Winemakers shun social media grapevine (Reuters)

Reuters - When it comes to social media, most winemakers prefer to drink alone.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:11 am

Yahoo! Japan adopts Google search engine (AFP)

AFP - Top Internet portal Yahoo! Japan on Tuesday announced a search alliance with Google, in a deal that would see both giants dominate the Japanese market in a possible blow to Microsoft.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:10 am

Cloud Computing: Good Enough for Government? [Digital Daily]

Cloud computing will save the U.S. government quite a bit of money and improve its efficiency, no doubt, but until government officials are convinced of its security, the migration to this new computing paradigm is likely to be a slow one. As the delayed deployment of the Los Angeles police department’s new Google (GOOG) email system illustrates, the threat of unknown security risks far outweighs the 25 to 50 percent savings in IT costs that the Brookings Institution claims U.S. agencies can save by moving to cloud computing.

So Google’s announcement Monday that its Apps for Government cloud-based productivity suite had gained certification under the Federal Information Security Management Act was quite a win for the company. In theory, that seal of approval will instill in government a modicum of confidence in the security and reliability of the cloud-computing model.

“I think there is a government question, which is: ‘I want to know where my data is and I want to have some say over that,’” Dave Girourard, Google president of enterprise, said Monday. “That’s a fair and reasonable request and we’re trying to accommodate that in the cloud computing model, which operates at a fairly massive scale. There’s a fundamental trust question about turning over data to a third party. Some people are very comfortable with it. Others find it intrinsically scary. So this is a step…towards bringing credibility to the cloud. We view trust as the ultimate hurdle for cloud computing and we want to be the first to overcome it.”

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:10 am

Sniff-Controlled Technology Allows Disabled to Communicate - Tonic

Daily Mail

Sniff-Controlled Technology Allows Disabled to Communicate Tonic Israeli scientists have found a way for paralyzed patients to use their noses to write, use the computer and operate a wheelchair. When one breathes through the nose, it involves the soft palate of ... Sniffing device may help the severely disabled communicateLos Angeles Times Sniffing Allows Paralyzed to Interact With Computers, Navigate WheelchairsBloomberg Sniffing device allows paralysed woman to communicateThe Guardian WebMD -MSN Health & Fitness -Science Now all 126 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:09 am

Build Your Own Iron Man Repulsor Beam

By Chris Scott Barr When it comes to cosplaying, some people like to go all-out. Whether it be crafting a life-size Buster sword or a Transformers costume that can actually transform, countless hours will...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:03 am

Droid Phones Boosting Motorola - Forbes

Telegraph.co.uk

Droid Phones Boosting Motorola Forbes Mobile devices maker is expected to report strong smartphone sales, particularly from partner Verizon Wireless. In the current flurry of smartphone introductions, it's rare that a cellphone launch is as closely observed as that of the Droid X. Analysts ... Motorola Droid X Sold Out Through Aug. 4eWeek Will Droid X be the Last Antenna Video from Apple?PC World Apple's Droid X 'Death Grip' Claim: BogusPC Magazine Wall Street Journal -Wireless Week -DVICE all 257 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:00 am

Jailbreaking iPhone legalised - a loss for Apple - International Business Times

New Zealand Herald

Jailbreaking iPhone legalised - a loss for Apple International Business Times The Library of Congress has relaxed Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Section 1201 allowing customers to run applications on smartphones otherwise restricted by smartphone producers thus making "jailbreaking" legal. Jailbreaking is a term coined ... Federal Ruling Allows iPhone Users to Alter SoftwareABC News Zittrain: No Get Out Of Jail Free Card For Jailbreak DevelopersTechCrunch DMCA Loopholes Mean Open Season on iPhone, AT&T and OthersPC Magazine San Francisco Chronicle -Wall Street Journal -PC World all 994 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:59 am

Listiki Offers A Smart Way Of Gathering Opinion Through Crowdsourced Lists

Listiki (a portmanteau of the words "list" and "wiki") lets you crowdsource lists of, well, anything. This could be something as trivial as a list of the 'top ten horror movies' or something more self-serving like, I don't know, '5 must-read tech bloggers'. Lists can be as short or as long as you like and each item may also include a URL. But here's the clever bit: any list can, effectively, be cloned so that you can re-order items to your own taste (via drag 'n' drop) or even delete and/or replace them. Any changes made are interpreted in real time and ripple through to a 'master' list, aggregating the opinions of all contributors but without destroying your own version of the list. You can also, of course, view the original lists of other contributors to that subject. It's pretty neat.

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:56 am

Blizzard 'proud' of StarCraft 2 achievement - Computerandvideogames.com

USA Today

Blizzard 'proud' of StarCraft 2 achievement Computerandvideogames.com Blizzard has spoken of its pride at finally launching StarCraft II, which is available worldwide from today. Speaking to CVG at the London launch, Blizzard VP Michael Ryder admitted that the whole project has been "challenging" - and of course it's ... 12 years after original game, Blizzard's Starcraft II goes on saleVentureBeat 'StarCraft II' Q&A with Blizzard's Rob PardoUSA Today StarCraft II: Midnight Launch DetectedEscapist Magazine Christian Science Monitor -GameSpot -News Provider all 199 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:55 am

ARM beats forecast on demand for smartphones, netbooks (Reuters)

Reuters - Chip designer ARM Holdings beat market profit expectations in the second quarter, helped by strong demand for smartphones, netbooks and tablet computers. The British company, whose designs are in more than 95 percent of the world's mobile phones, posted record pretax profit of 43.5 million pounds, up 167 percent, on revenue of 100 million pounds, both ahead of expectations.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:48 am

ZumoCast Is Like Cloud Storage Without The Cloud, Or The Cost

ZumoCast is a new cloud storage service, sorta, minus the cloud. The application streams files directly from your home desktop computer to another Internet connected device.

A year and a half ago Y Combinator startup Zecter launched a cloud storage service called Zumodrive, with a twist – Zumodrive creates a drive on your device that is synced to the cloud. But instead of syncing those files with all of your other devices, Zumodrive tricks the file system into thinking those cloud-stored files are local, and streams them from the cloud when you open or access them. That makes it perfect for mobile devices with limited local storage.

HP has tapped Zecter to provide cloud storage on netbook devices. And they have mobile apps for all the usual suspects.

But that doesn’t solve the problem of storage costs. All the cloud storage startups are charging an arm and a leg for decent storage. 100 GB on ZumuDrive is $20/month, for example.

Enter ZumoCast. Install it on your Mac or Windows computer and tell it what files to make available to the app. Then install it on your iPad or phone and stream those files directly from your main computer. In tests today it streamed high definition video seamlessly to my iPad over Wifi. It looked quite snappy, actually.

CEO David Zhao says they use the same technology behind ZumoDrive to automatically adjust for bandwidth fluctuation, and transcoding on the fly means most file types, as long as they don’t have DRM, stream fine.

It’s a great application for accessing home videos, music and pictures. And the application also allows you to locally store a file as well if you like, so you can watch a DVD rip originally on your home computer during a long flight.

Best of all is the price – free. Zhao says eventually they’ll charge for additional services with a freemium product.

The app is still in approval at Apple, but Zhao says he’ll let as many TechCrunch readers get the beta version as he can. Use this URL – http://www.zumocast.com/?i=techcrunch – to sign up.

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:44 am

iPhone 'faces rising challenge' from Android handsets (AFP)

AFP - Apple's iPhone will likely dominate the high-end smartphone market in the next five years but faces strong competition from handsets using Google's Android platform, a research firm said Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:43 am

Digg Vs. Reddit: The Infographic

There’s always been a form of healthy rivalry between Reddit and Digg, and its respective user bases. I’m one of those indifferent people who think there’s plenty of room for multiple sites of the kind, and that these sites actually make each other stronger and better in their state of co-existence. Rising tide lifting all boats and all that.

Nevertheless, I was keen on sharing an email from reader Harry Maugans, which we received moments ago:

I’ll be brief. We’ve spent the past two weeks recording every popular story to appear on Digg and Reddit (24 hours a day), and we’ve now compiled our results into an infographic that shows a pretty interesting comparison of the two sites.

Since Digg and Reddit have been in the news quite a bit recently (Digg 4.0 Alpha and Reddit Gold), I thought this might be interesting to your readers.

Well Harry, we happen to think so too (click the image for a larger version).

I’ll let the actual infographic do the rest of the talking:

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:37 am

Street-Fighting Math: down and dirty guide to approximation and problem-solving

Street-Fighting Mathematics looks like a fun read: it's a Creative Commons-licensed math textbook that teaches approximation and "down-and-dirty, opportunistic problem solving." It's based on a MIT course taught by the author, Sanjoy Mahajan.

In problem solving, as in street fighting, rules are for fools: do whatever works--don't just stand there! Yet we often fear an unjustified leap even though it may land us on a correct result. Traditional mathematics teaching is largely about solving exactly stated problems exactly, yet life often hands us partly defined problems needing only moderately accurate solutions. This engaging book is an antidote to the rigor mortis brought on by too much mathematical rigor, teaching us how to guess answers without needing a proof or an exact calculation.

In Street-Fighting Mathematics, Sanjoy Mahajan builds, sharpens, and demonstrates tools for educated guessing and down-and-dirty, opportunistic problem solving across diverse fields of knowledge--from mathematics to management. Mahajan describes six tools: dimensional analysis, easy cases, lumping, picture proofs, successive approximation, and reasoning by analogy. Illustrating each tool with numerous examples, he carefully separates the tool--the general principle--from the particular application so that the reader can most easily grasp the tool itself to use on problems of particular interest.

Street-Fighting Mathematics (Thanks, Musicman! via Submitterator)


Source: Boing Boing | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:35 am

Free, CC licensed Steampunk RPG: Lady Blackbird

Lady Blackbird is a quick-playing steampunk tabletop RPG that's free to download and Creative Commons-licensed for your sharing and remixing pleasure: "Lady Blackbird is on the run from an arranged marriage to Count Carlowe. She hired a smuggler skyship, The Owl, to take her from her palace on the Imperial world of Ilysium to the far reaches of the Remnants, so she could be with her once secret lover: the pirate king Uriah Flint. HOWEVER, just before reaching the halfway point of Haven, The Owl was pursued and captured by the Imperial cruiser Hand of Sorrow, under charges of flying a false flag."

Lady Blackbird: Adventures in the Wild Blue Yonder (Thanks, Sage! via Submitterator)

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:35 am

Free, CC licensed Steampunk RPG: Lady Blackbird

Lady Blackbird is a quick-playing steampunk tabletop RPG that's free to download and Creative Commons-licensed for your sharing and remixing pleasure: "Lady Blackbird is on the run from an arranged marriage...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:35 am

SMS slingshot: Digital Text Messages on Urban Facades

Guerilla Innovation on the SMS slingshot, a device designed to create digital augmented realities in urban space. The device is shaped as a wooden slingshot with a build-in mobile phone display, a keypad...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:30 am

Russia to develop energy sector using outer space

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will employ technologies, initially meant for outer space research programs, to develop its vast energy sector, Energy Ministry said on Tuesday in yet another sign
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:26 am

UK ISP TalkTalk Caught Monitoring Its Customers

An anonymous reader writes "The UK ISP TalkTalk has been caught using a form of Deep Packet Inspection technology to monitor and record the websites that its customers visit, without getting their explicit consent. The system, which is not yet fully in place, ultimately aims to help block malware websites by comparing the URL that a person visits against a list of good and bad sites. Bad sites will then be restricted. TalkTalk claims that its method is totally anonymous and that the only people with visibility of the URL database itself are Chinese firm Huawei, which will no doubt help everybody to feel a lot better (apply sarc mark here) about potentially having their privacy invaded."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:21 am

Android sales in the UK skyrocket - Inquirer

Product Reviews (blog)

Android sales in the UK skyrocket Inquirer THE INFLUX of devices such as the HTC Desire and the Samsung Galaxy S is boosting Android's presence in the UK mobile phone market. According to figures compiled by GFK Retail and Technology, Android's share of the UK mobile ... Android's UK phone sales quadrupleRegister Android Market: Pros and Cons of Carrier BillingPC World Android and AppsComputerworld msnbc.com -Product Reviews (blog) -The Guardian all 130 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:14 am

Zittrain: No Get Out Of Jail Free Card For Jailbreak Developers

There’s been much ado about DMCA’s latest ruling, particularly its “jailbreaking” provision, which allows users to run applications that are not approved by their phone maker (ahem, Apple). In less than 24 hours, hundreds have opined on the matter, some wondering what kind of Pandora’s box this ruling could unleash upon iPhone’s carefully manicured Garden of Eden.

Take for instance, PC World’s Lance Ulanoff, who described an “open season on iPhone, AT&T and others,” a world where jailbreaking services banded, “together to create a business organization. They could sue Apple and AT&T, claiming the companies [were] undermining their ability to conduct business.”

While the image of newly empowered developers taking pitchforks to Apple’s guarded ecosystem is a vivid one, Jon Zittrain, Harvard Law professor of internet law and the author of The Future Of The Internet And How To Stop It, doesn’t buy it. Video above. (For those who want a primer on DMCA, Zittrain provides a nice synopsis in the first three minutes of the interview, if you want to skip ahead go to the 2:40 mark.)

He says the DMCA exemption is a key, symbolic victory for the open campaign— but in many ways, a legal paper tiger:

“The victory for those who want to hack is not trivial even though in large part it is symbolic. I mean here it is in honor of the United States government saying this is actually not illegal behavior, this is OK to jailbreak your phone. Interesting thing though is, the specific provision in title 17 of the US code is 1201 and this is 1201 (a)(1), that says you can’t hack in order to gain access to something protected by copyright. It turns out that there’s another provision that says you’re not allowed to market or traffic in tools whose primary purpose is to let people hack and the exceptions are not permitted to be applied to that provision. So even though the Library of Congress has given blessing to the act of hacking here. It’s not able to give a blessing to trafficking in the tools that let you hack.”

Thus, while consumers are in the clear (as least when it comes to copyright law– forget about your warranty) developers do not get an automatic get out of jail free card when they market and distribute jailbreaking services.

If Zittrain was in Apple’s position, he would advise Steve Jobs to maintain the app store but open up the ecosystem to give users the option to “off-road.” Speaking more realistically; however, he predicts a real surge in jailbreaking could trigger an arms race between Apple and developers, a battle decided not in the courts but in the operating system: “If they’re gathered back at the lodge and trying to figure out how to respond to this, I’m not sure they’re going to be that dejected. They might just be like “All right, game on!” You guys want to hack the iPhone, we’ll try to brick it, if we detect it jailbroken in certain ways. So they certainly have their options. “

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:07 am

HTC to sell HTC-branded Android, Windows Mobile smartphones in China

Taiwan-based phone manufacturer HTC has been selling smartphones in China under the name Dopod for many years, but this morning the company announced that it will soon start selling TD-SCDMA-based phones with the HTC brand actually attached to them. In a press release issued moments ago, the company said it has teamed up with carrier China Mobile to bring future HTC phones to market and formed a new distribution partnership with China's largest electronics distributor, GOME Electrical Appliances. Initially coming to mainland China are HTC's newly unveiled smartphones with the Sense user interface: The HTC Tianxi, Tianyi, Desire and Wildfire.

Source: MobileCrunch | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:06 am

Telecom software groups merge in app store battle (Reuters)

Reuters - Two telecom operator-backed mobile software groups unveiled a merger plan on Tuesday to counter increasing competition from new rivals Google and Apple for applications.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:05 am

Telecom software groups merge in app store battle

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Two telecom operator-backed mobile software groups unveiled a merger plan on Tuesday to counter increasing competition from new rivals Google and Apple for...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:05 am

UK govt proposes volunteer "police reserve"

As part of a set of major cuts to police budgets, the UK government has floated the idea of supplementing police with volunteer militias of "community police" who will get to tell their neighbours what...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am

UK govt proposes volunteer "police reserve"

As part of a set of major cuts to police budgets, the UK government has floated the idea of supplementing police with volunteer militias of "community police" who will get to tell their neighbours what to do:

The scheme was first raised in a Conservative pre-election policy document which talked of creating a "new cadre of police reserves".

The consultation paper says that neighbourhood policing is key to David Cameron's "big society ... we want more active citizens taking part in joint patrols with the police, looking out for their neighbours and passing on safety tips as part of neighbourhood watch groups or as community crime fighters," it says. May said she wanted to see more special constables, whose numbers have plummeted from 67,000 in the 1950s to 15,000 today.

But the paper adds that they want to go further and explore new ideas to "unlock the potential of police volunteers in the workforce, for example, as police "reservists".

Cameron's answer to budget cuts: get public involved in 'DIY' policing

(Image: Judge Gallagher, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from 29138572@N00's photostream)

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am

eLong to Announce Second Quarter 2010 Unaudited Financial Results on August 16, 2010 at 8:00 pm US Eastern Time / August 17, 2010 at 8:00 am Beijing/Hong Kong Time

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:00 am

HTC To Sell HTC-Branded Android, Windows Mobile Smartphones In China

Taiwan-based phone manufacturer HTC has been selling smartphones in China under the name Dopod for many years, but this morning the company announced that it will soon start selling TD-SCDMA-based phones with the HTC brand actually attached to them.

In a press release issued moments ago, the company said it has teamed up with carrier China Mobile to bring future HTC phones to market and formed a new distribution partnership with China’s largest electronics distributor, GOME Electrical Appliances.

Initially coming to mainland China are HTC’s newly unveiled smartphones with the Sense user interface: The HTC Tianxi, Tianyi, Desire and Wildfire.

The latter products are familiar high-end Android phones – they will be carried by mobile operator China Unicom – but this was the first I’d ever heard of the HTC Tianxi and HTC Tianyi. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, those two new phones will are touch-screen models designed exclusively for China Mobile.

One will apparently be a high-end model running Microsoft Windows Mobile OS (this one, perhaps?), the other a mid-priced device running Android. HTC reportedly expects the handsets will be available to consumers in September or October 2010.

Last year, HTC shipped 12 million phones globally. North America accounts for 50 percent of its market share, Europe for 30 percent while 20 percent comes from the rest of the world.

HTC says the move to introduce its proper brand in China is to enable it provide more after-sales service to consumers, but it’s undoubtedly also a strategy to protect itself from the fast-growing number of counterfeit HTC devices that are increasingly available on the Chinese market, as well as a way for the company to gear up for the battle against Research in Motion, Nokia and of course Apple, which isn’t yet selling the iPhone 4 in China although it introduced the iPhone 3GS in October 2009.

If you’re interested in this market, you should read our recent guest post on why Android is poised to dominate in China.

(Hat tip to Global Times)

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:56 am

Solarfun Awarded Two PV Module Contracts Totaling 12MW in Italy

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:53 am

Now You Can Bump iPhones to Connect on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Bump, the app that makes it super simple to exchange information with other users by bumping phones, has just released Bump 2.0 for the iPhone. The app features an updated and refined interface plus...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:49 am

UPDATE 2-KPN eyes sales growth as Q2 tops forecast

* Keeps 2010 EBITDA outlook of 5.5 bln, revenue 13.5 bln
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:48 am

iPhone 4 for sale in Switzerland on Friday

The iPhone 4 will be available in 17 more countries on Friday, July 31st. The countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:46 am

Starcraft 2 digital version now available at Battle.net

Costs 60€ in Europe. Costs as much as a console title only this is the digital version. I guess I’ll just wait until the price drops to a reasonable amount of money. Amazon has a boxed version for 40€ and I don’t really get it why they set the price so high for a download. See, no transport and manufacturing costs and yet the digital version costs as much (or even more) than the retail box. This, friend, is a rip off. Anyway click here to buy it now.

Source: CrunchGear | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:43 am

Citi Discovers Security Flaw in iPhone Application

Citigroup discovered a flaw in its free iPhone citi app that exposed customers' personal information to a secret file on the phone and computer. The bank urged customers to upgrade to a newer version...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:42 am

How I became a Foursquare cyberstalker

A fascinating read and insightful story in The Guardian by journalist Leo Hickman who follows/stalks a female stranger through Foursquare. Find out how easy it is to uncover the intimate details of a...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:31 am

Washington State Cell Phone Law first 28 days

Interesting insight from FreeInsuranceQuotes.org on the ticketing data if the first month after Washington State passed it's "Just say no to talking and driving" law. Washington recently state enacted...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:16 am

Yahoo Japan spurns Bing in favor of Google search - Computerworld

Oneindia

Yahoo Japan spurns Bing in favor of Google search Computerworld IDG News Service - Google has secured a deal to provide search results and related advertising to Yahoo Japan, Japan's most popular Web site, the two companies said Tuesday. The agreement should see Google delivering search results ... Yahoo Japan Ties With Google In Internet Search TechWall Street Journal Yahoo! Japan! turns! wing! against! Bing! in! Google! deal!Register Humans now power Ask.com's engineCNNMoney Bloomberg -BBC News -DVICE all 201 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:13 am

A Computational Knowledge Engine on Your Site: Wolfram Alpha Launches Widget Builder

Until now, Wolfram Alpha's computational knowledge engine was mostly tied to the project's website. Starting today, however, users will also be able to use the Wolfram Alpha Widget Builder to bring some...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:01 am

HTC Launches Its Brand in China, Unveils First HTC-Branded Phones for China

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:00 am

How a Key Enzyme Repairs Sun-Damaged DNA

BraveHeart writes "Researchers have long known that mammals, including humans, lack a key enzyme — one possessed by most of the animal kingdom and even plants — that reverses severe sun damage. For the first time, researchers have witnessed how this enzyme works at the atomic level to repair sun-damaged DNA. 'Normal sunscreen lotions convert UV light to heat, or reflect it away from our skin. A sunscreen containing photolyase could potentially heal some of the damage from UV rays that get through.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:58 am

SAP's 2nd-quarter profit up 15 percent (AP)

AP - Business software maker SAP AG said Tuesday that growth in the United States and emerging markets helped it to a 15 percent increase in second-quarter net earnings.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:50 am

Federal ruling allows iPhone users to alter software

* Undermines Apple's ability to control software on iPhone (Adds details)
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:41 am

BNY Mellon wants more Asian investors in firm

SHANGHAI, July 27 (Reuters) - Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BNY Mellon) is seeking more Asian investor ownership of the company, including from China, its chairman said on Tuesday.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:35 am

BRIEF-Teva-Ratiopharm deal to close this qtr

July 27 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries President and Chief Executive Shlomo Yanai said:
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:34 am

UPDATE 2-Yahoo Japan to switch to Google's search engine

* Yahoo Japan: will also adopt Google search-linked ad system
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:26 am

Apple tightens iPhone App Store security, Wired prints piracy guide [u] - Apple Insider

JoongAng Daily

Apple tightens iPhone App Store security, Wired prints piracy guide [u] Apple Insider Responding to piracy problems in the iTunes App Store, Apple has instituted stronger security measures to protect users' accounts, while Wired magazine has printed a step by step guide to stealing software. ... 'Jailbreaking' Apple iPhones is legal, government saysLos Angeles Times Ping Pong Battle for iPadBusinessWeek American Airlines Lands in App StorePC World CNET -ATWOnline -I4U all 188 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:25 am

Hackers With Enigmatic Motives Vex Companies [Voices]

By Nick Bilton, Blogger, Bits, New York Times

The world of hackers can be roughly divided into three groups. “Black hats” break into corporate computer systems for fun and profit, taking credit card numbers and e-mail addresses to sell and trade with other hackers, while the “white hats” help companies stop their disruptive counterparts.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:04 am

Steve Jobs' Mark on ABC's Lost [Voices]

By Patricia Sellers, editor-at-large, Fortune.com

Steve Jobs, as we know, has dramatically changed computers, movies, music, mobile phones, and more. Turns out, the Smartest CEO in Tech — as Fortune calls the Apple (AAPL) boss in the current issue — also influenced one of the past decade’s most innovative TV shows: Lost.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:03 am

Journalist Totally Makes Up Story About GTA Based On Murderer, Then Attacks Video Gamers Who Called Him On It [Voices]

By Mike Masnick, Editor, Techdirt

We’ve discussed a few times the various claims that many UK “news” publications have a history of totally fabricating stories. This seems odd, given the ridiculous libel laws in the UK, which you would think would keep that sort of thing to a minimum — and yet we seem to hear similar stories quite frequently.

Read the rest of this post on the original

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:02 am

Don't Blame the Content Farms [Voices]

By Dorian Benkoil, Founder, SVP, Teeming Media

From a business perspective, traditional journalism is rather inefficient.

Stories are chosen by a small group whose members often have similar experiences and outlooks.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:01 am

IPad Owners Are "Selfish Elites"; Critics Are "Independent Geeks," Says Study [Voices]

By Eliot Van Buskirk, Writer, Wired

It’s not exactly official, but should also surprise no one: According to a new study the psychological profile of iPad owners can be summed up as “selfish elites,” while have-not critics are “independent geeks.”

Of course the “haves” would probably call the “have nots.” “cheap wannabes,” to which the “have nots” would retort: “FANBOI!!”

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am

Googzilla! Yahoo Japan Confirms Google Switch from Yahoo for Both Paid and Algo Search [BoomTown]

As BoomTown reported earlier today, Yahoo Japan confirmed it would switch its search technology and paid search provider to Google from Yahoo.

The move is a definite blow to Yahoo’s new search and advertising alliance with Microsoft (MSFT), although Yahoo (YHOO) sought to minimize the damage in a statement (and which you can read below in its entirety).

But make no mistake, if it passes government scrutiny, given the huge Japanese market: It’s Googzilla totally wiping the floor with MicroHooSoftra.

While it might seem unusual that Yahoo Japan will be using Google’s search, the company is not actually owned by Yahoo, which holds a 35 percent stake.

SoftBank Corp., the giant Japan-based Internet service provider and cell phone provider, has a stake of around 40 percent in Yahoo Japan.

Both SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son–one of the first key investors in Yahoo–and Yahoo Co-founder Jerry Yang sit on the board of Yahoo Japan, which is operated independently, as a separate publicly traded company run by President and CEO Masahiro Inoue.

Now that Yahoo Japan and Google (GOOG) have announced their engagement–in a statement at the time of Yahoo Japan’s first-quarter earnings announcement–it is certain that Microsoft will move to stop deal from gaining regulatory approval in Japan, much in the same way it did successfully when Google tried to enter into a similar deal with Yahoo itself in the U.S. in 2008.

That deal failed after government opposition to the creation of a near-search monopoly in the U.S. became clear.

In Japan the combination is even worse, with the pair controlling almost the entire market share of search there, both paid and algorithmic.

In search query volume, according to one recent report, Yahoo Japan currently has just over a 53 percent share of the search market and Google has just over 38 percent.

Other polls differ, but it all spells an overwhelming and definite monopoly when combined.

Coincidentally, Bing just entered the Japan market with its branded search, but it has only a small share there of almost three percent.

The same market share among the big players holds in paid search too, with Yahoo Japan and Google controlling almost the whole thing between them.

Maintaining a modicum of competition in Japan was Yahoo’s to lose. And lose it did.

After Yahoo and Microsoft struck its wide-ranging search and online advertising partnership last year, Yahoo Japan–which now uses Yahoo technology for algorithmic and paid search–was then free to pick whatever search service it wanted.

Most expected it to use Microsoft’s Bing technology, which will be powering Yahoo in the U.S. by the end of the year, as well as in many other countries around the world where Yahoo operates.

But, because Yahoo Japan is its own entity, any such deal needed to be negotiated among the parties, putting Yahoo Japan in play, much as if it were AOL (AOL) or News Corp. (NWS) unit MySpace in the U.S.

Investors are sure to be asking the question of what Yahoo management was doing as the Google effort took shape.

Those efforts obviously paid off, despite Yahoo Japan’s Inoue declaration in an interview in January with a Japanese news organization that he was not impressed with some other Google services, such as its Street View mapping service.

Thus, the fallout from this is likely to be tough on Yahoo and also its nascent search relationship with Microsoft.

Yahoo Japan said the date of the switch was yet to be determined.

Here’s the statement from Yahoo on the changever:

Yahoo! Japan announced that it has chosen to implement Google as its backend algorithmic search engine and paid search infrastructure. Yahoo! Japan made this decision as an independent and separate publicly traded company, in which Yahoo! holds a 35% equity interest. We amended our agreement with Yahoo! Japan as a result of this decision, and we do not anticipate that this amendment will have a material financial impact on our revenues. We will provide support, as required by our agreement, for the search experience Yahoo! Japan has chosen for its business, and we will continue to partner closely with Yahoo! Japan in other areas including mail, messenger, mobile, our content properties and more.

This decision by Yahoo! Japan does not impact the global rollout and implementation of the Yahoo! search alliance with Microsoft, except in the Japanese market. We remain confident in our transition plans for the search alliance, are driving innovation in the user experience around search on the Yahoo! network, and continue to be committed to our alliance with Microsoft.

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:44 am

Facing 16 Years In Prison For Videotaping Police

krou sends this snip from the Maine Civil Liberties Union: "The ACLU of Maryland is defending Anthony Graber, who faces as much as sixteen years in prison if found guilty of violating state wiretap laws because he recorded video of an officer drawing a gun during a traffic stop. ... Once [the Maryland State Police] learned of the video on YouTube, Graber's parents' house was raided, searched, and four of his computers were confiscated. Graber was arrested, booked, and jailed. Their actions are a calculated method of intimidation. Another person has since been similarly charged under the same statute. The wiretap law being used to charge Anthony Graber is intended to protect private communication between two parties. According to David Rocah, the ACLU attorney handling Mr. Graber's case, 'To charge Graber with violating the law, you would have to conclude that a police officer on a public road, wearing a badge and a uniform, performing his official duty, pulling someone over, somehow has a right to privacy when it comes to the conversation he has with the motorist.'" Here are a factsheet (PDF) on the case from the ACLU of Maryland, and the video at issue.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:26 am

U Of I Research Seeks To Improve Sensors That Monitor Diesel Fuel Quality

Sensors currently used to monitor the quality of diesel fuel and biodiesel blended fuels during engine operation are unable to adequately detect certain important fuel quality concerns. Alan Hansen, professor of agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Illinois, and his colleagues are working to develop new technologies to improve these commercially-available sensors."Our research is contributing to the development of a sensor that, when placed in the fuel line prior to where the fuel enters a diesel engine, can detect if there are any contaminants in or other problems with the fuel," Hansen said. "Also, if biodiesel is used, the sensor would determine the quality and quantity of biodiesel entering the engine."Biodiesel, a renewable fuel derived from natural oils like soybean oil, is typically blended at 2 to 5 percent with regular diesel fuel."In some cases, engine manufacturers will support warranties on engines using higher percentages of biodiesel—up to 20 percent. However, they are reluctant to support engines running too much biodiesel because there is some concern that it would affect the engine in a negative way," Hansen said.Hansen is investigating the use of electrochemical sensors to detect contaminants and other quality issues that today's sensors are missing. By using electrochemical processes, the sensors are expected to be significantly more sensitive to the chemical composition of diesel fuel."Electrochemical sensors can be designed to detect specific chemicals, such as sulfur or sulfur-based compounds," he said. "One could then create a system to warn the operator or shut down the engine when the fuel has high sulfur content."Sulfur is an important contaminant to monitor in diesel fuel, as it can contribute to the release of harmful exhaust emissions. Sulfur damages the catalysts in filters that are part of the engine's after-treatment system. Such filters are needed to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) strict regulations on emissions levels."To stay within the EPA's emissions limits, it is no longer possible to simply optimize the combustion process. We now have to capture some of the emissions after the engine, using filters or other methods," Hansen said.Hansen also noted that when sulfur is involved in the combustion process, it creates sulfuric acid, which is a very corrosive by-product that can damage the engine."We've run tests to evaluate how well current sensors work with a range of different fuels, including biodiesel blends. The tests have shown us the limitations of the sensors," Hansen said. "If we can improve these sensors to successfully detect sulfur and monitor other diesel fuel quality concerns, it will be an important breakthrough."---On the Net:University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:09 am

WikiLeaks Rolled Dice to Raise Its Profile [Voices]

By Jessica E. Vascellaro, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

WikiLeaks, frustrated at the lack of splash of recent leaks on its whistle-blowing website, has rolled the dice to try to raise its profile by teaming up with news organizations in its latest dump of classified documents.

The site’s secretive founder Julian Assange surfaced in London on Monday to give a rare news conference as part of that new strategy. The white-haired Australian computer hacker schooled a packed room of reporters on how to navigate the 76,000 documents just released, arguing they contained evidence of war crimes and could work as “deterrents” to further abuses.

WikiLeaks was launched in 2007 by self-described Chinese dissidents and Internet hackers as a warehouse of leaked documents. Through its bare-bones site Wikileaks.org, it has landed big scoops, including its most infamous disclosure—video footage of American soldiers shooting down a group of people in Iraq in 2007. Representatives for the site have repeatedly declined to say how they obtain their material and their activities have prompted investigations by federal authorities.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:38 pm

Idea to prototype to tool: how a Leatherman comes to be

Popular Mechanics has a great little slideshow showing the various intermediate steps that went into designing the original Leatherman tool, taking it from napkin doodle to TSA confiscata: "The prototype that Leatherman patented combined his dual-action pliers with an integrated locking-clamp feature. Every knife- and tool-maker he approached rejected it."

The Invention of the Leatherman: Patent Gallery (via Make)

Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:20 pm

Slangy Italian teenagers become YouTube hit (Reuters)

Reuters - Two teenagers from the suburbs of Rome have become Italy's newest media heroines after their slang-filled account of a day at the beach shot from a minor item on the local news to become a YouTube sensation.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:18 pm

Insectile leather mask from Bob Basset

Ukrainian mask-maker Bob Basset is really exploring the insectile with this latest mask, the DRTM 10.

DRTM 10

Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:17 pm

SAP Reports 16% Growth in Software and Software-Related Service Revenues for the Second Quarter

WALLDORF, Germany July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced its preliminary financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a ) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a ) FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS - Second Quarter 2010 ------------------------------------------ Second Quarter 2010(1) ---------------------- IFRS ---- % EUR million, unless Q2 2010 Q2 2009 change otherwise stated ------- ------- ------- ---------------- Software revenue 637 543 17% ---------------- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 2,258 1,953 16% ----------------- ----- ----- --- Total revenue 2,894 2,576 12% ------------- ----- ----- --- Total operating expenses -2,120 -1,935 10% --------------- ------ ------ --- -thereof restructuring -1 -17 -94% -------------- --- --- --- Operating profit 774 641 21% ---------------- --- --- --- Operating margin (%) 26.7 24.9 1.8pp -------------------- ---- ---- ----- Profit after tax 491 426 15% ---------------- --- --- --- Basic earnings per share (EUR) 0.41 0.36 14% ------------------ ---- ---- --- Second Quarter 2010(1) ---------------------- Non-IFRS(2) ----------- % % EUR million, unless Q2 2010 Q2 2009 change change const. otherwise stated ------- ------- ------- curr.(3) ---------------- --------- Software revenue 637 543 17% 5% ---------------- --- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 2,258 1,953 16% 8% ----------------- ----- ----- --- --- Total revenue 2,894 2,576 12% 5% ------------- ----- ----- --- --- Total operating expenses -2,054 -1,866 10% 4% --------------- ------ ------ --- --- -thereof restructuring -1 -17 -94% -------------- --- --- --- Operating profit 840 710 18% 5% ---------------- --- --- --- --- Operating margin (%) 29.0 27.6 1.4pp 0.2pp -------------------- ---- ---- ----- ----- Profit after tax 551 478 15% ---------------- --- --- --- Basic earnings per share (EUR) 0.46 0.40 15% ------------------ ---- ---- --- (1) All figures are preliminary and unaudited. (2) Adjustments in the revenue line items are for support revenue that an entity acquired by SAP would have recognized had it remained a stand-alone entity but that SAP is not permitted to recognize as revenue under IFRS as a result of business combination accounting rules. Adjustments in the operating expense line items are for acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures in the appendix for details. (3) Constant currency revenue and operating profit figures are calculated by translating revenue and operating profit of the current period using the average exchange rates from the previous year's respective period instead of the current period. Constant currency period-over-period changes are calculated by comparing the current year's non-IFRS constant currency numbers with the non-IFRS number of the previous year's respective period. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures in the appendix for details. Revenues - Second Quarter 2010 IFRS software and software-related service revenues were euro 2.26 billion (2009: euro 1.95 billion), an increase of 16% (8% at constant currencies). IFRS software revenues were euro 637 million (2009: euro 543 million), an increase of 17% (5% at constant currencies).IFRS total revenues were euro 2.89 billion (2009: euro 2.58 billion), an increase of 12% (5% at constant currencies). Income - Second Quarter 2010 IFRS operating profit was euro 774 million (2009: euro 641 million), an increase of 21%. Non-IFRS operating profit was euro 840 million (2009: euro 710 million), an increase of 18% (5% at constant currencies). In the second quarter of 2009, the IFRS and Non-IFRS operating income was impacted by restructuring charges of euro 17 million resulting from a reduction of positions. In contrast, restructuring charges were not material in the second quarter of 2010.IFRS operating margin was 26.7% (2009: 24.9%), an increase of 1.8 percentage points. Non-IFRS operating margin was 29.0% (2009: 27.6%), or 27.8% at constant currencies, an increase of 1.4 percentage points (0.2 percentage points at constant currencies). In contrast to the respective quarter in 2009, the second quarter of 2010 was not materially impacted by restructuring expenses which had, in the second quarter of 2009, negatively impacted the IFRS and Non-IFRS operating margin by 0.7 percentage points. However, severance expenses of euro 11 million (2009: euro 1.3 million) negatively impacted the second quarter 2010 IFRS and Non-IFRS operating margin by 0.4 percentage points (2009: 0.1 percentage points). IFRS profit after tax was euro 491 million (2009: euro 426 million), an increase of 15%. Non-IFRS profit after tax was euro 551 million (2009: euro 478 million), an increase of 15%. IFRS basic earnings per share were euro 0.41 (2009: euro 0.36), an increase of 14%. Non-IFRS basic earnings per share were euro 0.46 (2009: euro 0.40), an increase of 15%. The impact, net of tax, of the severance expenses incurred in the second quarter 2010 on the second quarter 2010 IFRS and Non-IFRS basic earnings per share was euro 0.01. The impact, net of tax, of the restructuring expenses incurred in the second quarter 2009 on the second quarter 2009 IFRS and Non-IFRS basic earnings per share was euro 0.01. The IFRS effective tax rate in the second quarter of 2010 was 27.4% (2009: 28.5%).Second Quarter 2010 Non-IFRS operating profit excludes acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities totaling euro 66 million (2009: euro 69 million). Second quarter 2010 Non-IFRS profit after tax and Non-IFRS basic earnings per share exclude acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities totaling euro 60 million net of tax (2009: euro 52 million). "We are pleased to report another quarter of growth in software and software-related service revenue," said Werner Brandt, CFO of SAP. "The top line results were driven by continued growth in software revenue, strong support revenue, mainly from the majority of our customers who endorsed Enterprise Support, and double-digit growth in subscription revenue." "Customers continue to invest for growth across large, midsized and small enterprises and within many industries," said Bill McDermott, Co-CEO of SAP. "We had outstanding growth in strategic markets like the U.S. and we saw continued double-digit growth in key emerging markets in Latin America and Asia. This solid performance is due to renewed customer confidence, an ever-expanding ecosystem, as well as focused execution on our go-to-market strategy." "Our focus on customer-driven innovation is positively impacting our growth. Reaching more than 100,000 customers is a testament to the inroads we have made in expanding our volume business and our success in the small and midsized enterprise (SME) segment," said Jim Hagemann Snabe, Co-CEO of SAP. "Our success in the SME segment creates a strong foundation for the new version of our on-demand platform SAP Business ByDesign. The new version will be available on time on July 31st and is ready for volume deployment in six countries." SAP Completes Tender Offer for Shares of Sybase, Inc. SAP also announced today that it has completed the cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Sybase. Under the terms of the agreement, Sybase will operate as a separate company under the leadership of current CEO John Chen and will remain focused on its core business. Sybase will continue to execute plans and product strategies around its core database and information management business and Sybase's expertise in the mobile business will be a key driver for the Sybase and SAP vision for the unwired enterprise. For more details on SAP and Sybase, please visit www.sap.com/about/investor/sybase.epx . The acquisition rounds out the Company's three pillar strategy of providing solutions on-premise, on-demand and on-device supported by orchestration. Already the clear leader in on-premise business software solutions, the Company expects that with its aggressive push into on-demand and now on-device, with the biggest and most heterogeneous mobile platform provided by the acquisition of Sybase, it will be able to extend its reach into new user categories well beyond its traditional user base. SAP will host a press briefing on August 19, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts, where SAP Co-CEO Bill McDermott, Sybase CEO John Chen and members of the SAP leadership team will share details on joint company strategy and product road maps, along with planned co-innovations in mobility, analytics and database technologies. Details on the event will follow in a media alert to be issued in early August. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS - Six Months 2010 -------------------------------------- First Half 2010(1) ------------------ IFRS ---- 1H 1H % EUR million, unless 2010 2009 change otherwise stated ----- ----- ------- ---------------- Software revenue 1,101 962 14% ---------------- ----- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 4,205 3,695 14% ----------------- ----- ----- --- Total revenue 5,403 4,974 9% ------------- ----- ----- --- Total operating expenses -4,072 -4,026 1% --------------- ------ ------ --- -thereof restructuring -1 -183 -99% -------------- --- ---- --- Operating profit 1,331 948 40% ---------------- ----- --- --- Operating margin (%) 24.6 19.1 5.5pp -------------------- ---- ---- ----- Profit after tax 878 622 41% ---------------- --- --- --- Basic earnings per share (EUR) 0.74 0.52 42% ------------------ ---- ---- --- First Half 2010(1) ------------------ Non-IFRS(2) ----------- % change 1H 1H % const. EUR million, unless 2010 2009 change curr.(3) otherwise stated ----- ----- ------- --------- ---------------- Software revenue 1,101 962 14% 6% ---------------- ----- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 4,205 3,706 13% 9% ----------------- ----- ----- --- --- Total revenue 5,403 4,985 8% 4% ------------- ----- ----- --- --- Total operating expenses -3,951 -3,879 2% -1% --------------- ------ ------ --- --- -thereof restructuring -1 -178 -99% -------------- --- ---- --- Operating profit 1,452 1,106 31% 20% ---------------- ----- ----- --- --- Operating margin (%) 26.9 22.2 4.7pp 3.5pp -------------------- ---- ---- ----- ----- Profit after tax 986 740 33% ---------------- --- --- --- Basic earnings per share (EUR) 0.83 0.62 34% ------------------ ---- ---- --- (1) All figures are preliminary and unaudited. (2) Adjustments in the revenue line items are for support revenue that an entity acquired by SAP would have recognized had it remained a stand-alone entity but that SAP is not permitted to recognize as revenue under IFRS as a result of business combination accounting rules. Adjustments in the operating expense line items are for acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures in the appendix for details. (3) Constant currency revenue and operating profit figures are calculated by translating revenue and operating profit of the current period using the average exchange rates from the previous year's respective period instead of the current period. Constant currency period-over- period changes are calculated by comparing the current year's non-IFRS constant currency numbers with the non-IFRS number of the previous year's respective period. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures in the appendix for details. Revenues - Six Months 2010 IFRS software and software-related service revenues were euro 4.21 billion (2009: euro 3.70 billion), an increase of 14%. Non-IFRS software and software-related service revenues were euro 4.21 billion (2009: euro 3.71 billion), an increase of 13% (9% at constant currencies). IFRS software revenues were euro 1.10 billion (2009: euro 962 million), an increase of 14% (6% at constant currencies).IFRS total revenues were euro 5.40 billion (2009: euro 4.97 billion), an increase of 9%. Non-IFRS total revenues were euro 5.40 billion (2009: euro 4.99 billion), an increase of 8% (4% at constant currencies). Six months 2009 Non-IFRS revenue figures exclude a deferred support revenue write-down from the acquisition of Business Objects of euro 11 million. Income - Six Months 2010 IFRS operating profit was euro 1.33 billion (2009: euro 948 million), an increase of 40%. Non-IFRS operating profit was euro 1.45 billion (2009: euro 1.11 billion), an increase of 31% (20% at constant currencies). In the first half of 2009, the IFRS and Non-IFRS operating income was impacted by restructuring charges of euro 183 million and euro 178 million, respectively, resulting from a reduction of positions. IFRS operating margin was 24.6% (2009: 19.1%), an increase of 5.5 percentage points. Non-IFRS operating margin was 26.9% (2009: 22.2%), or 25.7% at constant currencies, an increase of 4.7 percentage points (3.5 percentage points at constant currencies). In contrast to the respective first half of 2009, the first half of 2010 was not materially impacted by restructuring expenses which had, in the first half of 2009, negatively impacted the IFRS and Non-IFRS operating margin by 3.7 percentage points and 3.6 percentage points, respectively. However, severance expenses of euro 38 million (2009: euro 3.1 million) and unused lease space expenses of euro 8 million negatively impacted the IFRS and Non-IFRS operating margin by 0.9 percentage points (2009: 0.1 percentage points). IFRS profit after tax was euro 878 million (2009: euro 622 million), an increase of 41%. Non-IFRS profit after tax was euro 986 million (2009: euro 740 million), an increase of 33%. IFRS basic earnings per share were euro 0.74 (2009: euro 0.52), an increase of 42%. Non-IFRS basic earnings per share were euro 0.83 (2009: euro 0.62), an increase of 34%. The impact, net of tax, of the severance and unused lease space expenses incurred in the first half of 2010 on the first half 2010 IFRS and Non-IFRS basic earnings per share was euro 0.03. The impact, net of tax, of the restructuring expenses incurred in the first half of 2009 on the first half 2009 IFRS and Non-IFRS basic earnings per share was euro 0.11. The IFRS effective tax rate in the first half year 2010 was 26.6% (2009: 29.6%). The year over year decrease in the effective tax rate mainly results from tax effects on changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The currency related tax effects recorded in the second quarter 2010 were substantially compensated by several individually minor negative tax effects.First half 2010 Non-IFRS operating profit excludes acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities totaling euro 121 million (2009: euro 158 million). First half 2010 Non-IFRS profit after tax and Non-IFRS basic earnings per share exclude acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities totaling euro 108 million net of tax (2009: euro 118 million). Cash Flow - Six Months 2010 Operating cash flow was euro 1.28 billion (2009: euro 1.82 billion), a decrease of 30%. The year-over-year decrease in operating cash flow resulted from 1) timing of cash inflows as the Company received significantly more payments from customers in 2009 compared to 2010 due to the onset of the financial crisis that caused 2008 payment delays; 2) net cash outflows for derivative financial instruments used for the hedging of foreign exchange risks which did not affect profit, but were higher in the first six months 2010 compared to the prior period; and 3) a one-time payment in the second quarter of 2010 from the settlement of a lawsuit with the main part of the corresponding insurance reimbursement expected to be received in subsequent periods. Free cash flow was euro 1.16 billion (2009: euro 1.72 billion), a decrease of 33%. Free cash flow was 21% of total revenues (2009: 35%). At June 30, 2010, SAP had a total group liquidity of euro 3.96 billion (December 31, 2009: euro 2.28 billion), which includes cash and cash equivalents and short term investments. At June 30, 2010, net liquidity, defined as total group liquidity less short term debt, was euro 2.19 billion. Business Outlook SAP is providing the following outlook for the full-year 2010, which now takes into account the acquisition of Sybase: The Company expects full-year 2010 Non-IFRS software and software-related service revenue (1) to increase in a range of 9% - 11% at constant currencies (2009: euro 8.2 billion). SAP's business, excluding the contribution from Sybase, is expected to contribute 6 - 8 percentage points to this growth. The Company expects the full-year 2010 Non-IFRS operating margin to be in a range of 30% - 31% (2009: 27.4%) at constant currencies.The Company projects an effective tax rate of 27.5% - 28.5% (based on IFRS) for 2010 (2009: 28.1%).(1) Unchanged from the past, software and software-related service revenue continues to only include software and services directly related to software. Revenues from all other services (including consulting, training and Sybase's messaging services) continue to be reported as Professional Services and Other Service Revenue. Major Customer Wins In the second quarter of 2010, SAP closed major contracts in key regions. In EMEA: E.ON IT GmbH, Sisal S.p.A., Bashneft ANK OAO, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd., DSG Retail Ltd; In the Americas: American Water Works Service Co., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Pelagio Oliveira S/A, Montepio Luz Savinon I.A.P, H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug Co., United Nations; In Asia Pacific/Japan: Shanghai Huayi (Group) Company, Huaneng Lancang River Hydro Power, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Sumitomo Chemical Co.,Ltd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, Parkway Hospitals Singapore Pte Ltd. Webcast / Supplementary Financial Information SAP senior management will host a conference call today at 3:00 PM (CET) / 2:00 PM (UK) / 9:00 AM (Eastern) / 6:00 AM (Pacific). The conference call will be web cast live on the Company's website at http://www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay. Supplementary financial information pertaining to the quarterly results can be found at http://www.sap.com/investor. SAP First Half 2010 Interim Report The First Half 2010 Interim Report will be published on July 29th, 2010 and will be available for download at http://www.sap.com/investor. About SAP SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 102,500 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit www.sap.com. (*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, and related applications. Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Copyright © 2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serve informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary. For more information, press only: Christoph Liedtke +49 (6227) 7-50383 christoph.liedtke@sap.com, CET Guenter Gaugler +49 (6227) 7-65416 guenter.gaugler@sap.com, CET Jim Dever +1 (610) 661-2161 james.dever@sap.com, ET For more information, financial community only: Stefan Gruber +49 (6227) 7-44872 investor@sap.com, CET Martin Cohen +1 (212) 653-9619 investor@sap.com, ET Follow SAP Investor Relations on Twitter at @sapinvestor. Appendix - Financial Information to Follow FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE SECOND QUARTER AND HALF YEAR 2010 - Condensed, Preliminary and Unaudited - Page Financial Statements (IFRS) Income Statements - Quarter F1 Statements of Comprehensive Income - Quarter F2 Income Statements - Half Year F3 Statements of Comprehensive Income - Half Year F4 Statements of Financial Position F5 Statements of Changes in Equity F6 Statements of Cash Flows F7 Supplementary Financial Information Reconciliations from Non-IFRS Numbers to IFRS Numbers F8 to F9 Revenue by Region F10 to F11 Share-Based Compensation F12 Free Cash Flow F12 Days Sales Outstanding F12 Headcount F12 Multi-Quarter Summary F13 Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures F14 to F16 Financial Statements (IFRS) CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS OF SAP GROUP For the three months ended June 30 Change EUR millions, unless otherwise stated 2010 2009 in % Software revenue 637 543 17 Support revenue 1,526 1,337 14 Subscription and other software-related service revenue 95 73 30 Software and software- related service revenue 2,258 1,953 16 Consulting revenue 528 517 2 Training revenue 71 70 1 Other service revenue 18 23 -22 Professional services and other service revenue 617 610 1 Other revenue 19 13 46 Total revenue 2,894 2,576 12 Cost of software and software-related services -415 -400 4 Cost of professional services and other services -497 -467 6 Research and development -397 -373 6 Sales and marketing -658 -561 17 General and administration -156 -123 27 Restructuring -1 -17 -94 Other operating income/ expense, net 4 6 -33 Total operating expenses -2,120 -1,935 10 Operating profit 774 641 21 Other non-operating income/expense, net -86 -22 >100 Finance income 11 8 38 Finance costs -21 -28 -25 Other financial gains/ losses, net -2 -3 -33 Financial income, net -12 -23 -48 Profit before tax 676 596 13 Income tax expense -185 -170 9 Profit after tax 491 426 15 - Profit attributable to non-controlling interests 0 1 -100 - Profit attributable to owners of parent 491 425 16 Basic earnings per share, in EUR0.41 0.36 14 Diluted earnings per share, in EUR0.41 0.36 14 * For the three months ended June 30, 2010 and 2009 the weighted average number of shares were 1,188 million (Diluted: 1,189 million) and 1,188 million (Diluted: 1,189 million), respectively (treasury stock excluded). CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME OF SAP GROUP for the second quarter ended June 30 EUR millions 2010 2009 Profit after tax 491 426 Gains (losses) on exchange differences on translation, before tax 142 3 Reclassification adjustments on exchange differences on translation, before tax -11 0 Exchange differences on translation 131 3 Gains (losses) on remeasuring available-for-sale financial assets, before tax -7 1 Reclassification adjustments on available-for-sale financial assets, before tax 0 0 Available-for-sale financial assets -7 1 Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges, before tax -40 -7 Reclassification adjustments on cash flow hedges, before tax 11 25 Cash flow hedges -29 18 Actuarial gains (losses) on defined benefit plans, before tax -5 3 Other comprehensive income before tax 90 25 Income tax relating to components of other comprehensive income 10 -6 Other comprehensive income after tax 100 19 Total comprehensive income 591 445 - attributable to non- controlling interests 1 1 - attributable to owners of parent 590 444 CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS OF SAP GROUP For the six months ended June 30 Change EUR millions, unless otherwise stated 2010 2009 in % Software revenue 1,101 962 14 Support revenue 2,920 2,589 13 Subscription and other software-related service revenue 184 144 28 Software and software- related service revenue 4,205 3,695 14 Consulting revenue 1,007 1,071 -6 Training revenue 130 142 -8 Other service revenue 37 47 -21 Professional services and other service revenue 1,174 1,260 -7 Other revenue 24 19 26 Total revenue 5,403 4,974 9 Cost of software and software-related services -814 -786 4 Cost of professional services and other services -948 -989 -4 Research and development -790 -738 7 Sales and marketing -1,215 -1,074 13 General and administration -304 -262 16 Restructuring -1 -183 -99 Other operating income/ expense, net 0 6 -100 Total operating expenses -4,072 -4,026 1 Operating profit 1,331 948 40 Other non-operating income/expense, net -122 -23 >100 Finance income 22 17 29 Finance costs -33 -53 -38 Other financial gains/ losses, net -1 -6 -83 Financial income, net -12 -42 -71 Profit before tax 1,197 883 36 Income tax expense -319 -261 22 Profit after tax 878 622 41 - Profit attributable to non-controlling interests 1 1 0 - Profit attributable to owners of parent 877 621 41 Basic earnings per share, in EUR0.74 0.52 42 Diluted earnings per share, in EUR0.74 0.52 42 * For the six months ended June 30, 2010 and 2009 the weighted average number of shares were 1,189 million (Diluted: 1,189 million) and 1,188 million (Diluted: 1,189 million), respectively (treasury stock excluded). CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME OF SAP GROUP for the six months ended June 30 EUR millions 2010 2009 Profit after tax 878 622 Gains (losses) on exchange differences on translation, before tax 272 35 Reclassification adjustments on exchange differences on translation, before tax -17 0 Exchange differences on translation 255 35 Gains (losses) on remeasuring available-for-sale financial assets, before tax -1 1 Reclassification adjustments on available-for-sale financial assets, before tax 0 0 Available-for-sale financial assets -1 1 Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges, before tax -72 -22 Reclassification adjustments on cash flow hedges, before tax 16 43 Cash flow hedges -56 21 Actuarial gains (losses) on defined benefit plans, before tax -10 2 Other comprehensive income before tax 188 59 Income tax relating to components of other comprehensive income 22 -6 Other comprehensive income after tax 210 53 Total comprehensive income 1,088 675 - attributable to non- controlling interests 1 1 - attributable to owners of parent 1,087 674 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION OF SAP GROUP as at June 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009 Change EUR millions 2010 2009 in % ------------ ---- ---- ------ Assets ------ Cash and cash equivalents 3,605 1,884 91 ------------- ----- ----- --- Other financial assets 574 486 18 ---------------------- --- --- --- Trade and other receivables 2,768 2,546 9 --------------- ----- ----- --- Other non-financial assets 217 147 48 ------------------- --- --- --- Tax assets 202 192 5 ---------- --- --- --- Total current assets 7,366 5,255 40 -------------------- ----- ----- --- Goodwill 5,136 4,994 3 -------- ----- ----- --- Intangible assets 829 894 -7 ----------------- --- --- --- Property, plant, and equipment 1,415 1,371 3 -------------------- ----- ----- --- Other financial assets 337 284 19 ---------------------- --- --- --- Trade and other receivables 66 52 27 --------------- --- --- --- Other non-financial assets 34 35 -3 ------------------- --- --- --- Tax assets 125 91 37 ---------- --- --- --- Deferred tax assets 364 398 -9 ------------------- --- --- --- Total non-current assets 8,306 8,119 2 ----------------- ----- ----- --- Total assets 15,672 13,374 17 ------------ ------ ------ --- Change EUR millions 2010 2009 in % ------------ ---- ---- ------ Equity and liabilities ---------------------- Trade and other payables 698 638 9 --------------- --- --- --- Tax liabilities 3 125 -98 --------------- --- --- --- Financial liabilities 219 146 50 --------------------- --- --- --- Other non-financial liabilities 990 1,577 -37 ------------------- --- ----- --- Provisions 354 332 7 ---------- --- --- --- Deferred income 1,919 598 >100 --------------- ----- --- ---- Total current liabilities 4,183 3,416 22 ------------- ----- ----- --- Trade and other payables 34 35 -3 --------------- --- --- --- Tax liabilities 259 239 8 --------------- --- --- --- Financial liabilities 1,764 729 >100 --------------------- ----- --- ---- Other non-financial liabilities 12 12 0 ------------------- --- --- --- Provisions 224 198 13 ---------- --- --- --- Deferred tax liabilities 137 190 -28 ------------ --- --- --- Deferred income 88 64 38 --------------- --- --- --- Total non-current liabilities 2,518 1,467 72 ----------------- ----- ----- --- Total liabilities 6,701 4,883 37 ----------------- ----- ----- --- Issued capital 1,227 1,226 0 -------------- ----- ----- --- Treasury shares -1,349 -1,320 2 --------------- ------ ------ --- Share premium 331 317 4 ------------- --- --- --- Retained earnings 8,851 8,571 3 ----------------- ----- ----- --- Other components of equity -104 -317 -67 ------------------- ---- ---- --- Equity attributable to owners of parent 8,956 8,477 6 ---------------------- ----- ----- --- Non-controlling interests 15 14 7 --------------- --- --- --- Total equity 8,971 8,491 6 ------------ ----- ----- --- Equity and liabilities 15,672 13,374 17 ---------------------- ------ ------ --- CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY OF SAP GROUP For the six months ended June 30 EUR millions Other Components of Equity ---------- -------------------------- Issued Share Retained Exchange Available- Cash for- Capital Premium Earnings Differences Sale Flow ------- ------- -------- ----------- Financial Hedges Assets ------ ------ January 1, 2009 1,226 320 7,423 -395 -1 -42 -------- ----- --- ----- ---- --- --- Profit after tax 621 ------ --- Other comprehensive income 2 34 1 16 -------------- --- --- --- --- Share- based compensation -2 ------------- --- Dividends -594 --------- ---- Treasury shares transactions -4 ------------ --- Convertible bonds and stock options exercised 4 ----------- --- Other 1 ----- --- June 30, 2009 1,226 318 7,453 -361 -26 ----- ----- --- ----- ---- --- January 1, 2010 1,226 317 8,571 -319 13 -11 -------- ----- --- ----- ---- --- --- Profit after tax 877 ------ --- Other comprehensive income -3 255 -1 -41 -------------- --- --- --- --- Share- based compensation -1 ------------- --- Dividends -594 --------- ---- Treasury shares transactions -5 ------------ --- Convertible bonds and stock options exercised 1 20 ----------- --- --- June 30, 2010 1,227 331 8,851 -64 12 -52 ----- ----- --- ----- --- --- --- EUR millions Other Components of Equity ---------- -------------------------- Non- Treasury Equity Controlling Total Shares Attributable Interests Equity to ------ Owners --------- ------ of Parent ------- January 1, 2009 -1,362 7,169 2 7,171 -------- ------ ----- --- ----- Profit after tax 621 1 622 ------ --- --- --- Other comprehensive income 53 53 -------------- --- --- Share- based compensation -2 -2 ------------- --- --- Dividends -594 -594 --------- ---- ---- Treasury shares transactions 21 17 17 ------------ --- --- --- Convertible bonds and stock options exercised 4 4 ----------- --- --- Other 1 1 ----- --- --- June 30, 2009 -1,341 7,269 3 7,272 ----- ------ ----- --- ----- January 1, 2010 -1,320 8,477 14 8,491 -------- ------ ----- --- ----- Profit after tax 877 1 878 ------ --- --- --- Other comprehensive income 210 210 -------------- --- --- Share- based compensation -1 -1 ------------- --- --- Dividends -594 -594 --------- ---- ---- Treasury shares transactions -113 -118 -118 ------------ ---- ---- ---- Convertible bonds and stock options exercised 84 105 105 ----------- --- --- --- June 30, 2010 -1,349 8,956 15 8,971 ----- ------ ----- --- ----- CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS OF SAP GROUP as at June 30 EUR millions 2010 2009 ---------- ---- ---- Profit after tax 878 622 ---------------- --- --- Adjustments to reconcile profit after taxes to net cash provided by operating activities: ------------------------------- Depreciation and amortization 225 253 ----------------------------- --- --- Gains/losses on disposals of non-current assets 1 3 ---------------------------- --- --- Impairment loss on financial assets recognized in profit 0 7 ---------------------------- --- --- Decrease/increase in sales and bad debt allowances on trade receivables 6 97 ------------------------------ --- --- Other adjustments for non-cash items 15 13 ------------------------------ --- --- Deferred income taxes 36 -65 --------------------- --- --- Decrease/increase in trade receivables 31 628 -------------------------- --- --- Decrease/increase in other assets -216 -96 -------------------------- ---- --- Decrease/increase in trade payables, provisions and other liabilities -802 -687 ------------------------------- ---- ---- Decrease/increase in deferred income 1,108 1,048 ----------------------------- ----- ----- Net cash flows from operating activities 1,282 1,823 ----------------------------- ----- ----- Business combinations, net of cash and cash equivalents acquired 0 -49 ----------------------------- --- --- Purchase of intangible assets and property, plant, and equipment -125 -106 ----------------------------- ---- ---- Proceeds from sales of intangible assets or property, plant, and equipment 17 13 ------------------------------- --- --- Purchase of equity or debt instruments of other entities -651 -573 ------------------------------ ---- ---- Proceeds from sales of equity or debt instruments of other entities 689 233 -------------------------------- --- --- Net cash flows from investing activities -70 -482 ----------------------------- --- ---- Dividends paid -594 -594 -------------- ---- ---- Purchase of treasury shares -120 0 --------------------------- ---- --- Proceeds from reissuance of treasury shares 85 10 --------------------------- --- --- Proceeds from issuing shares (share-based compensation) 21 4 ---------------------------- --- --- Proceeds from borrowings 1,063 697 ------------------------ ----- --- Repayments of borrowings -6 0 ------------------------ --- --- Purchase of equity-based derivative instruments (hedge for cash-settled share-based payment plans) -14 0 ------------------------------ --- --- Proceeds from exercise of equity-based derivative financial instruments 4 4 ------------------------- --- --- Net cash flows from financing activities 439 121 ----------------------------- --- --- Effect of foreign exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents 70 -25 -------------------------------- --- --- Net decrease/increase in cash and cash equivalents 1,721 1,437 ----------------------------- ----- ----- Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 1,884 1,280 -------------------------------- ----- ----- Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 3,605 2,717 -------------------------------- ----- ----- Supplementary Financial Information RECONCILIATIONS FROM NON-IFRS NUMBERS TO IFRS NUMBERS (Preliminary and unaudited) The following tables present a reconciliation from our non-IFRS numbers (including our non-IFRS at constant currency numbers) to the respective most comparable IFRS numbers. Note: Our non-IFRS numbers are not prepared under a comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. EUR millions, unless otherwise stated Three months ended June 30 2010 Non- Non- IFRS Adj.* IFRS* Currency IFRS impact** constant currency** Non-IFRS Revenue Numbers Software revenue 637 0 637 -66 571 Support revenue 1,526 0 1,526 -88 1,438 Subscription and other software- related service revenue 95 0 95 -3 92 Software and software- related service revenue 2,258 0 2,258 -157 2,101 Consulting revenue 528 0 528 -36 492 Training revenue 71 0 71 -4 67 Other service revenue 18 0 18 -1 17 Professional services and other service revenue 617 0 617 -41 576 Other revenue 19 0 19 -1 18 Total revenue 2,894 0 2,894 -199 2,695 Non-IFRS Operating Expense Numbers Cost of software and software- related services -415 41 -374 Cost of professional services and other services -497 1 -496 Research and development -397 1 -396 Sales and marketing -658 15 -643 General and administration -156 9 -147 Restructuring -1 0 -1 Other operating income/ expense, net 4 0 4 Total operating expenses -2,120 66 -2,054 107 -1,947 Non-IFRS Profit Numbers Operating profit 774 66 840 -92 748 Other non- operating income/ expense, net -86 11 -75 Finance income 11 0 11 Finance costs -21 0 -21 Other financial gains/ losses, net -2 0 -2 Financial income, net -12 0 -12 Profit before tax 676 77 753 Income tax expense -185 -17 -202 Profit after tax 491 60 551 - Profit attributable to non- controlling interests 0 0 0 -Profit attributable to owners of parent 491 60 551 Non-IFRS Key Ratios Operating margin in % 26.7 29.0 27.8 Effective tax rate in % 27.4 26.8 Basic earnings per share, in EUR 0.41 0.46 2009 Non- IFRS Adj.* IFRS* Non-IFRS Revenue Numbers Software revenue 543 0 543 Support revenue 1,337 0 1,337 Subscription and other software- related service revenue 73 0 73 Software and software- related service revenue 1,953 0 1,953 Consulting revenue 517 0 517 Training revenue 70 0 70 Other service revenue 23 0 23 Professional services and other service revenue 610 0 610 Other revenue 13 0 13 Total revenue 2,576 0 2,576 Non-IFRS Operating Expense Numbers Cost of software and software- related services -400 48 -352 Cost of professional services and other services -467 1 -466 Research and development -373 1 -372 Sales and marketing -561 19 -542 General and administration -123 0 -123 Restructuring -17 0 -17 Other operating income/ expense, net 6 0 6 Total operating expenses -1,935 69 -1,866 Non-IFRS Profit Numbers Operating profit 641 69 710 Other non- operating income/ expense, net -22 0 -22 Finance income 8 0 8 Finance costs -28 0 -28 Other financial gains/losses, net -3 0 -3 Financial income, net -23 0 -23 Profit before tax 596 69 665 Income tax expense -170 -17 -187 Profit after tax 426 52 478 - Profit attributable to non- controlling interests 1 0 1 -Profit attributable to owners of parent 425 52 477 Non-IFRS Key Ratios Operating margin in % 24.9 27.6 Effective tax rate in % 28.5 28.1 Basic earnings per share, in EUR 0.36 0.40 Change in % Non- IFRS IFRS* Non-IFRS constant currency** Non-IFRS Revenue Numbers Software revenue 17 17 5 Support revenue 14 14 8 Subscription and other software- related service revenue 30 30 26 Software and software- related service revenue 16 16 8 Consulting revenue 2 2 -5 Training revenue 1 1 -4 Other service revenue -22 -22 -26 Professional services and other service revenue 1 1 -6 Other revenue 46 46 38 Total revenue 12 12 5 Non-IFRS Operating Expense Numbers Cost of software and software- related services 4 6 Cost of professional services and other services 6 6 Research and development 6 6 Sales and marketing 17 19 General and administration 27 20 Restructuring -94 -94 Other operating income/ expense, net -33 -33 Total operating expenses 10 10 4 Non-IFRS Profit Numbers Operating profit 21 18 5 Other non- operating income/ expense, net >100 >100 Finance income 38 38 Finance costs -25 -25 Other financial gains/losses, net -33 -33 Financial income, net -48 -48 Profit before tax 13 13 Income tax expense 9 8 Profit after tax 15 15 - Profit attributable to non- controlling interests -100 -100 -Profit attributable to owners of parent 16 16 Non-IFRS Key Ratios Operating margin in % 1.8pp 1.4pp 0.2pp Effective tax rate in % -1.1pp -1.3pp Basic earnings per share, in EUR 14 15 * Adjustments in the revenue line items are for support revenue that an entity acquired by SAP would have recognized had it remained a stand-alone entity but that SAP is not permitted to recognize as revenue under IFRS as a result of business combination accounting rules. Adjustments in the operating expense line items are for acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures for details. ** Constant currency revenue and operating income figures are calculated by translating revenue and operating income of the current period using the average exchange rates from the previous year's respective period instead of the current period. Constant currency period-over-period changes are calculated by comparing the current year's non-IFRS constant currency numbers with the non- IFRS number of the previous year's respective period. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures for details. Differences may exist due to rounding. EUR millions, unless otherwise stated Six months ended June 30 2010 Non- Non- IFRS Adj.* IFRS* Currency IFRS impact** constant currency** Non-IFRS Revenue Numbers Software revenue 1,101 0 1,101 -81 1,020 Support revenue 2,920 0 2,920 -98 2,822 Subscription and other software- related service revenue 184 0 184 -2 182 Software and software- related service revenue 4,205 0 4,205 -182 4,023 Consulting revenue 1,007 0 1,007 -41 966 Training revenue 130 0 130 -5 125 Other service revenue 37 0 37 0 37 Professional services and other service revenue 1,174 0 1,174 -46 1,128 Other revenue 24 0 24 -1 23 Total revenue 5,403 0 5,403 -229 5,174 Non-IFRS Operating Expense Numbers Cost of software and software- related services -814 81 -733 Cost of professional services and other services -948 2 -946 Research and development -790 3 -787 Sales and marketing -1,215 27 -1,188 General and administration -304 9 -295 Restructuring -1 0 -1 Other operating income/ expense, net 0 0 0 Total operating expenses -4,072 121 -3,951 109 -3,842 Non-IFRS Profit Numbers Operating profit 1,331 121 1,452 -120 1,332 Other non- operating income/ expense, net -122 17 -105 Finance income 22 0 22 Finance costs -33 0 -33 Other financial gains/losses, net -1 0 -1 Financial income, net -12 0 -12 Profit before tax 1,197 138 1,335 Income tax expense -319 -30 -349 Profit after tax 878 108 986 - Profit attributable to non- controlling interests 1 0 1 -Profit attributable to owners of parent 877 108 985 Non-IFRS Key Ratios Operating margin in % 24.6 26.9 25.7 Effective tax rate in % 26.6 26.1 Basic earnings per share, in EUR 0.74 0.83 2009 Non- IFRS Adj.* IFRS* Non-IFRS Revenue Numbers Software revenue 962 0 962 Support revenue 2,589 11 2,600 Subscription and other software- related service revenue 144 0 144 Software and software-related service revenue 3,695 11 3,706 Consulting revenue 1,071 0 1,071 Training revenue 142 0 142 Other service revenue 47 0 47 Professional services and other service revenue 1,260 0 1,260 Other revenue 19 0 19 Total revenue 4,974 11 4,985 Non-IFRS Operating Expense Numbers Cost of software and software-related services -786 99 -687 Cost of professional services and other services -989 2 -987 Research and development -738 2 -736 Sales and marketing -1,074 37 -1,037 General and administration -262 0 -262 Restructuring -183 5 -178 Other operating income/expense, net 6 1 7 Total operating expenses -4,026 147 -3,879 Non-IFRS Profit Numbers Operating profit 948 158 1,106 Other non-operating income/expense, net -23 0 -23 Finance income 17 0 17 Finance costs -53 0 -53 Other financial gains/losses, net -6 0 -6 Financial income, net -42 0 -42 Profit before tax 883 158 1,041 Income tax expense -261 -40 -301 Profit after tax 622 118 740 - Profit attributable to non- controlling interests 1 0 1 -Profit attributable to owners of parent 621 118 739 Non-IFRS Key Ratios Operating margin in % 19.1 22.2 Effective tax rate in % 29.6 28.9 Basic earnings per share, in EUR 0.52 0.62 Change in % Non- Non- IFRS IFRS* IFRS constant currency** Non-IFRS Revenue Numbers Software revenue 14 14 6 Support revenue 13 12 9 Subscription and other software-related service revenue 28 28 26 Software and software- related service revenue 14 13 9 Consulting revenue -6 -6 -10 Training revenue -8 -8 -12 Other service revenue -21 -21 -21 Professional services and other service revenue -7 -7 -10 Other revenue 26 26 21 Total revenue 9 8 4 Non-IFRS Operating Expense Numbers Cost of software and software-related services 4 7 Cost of professional services and other services -4 -4 Research and development 7 7 Sales and marketing 13 15 General and administration 16 13 Restructuring -99 -99 Other operating income/expense, net -100 -100 Total operating expenses 1 2 -1 Non-IFRS Profit Numbers Operating profit 40 31 20 Other non-operating income/expense, net >100 >100 Finance income 29 29 Finance costs -38 -38 Other financial gains/ losses, net -83 -83 Financial income, net -71 -71 Profit before tax 36 28 Income tax expense 22 16 Profit after tax 41 33 - Profit attributable to non-controlling interests 0 0 -Profit attributable to owners of parent 41 33 Non-IFRS Key Ratios Operating margin in % 5.5pp 4.7pp 3.5pp Effective tax rate in % -3.0pp -2.8pp Basic earnings per share, in EUR 42 34 * Adjustments in the revenue line items are for support revenue that an entity acquired by SAP would have recognized had it remained a stand-alone entity but that SAP is not permitted to recognize as revenue under IFRS as a result of business combination accounting rules. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures for details. ** Constant currency revenue figures are calculated by translating revenue of the current period using the average exchange rates from the previous year's respective period instead of the current period. Constant currency period-over-period changes are calculated by comparing the current year's non-IFRS constant currency numbers with the non-IFRS number of the previous year's respective period. Differences may exist due to rounding. REVENUE BY REGION (Preliminary and unaudited) The following tables present our IFRS and non-IFRS revenue by region based on customer location. The tables also present a reconciliation from our non-IFRS revenue (including our non-IFRS revenue at constant currency) to the respective most comparable IFRS revenue. Note: Our non-IFRS revenues are not prepared under a comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. EUR millions Three months ended June 30 ---------- -------------------------- 2010 ---- IFRS Adj.* Non-IFRS* Currency Non-IFRS ---- ----- --------- impact** constant -------- currency** ---------- Software revenue by region ------------------- EMEA 241 0 241 -7 234 ---- --- --- --- --- --- Americas 269 0 269 -39 230 -------- --- --- --- --- --- Asia Pacific Japan 127 0 127 -20 107 ------------------ --- --- --- --- --- Software revenue 637 0 637 -66 571 ---------------- --- --- --- --- --- Software and software- related service revenue by region ------------------------ Germany 360 0 360 0 360 ------- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 718 0 718 -26 692 ------------ --- --- --- --- --- Total EMEA 1,078 0 1,078 -25 1,053 ---------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- United States 616 0 616 -49 567 ------------- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 207 0 207 -33 174 ---------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Americas 822 0 822 -81 741 -------------- --- --- --- --- --- Japan 111 0 111 -14 97 ----- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 247 0 247 -37 210 -------------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 358 0 358 -51 307 ------------------------ --- --- --- --- --- Software and software- related service revenue 2,258 0 2,258 -157 2,101 ------------------------ ----- --- ----- ---- ----- Total revenue by region ----------------------- Germany 506 0 506 0 506 ------- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 884 0 884 -32 852 ------------ --- --- --- --- --- Total EMEA 1,390 0 1,390 -32 1,358 ---------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- United States 802 0 802 -62 740 ------------- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 275 0 275 -43 232 ---------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Americas 1,077 0 1,077 -106 971 -------------- ----- --- ----- ---- --- Japan 125 0 125 -16 109 ----- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 302 0 302 -45 257 -------------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 427 0 427 -61 366 ------------------------ --- --- --- --- --- Total revenue 2,894 0 2,894 -199 2,695 ------------- ----- --- ----- ---- ----- EUR millions Three months ended June 30 ---------- -------------------------- 2009 ---- IFRS Adj.* Non-IFRS* ---- ----- --------- Software revenue by region -------------------------- EMEA 266 0 266 ---- --- --- --- Americas 164 0 164 -------- --- --- --- Asia Pacific Japan 114 0 114 ------------------ --- --- --- Software revenue 543 0 543 ---------------- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue by region ------------------------------------- Germany 329 0 329 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 701 0 701 ------------ --- --- --- Total EMEA 1,030 0 1,030 ---------- ----- --- ----- United States 481 0 481 ------------- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 158 0 158 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 639 0 639 -------------- --- --- --- Japan 107 0 107 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 178 0 178 -------------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 285 0 285 ------------------------ --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 1,953 0 1,953 ------------------------------------- ----- --- ----- Total revenue by region ----------------------- Germany 463 0 463 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 882 0 882 ------------ --- --- --- Total EMEA 1,345 0 1,345 ---------- ----- --- ----- United States 663 0 663 ------------- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 214 0 214 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 877 0 877 -------------- --- --- --- Japan 126 0 126 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 229 0 229 -------------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 355 0 355 ------------------------ --- --- --- Total revenue 2,576 0 2,576 ------------- ----- --- ----- EUR millions Three months ended June 30 ---------- -------------------------- Change in % ---------- IFRS Non-IFRS* Non-IFRS ---- --------- constant currency** ---------- Software revenue by region -------------------------- EMEA -9 -9 -12 ---- --- --- --- Americas 64 64 40 -------- --- --- --- Asia Pacific Japan 11 11 -6 ------------------ --- --- --- Software revenue 17 17 5 ---------------- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue by region ------------------------------------- Germany 9 9 9 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 2 2 -1 ------------ --- --- --- Total EMEA 5 5 2 ---------- --- --- --- United States 28 28 18 ------------- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 31 31 10 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 29 29 16 -------------- --- --- --- Japan 4 4 -9 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 39 39 18 -------------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 26 26 8 ------------------------ --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 16 16 8 ------------------------------------- --- --- --- Total revenue by region ----------------------- Germany 9 9 9 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 0 0 -3 ------------ --- --- --- Total EMEA 3 3 1 ---------- --- --- --- United States 21 21 12 ------------- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 29 29 8 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 23 23 11 -------------- --- --- --- Japan -1 -1 -13 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 32 32 12 -------------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 20 20 3 ------------------------ --- --- --- Total revenue 12 12 5 ------------- --- --- --- * Adjustments in the revenue line items are for support revenue that an entity acquired by SAP would have recognized had it remained a stand-alone entity but that SAP is not permitted to recognize as revenue under IFRS as a result of business combination accounting rules. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures for details. ** Constant currency revenue figures are calculated by translating revenue of the current period using the average exchange rates from the previous year's respective period instead of the current period. Constant currency period-over-period changes are calculated by comparing the current year's non-IFRS constant currency numbers with the non-IFRS number of the previous year's respective period. Differences may exist due to rounding. EUR millions Six months ended June 30 2010 ---- Non- IFRS Adj.* IFRS* Currency Non-IFRS ---- ----- ----- impact** constant -------- currency** ---------- Software revenue by region ------------------- EMEA 459 0 459 -14 445 ---- --- --- --- --- --- Americas 440 0 440 -40 400 -------- --- --- --- --- --- Asia Pacific Japan 201 0 201 -26 175 ------------------ --- --- --- --- --- Software revenue 1,101 0 1,101 -81 1,020 ---------------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- Software and software-related service revenue by region ------------------- Germany 671 0 671 -1 670 ------- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 1,409 0 1,409 -45 1,364 ------------ ----- --- ----- --- ----- Total EMEA 2,079 0 2,079 -44 2,035 ---------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- United States 1,087 0 1,087 -23 1,064 ------------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- Rest of Americas 399 0 399 -46 353 ---------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Americas 1,485 0 1,485 -68 1,417 -------------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- Japan 208 0 208 -14 194 ----- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 432 0 432 -54 378 -------------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 641 0 641 -69 572 ------------------ --- --- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 4,205 0 4,205 -182 4,023 ----------------- ----- --- ----- ---- ----- Total revenue by region ---------------- Germany 949 0 949 0 949 ------- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 1,743 0 1,743 -56 1,687 ------------ ----- --- ----- --- ----- Total EMEA 2,692 0 2,692 -56 2,636 ---------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- United States 1,422 0 1,422 -27 1,395 ------------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- Rest of Americas 522 0 522 -62 460 ---------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Americas 1,944 0 1,944 -89 1,855 -------------- ----- --- ----- --- ----- Japan 235 0 235 -15 220 ----- --- --- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 531 0 531 -68 463 -------------------- --- --- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 767 0 767 -84 683 ------------------ --- --- --- --- --- Total revenue 5,403 0 5,403 -229 5,174 ------------- ----- --- ----- ---- ----- EUR millions Six months ended June 30 2009 ---- Non- IFRS Adj.* IFRS* ---- ----- ----- Software revenue by region ------------------- EMEA 472 0 472 ---- --- --- --- Americas 316 0 316 -------- --- --- --- Asia Pacific Japan 174 0 174 ------------------ --- --- --- Software revenue 962 0 962 ---------------- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue by region ------------------- Germany 605 0 605 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 1,307 4 1,311 ------------ ----- --- ----- Total EMEA 1,912 4 1,916 ---------- ----- --- ----- United States 941 6 947 ------------- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 312 0 312 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 1,253 6 1,259 -------------- ----- --- ----- Japan 203 0 204 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 326 0 327 -------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 530 1 530 ------------------ --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 3,695 11 3,706 ----------------- ----- --- ----- Total revenue by region ---------------- Germany 895 0 896 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 1,673 4 1,676 ------------ ----- --- ----- Total EMEA 2,568 4 2,572 ---------- ----- --- ----- United States 1,313 6 1,319 ------------- ----- --- ----- Rest of Americas 425 0 425 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 1,738 6 1,744 -------------- ----- --- ----- Japan 246 0 246 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 422 0 423 -------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 668 1 669 ------------------ --- --- --- Total revenue 4,974 11 4,985 ------------- ----- --- ----- EUR millions Six months ended June 30 Change in % ---------- Non- IFRS IFRS* Non-IFRS ---- ----- constant currency** ---------- Software revenue by region ------------------- EMEA -3 -3 -6 ---- --- --- --- Americas 39 39 27 -------- --- --- --- Asia Pacific Japan 16 16 1 ------------------ --- --- --- Software revenue 14 14 6 ---------------- --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue by region ------------------- Germany 11 11 11 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 8 7 4 ------------ --- --- --- Total EMEA 9 9 6 ---------- --- --- --- United States 15 15 12 ------------- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 28 28 13 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 19 18 13 -------------- --- --- --- Japan 3 2 -5 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 33 32 16 -------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 21 21 8 ------------------ --- --- --- Software and software-related service revenue 14 13 9 ----------------- --- --- --- Total revenue by region ---------------- Germany 6 6 6 ------- --- --- --- Rest of EMEA 4 4 1 ------------ --- --- --- Total EMEA 5 5 2 ---------- --- --- --- United States 8 8 6 ------------- --- --- --- Rest of Americas 23 23 8 ---------------- --- --- --- Total Americas 12 11 6 -------------- --- --- --- Japan -4 -4 -11 ----- --- --- --- Rest of Asia Pacific Japan 26 26 9 -------------------- --- --- --- Total Asia Pacific Japan 15 15 2 ------------------ --- --- --- Total revenue 9 8 4 ------------- --- --- --- * Adjustments in the revenue line items are for support revenue that an entity acquired by SAP would have recognized had it remained a stand-alone entity but that SAP is not permitted to recognize as revenue under IFRS as a result of business combination accounting rules. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures for details. ** Constant currency revenue figures are calculated by translating revenue of the current period using the average exchange rates from the previous year's respective period instead of the current period. Constant currency period-over-period changes are calculated by comparing the current year's non-IFRS constant currency numbers with the non-IFRS number of the previous year's respective period. Differences may exist due to rounding. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (Preliminary and unaudited) EUR millions Six months ended June 30 2010 2009 Change in % Share-based compensation per expense line item Cost of software and software- related services 0 2 -100 Cost of professional services and other services 1 4 -75 Research and development 8 7 14 Sales and marketing 4 4 0 General and administration 4 3 33 Total share-based compensation 17 20 -15 Note: The share-based compensation expenses do not differ between SAP's IFRS and non-IFRS measures. Differences may exist due to rounding. FREE CASH FLOW (Preliminary and unaudited) EUR millions Six months ended June 30 Change in 2010 2009 % Net cash flows from operating activities 1,282 1,823 -30 Additions to non-current assets excluding additions from acquisitions -125 -106 18 Free cash flow 1,157 1,717 -33 Differences may exist due to rounding. DAYS SALES OUTSTANDING (Unaudited) as at June 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009 Change in 2010 2009 days Days sales outstanding in days* 73 79 -6 * Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) measures the length of time it takes to collect receivables. SAP calculates DSO by dividing the average invoiced accounts receivables balance of the last 12 months by the average monthly sales of the last 12 months. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES (in Full-Time Equivalents) June 30, 2010 ------------- Asia Pacific EMEA Americas Japan Total ---- -------- -------- ----- Software and software-related services 3,479 1,422 2,100 7,001 ----------------- ----- ----- ----- ----- Professional services and other services 6,407 3,544 2,243 12,194 ------------------- ----- ----- ----- ------ Research and Development 8,288 2,458 3,600 14,346 ------------ ----- ----- ----- ------ Sales & Marketing 4,216 3,704 1,811 9,731 ----------------- ----- ----- ----- ----- General & Administration 1,891 717 418 3,026 --------------- ----- --- --- ----- Infrastructure 1,044 471 208 1,723 -------------- ----- --- --- ----- SAP Group (June 30) 25,325 12,316 10,380 48,021 ------------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ SAP Group (average H1) 25,314 12,117 10,304 47,735 ------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------ June 30, 2009 ------------- Asia Pacific EMEA Americas Japan Total ---- -------- -------- ----- Software and software-related services 3,238 1,239 1,840 6,317 ----------------- ----- ----- ----- ----- Professional services and other services 6,916 3,597 2,358 12,871 ------------------- ----- ----- ----- ------ Research and Development 8,620 2,553 3,889 15,062 ------------ ----- ----- ----- ------ Sales & Marketing 4,320 3,600 1,808 9,728 ----------------- ----- ----- ----- ----- General & Administration 1,945 750 418 3,113 --------------- ----- --- --- ----- Infrastructure 888 409 179 1,476 -------------- --- --- --- ----- SAP Group (June 30) 25,927 12,148 10,492 48,567 ------------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ SAP Group (average H1) 26,422 12,712 10,877 50,011 ------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------ MULTI-QUARTER SUMMARY (IFRS and non-IFRS; preliminary und unaudited) EUR millions, unless otherwise stated Q2/2010 Q1/2010 Software revenue (IFRS) 637 464 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 Software revenue (non-IFRS) 637 464 Support revenue (IFRS) 1,526 1,394 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 Support revenue (non-IFRS) 1,526 1,394 Subscription and other software-related service revenue (IFRS) 95 89 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 Subscription and other software-related service revenue (non-IFRS) 95 89 Software and software-related service revenue (IFRS) 2,258 1,947 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 Software and software-related service revenue (non-IFRS) 2,258 1,947 Total revenue (IFRS) 2,894 2,509 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 Total revenue (non-IFRS) 2,894 2,509 Operating profit (IFRS) 774 557 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 Expense adjustment* 66 54 Operating profit (non-IFRS) 840 612 Operating margin (IFRS) 26.7 22.2 Operating margin (non-IFRS) 29.0 24.4 Effective tax rate (IFRS) 27.4 25.7 Effective tax rate (non-IFRS) 26.8 25.3 Basic earnings per share, in EUR (IFRS) 0.41 0.33 Basic earnings per share, in EUR (non-IFRS) 0.46 0.37 Headcount** 48,021 47,598 EUR millions, unless otherwise stated Q4/2009 Q3/2009 Q2/2009 Q1/2009 Software revenue (IFRS) 1,120 525 543 418 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 0 0 Software revenue (non-IFRS) 1,120 525 543 418 Support revenue (IFRS) 1,364 1,333 1,337 1,252 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 0 11 Support revenue (non-IFRS) 1,364 1,333 1,337 1,263 Subscription and other software- related service revenue (IFRS) 82 79 73 71 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 0 0 Subscription and other software- related service revenue (non-IFRS) 82 79 73 71 Software and software-related service revenue (IFRS) 2,566 1,937 1,953 1,741 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 0 11 Software and software-related service revenue (non-IFRS) 2,566 1,937 1,953 1,752 Total revenue (IFRS) 3,190 2,508 2,576 2,397 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 0 11 Total revenue (non-IFRS) 3,190 2,508 2,576 2,408 Operating profit (IFRS) 1,022 619 641 307 Revenue adjustment* 0 0 0 11 Expense adjustment* 113 68 69 78 Operating profit (non-IFRS) 1,134 687 710 396 Operating margin (IFRS) 32.0 24.7 24.9 12.8 Operating margin (non-IFRS) 35.5 27.4 27.6 16.4 Effective tax rate (IFRS) 31.1 20.5 28.5 31.7 Effective tax rate (non-IFRS) 30.5 21.0 28.1 30.1 Basic earnings per share, in EUR (IFRS) 0.57 0.38 0.36 0.17 Basic earnings per share, in EUR (non- IFRS) 0.64 0.42 0.40 0.22 Headcount** 47,584 47,810 48,567 49,922 * Adjustments in the revenue line items are for support revenue that an entity acquired by SAP would have recognized had it remained a stand-alone entity but that SAP is not permitted to recognize as revenue under IFRS as a result of business combination accounting rules. Adjustments in the operating expense line items are for acquisition-related charges and discontinued activities. See Explanations of Non-IFRS Measures for details. ** in full-time equivalents at quarter end Differences may exist due to rounding. EXPLANATIONS OF NON-IFRS MEASURES This document discloses certain financial measures, such as non-IFRS revenues, non-IFRS expenses, non-IFRS operating income, non-IFRS operating margin, non-IFRS net income, non-IFRS earnings per share, free cash flow as well as constant currency revenue and operating income measures that are not prepared in accordance with IFRS and are therefore considered non-IFRS financial measures. Our non-IFRS financial measures may not correspond to non-IFRS financial measures that other companies report. The non-IFRS financial measures that we report should be considered in addition to, and not as substitutes for or superior to, revenue, operating income, cash flows, or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Our non-IFRS financial measures included in this document are reconciled to the nearest IFRS measure in the tables on the pages F8 to F13 above. We believe that the supplemental historical and prospective non-IFRS financial information presented here provides useful supplemental information to investors because it is the same information used by our management in running our business and making financial, strategic and operational decisions - in addition to financial data prepared in accordance with IFRS - to attain a more transparent understanding of our past performance and our future results. The non-IFRS measures as defined below replaced the Non GAAP measures which we used until the termination of our US GAAP reporting. We use these non-IFRS measures consistently in our planning and forecasting, reporting, compensation and external communication. Specifically, Our management primarily uses these non-IFRS measures rather than IFRS measures as the basis for making financial, strategic and operating decisions.The variable remuneration components of our board members and employees are based on revenue and operating profit. However, the basis for the compensation is on non-IFRS revenue and non-IFRS operating profit rather than the respective IFRS measures.The annual budgeting process involving all management units is based on non-IFRS revenues and non-IFRS operating income numbers rather than IFRS numbers with costs such as share-based compensation and restructuring only being considered on corporate level.All monthly forecast and performance reviews with all senior managers globally are based on these non-IFRS measures, rather than IFRS numbers.Both, company-internal target setting and guidance provided to the capital markets are based on non-IFRS revenues and non-IFRS income measures rather than IFRS numbers.We believe that our non-IFRS measures are useful to investors for the following reasons: The non-IFRS measures provide investors with insight into management's decision-making since management uses these non-IFRS measures to run our business and make financial, strategic and operating decisions.The non-IFRS measures provide investors with additional information that enables a comparison of year-over-year operating performance by eliminating certain direct effects of acquisitions.Our non-IFRS financial measures reflect adjustments based on the items below, as well as the related income tax effects: Non-IFRS revenue: Revenues in this document identified as non-IFRS revenue have been adjusted from the respective IFRS numbers by including the full amount of support revenue that would have been recorded by an entity acquired by SAP had it remained a stand-alone entity but which we are not permitted to record as revenue under IFRS due to fair value accounting for the support contracts in effect at the time of the respective acquisition. Under IFRS, we record at fair value the support contracts in effect at the time an entity was acquired. Consequently, our IFRS support revenue, our IFRS software and software-related service revenue and our IFRS total revenue for periods subsequent to acquisitions do not reflect the full amount of support revenue that would have been recorded for these support contracts absent the acquisition by SAP. Adjusting revenue numbers for this revenue impact (if significant) provides additional insight into the comparability across periods of our ongoing performance. Non-IFRS operating expense: Operating expense figures in this report that are identified as non-IFRS operating expense have been adjusted by excluding the following acquisition-related charges: Acquisition related chargesAmortization expense/impairment charges of intangibles acquired in business combinations and certain standalone acquisitions of intellectual property (including purchased in-process research and development)Restructuring expenses and settlements of pre-existing relationships incurred in connection with a business combinationAcquisition-related third-party expensesDiscontinued Activities: Results of the discontinued operations that qualify as such under IFRS in all respects except that they do not represent a major line of businessNon-IFRS operating income, non-IFRS operating margin, non-IFRS net income and non-IFRS earnings per share: Operating income, operating margin, net income and earnings per share in this document identified as non-IFRS operating income, non-IFRS operating margin, non-IFRS net income and non-IFRS earnings per share have been adjusted from the respective operating income, operating margin, net income and earnings per share numbers as recorded under IFRS by adjusting for the above mentioned non-IFRS revenues and non-IFRS expenses. We exclude the acquisition related expense adjustments for the purpose of calculating non-IFRS operating income, non-IFRS operating margin, non-IFRS net income and non-IFRS earnings per share when evaluating the continuing operational performance of the Company because these expenses generally cannot be changed or influenced by management after the relevant acquisition other than by disposing of the acquired assets. Since management at levels below the Executive Board has no influence on these expenses we generally do not consider these expenses for the purpose of evaluating the performance of management units. We include the revenue adjustements outlined above and exclude the expense adjustements when making decisions to allocate resources, both on a Company level and at lower levels of the organization. In addition, we use these non-IFRS measures to gain a better understanding of the Company's comparative operating performance from period to period. We believe that our non-IFRS financial measures described above have limitations, which include but are not limited to the following: The eliminated amounts may be material to us.Without being analyzed in conjunction with the corresponding IFRS measures the non-IFRS measures are not indicative of our present and future performance, foremost for the following reasons:While our non-IFRS income numbers reflect the elimination of certain acquisition-related expenses, no eliminations are made for the additional revenues and other revenues that result from the acquisitions.The acquisition-related charges that we eliminate in deriving our non-IFRS income numbers are likely to recur should SAP enter into material business combinations in the future.The acquisition-related amortization expense that we eliminate in deriving our non-IFRS income numbers is a recurring expense that will impact our financial performance in future years. The revenue adjustment for the fair value accounting of the acquired entities' support contracts and the expense adjustment for acquisition-related charges do not arise from a common conceptual basis. This is because the revenue adjustment aims to improve the comparability of the initial post-acquisition period with future post-acquisition periods while the expense adjustment aims to improve the comparability between post-acquisition periods and pre-acquisition periods. This should particularly be considered when evaluating our non-IFRS operating income and non-IFRS operating margin numbers as these combine our non-IFRS revenue and non-IFRS expenses despite the absence of a common conceptual basis.Additionally, our non-IFRS measures have been adjusted from the respective IFRS numbers for the results of the discontinued operations that qualify as such under IFRS in all respects except that they do not represent a major line of business. We refer to these activities as "discontinued activities." Under our U.S. GAAP which we provided until 2009, we presented the results of operations of the TomorrowNow entities as discontinued operations. Under IFRS, results of discontinued operations may only be presented as discontinued operations if a separate major line of business or geographical area of operations is discontinued. Our TomorrowNow operations were not a separate major line of business and thus did not qualify for separate presentation under IFRS. We believe that this additional non-IFRS adjustment to our IFRS numbers for the results of our discontinued TomorrowNow activities is useful to investors for the following reasons: Despite the migration from U.S. GAAP to IFRS, we will continue to internally view the ceased TomorrowNow activities as discontinued activities and thus will continue to exclude potential future TomorrowNow results, which are expected to mainly comprise of expenses in connection with the Oracle lawsuit, from our internal management reporting, planning, forecasting, and compensation plans. Therefore, adjusting our non-IFRS measures for the results of the discontinued TomorrowNow activities provides insight into the financial measures that SAP will use internally beginning in 2010 with our migration to IFRS. By adjusting the non-IFRS numbers for the results from our discontinued TomorrowNow operations, the non-IFRS numbers are more comparable to the non-GAAP measures that SAP used through the end of 2009, which makes SAP's performance measures before and after the full IFRS migration easier to compare.We believe, however, that the presentation of the non-IFRS measures in conjunction with the corresponding IFRS measures as well as the relevant reconciliations, provides useful information to management and investors regarding present and future business trends relating to our financial condition and results of operations. We therefore do not evaluate our growth and performance without considering both non-IFRS measures and the relevant IFRS measures. We caution the readers of this document to follow a similar approach by considering our non-IFRS measures only in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, revenues or other measures of our financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Free Cash Flow We use our free cash flow measure to estimate the cash flow remaining after all expenditures required to maintain or expand the organic business have been paid off. This assists management with the supplemental information to assess our liquidity needs. We calculate free cash flow as net cash from operating activities minus additions to non-current assets, excluding additions from acquisitions. Free cash flow should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, cash flow or other measures of liquidity and financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Constant Currency Period-Over-Period Changes We believe it is important for investors to have information that provides insight into our sales. Revenue measures determined under IFRS provide information that is useful in this regard. However, both sales volume and currency effects impact period-over-period changes in sales revenue. We do not sell standardized units of products and services, so we cannot provide relevant information on sales volume by providing data on the changes in product and service units sold. To provide additional information that may be useful to investors in breaking down and evaluating changes in sales volume, we present information about our revenue and various values and components relating to operating income that are adjusted for foreign currency effects. We calculate constant currency year-over-year changes in revenue and operating income by translating foreign currencies using the average exchange rates from the previous year instead of the report year. We believe that data on constant currency period-over-period changes has limitations, particularly as the currency effects that are eliminated constitute a significant element of our revenue and expenses and may severely impact our performance. We therefore limit our use of constant currency period-over-period changes to the analysis of changes in volume as one element of the full change in a financial measure. We do not evaluate our results and performance without considering both constant currency period-over-period changes in non-IFRS revenue and non-IFRS operating income on the one hand and changes in revenue, expenses, income, or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS on the other. We caution the readers of this document to follow a similar approach by considering data on constant currency period-over-period changes only in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, changes in revenue, expenses, income, or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. SOURCE SAP AG
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:00 pm

EU opens anti-trust probe of IBM mainframe business (Reuters)

Reuters - European Union competition regulators launched two anti-trust investigations against International Business Machines Corp, suspecting it of abusing its dominant position in the mainframe computer market.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:58 pm

Yahoo Japan Signs Search Deal With Google (Mashable)

Mashable - Yahoo Japan said it will be switching Yahoo's search technology with Google's search engine, dealing a serious blow to the global Microsoft-Yahoo search partnership.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:43 pm

Why Clicking On Cows Brings Us Closer Together

A Facebook game about Facebook games was inevitable; Hence “Cow Clicker,” a spoof Facebook app created by game theorist Ian Bogost in an attempt to distill the appeal of Zynga games like FarmVille, Mafia Wars and FrontierVille. Between Scamville, Mark Pincus’ “every horrible thing in the book” comments, and a particularly unfortunate speech at the GDC, 2010 is the year to hate on social games — viewed by many gaming industry developers to be simplistic derivatives requiring no talent or skill.

Whether Zynga games are successful because they give users valuable social experiences or because they are, according Bogost’s fellow game theorist Jesper Juul, “brain hacks that exploit human psychology in order to make money,” people will always be willing to play up the latter theory. The word “exploit” added to any article makes for great pageviews. As do extreme examples, like the case of the kid who ran up a $1,400 debt on his parents’ credit card trying to pimp out his farm.

With both Zynga and another social gaming entity of a different kind, Foursquare, vying for a spot on tech’s A-list, I’m betting on Zynga — or at least aligning my bet with consumers to the return of an estimated $500 million (or more) in revenue this year. It’s hard to argue with that or the more macro level evidence that these things are universally beloved.

While it’s really easy to snub your nose at your cousin for posting [insert laughable Zynga update here] to your news feed, the force of 61 million monthly users is no laughable thing. Cow Clicker seems to be riding on the coattails of this popularity, as it’s up to 15,000 users in its first week. Bogost told TechCrunch:

“Given the nature of the project, I’m not sure what would count as ‘success’ in my mind. As far as money is concerned, a minority of players are paying cash money for credits (called “Mooney”) to click or to buy cows, and a small number are buying t-shirts and other swag. For now, I’m mostly covering my hosting costs.”

Is Bogost hinting that we’re all all heading towards some kind of compulsive virtual dystopia? “Zynga et all are doing something subtler. It’s more like selling corn-sweetened processed foods, perhaps.” Sweetened processed foods you can share with your friends.

Both Zynga and Cow Clicker are in the business of selling status in pixels. Clicking on a cow or buying a pink tractor or spending real money on fake night vision goggles is now the digital version of “keeping up with the Joneses.”

Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:33 pm

Anatomy of a Fad: Aboard the Silly Bandz Wagon

All Aboard the Latest Superfad: The Silly Bandz Wagon
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:31 pm

Cat Physics, Ol’ Man Yellor among this week’s free iPhone apps (Appolicious)

Appolicious - I’m not trying to get all Shakespearean on you, but what’s in a name? It’s not immediately evident what to make of Cat Physics, Ol’ Man Yellor or OtoBlock from their titles, but that’s what I’m here for.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:02 pm

State Department Still Assessing Possible Diplomatic Cable Spill

The government's investigation hasn't determined the exact number of cables at issue, nearly two months after former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning was arrested for allegedly leaking the cables and other classified material, and several weeks after Manning's hard drives were flown to Washington for forensic analysis.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:00 pm

July 27, 1866: Trans-Atlantic Cable Links Old World to New

Delayed by technological glitches and political upheavals, the undersea link finally establishes instantaneous communication between North America and Europe.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:00 pm

ICHEP 2010 Conference Highlights First Results From The LHC

First results from the LHC at CERN* are being revealed at ICHEP, the world's largest international conference on particle physics, which has attracted more than 1000 participants to its venue in Paris. The spokespersons of the four major experiments at the LHC – ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb – are today presenting measurements from the first three months of successful LHC operation at 3.5 TeV per beam, an energy three and a half times higher than previously achieved at a particle accelerator.With these first measurements the experiments are rediscovering the particles that lie at the heart of the Standard Model – the package that contains current understanding of the particles of matter and the forces that act between them. This is an essential step before moving on to make discoveries. Among the billions of collisions already recorded are some that contain 'candidates' for the top quark, for the first time at a European laboratory."Rediscovering our 'old friends' in the particle world shows that the LHC experiments are well prepared to enter new territory" said CERN's Director-General Rolf Heuer. "It seems that the Standard Model is working as expected. Now it is down to nature to show us what is new."The quality of the results presented at ICHEP bears witness both to the excellent performance of the LHC and to the high quality of the data in the experiments. The LHC, which is still in its early days, is making steady progress towards its ultimate operating conditions. The luminosity – a measure of the collision rate - has already risen by a factor of more than a thousand since the end of March. This rapid progress with commissioning the LHC beam has been matched by the speed with which the data on billions of collisions have been processed by the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, which allows data from the experiments to be analysed at collaborating centres around the world."Within days we were finding Ws, and later Zs – the two carriers of the weak force discovered here at CERN nearly 30 years ago," said Fabiola Gianotti, spokesperson for the 3000-strong ATLAS collaboration. "Thanks to the efforts of the whole collaboration, in particular the young scientists, everything from data-taking at the detector, through calibration, data processing and distribution, to the physics analysis, has worked fast and efficiently.""It is amazing to see how quickly we have 're-discovered' the known particles: from the lightest resonances up to the massive top quark. What we have shown here in Paris is just the first outcome of an intense campaign of accurate measurements of their properties." said Guido Tonelli, spokesperson for CMS. "This patient and systematic work is needed to establish the known background to any new signal.""The LHCb experiment is tailor-made to study the family of b particles, containing beauty quarks," said the experiment's spokesperson Andrei Golutvin, "So it's extremely gratifying that we are already finding hundreds of examples of these particles, clearly pin-pointed through the analysis of many particle tracks.""The current running with proton collisions has allowed us to connect with results from other experiments at lower energies, test and improve the extrapolations made for the LHC, and prepare the ground for the heavy-ion runs," said Jurgen Schukraft, spokesperson for the ALICE collaboration. This experiment is optimized to study collisions of lead ions, which will occur in the LHC for the first time later this year.Two further experiments have also already benefited from the first months of LHC operation at 3.5 TeV per beam. LHCf, which is studying the production of neutral particles in proton-proton collisions to help in understanding cosmic-ray interactions in the Earth's atmosphere, has already collected the data it needs at a beam energy of 3.5 TeV. TOTEM, which has to move close to the beams for its in-depth studies of the proton, is beginning to make its first measurements.CERN will run the LHC for 18-24 months with the objective of delivering enough data to the experiments to make significant advances across a wide range of physics processes. With the amount of data expected, referred to as one inverse femtobarn, the experiments should be well placed to make inroads in to new territory, with the possibility of significant discoveries. ---On the Net:CERN
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:48 pm

Traveling Microorganisms

A BBVA Foundation research project identifies the bacteria arriving daily from the Sahara DesertEvery day, millions of microorganisms reach Spain from the Sahara Desert and the Sahel region – by flying. Louis Pasteur demonstrated back in 1861 that germs can move through the air, but it was only recently discovered that bacteria, funguses and viruses can travel thousands of kilometers stuck onto dust particles. Satellite images show clouds that come close to the size of the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, the international team on the Ecosensor project, funded by the BBVA Foundation, have analyzed these traveling microorganisms using molecular biology techniques. As well as identifying the species, they have found that they colonize high-mountain lakes in the Sierra Nevada and the Pyrenees, and that the phenomenon is escalating with climate change.The "migration" of these microorganisms on African dust is most intense in spring and summer, and has been gathering momentum in recent years; at times multiplying their numbers ten times over. This is due, researchers say, to the drought afflicting the Sahel region for the last thirty years, itself a product of our changing climate. An added spur is the loss of plant cover in Africa driven by changes in farming practices. It is reckoned that between 60 and 200 million tons of dust rise up from the Sahara every year; a material rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and iron with an important role in the growth of marine plankton, and even the fertilization of tropical forests.Ecosensor brings together an international team of atmospheric physicists and biologists led by Isabel Reche, of the University of Granada, and Emilio O. Casamayor, from the Blanes Center for Advanced Studies. The molecular biology techniques these researchers use allow them to detect almost all the organisms present in a given sample, in contrast to earlier methods which Reche explains revealed "a good deal less than there really is".The Canary Islands bear the bruntThat is why until now we could not even identify 0.1 percent of the 500 bacteria present in a liter of air, and had no inkling of how they might affect their "destination" ecosystems. The Saharan dust spreads across the whole planet, but the prevailing winds – from the east – mean the regions most affected are the Canary Islands and the Caribbean (see satellite photos).Ecosensor researchers have taken air samples in the places where it is easiest to detect the rain of microorganisms, such as high-mountain lakes. "Such spots have barely been altered by local human activity" Reche remarks, " so they are invaluable for studying the incidence of invading airborne microorganisms blown in from remote sources".The lakes chosen are located in Sierra Nevada and the Pyrenees, as well as the Alps (Austria), Argentinean Patagonia, the Bylot Islands in the Arctic (Canada), and the South Shetland archipelago (Antarctica).The researchers suck out air, filter it and extract the DNA of the organisms present. "By analyzing the genes we can tell what microorganism they belong to," Reche continues. They also separate the microorganisms to ascertain which can reach the lakes alive.The same life in Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees and MauritaniaTheir results, which have recently appeared in various scientific publications, show that Sierra Nevada and Pyrenean lakes harbor microorganisms "that we have also found in the soil in Mauritania", says Reche. "It is truly amazing". Among the microorganisms identified are Pseudomonas – a Bacillus genus capable of colonizing a wide range of niches; Staphylococci – a genus that includes microorganisms present in human skin, and Acinetobacter, which contribute to the mineralization of the soil. In general terms, they are considered to be non-pathogenic for humans.But how might the advent of these new microorganisms affect local ecosystems? "The increase in dust load in pristine ecosystems, like high-mountain lakes, has major repercussions" explains Reche, "because with it come nutrients that fertilize the lakes and alter their microbial communities". Some of these changes have harmful effects; indeed the dust may already be damaging the fauna and flora of some ecosystems. Caribbean corals, for instance, are suffering decline due to excess dust deposition.Another big question is, how do microorganisms manage to stay biologically active after their journey? The dust travels at between 2000 and 4000 meters altitude, exposed to severe dryness and harmful radiation; not all the organisms found form spores, so they must have other defense mechanisms at their command. One hypothesis mentioned by Reche is "an increase in the quantity of protective pigments, which adhere to the mineral particles, conferring a degree of protection". ---On the Net:Fundación BBVA
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:45 pm

Boing Boing Submitterator!

Every day, we receive hundreds of submissions of links you'd like to share with the Boing Boing universe. We're deeply thankful that you take the time to turn us on to the anomalies, curiosities, and eyebrow-raisers that you find in your online travels! But the sheer volume means that even the best often go unposted. So to make the submission process easier and an order-of-magnitude more fun, we've created the Submitterator! Think of it as a public submissions form: every link you submit is shared with everyone else to check out instead of vanishing into the dark night of the BB inbox. Of course, we'll be keeping a constant vigil on the Submitterator for possible front page posts. Meanwhile, you can also comment on everyone else's submissions, vote them up or down, and soon reTweet and Facebook Share them.

To use the Submitterator just hit "Submit a link" and have at it. (You'll need to log in using your regular Boing Boing username.) Keep your text and any excerpt short and snappy. If you include a URL, your submission headline will link to it. The best headlines are descriptive rather than punny. If you like what someone else submitted, click +. If you don't, click -.

(Of course, for submissions you'd like to keep private you can still use the traditional form.)

We hope that the Submitterator will become a place for all of us to take a wider view of wonderful things and share our individual excitement with the Boing Boing community.

We've wanted to build the Submitterator for several years. We're thankful to our launch sponsor, Zync from American Express, for helping us finally make it happen. And it wouldn't have been possible without the tremendous talent of our unstoppable developer Dean "Dino" Putney (pictured) and unbreakable managing editor Rob Beschizza. Of course, thanks also to super sysadmin Ken Snider for keeping the wires untangled.

Now, please join us and submit to the Submitterator!

Spotted a bug? Please send email to Dean at boing boing dot net, and be sure to tell him what browser and platform you're on.


Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:45 pm

Wikileaks: Q&A with Jacob Appelbaum on "The Afghan War Diaries"

Earlier today, I spoke with Jacob Appelbaum, a volunteer with the WikiLeaks project whose work in other projects related to tech and human rights have been blogged here on Boing Boing over the years.

As reported on Boing Boing and widely elsewhere, Wikileaks have released a massive archive of secret US military documents related to the war in Afghanistan, unprecedented in scope. The archive spans a 6-year period from 2004 to 2010, encompassing more than 91,000 documents and 200,000 pages. The White House, Pentagon, and Department of State have condemned the leak, with various spokespersons describing it as a breach of federal law, a "criminal act," and describing Wikileaks as a threat to US national security. I spoke with Appelbaum, a longtime friend of mine, about why he and other Wikileaks volunteers disagree. —XJ

Boing Boing: We're told that there are more documents from this archive yet to be released by Wikileaks, some 15,000 of them as reported. Some have speculated that these could relate to Iraq. Can you comment more?

Jacob Appelbaum: The 15,000 documents are part of the set of Afghanistan documents. They are being redacted for harm-minimizing purposes as requested by our source, and will be made available as is applicable with respect to the relevant security concerns.

Boing Boing: What do you think of the White House reactions so far to the "Afghan War Diaries" leak?

Jacob Appelbaum: It's clear that the White House is attempting to shoot the messenger. These documents provide concrete evidence of events that have occurred during the last six years of the Afghan war.

Boing Boing: The Department of Defense has called Wikileaks a "national security
threat."

Jacob Appelbaum: Wikileaks is not a national security threat; we are an
international security promise.

Boing Boing: What do you mean by that?

Jacob Appelbaum: We promise our sources that we will get their
information to the public. We have released information about what is
actually happening in Afghanistan. We are telling you the facts as the
US military saw fit to document them. We are telling you these facts
because they document an important first-hand perception of everyday
life in Afghanistan that our source felt important to show the world. It
clearly meets with our submission criteria and based on the reaction,
it's obvious that we've done our job as we've promised.

Boing Boing: What of the criticism from some commentators, and from the US defense
spokesperson yesterday in the initial response, that these documents are
"old news," because they only cover from 2004, when Bush was in office,
through late 2009, before Obama announced a policy change for Afghanistan?

Jacob Appelbaum: The contents may be old news to the White House but it
was very clearly not available to the American public and actually any
public with an interest in the topic before our release.

To suggest that it only covers Bush is to misrepresent the very clear
facts. The document archive goes all the way up to the end of 2009. The
White House tried to spin this by saying it goes only until December
when the Obama administration announced a policy change. However, there
is an overlap - this is a document cache that spans both of their
presidencies and it includes information after Obama enacted the policy
change in early December 2009.

Boing Boing: What do you think will happen as a result of the leak? Will there be
policy change?

Jacob Appelbaum: It's only been a single day and the entire world is talking
about this information. The collaborative effort put into the initial
analysis of these documents is unprecedented, and the foundation laid by
New York Times, Guardian and Der Spiegel in respect to initial analysis of the material
will certainly serve as a sound basis for further investigations by the
media, historians and researchers, as well as general public scrutiny.

People in the United States of America have the ability to
democratically change this situation if they are unhappy with the truth;
they now have information that will assist them in having a clearer
picture. Perhaps they will demand more transparency and more
accountability. It is clear that they will find out how the war is
actually going, and see what they're financing. This isn't unique to the
United States: it impacts the people of every country with troops in
Afghanistan. The world has wide-open eyes. Together, we can make
better, more honest decisions.

Furthermore, the people of Afghanistan are not shocked by this
information. Nobody needs to tell them what the conditions are like on
the ground. They don't have reports with this level of specificity,
rather they live with everyday terror and fear. In some cases, we can
see more clearly now that the Taliban are doing terrible things, and
they're far better equipped than the "camel jockeys" they're portrayed
as in the American media. These are scary guys with scary capabilities.
Why aren't we being told this truth regularly after nine years? Why would
the US government hide this from the world? Why are the rest of the
governments complicit in this silence?

Additionally, it sounds like our allies are the ones supplying
them with some of those capabilities. Some wings of the US government
were apparently aware of that. But I'd wager that most
Americans were unaware. This strongly suggests a need for policy
change. How can the people of the US fund another situation that is not
unlike when America was using Afghanistan as proxy during the Cold War?
Didn't we learn our lesson the first half dozen times we did something
like this?

If not, let's learn it now.

(photo courtesy Jacob Appelbaum)

Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:41 pm

Your Online Education Experience?

pspahn writes "I am currently enrolled at a very well-known online school. I was hesitant when I enrolled; now more than a year has gone by, and I am regretting my decision. The main problem is that I am not learning anything. I have several years' experience with Web design, yet I was not allowed to bypass Intro to Web Design 1. Similarly, there are other classes on my list that will teach me very little I don't already know, yet will cost me money all the same. Now, I do have a great desire to learn and to further myself academically, but I just don't see much value in continuing to take classes I could have aced in ninth grade. It is also difficult when fellow classmates clearly have very little intelligent input to offer and our online discussions are reminiscent of an AOL chat room. While it is possible simply to attend a local school in person, I would much prefer an online environment as it seems to be a more natural medium considering the content of my studies. I am interested specifically in Information Security programs. What online education programs have Slashdot readers been happy with and considered successful?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:29 pm

Don’t Get Excited About Google’s Mysterious Punch Just Yet

Earlier today Google Operating System noticed something odd in an official Google Docs demo video: an icon for an unreleased document editor called Google Punch. Numerous blogs have taken a stab at guessing what Google Punch may be (we initially speculated that it’s Google’s answer to Microsoft Publisher). But we’re hearing that it is something decidedly less exciting: Google Punch may just be a placeholder for a new version of an existing editor.

In other words, Google is testing a new version of Docs, Spreadsheets, Presentations, or one of its other existing apps, and just needed something to call it. So what exactly is this new editor going to feature? It’s possible that Google is working to integrate DocVerse, the service it acquired in March that allows users to collaborate on Microsoft Office files. The software will give Google a bridge between native Microsoft Office clients and Google Docs, which will be a big deal.  Or perhaps Punch could be the next version of Google’s Presentation app (note that the icons are quite similar).

Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:11 pm

Rumor: RIM to launch 4G capable BlackBerry device

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones

An analyst over at Frost & Sullivan is claiming RIM is going to launch a 4G capable BlackBerry device known as Triton.  Essentially, if the rumor pans out, the BlackBerry Triton should launch sometime in December, but it is unknown whether it will operate on WiMAX or LTE.  The analyst claims it features a “a 5.0 megapixel camera with both front and back imaging.”  Such confusing wording could be interpreted to mean it features both a front and rear view camera or a swiveling camera.  Since the Curve lineup is typically used for mid-range devices, RIM would probably launch this device under the Bold lineup of higher-end devices.  With Android and the iPhone 4 boasting superior hardware, it would be nice to see RIM launch a 4G capable device which video conferencing capabilities.  For now, we’ll take this rumor with a grain of salt until we hear something more official from RIM. 

Via [IntoMobile]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:11 pm

Oil spill glows under UV light

Maybe there's something for hippies to love about ecological disaster, after all. Chris Combs, photography editor at National Geographic News, took these amazing shots while on assignment in the Gulf of Mexico. Via Submitterator, he says:

...researcher Ping Wang pointed me towards his grad student's work with UV light. Turns out that the oil glows bright, head-shop fluorescent orange under UV light. Rip Kirby's ultra-powerful $1800 "Klingon Death Ray" ultraviolet spotlight lit up every particle of oil-stained sand, even in seemingly clean areas, and our footprints showed up Day-Glo orange.

This isn't just for "woah, dude" value. Applying UV light to contaminated beaches is also a clever way to spot—and clean up—oil that might otherwise go unnoticed by notoriously flimsy human eyes. You can read more—and see more pictures—in Combs' photo essay.

Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:03 pm

Alas, these Tron shoes don’t actually glow

While the picture above certainly makes it look like Adidas’s Tron-themed sneakers will glow like crazy, that’s not actually the case. It turns out the glowy bits are “glow in the dark stitch detailing and reflective TRON disk screenprints” probably made from reflector material. In their defense, that stuff can get pretty bright in the right environment, and it lasts a long time: I have some Pumas from 2001 that still shine.

There are no more details right now, but if they’re anything like the Star Wars line, they’ll be limited and rather expensive.

[via Fashionably Geek and Nerd Approved]

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:00 pm

Home-made laser runs on exhaled breath

YouTube user magx1 builds a lot of home-made gas lasers, running electric current through sealed tubes filled with various gases. When you do that, you get the gas atoms all riled up and their electrons absorb energy. Eventually, that energy gets released in the form of directional, highly focused light—a laser. There's a bit more to it than that, but you've got the idea.

One type of laser magx1 builds is called a carbon dioxide laser, though it actually contains a mixture of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and helium. In this video, the carbon dioxide in the mix is coming from his own breath.

By exhaling into my 'supply' balloon, I was able to get pretty good results considering! Unlike a 'proper' laser mix of CO2, N2, and He; the 'breath' trick appears to have a much narrower pressure range over which lasing will occur. But I like it anyway - it doesn't get much more DIY than this!

Magx1 doesn't provide a lot of detail on how he built this laser, but you can find a lot of good information at The Home-Built Carbon Dioxide Laser FAQ. Bill Beatty—who suggested this video through the Submitterator—says Magx1 is a guy named Jarrod Kinsey, and that he has a site dedicated to laser building.

Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jul 2010 | 8:35 pm

What did the first Leatherman tool look like?

Multi-tools are all the rage now, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, inventor Tim Leatherman shopped his idea around years before finally finding a company that was willing to sell his product. He formed his own company in 1983, and the rest is history.

So what did the first Leatherman tool look like? Well, the idea for the concept came to Leatherman after going on a driving tour of Europe in 1975, and having to use a pocket knife to repeatedly fix his failing car. Personally, I’ve never been without a Leatherman tool on my belt, or in my pocket. In fact, I feel naked when I’m forced to leave mine at home. Popular Mechanics just published an article about how the tool was developed, including the pictures you see here. Very cool, and fun to see. It’s amazing to see the first generation, and compare it to what they produce now .

[via Make]

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 8:30 pm

Leak: Samsung Galaxy Q specs, will launch with Android 2.2

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones

A new spec sheet regarding the Samsung Galaxy Q smartphone device has been leaked and its filled with exciting, but unofficial specs. Samsung is presumed to launch the Galaxy Q device in the US sometime later this year, as an alternative to the popular Samsung Galaxy S.  The rumored specs include a 3 inch Super AMOLED display, 8MP camera with LED flash, 1.3MP front facing camera, 16GB internal memory, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, optical touch pad, QWERTY keyboard, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, and a 1500mAh battery.  In terms of OS, it should be launched with Android 2.2, which means no need for a OTA software roll out.  Unfortunately, we’re still missing a picture, pricing, and availability of the Samsung Galaxy Q, but so far it looks like a high end phone with a slightly smaller screen than the Galaxy S.

Via [SamsungHub]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 8:01 pm

Back to the Future trilogy hits Blu-ray October 26

The Doc is coming back again on October 26th. You might remember this date as being significant from the first movie: October 26th is the day that Marty met Doc Brown at the mall and traveled back to 1955.

The best news is this release is all three movies on one disc. The set includes two hours of bonus footage, deleted scenes, and other extras. No idea on the price yet. Now where are Star Wars and Indiana Jones?

[via Gizmodo]

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 8:00 pm

Are We On The Cusp Of A Jailbroken App Revolution?

The DMCA ruling won’t change things for the average iPhone user — the main difference being that jailbreakers now can’t be sued by Apple successfully under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Apple will continue their attempts to block the jailbroken phones with every iOS update and jailbreakers will keep getting more and more savvy, like a vicious cycle of digital cat and mouse.

Jay Freeman, who runs Cydia, what many in the industry refer to as the “Jailbroken App Store,” posits that what today’s ruling did change was awareness; “More people will jailbreak their phones. Now that they think it’s legal.“ [Emphasis mine]. When asked whether the ruling had increased traffic to his site, Freeman bemoaned that today’s stats were unfortunately not available.

Pinch Analytics holds that 8-9% of iPhones are jailbroken (6 million devices) which square with the 6 million devices that are active users of Cydia. (On a side note: Freeman says that 7 of those are iPhone 4s, all belonging to developers). Cydia’s most popular products are related to Wifi tethering, with names like Wifi Sync and MyWi. One user said that even though his jailbroken iPhone had eventually bricked up, it was worth it for the tethering functionality, which the iPhone 4 still does not have. And Freeman takes a 30% cut of all the proceeds, just the like the actual app store.

Well, how many apps are in Cydia?

Freeman’s official answer is 4 apps (including Google Voice Mobile and Grooveshark) with thousands of “aftermarket mods” (as opposed to 225,000+ in the Apple Store) enabling jailbroken phone users to accomplish stuff like background application management, the ability to send a Twitter message by touching the status bar, and maybe even one day the ability to make a call that automatically uses Google Voice.

Freeman stubbornly refuses to call Cydia an app store:

A lot of people have confusion over the usage of the term “app” — Apple sells apps, but also rejects apps like Google Voice. The main point of Cydia is aftermarket modifications — like on a car — sometimes you need to bypass car computer system protections to modify the car. You can also go to places and get something as simple as a racing stripe. Changing the wallpaper on your phone is like changing the paint on your car.”

And Freeman thinks we’re on the the cusp of a jailbroken app revolution, but not directly related to today’s ruling; “As far as I know it is now and it always has been legal to jailbreak. If it wasn’t I would be receiving complaints from Apple’s lawyers.”

Admittedly, Cydia and its counterparts are to put it mildly, not break out successes. As today’s publicity will attract more developers, the jailbroken app economy of scale harbors some of the same problems faced by Apple’s app store, says Freeman, “When a developer comes to me thinking Cydia is a less restricted app store, it ends up being a very painful discussion, because I have to reject their apps.”

Photo: Hackerfriendly/Flickr

Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:46 pm

How to draw robots

I picked up a fun full-color book on Saturday called Robots! Draw Your Own Androids, Cyborgs & Fighting Bots, by well known animation designer and comic book cartoonist Jay Stephens. It's only 64 pages, but it's packed with tips and examples of whimsical robots, with lots of examples of limbs, bodies, heads, control panels, sensors, etc.

Using his examples as a guide, I quickly drew a robot of my own. It doesn't capture the charm of Stephen's work, but I plan to keep working at it!

I also learned that Stephens has two similar books for sale: Monsters!: Draw Your Own Mutants, Freaks & Creeps and Heroes!: Draw Your Own Superheroes, Gadget Geeks & Other Do-Gooders. They are a bargain at just $5.95 each. I just ordered both of them!

Robots! Draw Your Own Androids, Cyborgs & Fighting Bots


Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:41 pm

OpenGL 4.1 Specification Announced

WesternActor writes "The Khronos Group has announced full details for the OpenGL 4.1 specification. Among the new features of the spec, which comes just five months after the release of the 4.0 specification, is full support for OpenGL ES, which simplifies porting between mobile and desktop platforms. It'll be interesting to see what effect, if any, this new spec has on the graphics industry — more compatibility could change the way many embedded systems are designed. There are lots of other changes and additions in the spec, as well." Reader suraj.sun contributes insight from Ars, which brings OpenGL's competition into focus: "OpenGL 4.0 brought feature parity with Direct3D 11's new features — in particular, compute shaders and tessellation — and with 4.1, the Khronos Group claims that it is surpassing the functionality offered in Microsoft's 3D API. ... Whether this truly constitutes a leapfrogging of Direct3D 11 is not obvious."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:37 pm

A really up-close look at the Transformers 3 Chicago shooting location

These are, well, amazing photos. The story goes Leo from TheChive simply walked past barricades and security surrounding the Transformers 3 shoot in downtown Chicago. His 56 published pics seem to confirm the tale. He seemed close enough to catch a whiff of McDreamy’s pheromones. Scary thought.

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:34 pm

“Antennagate” bumpers starting to ship

Good news iPhone 4 users; despite being being told that the free bumper (or case) wouldn’t be shipping for 3-5 weeks, word on the internet is that many people are starting to receive shipping notifications. So heads up if you’ve already ordered your free case or bumper, and a gentle reminder to go and do so if you haven’t already. Apparently this isn’t an isolated incident either, as TUAW reports that multiple iPhone 4 users have reported the same thing happening.

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:15 pm

Guys! Stainless steel Sharpies!

Oh my god, guys! How did I not know these existed?! I think they’re new! I’m going to replace all my current Sharpies with these immediately! Stainless steel with laser-etched Sharpie logo. Life is good, people. Life is good.

[via Doobybrain]

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:00 pm

What Happened To: Super Nintendo CD game console

FROM GAMERTELL - During very early 1990s, companies started testing out the idea of disc-based gaming. Even the SNES had a CD add-on in the works. So what happened to the SNES CD?
MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:59 pm

Atmel Schedules Second Quarter 2010 Earnings Release and Conference Call

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atmel® Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, will hold a conference call Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 2 p.m. PT to discuss the company's second fiscal quarter 2010 financial results. Participating in the call will be Steven Laub, Atmel President and CEO, and Stephen Cumming, VP Finance and CFO. The earnings release will be issued at the close of market that day. The conference call will be webcast live and can also be monitored by dialing 1-800-374-0405 or 1-706-758-4519. The conference ID number is 87360106 and participants are encouraged to initiate their calls at least 10 minutes in advance of the 2 p.m. PT start time to ensure a timely connection. The webcast and earnings release will be accessible at http://www.atmel.com/ir/. A replay of the August 4, 2010 conference call will be available the same day at approximately 5:00 p.m. PT and will run for 48 hours. The replay access numbers are 1-800-642-1687 within the U.S. and 1-706-645-9291 for all other locations. The access code is 87360106. About Atmel Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of capacitive touch solutions, microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on industrial, consumer, security, communications, computing and automotive markets. Investor Contact: Peter Schuman, Director of Investor Relations, 1-408-518-8426 SOURCE Atmel Corporation
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:50 pm

Twitter Begins Testing Inline Photos And Videos On Its Website

A new option has just appeared in Twitter’s “Settings” menu called “Twitter Media.” This appears to indicate that inline image and video sharing is making its way to Twitter.com shortly. The option appears on my account, but checking the box does nothing so far. [update below]

If this is indeed the case, Twitter is once again emulating some of the functionality third-party sites are building on top of Twitter. For example, one of Brizzly’s main selling points right now is the ability to show photos and videos inline in your tweet stream (though, to be fair, they go beyond that with other features and have Facebook integration too).

We’ve reached out to Twitter for clarification on this feature. But, again, the wording seems to speak for itself:

By default, you’ll only see images and videos shared by people you’re following, and reveal those by people you’re not. Check this box to see media from everyone on Twitter

It’s worth noting that the “everyone” feature is not checked by default, meaning it’s opt-in, rather than opt-out. Obviously, that’s smart. I’m going to assume this means that if you opt-in, you’ll be able to see media from people you don’t follow who get retweeted or when you do a search. Otherwise, it may just be “revealed” that media is attached to that tweet. I can’t imagine Twitter would insert all the media shared on Twitter into your actual stream, that would be ridiculous.

Or maybe opting in to this feature will give you a new sidebar menu to see media shared by everyone on Twitter.

Update from Twitter:

We’re constantly exploring features and settings. What you saw was a small test of a potential consumption setting for inline media. We show inline media on our own iPhone and Android apps.

Update 2: And the setting has just vanished from my account. Can’t imagine why :)

Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:32 pm

Review: Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung’s take on the large-format Android phone, the Galaxy S (with variants the AT&T Captivate, T-Mobile Vibrant, Verizon Fascinate, and Sprint Epic 4G) is going right up against the Droid X and Incredible, the EVO 4G, and of course the iPhone 4. Its features include lots of internal storage, a slim and sexy build, and Samsung’s vaunted 4″ AMOLED display.

While it’s held back by a number of interface issues (which will be of different importance to different users), the Galaxy S line is a powerful and attractive one. Should you buy? Wait for 2.2? Wait for Galaxy S II? Read on.

Continue reading…

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:24 pm

Review: Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung’s take on the large-format Android phone, the Galaxy S (with variants the AT&T Captivate, T-Mobile Vibrant, Verizon Fascinate, and Sprint Epic 4G) is going right up against the Droid X and Incredible, the EVO 4G, and of course the iPhone 4. Its features include lots of internal storage, a slim and sexy build, and Samsung’s vaunted 4″ AMOLED display.

While it’s held back by a number of interface issues (which will be of different importance to different users), the Galaxy S line is a powerful and attractive one. Should you buy? Wait for 2.2? Wait for Galaxy S II? Read on for our full review.

Continue reading…

Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:23 pm

Review: Samsung Galaxy S (AKA AT&T Captivate, T-Mobile Vibrant, Verizon Fascinate, Sprint Epic 4G)

Short version: A powerful and attractive handset held back by a few interface quirks and matters of taste. The Galaxy S series still is probably the best large (as opposed to medium, or extra-large) Android handset on the market.

Features:

• 4″ Super AMOLED screen
• 1GHz processor
• 16GB internal storage, 512MB RAM
• 5MP camera with autofocus (and LED flash on Fascinate)
• MSRP: $199 with 2-yr contract (AT&T)

Pros:

• Bright, responsive, good-sized screen
• Slim and light body with great detailing
• Solid battery life
• Runs Android with gusto (2.1 as reviewed, 2.2 on the way)

Cons:

• Samsung’s custom interface and apps aren’t really an improvement
• Screen could be sharper
• No directional pad for making small adjustments in text

Full review:

There are a total of five Galaxy S-based handsets: The AT&T Captivate, which I have here in my hand, the T-Mobile Vibrant, the Verizon Fascinate (identical to the Vibrant except for an LED flash), the Sprint Epic 4G (with slide-out keyboard), and the “vanilla” international Galaxy S. They’re much the same but have some features setting them apart, mainly in the body department. Even so, the experience on one should be pretty similar to the experience for another, so consider this our review of the Galaxy S line — with the caveat that your mileage may vary slightly on the other models.

Hardware

The Galaxy phones fit in between the medium-sized Android phones like the Nexus One and the mega-phones like the Droid X. At 4″ diagonally, the screen doesn’t sound much smaller than the 4.3″ Droid and EVO, but it does make a difference, as every millimeter counts when you’re dealing with something you’ll hold in your hand every day. For my money, the 4″ is pretty much the maximum and perhaps even a little bit too big, but of course that’s a matter for you to figure out yourself.

The hardware differs between the carriers, but you’ve got a few things in common: the Galaxy series is extremely thin, quite light, and has little in the way of bezel. With its shiny border and single hard bottom button, you could be forgiven for thinking the Vibrant, Fascinate, or reference Galaxy S was a slightly larger iPhone 3GS. I much prefer the AT&T model: in addition to having a dedicated search button, it has a more striking shape (real corners!) and an excellent back plate. The back plate is worth describing here: it’s a barely-there carbon-fiber-looking sheet that provides a little grip, looks awesome, and resists fingerprints. Taking it off is ridiculously easy, yet I’m not afraid it’s going to happen on accident. Kudos to the body design people for the Captivate.

The display is Samsung’s vaunted Super AMOLED technology, and while it’s a nice screen, it’s far from perfect. I’ll leave it to dedicated display reviewers to obsess over the color gamut and temperature bias, but I found it to be extremely bright, high-contrast, and fairly vibrant. On the other hand, it has a visible screen door effect, noticeable especially at borders of text and boxes, where there is visible sawtoothing. This has, I think, to do with the sub-pixel layout and dot-sharing that goes on behind the scenes of the display. It won’t bother most people, and the benefits of super-high contrast are probably worth the trade-off. It was especially nice as an alarm clock on my nightstand; black pixels produce almost no light at all, making it an admirable alarm clock.

It does employ soft buttons on the bottom, which aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. Personally, I like them, but Greg doesn’t, and the fact that they’re not always lit up means you will occasionally hit the wrong one even a year into ownership. It’s easy to design something so that users can tell where they’re putting their fingers, Samsung. Just do it!

Samsung also neglected to include any sort of navigational tool like a trackball or optical pad. I don’t expect those to be around forever, but until you create a replacement for it, you can’t just leave it out. The iPhone does fine without one because of its excellent cursor-placement tool. There is no such tool on this phone, so you end up repeatedly jabbing at the screen to get the cursor in the right place. As much Google’s fault as Samsung’s. (Or you can hold the number/symbol key to bring up a separate set of navigational buttons, which I completely missed)

There are two cameras, one front and one rear. There aren’t many uses for the front-facing one right now, but it’s nice to know that it’s there (sorry – it’s only on the Epic 4G and vanilla Galaxy S; the above picture is not a camera on the Captivate, the camera is on the right side in any pic of the handsets mentioned). The rear camera is five megapixels and functions as you would expect. It’s pretty nice. The macro mode was surprisingly functional, and I found most gross details to be very well-represented, though the lens and sensor have trouble making sense of, say, the leaves of trees or brick patterns. Here are a few shots I took; as you can see, the autofocus isn’t entirely reliable, but with a small amount of patience you can easily get some great point-and-shoot quality shots on it. Note that only the Verizon Fascinate has a flash on the back. A puzzling omission from the other phones, if you ask me, but perhaps we ask for too much standard.

One other omission, nearly fatal to my liking for these phones, was that of an LED indicator light. Why, Samsung, why? Those things are just handy as hell! (Update: Apparently the Epic has one, my mistake)

Call quality seemed fine to me, and no one complained about my voice — about the tone or volume, anyway.

Battery life was, I thought, extremely good. Depending on how much you’ve got syncing in the background, of course. It lasted from morning to late night every day I used it, and never approached dangerous levels. It does have a bad habit of announcing in a dialog box that it’s charged, though, which will be showing up every morning if I’m not mistaken. Really, Samsung? Why not overlay “100%” on the battery indicator?

One inter-handset note: there are very few hard buttons on the Galaxy family. The AT&T one has a leg up on the others, though, because they wisely moved the sleep/wake button up a bit; on the Vibrant and vanilla Galaxy, it’s exactly on the opposite side from the volume buttons, and I ended up hitting both on accident many a time (but not on the Captivate).

Interface

Right off the bat, you’ll notice that the stock Android 2.1 interface has been taken over by Samsung’s TouchWiz and Social Hub, which is not a trivial change but not as major as something like Sense.

Instead of an app drawer, the applications button opens up a truly blatant aping of the iPhone’s app layout. It’s organized by date downloaded, which would be nice except for the fact that the non-removable apps Samsung and AT&T are front and center. You can change the order, as well, but isolating your garbage apps in a “jail” screen is time-consuming. There’s also a list view in alphabetical order, though — which is convenient and quick to navigate. Then there are the omnipresent bottom four buttons, which are switch-out-able, but irk me for some reason. Don’t trust ‘em.

Samsung has included a few widgets and apps of varying usefulness: the bright pink “feeds” widget seems a bit limited compared to other apps’, but the “Buddies Now” quick contact rolodex seemed handy for keeping your top five or six contacts ready for quick access. The “Daily Briefing” is similarly handy, though it seems ridiculous to only show a single news article at a time, often with the headline so truncated as to remove all meaning (Democrats Face Un…).

Some apps are included as well, though they’re also hit-and-miss. Question: How many options do you need with which to update your Facebook status? If you answered four or more, this is the phone for you. In all honesty, it’s good to have a choice, but I don’t see myself using the inexplicably wood-themed “Write and Go” when I already have widgets and apps coming out of my ears. That said, the phone does also come helpfully pre-supplied with handy apps like Layar, Thinkfree (a mobile MS Office client), and an e-book reader.

The on-screen keyboard is responsive, but less so when you put on predictive text. Fortunately, I found the predictive text mostly useless, so I avoided it. That meant some annoyance in that that it’s all or nothing — “youll” won’t become “you’ll” even though hello, obvious? The handwriting recognition alternative was fun but not really practical, and it had a lot of trouble recognizing a lower-case “i”.

The unlock screen is another low point. There’s no unifying functionality at all: you swipe in any direction to unlock (not really pocket-proof), but you have to swipe in a particular direction to answer or kill a call. You have to drag a puzzle piece onto an empty space to answer an SMS, but you have to unlock normally and drag down notifications to answer an email. Why aren’t there just different puzzle pieces? The lock screen is attractive, but pretty useless. Let’s get a little more functionality in there, Samsung.

The usual quibbles found in Android (finicky text input, occasional weird delays or slowdowns) are present, but no more so than any other phone, in my opinion.

Getting things on and off the phone is a pain unless you use software that Samsung does not provide — in fact, they seem to go out of their way not to mention it, except deep in the manual. You can download Samsung Kies here, which is an powerful and intuitive syncing and file management app for the handset. I can only guess why it isn’t being actively promoted; setup was easy. Furthermore, I was unable to mount the phone on my PC without it, so there’s that. But check it out, it’s super handy:

Looking back, it seems like I’m really laying into this thing, but the part I haven’t mentioned is that otherwise, it runs Android extremely well. The 1GHz processor launches and closes apps quickly, and navigating scrolling areas and web pages was very quick, limited only by the data connection.

Conclusion

Although I seem to have spent several paragraphs taking Samsung to task for their questionable interface decisions, I still think this is a great handset. It’s thin, gorgeous, has a big bright screen, and runs great with Android 2.1. The fact is, though, that there are a few issues with the interface, and that 2.2 is coming up fast. I can’t say what might change with 2.2, but I’m pretty sure some of these issues will be addressed. Whether you want to wait for that or not is up to you; some of these little problems might be pet peeves of yours (as the lack of LED indicator is for me). But as far as hardware and general usability goes, the Galaxy S is a nice piece of work.

As for the different models, I’d sat that the AT&T Captivate is the nicest, with the T-Mobile Vibrant a close second. The unbranded Galaxy S is third because of its slightly awkward home button and the volume/sleep button problem I mentioned above. We’re still waiting on the Epic 4G, which I suspect will be pretty epic (I’d go with it over the Evo sight unseen) but obviously trades in a little sleekness for that sliding keyboard. I like all four better than the Droid series, though.

Product pages:
Samsung Galaxy S
AT&T Captivate
T-Mobile Vibrant
Sprint Epic 4G
(no official site yet for Verizon Fascinate)

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:21 pm

Xyratex Expands Product Portfolio

HAVANT, England, July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Xyratex Ltd (Nasdaq: XRTX), a leading provider of enterprise class data storage subsystems and storage process technology, announced today that it has expanded its product portfolio to include Hard Disk Drive (HDD) recording head slider and head gimbal assembly automation and metrology equipment. This expanded product portfolio coincided with the recent acquisition of the assets, as well as the development teams based in Valencia, California and Singapore, of OSC (Optical Systems Corporation and Optical Systems Corporation - Asia ). OSC is a respected provider of automated production technology to the disk drive industry. A key element of Xyratex's business strategy is to expand its portfolio of test and process technology within the disk drive industry. The recent acquisition of OSC will combine Xyratex's industry-leading expertise in high volume disk drive test, servo writing, and media cleaning, handling and inspection technologies with OSC's extensive experience in complex head process automation, metrology and inspection. "We are delighted to have the OSC team join our current business group," said Harold Lehon, executive vice president of the Storage Infrastructure business at Xyratex. "We are executing our growth and investment strategy within the Storage Infrastructure business, with a focus on broadening our customer base in our traditional product segments. In addition, we are aiming to penetrate into the areas of disk drive heads, media and substrate; expanding our product portfolio in the factories of HDD and component manufacturers. Our acquisition of OSC is an element of this strategy." OSC has invested significantly to develop its leading-edge product range. This investment, together with the high level of technical skills and commitment of its people, has made OSC a clear leader in its chosen marketplace. "Today's announcement gives us the opportunity to expand our activities within the storage market," added Tom Echsner, president of OSC. "We believe moving forward with Xyratex will allow us to fully leverage our marketing and technology strategies." Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding future results or financial performance of Xyratex, including statements relating to the acquisition of certain assets of OSC (Optical Systems Corporation and Optical Systems Corporation - Asia). Such statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties such that actual results and performance may differ materially. Factors that might cause such a difference include successful integration of OSC's assets and employees into Xyratex, Xyratex's inability to compete successfully in the competitive and rapidly changing marketplace in which we operate, failure to retain key employees, cancellation or delay of projects and adverse general economic conditions in the U.S. and internationally. These risks and other factors include those listed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (File No. 000-50799). In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. About Xyratex Xyratex is a leading provider of enterprise class data storage subsystems and storage process technology. The company designs and manufactures enabling technology that provides OEM and disk drive manufacturer customers with data storage products to support high-performance storage and data communication networks. Xyratex has over 25 years of experience in research and development relating to disk drives, storage systems and high-speed communication protocols. Founded in 1994 in an MBO from IBM, and with headquarters in the UK, Xyratex has an established global base with R&D and operational facilities in Europe, the United States and South East Asia. SOURCE Xyratex Ltd
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:06 pm

Caustic Graphics Enters Into Multiple OpenRL License Agreements

LOS ANGELES, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- SIGGRAPH 2010 -- Caustic Graphics® today announced that e-on software, Lightwork Design, and Strata have licensed Caustic's OpenRL(TM) (Open Ray Tracing Library) SDK for their interactive ray tracing applications; showing further momentum behind the world's only cross-platform, cross-OS specification for writing real-time, interactive ray tracing applications. The company, together with these developer partners, will be launching and demonstrating several applications built on OpenRL at SIGGRAPH 2010, July 27 - 29, in Los Angeles. OpenRL on Display at SIGGRAPH At SIGGRAPH 2010, the company will have applications accelerated by OpenRL on display in the following locations: e-on software (Booth #325) -- will be showing a new OpenRL interactive preview tool in Vue 9 that offers enhanced photorealism over OpenGL preview displays.Lightwork Design (Booth #225) -- OpenRL will be accelerating Artisan Snapshot Studio, a new application for the quick and easy generation of photorealistic images from 3D CAD data.SplutterFish (Booth #211) -- will be demonstrating Brazil for Developers, a real-time, fully interactive renderer based on the popular renderer Brazil r/s, that is targeted at developers of a wide range of 3D graphics applications. The product will be shown using a new plug-in framework developed for Autodesk® 3ds Max®.Strata (Booth #211) -- OpenRL delivers impressive rendering speed increases to Strata Design 3D CX, the popular cross-platform 3D application that tightly integrates with Adobe's Creative Suite®. Strata will be introducing OpenRL ray tracing acceleration in an upcoming release. Stop by for a product and technology demonstration."With OpenRL, developers are discovering the enormous benefit of having standardized access to a wide range of graphics devices for ray tracing," said James McCombe, co-founder and CTO of Caustic Graphics. "We're very pleased with how OpenRL is helping to finally eliminate the expensive and redundant task of writing custom interfaces and drivers for each piece of hardware." "We are pleased to be a member of the OpenRL developer alliance and look forward to working with Caustic on advanced ray-tracing technologies and standards," said Nicholas Phelps, CEO of e-on software, the leading provider of Digital Nature solutions. Dave Forrester, CEO at Lightworks commented, "Last year at SIGGRAPH 2009 we embarked on an exciting project with Caustic Graphics to bring their extraordinary ray tracing technology to our platform. This year we're pleased to show great progress from this effort with tremendous advancements from OpenRL for our Artisan SnapShot Studio product." "Our partnership with Caustic Graphics helps keep Strata Design 3D CX on the leading edge of software and hardware performance," said Ken Bringhurst, Strata CEO. "3D rendering is a very time intensive task and our customers will benefit greatly from the speed enhancements made possible by Caustic's OpenRL, without compromising the superior rendering quality they have come to expect." About OpenRL OpenRL (Open Ray Tracing Library) is the world's first specification for writing ray tracing applications that have standardized access to a wide range of graphics hardware devices from AMD®, Intel®, and NVIDIA®, as well as Caustic Graphics. In the past, developers were forced to program their ray tracing applications "to the metal" by writing to each specific device or accept "vendor lock-in" by using a proprietary closed standard that is limited to a specific subset of hardware. In direct contrast to these expensive and redundant coding methods, OpenRL is a cross-OS, cross-platform API that provides a flexible foundation upon which many different applications can be built. It takes advantage of multiple heterogeneous compute devices simultaneously, so that all CPU, GPU, and RTU (ray tracing unit) cores are fully utilized during the rendering process. Interested developers can evaluate OpenRL by registering at www.caustic.com. About Caustic Graphics Caustic Graphics, the creators of the OpenRL specification, is reinventing ray tracing and changing how interactive cinema-quality 3D graphics are produced, used, and enjoyed. Caustic's customers currently include AfterCad, Autodesk, Strata, e-on, LightWork Design, Open Design Alliance, and Robert McNeel & Associates. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.caustic.com. Autodesk and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Caustic Graphics
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:00 pm

Caustic Graphics Launches Brazil for Developers at SIGGRAPH 2010

LOS ANGELES, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- SIGGRAPH 2010 -- Caustic Graphics®, the leader in accelerated ray tracing, today introduced Brazil for Developers(TM) -- a real-time, fully interactive renderer for a wide range of 3D graphics applications. For the first time, developers will be able to incorporate the look and photorealism of Brazil directly into their 3D graphics applications, with the tremendous enhancement of real-time, interactive scene manipulation. The Brazil renderer was rewritten from the ground up to leverage Caustic's OpenRL(TM) (Open Ray tracing Library) for standardized access to a wide range of graphics devices from AMD®, Intel®, and NVIDIA®, as well as Caustic Graphics. Developers wishing to evaluate Brazil for Developers are invited to pre-register on Caustic Graphics' website beginning today at www.caustic.com. The company will be giving its first public demonstration of Brazil for Developers, by debuting a ray traced rendering plug-in framework for Autodesk® 3ds Max®, at SIGGRAPH 2010, July 27 -- 29 in Los Angeles. Its exponential increase in scene fidelity comes at no expense to the level of interactivity that artists and designers have come to expect from the fast, but visually inferior technique of rasterization. "With the introduction of Brazil for Developers, SplutterFish are proving how real-time, interactive ray tracing is so much more effective over rasterization during the modeling or lighting of three-dimensional scenes," said James McCombe, co-founder and CTO of Caustic Graphics. "Brazil for Developers allows for easy and flexible integration into new and existing application software, and affords the artist or designer with a very high degree of visual realism, at the earliest stages of 3D content creation." "Caustic surprised the industry with OpenRL, the company's open API for ray tracing. Caustic is now ready to unveil the potential for OpenRL with the introduction of Brazil for Developers," said Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research, specialists in the graphics industry and technology. "Brazil for Developers will enable customers to integrate the full-function renderer Brazil into their products as a plug-in. With this development, Caustic is providing a new and very interesting alternative for developers looking for rendering technology." Some quick facts about Brazil for Developers Provides a simple high-level API for rapid deployment, but allows unlimited customizability;Provides Modular, Object-Oriented design with C++ source code and documentation;Designed for complete interactivity with no noticeable delays for scene upload or reconstruction;Contains powerful and flexible geometry, material, lighting, and effects systems;Includes a suite of tools for debugging and tuning your renderer;About Brazil Brazil r/s was created by the original SplutterFish team, who are credited for taking the 3D graphics community by storm when they launched this first fully integrated renderer in 2000. Subsequently Brazil r/s has become the gold standard for high-end production rendering for Autodesk's 3ds Max and McNeel & Associates' Rhino. It is widely used by A-List studios for rendering in feature films, games development, architectural rendering, and other visualization applications. About OpenRL OpenRL (Open Ray Tracing Library) is the world's first specification for writing ray tracing applications that have standardized access to a wide range of graphics hardware devices from AMD®, Intel®, and NVIDIA®, as well as Caustic Graphics. In the past, developers were forced to program their ray tracing applications "to the metal" by writing to each specific device or accept "vendor lock-in" by using a proprietary closed standard that is limited to a specific subset of hardware. In direct contrast to these expensive and redundant coding methods, OpenRL is a cross-OS, cross-platform API that provides a flexible foundation upon which many different applications can be built. It takes advantage of multiple heterogeneous compute devices simultaneously, so that all CPU, GPU, and RTU (ray tracing unit) cores are fully utilized during the rendering process. Interested developers can evaluate OpenRL by registering at www.caustic.com. About Caustic Graphics Caustic Graphics, the creators of the OpenRL framework specification, is reinventing ray tracing and changing how interactive cinema-quality 3D graphics are produced, used, and enjoyed. Caustic's customers currently include AfterCad, Autodesk, Strata, e-on, LightWork Design, Open Design Alliance, and Robert McNeel & Associates. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.caustic.com Autodesk and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Caustic Graphics, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:00 pm

Pentagon Says Bradley Manning a Possible Suspect in Afghan Leak

The Pentagon regards Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning as a possible suspect in leaking a classified six-year history of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan that Wikileaks published over the weekend.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:50 pm

CTIA-The Wireless Association® Statement on House Passage of 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

WASHINGTON, July 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (H.R. 3101), CTIA-The Wireless Association® President and CEO Steve Largent released the following statement: (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-a) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-a) "As America recognizes today's 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we are pleased the House passed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. CTIA and the wireless industry have worked with Congressman Markey and the bi-partisan leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee to develop a bill that ensures that every American has access to, and benefits from, wireless products and services. "The wireless industry will continue to provide every American with the most innovative in wireless technology. We take this responsibility very seriously and I encourage everyone to visit CTIA's accessibility site at AccessWireless.org to learn more about the many accessible products and services our industry offers." CTIA-The Wireless Association® (www.ctia.org) is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry's voluntary best practices and initiatives, and sponsors the industry's leading wireless tradeshows. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, DC. SOURCE CTIA-The Wireless Association
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:45 pm

Apple: iPhone 4 available in 17 additional countries starting July 30

Section: Apple, Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones

During Apple’s last press event, Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 would be launched into 17 additional markets starting July 30.  Since the press event largely focused on the iPhone 4s antennagate issue, not much attention was given to the additional iPhone 4 launches.  However, in a press release today, Apple is reminding us of the 17 different countries that are expected to launch the iPhone 4 by Friday.  The 17 countries include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.  Customers can purchase Apple’s latest smartphone through Apple retail stores, Apple’s online store, and authorized Apple retailers.  As of now, the iPhone 4 is currently available in France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US.  Pricing for the iPhone 4 in the newly launched markets should be $199 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 32GB version. 

The full press release can be read below.

Via [PR Newswire]

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/—Apple’s iPhone® 4 will be available in 17 more countries this Friday, July 30. iPhone 4 features FaceTime®, which makes video calling as easy as one tap, Apple’s new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in stunning text, images and video, and a beautiful all-new design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest smartphone in the world.
Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. iPhone 4 will be available for purchase through Apple’s retail and online stores and Apple® Authorized Resellers.
iPhone 4 also features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD 720p video recording, Apple’s A4 processor, a 3-axis gyro and up to 40 percent longer talk time.* iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which features Multitasking, Folders, enhanced Mail, deeper Enterprise support and Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform.
Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4 will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland this Friday, July 30.
iPhone 4 is currently available in France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model. iPhone 4 will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.
*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPhone and FaceTime are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:44 pm

CTIA-The Wireless Association® Statement on Library of Congress Exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

WASHINGTON, July 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After the U.S. Library of Congress issued exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copy Act (DMCA), CTIA-The Wireless Association® Senior Vice President and General Counsel Michael Altschul released the following statement: (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-a) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-a) "Today's decision by the Library of Congress limits the copyright protection previously afforded handset makers and applications developers when users chose to modify the software on their wireless devices. While some consumers may welcome the elimination of these copyright protections when considering new applications and features for their wireless devices, they still need to review the terms of service from their carrier and device manufacturer since altering the underlying source code may void the manufacturer's warranties and adversely affect how the device operates on a wireless network. "Wireless carriers and handset makers go to great lengths to protect their customer's privacy by blocking spam, filtering for viruses, and testing software that is sold through their portals. Unfortunately, 'jailbreaking,' or other modifications to a wireless phone's operating system, increases a consumer's risk for malware, spyware and other vulnerabilities." CTIA-The Wireless Association® (www.ctia.org) is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry's voluntary best practices and initiatives, and sponsors the industry's leading wireless tradeshows. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, DC. SOURCE CTIA-The Wireless Association
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:42 pm

Android Users Aren't As Disloyal As Reported

ergo98 writes "As we discussed recently, a CNN article had a statement that '77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone.' This was a gross misrepresentation. The CNN story now has up this note: 'Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that 20% of Android customers say they'll buy another Android phone. The survey actually revealed that 20% of all smartphone customers say they'll buy an Android phone.' The Yankee Group has further sought to clarify the situation by saying that the 20% are people who explicitly said they would buy a 'Google-branded' phone (which excludes the overwhelming majority of popular Android phones) — as Google gets out of the business of selling branded phones. Summarizing their position on Android: 'Yankee Group still believes that Android will become the next breakout mobile phone platform, making it the third most popular platform behind iPhone and RIM's Blackberry in installed base for at least the next five years.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:40 pm

Light summer reading: entertaining legal opinions

Last November, we added legal opinions to Google Scholar. Legal opinions consider serious issues and help refine the laws that govern our country—but they can also be surprisingly entertaining. We’ve shared some of these for your summer reading pleasure on the Google Scholar blog.

Read the rest on the Google Scholar blog.

Posted by Anurag Acharya, Distinguished Engineer
Source: The Official Google Blog | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:33 pm

Exclusive: Is Yahoo Japan Poised to Switch to Google Search? [BoomTown]

In what would be a stunning blow to the massive search alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo, Google is apparently zeroing in on a deal to grab the algorithmic search business for Yahoo Japan, said several sources.

The agreement between Yahoo Japan and the U.S. search giant could be announced as early as today in Japan, sources said, and could be part of a larger deal between the two companies around mobile or other products.

Financial terms of such a deal were unclear.

News of the deal could come when Yahoo Japan announces its financial results at 3:10 pm Japan time on July 27, which is 11:10 pm PT today.

If Google (GOOG) and Yahoo Japan join together, the pair will control almost the entire market share of search in the Japanese market. It is not clear whether or not paid search is part of this deal at this time.

But in search query volume, Yahoo Japan currently has just over a 53 percent share of the search market and Google has just over 38 percent.

It is a monopoly in comparison to Microsoft, which has almost a three percent share.

Yahoo Japan is not actually owned by Yahoo, which holds a 35 percent stake. SoftBank Corp. has a stake of around 40 percent.

Both SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son–one of the first key investors in Yahoo–and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang sit on the board of Yahoo Japan, which is operated independently and run by President and CEO Masahiro Inoue.

When Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT) struck their wide-ranging search and online advertising partnership last year, Yahoo Japan–which now uses Yahoo technology for algorithmic search–was free to pick whatever search service it wanted.

That meant it was not obligated to use Microsoft’s Bing technology, which will be powering Yahoo in the U.S. by the end of the year, as well as in many other countries where Yahoo operates.

But, because Yahoo Japan is its own entity, any such deal was to be negotiated among the parties, putting Yahoo Japan in play, much as if it were AOL (AOL) or News Corp. (NWS) unit MySpace in the U.S.

Both those companies signed search deals with Google–and both are also now up for renewal.

Coincidentally, Bing just entered the Japan market with its branded search, but it has only a small share there.

And, ironically, Yahoo Japan’s Inoue said in an interview in January with a Japanese news organization that he was not impressed with some other Google services, such as its Street View mapping service.

In any case, if Yahoo Japan and Google do buddy up, it’s clear that Microsoft will likely try to block the deal from gaining regulatory approval in Japan, much in the same way it did successfully when Google tried to enter into a deal with Yahoo in the U.S. in 2008.

That deal crashed and burned after government opposition became evident.

It will also be interesting to see which search technology the Alibaba Group, which owns Yahoo’s name in China and of which Yahoo itself owns 40 percent, will select or if it will do search on its own.

Like Yahoo Japan, Alibaba–which is using Yahoo’s search and email technology now–is also not obligated to switch to Bing when Yahoo does. Such a deal is also subject to negotiation.

That said, Google’s relations with China remain tense, which could play a role in any talks with Alibaba.

Emails and calls to spokespeople at Yahoo, Yahoo Japan and SoftBank seeking confirmation were not returned as yet. Microsoft declined to comment.

Source: All Things Digital | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:53 pm

How Cyber Spies Infiltrate Business Systems

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Bob Violino reports on the quiet threat to today's business: cyber spies on network systems. According to observers, 75 percent of companies have been infected with undetected, targeted attacks — ones that typically exploit multiple weaknesses with the ultimate goal of compromising a specific account. Such attacks often begin by correlating publicly available information to access a single system. From there, the entire environment can be gradually traversed enabling attackers to place monitoring software in out-of-the-way systems, such as log servers, where IT often doesn't look for intrusions. 'They collect the data and send it out, such as via FTP, in small amounts over time, so they don't rise over the noise of normal traffic and call attention to themselves,' Violino writes. 'There's probably no way you can completely protect your organization against the increasingly sophisticated attacks by foreign and domestic spies. That's especially true if the attacks are coming from foreign governments, because nations have resources that most companies do not possess.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:52 pm

Google Places a Bigger Bet on Local Business Guide [Voices]

By John Murrell

Google updated its Maps for mobile application today with a feature providing quick, location-based access to Places, its listing of local businesses and customer reviews. The move is a further foray into the territory of Yelp, which turned down a reported $500 million buyout bid from the search giant, and in an amusing twist, many of the reviews appearing in the Places directory are scraped straight off of Yelp.

Source: All Things Digital | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:44 pm

Two extremely well-designed wall clocks for your consumption

These two wall clocks, both designed by Giha Woo and Shingoeun for German design festival DMY 2010 (previously, previouslier), are dual pinnacles of elegance. The integration of the batteries on the right clock is so simple and fun that it makes me want one immediately. The Bent clock on the left is a bit more conceptual, but can’t you see one of these being installed in newsrooms around the country? Brilliant!

[both via Dezeen]

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:30 pm

Gadgetell Review: Bowers & Wilkins P5 Headphones, amazingness!

Section: Audio, Headphones, Portable Audio, Reviews, Features

Yes amazingness. No it is not a real word, but it is the only way to describe the quality, build, comfort, and sound of the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) P5 headphones.

Quality/build:
Here’s the rundown: memory-foam-padded earphones, sheepskin earcups, interchangeable cables, no exposed ports, detachable earpads (but there aren’t replacement pads available), magnetic coupling. The price is a steep $300, but the quality certainly equals the price. There is also an integrated in-line microphone, volume control, and remote for use with your iPhone and iPods (though over-the-ear headphones seem a bit bulky for me to air with my iPod on-the-go). If you don’t have a compatible iPhone or iPod there is also a shorter cable included, as well as 1/8 connector for home audio system or DJ equipment.

Technology/Sound:
There are two types on noise canceling headphone technologies available: active (Bose QuietComfort 3) and passive (the P5’s). The P5’s remove external noise by absorbing sound and fitting snugly against your ear. I find this to result in a truer reproduction of the sound, though certainly not as quiet as Bose headphones.

From a sound perspective, they were just as one would hope. As expected from B&W, lighter sample tracks such as Norah Jones, classical symphonies, and contemporary rock (The Fray, Straight No Chaser)  all sounded great. The lyrics and accompaniments sounded great. My real challenge for the headphones was when I moved to bass heavy tracks from Akon and more complex rock (DMB, Coldplay). Surprisingly the lows were dead-on and left me extremely satisfied, while the high notes and mid-ranges were crystal clear ... as expected

Overall:
From a speaker company that certainly knows a thing or two about sound quality, they have truely outdown themselves with there first entry into personal audio. Don’t believe me? Think I’m getting paid to say this? Head into a store and listen for yourself - the only money you’ll be hoping for is an extra $300 to grab a pair for yourself.

4.5/5

Product [Bowers-Wilkins]

Full Story » | Written by Adam Berger for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:30 pm

Too Much Multiplayer In Today's Games?

hornedrat writes "Gamepro discusses the idea that modern games put too much emphasis on multiplayer, and that players aren't as concerned about it as developers think. 'The current environment encourages developers to unnecessarily toss multiplayer into their games without caring about it — or even considering whether anyone will bother playing it. It’s like they're checking an invisible quota box that demands multiplayer's inclusion.' Personally I agree that too much emphasis is placed on competitive multiplayer. I play online, but only with my brother in games that allow co-operative modes, like Rainbow Six: Vegas and ARMA 2. 'My point isn't that developers shouldn't try and conquer Halo or Call of Duty. We'd never have any progress in this industry if developers didn't compete. Game companies, however, should think carefully about what they want their games to be, and more important, gamers should consider what they want. If a developer wants to eclipse Halo, then by all means, pour that effort into a multiplayer mode that's different.' I would be interested to know how many gamers really care about the multiplayer components of the games they buy."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:29 pm

The Flowlab 14-wheel skateboard – can it possibly work?

I’m not a skateboarder, but I’ve been in the world long enough to be skeptical of designs that leapfrog existing ones in weird ways. This one, for instance, trades the ability to flex the deck for a number of extra wheels, supposedly making it possible to carve at a lower angle than on a traditional board. Can such a design really be practical?

Well, practical isn’t the word, really. There’s nothing practical about serious skateboarding — it’s for kicks. The question becomes, then, is this design going to catapult more skaters to the pavement than whatever they’re currently riding?

They say:

Years of experimentation resulted in the geometry that allows a device with no moving parts to simulate the fluid motion of snowboarding or surfing on land.

The engineering at least looks well-thought-out, but I suspect that leaning into a turn isn’t nearly as smooth, since the board doesn’t flex at all, but rotates. Whether that difference is discernable is a question for someone more skatey than myself. Any skaters out there have any insight here?

[via Gizmodo, Dvice and Neatorama]

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:12 pm

Presenting...The Grizzly Bear

Naturalist Mark Fraser today shares a breathtaking video on the grizzly bear.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:07 pm

Charter to Hold Conference Call to Discuss Second Quarter 2010 Financial and Operating Results

ST. LOUIS, July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Charter Communications, Inc. (the "Company" or "Charter") will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 4, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) to discuss financial and operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. A press release reporting such results will be issued at 8:00 a.m. ET that day. The conference call will be webcast live via the Company's website at charter.com. The webcast can be accessed by selecting "Investor & News Center" from the lower menu on the home page. The call will be archived in the "Investor & News Center" in the "Financial Information" section on the left beginning two hours after completion of the call. Participants should go to the call link no later than 10 minutes prior to the start time to register. Those participating via telephone should dial 866-726-7983 no later than 10 minutes prior to the call. International participants should dial 706-758-7055. The passcode for the call is 85580395. A replay of the call will be available at 800-642-1687 or 706-645-9291 beginning two hours after the completion of the call through the end of business on August 18, 2010. The passcode for the replay is 85580395. About Charter Charter Communications, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CCMM) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV(TM) video entertainment programming, Charter Internet(TM) access, and Charter Phone(TM). Charter Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone and video and music entertainment services. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand. More information about Charter can be found at charter.com. SOURCE Charter Communications, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:05 pm

A New Take On the Fermi Paradox

TravisTR points out some new research that aims to update and supplement the Fermi paradox — the idea that if intelligent life was as common as we expect, we should have detected it by now. The academic paper (PDF) from scientists at the National Technical University of Ukraine is based on the idea that civilizations can't expand forever on their own. The authors make the assumption that an isolated civilization will eventually die out or go dark through some other means, which leads to some interesting models of intergalactic colonization. "In certain circumstances, however, when civilizations are close enough together in time and space, they can come into contact and when this happens the cross-fertilization of ideas and cultures allows them both to flourish in a way that increases their combined lifespan. ... Bezsudnov and Snarskii say that for certain values of these parameters, the universe undergoes a phase change from one in which civilizations tend not to meet and spread into one in which the entire universe tends to become civilized as different groups meet and spread. Bezsudnov and Snarskii even derive an inequality that a universe must satisfy to become civilized. This, they say, is analogous to the famous Drake equation which attempts to quantify the number of other contactable civilizations in the universe right now."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:03 pm

ZST Digital Networks, Inc. to Hold Annual Meeting of Stockholders

ZHENGZHOU, China, July 26 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- ZST Digital Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZSTN) ("ZST" or the "Company"), a major developer, manufacturer and supplier of digital and optical network equipment to cable system operators in China, today announced that the 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company will be held at the Company's principal executive offices located at 206 Tongbo Street, Boyaxicheng Second Floor, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, People's Republic of China 450007, on August 23, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. local time. For further information, including proxy materials for download, please visit the Company's website at http://www.shenyangkeji.com . About ZST Digital Networks, Inc. ZST Digital Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZSTN) is a China-based company, principally engaged in supplying digital and optical network equipment and providing installation services to cable system operators in China. The Company has developed a line of IPTV devices that are used to provide bundled cable television, Internet and telephone services to residential and commercial customers. The Company has assisted in the installation and construction of over 400 local cable networks in more than 90 municipal districts, counties, townships, and enterprises. The Company has also launched a commercial line of GPS devices and support services for transport-related enterprises to track, monitor and optimize their businesses. For more information about ZST Digital Networks, Inc., please visit http://www.shenyangkeji.com . Forward-Looking Statements Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain of the statements made in the press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "project," "plan," "seek," "intend," or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology. Such statements typically involve risks and uncertainties and may include financial projections or information regarding the progress of new product development. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including our ability to maintain and increase revenues and sales of our products; our ability to develop and market new products; our strategic investments and acquisitions; compliances and changes in the laws of the People's Republic of China (the "PRC") that affect our operations; our ability to obtain all necessary government certifications and/or licenses to conduct our business; vulnerability of our business to general economic downturn, especially in the PRC; adverse capital and credit market conditions and our ability to meet liquidity needs; and other risk factors detailed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. For more information, please contact: ZST Digital Networks, Inc. John Chen, CFO Email: jchen@shenyangkeji.com Investor Relations (HK): Ruby Yim Taylor Rafferty Phone: +852-3196-3712 Email: zstdigital@taylor-rafferty.com Investor Relations (US): Mahmoud Siddig, Director Taylor Rafferty Phone: +1-212-889-4350 Email: zstdigital@taylor-rafferty.com Investor Relations (US): BPC Financial Marketing John Baldissera Phone: +1-800-368-1217 SOURCE ZST Digital Networks, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:55 pm

iPad Owners Are 'Selfish Elites.' Critics Are 'Independent Geeks.' Discuss.

According to a survey of more than 20,000 internet users, iPad owners are uncaring elites, while those who denigrate the device lack sex appeal. That's about what our personal anecdotal experience has been ...

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:53 pm

Google Updates Plans to Sell Applications to Federal Government - Wall Street Journal

Moneycontrol.com

Google Updates Plans to Sell Applications to Federal Government Wall Street Journal Google Inc. announced plans to sell special email, word-processing and other services to government agencies, keeping data generated by those applications in a system in the US that is segregated from customers outside the government. ... Google Apps for Government Meets Federal Security StandardeWeek Google Says L.A. Cloud Apps Project Still On TrackChannelWeb Google: Good enough for government workLos Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle -Register -BetaNews all 464 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:41 pm

Space station astronaut gives first sign language address - msnbc.com

CNN International

Space station astronaut gives first sign language address msnbc.com In this still from a NASA video, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson signs to deaf students, in the first sign language address from the International Space Station. by Zoe Macintosh An astronaut living in orbit has delivered the International Space ... objects float away from space stationCNN Student-designed experiments to go to ISSUPI.com Recasting the debate about commercial crewThe Space Review Brahmand Defence and Aerospace News -iAfrica.com -The Voice of Russia all 19 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:35 pm

Using photography software to see through space and time

It’s interesting to see pictures of areas of your city or town from the past, and it can be even more interesting to try to reproduce those pictures. Typically, it’s very difficult to get everything to line up exactly right, but researchers at MIT are developing software to automate the process.

The official name is “computational rephotography”, and it involves finding the exact same location that the original picture was taken. At the present time, the MIT software is only a concept, and requires a laptop to use. The software connects to a digital camera, and then allows the user to make sure that everything lines up properly. As Gadget Lab suggests, why not put the technology into the camera? Given that many cameras panorama software, or smile recognition already built in, it can’t be that difficult right? Personally, I just want a copy of the software. Sounds like fun to me.

Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:30 pm

Android Market rumored to soon get additional carrier billing support

Section: Business News, Communications, Smartphones, Mobile

As of last year T-Mobile began allowing customers to make a purchase from the Android Market and have the purchase billed to their monthly account. And since then they have remained the only carrier that supports carrier billing. Basically, this means Android users would no longer need to have a Google Checkout account with their credit card on file.

But now, it looks like that same support may soon be coming to other carriers as well. The news is coming by way of a recent message that was posted on the Google Android Developers Blog that mentioned “new payment options.” So maybe Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or all three. 

Personally, not having carrier billing does not seem like all that much of an inconvenience, but I suppose more options are always better. Not to mention, I would rather have my purchases billed at the time I purchase as opposed to running a total and paying on my next months bill—no surprise this way.

Read [Forbes] and [Android Developers Blog]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:20 pm

Why SSDs Won't Replace Hard Drives

storagedude writes "Flash drive capacities have been expanding dramatically in recent years, but this article says that's about to change, in part because of the limits of current lithography technology. Meanwhile, disk drive densities will continue to grow, which the author says will mean many years before solid state drives replace hard drives — if they ever do. From the article: 'The bottom line is that there are limits to how small things can get with current technology. Flash densities are going to have data density growth problems, just as other storage technologies have had over the last 30 years. This should surprise no one. And the lithography problem for flash doesn't end there. Jeff Layton, Enterprise Technologist for HPC at Dell, notes that as lithography gets smaller, NAND has more and more troubles — the voltages don't decrease, so the probability of causing an accidental data corruption of a neighboring NAND goes up. "So at some point, you just can't reduce the size and hope to not have data corruption," notes Layton.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:18 pm

How will Apple respond to the DMCA revision? They won’t.

Today’s adjustment of the DMCA has far-reaching legal implications, which will only be evident after a few weeks, months, or even years as various parties exploit them however they can. I’m going to let the experts play in that sandbox. But one of the new rules seems to have had a specific target in mind: Apple. To wit:

“(2) Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.”

The language is a bit confusing, but the end result is the legalization of jailbreaking your phone and side-loading apps. Not that it was ever illegal, although some Apple store employees thought otherwise. Now that it’s been made official, however, one might reasonably expect a bit of give from Apple on this point, since they have taken such great measures to prevent such actions. But I’m pretty sure that apart from a little lip service, Apple will continue with the exact same policies, with the sort of blithe arrogance that simultaneously compels and repels consumers.

Continue reading…

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:08 pm

Digging Into Wikileaks' Afghan War Log

Stay tuned to Danger Room's continued coverage of the unfolding Wikileaks story.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:50 pm

Alternate Disk-Tractions: Flash Gordon Blu-ray review

FROM GAMERTELL - If you don’t already own Flash Gordon, the Blu-ray release is the way to go. But if you already have another edition, there’s little here beyond 1080p to justify the upgrade.
MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:33 pm

OLED Shortage Forces HTC to Switch Displays

The new HTC phones coming this summer will include a technology called SLCD, or Super LCD, instead of the newer organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays used in some current-model smartphones.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:25 pm

OLED Shortage Forces HTC to Switch Displays

The new HTC phones coming this summer will include a technology called SLCD, or Super LCD, instead of the newer organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays used in some current-model smartphones.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:25 pm

Unlucky Thief Caught 10 Minutes After Stealing iPhone

You’d think people would learn.

Last week, a man grabbed an iPhone out of the hands of a woman standing on a San Francisco city street, then sped off on his bicycle.

Ten minutes later, he was in custody of the police. It was his bad luck that the victim had been in the middle of testing a GPS-tracking app, and the app was running on the phone at that very moment.

She returned to the office, called the police, and was able to give them the exact location of the iPhone because the app was still running.

“This reminds me of the bank robber who arrives during the security test,” said the phone’s owner, David Kahn, in the newspaper report. Kahn is the CEO of Covia Labs, and had given the phone to another person in order to demonstrate his company’s GPS-tracking capabilities.

The would-be thief isn’t the first phone grabber to be nabbed thanks to GPS. In 2007, the town of Babylon on New York’s Long Island was able to retrieve 14 stolen city phones, thanks to GPS tracking. A company called GadgetTrak has a whole page of devices retrieved using GPS and the company’s software. Apple offers a “find my iPhone” feature with its optional, $100/year MobileMe service, and similar services are available for other GPS-enabled phones.

And don’t forget that Brian Hogan was tracked down by the authorities after allegedly taking home a prototype iPhone he found in a bar, thus kicking off one of the biggest gadget stories of the year.

For now, the odds are probably still in phone-snatchers’ favor: You have to have a GPS-capable phone, and you need to have some kind of tracking app or service turned on before you lose the phone. But over time, an increasing number of phones are going to be trackable, whether they are stolen or simply lost in the trash.

Thieves should probably start to think twice before snatching a phone out of someone’s hand.

Unluckiest thief nabs iPhone with GPS tracker (San Francisco Chronicle)

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Follow us for real-time tech news: Dylan Tweney and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:17 pm

Acer Stream Android smartphone available August 9th for £399

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile

Despite already having seen the listing on the Expansys website, Acer has officially announced the release plans for the Acer Stream. The handset will be available for those in the UK by way of online retailer Expansys where it will be selling for £399 (roughly $615 US). This comes with some good news and bad news though. First, the handset will be available August 9th, but its only going to be available with Expansys. Otherwise the phone comes touting features such as a 3.7 inch AMOLED display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording, microSD card slot and HDMI out.

Keep reading to check out the full press release…

 
Acer Stream: THE PERFECT ENTERTAINMENT SMARTPHONE

London, 26th July 2010: Acer Stream is a high-end multimedia smartphone, optimized for watching movies, listening to music and enjoying web browsing – perfect for most demanding users who want the best in entertainment.

Elegant and minimalist in design, Acer Stream is made from highly resistant materials and offers truly outstanding technical features, all in just 11.2 mm, ensuring users a unique, unrepeatable experience, due to the following:

Superb display quality: the touch screen with AMOLED technology boasts 1.67 million exceptionally bright colors, through a generous 3.7” WVGA display. Furthermore, its incredible contrast (superior 2000:1) makes for clear images and perfect legibility in any environment and light condition. Moreover, this type of display consumes less energy to help increase battery life.

Ultrafast connectivity 3G+ for streaming: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps in download, Bluetooth and WiFi n, enabling faster transmission of multimedia contents than ever!

Power and performance: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor, with its 512 MB RAM, makes Acer Stream one of the fastest and most reactive phones on the market. The operating system behind Stream is Android version 2.1, better known as Éclair.

Unique and high-quality multimedia features, enabling the recording of HD videos up to 720p. Listening to your favorite music or the radio with RDS has never been so pleasant; enjoy the Dolby Mobile quality, with powerful bass and crystal-clear clarity for an unparalleled purity of sound. UPnP technology enables sharing contents with other devices. Furthermore, a 5MP photocamera and integrated GPS system allow photos and videos to be geotagged. Last but not least, you can connect the Acer Stream to your home TV with HDMI port and watch a movie on a larger screen.

Extensive memory! 2GB of internal Flash memory are ideal for downloading a lot of applications and 3D games, while an 8GB memory card as free bundle and a micro-SD card slot support up to 32GB enable users to avail of their favorite multimedia contents at all times.

A completely brand new user interface focalized on what is essential to users and able to guarantee a simple and quick access to all the applications. The new Acer user interface will wrap the user up giving pure pleasure in using the phone and enjoying the discovery of all the stunning things he can do with his Acer Stream!

Main benefits:
  _Read information straight from the lock screen’s widget;
  _Quickly start favorite applications in one touch;
  _Easily switch applications with the History panel;
  _Customize the phone according to specific needs;
  _Enjoy smooth animations and fine graphics.

Coupled with a three types of predictive keyboards, a smart dialer and a redesigned contacts list, the Acer user interface makes the use of smartphone an efficient and delightful experience.

Social and entertaining: All the most popular applications are pre-installed: Acer Spinlets free streaming service to browse and listen to songs from major music labels and instantly post what you find to your favorite Social Networking sites, nemo Player to enjoy multimedia content to the fullest, Acer urFooz to create your virtual “look-a-like”, add your profile and bookmarks and post it to your social networks, Facebook™ and Twidroid perfectly integrated in the phone address.

Acer Stream, a concentration of fun and entertainment! Open your eyes and start enjoying yourself with the best entertainment smartphone on the market.

The Acer Stream will be available as of the 9th August exclusively from online retailer eXpansys for an RRP of £399 Inc Vat.

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:15 pm

American McGee Revisits Nightmare Wonderland With 'Alice: Madness Returns'

The man famous for turning our most cherished childhood stories into vividly twisted videogames takes another stab at Lewis Carroll's most adventurous character.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:15 pm

Kepler Scientist: 'Galaxy is Rich in Earth-Like Planets'

A Kepler co-investigator has preempted the official announcement and leaked that the exoplanet-hunting space telescope has discovered about 140 Earth-like candidate worlds orbiting other stars.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:09 pm

Good Connection Really Does Lead to Mind Meld

Brain scans of a speaker and listener showed their neural activity synchronizing during storytelling. The stronger their reported connection, the closer the coupling.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 2:00 pm

Results Show Interactive Old Spice Ads Work

Sales of Old Spice have more than doubled since the brand launched its viral video sensation featuring Isaiah Mustafa addressing his viewers directly in near-real-time.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 1:35 pm

Comic-Con Costumes: Don't Forget the Pee Hole!

Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet), Beau Garret (Tron: Legacy), Mike Relm and others weigh in on what you should and should not do when creating your custom Comic-Con costume.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 1:30 pm

San Francisco Cellphone Radiation Law Unconstitutional, Claims CTIA

San Francisco passed a new law last month that requires all retailers to display the amount of radiation a cellphone emits. Predictably, that law is now coming under fire from CTIA, the wireless industry group. CTIA has filed a lawsuit to block enforcement of the ordinance.

“The ordinance misleads consumers by creating the false impression that the FCC’s standards are insufficient and some phones are safer than others based on their radio frequency emissions,” says CTIA, which seems geared up for this battle.

CTIA has already canceled plans to hold future conferences of its ‘Enterprise and Applications’ show in the city. The event this October will be the last one CTIA will have in San Francisco in the “foreseeable future,” it has said.

The effect of radiation from cellphones on users has become a highly contentious issue. As consumers become increasingly glued to their phones, researchers, environmental organizations and cellphone industry groups are debating the question of what exactly is the impact of the radiation emitted from the phones. So far, there has been no conclusive answer.

In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets the acceptable radiation standards for cellphones. As part of the device certification process, all handset makers have to use an independent lab to test radiation emissions from the phone. The certificates and radiation levels are displayed on the FCC’s site along with the product details but they are not easily accessible to consumers.

Earlier this year, a non-profit organization called the Environmental Working Group created a database where customers can look up the Specific Absorption Rate–the rate at which energy is absorbed by a mass of tissue, a measure of radiation emitted–for their phones. San Francisco’s ordinance steps it up by requiring retailers to display this information in stores.

That doesn’t help consumers, says CTIA.

“The problem with the San Francisco ordinance is not the disclosure of wireless phone SAR values–that information is already publicly available,” says CTIA Vice President of Public Affairs John Walls in a statement. “CTIA’s objection is that displaying a phone’s SAR value at the point-of-sale suggests to the consumer that there is a meaningful safety distinction between FCC-compliant devices with different SAR levels.”

“The ordinance is not only scientifically unsupported, it violates the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the United States Constitution and must be stricken,” says CTIA.

San Francisco city officials are fighting back.

“I am disappointed that the association representing the wireless communication  industry has decided to challenge our landmark consumer information law in court,” Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco says in his statement. “This law is not an attack on the wireless industry or their products.”

See Also:

• Study Reveals How Much Cellphone Radiation You’re Getting
• Inside a Cellphone Radiation Testing Lab
• Video: Cellphone Radiation Pops Popcorn
• Cellphone Use Changes the Brain, Say Scientists
• Inside Apple’s Antenna Design Lab
• Nothing to Fear From Wi-Fi Radiation

Photo: Inside a cellphone radiation testing lab (Priya Ganapati/ Wired.com)

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 1:07 pm

iPhone Appidemic: MonotoriCam

FROM APPLETELL - MonotoriCam is an application designed to bring an easy depth of field effect to the iPhone. However, since it only does this one type of editing, it could get old fast.
MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 1:00 pm

Android 3.0 and beyond start making surprise appearances

While most of the Android-carrying world still waits on the edge of their seat for Android 2.2 (Froyo) to grace their handsets, a handful of engineers over in Mountain View are already hard at work on their next big thing: Android 3.0 (Gingerbread).

Gingerbread, it seems, is getting far enough along in its development cycle that at least one or two engineers have it up and running on their kits.

GreeneComputing, developers of the LINPACK benchmarking software for Android, were running some analytics on their app usage logs and uncovered a few little gems: in between all the Android 2.2 users (which made up 43.1%) and Android 2.1 users (which made up 39.8%), a few users appeared to be running something special: Android 3.0. Oh, and Android 3.0.1, and 3.2, for that matter.

Before you get too excited: 3.0.1 and 3.2 are likely near identical copies of 3.0 at this point, just separated out onto individual branches for the sake of developing them in parallel. Still, that means Google’s got at least one minor and one small-but-still-pretty-notable update on the drawing board already — and we can’t wait for either, much less the big 3.0 itself.

[Via DroidDog]

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 12:57 pm

Citi Discloses Security Flaw in Its iPhone App - Wall Street Journal

Reuters India

Citi Discloses Security Flaw in Its iPhone App Wall Street Journal Citigroup Inc. said its free US mobile-banking application for Apple Inc.'s iPhone contained a security flaw and advised its customers to upgrade to a newer version that corrects the problem. In an incident that highlights the ... Citi confirms critical bug in iPhone mobile banking appComputerworld Citi plugs privacy hole in iPhone banking appCNET Kaching! Citibank admits to security flaw in its iPhone appVentureBeat Register -New York Daily News -FOXNews all 240 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jul 2010 | 12:55 pm

T-Mobile myTouch 3G now free on a two-year agreement

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile

The T-Mobile myTouch 3G may not be the newest Android phone on the market, but sometimes its hard to argue with price. And given T-Mobile has just lowered the myTouch 3G (in black or white) down to the magical price of free its looking pretty good. Of course, this should almost go without saying, but that is free on contract which means a two-year agreement. Otherwise, the myTouch 3G features goodies such as a 3.2 inch HVGA display, 528Mhz Qualcomm processor, 3.2 megapixel camera, 1340 mAh battery and ships with an 8GB microSD card.

Product [T-Mobile]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jul 2010 | 12:38 pm

OLED Shortage Forces HTC to Switch Displays

Smartphone maker HTC is switching back to older LCD technology for some of its smartphones because of a shortage of active-matrix OLED displays.

The new crop of HTC phones coming this summer will include a technology called SLCD, or Super LCD, instead of the newer organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays used in several current-model smartphones, including the HTC Desire and the Google-designed, HTC-built Nexus One.

HTC says SLCD will give consumers a visual experience comparable to HTC’s current 3.7-inch OLED displays. SLCDs will also offer better battery performance, contrast and more-natural balanced color than AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) displays, says the company.

“HTC is experiencing high demand for many of our phones, specifically our phones with 3.7-inch displays,” Peter Chou, CEO of HTC said in a press release. “The new SLCD display technology enables us to ramp up our production capabilities quickly to meet the high demand.”

But just what exactly is Super LCD technology? Two analysts Wired.com spoke with say it may just be a marketing jargon for a variant of the traditional thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) that powers almost all mobile displays currently on the market.

“There’s Super AMOLED, Super IPS and now Super LCD,” says  Raymond Soneira, president of research and consulting firm DisplayMate Technologies. “Its like eggs in a supermarket: You can’t buy a small egg anymore. They all start at medium.”

When Google launched its Nexus One phone, the device’s AMOLED screen made a splash because of its vivid colors. Unlike LCDs, AMOLED screens are not backlit, which means they were expected to consume less power than traditional LCDs.

But they have also been plagued by problems. AMOLED screens are more difficult to read in bright sunlight when compared to LCDs.

The screens are also more expensive, and their supply is limited, says Jennifer Colegrove, director at DisplaySearch.

“AMOLED is about 20 to 50 percent more expensive than LCD,” she says, “and currently only three companies — Samsung, LG and CMEL — supply it.”

Meanwhile, Samsung has developed the Super-AMOLED display to reduce some of these flaws, make the OLED screens thinner and improve on their visibility in direct sunlight. But Super-AMOLED displays are proving to be an even scarcer component for handset makers.

HTC says the SLCD technology it is using as an substitute can meet its demand without significantly sacrificing quality. SLCD is an improvement over most other LCD panels, because it provides approximately five times better power management and offers wider viewing angles, says HTC. But those claims have yet to be tested.

Details about the SLCD technology itself are scarce and further muddled by a joint venture that Samsung and Sony set up a few years ago that has the same name. In 2004, the two companies set up a joint manufacturing venture for LCD screens and called it S-LCD. The manufacturing facility initially produced LCD screens for TVs but later began focusing extensively on mobile devices. Until now, SLCD was used to refer to the name of the Samsung-Sony manufacturing plant, rather than a specific technology, says Soneira.

But if you are itching to see the differences among all the display technologies for yourself, Mobile Tech World has linked to a video comparison of Sony SLCD vs. AMOLED and Super AMOLED.

In the video, an HTC Desire phone sporting the new SLCD panel is pitted against a Nexus One with the AMOLED display, a Motorola Droid with IPS (in-plane switching, a kind of LCD technology used by many TVs as well as Apple’s iPad), and a Samsung Wave with a Super-AMOLED display.

“I thought all the displays were really good, they all had decent color and respectable viewing angles,” says a user who did the comparison on Howard-Forums.

“The super AMOLED was noticeably less reflective than the others and was blacker with the best viewing angles. Super LCD had a superior horizontal viewing angle compared to a regular AMOLED display. The AMOLED had slightly better blacks  and slightly better vertical viewing angles. Both Super LCD and AMOLED were very reflective.”

Check out the video:

Photo: spieri_sf/Flickr

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 12:36 pm

Archaeologists Find 4th Century Roman Villa

Archaeologists have unearthed a 4th Century Roman villa near Aberystwyth. It is the most northwest villa discovered in Wales and has forced experts to reconsider the whole nature of Roman settlement across mid and north Wales. The discovery indicates Abermagwr had all the trappings of villas found further south, including a slate roof and glazed windows. "The discovery raises significant new questions," Dr Toby Driver and Dr Jeffrey Davies, excavation directors, told BBC news. The villa was most likely to have belonged to a wealthy landowner. Pottery and coin finds on the site dated back to the late 3rd and 4th Centuries AD. It was roofed with local slates and the walls were built out of local stone. The confirmation of the villa comes after Royal Commission aerial photography suggested marks of a building and a ditch that could potentially be an important historical monument. Driver and Davies conducted a geophysical survey of the field while filming for BBC2 Wales' Hidden Histories program in 2009.  The survey revealed a vast ditched enclosure and annex, as well as the buried footings of a winged stone building. This led to the 2010 excavations. Driver, of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, and Davies previously excavated at nearby Trawscoed Roman fort, which had been abandoned by AD 130. "Our trial excavations this year have confirmed the remains of an imposing Romano-British building in the heart of mid-Wales, where no Roman villas were previously known" they told BBC."Here we have a later Roman building where the owners were importing pottery, using coinage, and insisting on decorative slate roofing akin to the largest Roman villas in England.""The discovery raises significant new questions about the regional economy and society in late Roman Wales, and raises the possibility of future villa discoveries in the surrounding countryside".The villa was heavily robbed for its building stone, most likely during the medieval times. The land returned to farming and only the local name "Magwr," meaning a "ruined homestead," remained. Local landowner Huw Tudor supported the excavation and three local schools and a young archaeologists club have already visited the site. Some of the discoveries were shown off in the Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth.---Image Caption: Nant Magwr: view of stone piles on southern side of river at South edge of site; probably modern origin related to water pipe. Courtesy Royal Commission/Toby Driver---On the Net:Royal Commission - Abermagwr
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 12:17 pm

Introducing Google Apps for Government

Today we’re excited to announce a new edition of Google Apps. Designed with guidance from customers like the federal government, the City of Los Angeles and the City of Orlando, Google Apps for Government includes the same great Google applications that people know and love, with specific measures to address the policy and security needs of the public sector.

We’re also pleased to announce that Google Apps is the first suite of cloud computing applications to receive Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification and accreditation from the U.S. government. The FISMA law applies to all information systems in use by U.S. federal government agencies to help ensure they’re secure. The federal government’s General Services Administration has reviewed the documentation of our security controls and issued an authorization to operate, the official confirmation of our FISMA certification and accreditation. This review makes it easier for federal agencies to compare our security features to those of their existing systems; most agencies we have worked with have found that Google Apps provides at least equivalent, if not better, security than they have today. This means government customers can move to the cloud with confidence.

Take Berkeley Lab, a member of the national laboratory system supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. It’s managed by the University of California and conducts unclassified research across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Berkeley researchers collaborate with scientists around the world, so emailing version upon version of documents among collaborators and trying to juggle disparate files is difficult. Berkeley Lab researchers have been using Google Apps to share documents that live in the cloud, and can view and edit documents and spreadsheets simultaneously knowing they are always working from the latest information. (Read more from Berkeley Lab’s Chief Information Officer on the Enterprise blog.)

And we’re not stopping with FISMA certification. Google Apps for Government will continue to evolve to meet unique government requirements. Google Apps for Government stores Gmail and Calendar data in a segregated system located in the continental United States, exclusively for our government customers. Other applications will follow in the near future. The suite is a “community cloud”—as defined by the National Institute for Science and Technology—to support the needs of our government customers. Google Apps for Government is available now to any federal, state or local government in the United States.

With reviews of our security controls in place, government agencies can more easily take advantage of all the benefits of one of the world’s best cloud computing systems. Google’s cloud offers higher reliability, best-in-class disaster recovery and access to a steady stream of innovation—all of which can provide substantial improvements over existing systems in addition to significant cost savings. And with no hardware or software to install and maintain, Google Apps for Government allows agencies to redeploy resources to technology projects core to their mission of serving the public. This new edition should give governments an even stronger case for making the move to the cloud.

Posted by Kripa Krishnan, Technical Program Manager, Google Apps for Government
Source: The Official Google Blog | 26 Jul 2010 | 12:00 pm

New Hydrolysis Model Promising Tool In Cellulosic Biofuel Studies

Modeling the action of cellulases on cellulose to improve efficiency of sugar productionScientists are working hard to develop the tools and find the organisms to break down the complex structure of plant cellulose into its component sugars – the key step toward fermentation of those sugars into usable biofuel. This process needs to be simple and economically efficient before cellulosic biofuels can compete with fossil fuels for transportation energy use.As with any exploration of systems that involve largely unknown processes, a mechanistic model can be an important first step in improved understanding. Researchers at the Energy Biosciences Institute's (EBI) laboratories on the University of California, Berkeley, campus have improved that step, bringing science closer than ever before to predicting the deconstruction activity of enzymes towards cellulose.In a paper recently accepted by the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering, four EBI scientists at UC Berkeley – chemical engineering faculty members Doug Clark and Harvey Blanch, postdoctoral researcher Seth Levine and graduate student Jerome Fox – detail their analysis that led to the most specific model to date of the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose."It's a first step in being able to have a detailed picture of what happens between cellulases (enzyme mixtures with complementary activities) and the substrate (cellulose)," said lead author Levine. Through this better understanding of the breakdown mechanisms, he said, more directed and rational approaches can be taken to engineer effective enzymes and improve the overall process of hydrolysis.Much of the action happens at the surface of a substance like cellulose, the fibrous polysaccharide in the plant cell wall composed of hydrogen-bonded chains of the sugar glucose. Levine likens the surface to a "black box," where multiple shapes and unknown features of particles add to the complicated nature of the reactions there. Previous models relied on simple, sometimes overly broad assumptions and explained little about the chemical and physical reactions occurring there, he said.With the EBI's latest methodology, the mechanisms by which cellulases trigger the hydrolysis of cellulose were delineated in three steps – adsorption, complexation (molecular bonding) and reaction. The researchers discovered that the amount of surface area was critical for the activities of enzymes and for how well they work together in combination."The model explicitly tracks individual cellulases and key cellulose surface properties," the paper concludes. "Independent enzyme adsorption and complexation steps have been incorporated in an attempt to capture the most important details of the enzyme-substrate interaction. The model results illustrate the importance of understanding the effect of relevant surface areas to enzyme hydrolysis activity."One phenomenon they tracked was the typical decline in the sugar breakdown rates after an initial "burst" phase, a reaction that usually leads to longer processing and greater enzyme loads, a costly and time-consuming step. Their research revealed a mix of surface area, structural changes within the surface, and cellulase interactivity during hydrolysis as major contributors to the slowdown. Further refinement of the model in future investigations should uncover more details."This work confirms that despite the complexity, enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is amenable to modeling," said Clark, the principal investigator for the EBI program on "Bioprocess Optimization from Cellulose Hydrolysis to Product Fermentation." "It also shows the importance of surface area, which we can control through pre-treatment (of the cellulose). There are now a lot of levers we can play with in finding an optimal enzymatic route to break cellulose down into sugars that can be converted to fuels."Though many unknowns still remain in deciphering the complicated process that extracts sugars from plant cellulose, the EBI's mechanistic model adds a significant tool to the scientist's kit.---On the Net:University of California - BerkeleyBiotechnology and Bioengineering
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:58 am

Icy Arctic Waters Facing Acidic Threat

The icy Arctic waters around Norway's archipelago of Svalbard are facing the threat of acidity. The waters have always absorbed part of the carbon dioxide present in the air, making them acidic.  However, the scientific community is getting worried about the acidification harming marine life with CO2 levels rising. At a tiny coal mine village turned scientific outpost just 745 miles from the North Pole, researchers from nine European countries conducted an unprecedented effort in July to analyze the phenomenon. The researchers submerged nine tubes, each weighing two tons, in icy waters of the remote fjord framed by snow-capped mountains. The team then injected the water-tight tubes to reproduce sea life under different acidity levels expected from now until 2150, hoping to study the potential disastrous effects of acidification on marine life. "It's here in the Arctic that the ocean will become corrosive the fastest," Jean-Pierre Gattuso, with France's National Center for Scientific Research, told AFP news.Gattuso said the threat to the world's oceans is not as much the absolute concentration of acidity, but rather the pace at which it is changing.  He told AFP that "cold water swallows up gas faster than hot or temperate water."The ocean absorbs over a quarter of CO2 emitted by humans, which is fortunate because this natural absorption mitigates the impact the gas has on the climate. However, rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere are proving devastating to the oceans. With no sign of CO2 emissions slowing, ocean acidification will most likely increase in the years to come. Corals might have trouble shaping their skeletons, while shellfish could lose their shells. Ulf Riebesell, a German oceanographer, told AFP that not all sea creatures were equal in their ability to adapt to their increasing acid environment. "For micro-organisms which have generation times of a few days, adaptation may happen during the next 100 years or so as the ocean continues to acidify to critical levels," explained the researcher from the IFM-Geomar centre, braving glacial winds in a bright yellow padded windbreaker and a woolen hat.However, Riebesell said that for organisms with long life spans, like corals, "adaptation is much less likely because they need toss many generations to change their genetic set-up."Scientists warn about the current frantic increase of seawater acidity already causing serious problems for the pteropod. The translucent mollusk could end up without a shell in the future because of an increasingly acid environment, said Jan Buedenbender, another German researcher from the IFM-Geomar institute. He said this could have far-reaching consequences. "They're a key species for the Arctic food system because they're feeding on very small particles and on phytoplankton, and they're getting quite big and really big animals like whales and birds and fish can feed on them," he told AFP.They also are key contributors to fighting climate change because when they die they drag down all the CO2 ingested over its short lifespan with it. By doing so "they're helping the ocean take up more CO2," Buedenbender said.According to Iris Menn, a marine biologist with Greenpeace that shipped the giant test-tubes up to Svalbard, there is still a chance to save species like the pteropod. She said that in order to make a difference, industrialized countries would have to slash their CO2 emissions by 40 percent by 2020. "We can't stop the trend anyway. We will have a high level of acidity in the water no matter what," she told AFP."But what we can do is stop CO2 emissions, so the effect will be reduced."---On the Net:National Center for Scientific ResearchIFM-GeomarGreenpeace
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:57 am

World's First Full Face Transplant Patient Meets the Press

During the 24-hour-long operation, he received new facial muscles, skin, nose, lips, a jaw, teeth, a palate and cheekbones.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:55 am

Giant Rat Fossil Discovered

The largest species of rat ever discovered was about 50 percent larger than the common black rat.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:16 am

Unaccounted Feedbacks From Climate-Induced Ecosystem Changes May Increase Future Climate Warming

The terrestrial biosphere regulates atmospheric composition, and hence climate. Projections of future climate changes already account for "carbon-climate feedbacks", which means that more CO2 is released from soils in a warming climate than is taken up by plants due to photosynthesis. Climate changes will also lead to increases in the emission of CO2 and methane from wetlands, nitrous oxides from soils, volatile organic compounds from forests, and trace gases and soot from fires. All these emissions affect atmospheric chemistry, including the amount of ozone in the lower atmosphere, where it acts as a powerful greenhouse gas as well as a pollutant toxic to people and plants.Although our understanding of other feedbacks associated with climate-induced ecosystem changes is improving, the impact of these changes is not yet accounted for in climate-change modelling. An international consortium of scientists, led by Almut Arneth from Lund University, has estimated the importance of these unaccounted "biogeochemical feedbacks" in an article that appears as Advance Online Publication on Nature Geoscience's website on 25 July at 1800 London time. They estimate a total additional radiative forcing by the end of the 21st century that is large enough to offset a significant proportion of the cooling due to carbon uptake by the biosphere as a result of fertilization of plant growth.There are large uncertainties associated in these feedbacks, especially in how changes in one biogeochemical cycle will affect the other cycles, for example how changes in nitrogen cycling will affect carbon uptake. Nevertheless, as the authors point out, palaeo-environmental records show that ecosystems and trace gas emissions have responded to past climate change within decades. Contemporary observations also show that ecosystem processes respond rapidly to changes in climate and the atmospheric environment.Thus, in addition to the carbon cycle-climate interactions that have been a major focus of modelling work in recent years, other biogeochemistry feedbacks could be at least equally important for future climate change. The authors of the Nature Geoscience article argue that it is important to include these feedbacks in the next generation of Earth system models.---On the Net:University of Helsinki
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 11:13 am

Investigations Into Unintended Acceleration Should Include Engineers

Because of the electronic complexity of modern passenger vehicles, investigations into sudden, unintended acceleration should draw upon the expertise of a broad array of electrical, electronics and software engineers and computer professionals.A February 2009 IEEE Spectrum article, "This Car Runs on Code," said that a modern premium-class automobile "probably contains close to 100 million lines of software code," and "all that software executes on 70 to 100 microprocessor-based electronic control units networked throughout the body of your car." By comparison, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner "requires about 6.5 million lines of code to operate its avionics and onboard support systems.""The skilled engineers and technical professionals who design and evaluate modern vehicle systems bring not only knowledge and expertise from their specific disciplines, but also their experience and lessons learned from integrating technology into these vehicles," IEEE-USA President Evelyn Hirt said. "It goes beyond just having experience in a technology to understanding the complexity and application of that technology in its specific operating environment. This is frequently what is needed to assess why systems sometimes fail."Faulty electronic throttle control systems have been cited as a possible cause of unintended vehicle acceleration incidents that have resulted in death and injury. The Toyota Motor Corp., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) National Research Council are each conducting separate studies into unintended acceleration.NHTSA's study has enlisted "NASA engineers with expertise in areas such as computer controlled electronic systems, electromagnetic interference and software integrity." NAS' 12-member panel has, according to The Washington Post, three electronics experts and is planning to add three more. Its study will review unintended acceleration across all automotive manufacturers and investigate "electronic vehicle controls, human error, mechanical failure and interference with accelerator systems.""There is no question that any effort to investigate these incidents will clearly benefit by including engineers with a firm grasp of the complex systems threaded through today's automobiles," said Doug Taggart, chair of the IEEE-USA Committee on Transportation and Aerospace Policy.In a 6 April letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, IEEE-USA encouraged NHTSA to increase its number of electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers "to allow the agency perform the vital task of ensuring vehicle safety." On 24 May, NHTSA replied that it is "in the process of hiring a large number of engineers in response to the increased activities of the Agency."---On the Net:IEEE-USA
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:55 am

Highest X-Ray Energy Used To Probe Materials

Scientists for the first time have dived into the effect that an intense X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) has on materials.Using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) facility at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore scientists probed nitrogen gas at X-ray energies of up to 8 keV (kiloelectronvolts), the highest X-ray energy ever used at an XFEL, to see how it behaved when the laser hit it.The photoluminescence-based pulse-energy detector allowed the team to study the interaction - including electron dynamics and space charge effects - between nitrogen gas and the XFEL beam. Understanding the precise dynamics at work on these scales will forever change the understanding of chemistry, physics and materials science.The XFEL's light is so bright at 8 kilo electron volts and so fast (it has a pulse length from 10 femtoseconds to 100 femtoseconds) that LLNL scientists were able to validate the physics of simulations done using nitrogen gas. (One femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second)."The detailed physics is very important for most LCLS experiments since it determines the interpretation of the results," said Lab scientist Stefan Hau-Riege. "The unique thing about this experiment is that it was performed upstream from the LCLS mirrors, and so we had access to the full range of LCLS X-ray energies (which went up to 8 keV at the time)."The heart of the LCLS is a free-electron laser that produces beams of coherent, high-energy X-rays. Coherence - the phenomenon of all photons in a beam acting together in perfect lockstep - makes laser light far brighter than ordinary light. Since X-ray photons at the LCLS are coherent, the resulting beam of light will be as much as a billion times brighter than any other X-ray light source available today.The LCLS also contains a femto-camera that can sequence together images of the ultra small, taken with the ultrafast pulses of the LCLS. Scientists are for the first time creating molecular movies, revealing the frenetic action of the atomic world.The LCLS, and its cousins planned in Germany and Japan, improves on third-generation light sources. The third-generation sources are circular, stadium-size synchrotrons, and they produce streams of incoherent X-ray photons. Since their pulses are long compared to the motion of electrons around an atom, synchrotron light sources cannot begin to explore the dynamic motion of molecules.The pulses of light from the fourth-generation LCLS are so short, lasting for just quadrillionths of a second, that its beam provides an X-ray strobe light to capture such atomic and molecular behavior.---On the Net:DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:44 am

Students, CubeSats and the Importance of a Space Education

During a flight on June 22, Melissa Jun Rowley joined a team of space engineering students from the University of Michigan aboard NASA's famous Weightless Wonder aircraft to document the group's participation in NASA's Reduced Gravity Flight Education Program.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:23 am

Laser Powers Tiny, Golden 'Light Mills'

The miniature mills could power a whole new generation of nano-sized devices.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:15 am

Honoring the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

[Cross-posted on Google Public Policy Blog] 

Bending, walking, breathing, hearing, seeing and sleeping are simple things that are often taken for granted, as are thinking, learning, and communicating.

Twenty years ago today, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. This milestone legislation bans persons or companies from discriminating against anyone with limited abilities. It’s hard to imagine a world in which the right to participate in activities commonly enjoyed by the bulk of the population are denied or inadequately accommodated, but that was the case before ADA.

The efforts of the advocates who came to Washington two decades ago to rally for their civil rights has transformed so much of the modern world around us. As someone who’s worn hearing aids since I was 13, for example, I very much appreciate that most television programs and DVDs or Blu-Ray disks are captioned. On my way home, I might pass through a door that I know is wide enough for a wheelchair -- because the ADA set the building codes that require it. I see service animals on the DC Metro, accessible checkout aisles at my grocery store, ramps on sidewalks, and designated parking in movie theater lots: all there because of the important provisions included in the ADA.

Whereas the ADA set legal standards for ensuring equal rights for Americans with disabilities, Google is keenly aware that technology can help all users better enjoy the world around them. From opening millions of titles of printed content to persons with visual impairments through Google Book Search, to providing ready and easy-to-use captions on YouTube, to including a built-in screenreader and text-to-speech engine in Android, to introducing new extensions on Chrome to make online text easier to read, we’re serious about honoring our mission to make the world’s information universally accessible and useful. You can keep up with our progress at google.com/accessibility.

Congratulations to all those who work to make the ADA a living, breathing reality. For all the years I’ve been working on policy in Washington, it’s still rare to see a law that has had as positive and fundamental an influence on our lives as this Act. There still is work to be done to meet the goals of ADA, and we are committed to doing our part.

Posted by Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist
Source: The Official Google Blog | 26 Jul 2010 | 10:06 am

Divers Plumb The Mysteries Of Sacred Maya Pools

Steering clear of crocodiles and navigating around massive submerged trees, a team of divers began mapping some of the 25 freshwater pools of Cara Blanca, Belize, which were important to the ancient Maya. In three weeks this May, the divers found fossilized animal remains, bits of pottery and – in the largest pool explored – an enormous underwater cave. This project, led by University of Illinois anthropology professor Lisa Lucero and funded by the National Geographic Society and an Arnold O. Beckman  Award, was the first of what Lucero hopes will be a series of dives into the pools of the southern Maya lowlands in central Belize. The divers will return this summer to assess whether archaeological excavation is even possible at the bottom of the pools, some of which are more than 60 meters deep.“We don’t know if it’s going to be feasible to conduct archaeology 200 feet below the surface,” Lucero said. “But they are going to try.”The Maya believed that openings in the earth, including caves and water-filled sinkholes, called cenotes (sen-OH-tays), were portals to the underworld, and often left offerings there. Ceremonial artifacts of the Maya have been found in pools and lakes in Mexico, but not yet in Belize.Maya structures have been found near two of the eight pools the team surveyed.“The pools with the most substantial and most obvious settlement at the edge also turn out to be the deepest that we know,” Lucero said. The divers so far have explored eight of the 25 known pools of Cara Blanca. The use of these pools at the end of the Late Classic period (roughly A.D. 800-900) corresponds to an enduring drought that deforested parts of Central America and – some believe – ultimately drove the Maya from the area.The need for fresh water could have drawn the Maya to the pools, Lucero said. No vessels other than water jars were found in the structures built near the pools.“They could have been making offerings to the rain god and other supernatural forces to bring an end to the drought,” she said.Patricia Beddows, one of the divers and a hydrologist and geochemist at Northwestern University, found that the chemistry of the water in each of the pools was distinct. She also found that the water in Pool 1, the pool with the huge cave and a Maya structure at its edge, held the freshest water of the pools surveyed. But the water contained a lot of soluble minerals, Lucero said, making it problematic for anyone who used it as their primary water supply. Those who drank the water over an extended period would have been at risk of developing kidney stones, she said.The divers extracted core samples of the sediment at the bottoms of two of the pools. An analysis of the soil, debris and pollen in the cores will offer insight into the natural history of the cenotes and the surrounding region.Lucero recruited expert cave exploration divers for the expedition. She provided food, lodging and other basics, but the divers donated their time and expertise. The dive team included Robbie Schmittner, Kim Davidsson (an independent cave dive instructor), Bil Phillips, and videographer Marty O’Farrell, who produced the video.The research team also included archaeologist Andrew Kinkella, of Moorpark College. In Pool 1, Kinkella and diver Edward Mallon recovered ceramic jar shards in the wall of the pool just below the Maya structure.Three more divers, Steve Bogaerts, James “Chip” Petersen and still photographer Tony Rath will join the project this summer.Lucero has studied Maya settlements and sacred sites in Belize for more than 20 years, and works under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology, which is part of the National Institute of Culture and History, Government of Belize. ---On the Net:University of Illinois
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:40 am

Improving Communications To Fight Wildfires

Wildfires can be deadly, as well as causing millions of dollars worth of damage to homes, businesses and natural resources. Efforts to control wildfires often include a staggering array of federal, state and local government agencies. New research from North Carolina State University is shedding light on how these agencies can better communicate with each other in order to respond more efficiently and effectively to wildfire disasters.“The effective flow of information between groups is important to manage a wildfire,” says Dr. Branda Nowell, an assistant professor of public administration at NC State and co-author of a study examining communication during wildfires. “Sharing information is essential to avoid injury or loss of life, protect personal and community assets, maintain vital services, connect key participants involved in managing the fire, and build relationships and trust among those involved with the fire.”Sharing information can be complex in the event of a major wildfire, because organizations involved in responding to the fire can include law enforcement, the American Red Cross, local fire departments, and federal Incident Management Teams (IMTs) – which themselves are made up of experts from multiple local, state and federal agencies that are called in to take over efforts to control the fire.“Little empirical research exists to document how information flows during a fire,” Nowell says. But now researchers have developed methodological protocols – research guidelines – that can be used to: identify what information is needed (and who needs it); who has access to the relevant information; how the information can be shared; and how to map the overall “market” for information exchange.“The inability to exchange information can lead to problems for all parties during a wildfire,” Nowell says. “For instance, if homeowners do not have full information about a disaster that is headed their way, they may behave differently than if they had that information. Likewise, if the [IMT] managing the wildfire had better information about local features such as local trail systems, cultural sites or endangered species, they might behave differently to mitigate risks during an event.”The researchers demonstrated how they were able to use these methodological protocols to assess, and provide feedback to, agencies involved in the management of a wildfire that occurred in northern California in the summer of 2009. “This approach can help identify strengths and weaknesses,” Nowell says, “and is important both practically and theoretically. Practically, fire management and emergency response agencies need tools to help them assess and improve upon their communication networks during a wildfire event in order to accomplish disaster management goals. Theoretically, these tools help scholars to better understand the dynamics of information flows.”The paper, “Understanding Information Flows during Disasters: Methodological Insights from Social Network Analysis,” was co-authored by Nowell, NC State forestry professor Dr. Toddi Steelman, NC State Ph.D. student Deena Bayoumi and Sarah McCaffrey of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The paper will be presented Aug. 9 at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, in Montreal. The research was funded by the national Joint Fire Science Program, USFS Fire and Aviation Management and the USFS Northern Research Station.Reference: “Understanding Information Flows during Disasters: Methodological Insights from Social Network Analysis.” Authors: Branda Nowell, Toddi Steelman, Deena Bayoumi, North Carolina State University; Sarah McCaffrey, U.S. Forest Service. To Be Presented: Aug. 9, 2010, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal---Image Caption: The researchers demonstrated how they were able to use methodological protocols to assess, and provide feedback to, agencies involved in wildfire management.---On the Net:North Carolina State UniversityAcademy of Management
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:15 am

Camera Software Lets You See Into the Past

Computational rephotography is a fancy name for photos taken from the exact same viewpoint as an old photograph. Actually, that’s just rephotography. The “computational” part is when software helps out.

I’m a sucker for photos of old street scenes. Seeing familiar parts of your city as they were many decades ago is fascinating, and if people are good enough to snap a new version, you can enjoy the differences of places you have never seen. At Flickr and a site called Historypin, you can see the old shots lined up over the new, like a window into the past.

Researchers at MIT have found a way to automate the process. Currently, they use a laptop to do the heavy lifting, but the software could just as easily sit inside a camera. In fact, that’s the plan. The system compares the scene in front of the camera with a historical photograph. It then works out the difference between the two and gives the photographer instructions along the lines of “up a bit, left a bit more.”

According to an abstract on rephotography, it is a lot more complicated than it seems. In lining up the images you must consider “six degrees of freedom of 3-D translation and rotation, and the confounding similarity between the effects of camera zoom and dolly.”

Gimmick? Sure, but then so are all manner of the features in the modern digicam, from smile-detection to facial-recognition to fancy sepia modes. Today’s camera is essentially a computer with a sensor and a lens, so why not pack in everything you can? And if it means getting to see more old-time streets scenes, I’m totally in.

Camera app puts you in the footsteps of history [New Scientist via Alex Madrigal]

Computational rephotography [ACM]

Photo: Nomad Tales/Flickr

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:01 am

Camera Software Lets You See Into the Past

Researchers at MIT create software that compares the scene in front of the camera with an historical photograph. You can then see the old shots lined up over the new, like a window into the past.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 26 Jul 2010 | 9:01 am

King Tut's Chariot Heads To New York

A chariot that may have witnessed King Tutankhamun’s final moments is traveling outside Egypt for the first time in three millennia to join the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibit at the Discovery Times Square Exposition, Egypt's ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 8:55 am

Laser Shoots Down Drones at Sea

Lasers have a natural advantage over conventional weapons -- their ammunition doesn't easily run out.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 8:42 am

Bug Outbreaks Mostly Not Due to Warming

From a ship overrun with spiders to bed bug infestations at major clothing stores, is this the time of plagues?
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2010 | 8:15 am

IPhone 4 Available (Almost) Worldwide this Friday

Despite delays, production troubles and having to deal with the whole antennagate non-issue, Apple has managed to gather enough iPhone 4s together to launch the handset in 17 more countries this Friday (the 6th).

If you live in one of these countries, you can grab the be-camera’ed, hi-res phone and try out the bar-dropping death-grip for yourself:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland

Unlike the exclusive AT&T carrier-deal in the US, in many countries Apple is making the iPhone available through multiple carriers. This is a lot easier in Europe, as pretty much all telcos use the same GSM technology. In Spain, for example, the Telefónica exclusive is over, with Vodafone and Orange also selling the handset. Prices, I’m sure, will be all over the place, but at least we’ll have a choice. Y’all might have gotten the iPhone first over there in the US, but you are, for now at least, still stuck with the ever-unpopular AT&T.

iPhone 4 Arrives in 17 More Countries This Friday [Apple]

See Also:

• iPhone 4 Torn Down and Tested: Slower Than iPad, Faster Than 3G …
• IPad and iPhone 4 International Launch Dates Announced
• How to Take Your iPhone Overseas
• Use iPad MicroSIM and Data-Plan in Your iPhone
• Apple Sells 1.7 Million iPhone 4 Handsets in Opening Weekend …

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:38 am

Rumour: Samsung Galaxy Q specs leaked

Good morning everyone. I have a leak for you. Today’s leak surrounds the supposed specs for the next Samsung handset in line to receive the Galaxy moniker: the Galaxy Q.

So, what are we looking at? Pretty much a smaller, slightly improved, QWERTY-enabled Galaxy S.

Under the hood, it’s powered by the same 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, with the same 16GB storage*, as well as the same Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi 802.11n.

It’ll ship with Android 2.2 (that’s Froyo for those shy of numbers), which is rumoured to be available for the Galaxy S sometime in September, anyway, so no real difference there, either.

However, the upgrades include moving from 5MP to 8MP for the rear-facing camera, and from VGA to 1.3MP for the front-facing camera.

Upgrades are dandy, but, sadly, there is a downgrade, too: the Galaxy Q will have a smaller, 3 inch 720×480 S-AMOLED screen (compared to the glorious 4 inch 800×480 seen on the Galaxy S).

Looking at the measurements of the device (120mm x 68mm x 9.25mm), this probably means that it will be a candy bar form factor, with a small screen up the top, and a keyboard down below, à la their Omnia phones. This ties well with what the originators of the leak, Samsung Hub, said about the device being a competitor to BlackBerry.

So, now all we need is a photo, a price, availability, and a release date. You can bet I’ll make sure you get ‘em, too.

*Some versions of the Galaxy S only come with 8GB, however.

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:27 am

17 more countries get the iPhone 4 on Friday

Like a swart rider thundering across the forests of Saskatoon, the green plains of Europe and the misty steppes of Asia, the black iPhone 4 is entering Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland on Friday, adding to those countries’ already high happiness indices.

Not much more than that (I’m sure your local blogs will share with you the local prices in drachmas, pesos, pfennigs or whatever it is Sweden uses and we’ll put them here when we grab them) but get in line now. After all, World Cup is over so you guys have plenty of time.

Simon, our local Australian, reports that he expects it to cost “It’s usally about $1000 for the 32GB” and he is so happy but he told us “I wish it ran Android.” Dream on, Simon!

You can also pick up a grey market version in many markets, including China, but barring a full SIM unlock, these things aren’t very portable right now.

The phone is available now in France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US.

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 7:18 am

Novelty Crash-Helmets Suggest Pulpy, Soft Contents

While cyclists can choose whether or not to protect their heads, a helmet is mandatory for motorcyclists pretty much everywhere in the western world (except Naples in Italy, if the amount of lid-less kids on scooters is anything to go by). But what if you could make the helmets even safer? Not by beefing them up, but by reminding car-drivers that inside the hard outer shell is a soft melon, or a nut that could easily be cracked open?

That’s exactly what these novelty helmets do. Designed by Republic of Kazakhstan marketing company Good, the concept skid-lids feature printed heads, brains, walnuts and yes, melons on their outer shells. And while the idea seems to be more about fun than safety, seeing a giant brain on the outside of somebody’s skull would certainly cause a driver to look twice.

There are even more distracting designs in the gallery (a breast with a pierced nipple and a peachy bottom feature in the “Sex-Preoccupied Collection”, for example) but the best remind us just how delicate the human noggin is. Sadly, it seems that these are not a future product line, although I know I have definitely seen a version of the lame 8-ball design out on the streets.

Any suggestions as to what would make a great helmet design? Put them in the comments.

Genetic experiments on motorcycle helmets [Good! via Geekologie]

See Also:

• Prototype Bike-Helmet Stinks When Damaged
• World's Lightest Hockey Helmet Explains Hockey Hair
• Lazer Bike Helmet Turns You Into a Space Pilot
• A Heads-Up Map Display for iPhone-Using Bicyclists
• Hilarious Helmet Turbine and Other Green Jokes

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:42 am

Carrier billing coming soon to Android

If you’re the kind of Android user that doesn’t like lots of teeny micro payments cloggin’ up their credit card statement, or simply the type of person that often finds themselves penniless and needing an app right now, then you’ll be pleased to know that soon you’ll be able to shift all of your frivolous app purchases over to your phone bill.

Yes, yes, that’s right! Over the weekend, the Android Developers blog posted an update to the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement that infers that carrier billing will be coming soon.

Carrier billing is when app purchases are tallied on your monthly phone bill, rather than having them immediately charged to your credit card. It’s not something that really interests me, but I’m sure it’s a hit with the credit-cardless kids.

No word on what carriers will support it, nor when it will be rolling out, but just you wait… it’s coming.

[via Talk Android]

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 6:28 am

Flash: The Strobist’s Guide to Slaves

David Hobby, the man responsible for re-lighting the enthusiasm for off-camera flash (and driving up second-hand prices of the same) has turned his lens on slavery. Not the unpaid servant kind, but the flash-triggering kind. A new article over at the Strobist blog (which you really should be subscribed to) details the different kinds of slaves, and how they work.

A slave unit is a simple trigger which closes a switch when it sees another flash. Thus, you can control many flashes from afar without wires. And while the operation is all-manual, slaving an old flashgun is way cheaper than buying the auto-everything strobes from Canon and Nikon.

There are two kinds: passive and powered. Read David’s excellent (and entertaining) post for the full run down, but the short form is that you should avoid passive units, which rely on gathering enough photons through their eyes to fire a trigger, and go for the powered units, which are a lot more sensitive. The best option is to only buy speed-lights with built-in slaves, as you don’t then have to drop extra cash on expensive adapter dongles.

A flash like the LP160 (which we reviewed a couple weeks back) is ideal. It’s cheap ($160) and the slave unit popped the flash every time in testing.

Failing this, you should buy the most expensive slave unit you can afford, otherwise you’ll suffer the rage-inducing frustrations of missed exposures. David tells us where to buy, and what buzzwords to look out for. Go read the article, and wait for part two, which will tell you how to get the most out of your brand new toy.

Understanding and Using Optical Slaves, Pt. 1 [Strobist]

Photo: Charlie Sorrel

See Also:

• Quad-Sync LumoPro Strobist Flash Pops Four Ways
• Hands-On With the Quad-Sync LumoPro Flash
• Strobist
• Strobist Designs Real Open Source Remote Trigger
• Cyber Commander: A Robot Overlord for the Strobist
• Cheap, Six-In-One Flash Mod Kit Looks Very Handy
• Cheap, Manual Flashgun: Built by Strobists, for Strobists

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:51 am

LG Can’t Make Enough iPad Screens to Meet Demand

If any companies out there are planning to come up with an “iPad killer”, then they’d better think hard about the screen. They certainly aren’t going to be using the IPS LCD that Apple puts in the iPad: LG, a major supplier, has said that it can’t make enough even even for Apple.

Speaking about overall screen production (which is decreasing), LG display boss Kwon Young-Soo said that

Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand. We are considering increasing production lines for iPad products but overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year.

It looks like Apple wasn’t the only company surprised by the iPad’s success. The tablet is currently selling at around a million units per month, and this number would surely be higher if Apple could only make enough of them. It reminds me of Nintendo’s Wii, which was so popular that it was almost impossible to buy for the first couple years of its life.

We wonder if the iPhone 4, too, will struggle to keep up with demand. The retina display is likely only being made for Apple, and therefore it would be tricky to just source supplies from other manufacturers. The one big takeaway from this story is that there are very real reasons for the shortages. Anyone who still believes the idiotic conspiracy theory that Apple is deliberately limiting supplies to hype demand can shut up now.

LG Display may cut output; can’t meet iPad demand [Reuters via 9to5 Mac]

Photo: John Snyder / Wired.com

See Also:

• Apple's iPad Sales Accelerate: Three Million Sold in 80 Days …
• iPad Estimated to Be Worth as Little as $220 in Parts

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 5:09 am

Nadia Camera Offers Opinion of Your Terrible Photos

If things carry on like this, then soon cameras won’t even need human beings to take a photograph. We’ll be relegated to a means of transport, our soft meat-sacks merely following orders from the machine and pointing it in what ever direction it tells us. The Nadia camera, a device which rates you photos for you, even has a human name, all the better not to scare us.

Instead of an LCD screen to check your pictures, the Nadia judges them for you and assigns a percentage score using the automatic rating engine Acquine. It does this even before you press the shutter, allowing you to compose and recompose, with Nadia offering an electronic opinion every time. When you judge the number to be high enough, you press the shutter and take the snap.

Nadia doesn’t even contain a proper camera. Inside the black box is a Nokia N73 cellphone which talks to a nearby Mac via Bluetooth. The Mac sends the image off to Acquine’s “aesthetics inference engine” on the web and gets back a score, which it then displays on screen. Somewhat ironically, submitting the photo of the Nadia to Acquine gives a score of just 32.5%, while a screenshot of this article in draft scores a wondrous 45.5%.

The project, by Andrew Kupresanin, is clearly just an experiment but as we rely more and more on our cameras to automate the photography process, it’s not hard to see almost completely autonomous cameras in the near future.

Nadia [Andrew Kupresanin via Oh Gizmo]

Acquine [Acquine]

See Also:

• Sony Camera Robot: You'll Always Find Him On The Table at Parties …
• Eye in the Sky: Floating Camera Kit

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 26 Jul 2010 | 4:47 am

HTC gives up waiting on AMOLEDs, switches to SLCD on Desire and Nexus One

HTC confirmed via press release today that newer versions of their Desire and Nexus One phones will ship with Sony-built “Super LCDs” rather than Samsung’s AMOLED screens.

Shortages for the Droid Incredible have been blamed on Samsung’s inability to keep up with demand, so it’s peculiar that HTC didn’t call the phone out directly in their press release, instead saying that the screens will be coming to “a variety of HTC phones including the HTC Desire and global Nexus One later this summer.”

Interestingly, one of the benefits of AMOLED over LCD is its low power consumption, but these new screens will apparently bring with them an increase in battery life, not to mention the ability to read them in sunlight.

Full PR is included below:

HTC Introduces SLCD Display Technology To Its Portfolio

New Displays to be integrated into HTC Desire and Nexus One

Taoyuan, TAIWAN – July 26, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced Super LCD display (SLCD) technology into a variety of HTC phones including the HTC Desire and global Nexus One later this summer. The SLCD display offers an exceptional natural balanced colour, clear contrast, broad viewing angles and improved power efficiency.

“HTC is experiencing high-demand for many of our phones, specifically our phones with 3.7 inch displays. The new SLCD display technology enables us to ramp up our production capabilities quickly to meet the high-demand,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “The SLCD displays provide consumers with a comparable visual experience to HTC’s current 3.7 inch displays with some additional benefits including battery performance.”

SLCD is the latest generation of LCD technology that offers improved performance from earlier LCD panels including approximately five times better power management. SLCDs also offer an enhanced viewing experience with wider viewing angles that are enabled by Sony’s new VSPEC III™ technology.

About HTC

HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

Source: MobileCrunch | 26 Jul 2010 | 3:59 am