HP today announced the industry’s first convertible notebook PC with multi-touch technology designed specifically for consumers. Building upon the touch innovation HP developed for its TouchSmart desktop PCs, the HP TouchSmart tx2 Notebook PC was developed for people on the go who value having their digital content at their fingertips – literally. The enhanced HP MediaSmart digital entertainment software suite on the tx2 allows users to more naturally select, organize and manipulate digital files such as photos, music, video and web content by simply touching the screen. “Breezing through websites and enjoying photos or video at the tap, whisk or flick of a finger is an entirely new way to enjoy digital content on a notebook PC,” said Ted Clark, senior vice president and general manager, Notebook Global Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. “With the introduction of the TouchSmart tx2, HP is providing users an easier, more natural way to interact with their PCs, and furthering touch innovation.” The tx2 is the latest result of HP’s 25 years of touch technology experience, which began with the introduction of the HP-150, a touch screen PC that was well ahead of its time, in 1983. Digital media powerhouseThe tx2 gives customers the choice to set aside the keyboard and mouse in favor of a more natural user interface – the fingertip. HP’s multi-touch display delivers quick and easy access to information, entertainment and other social media. The tx2 recognizes simultaneous input from more than one finger using “capacitive multi-touch technology,” which enables the use of gestures such as pinch, rotate, arc, flick, press and drag, and single and double tap. The convertible design with a twist hinge allows consumers to enjoy the TouchSmart in three modes: PC, display and tablet. With a rechargeable digital ink pen, users can turn the tx2 into a tablet PC to write, sketch, draw, take notes or graph right onto the screen – and then automatically convert handwriting into typed text. Starting at less than 4.5 pounds, the tx2 possesses a 12.1-inch diagonal BrightView LED display and an HP Imprint “Reaction” design. The tx2 notebook’s HP MediaSmart software lets customers enjoy photos, listen to music and watch Internet(1) TV or movies in high-definition.(2) The software is optimized for multi-touch input while also making it simple to search digital content. In an effort to provide consumers with rich content through the Internet, HP has expanded its partnership with MTV Networks (MTVN) by offering video content from 10 television channels and online brands within MediaSmart’s TV module. Beginning in December, users can enjoy all the best content from Nickelodeon, the No. 1 entertainment brand for kids; MTV, the premier destination for music and youth culture programming; and COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network and the No. 1 network in primetime for men ages 18 to 24. MTVN also plans to make content from Atom, CMT, GameTrailers, Logo, Spike, The N and VH1 available within MediaSmart’s TV module. The MediaSmart software was first brought to HP HDX notebook PCs in September, using the interface first popularized on HP TouchSmart PCs. HP plans to include the software in the tx2 and all future HP consumer notebook PCs. Powered by the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor or AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor(3) and built on Windows® Vista Home Premium, the tx2 will be made available worldwide in an array of configure-to-order options. Additional features, accessories and service The HP TouchSmart tx2 series is ENERGY STAR® qualified and EPEAT™ Silver registered. Mercury-free LED display panels are included on the tx2 as part of HP’s ongoing commitment to reduce its impact on the environment. The HP tx Series Notebook Stand elevates the tx2, enhancing its usability while stationary, including making it possible to put the PC in an upright position for full interactivity with the touch screen. HP Webcam with Integrated Microphones allows users to see brighter, cleaner images when chatting over an Internet(1) connection. The tx2 offers access to a variety of self-help tools built in and online. It also is supported by HP Total Care, which enables consumers to reach support agents 24/7 by phone, email or real-time chat. Pricing and availabilityThe HP TouchSmart tx2 is available for ordering today in the United States at www.hpdirect.com with a starting U.S. price of $1,149.(4) More information about the tx2 is available at www.hp.com/go/touchsmarttx2.
Epicor Software's anticipated Epicor 9 ERP (enterprise resource planning) suite will be generally available before the end of this year, the Irvine, California, company announced Monday at the start of its annual customer conference in Las Vegas. Epicor 9 was designed to pull together the best features from various Epicor product lines into a "next-generation superset" based on a SOA (service oriented architecture) and including functions such as CRM (customer relationship management), SRM (supplier relationship management), BPM (business process management), GRC (governance, risk, compliance) and EPM (enterprise performance management). Existing customers will be able to adopt the newer applications at their own speed, with no forced migrations to the new platform, said Epicor, which focuses on the midmarket and divisions of large enterprises. It's a similar story to that told by Oracle with its Fusion Applications strategy, which will bring together features from product lines like J.D. Edwards, Siebel and E-Business Suite. It also echoes Microsoft's Project Green, an effort to bring that vendor's Dynamics ERP applications closer together. Epicor 9 is closely aligned with Microsoft technologies such as Office 2007 and SharePoint. Users can access the software through various means, from standard application forms to Office applications and mobile devices. Epicor's "Everywhere Framework" captures user-interface attributes as XML metadata, allowing the applications to maintain the same look and feel across multiple client types. The initial release of Epicor 9 is expected to support 20 languages and countries. The software is available in both on-premises and SaaS (software as a service) forms. Overall, the release represents a major moment for Epicor, which claims to have more than 20,000 customers in more than 140 countries. The company had about US$430 million in revenue during its fiscal 2007. Epicor plans to continue supporting older products, but Epicor 9 "will be the one path forward for new customers in manufacturing, distribution, retail/hospitality, and services," AMR Research analyst Bruce Richardson wrote in a recent blog post. "Getting to one brand obviously offers the potential for greater efficiencies in sales, marketing, consulting and services, and product development." While midsize vendors like Epicor can get overlooked due to the high profiles of Oracle and SAP, if the 9 launch is done well, Epicor will "have a much higher profile by the end of the year," according to Richardson. In the meantime, the company could see some changes in the ownership department. Board members are weighing a hostile takeover bid by Elliott Associates LP, a hedge fund. Also, in a separate interview Monday, Richardson said it's possible that Epicor could be bought by another vendor -- such as acquisition-happy Oracle -- despite the link to Microsoft's technology. That's because Oracle's leadership knows it is easier to buy customers than go out and secure new ones, according to Richardson. Sales cycles, already expensive and time-consuming, "aren't getting any shorter, and won't as long as there's [economic] uncertainty," he said. There is also plenty of ERP business left in the midmarket, he added: "A lot of people are still sitting there with AS/400s and green screens saying, 'We need to put in a better system.'" Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/152486/.html?tk=rss_news
Intel is gearing up to release the first versions of its Nehalem chip family next month, with the scheduled launch of its Core i7 desktop processors. But users will have to wait much longer to get their hands on the mobile version of the new chip.The mobile version of Nehalem, codenamed Clarksfield, will “be in production beginning in the second half of 2009,” Intel said on Monday, without saying when the chips would be available commercially. The company did not elaborate on whether the reference to production means full volume production or limited pilot production of the processors. Either way, this production schedule suggests users may not see Clarksfield until late next year. Clarksfield will be produced using the same 45-nanometer production process that’s used to make Intel’s current chip lineup. The upcoming chip will be at the heart of the next version of Intel’s Centrino laptop chip package, called Calpella. Nehalem uses a different chip design than any of Intel’s current processors. The most significant improvement is the move to combine the processor with the memory controller hub, which connects the processor to main memory, on a single piece of silicon. This feature, which is already available on processors from rival Advanced Micro Devices, should offer much faster access to data than is possible with Intel’s current chips. Clarksfield is also expected to include more advanced power-management features than Intel’s current mobile chips. Reference : http://www.macworld.com/article/136223/2008/10/nehalem.html?lsrc=rss_main
Intel's upcoming Moorestown chip platform will include optional support for high-speed cellular data services when it hits the market in 2009 or 2010, Intel said Monday. Moorestown will be based on Lincroft, a system-on-chip that includes an Atom processor core and a memory controller hub, and a chipset called Langwell. Designed for small, handheld computers that Intel calls Mobile Internet Devices, Moorestown will offer optional support for both WiMax and HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) cellular networks. Intel is heavily pushing WiMax, which it sees as the best option for future wireless broadband services. But WiMax availability is very limited and it will take time for networks to enter commercial operation and expand their coverage areas. The addition of HSPA support to Moorestown hints that Intel recognizes that WiMax may not be extensively deployed as quickly as it would like, and users will want an alternative way of connecting wirelessly outside of Wi-Fi hotspots. This isn't the first time Intel has flirted with offering 3G (third generation telephony) support to computers. In 2007, the company shelved an agreement with Nokia to provide 3G modules for Centrino laptops, saying customer interest in the technology was lukewarm. That appears to be changing. At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco during August, Belgium's Option showed off HSPA modules it developed for MIDs based on Intel's Atom. On Monday, Intel announced that Option and telecom equipment maker Ericsson will make low-power HSPA modules that will be offered as an option with Moorestown. Intel is making its own WiMax module for Moorestown. The module, code named Evans Peak, made an appearance at the Ceatec show in Japan during late September. Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/152472/.html?tk=rss_news
Internet Spiral Continues to Fuel Industry Innovation Across Multiple Devices and Experiences INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, Taipei, Taiwan, Oct. 20, 2008 - The surge of new Internet-based applications and innovations will require a common, yet flexible platform from which the industry can innovate upon, and the Intel® Architecture is well positioned at the core of exciting new innovations and transformation, according to Intel executive Anand Chandrasekher. In his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum in Taiwan, Intel's senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Ultra Mobility Group discussed how technology innovation and strong industry collaboration have driven the digital economy over the past 40 years, and the universal impact that the Internet and mobile Web has had in people's lives. "Technology innovation is the catalyst for new user experiences, industry collaborations and business models that together will shape the next 40 years," said Chandrasekher. "As the next billion people connect to and experience the Internet, significant opportunities lie in the power of technology and the development of purpose-built devices that deliver more targeted computing needs and experiences." Chandrasekher cited the Intel® Atom™ processor, the upcoming "Nehalem" processor, and the Intel "Moorestown" platform scheduled for the 2009-2010 timeframe as prime examples of innovation and technology leadership. Also highlighted was the progress Intel is making in the Mobile Internet Devices (MID) market segment with the world's first working "Moorestown" platform demonstration. Moorestown comprises of an SOC, codenamed "Lincroft," which integrates the 45nm processor, graphics, memory controller and video encode/decode onto a single chip and an I/O hub codenamed "Langwell", which supports a range of I/O ports to connect with wireless, storage, and display components in addition to incorporating several board level functions. Chandrasekher stated that Intel is on track to reduce Moorestown platform idle power by more than 10x compared to the first-generation MIDs based on the Intel Atom processor. Chandrasekher said that Moorestown will be a catalyst for exciting and innovative developments that will extend the full Internet experience into the smartphone space with the Communication MID. He indicated that Moorestown platforms will support a range of wireless technologies including 3G, WiMAX, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and mobile TV. Additionally, Chandrasekher announced a collaboration with Ericsson* for HSPA data modules optimized for the Moorestown platform. He also announced that Option* is extending its collaboration for HSPA modules to the Moorestown platform. These 3G modules come in 25x30x2.x mm small size, are optimized for Moorestown power requirements and will help provide MID users with more powerful, always connected Internet-based experiences. Dynamic innovation in the digital enterprise Kirk Skaugen, general manager of Intel's Server Platforms Group, provided details of next-generation high-end desktops powered by the Intel® Core™ i7 processor, launching next month. These high-end desktops will provide outstanding performance for gaming and content creation applications. Skaugen also shared that the 2009 Intel® vPro technology-based business clients codenamed "Piketown" for desktops and "Calpella" for notebooks will be powered by future Nehalem processors and will provide corporate customers with even more enterprise-focused innovations. The upcoming Nehalem microarchitecture spans a range of products. First segments will include the Intel® Core™ i7 processor and a variant designed for the efficient performance server segments codenamed "Nehalem-EP." A derivative designed for the expandable server market segment ("Nehalem-EX") as well as other desktop and mobile versions ("Havendale," "Lynnfield," "Auburndale" and "Clarksfield") will be in production beginning in the second half of 2009. Reference : http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20081019comp.htm?cid=rss-90004-c1-214702
Two years after entering the digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera market, Sony has capped off its Alpha range of cameras with a high-end model that features a full-frame sensor and 24.6-megapixel resolution. Sony is aiming the camera at serious photographers and it carries a price to match: around US$3,000 for the body alone. Behind the lens of the Alpha 900 sits the full-frame image sensor that Sony first unveiled earlier this year. A full-frame sensor is the same size as a 35mm film frame and is about double the size of the sensors used in most other digital cameras with interchangeable lenses. The sensor was developed by Sony and is a proprietary unit that integrates 6,000 analog-to-digital convertors. Sony said the inclusion of the convertors in the sensor means analog signals are converted to digital at an earlier stage so noise is reduced. It's also faster than feeding the entire frame into a single convertor, the company said. The sensor works hand-in-hand with two of the company's Bionz image processing chips to capture and deliver images. The processing speed of the system means continuous shooting at full resolution is possible at up to 5 frames per second. To match the new sensor full-frame lenses are required for full resolution. Optics specifically designed for use with earlier Alpha digital cameras with the smaller sensors can be used on the Alpha 900 but the resolution of the images will be lower. Other features include an in-camera anti-shake system and the ability to evaluate different camera settings without taking multiple shots. By pressing the depth-of-field button the camera grabs a preview image. Using the 3-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) it's possible to try different white balance settings and adjust the dynamic range and exposure compensation before taking an actual shot. The camera has a built-in HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) connector so it can be connected to a TV for photo viewing and records to MemoryStick or Compact Flash cards. It measures 156 millimeters by 117mm by 82mm and weighs 850 grams. The Alpha 900 will be available later this year। In Europe it will launch in October and in the U.S. in November. Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/150884/.html?tk=rss_news
Hewlett-Packard (HP) will release a laptop next month that can run for to 24 hours using a high-capacity battery -- but only if it's running Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. The long-lasting notebook will be a special configuration of the 6930p, part of HP's EliteBook line that the company targets at businesses. The allure of a battery that can last a day is incontestable, as anyone who has spent time in an airport searching for a power outlet knows. The secret to the 6930p's long battery life is new technology -- and some old technology too. To get the best battery performance, the 6930p will have to run Windows XP rather than Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest operating system. Vista has been criticized as being a power hog, although some of its flashy, power-draining features such as the translucent Aero windows can be turned off. Although Microsoft has been heavily pushing Vista, HP has said it will offer downgrades from Vista to Windows XP on business laptops through next year. The 6930p will also need a 12-cell Ultra-Capacity Battery, which sells for US$189. The battery lasts about 10 hours longer than the regular-capacity one. The new laptop model will also have HP's Illumi-Lite LED (light-emitting diode) display, which the company says adds four more hours to a battery's life than a traditional LCD (liquid crystal display) screen. Further power savings will come from the use of an Intel SSD (solid-state drive), which uses power-saving NAND flash memory rather than a rotating magnetic disk to store information. Use of an Intel SSD enables the battery to last around 7 percent longer, HP said. HP is one of Intel's partners and will soon being incorporating Intel X25-M and X18M Mainstream SATA SSDs in its products. HP lists the current available version of the 6930p as starting at $1,199 on its Web site, although the company has not listed how much the 24-hour battery life configuration will cost। Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/150824/hp_laptop_battery.html?tk=rss_news
Adobe will officially announce Creative Suite 4 on September 23, 2008. The company will also host a webcast introducing the products to the public. Creative Suite is a collection of Adobe applications that the company sells to help professionals be more efficient. For instance, Adobe currently sells Production Premium, Web Premium, and a Master Collection, all targeted to different market segments. Creative Suite 3 included InDesign, Acrobat, After Effects, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere Pro. The Adobe webcast introducing the suite will take place on September 23, 2008 at 9:00 am ET. You can register for the webcast online। Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/150661/.html?tk=rss_news
Adobe plans to offer its customers the first overview of Creative Suite 4।0 later this month and could be ready to deliver the software to market as early as this fall, according to those close to the company.The Mountain View, Calif-based software maker released public betas of CS4-bound applications Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Soundbooth in late May, but has kept secret its plans for some of the suite's more prominent components, namely Photoshop and Flash.That's about to change. The company this week began notifying its customers that it intends to host a webcast covering its next-generation software bundle at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, September 23rd. "Are you ready for something brilliant?," the company wrote on the digital registration form for the presentation. "Be one of the first to see Adobe Creative Suite 4.0 in a special web broadcast."Word of the event comes amid an increasing number of reports from Adobe's partners who say the company is aiming for a near 18-month refresh cycle of its bread and butter software suite, with a release as early as October. This comes despite earlier claims of an October release that were hotly contested by company representatives.Creative Suite 3.0, which delivered universal binaries of all major component applications for the Mac, was announced in March of 2007. Adobe offered several different editions or bundles of the suite when it began shipping between the months of April and June that year.People familiar with the ongoing development of Creative Suite 4.0 say a good chunk of Adobe's resources for the project were devoted to bringing two applications acquired from Macromedia -- Dreamweaver and Fireworks -- up to spec with its existing flagship offerings. However, the company is expected to tout a handful of significant enhancements to both Photoshop and Flash.For example, the company is expected to announce that Photoshop CS4 (codenamed Stonehenge) will be capable of pulling in 3D objects as wireframes. Although UV mapping won't be supported, the feature will reportedly allow sales teams to perform quick color changes and color corrections. The new version of Photoshop will also feature a Flash services panel, natural canvas rotation, content aware image resizing and deliver 64-bit support for Windows users।Separately, Adobe is planning a slew of enhancements in Flash CS4 (codenamed Diesel) that have resonated well with early testers, leading some to bill upgrade as "the best thing" to happen to Flash in quite some time. Among these will be a completely new "and proper" timeline dubbed Motion Editor, as well as a new object-based motion tween model.Other enhancements bound for Flash CS4 reportedly include an "Inverse kinematics" tool for building complex animations and 3D rotation support. Reference : http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/09/02/adobe_set_to_take_the_wraps_off_creative_suite_4_0.html
LG Electronics is on the verge of launching a new range of LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma TV sets in Europe that feature Bluetooth wireless networking, the company said Wednesday at the IFA electronics show in Berlin. The feature, which is common on many portable products but hasn't yet caught on in the TV industry, can be used to send audio digitally through the air to a compatible pair of Bluetooth headphones so you avoid headphone cables running across your living room. It also makes it possible to send still images from devices like cell phones to the TV, upon which the set displays the image on the screen. Bluetooth will be installed in models in LG's PG7000-series plasma sets and LG7000-series LCD sets, which are due on sale across Europe before the end of September. The Bluetooth function will also be included in 7000-series models sold in other regions of the world. LG demonstrated the feature at IFA with a 50-inch plasma TV that received and displayed a photo from a camera phone within moments of it being transmitted. The TV set also has USB sockets into which consumers can connect devices such as USB hard-disk drives or memory cards. Once devices are inserted, the TV can display images as a slideshow and play MP3 audio tracks that are stored on the storage media. Pricing for the TVs was not announced। Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/150390/.html?tk=rss_news
Nikon's latest digital SLR delivers a range of improvements over its predecessor, the D80, the most intriguing of which is video capture।Nikon has been busy this summer. First came the D700--a full-frame, professional/enthusiast digital single-lens reflex camera that neatly fills the gap between the company's D300 and D3 models. Now, with the D90, Nikon has unleashed another digital SLR refresh--this time, to its midrange SLR. The Nikon D90, which replaces Nikon's current D80, provides similar functionality to the D300 but at a lower price ($1000 for the body only, or $1300 with the 18-105mm Vibration Reduction kit lens, as compared with the D300's $1800 body-only price). The resolution is the same (12.3 megapixels); and so too are the sensor cleaning system, the picture control system, and the sensor size (DX format). What's new: Nikon has improved its Expeed Image Processor to provide better noise reduction on ISO levels of up to 6400. The scene recognition system adds face detection and an improved metering system. And Live View mode gets its own dedicated button and lets you focus on a specific point in the frame. The camera also offers HDMI output (unusual in an SLR): a continuous shooting speed of 4.5 frames per second, and an 11-point autofocus system that is better than the D80's. What makes me eager to take this model for a spin, though, is the D90's video recording capability--a huge boon, and a move that enables the last desirable point-and-shoot-only feature to migrate to the SLR realm. Nikon achieves its video capture, called D-Movie, by recording motion JPEG .AVI movies at 24 frames per second. The camera has three movie-mode resolutions--1280 by 720 (for 720p high-definition videos that have a 16:9 aspect ratio and can run for up to 5 minutes); 640 by 480; and 320 by 216 (the last two modes carry a 20-minute time limit). Another nifty feature is support for geo-tagging via an optional GP-1 GPS unit (due in November; pricing to be announced). The prospect of using a digital SLR to capture video clips is especially enticing in view ofthe range of lenses at your disposable। I'm already salivating at some of the creative possibilities that the D90 opens up, though I worry about the challenge of holding the camera steady for the duration of a video several minutes--or more--long. Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/150340/Nikon_D90.html?tk=rss_news
Standardization efforts for the next version of JavaScript have taken a sharp turn this month, with some key changes in the Web scripting technology’s direction. JavaScript creator Brendan Eich, CTO of Mozilla, has helped forge a consensus on how to proceed with the direction for JavaScript’s improvements. “JavaScript was sitting still. It was stagnant,” he says.
The fundamental reason to update JavaScript—whose standard hasn’t changed since 1999—is to handle the heavy demands being placed on it. Although the language certainly has caught on for Web application development, it was not envisioned for the workloads now demanded of it by developers, Eich says. “They’re using it at a scale that it wasn’t designed for.”
The biggest change in JavaScript 2’s direction is that the ECMAScript 4 project has been dropped. That change resolves a long-simmering debate as to whether ECMAScript 3.1 or ECMAScript 4 should be the basis of JavaScript 2. (ECMAScript is the formal name for the standard, vendor-neutral version of JavaScript.)
This decision at the ECMA International standards group overseeing the JavaScript standard unites the EMCA International Technical Committee 39, including Eich, with Google and Microsoft around the “Harmony” road map. (The committee and Eich favored a major revision to the ECMAScript standard, while Microsoft and Google opposed such grand plans, Eich says. “Microsoft [in particular] started working on a much smaller improvement to the last version of the standard,” an effort that is now the core of the ECMAScript 3.1 plan, he says.)
First up: a rationalized ECMAScript 3.1
The “Harmony” road map starts with an effort to finalize ECMAScript 3.1, essentially a rationalization of the current version, and produce two interoperable implementations by spring 2009. “I think you could characterize 3.1 as a maintenance release,” says John Neumann, chair of the technical committee. The ECMAScript 3.1 effort will formalize bug fixes but also standardize across all implementations some of the improvements made in the field, Neumann says. That’s key, so applications written for one browser will work in another.
After the ECMAScript 3.1 effort, work will then proceed on a more significant ECMAScript successor dubbed Harmony.
The result is that the standards effort “wasn’t to be the big, scary fourth edition that Microsoft and others objected to,” Eich says. But the decision also means no more stalling on JavaScript 2, as well as agreement to continue to refine ECMAScript 3 after the 3.1 effort is done. Furthermore, developers likely will have to wait until 2010 for the Harmony standard, Eich says.
In essence, the JavaScript 2 effort will no longer depend on ECMAScript 4 being finalized, and instead will proceed from an improved ECMAScript 3.
Next in line, a less ambitious “Harmony” version
The new strategy means that some ideas planned for ECMAScript 4 have been dropped, after being deemed unworkable for the Web. Several ECMAScript 4 ideas “have been deemed unsound for the Web and are off the table for good: packages, namespaces and early binding,” Eich wrote in his blog. But other ECMAScript 4 ideas remain in the mix, though with some changes to make them palatable to the entire technical committee, such as the notion of classes based on ECMAScript 3 concepts combined with proposed ECMAScript 3.1 extensions, he says.
Harmony could feature classes as a stronger way of making objects and generators to enable powerful programming patterns. Generators already have been featured in JavaScript 1.7, ahead of the official specification.
But beyond agreeing that there will be a Harmony effort, the technical committee has yet to figure out what will actually go into the Harmony standard.
Addressing JavaScript security holes
Plans for both ECMAScript 3.1 and Harmony call for providing tools to help developers more easily implement security. That plan will require the technical committee to codify security practices; the committee plans to meet this week to discuss security. “I think a secure ECMAScript will be based on some future revision of ECMAScript,” beyond version 3.1, Neumann says.
Currently, JavaScript is at risk for cross-site scripting attacks in which any application can request executable inclusion in an existing application on a Web page, Neumann says। “The intent is to solve that problem.” Reference : http://www.macworld.com/article/135227/2008/08/javascript2.html?lsrc=rss_main
Canon on Tuesday unveiled four consumer cameras and a 15।1 megapixel digital SLR camera for advanced amateurs.The EOS 50D Digital SLR builds on the EOS 40D -- which will remain in Canon's product line. The 50D features Canon’s new DIGIC 4 image processor, improved noise reduction, and in-camera photo editing features. Targeted to the advanced amateur, the 50D also adds a new Creative Auto Mode, which gives users the ability to make image setting adjustments. The EOS 50D provides ISO speeds from ISO 100 up to ISO 3200 in 1/3-stop increments, along with two high-speed settings -- H1 and H2 -- of ISO 6400 and ISO 12800, respectively. The Canon 50D digital SLR To assist with lightning conditions the new camera does peripheral illumination correction, which automatically evens brightness across the image field. This is a task that was normally done in applications like Photoshop after the images were uploaded to the computer. The EOS 50D also comes with a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD screen and an an HDMI output. The camera will be available in October as a body only configuration for $1,399 and with a lens for $1,599. In addition to the higher-end 50D, Canon also released new cameras for the teen and consumer markets. Targeted to teens, the PowerShot E1 comes in three new colors -- white, blue and pink. It comes with 10-megapixel resolution, 4x Optical Zoom-lens with Optical Image Stabilization, and Canon’s Face Detection Technology. The E1 comes with 17 shooting modes, including an Easy Mode that limits options to the very basics. The E1 will be available in mid-September for $199.99. Canon's A-Series gets two new additions to its product line and one new camera has been added to the SX-series of ultra-zoom cameras. The PowerShot A1000 IS comes with 10-megapixel resolution, 4x Optical Zoom lens, DIGIC III Image Processor and comes in four two-toned colors. The PowerShot A2000 IS -- the second camera in the A-series -- also has a 10-megapixel resolution, DIGIC III Image Processor, is equipped with a 6x Optical Zoom lens, and a 3-inch LCD screen. The PowerShot SX110 IS features a 9-megapixel resolution, DIGIC III Image Pro= cessor, 3-inch LCD screen and 10x Optical Zoom lens. Like the E1, these three cameras come with Easy Mode to simplify the process of setting up the cameras to take pictures. Available in September, the PowerShot A1000 IS and the PowerShot A2000 IS digital cameras will cost $199।99 and $249.99, respectively. The PowerShot SX110 IS will be available at the end of August and will cost $299.99. Reference : http://www.macworld.com/article/135208/2008/08/canon.html?lsrc=rss_main
Intel's newest chips take "Extreme" to the extreme, with game-friendly features and superior power। How do you define "Extreme"? How about as a high-velocity, quad-core processor packed into a mobile platform? That's what Intel announced this afternoon at the Intel Developers Forum. Heretofore known as Core 2 Extreme, the cat (or chips) are now officially out of the bag. In July, the first Core 2 Duo Extreme Mobile X9100--a Penryn dual-  core CPU--to show up at our labs debuted inside Micro Express's JFL9290 laptop. The PC World Test Center is still putting that machine through its paces (you can check out our assessment of its little brother, the Micro Express JFL9226, in the meantime), but the initial numbers are impressive. It dominated our WorldBench 6 tests, notching a score of 115 and posting decent frame rates in Doom 3 (47 frames per second at 1024 by 768 resolution, with antialiasing) courtesy of a 256MB nVidia GeForce 9600M GT GPU. The real speed king, though, is the QX9300 (a Penryn Quad Core)--and it's now out the door, launching this week. Here's the breakdown on what they offer. The X9100 has a 3.06-GHz frequency, two cores, and a 6MB cache running at 44 watts. The QX9300 has four cores running at 2.53 GHz, with a 12MB cache at 45 watts. The new chip's focus on gaming capability shows up in many ways, starting with the way it emphasizes design choices for dual discrete graphics cards in the system. Another example is the chip's automatic overclocking of RAM (and DDR3 memory). And don't forget Intel's claims of  improved I/O read times with the upcoming X18-M and X-25M SATA Mainstream SSDs. Of course, being "Extreme" means doing extreme things like building overclocking into the BIOS. Good luck if you're foolhardy enough to try and reach the 4-GHz threshold. (One notebook on display at the IDF show, from Flextronics, managed to hit that number, but only thanks to a specially crafted cooling docking station created by CoolIt Systems.) Still, being able to crank your 3.06-GHz CPU up to 3.59 GHz is feasible with the easy-to-use Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, which works inside of the OS. Just make sure to park your tweaked-out laptop on an ice cube or something to keep it cool. (Disclaimer: Overclock at your own risk! Besides voiding warranties, such fate-tempting behavior puts you at risk of corrupting data, burning out the CPU, or worse.) Intel clearly takes its thermals very seriously. Utilities are available that constantly monitor  your hardware...and the chip maker emphasizes that special options such as CoolIt's MTEC Docking Station are all but essential for hitting the performance ceiling without going splat. How likely are you to buy that extra-hardcore docking station? And how much will it cost you? Those are good questions, and they should be answered when the base launches in January of 2009--just in time for you to see an even beefier Core i7-based Extreme Edition notebook next year।
Can't wait to get your hands on a system running Intel Corp.'s upcoming Nehalem processors? Well, you better settle in and put your feet up, because this is going to take a while. At this week's Intel Developer Forum, the company gave out some more details about its upcoming chip family -- codenamed Nehalem. The first Nehalem chips, which will be quad-core server chips, are expected to ship this fall. After that, the rest of the Nehalem family -- desktop chips, dual-core, more quad-core and eight-core chips -- are slated to be released over the course of next year. Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-Stat, said at IDF that Intel lightly touched on the fact that the Nehalem rollout will span four or five quarters. "There's probably more complexity on the chip than they expected," said McGregor from the annual developers' forum, which is being held in San Francisco. "Generally, whenever you have an extended schedule, it usually means there's some challenges in the design or with the supporting chipsets. AMD learned that lesson with Barcelona. When you're trying to put four cores or more on a chip, you tend to run into some kind of trouble." Intel has not disclosed any problems with Nehalem's design. Company executives did show off the first 8-core Nehalem chip at the conference. And yesterday Intel said it's six-core Dunnington processor will ship next month. Moving beyond the quad-core processors that to date have been the high water mark in the semiconductor industry, is a major step. And it's a step that keeps Intel well ahead of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.AMD, which is slated to ship its upcoming 6-core Istanbul server processor in the second half of 2009, could use some breathing room in its one-upsmanship battle with Intel. Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group, said AMD will gladly take a long rollout from Intel if that means they won't have to deal with an 8-core chip coming out in the next several months. He added that while it offers a little breathing room, it's not much since AMD is still about a year behind Intel in multi-core offerings. Another Nehalem feature drawing some attention is the built-in Turbo Boost। The technology basically is designed to shut down unused cores so the remaining cores can be used more efficiently. This energy-saving technology has been used in other processors, according to McGregor, but it's a good addition here. Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/150147/intels_nehalem_chips_looking_at_long_rollout.html
Microsoft has released SQL Server 2008 database to manufacturing, including with the release a new Web edition of the product aimed at its hosting partners, the company said Wednesday. SQL Server 2008, which has been in beta testing for some time, is now available on the Microsoft Developer Network and Technet. An evaluation download will be available on the company's Web site on Thursday. The product is available in seven editions, each designed for the needs of different customer segments. More information about the editions is available on the SQL Server 2008 Web site. One of the editions that is new with the 2008 release is SQL Server 2008 Web. SQL Server 2008 Web is designed for hosting companies, providing the tools necessary to support low-cost, large-scale, highly available Web applications or hosting environments, according to Microsoft. On a conference call Wednesday, company executives explained how feedback from customers spurred them to release a major upgrade to the database a mere three years after its previous release, SQL Server 2005. They also felt the need to provide 10 reasons to justify upgrading to SQL Server 2008 when some companies have just begun to adopt the 2005 version of the product. Customers might wonder "why would I upgrade?" only three years after the release, said Dan Jones, a SQL Server group program manager. He then went on to outline reasons -- including a new performance analysis tool and a resource governor that eases management of concurrent uploads -- for customers to adopt the new database. In a press release, Microsoft cited several large enterprise customers who are testing SQL Server 2008, including Xerox, Siemens, Clear Channel Communications and Fidelity Investments. Microsoft is trying to close the feature gap between its SQL Server product and Oracle's 11g database, and entice enterprise customers to use its software over Oracle's with a lower price point. The company also is pushing SQL Server as much more than a database। The product is becoming the central data repository for Microsoft's data-management and business intelligence strategy. The company has made several recent acquisitions to achieve this end, including that of data-quality vendor Zoomix and data warehouse-appliance vendor DATAllegro. Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/149505/2008/08/.html?tk=rss_news
Intel Corporation is presenting a paper at the SIGGRAPH 2008 industry conference in Los Angeles on Aug. 12 that describes features and capabilities of its first-ever forthcoming "many-core" blueprint or architecture codenamed "Larrabee." Details unveiled in the SIGGRAPH paper include a new approach to the software rendering 3-D pipeline, a many-core (many processor engines in a product) programming model and performance analysis for several applications. The first product based on Larrabee will target the personal computer graphics market and is expected in 2009 or 2010. Larrabee will be the industry's first many-core x86 Intel architecture, meaning it will be based on an array of many processors. The individual processors are similar to the Intel processors that power the Internet and the laptops, PCs and servers that access and network to it. Larrabee is expected to kick start an industry-wide effort to create and optimize software for the dozens, hundreds and thousands of cores expected to power future computers. Intel has a number of internal teams, projects and software-related efforts underway to speed the transition, but the tera-scale research program has been the single largest investment in Intel's technology research and has partnered with more than 400 universities, DARPA and companies such as Microsoft and HP to move the industry in this direction. Over time, the consistency of Intel architecture and thus developer freedom afforded by the Larrabee architecture will bring about massive innovation in many areas and market segments. For example, while current games keep getting more and more realistic, they do so within a rigid and limited framework. Working directly with some of the world's top 3-D graphics experts, Larrabee will give developers of games and APIs (Application Programming Interface) a blank canvas onto which they can innovate like never before. Initial product implementations of the Larrabee architecture will target discrete graphics applications, support DirectX and OpenGL, and run existing games and programs. Additionally, a broad potential range of highly parallel applications including scientific and engineering software will benefit from the Larrabee native C/C++ programming model. Additional details of the Larrabee architecture discussed in this paper include: The Larrabee architecture has a pipeline derived from the dual-issue Intel Pentium® processor, which uses a short execution pipeline with a fully coherent cache structure. The Larrabee architecture provides significant modern enhancements such as a wide vector processing unit (VPU), multi-threading, 64-bit extensions and sophisticated pre-fetching. This will enable a massive increase in available computational power combined with the familiarity and ease of programming of the Intel architecture. Larrabee also includes a select few fixed function logic blocks to support graphics and other applications. These units are carefully chosen to balance strong performance per watt, yet contribute to the flexibility and programmability of the architecture. A coherent on-die 2nd level cache allows efficient inter-processor communication and high-bandwidth local data to be access by CPU cores, making the writing of software programs simpler. The Larrabee native programming model supports a variety of highly parallel applications, including those that use irregular data structures. This enables development of graphics APIs, rapid innovation of new graphics algorithms, and true general purpose computation on the graphics processor with established PC software development tools. Larrabee features task scheduling which is performed entirely with software, rather than in fixed function logic. Therefore rendering pipelines and other complex software systems can adjust their resource scheduling based each workload's unique computing demand. The Larrabee architecture supports four execution threads per core with separate register sets per thread. This allows the use of a simple efficient in-order pipeline, but retains many of the latency-hiding benefits of more complex out-of-order pipelines when running highly parallel applications. The Larrabee architecture uses a 1024 bits-wide, bi-directional ring network (i.e., 512 bits in each direction) to allow agents to communicate with each other in low latency manner resulting in super fast communication between cores. The Larrabee architecture fully supports IEEE standards for single and double precision floating-point arithmetic. Support for these standards is a pre-requisite for many types of tasks including financial applications. The paper's reference details: Seiler, L., Carmean D., Sprangle, E., Forsyth, T., Abrash, M., Dubey, P., Junkins, S., Lake, A., Sugerman, J., Cavin, R., Espasa, R., Grochowski, E., Juan, T., Hanrahan, P., 2008. "Larrabee: A Many-Core x86 Architecture for Visual Computing," ACM Transactions on Graphics, 27, 3, 2008. The paper will be available at this Web site: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1360612.1360617।Reference : http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20080804fact.htm?cid=rss-90004-c1-210459
David Worthington notified me that he has some internal details on project Midori:Microsoft is incubating a componentized non-Windows operating system known as Midori, which is being architected from the ground up to tackle challenges that Redmond has determined cannot be met by simply evolving its existing technology.SD Times has viewed internal Microsoft documents that outline Midori’s proposed design, which is Internet-centric and predicated on the prevalence of connected systems.Midori is an offshoot of Microsoft Research’s Singularity operating system, the tools and libraries of which are completely managed code. Midori is designed to run directly on native hardware (x86, x64 and ARM), be hosted on the Windows Hyper-V hypervisor, or even be hosted by a Windows process.According to published reports, Eric Rudder, senior vice president for technical strategy at Microsoft and an alumnus of Bill Gates' technical staff, is heading up the effort. Rudder served as senior vice president of Microsoft’s Servers and Tools group until 2005. A Microsoft spokesperson refused comment. “That sounds possible—I’ve heard rumors to the effect that he [Rudder] had an OS project in place,” said Rob Helm, director of research at Directions on Microsoft. He noted that it is quite possible that the project is just exploratory, but conceivably a step above what Microsoft Research does.One of Microsoft’s goals is to provide options for Midori applications to co-exist with and interoperate with existing Windows applications, as well as to provide a migration path.Building Midori from the ground up to be connected underscores how much computing has changed since Microsoft’s engineers first designed Windows; there was no Internet as we understand it today, the PC was the user’s sole device and concurrency was a research topic.Today, users move across multiple devices, consume and share resources remotely, and the applications that they use are a composite of local and remote components and services. To that end, Midori will focus on concurrency, both for distributed applications and local ones.According to the documentation, Midori will be built with an asynchronous-only architecture that is built for task concurrency and parallel use of local and distributed resources, with a distributed component-based and data-driven application model, and dynamic management of power and other resources.Midori’s design treats concurrency as a core principle, beyond what even the Microsoft Robotics Group is trying to accomplish, said Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group.The Midori documents foresee applications running across a multitude of topologies, ranging from client-server and multi-tier deployments to peer-to-peer at the edge, and in the cloud data center. Those topologies form a heterogeneous mesh where capabilities can exist at separate places.In order to efficiently distribute applications across nodes, Midori will introduce a higher-level application model that abstracts the details of physical machines and processors. The model will be consistent for both the distributed and local concurrency layers, and it is internally known as Asynchronous Promise Architecture. Continue At Source Reference : http://bink.nu/news/microsoft-s-plans-for-post-windows-os-revealed-minori-details-leaked.aspx
A Tokyo-based start-up has taken the wraps off new "augmented reality" software that allows the real world and computer imagery to meet on the desktop. That's your actual desktop, not the Windows one. And it won't be a surprise to anyone that's spent time with computer graphics in Japan that this new world is inhabited by a cute, computer-generated girl. Point your webcam at your desk and the software will display the image on your computer screen. Place a special cube with a 2D bar code on the desk in the center of the webcam's field of view, and the software will overlay the CG character, called "Aris" (say it like Alice), on the video image at the position of the cube. Leave her alone and she'll tug at her blue and white maid's outfit, sit around and even appear to clean your desk if you're lucky. But bring another coded cube -- mounted on a short plastic stick for easy use -- close-by and you can interact with the character. You can poke her and annoy her in various ways and even strip her down to a skimpy bikini. She'll complain at this abuse but still comply, so if you're feeling guilty you can give her a present represented by another coded cube. She gets happier when she sees the present and positively adores you when she finds out it's a teddy bear. The software transforms this real world of a few coded cubes sitting on your desk into the augmented reality world, visible through your computer monitor, where the computer-generated Alice is dancing around on your desk and interacting with you. If you think stripping down CG characters to their swimsuits is a little low-brow for such technology consider this: the company showing the system, Geisha Tokyo Entertainment, was formed and is largely staffed by graduates of the University of Tokyo, Japan's top university, and this first software is more about exploring the market and perfecting the technology before they go on to tackle bigger entertainment projects using augmented reality. "We don't expect to sell many of this but we hope it provides the base to go on to bigger and more famous characters," said Taisei Tanaka, CEO of the company during an interview at this week's Wireless Japan show in Tokyo. Alice should be arriving in October in Japan and the company has plans to sell the software elsewhere, including the U।S. and China. Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/148924/2008/07/.html?tk=rss_news
To help it compete against Microsoft's low-cost Hyper-V, VMware will offer the low-cost version of its hypervisor at no cost. VMware Tuesday said it will offer the small-footprint version of its ESX virtualization software free, responding to pressure from Microsoft and other companies that are threatening VMware's lead in the virtualization market. The next version of ESXi, which will come in about two weeks, will be available at no cost, said VMware CEO Paul Maritz on a conference call Tuesday to discuss the company's second-quarter earnings. ESXi is a basic hypervisor, which is technology that separates the OS from server hardware so multiple OSes can run virtually on one physical server. Maritz said the move to make the already low-cost product free is part of VMware's plan to make its virtualization and network infrastructure products "as freely available to everyone in the industry" as possible as it diversifies its products beyond merely enabling virtualization. A former Microsoft executive, Maritz replaced VMware cofounder and former CEO Diane Greene, who was ousted in a sudden move two weeks ago. VMware is facing some of its toughest competition yet as Microsoft and other companies seek to commoditize the core virtualization technology on which VMware's business was built by offering it as part of the OS. Speaking about his "alma mater" Tuesday, Maritz called Microsoft a "formidable" competitor, but "not an invincible" one. "I know that Microsoft can afford to play a long waiting game," he said. However, in markets where another company already has a sizable lead -- such as VMware does in virtualization -- it can be "really hard to catch [up] even for Microsoft," Maritz said. VMware reported $456 million in revenue for its 2008 second quarter, which ended June 30. It was an increase of 54 percent from the same period last year. However, consensus estimates from Thomson Financial analysts expected the company to fare slightly better, predicting $458.6 million in revenue for the quarter. Non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net income for the quarter was $92 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, which was in line with analyst estimates. VMware fell more than 14 percent from a close of $37.97 to $32.50 in after-hours trading Tuesday. VMware Tuesday said it will offer the small-footprint version of its ESX virtualization software free। Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/148900/2008/07/vmware_esx.html?tk=rss_news
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