2006. The hand-held device will allow users to play 3-D games without special glasses to create the illusion of depth.

The warning is similar to those made by other makers of 3-D consumer electronics products. Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. all provide warnings on their websites about the possible risks of viewing 3-D images for children younger than 6.

Most 3-D technologies create the illusion of depth on a flat screen by presenting different images to the left and right eyes, typically using special glasses. But Nintendo is offering that effect with the display alone, without the need for glasses, using a technology called autostereoscopic 3-D.

The 3DS comes with a slidebar to allow the user to adjust the level of 3-D effect on the games played on the machine.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Sony sues to block LG from shipping phones to U.S.A.

Sony Corp has filed a patent infringement complaint seeking to block LG Electronics Inc from shipping smartphones such as its Rumour 2 model to the United States.

In a filing late Wednesday with the U.S. International Trade Commission, Sony said LG violated U.S. trade rules by importing mobile phones and modems that infringed Sony patents.

Sony said LG also infringed patents of some of its licensees, including its Sony Ericsson joint venture, Samsung and Nokia.

The company filed a related complaint with the federal court in Los Angeles, court records show. A copy of that complaint was not immediately available.

LG spokesman John Taylor said in an email that it is company policy not to discuss pending litigation.

Sony said the patent infringement relates to more than 10 phones including the Encore, LG Accolade, Neon, Quantum, Rumour Touch and others.

The patents in the suit involve audio and microphone devices in phones, caller ID technology and transmission power.

LG, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, this month said it is trying to expand its major businesses, including smartphones, and on Tuesday said it wants to raise 2011 sales by 11 percent to 156 trillion won ($135 billion).

Since October, LG has sold 2 million units of the Optimus One smartphone, its most popular smartphone model to date.

Sony reported an operating profit of 68.7 billion yen ($847 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, reversing a loss the previous year.

The ITC case is In re: Certain Mobile Phones and Modems, U.S. International Trade Commission, No. 337-TA. The California case is Sony Corp. v. LG Electronics USA Inc. et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 2:10-09967.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Clooney, Google, U.N. watch Sudan using

Groups including the United Nations, Harvard University, Google Inc and an organization co-founded by actor George Clooney are launching a project using satellites to "watch" Sudan for war crimes before a vote that could split the African country in two.

The Satellite Sentinel Project, which begins on Wednesday, is meant to provide an "early warning system" for human rights and security violations before the Jan. 9 referendum on whether to divide Sudan into north and south.

"We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we're watching, the world is watching," Clooney said in a statement.

The satellite project received funding for six months from Not On Our Watch, an organization co-founded by Clooney and his Hollywood friends, actors Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman and producer Jerry Weintraub.

The group has been active in raising money to help the many displaced people in the Darfur region of western Sudan, which has been ravaged by war and genocide.

Clooney told Time magazine in an article posted on its website that he came up with the idea three months ago when he was in Sudan meeting refugees from its last civil war. He called it "the anti-genocide paparazzi," referring to photographers who follow celebrities taking their pictures.

Under the project, commercial satellites over northern and southern Sudan will photograph any burned and bombed villages, mass movements of people, or other evidence of violence.

The United Nations' UNOSAT program will collect and analyze the images, Harvard's Humanitarian Initiative will provide research, more analysis and corroboration from field reports from the anti-genocide Enough Project,

Google and Trellon Llc, an Internet development firm, designed a Web platform for public access to information with the goal of pressuring Sudanese officials and other groups.

People in Sudan's oil-rich south are widely expected to vote to split away and form a new country in the referendum that was part of a 2005 peace deal ending civil war between north and south.

Ahead of the referendum, violence has already flared. Last week, members of the opposition Umma Party said they were beaten and tear-gassed by Sudanese police when they left a meeting to attend a mosque for Friday prayers.

On Dec. 24, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden phoned Sudanese Second Vice President Ali Osman Mohmed Taha to express Washington's concern about violence leading up to the vote.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Microsoft co-founder relaunches tech patent suit

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen relaunched a wide-ranging patent lawsuit against Apple Inc, Google Inc, Facebook and others with specific allegations that the companies are illegally using technology owned by his company.

Interval Licensing LLC, a small research company set up by Allen in 1992, originally filed a broad patent suit in federal court in Seattle in August, but Judge Marsha Pechman dismissed it on the grounds that it did not specify any actual products or devices. The revised suit was filed by Interval on Tuesday.

Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, claims Interval was central to research and development of technology in the Internet arena in the 1990s, amassing more than 300 patents and providing research assistance to Google.

In the suit, Allen's company claims four of its patents -- chiefly related to the way Web data is sorted and presented -- have been infringed by a number of successful companies.

MULTIPLE CLAIMS
The first patent concerns the generation of data related to information being browsed. Interval claims Google uses this technology to match advertisements from third parties to content being displayed, while AOL's sites use it to suggest items related to news stories.

Interval claims Apple's iTunes service uses the technology to suggest music based on a user's searches, and that eBay Inc, Facebook, Netflix, Yahoo Inc and Office Depot's sites have also infringed the patent in the way they direct users to related content.

The second and third patents concern relaying information on a computer screen in a peripheral, unobtrusive manner, such as in an instant messaging box or overlay.

Interval claims its patent has been infringed by features in AOL's Instant Messenger, Apple's Dashboard, Google Talk and Gmail Notifier, Google's Android phone system and Yahoo Widgets.

The fourth patent concerns alerting Web browsers to new items of interest based on activity of other users. Interval claims AOL uses this technology on its shopping sites, while Apple's iTunes uses it to recommend music.

Interval claims eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, Staples Inc, Yahoo and Google's YouTube all have infringed the patent in the way they suggest content to users.

NO MICROSOFT
The suit makes no mention of Microsoft as a patent holder or infringer, even though Allen's former company offers products similar to some described in the suit. A spokesman for Allen declined to comment on the suit.



Allen, 57, is the world's 37th richest person, according to Forbes magazine. He resigned as a Microsoft executive in 1983. Since then, he has funded scientific and medical research through his Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and invested in many projects in his native Seattle and Pacific Northwest region.

Interval has asked the court for damages and a ban on products that use the disputed patents. It is unclear how seriously the court, or the companies he has targeted, will take Allen's legal charges.

"We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously," a Facebook spokesman said in an e-mail.

EBay declined to comment. AOL, Apple, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, Staples and Yahoo did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.

The case is C10-1385 MJP in the U.S District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

SEC Probes Private Trades In Facebook, Other Firms

The U.S. securities regulator is looking into trading in privately-held Internet companies including Facebook and Twitter, media reports said, citing people familiar with the inquiry.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent letters to several people trading in the stock of these companies, seeking information about topics that include how such funds are valuing shares of those firms, the Wall Street Journal reported.
SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment to Reuters on the Journal report.
An emerging crop of online trading services such as SharesPost and SecondMarket facilitate share trading of unlisted Internet firms.
The probe is in a preliminary stage and appears to be partly focusing on funds that have been set up to allow investors to trade in private companies, the newspaper reported.
The regulator may also probe how the existence of funds affects an SEC rule that states that private companies must have fewer than 500 shareholders, or else publicly disclose significant financial information.
This was part of the reason Google Inc went public in 2003, the Financial Times said.
In recent months, the implied value of Facebook has risen more than 50 per cent, while the value of Twitter has more than doubled, the FT reported.
Early employees and investors in private companies have recently been selling their stock to buyers who want exposure to these fast-growing enterprises, the FT said.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Samsung to Release Galaxy Media Player

Samsung Electronics Co. will sell a stripped-down version of its successful Galaxy S smartphone as a digital media player, the first major product introduction since its cellphone division took control of the portable media player business earlier this year.

With the move, Samsung will round out a series of Galaxy-named gadgets that matches product for product with Apple Inc.'s line of iPods, iPad and iPhone.

Samsung will have the Galaxy Player, Galaxy Tab and Galaxy smartphone. All use a variation of Google Inc.'s Android operating system and work with apps developed for it.

The product has been rumored for months and some Internet shopping sites in South Korea have created Web pages for it that said "coming soon." Samsung formally announced it on Monday and said it would be available in South Korea next month, though it didn't set a shipping date. No price was announced, but pricing will depend on amount of built-in storage.

Samsung is aiming to roll it out in other countries in the April to June period and will display it at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

The product, called the Galaxy Player YP-GB1, matches most of the specifications of its Galaxy S phone, though its 4-inch touchscreen uses a liquid crystal display instead of newer organic LED and its operating system will be a more advanced version of Android. The gadget is 9.9 millimeters thick and weighs 121 grams.

The Android-based media player gives Samsung a chance to breathe new life into its media player business, which has long languished behind Apple and, for several years, a small South Korean manufacturer called iRiver Inc.

Samsung's phone division took control of development and sale of media player products earlier this year from the company's main consumer electronics division, which is the largest maker of TVs and also makes audio gear, computers and printers. Executives had long struggled with the direction of the portable player business.

Kim Jong-in, a vice president of product planning, said the company would not use the Yepp name, which it has used for other digital media players, for the Android-based media players. "We will use a Galaxy Player brand for the Galaxy series world-wide and the Yepp brand for normal media players in Korea," Mr. Kim said.

In an initial statement earlier this week, Samsung said it would sell the media player only through wireless carriers, but Mr. Kim said the company will offer it through retailers as well.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Wi-Fi Overload at High-Tech Meetings

Internet entrepreneurs climb on stage at technology conferences and praise a world in which everyone is perpetually connected to the Web.

But down in the audience, where people are busy typing and transmitting this wisdom, getting a Wi-Fi connection is often downright impossible.

“I’ve been to 50 events where the organizer gets on stage and says, ‘It will work,’ ” said Jason Calacanis, chief executive of Mahalo, a Web search company. “It never does.”

Last month in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 Summit, where about 1,000 people heard such luminaries as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and Eric E. Schmidt of Google talk about the digital future, the Wi-Fi slowed or stalled at times.

Earlier this year, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, had to ask the audience at his company’s developer conference to turn off their laptops and phones after his introduction of the iPhone 4 was derailed because of an overloaded Wi-Fi network.

And few of Silicon Valley’s technorati seem willing to forget one of the biggest Wi-Fi breakdowns, on the opening day of a conference in 2008 co-hosted by the technology blog TechCrunch. It left much of the audience steaming over the lack of Internet access. The next morning, the organizers — who included Mr. Calacanis — clambered onto the stage to apologize and announce that they had fired the company that installed the Wi-Fi.

Technology conferences are like revival meetings for entrepreneurs, deal makers and the digitally obsessed. Attendees compulsively blog, e-mail, text and send photos and video from their seats.

Some go so far as to watch a webcast of the event on their laptops rather than look up at the real thing right in front of them. Nearly all conferences make free Wi-Fi available to keep the crowd feeling connected and productive.

The problem is that Wi-Fi was never intended for large halls and thousands of people, many of them bristling with an arsenal of laptops, iPhones and iPads. Mr. Calacanis went to the extreme at the Web 2.0 Summit by bringing six devices to get online — a laptop, two smartphones and three wireless routers.

He explained — while writing e-mails on his laptop — that as a chief executive and investor, he needed dependable Internet access at all times. “You’ve still got to work,” Mr. Calacanis said.

Wi-Fi is meant for homes and other small spaces with more modest Internet demands, says Ernie Mariette, founder of Mariette Systems, which installs conference Wi-Fi. “You’re asking a technology to operate beyond its capability.”

Conference organizers and the Wi-Fi specialists they hire often fail to provide enough bandwidth. Many depend on the infrastructure that the hotels or convention centers hosting their events already have in place.

Companies that install Wi-Fi networks sometimes have only a day to set up their equipment in a hall and then test it. They must plan not only for the number of attendees, but also the size and shape of the room, along with how Wi-Fi signals reflect from walls and are absorbed by the audience.

“Every space is different and every crowd is different,” Mr. Mariette said.

What is good enough for a convention of podiatrists is woefully inadequate for Silicon Valley’s connected set.

“I’ve been to health care conferences where no one brings a laptop,” said Ross Mayfield, president of the business software company Socialtext and a technology conference regular.

Technology conferences are an anomaly. Some regulars joke, perhaps accurately, that the events are host to more Internet devices per square foot than anywhere in the world. All too often, the network freezes after becoming overwhelmed with all the nonstop streaming, downloading and social networking.

That was what happened this year at the RailsConf, a software conference in Baltimore, when attendees caused Wi-Fi gridlock by tuning in to a webcast of an unrelated event across the country. Nearly everyone, it turned out, wanted to watch Apple’s live unveiling of the iPhone 4, the very one that fell victim to a Wi-Fi crash.

Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not necessarily fix the problem, Mr. Mariette said. In fact, doing so may make the situation worse by creating more interference.

To avoid Wi-Fi gridlock, conference organizers sometimes ask attendees to turn off electronics they are not using and to refrain from downloading big files. Cooperation is generally mixed, however.

Last year, an attendee at Web 2.0 Expo in New York was so desperate to get online that he offered to pay Oren Michels, chief executive of Mashery, a Web services company, to share his mobile Internet connection. MiFi, as the device is called, enables users to create mini-Internet hot spots using a mobile carrier’s network, not conference Wi-Fi.

“He said, ‘Can I give you 20 bucks for access?’ ” Mr. Michels recalled. “It was just some random person sitting next to me.”

Even if Wi-Fi devices are not connected to the network, they constantly emit signals that create background noise, sometimes until it becomes impossible to get online. IPhones and most BlackBerrys, along with certain laptops, are more susceptible than other devices because they operate on 2.4 GHz, a part of the spectrum that offers only three channels.

The Wi-Fi curse also extends to tech industry press conferences. Google, for instance, once held a press day at its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., during which the Wi-Fi failed for several hours, although it was restored during the event’s final minutes. The flub did not exactly build confidence that Google and its partner, EarthLink, could deliver on their plans — since abandoned — to blanket San Francisco with free Wi-Fi.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Chitika

Tags

.xxx domain (1) 'super' computer (1) `Bionic eye` (1) `Sparsh` (1) 000 toxic chemicals (1) 10 (1) 100 tablet launches (1) 19 near-Earth asteroids (1) 29 websites (1) 3-D films (1) 3-D holographic video (1) 3-D TV (1) 3D cameras (1) 3D microscope (1) 3D tablet (1) 3D TV (1) 3G connection (1) 3G Plans (1) 3G/ 4G technologies (1) 4G (1) 4G tablet (1) A19 LEDs (1) Acer (2) Acer CEO (1) Aegis (1) Agni-III (1) Air laser (1) Air Liquide (1) Airtel (1) Alternative Fuel Technology (1) Alzheimer's detection (1) Amazon (1) AMD (4) AMD flagship hexa processors (1) Android (7) Android Dual SIM (1) Android and BlackBerry (1) Android and Symbian Apps (1) Android e-reader (1) Android phones (3) Android Price Wars (1) Android software (1) Answer engines (1) Anti-virus (2) apan (1) APJ Abdul Kalam (1) App (1) APP STORE (1) Appia (1) Apple (38) Apple and Google (1) Apple App Store (1) Apple CEO Steve Jobs (1) Apple Control (1) Apple iOS 4.3 (1) Apple iPad (6) Apple iPad 2 (2) Apple iPhone (2) Apple iPhone 4 (1) Apple iPhone 4 Moblie (1) Apple sues Amazon.com (1) Apple tablet (1) Apple's App (2) Apple's E-Books (1) Apple's iOS (1) Apple's iPad (3) Apple's iPad 2 (3) Apple's iPad2 (1) Apple’s iPhone (1) Apple's Jobs (2) Apple's new iPad (1) Apple's sales Mystery helps (1) Apps (1) apps for iPad (1) April Fool's (1) AT and T (4) AT and T Buys T-Mobile (1) Bacteria-free (1) Bans users (1) Battery (1) Bell (1) Big Bang (1) Big threat (1) Bing (2) Bing Search (1) Black Hole (1) BlackBerr (1) BlackBerry (14) BlackBerry app (1) BlackBerry Bold 978 mobile phone (1) BlackBerry Messenger (1) BlackBerry PlayBook tablet (1) BlackBerry tablet (2) Blackberry thumb (1) blind (1) Bloggers (1) Blood chip (1) Bluetooth (1) Bombs (1) Breath test (1) British mobile internet (1) Broadband (1) Browsers Hackers (1) Browsers' life public (1) Budget (1) Bug (1) Bullet Train (2) Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) (1) Buzz cash (1) Cablevision (1) Camera (1) cameras (1) Canada cyber attack (1) Canon EOS Rebel T2i camera (1) Caparo India (1) car (1) Car reads emails (1) Cards (1) Cell Phone (3) Cellphone (1) Chairman J.T. Wang (1) Charge cell phones (1) Cheap (1) check pulse (1) China (12) China GPS (1) Chinese Supercomputers (1) Chinese voices (1) Chip (1) Chips Makers (1) Chrome (2) CIA New website (1) Cloud Computing (1) cockpits (1) College Admissions (1) communication (2) Computer commands (1) Computers (4) Confess via iPhone (1) costlier (1) credit card (1) Credit Suisse (1) Cricket (1) Cricket with music service (1) Crowdsourcing (1) CSS Corp (1) Cyber attack (1) Cyber attacks (2) Cyber crimes (1) Cyber criminals (1) Cyber Sunday (1) Cyber Threats (1) Cyber warriors (1) Cyber world (1) Cyber-warfare (1) Cybercrooks (1) Data transfer (1) Day and night equal (1) Defaced Govt Websites (1) delete drunken message (1) Dell (5) Dell XPS laptops (1) Denmark (1) detect LPG gas leaks (1) Device (1) Diagnoses diseases (1) Digital Camera (1) Digitized (1) Disaster alert app (1) discovered (1) Discovery (2) Disposable cameras (1) DJ Kadhafi (1) DNA (1) Documents go online (1) Dreampark (1) DSLR (1) e-commerce (1) E-Waste (1) E7 smartphone (1) EADS (1) Earth-observation satellite (1) Earth's data (1) Earth's value (1) Earthquake (1) Earthquakes (1) Eclipse Live Online (1) Eco-friendly cars (1) Egypt (4) Egypt govt (1) Egyptian protesters (1) Einstein (1) electricity (1) Electronic rickshaw (1) elite (1) Email (1) Emails (1) Endeavour (1) energy efficient (1) EU (1) EU competition complaint (1) European Broadband (1) Everio GZ-HM340 Handy Camera (1) Ex-Apple (1) ex-boyfriends (1) Expired Tablet (1) extraterrestrials (1) FaceBook (69) Facebook crime (1) Facebook discount service (1) FaceBook News (2) Facebook Samaritans (1) Facebook Third Party Commenting Platform (1) Facebook updates (1) Facebook's mobile phone (1) Fake A/Cs of Sonia (1) FarmVille's new offering (1) fingerprint (1) fingerprints from fabric (2) Firefox (2) FireFox Mozilla (1) Force10 (1) France fines Google (1) Fuel consumption (1) Fusion processor (1) Future electric cars (1) Gadget (2) Gadgets (4) GadgetTrak (1) Galaxy (1) Game (1) game changer (1) Game download (1) Games (2) Gartner (1) geek. Google Boss (1) Genetic testing (1) GLONASS (1) Gmail accounts (2) Gmail data safe (1) Gmail Motion (1) Gmail service (1) Google (79) Google accuses Chinese government (1) Google Android (1) Google apps (1) Google books settlement (1) Google Bookstore (1) Google Buzz (3) Google Chrome (3) Google Circles (1) Google Earth (2) Google Inc. (1) Google Maps (1) Google Search (3) Google Searches (1) Google subscription service (1) Google TV (1) Google Virtual Museums (1) Google vs China (1) Google-Facebook takeover (1) Google.Groupon (1) Google's 3D browser (1) Google's Android (2) Google's Android operating system (1) Google's Cloud (1) Google's new phone (1) Googleganger (1) Government (1) Greatest spying machine (1) Green Parrot (1) GSAT-5P (1) GSLV failure (1) GSLV-F06 (1) hack-free software (1) hackers (2) Hadron Collider (1) HCL Infosystems (1) HCL Laptop (1) HCL staff left Japan (1) HCL Tech (1) HCL Technologies Japan (1) heartbeat (1) Helmet Gadget (1) Hi-tech (1) High-capacity (1) High-end gadgets (1) High-tech hairnet (1) Hire (1) Hitachi (1) Hong Kong (1) Hotmail (2) HP (2) HP PalmPad tablet (1) HTC (4) HTC 5 smartphone (1) HTC 7 Mozart (1) HTC Desire HD (1) HTC Incredible S (1) HTC Mobile (1) HTC Unveils Desire Z (1) HTTPS (1) Human tissue (1) human-shaped mobile phone (1) Hydrogen storage (1) IAF (1) IBM (3) iGate-Apax (1) India (1) Indian (1) Indian IT companies (1) Indian IT in 2011 (1) Indian IT sector (2) Indian techies (1) Indian-led company (1) Information and CommunicationTechnology industry (1) Information technology (1) Infosys (2) Infy (1) Ink-jet printers (1) innovation (1) Intel (11) Intel chip (2) Intel Insider (1) Internet (12) Internet addresses (1) Internet Explorer 9 (1) Internet protocol (1) Internet services (1) Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link MX HD (1) IP addresses (2) iPad (18) iPad "Galaxy Tablet" (1) iPad 2 (3) iPad 2 price (1) iPad app TV (2) iPad Apps and Android (1) iPad hacking (1) iPad newspaper (1) iPad's Price (1) iPad2 (1) iPads App (1) iPhone (17) iPhone 3GS (1) iPhone app (5) iPhone Mobile (1) iPhones (1) iPhones App (1) iPod (1) iPods (1) IPTV software (1) Iran (1) IT investment (1) IT trade fair (1) ITA Software (1) Itanium processor (1) Japan (5) Japan disaster (1) Japan disaster donators (1) Japan earthquake (1) Japan plant Blast (1) Japan quake (3) Japan's DoCoMo (1) Japan's N-reactors (1) Japanese phone (1) JooJoo Tablet PC (1) Kindle (1) Kindle for BlackBerry (1) Kodak (1) laptop (1) laptops (3) Larry Page (1) Laser (1) Laser diodes (2) laser sensing technology (1) Lava (1) LAVA A9 Mobile (1) LED (1) lemon (1) Lenovo (5) Lenovo launches new PCs (1) LePad tablet (1) LG (5) LG GD880 (1) LG Mini (1) LG Optimus (1) LG Optimus 2X (1) LG's tablet (1) Life capsule (1) LinkedIn (2) LMZ12003 (1) lunar eclipse (1) M-E crisis (1) MacBook (1) MAFIA II Game (1) Magic cap (1) Malicious attack (1) Malware (1) Managing traffic (1) Map application (1) market value (1) McAfee (3) Meego phone (1) Memory chips (1) Mercury (1) Message (1) micro-blogs (1) Microblogs (1) microchips (1) microcontroller development (1) Micromax (1) Microsoft (34) Microsoft web browser (1) Microsoft Window (2) Microsoft Windows Phone 7 (1) Microsoft's Kinect (1) million Web pages (1) MindTree (3) MIT (1) Mobiado 712ZAF (1) mobile (2) Mobile ads privacy concerns (1) Mobile airwaves (1) Mobile app (3) Mobile apps (1) Mobile battery (1) Mobile browsers (1) Mobile Fair (1) Mobile iPhone (1) Mobile Makers (1) Mobile News (1) Mobile Nokia N8 (1) Mobile payment technology (1) mobile phone (2) mobile phone charger (1) Mobile Phone Samsung i5700 (1) Mobile phones (1) Mobile software (1) mobile system (1) mobile tech (1) Mobile to pay (1) mobile wi-fi device (1) Mobile-App (1) Mohali (1) Money transfer business (1) Monster.com (1) Morpho (1) Motorola (5) Motorola Xoom (1) Motorola Defy (1) Motorola Droid X Mobile (1) Motorola Mobile (2) Motorola Tablet (1) MOTOROLA XT800 (1) Mozilla (1) Mozilla Firefox (1) MP3 (1) MS Office (1) MS Office web apps (1) MS Windows (1) MSI U160DX (1) MSI Wind U135 Laptop Review (1) MTS (2) multi-million dollar contract (1) Multimedia (1) Murdoch's iPad (1) MySpace (1) Mythology (1) N-contaminated (1) Nanoscale whiskers (1) NASA (7) NASA's Endeavour (1) Navigation charts (1) Nehru Place (1) NeST Software (1) Netbook makers (1) New app (1) New cheapest iPad (1) New device (1) New iPad app (1) New social networking (1) News (4) News Corp (1) News industry (1) Night Sky (1) Nintendo (1) Nintendo's 3DS (1) Nobel Peace Prize (1) Nokia (20) Nokia 5233 (1) Nokia 6600i Mobile (1) Nokia and Microsoft (1) Nokia E7 (3) Nokia jobs (1) Nokia N97 (1) Nokia software (1) Nokia Windows phone (1) Nokia X5 (1) Nokia X7-00 (1) Nokia's Microsoft alliance (1) Nokia's smartphone (1) Nokia's Symbian (1) Notebook (1) NSA (1) Nuclear technology (1) NZ quake (1) Obama (1) Olive (1) Olive Nexus VR-9 (1) Online Fight Against Terrorism (1) online game (1) Online gaming (1) Online health (1) Online image editing (1) Online orders (1) Online social game (1) online stores (1) online users (1) Opera (2) Opera 11 (1) operating system (1) operating systems iOS and Mac OS X (1) Oracle (1) orbit (2) Outsourcing (1) Overweight (1) Ovi Store (1) Pad App (1) PALRO Humanoid Robot (1) Panasonic (2) Panic button (1) Parrot (1) PayPal (1) PC (2) PC market (1) PCs (1) Phone (2) Phones (2) Photos (1) pineapple (1) Piracy (1) PlayStation (1) PlayStation app for iPhone and Android (1) Popular Language (1) Power Ministry (1) Privacy breach (1) PS1 telescope (1) PS3s seizure (1) Quake (1) Quake-hit Japan (1) Qualcomm (1) Quantum computers (1) Quash Cyber Crimes (1) recharge (1) recruit (1) Reliance Communications (1) retinitis pigmentosa (1) Review (1) RIM (10) RIM's PlayBook (2) Rising Costs (1) Robot (1) Robot system (1) Robotic Hand (1) Robots (1) Rocket (1) RSS wallpaper (1) Russia (1) Russian (1) Russian satnav (1) SAIC's energy technology (1) Saline wipes (1) Samsung (9) Samsung tablet computer (1) Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.2 (1) Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (1) Samsung Galaxy Tab Mobile (1) Samsung Wave II (1) Samsung WiFi Camera (1) Samsung's Galaxy Tab (1) Samsung's ultra-slim notebook (1) SATA (1) satellite (1) satellite in space (1) Sci-Tech (3) Scientists (2) Second generation processor (1) send ambulance (1) Sensors (1) severe health hazard (1) skin (1) skin cancer (1) Skype (6) smart and sleek in 2010 (1) Smart Browsers (1) smart house (1) smart phone (1) Smart phones (1) smarter phones (1) Smartphone (1) Smartphones (10) Snaptu (1) Social Media (2) Social network (2) Social networking (2) Social networking sites (2) Software (4) software for mobile payments (1) software for police (1) Software Technology Parks (1) Solar car (1) Sony (5) Sony Alpha SLT-A33L (1) Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone (1) Sony Ericsson Xperia (1) Sony Q3 (1) Soota (1) space (1) Space shuttle Discovery (1) Spacecraft spies (1) Spacecraft Stardust (1) Spain (1) Spam e-mail (1) Spam emails shut down (1) spy (1) stand-alone reset timers (1) Stanford (1) Star Wars helmet (1) Star Zynga (1) Street View (1) Strong IP (1) Study (1) Super Mario Game (2) super-fast quantum computer (1) Super-tablets (1) Supercharging (1) supernova (1) SuperSpeed USB (1) Swipe (1) Swiss court (2) Symantec (1) Symbian (2) T-Mobile (4) Tab race (1) Tablet (5) tablet apps (1) tablet boom (1) Tablets (4) Taiwan fair (1) Taiwan research (1) Taiwan's Acer (1) Talking Car (1) TCS (2) Tech Fair (1) Tech Initiatives (1) Tech sharing (1) Technology in 2011 (1) Technology research (1) Telepresence (1) The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) (1) The Flying Car (1) Time machine (1) TinyHippos (1) TOI (1) Toshiba (3) Tostitos (1) touch screen (1) Track heart-attack damage (1) Tracking device (1) Traffic jams (1) Transcend RAM (1) TRANSPARENT CEMENT (1) Trojan horses (1) Tsunami alert (1) Tsunami alerts (1) TV (2) TVs (1) Twitter (30) Twitter data (1) Twitter workaround (1) Twitter-WikiLeaks case (1) U.S. sellout (1) UberMedia apps (1) UK (1) Ultrafast broadband (1) Unique identity people (1) up (1) US (2) US face cyber attack (1) US networks (1) USB drive (1) used iPads (1) UV gadget (1) V-Day computer viruses (1) VeriFone Systems (1) Verizon (1) Verizon iPhone (4) Verizon new iPhone (1) Verizon Wireless (3) Verizon Wireless iPhone (1) Verizon Wireless Mobile (1) Viacom vs Youtube (1) video games (3) Violation complaint (1) virtual (1) virus (2) Virus hacks (1) Viruses (2) Vision (1) Vodafone (2) Vodafone's Cheapest Mobile (1) Voice-based browse (1) Vscan (1) Walt Disney (1) water (1) weathers (1) web (1) Web Addresses (1) Web Attacks (4) Web search (1) Web Telephony (1) Websites (1) Weed-eating fish ke (1) Wi-Fi (1) Wi-Fi router (1) WiFi hotspot with 3G (1) WikiLeakes (10) WikiLeaks (12) WikiLeaks case (1) WikiLeaks probe (1) Wikipedia (4) Windows 7 (1) Windows 8 (1) Windows phone (1) Windows Phone “Mango” (1) Windows Phone 7 (1) Windows Phone software (1) Wipro (2) Wireless (1) Wireless service (1) WLED LED (1) World Cup (2) world's finest museums (1) world's largest rocket production base (1) World's Smallest Computer (1) worldwide reaches (1) wrinkles (1) WWW2011 (1) X6 Mobile (1) Xbox 360 (1) Yahoo (3) YouTube (4) YouTube movie (1) zombie ant (1) ZTE (1) Zune player (1) Zynga (1)