IT News HeadLines (HardOCP) 09/08/2010

iPhone 4 Creator Fired
After battling in court for Mark Papermaster, Apple has now let him go. Rumors are circulating that he caught the axe because of the antenna problems, sucks being the new guy! Sixteen months later, Papermaster is out, replaced as head of the iPhone division by the man who originally recruited him, Bob Mansfield. Comments
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NASA Uses Google Phones as Cheap Satellites
NASA is trying to determine if mobile phone components could possibly power new satellites as a low-cost alternative. Smart phones have 120-times the computing power of your average satellite, and aren't the size of a bus. It is believed NASA went with the Nexus One as to not worry about their iSatellite dropping signal when on the left side of its planetary orbit. Thanks to forum superstar Oldie for the linkage. What happens when NASA geeks hangout with Google employees? Well, they duct tape their Android-based phones to a space rocket and blast it 28,000 feet into the air. Duh! Comments
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Teens Ditch e-mail for Texting and Facebook
Times, they are a-changing. Teens are gravitating more toward texting/social networking and leaving IM and email to the old folks. This news has industry executives speculating how the trend could affect how teenagers who have grown up texting and using social networking sites will communicate with each other in the future. It's no secret that teens love to text. In fact, half send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month, the study found, which involved a national survey of 800 teens and nine focus groups in four U.S. cities. But as these quick and casual messages dominate how they communicate, e-mail has taken a back seat, with teens citing the platform as a "formal" and "grown-up" way to be in touch with adults Comments
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Why Serious Gamers Won't Go for Wireless Mice
Most serious gamers will always take the newest and best technology out there. Well, maybe not when it comes to wireless mice. Serious gamers have hang ups on the wireless technology when dealing with their most important piece of equipment. Logitech has taken a bold step by releasing a wireless gaming mouse, but there remain huge doubts from professional gamers that even the most advanced technology is reliable enough. Microsoft has already tested wireless gaming mice through its Sidewinder range, and Logitech's latest G700 will be considered a desirable piece of gaming kit by many. But for the top echelons of gamers, and the much bigger group of serious gamers that care greatly about their kit, wireless still brings major doubts. Comments
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Cutting the Umbilical Cord to Ma Bell; Smartphones to Outpace Landlines
A new era is about to dawn in the telecommunications market. If trends hold true, within a year the standard of the telephone will shift from home based landlines to smartphones. The king is dead, long live the king. This dynamic shift is HUGE for the telco market as POTS has been the standard since the late 1800's when Mr Bell first introduced his revolutionary device. Sparking an industry that to this day supports millions of jobs and has connected the masses, Alexander would be proud to see his work shift from the wall, to the desk and finally into the pocket of the proletariat. Comments
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Mozilla to Bring Auto-Updating to Firefox
Taking cues from Chrome and Internet Explorer, Firefox 4 will install automatic updates silently in the background. Only major version updates will be announced. Installing security patches and other minor tweaks behind the scenes without user input or notification will cut down on complaints, while also keeping browsers as current as possible. Unlike Chrome, however, Firefox's auto-update mechanism can be turned off by users who would rather be able to manually control update installation. In this instance, "We will also be able to prompt the user if they haven't restarted in a very long time and there is a particularly bad security vulnerability that need[s]to be patched," said Faaborg. This is a concession to the fact that some users are uneasy about giving software companies free reign to install software on their PCs without explanation or even notification. Comments
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