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Jan 23rd (already ?) It is going to be the year of the touch screen ! Windows 8 is not due out until later this year. If you have Windows 7 and would like to have a try with the new Metro interface you can download a new App from Cnet and kid your machine it has Win 8 (apart from the touch screen) http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57360492-12/how-to-try-the-windows-8-metro-interface-free/?tag=nl.e415
News from Las Vegas ! You may have heard of Android, Google's operating system for gadgets such as phones. It has made it easy for people to develop APPlications for all kinds of things from games to really useful functions. Until now these have not been available for PCs, which, as you know, rule the world. But, with Windows 8 being based on touch screen technology, you will be pleased to know that a program called Bluestacks will let you run Android Apps. Remember where you first heard it ... on my Page 2 !
11th January 2012 So, I just got an iPad2 and the iPad3 is scheduled for Spring this year. It will be labelled HD (so an even Higher Definition screen and, if you pay enough, it will also be 4G. Which means that it will be able to access the internet anywhere via satellite and will do it fast. I just wish that its improvements would include a mouse and cursor facility but no signs of that. Maybe Apple developers fingers are thinner than mine but tapping a screen in a particular spot is not easy. I tried with a stylus but there was no result. I still have to work out how to select more than one item or a senetence, as I can with this mouse.
2nd January 2012 Happy New Year to the world of technology
! Once there was the Apricot, then there was Apple. But have you heard
of Raspberry Pi ? Read
http://www.raspberrypi.org/sample-page
about some Cambridge people who dream of the days when keen young men (me
included) spent their time building and programming basic computers. They
long to regenerate the interest of the 80s among youngsters, especially those
applying to do degree courses. This week they are auctioning a handful of
prototype Raspberry Pi circuit boards on Ebay. Prices have reached £2000
and the cash is going to a charity which promotes ICT education in schools.
And not just Powerpoint and Excel but how to go about building useful
gadgets like the Raspberry Pi, which is said to plug into a TV and turns
it into a computer. (just add keyboard and mouse) WATCH THIS SPACE
folks !
Has Sony lost its way ? Once the top of the hill (before Apple) now,
surprisingly, I have just read :"Sony’s most profitable branch isn’t
its electronics division, but its financial side. Simply put, the company
makes more money selling life insurance than it does electronics. This fact
is an indicator of the three elements that Sony once possessed and is now
missing: vision, innovation, and brand focus."
Amazing (but possible) look into the future - if the world can afford it - http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38&vq=medium At least there is plenty of silicon !
1st December 2011 Microsoft are promising an easier upgrade to Windows 8 when it arrives. Apart from a DVD it will be possible to download the whole thing from the net and it should tell you what will or will not run under the new operating system. Naturally it lends itself to touch screens and will accommodate the ARM chip used in most mobile phones. The start screen is a radical departure from previous ones :
See video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92QfWOw88I
14th November 2011 Buyers are raving about the Asus Transformer pad, saying they prefer it to an iPad. Touch screen (of course), wireless, GPS, 16 hour battery life and Android 3 operating system. Looks good
1st November 2011. Timely, as the nights draw in : the thinking, learning, remote controlled thermostat : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCJ1PnVlzIE&feature=player_embedded#!
Windows 8 revealed : http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/369862/windows-8-full-details-revealed Although it will work on any type of device it leans heavily on touch screen technology. Cnet have also done a Video on the new version at http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20105111-12/an-early-first-look-at-windows-8-hands-on/?tag=nl.e415
Control three PCs from one keyboard and mouse ? A new 'App' from Microsoft : See HERE
Tim Cook the new CEO of Apple. Steve Jobs sadly died after a long battle with cancer.
A competitor for the iPad, Blackberry are selling the Playbook in the UK. The 16gb version is (£269), the 32gb version, at £357.
Things are afoot in the PC building business. While Lenovo (IBM/Chinese) is doing well and has bought Medion. Dell is doing badly and HP/Compaq are dropping out of the race and are going to concentrate on software.
You can also talk to your Browser (as long as it is Chrome 11 and are using a suitable website). See a demo HERE
More touch screens. This time on printers. See http://www.sharp.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/gb/hs.xsl/-/html/aries-campaign-page.htm?ref and click on New User Interface. Amazing
Google's virus warning : Google has begun issuing warnings to millions of people that their PC has been infected with a virus. The malicious code pipes browser traffic through sites that promote the scammers' wares which include fake security programs. Those hit by the virus will be warned with a message that will appear at the top of searches carried out via Google. The search firm estimates that more than two million people have been hit by the infection.
Shops ? What shops ? http://www.wimp.com/marketingcampaign/ See why Tesco is winning in South Korea
I had the opportunity to mess with an iPad 2 over the weekend and was mightily impressed. It was linked to a reasonably fast broadband router but it was so pleasant to be able to get to where one wanted on the net with such speed... and with such ease that I only had to ask a couple of questions and away I went. Talk about intuitive. I got to my own site very easily , uisng the on screen keyboard, and was able to dash from one page to another using my own links (and most of them work!) and, if the text or graphics were a little small I was able to stretch them with a couple of fingers. If you want to see a photo 'landscape' then just turn the pad landscape and stretch it to full screen. With so much modern technology (including the basic TV) needing half a day with the manual it was a positive pleasure to use something so ... and I say it again advisedly .. intuitive ! The screen is bright and clear and, although I gather 10 hours is something of an exaggeration for battery life when surfing, there are no problems with over 6 hours between charges. I do hope the battery doesn't wear out rapidly as I heard that they are not replaceable.
July 6th 2011 Office 365 has been released by Microsoft as a suite to use 'the cloud'. Will people pay when they can get Google docs for free ? See http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20074853-12/reviewed-office-365/?tag=nl.e415 Now it seems that they intend to release a feature limited version free with some new computers. Well, did ANYONE use all the features of Office, or do I underestimate the computer using public ?
The latest Samsung Laptop (900X3A) uses a 128Gb solid-state hard disk. One day all computers will use these. Imagine instant startup (just like the old days!)
A first look at Windows 8 can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92QfWOw88I It makes a great deal of use of touch screens, which will be the IN thing for 2011 and 2012
June 2011 A cyber (cold) war of words has broken out between the USA and China. The USA is accusing a site in China for accessing Google email accounts with the purpose of spying. China refutes this. Anyway, I don't think they would find anything very interesting in MY Gmail
Samsung Smart TV This is where Digital TV and mobile phones combine, using the phone to control what you get on TV and the phone and browsing the net from your TV ! See HERE for videos
Dotcom II bubble. Networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are attracting valuations which far exceed their profitability. LinkedIn (which links professionals to each other) more than doubled its value when launched. Shares were trading at over $100, valuing it at $9billion. Twitter is valued at $8billion and Facebook, an incredible $80billion. Microsoft is spending £5.2 billion on a loss making company ! Skype, which lost £5 million last year and has very little advertising revenue. But Microsoft is running scared that it is losing out to Google and its new, free, operating system and massive advertising revenue. But it has a cash pile big enough to bail out Greece... last quoted at £31 billion. So it is splurging it.
Windows 8 on its way. Microsoft chief, Steve Ballmer, confirmed on 22nd May, that the company's "next generation of Windows systems" will be released in 2012.
Cookies are small pieces of code which are deposited on YOUR computer by websites to help firms keep track of their marketing efforts. From 25th May 2011 it is compulsory for companies to obtain customers' permission before using this technique (at the risk of a £500,000 fine. I am pleased (and relieved) to say that this website doesn NOT employ that technique. I feel that this new legislation will be impossible to enforce and many companies may be caught out by not understanding their obligations.
The latest iMac (ok, I'll wash my mouth out later) has the Sandy Bridge processor, which ordinary folk refer to as a Quad Core i5 processor, and is claimed to run 70% faster than the last one. It will set you back £999 to £2089 depending on how deep your pockets are.
Amazon are to launch a touch screen tablet later this year see HERE And word has it that they will drop the price of the Kindle even further
The battle of the mobile phone operating systems: Android now has a third of the US market (33%). RIM's share has plummeted to 29%. Apple is holding at 25%. In the "also ran" category, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 did nothing to stop its decline, which fell from 9% to 7.7%. And Palm, which is barely worth mentioning anymore, fell another point to 2.8%.
Got Windows 7 yet ? Well, Windows 8 is already on the stocks and out for testing. Final release will not be until 2012. The interface is supposed to be 3D and will be “fully dynamic” meaning that it will adapt to user habits. Icons will be adaptable to different usage scenarios to speed up daily tasks. Windows 8 is to include a new fast hibernation system, where the system will hibernate between three to six seconds and save all open documents and running tasks. The interface is codenamed “Mosh.”
The latest HTC smartphones will have a Facebook button. They also have two cameras. One at the front for video chat, the other on the back to take pictures.
Internet Explorer 9 is finally out (but wont work with XP)
Gmail for a mobile phone. Interesting possibility http://www.google.com/mobile/mail/
It is planned that Windows 8 will be able to run on ARM based SOC chips. SOC means System on a chip. This requires a rewrite of the OS as the SOC chips, installed in many mobile phones and tablets, are very different from 'traditional' processors
From18th February Google Docs can view more file types: Not only the major Microsoft Office file types (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS and XLSX), but it also adds quick viewing capabilities for many of the most popular and highly-requested document and image types. In Gmail, these types of attachments will now show a “View” link, and clicking on this link will bring up the Google Docs Viewer.
BT is introducing a new generation of Broadband wireless hub See http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/4566-bt-home-hub-3-to-launch-at-end-of-february.html
Internet Explorer 9 is now officially out. I used the Beta version for months without difficulty. Download at http://www.beautyoftheweb.co.uk/
Feb 2011 WinRumors cites sources close to the matter, who have pinned down 16 February 2011 as the date when Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will ship to Microsoft subscribers.
There's a new encyclopedia on the block and it speaks ! Try http://www.qwiki.com
So, what were the big things in 2010 ?
What will the big thing in 2011 be ? Why the touch screen tablet of course and, like the Kindle, it will be connectable for ANYWHERE via satellite.
On Ebay you can see 7" touch screen Android Pads for £71 delivered.
CPU :VIA 8505. RAM 256MB DDR2; Storage 2GB Flash; 1 x TF Card Slot;
Earphone; Network 802.11b/g
WIFI; RJ45; USB connector; Speaker, Microphone; Camera ; Touch operation,
Sliding menu; Supports high speed Micro TF card to 32GB; Browse the
net, Gmail, Games, Sound Record, MP3, MP4, Google Map, E-book, MSN, E-mail,
Video recording, Web-camera, simulated keyboard, Clock,Weather forecast.
If you don't believe me just look at the plethora of new 'Media Tablets' coming along.
After the silly start this BBC Youtube demonstrates a number of inexpensive models http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9277147.stm
Want to see what the latest Google Android Touch screen tablet can do ? See video at http://ces.cnet.com/8301-32254_1-20027466-283.html
Colour E-book readers. While the Kindle has sold 8 million in 2010, colour E-book readers are on the way See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9362255.stm
And then there is the HP Tablet all-in-one Printer combination http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9238881.stm .
And Acer have announced that they will be replacing their netbooks with Pad quite soon. It is all happening out there.
Google is aiming to supplant Microsoft. It sees everything being done using a free operating system but with programs and data up there 'in the cloud' using the Chrome browser to get at them. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11894462. It is not just about Chrome. It is about the future of computers and computing. I never thought I would see the day when we use some basic piece of equipment (costing £50?) and everything else is elsewhere. But with the speed of connections to the net this is now possible.
December 2010. I had an early Christmas present - an Amazon
Kindle - one which is bound to be a big Christmas seller. The basic model
connects to wireless facilities (either your own or public) It cost £109
delivered. The other model connects to satellites (as well) and costs
£149. It is a very readable mono pad which is about 8 x 5 inches.
Once one has registered it with your Amazon account it requires no setting
up to make the satellite connection. You can search for available books
on Amazon (there are over 500,000) look at a resume, download a trial and,
if you like it, pay for the full download. Downloads from satellite
take a bit longer than via your wireless connection. Downloaded books are
cheaper than the retail price but I found they were not necessarily competitive
with Book Club offers, where they buy masses and publicise amazingly low
prices. But the Kindle is very easy to use and, if you are a big reader,
it means you could take it on holiday and download a book while you sunbathe
by the pool. The Kindle has a text to speech facility, so would be useful
for people with poor vision. The memory is 3Gb. There is a USB connection,
so you can use it as a USB memory key, view what is on there and it will
even recharge via the USB (as well as from the mains). The Kindle can read
Amazon's special text format and also TXT or PDF files. The sound file
format is an unusual but it will accept MP3 format. You can listen directly
or via earphones.
Surprisingly, I was able to access the internet and even my Gmail - via
satellite. Without a mouse it is not easy to navigate but I found I could
reply to an email and see this website. This shows the possibilities with
such equipment as I was not paying for my satellite connection OR my Gmail.
The connection is slower than if you connect via your wireless PC but not
impossibly so.
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You don't even need to buy a Kindle from Amazon to get Kindle books and magazines. You can download the software from HERE. There are Mac and PC versions. You need an Amazon account to download reading material. You can then look at any book or paper that you have bought for the Kindle,
I think the Kindle is amazing value for a gadget that can access the net via satellite for no charge. But I have the feeling that Amazon hope to make their cash by the subscriptions and downloads. So, it is a bit like selling elabourate printers cheap in order to make money from the ink, especially as the books are in a special format.
November 2010 For a really up to date description of modern computing (as told by Google) go to http://www.20thingsilearned.com/. It is a beautifully programmed book. It is quite lengthy and fairly technical in places. But if you stop part way through it allows you to restart where you left off. As they see it, the future is on line, up there in "The Cloud". It is faster, safer and cheaper. No viruses, no data loss, and your data can be accessed form any computer you sit at.
Clever Picasa will now create a slideshow singling out the faces of one person as they grow up, adding in the photo at each stage See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLQtssJDMMc
October 2101 Google is developing a self drive car. That is a car that has driven 100,000 miles with little intervention by the driver ! See HERE. I hope the SatNav is better than mine.
October 2010 Despite opposition from Sky and Virgin, Project Canvas is to be launched next year with the new name YOUVIEW. There will be a choice of subscription free channels, with catch-up TV through BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD and Demand 5 as well as paid for content. Companies developing set top boxes include Humax and Sagem. They will cost around £200 but still need a broadband connection. Some broadband providers may offer the boxes as part of their deal.
Sept 2010 Keep taking the tablets. See the latest Android/Divx driven tablet from Samsung http://galaxytab.samsungmobile.com/ Watch out iPad. They are coming after you.
September 2010 Just as they seem to have licked the problems with Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9 (beta) is now out. It has a much changed interface and lots of new features. It HAS caught up on speed but is still not quite as fast as Chrome, which is kept lean for this purpose. I installed it without problems. However, it is NOT designed to work with Windows XP.
Dell is stopping installing Windows XP on any new machines (even netbooks). I do worry that more than half the world is still using this very useful version of Windows and wonder if Microsoft will have to retract on their deadline. They risk alienating millions of PC users (many in business) and will either drive some away or will put at security risk the millions who will not change.
The future ? I am sure this is all possible even now ! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7_mOdi3O5E
Bioengineers at University of Utah have translated brain signals into speech. This may one day enable paralyzed people or those with 'locked-in syndrome' to communicate.
One of the security features introduced with Internet Explorer 8 was a Smart Screen 'phishing' and malware Filter If it is turned on it will
September. Solid State Drives (SSD) are now available up to 250 GB but are expensive. A 64GB one is available from Crucial for £119 delivered
August 2010 Microsoft has developed and Adaptive (customisable) keyboard where the keys can be changed to suit the program. For most of us it is bad enough trying to find the keys when they stay in one place but the little touch screens at the top of the keyboard look like a great way for me to reduce the number of shortcuts on my desktop. See demo HERE
Google Maps : Not only give you directions how to get there but includes street level photos of every junction !
iPhone have cooperated with Teletextmobile.com to sell 'Apps' that will speak foreign languages for you. Press a key to ask "Ou est la toilette, s'il vous plait ? "
July 2010 Important to me is the announcement that mobile phones will eventually have High Definition (HD) Voice. Deaf people have great difficulty with the quality of telephones. HD voice increases the speech bandwidth from the standard 300 - 3400 Hz to 50 - 7000Hz. This will mean people with high or low frequency deficiencies will have a much better change of getting the message. Hopefully, the pushy mobile phone sector will influence advances on land lines and their receivers.
July 2010 Support for Service Packs 1 and 2 for XP has now virtually finished. XP users should be sure to get SP3. This is a very large download (340Meg) and almost impossible for people on a dial-up connection. They should try to get it on a memory stick or CD from a friend. Get them to SAVE it to their hard disk and then copy it to a CD or stick See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389 They don't make it easy, do they ?
June 2010 The iPad has finally made its way to our shores.
It is a tablet-style computer from Apple operated using its touch-sensitive
screen. It has 9.7in screen with just three buttons and one switch. There
are no USB ports (!) or memory card slots, but there is an Apple dock
connector (extra). This can be used to attach keyboards and a memory card
reader, but as yet the only accessories available are from Apple and cost
more than the basic £425. It comes in 16, 32 and 64GB varieties. There
are two versions, one of which has a 3G mobile phone connection to connect
to the internet. There are extra charges for this, similar to when using
a mobile phone and the other connects to the net wirelessly. It weighs 700g.You
can use the Amazon Kindle application to download and read books. Like the
iPhone, the iPad can be extended by downloading programs or ‘apps’.
Apple manages all distribution so you can only get approved software. The
battery is sealed inside so there's no way to carry a spare so perhaps you
have to throw it away when it it is worn out ? However, battery life was
impressive, exceeding Apple’s claimed 10 hours for viewing video. In
general use we managed to go up to three days between charges. Computer Active
says "It’s not for people who want to edit video or run several
programs at once but the simple-to-use iPad is a great computer for less
demanding users". Not the latest, but quite a nice video about the
iPad
HERE
My netbook cost a third of the price of the iPad and has three times the
hard drive capacity of the biggest iPad, has a card reader, two USB sockets,
cable and wireless internet connection nd a reasonable keyboard. But
the iPad battery life is very impressive. CA had one go for three days between
charges.
May2010 Bad news for music fans. U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood granted summary judgment in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), ruling that Lime Group, parent of LimeWire software maker Lime Wire, and founder Mark Gorton committed copyright infringement, induced copyright infringement, and engaged in unfair competition.
May 2010 Office 2010 is out in the States. The Professional
version costs $499 and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook,
Publisher, and Access, in addition to SharePoint Workspace for collaborative
tools, and InfoPath Designer for standardized forms. The lowest tier Office,
Home & Student at $149 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
Office 2010 Home and Business adds Outlook 2010 to the Home and Student version
and costs $279. ($130 for email !) Office Professional Academic 2010 is available
through authorized academic resellers only and costs $99. Unfortunately,
there is no upgrade pricing for Microsoft Office 2010, because Microsoft
found that most people buy Office when they buy a new computer and there
was little interest in upgrades at retail outlets. Well, that's their
story.
This is the LAST version of the Office suite ! They are to focus on
improving the online version. As the President of the Division said
(with disarming honesty) "We ran out of ways to improve the software years
ago. Since Office XP it's just been rearranging things. Users aren’t
going to be fooled any more by the cosmetic changes we make, so it’s
time to end this charade.” Frankly I wish they hadn't messed with the
2003 version. I have found a program that makes the new version look
like the old one. You can always get their free Docx , Ppsx and Xlsx
readers. -
KP
May 2010 Beam me up, Scottie ! Imagine being able to charge a device (e.g. phone) without even connecting it to the mains. This is already possible using a Powermat and Nissan is working on an electric car that will charge in the same way. It's all done with magnets.
May 2010 In 1965 George Moore predicted that the speed of computers would double every 18 months. In fact Intel calculated that it was about 20 months on average. Is there a limit to this? Well, yes. In fact you may have noticed that the speeds quoted for chips stalled somewhere around 3.6ghz a while back. So, what's up, Doc? The big problem is that the faster the chips 'buzz' the hotter they get and there is a problem dissipating this heat. Not to be outdone, the two main chip makers, AMD and Intel have begun to multiply the number of processors sitting on one piece of silicon. So, now, the average PC has a dual core chip. This enables one of the processors to tackle the Operating System (e.g. Windows) while the other one gets on with the 'application' that you are running. We also have Quad core PCs. So, is there any limit to the number of 'cores' ? Intel are talking about 6 (soon) and 8 and 16 cores. But does that help the average Joe? Well, not right now, because every time you introduce a new core the software writers have to adapt to that. And, unless there are a lot around they will probably not bother. There ARE other ways to make PCs faster and you may have heard about memory caches and, of course, the amount of memory that can be accessed. Most modern PCs have 2 or 4 Gigabyte of memory but some will soon boast as much as 16Gb. Then, for the game players the real speed increase is helped by the use of expensive graphics cards, which also contain memory. But, unless someone comes up with some new technology it does seem likely that Moores Law will not be applicable indefinitely. Right now the only reason to get a 6 core Intel machine would be to boast about it ! It is a bit like having a Rotweiler for a pet.
May 2010 At a recent conference it was announced that there will soon be 900GB 2.5-inch drives spinning at 10,000rpm. A 15,000 rpm 2.5-inch drive with 300GB capacity is coming, too. This would be the fastest small form factor disk drive available.
April 2nd 2010 Google Wave is an Open Source program that will enable on line collaboration between people anywhere in the world, using a mixture of text and graphics. It is like collaborative word processing or spreadsheets but even more so, as it can involve a number of people, whose computers are constantly updated. If you have a spare hour there is a Youtube video HERE
April 2010 Google's Chrome Browser is gaining in popularity but is still under 7%. The latest 'Milestone' is 5. It will have autofill facilities, PDF support, synchronisation of things like bookmarks with mobile phones and a built in Flash updater. Websites may also have 'geolocation' ability... knowing where you are connecting from.
March 2010. From January 2011 hard drives will be able to support Advanced Format. This will increase the size of each sector and allow an increase in capacity of around 10% as well increased performance. Although such drives will work with Windows XP incompatibility may result in the drives running 10% slower with that operating system
2rd March 2010 SanDisk have released a 32Gb MicroSD card which will find its way into things like smartphones. At £145 and 0.5gram it is 12 times as expensive as gold !
1st March 2010. USB3 is the new USB (blue) socket that will transfer data ten times the speed of USB2. And it is still back ward compatible with older USB devices. Unfortunately you cannot just put a USB3 card in your old desktop as they only fit PCIe (Express) slots. So I am afraid you are going to have to wait until you have a new PC with USB3 sockets or at least a PCIe slot so you can add a USB3 adapter. The picture shows the various type of slots. The longer ones are capable of greater speed (up to 16x) The bottom one shows the old PCI slot common in most older computers.
26th Feb 2010 Virgin has promised to roll out 100Mb broadband starting at the end of this year and completing by the end of 2011 has not yet announced who will get the service first. Obviously this is going to cost more. The new speed tier will be able to download a music album in as little as five seconds, an hour-long TV show in 31 seconds and an HD movie in seven minutes 25 seconds.
Feb 2010 Make no mistake a war is waging between the big Internet and Mobile Phone players. The stakes are high. Mobile phones such as Apple's iPhone, Blackberry and even basic mobiles are able to connect to the net. Apart from the rental and call charges the big prize will be advertising. Already most of Google's money is made this way. Suddenly Microsoft wake up to this and make an alliance with Yahoo. They will use Microsoft's BING browser but share Yahoo's advertising revenue. Google is never outsmarted and is launching a mobile phone and developed an Operating System (Android) for phones and other devices.
Feb 2010 Google Voicemail. This looks interesting as it promises to be able to save phone calls to Voicemail, then enables you to SEE what was said. Watch this space and visit http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html to see and hear videos
Try this link for good Text to speech http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal
Jan 2010. See Broadband page for the latest developments in that field - using 4th generation technology and LTE (Long Term Evolution) But to see how far Britain is behind France regarding broadband speed see this example I had from a friend. And the average speed in France is now 17 Meg. And that is down telephone lines not cable. Amazing !
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January 2010 The BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, has given the provisional go-ahead for the BBC to participate in Project Canvas - an attempt to develop a standard for internet-television services in the UK. Project Canvas is a partnership between the BBC, ITV, BT, Five, Channel 4 and Talk Talk to develop a common interface for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) in the UK. It aims to set a common standard for internet TV IPTV allows you to access programmes via the net rather than through the air. Canvas is an attempt to replicate the success of Freeview for internet. It is currently testing a service called SeSaw, which will begin in March 2010. And you saw it first HERE !
January 10 The Western Digital WD TV is an HD media player.
To put it another way - it's a small box that plugs into your telly and will
let you watch High Definition video content in a range of formats, as well
as listen to audio and browse through your photo collection. Just plug in
your memory stick or USB hard drive for full screen pictures. Around
£69.
For Gmail users who, like me, can never remember the shortcuts, comes a little keypad with all the shortcuts labelled. See http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-370383.html
The new Acer laptop (Aspire 5738DG) is capable of displaying videos in 3D. You need glasses from Tri-Def, along with Tri-Def software. It can even make 2D images stand out.
Operating System wars ! While Microsoft has announced that Windows 8, due in 2012, will be a heavyweight system and will be 128 bit compatible (I still haven't caught up with 64bit), Google has announced full details of its Chrome OS, although admitted that the full operating system is still a year away from launch. Before that they are to launch a Linux based system for netbooks that will NOT bea ble to run Microsoft programs. In fact it will depend heavily on "The Cloud" not only for programs but for storage. The Chrome OS effectively turns a netbook into a thin client. All applications will be web apps, all data will be stored in the cloud and the operating system will be booted from Flash - no hard disks will be supported. "We want Chrome OS to be blazingly fast," said Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management at Google. "We want it to be like a TV - turn it on and you're in your web application."
November 09 Simplified PC for the elderly. Video at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8352606.stm
Oct 09 Windows 7 has 'touch screen' facilities built in as
long as you have a touch screen. Acer has unveiled its first touchscreen
Windows 7 laptop. The Aspire 5738PG is a 15-inch model running Windows 7
Home Premium, and launch ed this month. Its finger-friendly touchscreen
lets you navigate the entire operating system without using a mouse, or even
the laptop's multi-touch trackpad. Just think of all the fun you'll have
rearranging desktop items.
Oct 09 The Zetronix Multi-Media Virtual Video Glasses simulates
a 50” television screen allowing you to watch anything you want in privacy.
The picture is displayed right in front of your eyes as a virtual big screen.
The glasses come with a video processor built into the glasses with 4GB of
built-in memory. You can upload your favorite TV Shows, Movies, Music Videos,
Photos and MP3 files. With a built in Micro SD card slot, you can plug it
in for up to 32GB of space. It is advisable not to drive at the same time
! My interest stems from the possibility that it is step nearer my 'hearing
glasses' invention. See Help28
Sept 09 It is not just MY memory that is getting smaller. I
just got 2Gb for my phone !
Sept 09. After being a little disappointed by the range of software that would work with my Acer Netbook, running Linpus Linux I was pleased to see that it worked fine with an Internet graphics program called Picnick. Although the free version did no more than Picasa (which DID work on the netbook) it demonstrated that 'Cloud Computing' will be an answer to this type of PC. It is not necessary to install everything on it to make programs work. So, software writers are going to be able to produce programs that will work on most machines without having the job of having to convert them to various Linux versions, Apples etc. This is a real step forward for computing.
Sept 09. I couldn't quite see the advantage of Google Docs until I noticed an article about sharing a spreadsheet. I can see that it would be an advantage in business or privately to be able to share a spreadsheet that can be updated. In Google docs click on the Share button and click Share as a Web page. This displays the address of the page on the web and both parties can access it. If both sides need to update the spreadsheet then click the link to 'Invite People'. Google docs comes in Basic and Premier versions (the latter costs $50 per person)
25th August 09 LG sell a 2 Gb USB drive with fingerprint recognition for £13. Might be a good idea for all government employees !
8th July 09 Announcing the existence of the Google Chrome OS project today, Sundar Pichai, Google’s vice president of product management and Linus Upson, Google’s engineering director said it would be “our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.” It is likely to be available later in 2010. This is ground breaking stuff. An Operating System is what we call Windows XP, Vista and 7. Watch out Microsoft, this one is FREE! No more : "Have you got a license for that ?" It will be a very small program, so will work on low end machines such as Netbooks. Its software will be largely web based, so your word processor will be on the internet, not your local PC, as will your documents, unless you choose to keep them locally. So you wont fill your machine with expensive and massive programs and your documents will not be lost if your machine crashes or because you have upgraded to a new PC (or someone nicked your laptop)
July 09 I have just bought and Acer Aspire One Netbook with Linux Operating system. I must say that, from first impressions, I am very impressed with it. It cost £150 and I just plugged it into my router and it connected to the net. Or it will connect wirelessly. I entered my Gmail address and got my email. Not only that, it used Firefox to browse the net and presented me with the same page I had been using when I last accessed the net with Google's Chrome (see photo) ! I then plugged in my trusty HP printer and the little fellow said it was ready for printing. It didn't and I had to go into the printer setup and was offered a connection via USB (which it was) I typed a message in Open Office (supplied) and printed it. I went to the settings screen and there was a Download updates item so I clicked that and it went to the Acer site and downloaded all the latest patches. There were quite a few but there is 120Gb of space on the hard disk. I don't like fiddling with the touch pad, so I attached a little USB mouse I got from Aldi in a kit. I also attached a USB keyboard, though that wasn't so necessary. Changed the keyboard to English UK - no problem - there is a keyboard layout icon. It was all so much easier than Windows ! Why was I worried about Linux ? This version is more intuitive. When it comes to computing, the old days of spending hours just to figure out how to do things seems to be over. However, see the notes below the photos regarding the problems of adding to non standard operating systems.
Here it is :
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However, I did hit a problem when wanting OTHER software. The problem is that, because Linux is OPEN software, anyone can amend it and create their own variety. The one on the Acer is called Linpus Linux but there are numerous others such as Ubuntu and Red Hat, Debian, Suse, Fedora etc. So, when I went to install Google's Linux version of Picasa it downloaded but then there was an error while installing. In fact you are offered software on various sites but Linpus is not mentioned except on an Acer One site
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Buffalo HS-DH320GL 320GB Linkstation Live Shared Network Storage Gigabit Ethernet. A 320 GB drive accessible on a home network for under £50 (Ebuyer)
Back in a flash is a new concept in backup. You get a special flash drive and it keeps backing up the data you choose while you are working. Special prices (now) are around £30 for a 3.5Gb flash drive to £133 for a 31Gb version + plus delivery. That is about three times the usual flash drive price. Look for competition in this field.
June 09 Microsoft is fed up with everyone Googling, so have brought out a new Search Engine called Bing. It does include some new features. See HERE for Bob Rankin's expert opinion
16th May 09 Eeeh! Asus are about to release the EeePC. So
what's new? Well it is just a PC in a keyboard and it is also wireless. We
lost the spinning hard disk, now we have lost the box. It has a little screen
on the right : 
11th May 2009. Ebuyer is advertising a 128Gb SOLID STATE hard disk. The days of the spiining hard disk seem to be numbered as soon as the cost comes down.
10th May 09. While it was originally thought that wi-fi internet connections were being slowed up because of the heavy use by some net users it is now thought that it is almost certainly interference from non-Wi-Fi devices such as microwave ovens, Audio Video senders, security cameras or baby monitors
7th May 09 A new internet search system, Wolfram Alpha, showcased at Harvard University in the US last week, takes the first step towards what many consider to be the internet's Holy Grail – a global store of information that understands and responds to ordinary language in the same way a person does. It is very much a work in progress and for some questions Google does a better job. But don't underestimate the brilliant British born instigator, Stephen Wolfram. People are saying this could be bigger than Google (and you can't get much bigger than that)
1st May 09 I sold an XP machine to someone locally and he asked me to add a 'Dongle' to one of the USB ports. It was supplied by his mobile phone company "3". To my amazement it installed itself with no assistance, connected itself to the internet, then updated the software automatically. From £10 a month and up to 3Mb broadband speed. Now that is what I call clever.
7th April 09 Microsoft has agreed to allow Windows 7 customers to downgrade not just to Vista but also to XP even though mainstream support for XP is about to end
6th April 09. Scientists at MIT have developed a new design for lithium-ion batteries that could cut recharge times down to seconds. Important ? You can bet on it. Imagine if you could take your hybrid car to a petrol station and recharge as quickly as you can fill up. Mind you the energy requirement for that might dull the lights for miles around but really, for many applications, this could be a great breakthrough. Give it a couple of years (and a couple of million $)
19th March 2009 The Met. Office is getting a new computer, costing £33 million. To calculate complex climate models it will be able to nip along at 125 trillion calculations per second. That sounds even bigger than our post crisis National Debt ! 125,000,000,000,000 give or take a few noughts.
Remember Dick Tracey's two way wrist radio ? It was pretty far seeing
This month LG launch the GD910 3G wrist phone. See video
HERE
Google Phone Spy With the owner's permission it will soon be
possible for people to track folk who have a mobile phone. Their
whereabouts will be seen as a blue spot on a Google Earth map anywhere in
26 countries. Good way to keep track of your wandering kids, (wives, husbands
?) In the case of satellite connected phones (e.g. Blackberry) it will be
accurate to within yards. It may also be possible to track from which computer
e-mail has been used.
And, under a new law telephone companies and ISPs will have to keep records
of calls, emails and website visits for one year. The information will
be accessible by police, health authorities and even local councils. George
Orwell was ahead of his time. 1984 is long past.
Virgin is enabling 50 Mb broadband, starting in parts of Scotland, the Midlands and South London, extending to the full network by the Summer. It will be £51 a month or £35 a month with a phone line costing £11) With BT upping charges ahead of inflation Virgin may, at last, reap the benefit of all that fibre optic installation. BT lines are stuck on an 8Mb limit, insufficient for HD video.
30th December 2008 the DXG DVH58 is the world's first integrated geotagging camcorder. When you take a picture or video it works out exactly where it was taken !
Lightscribe is a DVD writer technology which etches words and patterns onto a DVD. The special, coated disks, which can be coloured, are only slightly more expensive
Modern Hard disks. These days most of the hard disks on offer are the SATA (Serial ATA) type. Older PCs will NOT have suitable connections for these and it would be necessary to add an additional card to one of the white PCI slots and, additionally, get an adapter for the power plug.
One thing that took off in 2009 was Mobile Broadband. Mobile Broadband gives you internet access via your mobile account. You do not need a telephone line, or to be in a Wi-Fi area to get online but instead by using a USB Modem with your Laptop or PC you can have access to fast broadband, when you are on the move. There is no complicated set up, which means you can have access to the internet as soon as you plug the USB Modem into the USB port of your PC or Laptop. It is compatible with Microsoft and Apple Mac operating systems. Using your USB Modem to access the internet is easy. All you have to do it insert the SIM card into the USB Modem, insert the USB Modem into the USB port on the PC. The SIM cards are available from Orange, 3 and T-Mobile and prices are from £10 a month.
3rd November 08 What if you could combine Email, Phone, Instant Messaging, Fax , video and file sharing ? VoxOx by TelCentris is a new free program that allows this
4th Sep 08 Pen drives are getting bigger and cheaper. See www.ijtdirect.co.uk for USB drives up to 64Gb. Why are we still using hard disks ?
4th Sept 08 Moore's Law lives on ! Intel is set to release its first six-core processor . Codenamed Dunnington, it will include all six cores on the same piece of silicon. That's in contrast to Intel's quad-core processors.The new Xeon 7400 Series will fit in the quad core socket. The company is also developing an even more advanced "Nehalem" architecture , which will be termed Core i7.
19th August 08. Intel have announced USB 3. Although backward compatible with USB 1 & 2 it will be 10 times as fast as USB 2, meaning that it could transfer a very large video in 70 seconds instead of 15 minutes. It will also have better power supply facilities so that many pieces of equipment can be charged by (or run off) the USB cable (without an additional power supply) You heard it first on Silverhairs !
25th July 08 Much as I hated being tied to a mainframe in the early days, the speed of the net now means that we must rethink things. There is no need to clutter our machines with software because it will be on line. Your pictures and music and videos will all be kept on line - this is happening already. So the amount of stuff an anti virus program will have to check on a machine will be less. And your email program will keep your emails on line where they can be thoroughly and automatically checked for viruses by some powerful machine. We will be back to dumb terminals in the end and they will cost just a few ponds and will be everywhere.
15th July BT are finally committing themselves to a program of replacement of their old copper wires, which limit broadband speeds. This will just be to the green boxes in the road, not to everyone's house. This is a turn around after some committee reckoned that BB was not essential to the prosperity of a country. Idiots ! Dinosaurs ! With the price of copper I would imagine that BT will find the exercise quite profitable. And you can't flog glass fibre at the local scrap yard !
20th June Many people were surprised to find that their new computer had no dialup modem. They will all have an 'Ethernet' port to connect to broadband. Also it was found that old modems were not acceptable to Vista. If you want to use a PC for faxing you need a modem. This has now been overcome and a Vista compatible modem is now available at little cost.
17th May WiFi from http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9936132-12.html?tag=nl.e415 is a Hot Spot sniffer that will enable your wireless laptop or Smartphone to find internet connections and also do some social networking !
11th May Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows XP is now on general
release. It downloads as a 340Mb compressed file called KB936929. It
took 30 minutes to download on my 2Mb/s broadband and a great deal longer
to install. I think that people on dialup connections should get a friend
to download it and copy it to a CD or memory stick as it would take many
hours to download even at 50k. If you have a friend who has broadband
they could copy the installer program onto your machine via a CD or memory
stick.
That inveterate inventor, Trevor Baylis, who thought up the wind up radio,
has now brought out the Eco Media Player. Not only will it play hours
of music for a few turns of the handle it will recharge your phone, play
video clips and photos on its small screen. Trevor is now working on
a mobile phone that works on the same principle.
Knol is the latest idea from Google. Like Wikipedia, it will rely upon information updated by on line contributors. It will cover all subjects, from inventions, health to DIY. The authors of each entry will be publicised. As with Wikipedia the information cannot be guaranteed to be accurate.
www.solwise.co uk is offering a 'Simpleconnect' plug that goes into your domestic power socket and enables you to network to a computer in another room at speeds even faster than the normal ethernet method. Instat.com reckons this method will be a winner in the race for home networking systems. Wireless can be a bit of a pain.
Copying music from a CD to a home computer could be made legal under new proposals from the UK government. Millions of people already "rip" discs to their computers and move the files to MP3 players, although the process is technically against copyright law. Intellectual property minister Lord Triesman said the law should be changed so it "keeps up with the times". Music industry bodies gave a cautious welcome to the proposals.
Blu-Ray drives use 35Gb write-once disks costing around £8 each. Most of Hollywood's studios (20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros) are opting to produce their films on Sony's Blu-Ray and Paramount looks likely to join them. Even without Paramount, Blu-ray now has 70% of Hollywood's next generation. So, the Blu-Ray v HD DVD war is over.
Video on Apple product :http://www.apple.com/macbookair/#ad
Google is processing 20 petabytes of information a day. A petabyte is 20,000 terabytes. So, I reckon that makes it 400,000,000,000,000 bytes. A byte is a unit such as a letter or number. But a byte is made up of 8 bits so that is..... oh! work it out amongst yourselves !
IBM has joined Open Office.org to give it credibility. It is the alternative to Microsoft's expensive Office program. Open Office is free to download and also appears on many cover disks.
BT is offering an email anywhere phone. See www.bt.com/officeanywhere/ the HTC S620 phone is like a Blackberry with full keyboard and is free with a contract. Find wifi hotspots in the UK at http://btopenzone.hotspot-directory.com/
The latest mobile phone from mobile operator 3
(www.three.co.uk) is capable of make
free calls via SKYPE. An analyst from Ovum says... "This could be an
own goal for mobile operators who depend up call income".
Becker has brought out a new Sat-Nav device which will allow you to view
a video. "Well, officer, I had one eye on the road, another on my mirror
and another on the rugby game !" It will also work out a detour if
it becomes aware of a traffic jam. And I thought he was just a tennis
player.
CMCIA has developed the ExpressCard™ standard. ExpressCard technology (www.expresscard.org) is the latest high-performance, hardware expansion standard for notebook and desktop computers. It replaces the current PC Card™ Standard. ExpressCard and PC Card technologies are found in more than 95 percent of all notebook computers. There is a variety of ExpressCard products, including digital TV tuners, mobile docks, hot pluggable adapters for data transfer (IEEE 1394 and serial ATA), Ethernet adapter modules as well as standard applications such as CompactFlash adapters, smart card readers and flash memory cards.
Wireless USB using UWB (Ultra Wideband Technology) has now been approved by OFCOM. UWB is theoretically capable of transferring 2Gb of data per second over 30 metres. It will enable people to connect all kinds of peripherals, media Players, set top boxes, printers, Digital TVs without cabling. I can imagine a wireless keyboard and mouse connecting to the upstairs PC, displaying the results on a widescreen TV in the living room.
Online Storage is not exactly new but growing in importance . There was a time when I would have shuddered at the thought of being tied to a mainframe computer. But these days, with access being so rapid, it is now possible to think of a local computer with very limited storage with the majority of your work being on some distant PC (it matters not where). One such provider Mediamax will allow you to upload up to 25 Gb of files free of charge ! If you want even more you can get 100 gb of secure space for $4.95 (around £2.50) a month. There may be limitations on how much use you can make of this space each month. The free one is limited to 1 Gb, which would not be a lot if you were storing videos on there. But think of the advantages. Apart from the fact that you can look at it from any computer which has access to the net, it may very well be safer there than on your hard disk. Many services offer automatic backup of files or folders that you have chosen. So, why do they do it ? The chances are that most will be supported by advertising. But also, they may hope that you opt for more storage and a monthly or annual fee. ALL of the sites I looked at had a green Mcafee Site Adviser label as being OK.
You have never seen a video like this! Click HERE. Now that is what I call High Tech !
Most recently manufactured cars have a standard socket which would enable you to connect a laptop (using equipment and software from around £100). This enables you to check on many of the electronically controlled features of the vehicle. See www.troublecodes.net, www.enginecheck.co.uk, www.ukobd.co.uk, www.scantool.net , www.peacockandpurvey.co.uk and www.elmelectronics.com/obdindex.html.
Volvo are introducing a device which will immobilise your car if your breath contains more than a certain amount of alcohol. It works wirelessly with the engine and is based on a fuel cell which reacts to the ethanol you breathe into it. Idea ? Maybe some people could recharge their laptop by breathing on it ?
Google Maps have now introduced street level views. Ask for directions and it will show you a picture of every turning point. And their latest Google Earth program will let you take a tour of the universe and a rove around the moon !
A new device has been developed by MIT using a small camera and a PDA to detect whether the person you are talking to is bored ! It vibrates when this is detected. I will wear mine round my neck to give me a regular massage !
After a trial in Scotland, the facility to make an appointment with the doctor via digital TV is being introduced countrywide. Eventually it should also be possible to order repeat prescriptions in this way. People who have cable, Freeview or Sky TV will be able to access this service via the 'Looking Local' portal
Slingbox : This is a device that enables you to watch you home TV on a laptop or PDA ANYWHERE in the world ! The Slingbox device plugs into your television source (cable, satellite, set-top box or DVR). The network connector on the Slingbox then connects to your Internet router with a standard ethernet cable, or wirelessly with a special bridge adapter. An infrared cable from the Slingbox, pointed at your TV or DVR gives you the ability to remotely control them from your computer. http://uk.slingmedia.com/page/slingbox.html
Japan, Sweden, Korea and Finland offer 100Mbps broadband connections, as all four countries have switched to fibre optic networks. I wonder if the elves have got it in Lapland.
The fingerprint scanner installed on some Dell laptops can now launch various programs !
Wont buy on the net? The UK Internet market is now worth £21.4 billion and 20 million people are said to have bought something that way.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEED?) has come into force. Distributors are now be responsible for the pick up and disposable of such equipment (even electronic toys) UNLESS they pay a one off charge of between £6,500 and £9,000 in respect of each Council tip in their area. We wait (with bated breath) to see how (if) that will work. The playing field has changed since this was thought up and much of this stuff is now bought remotely. So what do I do with the washing machine when it is past its sell by date ? I got it on the net. And I know the supplier of my VCR/DVD has gone to the wall.
Do you wonder what your TQ is ? That is your Technology Quotient. Take the test at www.whatisyourtq.com. (UK) The Supermarket game is fun, too
Mobile phones used to be as big as a brick and were used for telephoning. These days the spec is more likely to be like the Samsung U600 which features Quad Band (worldwide), Weight: 81 grams, 3.2 Megapixel Camera, MP3 Player, microSD Card Slot (memory) , Document viewer (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF), GPRS (satellite), FM Radio, and only 103.5 x 49.3 x 10.9 mm . In old money that means, er... small !
Something is afoot in the world of the Internet. It is like a new democracy with 'Power to the People'. Instead of being dictated to by the likes of Microsoft or some parliamentary group, people are sending up their photos, videos, and stories for the world to see. Unfortunately, some of the videos appear to be copyright material and Google, who bought out Youtube recently is being sued for one billion $$$. For an explanation of this phenomena take a look at what Bob Rankin says .....
http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_youtube.html http://askbobrankin.com/social_bookmarking.html http://askbobrankin.com/beyond_myspace.html
And there is that site at http://www.petitiononline.com/, where you can start a petition on almost anything from saving whales to Harlow Square and football transfers you don't agree with. Not to be outdone the Prime Minister has now got his own at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/
And even Wikipedia is an encyclopedia run by volunteers and updated by the man/woman in the street.
Then there is strange world where people take on another existence http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_second_life.html
Nanoscience subsidiary, Toumaz, has produced a 'digital sticking plaster' which will transmit vital information about a patient's condition to a hospital computer.
The government has set up a useful Search and Email site at www.myguide.net. It is extremely simple to use and you can obtain an e-mail address if you register. It would be useful for people who just wish to sign on at a library. The email facility allows you to be notified when e-mail arrives by a message to your mobile phone. I wonder how it will avoid spam.
One step forward, three steps back. See this embarassing video of a poor guy trying to do programming using Windows Speech Recognition engine : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyLqUf4cdwc&eurl=
Another cool gadget capable of a great deal is the T-Mobile MDA Compact III. Portable Satellite nav., Radio, MP3 player, emails, surf the net, take pictures and - almost forgot - you can use this telephone as a telephone. See also www.nokia.co.uk
Zune ? What on earth is a Zune ? It is Microsoft's answer to the iPod. It has a similar spec and price to an 'ordinary' iPod. So it will play music (WMA, MP3), video (WMV) and display pictures (JPG). It also is wireless, so can connect to PCs and other Zunes
A talking pill box! MedivoxRx ® has produced disposable talking bottle that provides audible label information and thus makes information about their medications more accessible to people who are elderly, visually and cognitively impaired, illiterate, or speak a different language. See http://www.rxtalks.com/
Amazing USB gadgets these days. Is there anything USB cannot do ? Here is a Freeview adapter from http://www.techfocus.co.uk/index.php. Just plug it in to your laptop or PC - as long as you can get Freeview in your area. TV on the move.
Manchester could become the biggest free wireless internet hotspot in Europe under plans unveiled by the city council.
Haptics is a new technology that will enable you to 'feel' a product you want to buy on line. Never mind the quality feel the width !
vSkype (Video Skype) is an add-on to Skype that lets you see people on a Skype call. How is vSkype Beta different from other Skype video plug-ins? It provides fast real-time video between you and all of your Skype contacts - up to 2.3 fps for anyone using a standard 56K modem, and up to 24 fps for anyone using Broadband. vSkype Beta also allows you to share display any open application, or even the entire desktop. You can add other callers during a call. With vSkype Beta it is possible for up to 200 people to participate in a single call or meeting without degrading overall performance ! All those people can broadcast video at the same time, if they choose, and each participant can view any 8 people at a given time.
If you really get fed up with Internet Explorer try the Firefox Browser. See Help9. It is free and very well thought of. You don't have to dispense with IE. In fact, you shouldn't try.
Infima is patenting a new method of compressing files (Music, video, Mp3s etc) which they claim will reduce them by up to 80% without loss of quality. You can get a free Beta copy (12Mb) from (www.myinfima.com)
If you would like to access your PC from anywhere take a look at www.gotomypc.com. Free 30 day trial. Mind you you would have to leave the thing ON
Google are introducing a number of tools, alongside their ubiquitous search engine. Personally I use it as my home page. They are also adding Google Trends (a search through past queries), Google Gadgets (additional info such as news on your Google page), Google Desktop, Google Coop and Google Notebook (save text and pictures), which used to be called Writely.
Dual and Quad Core processors.
You may have noticed that there has been a hiatus concerning the increasing speed of computer processors over the last year ot two. But this has not stopped, with the two main companies attempting to continue the progress of what used to be called "Moore's Law". Guru, Gordon Moore suggested in 1976 that computer processors would double in power every two years for a considerable time, mainly due to the increasing number of transistors that manufacturers managed to cram onto a piece of silicon. ( The first Pentium 4 chip had about 42 million) Although he changed his mind now and then, from one year to two year intervals, the prophesy was largely correct. Now, it seems, the developments are more likely to be in other directions. It is already possible to buy a Dual Core PC for under £500. Quad core machines are a little more expensive. What is more, the processors are able to tackle several things at the same time due also to the fact that they run on a 64bit rather than 32 bit basis. I will not attempt to describe the difference here (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64bit). Just accept that a 64bit dual core processor will be able to tackle much more than one job at a time. Currently, if you attempt to look up something on the Internet whilst you are creating that novel with a word processor you may find a distinct slowing down in both processes and you may get to see quite a lot of 'hourglasses'. The nice thing about the AMD dual core processor is that it will fit in the normal socket, with only a change in the computers BIOS needed. You can therefore expect that, within a year, most computers will be sold with this option, which bodes well for the 'all singing' computer that is expected to receive TV, record DVDs and play music to you whilst picking up your emails. Are you ready ?
It is now possible to purchase USB Infrared gadgets to connect equipment but only within a short distance (just like a video remote)
I have found a remarkable 'movement' going on around us, using the Internet
and e-mail to offer unused items free to people in their area. It is
called Freecycle and is happening all over the world. To find the Freecycle
group in your area just click on
http://www.freecycle.org/and look
for your town or district. Or, if you have friends abroad you can direct
them to the International link on this page. One contact I suggested
it to instantly off-loaded an old Win 95 computer that had been refused by
local charities. Another contact in America found 460 members in her local
area. In these days of recycling it is better to give stuff away than
throw it in the bin - and charity shops wont take electrical stuff. Once
on the list you will also see offers from other people. One word of
warning : If you join a large group your Inbox may get pretty full.
But it is easy enough change the setting so you get all offers in one composite
email per week.
Windows Live, the latest idea from Microsoft. See
http://ideas.live.com/ Microsoft
says :'Your online world gets better when everything works simply and
effortlessly together. That's the basic idea behind Windows Live. So the
things you care about - your friends, the latest information, your e-mails,
powerful search, your PC files, everything – comes together in one place.'
Skype, the free telephone via Internet system, keeps on developing, though some of the facilities are charged. It is now possible to use Skype with a webcam. With SkypeOut you can call ordinary landline phones and with SkypeIn it is possible for people to call your special Skype number from a landline phone. Providing you have a handheld computer with Windows Mobile 5.0 or 2003 for Pocket PC .a 312MHz processor and a high speed wireless Internet connection it will be possible for people to call you (or you call them) anywhere there is a Wi-Fi facility.
Mobile telephones are getting more sophisticated. If you are prepared to sign up on a T-mobile contract you can get a free Motorola A780 phone which uses Linux as an operating system and can (1) synchronise with your PC. (2) Browse Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents (3) Hold and playback MP3 tunes (4) Take photos and videos (5) Accepts stylus input (6) Uses Global positioning for satellite navigation down to street level anywhere in Europe. (7) Will act as a voice recorder (8) Makes you a cup of tea ??.... And, oh yes, you can make phone calls with it, too ! All very old hat now they have touch screens and or 3D
ADSL2 and ADSL2+ are advanced forms of ADSL. With new modems, good quality connections and comparatively short distances from a digital exchange, the speed increases that are possible with Broadband go up from 8 megabits per second up to 12 (ADSL2), then 24 (ADSL2+). This technology is already here. See http://www.internode.on.net/adsl2/graph/
Podcasting : Allowing people to download sounds they can hear on their Ipod or other portable player. Now we have Godcasting : The Rev Ledbetter of Knowsley has 600 people downloading his messages and sermons. He says it is great for young and old alike.
Microsoft is offering some free software that enables you to return a computer to the state it was in before you started experimenting with new software - or before the grandchildren messed it up. They suggest it is used by libraries, schools etc but it also has a use at home. See the article at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sharedaccess/default.mspx
XP Pro has now entered what Microsoft calls the "extended" support phase,
which runs until 2014: During that time, Microsoft will continue to offer
security updates for download; and will keep self-help resources available
for free via the Knowledgebase and other Microsoft.Com sites; but tech support
will be available only for a fee. In effect, XP Pro will go into a stable
maintenance period, with little or no new features added.
www.crimestoppers-uk.org/wanted
displays list of the most wanted criminals. I would think by now most of
them are no longer in the UK, which one might consider a success in itself
! But, if you have made a mint in a heist, you can probably afford the best
in cosmetic surgery !
The cost of plasma TV screens is falling (from thousands to hundreds) and most have a DV input, which means PC's (or cameras) with a DVI output can use them. See www.dabs.com/uk
The new Portable Media Centre (PMC) devices can play video, photographs, music and TV (WMV, MPEG2, JPG,WMA, MP3 ). There is a cable to attach to your TV if you wish to see them on a bigger screen. To connect it to your PC for downloads you need USB2 on an XP machine running the latest Windows Media Player (10) or Vista.
In 1981 (before PC hard disks were invented) I wrote in a magazine ""How would it be possible to make a truly portable computer ? Imagine a screen similar to the top of an overhead projector but half an inch deep. Displayed on the screen will be questions in the form of 'Menus'. A touch of the appropriate line with a pointer or finger will display the information you require or another menu................" The latest ideas for laptops will incorporate my inventions but will also include such things as Fuel Cells, which will provide electricity from a gas capsule, and energy efficient OLED screens and solid hard disks.
The RNIB has software that they can install on mobile phones to tell blind people about text messages, battery level etc. They charge £150 to install it. (Another scandalous rip off for the disabled). Or, ' in certain situations' they can supply a phone free, or you can install the software from a PC. How can anyone charge a blind person £150 just to install some software! When, one day, software is available to enable me to see what people are saying on my phone I imagine the RNID will charge deaf people the same, or even more, as the software is more complex.
Sharp has developed a method by which an LCD monitor (for TV, PC or mobile phone) will be able to display 3D images (without the use of glasses)
NFC (Near Frequency Communications) is being incorporated into mobile phones in Japan and Hong Kong. The phones can be primed with cash. To pay for something you will merely wave the phone at the till. Fraud is avoided because it only works within a few centimetres and only to the extent of the cash you have put in.
E-bay, the on line auction site, is popular, with 21 million items on sale worldwide, with 175 million searches a day. 150,000 Americans are estimated to have given up their jobs to buy and sell on the site. At last the US is doing some recycling . But they seem not to have discovered the 'Boot Sale' !
GPS. Global Positioning from Satellites. From next year the U.S. is insisting that mobile phones will be traceable if you phone an emergency number. Or even if you don't? "He's behind you ! Oh! Yes he is !"
OLEDs, TOLEDs and FOLEDs. The latest Light Emitting Diodes to be used in screens are ORGANIC (like everything else these days). However, they are not grown in fields spread with real sewage but are super efficient (meaning low power use). TOLEDs are semi transparent. FOLEDs are flexible. Watch this page for future developments.
Connecting to the net using "Hotspots": A number of airports and even the Kings Cross to Edinburgh train have Hotspots, enabling people with laptops fitted with Wi-Fi (and most are) to connect to the net. But you will probably have to book some time with them to enable this to happen. Starbucks cafes have hotspots but charge £5.50 for a one hour ticket. It is now possible to connect from your laptop on some aircraft (without causing it to land in a panic) Want to know where the Hotspots are ? Click on www.zdnet.co.uk/specials/wifimap
The UK Highways Authority is trialling a Broadband network link built into traffic signs and street lights, so you will be able to access the net from your car....whilst driving at 70?
The RIM Blackberry smartphone intercepts your emails and downloads them over GPRS via satellite wherever you are in the world.
Hard disk TV recorders (PVR's - personal video recorders) are with us for around under £100. Said to be higher quality and more flexible than VCR's, they can be set with an EPG (Electronic Program Guide). You get around 20 hours of TV on the smallest (40Gb) PVR
The Dept. of Trade and Industry is to implement European law regarding Cookies (those little text files that web sites leave on your computer to help them track down your use of their sites). In future it will be necessary for UK firms to alert you as to what they are doing. But many still don't.
Digital this, digital that. It seems the whole world's media can be converted to zeros and ones. And that is the way things are going. Expect to see the PC as the centre of linked systems which will download, save and play TV, Hi-fi music, videos, CD's, DVD's, movies, messaging, phone calls. And the whole thing can be done without wires ! Now where did I put that controller ? And which button...... ? Perhaps they can invent a device which helps you find the controller with a video as to how to use it.
CD/DVD writers - See separate page for a
full description of CD writers.
Printers - See separate page for information
on Printers.
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