IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Techradar) 08/03/2011

Facebook adds report system for suicidal friends

Facebook has teamed-up with UK charity Samaritans to allow users of the site to report friends they fear may be contemplating suicide.
The new scheme asks Facebookers to fill in a form, detailing worrying posts and status updates that will then be dealt with as a highest priority by Facebook's operations team.
They will then decide whether to call the police or to pass the information onto Samaritans. Users will also have the option of contacting Samaritans directly through phone numbers on Facebook's help page.
Raising the alarm
The initiative follows reports that an increasing number of people have used the social networking portal in order to announce their intentions to end their own lives.
On Christmas Day Simone Black, 42, informed over 1,000 friends that she had taken an overdose, but it wasn't until the next day that anyone raised the alarm to the authorities. By then it was too late.
Harness the power
Samaritans chief executive Catherine Johnstone says that the aim of the scheme is to harness the power of 30m UK Facebook users to ensure this doesn't happen again.
She says: "Through the popularity of Facebook, we are harnessing the power of friendship so people can get help.
"As a friend you are better placed to know whether someone close to you is struggling to cope or even feeling suicidal.
"We want to remind people that if a friend says that life isn't worth living, they should always be taken seriously.
"Facebook is a part of daily life for so many of us and we must make sure that people online have support when they need it."
Check out the Samaritans' Facebook page for more info

Google Maps Navigation adds live traffic re-routing

Google has today updated its hugely popular Navigation app for Android by adding real-time traffic information to your route
The free app will now automatically re-route drivers around both "current and historical traffic" in order to get you to your destination sooner.
The announcement is yet another bad sign for satnav manufacturers like TomTom and Garmin who have seen increasing numbers of drivers rely on their smartphone for directions.
Improvements
A post on the Google Mobile Blog reads: "You don't have to do anything to be routed around traffic; just start Navigation like you normally would, either from the Navigation app or from within Google Maps.
"Before today, Navigation would choose whichever route was fastest, without taking current traffic conditions into account. It would also generate additional alternate directions, such as the shortest route or one that uses highways instead of side roads.
"Starting today, our routing algorithms will also apply our knowledge of current and historical traffic to select the fastest route from those alternates. That means that Navigation will automatically guide you along the best route given the current traffic conditions."
ByeBye TomTom?
The new functionality continues Google's quest to save Android phone owners splashing out on expensive stand-alone satnav equipment by providing a free alternative on their handsets.
Since Navigation arrived on the Android Market last year, manufacturers have often pointed to live traffic information as the key reason to still purchase their products. What will they say now?
As a free app, is there any better value available on any product in the tech world at the moment? We don't think so.
The updated Google Maps Navigation app for Android is available to download now for North American and European Android owners now.

Three launches unlimited PAYG data

Three has launched a new pay as you go deal which sees customers getting unlimited data for 30 days at a cost of آ£15.
The new deal comes just a few months after Three's decision to remove data caps from certain contract tariffs.
According to Three, the network wants to remove the stress of worrying about how much data you're using on your handset.
Still, آ£15 a month
As Three's Sales and Marketing Director, Marc Allera said, "We want to get people using their smartphones in the way they were designed to be used, and that means data."
A comment which flies in the face of T-Mobile's ill-advised claims that videos ought to be watched at home using Wi-Fi and not while you're out and about.
He continued, "More importantly, we want people to feel comfortable doing this without worrying about the cost. That's why the new offers include all-you-can-eat data along with a huge allowance of minutes and texts.
"Three's network was built for data, and it's the confidence in the strength of our 3G network that means we can introduce deals like this."
Unlimited data for آ£15 a month isn't bad, but you can get some pretty generous deals including 1GB plus calls and texts these days, so it's worth checking how much data you're really going to use before deciding that this is the most economical move for you.

Estate agents to use broadband speeds to sell homes

UK estate agency website Rightmove could soon be detailing broadband speeds on all homes listed on its site.
Sources say that Rightmove is set to announce a new partnership with BT this week to list the internet connection speeds of over a million homes listed on its site for sale or rent in the UK, which equates to around 90 per cent of British homes currently on the market.
Garage or broadband?
After all, who really cares about a garage, a spare single bedroom or an outdoor utility room if you can get hold of 100Mbps broadband?!
One Rightmove source told The Telegraph: "Broadband is becoming one of the most, if not the most, important considerations for prospective buyers.
"Many people fall in love with a home only to find out it can only get really slow internet. By listing broadband speed with all the other property details buyers will be able to weed out homes that don't have high-speed access."
A spokesman for Rightmove added: "As a leading UK website services like superfast broadband obviously interest us and we have recently looked into how it can benefit us, although we are not currently in any form of partnership with BT."

Leaked roadmap suggests BlackBerry OS 7 reveal in October

After the cavalcade of BlackBerry hardware leaks that broke pre-Mobile World Congress, we're entirely unsurprised to see RIM's software roadmap apparently hit the net.
BlackBerry-themed blog N4BB claims that it has got its hand on the roadmap for the year, which lists BlackBerry 7 around the October/November mark.
There isn't much else listed in the second half of the year, which suggests that either this isn't an official or finished document, or RIM is going to be putting all its eggs in the BlackBerry 7 basket.
Vague excitement
Could BlackBerry OS 7 be the QNX-based software that RIM has promised will make the leap from PlayBook to smartphone?
Let's hope so; this could also see BlackBerry phones starting to get access to Android apps, should RIM's rumoured experimentations with the Google OSes applications ever come to fruition.
Let's not get our hopes up too high though; there's no guarantee this is an official roadmap, no guarantee there won't be delays and no guarantee that BlackBerry 7 will be rolled out in the latter part of the year even if it is revealed.

Blizzard CEO outlines latest MMO strategy

Blizzard is currently readying its next major multiplayer online game, with the company's CEO outlining the plans for the latest MMO from the hugely successful studio behind World of Warcraft.
Paul Sams, Blizzard CEO, stressed in an interview with VentureBeat this month that the studio's new MMO game is definitely set to "capture a lot of hearts and minds".
What now for WoW?
But what does this mean for the future of Blizzard's current cash cow, WoW?
"We believe that it will be more complementary than competitive," Sams said about the title, codenamed 'Project Titan'.
Sams admitted that Blizzard designs games with the fact in mind that "people have a limited amount of free time that they can devote to these types of games," adding, "we do think that people will want to check out the new and the old [referring to WoW]".
Unsurprisingly, the Blizzard boss also thinks his new MMO, "is very compellingâ€¦ and will be very successful for us."
As far as World of Warcraft goes, Blizzard is unlikely to drop regular support and expansion packs for its biggest title for the foreseeable future.
"We intend to do more expansions too," stressed the Blizzard CEO. "There is no change in our thinking. We intend absolutely positively to continue to support the existing World of Warcraft product.
"There are over 12 million global paying subscribers that are active in our game. We are not going to turn our back on them and we intend to continue to support that franchise for many, many years to come."
Halo developer Bungie recently announced its own plans to enter the MMO market, with further details on that studio's first online title set to arrive very soon.

In Depth: Windows 8 tablets rumours: what you need to know

Microsoft's been pushing tablet computers for the best part of a decade, so you can imagine how happy the iPad's success makes them.
But Microsoft doesn't give up easily, and Windows 8 tablets are apparently imminent.
So what's Steve Ballmer going to be shouting about when he takes the stage at CES next month?
Windows 8 tablets' release date isn't imminent
Microsoft could be ready to unveil tablets running Windows 8 at CES 2011 in January, according to the New York Times.
The NYT credited an unnamed source for the leak, which suggests that Microsoft's keynote will be enlivened by the arrival of the next generation of Windows, as well as Samsung and Dell tablets. UPDATE: No Windows 8 tablets were shown at CES.
However, the Windows 8 release date may be sooner than you think, with a beta in the spring. That means Windows 8 tablets could be out by late summer.
UPDATE: According to Bloomberg there will be no Windows for tablets until 2012. As we reported on 4 March 2011, sources told Bloomberg that a tablet-friendly version of Windows will be tested at the end of this year and not released until the summer of 2012.
Windows 8 tablets will be from the usual suspects
It's no surprise to see the names Dell and Samsung in the NYT piece: both firms have close relationships with Microsoft, although it's interesting to see Microsoft getting groovy with an Android tablet manufacturer. We'd expect to see something like the leaked "Lap PC" from HP too.
Windows 8 tablets will probably look like iPads
While Dell makes some unusually shaped tablets already, the Samsung tablet is "similar in size and shape to the Apple iPad, although it is not as thin." Unlike the iPad, "it also includes a unique and slick keyboard that slides out from below for easy typing."
Windows 8 tablets will be designed for business use
"The company believes there is a huge market for business people who want to enjoy a slate for reading newspapers and magazines and then work on Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint while doing work," the NYT says, quoting the inevitable "person familiar with the company's tablet plans".
Windows 8 tablets will have a new touch interface
Engadget says: "We've heard from numerous sources that Microsoft's real tablet strategy will rely on Windows 8 and a new all-touch interface that the company has been working incredibly hard on."
Windows 8 tablets will have apps and an app store
Perhaps acknowledging that Windows 7 wasn't designed with fat fingers in mind, the tablets Ballmer shows off at CES will be powered by Windows but will have an additional layer for HTML5 web apps. This layer will pop up when the tablet is in portrait mode and the keyboard hidden.
Apps are a big part of Windows 8, with Microsoft convinced that "app development will move to the web" and building a Windows Store with manufacturer-specific entrances. Microsoft doesn't plan to make money from the Store; like Apple, it's all about selling more machines.
Windows 8 tablet specifications aren't strange or startling
We'd expect Windows 8 tablets to have similar specifications to other iPad rivals such as the Galaxy Tab or BlackBerry Playbook, essentially netbooks in a different form factor: a gigahertz processor, a gigabyte of RAM, 802.11b/g/n wireless and multitouch capacitive displays. Expect lots of connectivity too, with USB ports a key selling point.
Windows 8 tablet prices should be similar to Android ones
Windows 8 tablets will be up against iPads, Android tablets and Chrome OS netbooks, so if they're not priced very aggressively they're going to be a tough sell.

Sony wins PS3 hack site visitors' IP addresses

A Californian judge has granted Sony access to a list of IP addresses pertaining to those who visited a website hosting a PS3 jailbreak hack.
In a series of ongoing legal battles regarding the PS3 hack, Sony has been granted access to user data in order to show the reach of the code posted by George Hotz to then establish what state he should be tried in.
Sony is currently suing Hotz for breach of copyright laws after he posted the original PS3 jailbreak code and a how-to video, which allow users to play pirated games on the console.
Interesting times
Anyone who has accessed Hotz's site, geohot.com, may be feeling a little hot under the collar right now; but now insiders claim that Sony wants to strengthen its case against Hotz rather than get embroiled in multiple lengthy and costly legal battles.
The same subpoena also gives Sony access to information from Twitter, Blogspot, YouTube and webhosting firm Bluehost.
The technology corporation wants access to all data about Hotz and anyone who has viewed or shared his work.

Asus ships E35M1 - its first AMD Brazos motherboard

Asus has begun shipping its first AMD Brazos platform motherboard â€“ with the Asus E35M1 featuring the Zacate Accelerated Processing Unit.
The Zacate APU integrates CPU and GPU bringing big savings in power consumption â€“ and it's pitched as the perfect motherboard for a home theatre PC.
"The E35M1 Series motherboards are designed to be ultra-efficient, both for energy and space savings," states Asus.
36 watts TDP
"Together with the low power draw of the Zacate APU, E35M1 Series motherboard systems consume a mere 36 watts TDP, all on a fanless design â€“perfect for a multitude of scenarios," it continues
"The E35M1 Series comes in a Mini ITX version, and combined with the low power draw of the APU makes it ideal for use in a HTPC setup, due to its discrete presence in the home and inexpensive continuous operating cost.
"It also comes in two Micro ATX versions, providing more flexibility for power users who are looking for a balance between a discrete form factor with power and expandability and a low energy cost."
So, if you are looking for a motherboard that is all about power-saving, without too much of a sacrifice on the graphics, then this could be an option to consider.

BBC-backed online UK Radioplayer out this month

The BBC-backed radio catch-up service UK Radioplayer launches later this month, offering Brits the chance to access on-demand and catch-up radio programming from hundreds of commercial and BBC stations.
UK Radioplayer â€“ which has been somewhat confusingly dubbed 'iPlayer for radio' (seeing as the current iPlayer already covers many BBC stations) - is now set to launch on March 31.
The opportunity of being able to instantly search almost all of Britain's hundreds of superb radio stations â€“ commercial and BBC - via programme, musical genre, song title and the like â€“ and then being able to create a playlist of your favourites is what the developers hope will be the key to mass appeal.
The key advantage of UK Radioplayer over the current iPlayer is the fact that the service will allow you to catch-up with over 200 BBC and commercial British radio stations.
The comprehensive new on-demand and catch-up radio service will initially be made available via the YouView web-connected set-top box platform.
Thousands of hours of programming searchable
BBC director of audio and music, Tim Davie, first outlined the plans for UK Radioplayer two years ago.
UK Radioplayer notes on its website: "We'll start with about 150 stations, then add more as fast as we can. Within a few weeks Radioplayer aims to feature the vast majority of the UK's radio stations â€“ between 200-300 individual services, with thousands of hours of on-demand programmes and podcasts searchable too"
Radio consultant Matt Deega from Folder Media announced he was: "Very excited about UK Radio Player launching on the 31st March," adding that they were "very pleased with our stations' implementation."
Any station can join up to the UK Radioplayer, providing that their digital content meets the necessary requirements.
Unique Interactive is the company responsible for developing the technology behind UK Radioplayer, with leader of software development on the project Adrian Cross claiming that the system's "aligned streaming format will facilitate broader support across other platforms such as internet-connected set-top boxes and mobile devices."

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

IT News HeadLines (Techradar) 08/03/2011

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