Get ready for the iPad with Cradle lap desk
Now that we know the iPad is coming to Ireland this Friday, 23 July, we’ll need to start thinking about how we’re going to accessorise it and you can’t get more quirky than the Cradle lap desk.
Made from plyboo (that’s bamboo-effect plywood), the Cradle lap desk has a circular centre made of matte soft-touch where you dock your iPad for swivelling and turning about while placing the desk in a comfy manner on your lap or in front of you.
If you’ve already played with an iPad you’ll know that it won’t just rest on your lap – it requires holding and re-positioning and can be a slippery gadget.
This funky design from www.quirky.com will look good in the modern home or office and importantly has a foam cushion on the underside so it’s comfortable, too.
Quirky.com is a design collective where ideas can be submitted by the general public for US$99. If the idea is useful/unique enough, it is passed through resident designers and the Quirky community gets a say on the look, logo, etc.
Depending on the unit price, Quirky needs pre-sale commitment from a certain number of people and when this number is reached it goes on sale.
By Marie Boran, Silicon Republic, Tuesday July 20 2010
HP files trademark application for ‘PalmPad’
Computer giant HP which has just acquired smartphone maker Palm has completed a trademark application for ‘PalmPad’ signalling its intention to go head to head with Apple’s iPad.
HP, which earlier this month confirmed it completed the US$1.2bn acquisition of Palm, has made no secret of thefact that it plans to feature Palm’s webOS in a new line of tablet PCs, netbooks and smartphones.
The filing with the USPTO was made by Hewlett-Packard Development Company based out of Houston, Texas.
Prior to buying Palm, HP has been mysteriously quiet about plans to make a Windows 7 based tablet computer – dubbed the Slate – and has jettisoned plans to make Android-based tablet devices.
Upon completion of the Palm purchase, Todd Bradley, executive vice-president of HP’s Personal Systems Group, explained the that acquisition will give HP access to Palm’s webOS platform and, in particular, a “rich portfolio of intellectual property” from the smartphone maker.
Former Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein made it clear the webOS platform will feature in future slate PCs and netbooks.
“With webOS, HP will deliver its customers a unique and compelling experience across smartphones and other mobility products.
“This allows us the opportunity to fully engage in growing our smartphone family offering and the footprint of webOS.”
Rubenstein will lead the Palm global business unit within HP and will report to Bradley.
By John Kennedy, Silicon Republic, Tuesday July 20 2010
Silver lining for Irish firms in cloud computing
MICROSOFT IS staking its future on cloud computing and gambling that businesses all over the world will make the switch from inhouse computing to cyberspace.
At a five-day Washington summit for 14,000 partners this week, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said the industry was “at an inflection point in technology history” and predicted spending on cloud applications will grow five times faster than all other software spending.
Cloud computing enables companies to dispense with costly inhouse servers and run everything from e-mail to accounting and other complex computer services on the web with huge savings.
“There’s a great buzz here. It’s all about the cloud. Every second word is the cloud. Microsoft are 100 per cent with the cloud and they want all their partners to lead the way and help companies make this change,” said Hugh MacHale, of Dublin-based Itomic.
Mr McHale represented one of 74 Irish firms that flew into Washington for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference to get the inside track on how they can work with Microsoft to develop professional applications.
Spanish Point Technologies, also based in Dublin, showcased applications it has already developed for Windows Azure – the MS cloud platform.
The Irish Music Rights Organisation (Imro) which collects royalties for musicians is one company using the technology. It created a system which allowed artists to log in and track payments at the end of a month, cutting computer costs dramatically for Imro.
“If they don’t use the system 20 days of the month, they’re not charged because the payments are made according to usage,” said Donal Cullen, founder of Spanish Point. In Washington, he launched another product, after Microsoft asked him to demonstrate at the summit. He hopes to leave with outline agreements to sell the product in France, Spain and Sweden, creating 10 jobs in Ireland.
Trade Facilitate, another Irish firm, got a boost after getting a name check in Ballmer’s keynote speech. “I was blown away. And sitting in the same theatre with 14,000 others and the MS CEO pointing to us alongside Accenture and Siemens was a good feeling,” said Conor O’Riordain whose background is imports and exports
He is already capitalising on new EU laws on paper-free customs which require all goods to carry a “passport” from January. Trade Facilitate has an EU- and US-approved application that allows import and export companies do all their paperwork on the cloud and pass customs quickly.
Mr O’Riordain launched the product in March after a two-year development and validation process, and already has 800 customers, including coffee suppliers in Ethiopia and wine producers all over the world. “This conference will have enormous impact on our business,” he said.
For Itomic, the conference was a vindication of its business strategy. Up until last year, it was a traditional hardware firm selling servers and maintaining them. “We thought if we started to migrate people to the cloud we could cannabilise our business, but . . . we have to do it because it is the right thing for business.
“The cloud is the single biggest thing to happen since the growth of the internet,” said Mr McHale.
By Lisa O’Carroll, The Irish Times, Friday July 16 2010
Updates are weapon in mobile war
The latest battle between Google and Apple for supremacy in the mobile market pits revamped Android against new iOS4.
THE COMPETITION between Google and Apple has become increasingly fierce in recent months, with both firms striving for the top spot in the mobile market.
Striving to close the gap with Apple, Google has pushed out an update to its popular Android platform. Announced by the search giant in May, Android 2.2, or Froyo, may not have drastically changed the operating system, but it does contain some important upgrades.
However, Android is not the only one to get an update. The much-publicised iOS4 for iPhone was made available to users last month, bringing with it more than 100 new features or tweaks for 3GS users.
The iPhone operating system has one benefit. Unlike Android, which is available across a range of handsets, all with hardware capabilities, iOS4 only works with the iPhone – and the iPad of course. That limits it to the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4, and Apple knows what hardware is in these handsets. Owners of the original iPhone are stuck with the previous operating system. Android, in contrast, is found in everything from entry-level handsets to high-end smartphones. While it means there are more handsets using Android, it also means the hardware profile is more diverse.
Like iOS4, however, Froyo is not compatible with all Android-powered handsets. It is not yet clear which handsets will be left on 2.1.
Apple has had tight control on how the operating system update was pushed out. You must connect to iTunes to get the update, and it was made available from June 21st. Android allows updates to be downloaded over the mobile data network, or through Wi-Fi, and you don’t need to connect to a PC to install it.
One of the key changes in the Froyo update – and the most useful – is the boost in speed, both for applications and the native browser. The system is more slick, and works better than its predecessors.
While many users may have downloaded alternative browsers such as Opera Mini, the native browser is still an important part of the system. It’s faster than its predecessor, and in some basic tests showed up as speedier than Apple’s Safari on the iPhone. JavaScript-heavy pages load quicker, thanks to the V8 tweaks.
A key advantage of the Google system is that it supports Flash. Although it can slow things down considerably, it offers consumers the option of accessing the content, rather than dealing with Apple’s decree that the standard will not appear at all on the system.
Multitasking is something that has been available on Android handsets for some time now. In fact, the Motorola Droid made it a key component in its advertising campaign, pointing out exactly what the iPhone couldn’t do. Apple’s latest operating system brought in multitasking for its 3GS and iPhone 4 users – the 3G is not compatible with that particular feature and, as previously mentioned, the original handset will not work with iOS4 at all.
While multitasking was one of the most eagerly awaited features of iOS4, it got a somewhat muted reception. This was due mainly to the way multitasking operated – ie, in a limited fashion. In a lot of cases, it’s not “true” multitasking. You can’t start an application and leave it working in the background. Most of the time, it merely suspends the application and remembers its state.
There are some exceptions, for example with GPS or music applications, which can now run in the background while you browse the web or check e-mail. Android, however, allows you to start browsing a web page and go check your e-mail before returning to the browser, which has been working in the background. The new feature also depended on iPhone developers updating the applications to take advantage of the multitasking option, however limited. This is somewhat of a slow process, with updates rolling out all the time.
However, the iPhone does have one advantage: while there’s an easy way to shut down the applications running in the background on iOS4, the same option is not afforded to Android users. The upshot is a slowly draining battery and, eventually, a dead phone.
Yet another update for the iPhone, the ability to create folders, is nothing new to Android; it’s been available since the Cupcake version – Android 1.5 – was rolled out. The iPhone version was a latecomer to the party. Up until now, your apps were spread over numerous pages. It was an unwieldy system rectified with iOS4. The iPhone version of folders, typically, looks better than the Android version.
Both operating systems offer Microsoft Exchange accounts, but iOS4 brings multiple accounts to the iPhone. Android has also beefed up its Exchange support. It offers account auto-discovery and calendar sync. Security has also been improved, and a remote wipe for lost or stolen devices can be performed. It also supports the Global Address List function.
Google’s developers have also brought the ability to install applications to an external storage medium, such as an SD card, to handsets. This opens up the capacity, quite restricted before. Apple does not offer external storage, but the memory users could install applications in was much greater.
Certain Android phones can now be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot, and the 2.2 update introduced USB tethering. Tethering has been enabled in the iPhone for some time, although carriers were slower to embrace it.
Overall, Apple has a slicker, more neatly packaged system. While it remains a more popular system than Android, this could change. Research firm IDC has predicted Android will overtake Apple in the mobile market by 2013 and, with some developers viewing the open platform as an increasingly attractive prospect, Apple may soon have a fight on its hands.
By Ciara O’Brien, The Irish Times, Friday July 16 2010
Apple plans surprise briefing on iPhone 4 antenna issue
Apple has called a surprise news conference for Friday to talk about the iPhone 4 as the clamour for the company to resolve antenna problems with the new device intensified.
The company has refused to give details about whether the event will address reception problems that some users have reported with the phone, launched just last month.
Apple has faced mounting criticism from analysts and consumers over its handling of the issue.
Industry watchers said the firm was in danger of damaging its “rock star” reputation how poorly it has dealt with what would normally be a minor problem.
“It seems there has been a real crisis of leadership here,” said Patrick Kereley, senior digital strategist for Levick Strategic Communications which deals in crisis managment and reputation protection.
“There are so many conflicting reports about this issue and a lot of confusion in the marketplace. They need a plan of attack. Today’s companies have to react quickly before chatter on Facebook or Twitter turns into news headlines as is the case here,” Mr Kereley told BBC News.
That was a view echoed by a number of other brand managers and industry analysts.
“They have not handled this well at all and they have turned this into a bigger problem than it needed to be,” said Van Baker, senior vice president of research at Gartner.
Escalating issue
Reports of problems with the iPhone 4′s antennae started surfacing shortly after the phone went on sale on June 24. At that time some users claimed the signal strength fell away and calls were dropped when they gripped the phone on the lower left side.
A number of videos were posted on the video sharing site YouTube complaining about the reception issue.
The iPhone 4 integrates the antenna into the case Days later an email that puported to have been sent by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs did the rounds after one user contacted him to find out if there was a fix for the problem.
BoyGeniusReport.com, an Apple blog, printed the transcript in which Mr Jobs emailed back “you are getting all worked up over a few days of rumours. Calm down”.
The authenticity of the exchange was never confirmed or denied by Apple but it lit a spark among critics and fans alike who marvelled at the tone.
“The arrogance of this email, true or not, escalated the problem for Apple when what they should have done was get out in front of the problem and said here is the deal,” said technology analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.
On July 2, Apple issued a statement explaining that it was “surprised” by reports of reception problems and that an investigation found there was an error in the how the signals bars are displayed, rather than the signal itself.
The casing of Apple’s latest phone is made of stainless steel and also serves as its antenna.
Tests carried out this week by Consumer Reports confirmed a problem with the iPhone 4′s reception. In what was seen as a body blow to Apple, Consumer Reports said it could not recommend the phone to users.
Recall
In the last 48 hours the furore around the iPhone 4 antenna problem has snowballed.
There have been requests to have the phone recalled but that is seen as an very unlikely scenario given the damage that would cause to Apple’s bottom line and its reputation.
“Apple is probably one of the most important brands of the last 50 years,” said Olivier Blanchard, president of Brand Builder Marketing.
“They are rock stars in that sense and I believe that this fiasco with the iPhone 4 is an excuse to attack a company that is becoming such a giant. Five years ago when they were the underdog this would have been a non issue,” Mr Blanchard told BBC News.
Analysts have estimated a recall could cost as much as $1.5bn (£1bn) whereas the cost of issuing free rubber bumpers to aleviate the problem would be far cheaper at nearly $180m (£118m).
Despite the negative headlines, a number of analysts have reported that consumers are not turned off.
“So far, in our supply chain and industry checks, we have not seen any change in build plans or demand patterns and thus we are not changing our estimates looking for 7.5m iPhones in the June quarter and 40m in C2010,” said Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros.
“In fact, our sources indicate that Apple is still having difficulty keeping up with strong demand due to screen supply constraints. Should this antenna issue become a bigger deal, there could be a risk to iPhone estimates.”
By Maggie Shiels, Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley, Thrusday July 15 2010
Google Street View takes to Irish roads again
The Google car has returned! Following last year’s arrival of Google’s fleet of cars to Irish streets, particularly with a focus on mapping the five major cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, they’re back to “fill a few gaps”.
Last March, Google cars arrived in Dublin with the aim of mapping out city centres plus suburban and outlying areas with an aim of launching its online panoramic mapping service Street View that gives users a car’s-eye view of streets while allowing them to virtually explore.
Originally, Google said that Street View for Ireland would be launched anywhere from three months to a year later and while this has not happened yet the return of the Google car aims to add some more street-level imagery before launch.
“We started driving in Ireland last summer to collect imagery to launch Street View in Ireland but want to fill a few gaps, and add a few more special sites,” said Google, adding that Ireland’s top tourist attractions and natural scenery will be part of this.
Privacy concerns
However, the Google cars coming to Irish shores this time around will be different following the recent revelation that Google had “mistakenly included code in our software that collected samples of payload data from Wi-Fi networks”.
In other words, the Google car did not just collect GPS information and imagery, it also collected information on private unencrypted Wi-Fi internet connections that would have included browsing history, saved passwords and so on. (Password-protected networks were not affected).
This Wi-Fi payload data was destroyed in May following a request by the Irish Data Protection Authority in the presence of an independent third party.
Google said of this second visit by the Google car: “We’d also like to take this opportunity to update everyone on some changes we’ve made to our cars. You may remember that in May we announced that we had mistakenly included code in our software in Street View cars that collected Wi-Fi payload data. As soon as we discovered our error, we not only announced that we would stop collecting all Wi-Fi data via our StreetView cars, we also grounded our entire fleet of vehicles so we could remove the equipment and discuss what had happened with local regulators.”
By Marie Boran, Silicon Republic, Friday July 9 2010
Facebook to launch child safety ‘panic button’
Facebook has announced it is to launch a “panic button” application on its social networking site.
The button, aimed at children and teenagers, will report abuse to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) and Facebook.
The application will also appear on their homepage to say that “they are in control online”.
The launch follows months of negotiation between Ceop and Facebook, which initially resisted the idea.
Ceop, the government law enforcement agency tasked with tracking down online sex offenders, called for a panic button to be installed on social networking sites last November.
Bebo became the first network to add the button with MySpace following suit, but Facebook resisted the change, saying its own reporting systems were sufficient.
Pressure mounted on Facebook following the rape and murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by a 33-year-old convicted sex offender, posing as a teenage boy, who she met on Facebook.
Forty-four police chiefs in England, Wales and Scotland, signed a letter backing Ceop’s call for a panic button on every Facebook page.
‘Reassurance for parents’
The agreement to launch a child safety application is the culmination of months of negotiation between Ceop and Facebook.
Jim Gamble, Ceop’s chief executive, said in a statement: “Our dialogue with Facebook about adopting the ClickCeop button is well documented – today however is a good day for child protection.
“By adding this application, Facebook users will have direct access to all the services that sit behind our ClickCeop button which should provide reassurance to every parent with teenagers on the site.”
Facebook’s head of communications in the UK, Sophy Silver, told BBC News that the new app would integrate reporting into both Facebook and Ceop’s systems.
“Both sides are happy of where we have got to,” she said.
“We still have the Facebook reporting system and by having a pre-packaged application that users play an active part in, you not only help keep them safe, it makes all of their friends aware too, and acts as a viral awareness campaign.
“Ultimately though, this makes for a safer environment for users and that’s the most important part,” she added.
In addition to the online reporting application, a new Facebook/Ceop page is being set up, with a range of topics that, it is hoped, will be of interest to teenagers – such as celebrities, music and exams – and will link these subjects to questions about online safety.
By Daniel Emery, Technology reporter, BBC News
Apple faces class action lawsuit over iPhone 4
A pair of dissatisfied customers have filed a class action lawsuit against Apple over reception problems in the iPhone 4 – and it is unlikely to be the only one.
Since the arrival of the latest iPhone, there have been reports of reception problems, with Apple telling users to hold the device differently to avoid disturbing the external antenna.
Maryland residents Kevin McCaffery and Linda Wrinn filed the complaint against Apple and AT&T, accusing the firms of negligence, defective design and manufacture, breach of warranty, fraud by concealment and deceptive trade practices.
Advertisement’Plaintiffs were sold defective iPhone 4 units, which drops calls and data service when held in a manner consistent with normal wireless phone use,’ the filing says.
‘Plaintiffs have experienced numerous dropped calls, and as a result, plaintiffs are left with a device that cannot be used for the normal purpose and in the normal manner in which such devices are intended to be used.’
The filing says the pair have been unable to return the phone without ‘incurring a substantial restocking fee’. Unlike the US, Apple stores in the UK do not charge a restocking fee.
The Maryland case isn’t the only one in the works. Earlier this week, Californian law firm Kershaw, Cutter and Ratinoff said it wanted to hear from anyone affected by reception issues, and claimed to have had an “overwhelming response” so far.
‘At present, consumers’ only remedies are to pay for a case that may fix this problem and make their phones usable, on top of the premium they are already paying for the phone, or to return their phones and pay a 10% restocking fee (or more),’ the firm said.
‘We are looking to see what other remedies may be available.’
By RTÉ Business, Friday July 2 2010
New rules call time on telecoms ‘roaming rip-off’
MOBILE PHONE roaming charges fell further yesterday when new rules came into force to cap the fees networks can charge for data use when travelling within the EU.
Operators will also be forced to implement an automatic €50 cut-off limit on accounts unless the customer stipulates their own limit, preventing users from accidentally running up large bills for connecting to the internet through their phone.
Under the new regulations, the maximum wholesale price networks can charge for data use has been cut from €1 per megabyte to 80 cent. Making a call while roaming on networks within the EU will cost users a maximum of 39 cent before VAT, while the cost of receiving calls drops from 19 cent to 15 cent per minute.
Text message charges remain the same at 11 cent before VAT.
The new regulations are designed to protect consumers from “bill shock”. The operating network must send customers a warning when they reach 80 per cent of their data-roaming billing limit. If the limit is reached, the operator must cut off the mobile internet connection unless the customer has declared in advance a wish to continue data roaming above their normal agreed limit in a particular month.
Compulsory maximum roaming rates were first imposed on mobile network operators two years ago to tackle what former EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding described as the “roaming rip-off”.
Mobile network operators were said to be making profits of more than 200 per cent for mobile calls made while in another EU country, and 300 per cent or 400 per cent for calls received.
However, some networks have tried to fight the introduction of the roaming caps. A recent case in the European Court of Justice ended when the court ruled that Brussels was right to “protect consumers against excessive prices . . . even if it might have negative economic consequences for certain operators”.
The commission says it will review the roaming charges again next summer, when there may be further price cuts.
By Ciara O’Brien, The Irish Times, Fri July 2 2010
UPGRADING TO iOS4? Read this first.
When you start the upgrading process it will automatically backup your iPhone. However I have heard and experienced a few horror stories.
Upgrading my wife’s iPhone to iOS4, I relied on this automatic backup and so after the upgrade, she asked me where all her contacts went. I tried a restore from the said backup, but no. Gone. A customer lost everything as the backup failed to start!
So before you start the worthwhile upgrade, right click on your iPhone in iTunes and manually back it up.
By Fergus Ridgeway, Nostra Systems.
