http://www.gg2.net Technology | GG2.Net 2013-06-19 http://www.gg2.net en http://www.gg2.net/images/logo.png http://www.gg2.net
A SNAP of a finger, a handful of scattered microphones and a computer algorithm are all it takes to create an accurate three-dimensional map of a room, Swiss and US researchers said on Monday (June 18).   The method, described in the US journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, measured the distance between echoes to create maps of both a university lecture room and a cathedral alcove.   With more refinement, the technique could someday lead to bet]]>
  VIDEOGAME industry legend Peter Molyneux says the time is right for people to play God on smartphones. The former Lionhead Studio chief and Microsoft Game Studios executive has teamed with Japan-based DeNA to get his latest project - GODUS - on the array of mobile devices powered by Android or Apple software. “There is something incredible happening on these devices,” Molyneux said while hefting a smartphone in one hand. “This is where the home of gaming s]]>
NOKIA unveiled a lighter, metal model in its Lumia smartphone range, as it tries to catch the eye of buyers to close the huge market lead of rivals Samsung and Apple Inc in the lucrative handset market.   The Lumia 925 is the latest in Nokia’s range using Microsoft’s Windows Phone software and will be sold for 469 euros ($604.23/£396.87) before taxes and subsidies through carriers such as Vodafone and China Mobile.   Nokia Chief Executive Stephen El]]>
  LIFE in authoritarian states is likely to get tougher before it gets better as their citizens gain more access to the Internet, Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt said on Friday (April 26). Speaking at a seminar in Washington, Schmidt said hundreds of millions of people in non-democratic nations will be trading in their basic cellphones for Internet-connected smartphones as prices fall over the next few years. “When that happens, all of sudden, we are goin]]>
SAMSUNG’S newest Galaxy S4 smartphone is just a revamped version of its top-selling S3 phone with a bigger screen and a few software gimmicks, reviewers said.   “The Galaxy is still a beautiful, high-horsepower Android phone,” New York Times' columnist David Pogue wrote.   “But basically, it’s an updated Galaxy S3. If this were Apple, who adds the letter S to denote a slightly upgraded model (“iPhone 4S,” for example), Sa]]>
FACEBOOK fueled fresh talk on Friday (March 30) about its own mobile phone after the leading social network scheduled a press announcement for next week.   Shortly after the Facebook invitation went out for the April 4 event, the technology news site TechCrunch reported the announcement would be a modified version of the Google Android operating system with “deep native Facebook functionality.”   Another report on “9 to 5 Google” said Facebook]]>
GOOGLE chairman Eric Schmidt has warned that India is lagging badly behind in harnessing the power of the Internet because of its failure to invest in high-speed telecom networks.   “It is well behind in the web services model that the rest of the world is adopting,” Schmidt told the CNBC-TV18 television channel late Wednesday (March 20) during a trip to India.   “It is crucial for India to invest and enable fast fibre Internet connectivity within t]]>
ANDY Rubin, the brains behind the Google Android operating system which has become the dominant mobile platform, is stepping down as head of that division, the company said on Wednesday (March 13).   Google chief Larry Page announced that Sundar Pichai, the head of its Chrome laptop unit, will take over the team in charge of Android software for smartphones and tablet computers.   “Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chap]]>
THE world’s biggest high-tech fair, the CeBIT, kicks off Tuesday (March 5), pinning its hopes on growing tech regions Asia and Africa and the hot topic of social media to beat competition from other high-profile fairs.   More than 4,000 exhibitors from some 70 countries are expected to set up shop in the northern German city of Hanover, about the same number as last year despite the weak economic environment, organisers said.   “CeBIT is becoming increasi]]>
HEALTH-RELATED applications for smartphones and tablets are a booming business, but in Africa and Asia “mobile health” could actually be a lifesaver for millions, industry leaders and aid organisations say.   Mobile phones could save up to a million lives over the next five years in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report by mobile industry association GSMA and global consultants PwC released at the February 25-28 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.   A]]>
  CHINESE handset makers will lead an onslaught on smartphone titans Samsung and Apple when the world’s biggest mobile fair opens on Monday (February 25) in Barcelona, Spain. Offering big-screen, slick, slim smartphones at lower prices, Chinese manufacturers Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo will leverage the Mobile World Congress to chip away at the mighty duopoly, analysts say. The handset battle is part of a broader revolt against a handful of companies with a stranglehold on t]]>
FINNISH mobile phone maker Nokia is set to launch cheaper handset models in an attempt to fend off growing competition from Chinese rivals in the low-end market, company sources said on Friday (February 22).   The new models, due to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress industry convention in Barcelona next week, show Nokia is expanding its focus after concentrating in the past two years on catching up with Apple and Samsung in more expensive smartphones.   The so]]>
  CONSUMERS are being offered a cornucopia of smartphone apps to track or manage health, but only a small number of people are using them, according to a survey released on Monday (January 28).   The Pew Research Center’s study found that only about seven per cent of people surveyed in the US used a smartphone app to track a health indicator like weight, diet, and exercise routine or to monitor a chronic disease such as diabetes.   “There&rsqu]]>
  WALT Disney toys are sold around the world. Now, children can find them in the cloud as well. The media giant is teaming up with toy company JAKKS Pacific and Patrick Soon-Shiong, Los Angeles’ wealthiest person, on a new line of toys - with a nifty technological twist designed to link the goodies that kids lug home from the store with Disney’s stable of well-known animated characters. ‘DreamPlay’, developed by Soon-Shiong’s NantWorks company, a]]>
GOOGLE has removed a “Make Me Asian” app - that let players change their appearance - following an uproar by Asian American activists who said the game promoted derogatory stereotypes.   As of Thursday (January 17), “Make Me Asian” and similar apps such as “Make Me Fat” and “Make Me (American) Indian” were no longer available on the search engine giant’s online store Google Play.   “Make Me Asian” had ]]>
    WOMEN and girls are being left behind as the Internet spreads across the globe, with almost a third of all humanity now online, says a study released by hi-tech giant Intel Corporation. Some 2.4 billion people around the world have access to the Web. But of the 1.4 billion people who have Internet access and live in developing countries, only 600 million are women, according to the survey researched with the help of the US State Department and UN Women. The r]]>
  REPORTS echoing online on Tuesday (January 8) fuelled speculation that Apple is tailoring a low-price version of the iPhone for China and other emerging markets.   DigiTimes.com, which specializes in news about the supply side of the technology industry, cited unnamed sources as saying an iPhone model made with less expensive parts would be rolled out in the second half of this year. The rumour was later endorsed by the Wall Street Journal, which based its report o]]>
  TV MAKERS showing off their new wares at a huge trade fair will seek to dazzle consumers with bigger, bolder displays, and smarter technologies for consumers who want television to be a “multiscreen” experience. Companies like Samsung, Sony, LG, Sharp and Panasonic showing at the International CES in Las Vegas this week are making a new push for so-called “ultra HD” high definition of 4K, which can provide stunning, lifelike images at a steep price. ]]>
    CHILDHOOD toys lost in a war-torn field have inspired an odd-looking invention like a giant dandelion seed head which its young Dutch inventor hopes can help save thousands of lives and limbs in his native Afghanistan. Decades of war, notably the 1979-89 Soviet invasion, have left the rugged Afghan countryside littered with landmines that continue to exact a merciless toll, mainly on children. Now, in a small workshop in the industrial heart of the southern city ]]>
      A BRITISH company has developed an incredible new light bulb ‘GravityLight’ powered by gravity. London-based design and innovation initiative deciwatt.org designed the GravityLight as a sustainable solution for 1.5 billion people, who rely on biomass fuels such as kerosene for lighting.   The bulbs will be distributed for free among communities in India and Africa that do not have reliable access to elec]]>
FUTURIST and inventor Raymond Kurzweil said on Friday (December 14) that he is going to work as director of engineering at Google to help “turn the next decade’s ‘unrealistic’ visions into reality.”   Kurzweil, an author whose books include The Age of Spiritual Machines and Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever, said that Monday (December 17) would be his first day on the job at Google.   “In 1999, I said that in about]]>
A 29-YEAR-OLD Indian inventor on Tuesday (November 27) won $50,000 (£31226.27) to help him make a new low-cost mobile phone for the blind that uses a Braille display.   Sumit Dagar, an industrial designer from New Delhi, beat thousands to win the money from watch company Rolex, which announced the five winners of its Awards for Enterprise scheme.   Dagar is developing a phone with a display panel of tiny bumps that can be varied in height independently to form ]]>
A 29-YEAR-OLD Indian inventor on Tuesday (November 27) won $50,000 (£31226.27) to help him make a new low-cost mobile phone for the blind that uses a Braille display.   Sumit Dagar, an industrial designer from New Delhi, beat thousands to win the money from watch company Rolex, which announced the five winners of its Awards for Enterprise scheme.   Dagar is developing a phone with a display panel of tiny bumps that can be varied in height independently to form ]]>
MAKERS of India’s low-cost Aakash tablet on Saturday (November 24) denied a local media report that said the computer was a cheap Chinese import and not an Indian innovation as was claimed.   DataWind, a British-based company with major operations in Canada and India, said the allegations in the Hindustan Times newspaper that the company had “conned” India with the computer were “inaccurate and misleading”.   Early this month India launc]]>
INDIA has launched a new version of its ultra-low-cost tablet computer with a quicker processor and an improved battery, on sale to students at the subsidised price of $20 (£12.58).   The Aakash tablet, dubbed the world’s cheapest computer, has been developed as a public-private partnership aimed at making computing technology available to students in a country where Internet usage is only at around 10 per cent.   Makers of the tablet, Britain-based Dataw]]>
THE RACE to the White House has spawned a flurry of mobile applications focusing on the presidential campaign - from the deadly serious to the light-hearted and fun.   Businesses, non-profit organizations and political campaigns are capitalizing on the fact that nearly half of American adults own a smartphone - and a growing number of these use them to keep up with or get involved in politics.   The Sunlight Foundation, for instance - a non-profit group that seeks to]]>
APPLE marketing wizard Phil Schiller defended the $329 (£205.14) price of the new iPad mini tablet, saying consumers will be willing to pay for quality not found in less expensive devices from rivals like Google and Amazon.   With competition growing from tablets that are smaller and less expensive than Apple’s wildly popular iPads, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Schiller on Tuesday (October 23) took the wraps off the new 7.9-inch tablet, which essentially has mos]]>
CONFUSED about why a relationship went wrong or the true meaning of a text message? A new web app that relies on the comments of strangers may provide some clarity.   The app, called Impressions, was recently launched on the website Wotwentwrong, which lets users anonymously get feedback from their exes.   With Impressions people can create a timeline of their relationships and mark milestones, such as their first date or kiss, and embed polls to get feedback and adv]]>
THE PC is not dead, but it’s no longer king of the technology universe.   As Microsoft prepares to launch Windows 8, the newest version of its operating system, the tech landscape is dramatically different from three years ago, when Windows 7 was launched.   The market for mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones is red-hot, leaving the personal computer as an afterthought for many. Microsoft, which was the biggest tech firm in 2009, has fallen behind App]]>
A SHIFT to digital payments can improve the global effort to fight poverty and improve conditions for those trapped in a cycle dependent on cash, say backers of a new initiative launched on Wednesday (September 19).   The ‘Better than Cash Alliance’ has been endorsed by the United Nations, US government and a number of non-government organizations as a way to improve efficiency and help the world’s poor better manage resources.   The effort was laun]]>
  This game had a lot of build up before its launch, but it hasn’t lived up to the hype. The graphics are poor – they have merely been upscaled so the animations and textures are the same as the original. The game does retain some of the factors that made it enjoyable when it was came out, but the time has come to change things. The old camera angles and controls are annoying as you attempt to play the game, and combined with poor graphics, make it an abysmal experience. ]]>
  Electronic Arts' (EA) newest FIFA branded game has completely changed football gaming. The main menu has moved to a more pro evolution soccer type one,  there are new game modes and more realistic game play. EA has decided that defending needs to be more astute and so it has changed tackling, with circle (ps3 controls) now being push and x being contain. Moreover, the game has made intercepting easier, with the player automatically sticking out a leg for the ball. ]]>
  The latest installment of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series has succeeded in becoming the best first-person shooter ever. The campaign is like no other - it builds up suspense and has plenty of action as a whole range of new features is enlisted. COD3 now boasts amazing set pieces for insane firefights over great distances. New sights like the hybrid sight let you enjoy realistic shooting and the UGV satisfies your need to endlessly shoot at people. New spec ops missi]]>
Battlefield 3 offers the player an exceptional multiplayer mode, allowing them to fly jets or rain down hellfire from a helicopter. The online mode is amazing; it is on par with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare3 if not better – the massive matches with 63 other players dazzle your senses as hellfire and sniper rounds smack into you instantly on spawning. All four classes have their perks and problems, but I think assault prevails. The online mode is what keeps players coming back for more a]]>
IN A pre-iPhone age, mobile phones came in all shapes and sizes. Remember the clamshell, candy bar, swivel, backflip, slider, dual-slider, lipstick, and, of course, the taco? Nowadays, most phones have a touch screen, rows of icons and are rectangular.   In short, they all look a lot like the iPhone.   Now, in the wake of the Apple Inc vs Samsung Electronics trial, where the US firm won what the South Koreans scathingly called a “monopoly over rectangles with r]]>
THE BASS and drums are as loud as ever, but the mood music has changed at Gamescom, Europe’s biggest gaming fair, as developers whose bedrock business has targeted console gamers play catch-up with the mass mobile market.     Smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy as well as tablets have revolutionised not only the mobile world but the gaming universe.     “Ten years ago we used to measure our market in terms]]>
RANBEER Singh breaks into a proud smile the moment an image of India’ Olympic boxing medal hopeful Vijender Singh pops up on the computer screen before him.   “Vijender is the son of our soil, we’e all with him,” the former army man says about the Asian Games gold medallist whose progress in the London Olympics is being passionately followed in his hometown Bhiwani.   Vijender is one of eight Indian boxers participating in the Games, and with ]]>
  DESPERATE to be the first to learn of White House hopeful Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick? There's an app for that.   Continuing their strategy of teasing out the Republican's process for choosing his running mate, the Romney campaign rolled out a smartphone application they say will serve as the first official distribution channel for the news.   "The historic announcement is getting closer," said Beth Myers, the Romney campaign]]>
ROBB Myer cannot stomach the notion of being stuck at the entrance of a restaurant waiting for word that a table is finally available.       So he and some friends, tired of ricocheting between crowded eateries in a hip San Francisco neighborhood, came up with the idea for startup “NoWait” to take the agony out of queues.       “We are really trying to change the way you and I have to wait any place that has a lin]]>
GLOBAL policing body Interpol announced on Tuesday (July 17) a pioneering initiative to crack down on trade in fake goods, using an app developed with the help of search giant Google.       The Interpol Global Register (IGR), announced at a Google conference outside Los Angeles, aims to track illicit goods by verifying products through security features, using the scanning app.       “Right now in special areas (like) pharmac]]>
  ONLINE social games could get a shot of real money with a new platform launched by a startup on Monday (July 9).   The new platform to allow real-money bets on almost any online game is coming from Betable, a London-headquartered company with a British gambling license, and working in California with US game developers.   “This is the first and only platform to allow any game developer to allow real-money gambling,” said Christopher Griffin, ch]]>
THE RELEASE on Wednesday (July 4) of dramatic new data pointing to the existence of the Higgs boson "God particle" sent a special flutter of pride, mixed with frustration, through India's scientific community.   The "Higgs" of Higgs boson is well known to refer to Peter Higgs, the British researcher who in 1964 laid much of the conceptual groundwork for the presence of the elusive particle.   What is largely unknown, at least to non-specialist]]>
INDIA is set to release an upgrade of its ultra-low-cost computer tablet, the $40 (£) “Aakash-2”, after the first edition was criticised for its quality and distribution.       The device was unveiled last year as the “computer for the masses” in India, where millions struggle to fund their education, but as yet the tablet has failed to live up to the hype and reached only a tiny number of colleges.       ]]>
  THE ASIA-PACIFIC region is leading a surge in the use of mobile devices as they play a more central role in people's lives and are on track to replace conventional computers, a top Google executive said on June 20.   Aliza Knox, managing director of commerce for Google Asia Pacific, said smartphones and tablets were now becoming the primary means to access the internet in the region, adding that the US firm was making preparations to respond to that.   ]]>
     (AFP)   FOURSQUARE, a location-based social media service, unveiled a revamped app on Thursday (June 7) that helps people find things nearby even before they ask.   “We’ve torn the app apart and rebuilt it anew, Extreme Makeover style. Say hello to the all new foursquare!” the company said in a blog post.   The big change will be giving suggestions on things to do nearby based on habits of the customers and t]]>
  WILTED, starving, thirsty houseplants could soon be getting more tender loving care thanks to a new plant sensor and app that tells owners when it is time for watering and feeding.       The Koubachi Wifi Plant Sensor, which is placed in the soil of the potted plant, connects with a smartphone app that alerts users when plants need watering, misting, fertilizer or more sun or shade.       “There’s very little]]>
GOOGLE has started making its search engine smarter in a major upgrade that looks beyond query words to figure out what people are actually seeking online.   “Knowledge Graph” technology built to recognize people, places or things signified by keywords took its fledgling steps in the US onn Wendesday (May 16) with the hope of eventually extending it to Google searches worldwide.   “The Knowledge Graph is built to understand real things in the world,]]>
PLANNING a wedding? A new web app lets the bride and groom-to-be create a social website that connects guests with each other before the big day.   Called Weduary, the web app provides a simple way of creating a modern-looking wedding website, and allows the couple to invite guests using Facebook.   The site tells guests which of their Facebook friends will also be attending and points out people at the event who may have common interests and mutual friends. &nbs]]>
  NESTLE, purveyor of the decades-old KitKat snack, has launched an app it says addresses a growing problem among young social media users - giving them a break from the stress of posting updates by doing it for them.   The software, Social Break, automatically sends random updates to users’ Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. It will be officially launched in Singapore later this week and is free to download from kitkat.com.sg/socialbreak.   Whil]]>
FACEBOOK on Tuesday (May 1) unveiled an initiative to use the vast social network to connect organ donors with people who need life-saving transplants. Facebookfounder Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement and became one of the first Facebook users to sign up on the social network to be an organ donor. Members of Facebook in the US and Britain can now indicate that they are organ donors on their timelines, and if they are not donors, they can find links to official organ donation regi]]>