Consumer
Google says launch of its mobile phone in China postponed amid dispute over censorship
January 19, 2010 8:52 am | News | CommentsGoogle on Tuesday postponed the launch of its mobile phone in China, adding to the potential commercial fallout of its dispute with Beijing over Internet censorship and e-mail hacking. One person briefed on Google's decision said it was linked to the company's threat that it will shut its Chinese-based search engine if restrictions aren't eased.
Intel's bright expectations for 2010 point to real PC recovery
January 19, 2010 8:40 am | News | CommentsIntel's fourth-quarter earnings breezed past Wall Street's expectations, and its rosy profit outlook for 2010 was another sign that a lasting recovery for the recession-battered personal computer market is under way.
The Internet entitlement mentality
January 19, 2010 4:24 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsThe Internet has connected the world as never before. But it’s also given rise to a pernicious entitlement mentality. A whole generation has been conditioned to expect everything for free (and quickly). Coupled with the practice of file-sharing, this entitlement mentality is destroying two industries—print media and the recording industry.
New Retainer for 4.8mm ML414 Micro Batteries
January 18, 2010 10:28 am | News | CommentsA new, miniature Lithium button cell retainer suited for high density PCB packaging has expanded Keystone Electronics Corp’s selection of surface mount battery retainers for SMT applications. Designed especially for miniature electronics such as watches, hearing aids, calculators, keyless door entry fob’s, memory backup, small toys, and other applications, these new retainers are engineered with reliable spring tension to assure low contact resistance while firmly securing the battery within the retainer.
SiTel DECT solutions power new Jabra headsets
January 18, 2010 9:46 am | News | Comments's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, 7 January 2010 – SiTel Semiconductor today announced that three of its advanced DECT ICs feature in the new Jabra PRO™ 9400 Series headsets from GN Netcom, the world leader in innovative headset solutions. The new headsets feature SiTel’s SC14450 high-end baseband processor, LMX4180 DECT transceiver and SC14480 single-chip CAT-iq IC. These chips deliver high performance and low power consumption. As a result, the headsets boast a host of new features, excellent energy efficiency and outstanding voice quality including support for wideband audio.
Software Tracks Research and Development Efforts
January 18, 2010 9:11 am | News | CommentsRIX® Technology LLC announces the release of new online technology, Resource Information Xchange (RIX®), for tracking and documenting research and development activity for procuring Federal and State Research Tax Credits.
Elma Expands LED Light Tube Offering With New Sizes
January 15, 2010 11:15 am | Product Releases | CommentsElma Electronic, a leading designer and manufacturer of rotary components and LEDs, has expanded its M-tube line of LED light tubes with new 5mm and 10mm diameter options. The Elma light tubes’ modular design allows wide range of lengths and shapes.
Choose a Crafty Solution to Cool LED Lighting Designs
January 15, 2010 6:00 am | by Mick Wilcox, Director of Marketing, Nuventix, www.nuventix.com | Articles | CommentsIn designing an LED lighting application, it is imperative for engineers to consider certain factors in their blueprint. Obvious considerations including lumen output, CRI, system efficacy, size, weight, and cost may be discussed at length, but a suitable cooling solution may be overlooked.
The future of motion-sensing technology
January 14, 2010 9:51 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | News | CommentsAmong its many virtues, Sci-Fi is very good at predicting real-world technology. The Steven Spielberg film, Minority Report, predicted two recent favorites—E-Ink and multi-touch. Ever since the latter hit theaters, scientists, researchers, engineers, and technophiles have been clamoring to reproduce the film’s futuristic touch screen technology.
Inductive Touch Demonstration
January 14, 2010 7:35 am | Videos | CommentsA Microchip Application engineer gives an overview of the new PICDEM Inductive Touch development kit including the MPLAB mTouch plug in.
LG bets on Android to boost phone sales 20 percent
January 13, 2010 11:57 am | News | CommentsLG Electronics Inc, the world's No. 3 mobile phone maker, aims to increase handset sales by 20 percent this year and is pinning its hopes on Google's Android operating system to beef up its smartphone range.
Google may sever ties with China
January 13, 2010 9:41 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsGoogle has shocked the world by ending its Chinese censorship operation. Due to numerous factors (including cyber attacks emanating from China), Google declared that it’d no longer censor search results on Google.cn. Since launching Google.cn in 2006, Google has reluctantly accommodated China’s despotic online censorship.
U.S. court revives antitrust suit on music downloads
January 13, 2010 9:32 am | News | CommentsA federal appeals court reinstated on Wednesday an antitrust lawsuit accusing major record labels of conspiring to fix prices for potentially millions of people who download their music over the Internet.
Yahoo selling e-mail service Zimbra to VMware
January 13, 2010 9:22 am | News | CommentsYahoo is selling the e-mail service Zimbra to VMware as part of an effort to focus on the Internet services that generate most of its revenue.
Wii becomes third console to stream Netflix
January 13, 2010 8:42 am | News | CommentsIt's a triple crown for Netflix. Beginning in the spring, the Wii will become the last of the three current video game consoles to get instant viewing of Netflix movies and TV shows over the Internet.
Facebook beefs up security with McAfee
January 13, 2010 8:24 am | News | CommentsFacebook is trying to beef up security with some outside help. Computer security company McAfee will now scan and repair the computers of Facebook users whose accounts have been compromised.
The best of CES 2010
January 13, 2010 6:12 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | News | CommentsAt the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, 3-D was the name of the game. Everyone showed off their shiny new 3-D tech—be it 3-D ready TV’s, 3-D movies, 3-D Blu-ray players, 3-D projectors, and even 3-D enabled netbooks. Yet there was far more to see at the Las Vegas Convention center. Read on for the veritable highlights of CES 2010.
LED replacements For A19-style Light Bulbs Work on Flexible Voltages
January 13, 2010 5:53 am | Product Releases | CommentsLEDtronics, Inc., added to its series of high-brightness, LED replacements for A19-style light bulbs for home and commercial use. The DEC-A19-5X1W DécorLED Series comes with softly diffused, precision domed lensing that directs light at
CES show attendance rebounds after dip in 2009
January 12, 2010 11:06 am | News | CommentsIn another sign of the tentative economic recovery, the country's largest trade show saw at least a small increase in attendees, after a large drop a year ago. According to preliminary figures, The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas had more than 120,000 attendees last week, the Consumer Electronics Association said Monday.
New organization combats distracted driving
January 12, 2010 11:01 am | News | CommentsThe Transportation Department and safety advocates joined Tuesday to announce the creation of FocusDriven, an organization dedicated to raising public awareness about the dangers of driving while talking on cell phones or texting on handheld computers.
Electronic Arts lowers 2010 guidance as sales weaken
January 12, 2010 10:39 am | News | CommentsVideo game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. cut its full-year guidance on Monday, as ongoing weakness in its game disc sales didn't ease up over the holidays as the company had hoped. The news sent shares down sharply in extended trading.
Hot gadgets at show: Wireless charging, iPhone TV
January 12, 2010 10:15 am | News | CommentsAt the International Consumer Electronics Show last week, 3-D television, electronic readers and little laptops captured much of the attention. There were plenty of other interesting ideas on display, too, from 3-D printing to a wireless cell phone tether. Here are some of the gadgets most worth keeping an eye out for this year, and some that best deserve an arched eyebrow of amusement.
France plans its own rival to Google Books
January 12, 2010 9:59 am | News | CommentsFrance's culture minister on Tuesday unveiled a plan for adapting the country's literary patrimony to the digital age by developing what he hopes will prove a uniquely Gallic competitor to Google Books.
Kodak, Samsung agree on licensing pact
January 12, 2010 9:36 am | News | CommentsEastman Kodak Co. said Monday it will draw royalties from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. under a licensing pact that gives the companies access to each other's digital-imaging patents. The agreement ends a 14-month-old patent-infringement dispute that came before the U.S. International Trade Commission, a federal overseer that can ban imports of devices made with contested technology.
Google adds storage to sweeten online office suite
January 12, 2010 9:32 am | News | CommentsGoogle Inc. is expanding its Internet warehouse so people can stash more digital keepsakes from their life and work. The upgrade announced Tuesday will provide one free gigabyte of storage to all users of Google Docs, the company's online suite of word processing, spreadsheets and other commonly used programs.
