TechBlog

Apple’s CEO says that Android is fragmented and that the open vs. closed dilemma is not important as long as Apple’s proprietary mobile operating system manages to provide a better user experience. “Many Android OEMs install proprietary user-interfaces to differentiate themselves from the commodity Android experience. The user is left to figure it all out. Compare this with iPhone where ever handset works the same. (…) We think the open vs closed is just a smokescreen to try and hide the real issue, which is: What’s best for the customer? Fragmented vs. integrated. We think Android is very very fragmented and becoming more fragmented by the day.” ...

Maybe your main problem with tattoos is probably the fact that you’ve never been able to play Pong on them. But those problems seem to be over now that an international team of researchers, led by John Rogers at the University of Illinois, has developed a new flexible array of LEDs that can be implanted under the skin. The researchers managed to make the LED matrix implantable by encasing the electronics in a thin layer of silicon rubber that makes the whole thing functional even when exposed to biofluids. Mc10, a new company founded by Rogers, hopes to commercialize the new technology over the next few years. ...

In late January, the Number Resource Organization (NRO) warned that IPv4 addresses were drying up, with less than 10% unallocated — a figure that has shrunk rapidly over the last nine months. The organization now reports that two more blocks of IPv4 addresses have been assigned, putting the number of vacant addresses below 5%. “This is a major milestone in the life of the Internet, and means that allocation of the last blocks of IPv4 to the RIRs is imminent,” said NRO chairman Axel Pawlik. He continued by urging all Internet stakeholders to take action now by adopting IPv6, the “next generation” of the Internet Protocol, which offers infinitely more address space. IPv4 (32-bit) gives up to 4.3 billion addresses, whereas IPv6 (128-bit) provides 340 undecillion addresses (340 billion billion billion billion — that’s 36 zeros). ...

There has been an “unprecedented wave” of exploits against vulnerabilities in Oracle’s Java during the third quarter of this year, according to data from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center. The software giant provided the following data to back its claims, outlining three specific vulnerabilities (all of which have patches available) that are being exploited en masse: CVE Attacks Computers Description 2008-5353 3,560,669 1,196,480 A deserialization issue in vulnerable versions of JRE (Java Runtime Environment) allows remote code execution through Java-enabled browsers on multiple platforms, such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X. 2009-3867 2,638,311 1,119,191 Another remote code execution, multi-platform issue caused by improper parsing of long file:// URL arguments. 2010-0094 213,502 173,123 Another deserialization issue, very similar to CVE-2008-5353. As you can see, the first two are particularly worrying: they’ve gone from hundreds of thousands per quarter to millions. The third one is the newest, so it’s possible that it will also do the same. ...

Google just took a jab at Microsoft. Oh, the search giant already did that last week, and it wasn’t the first time? Yes, you’re right, but now it’s Google CEO Eric Schmidt targeting the software giant’s biggest product, the latest version of which is particularly successful. Schmidt recently made comments about Windows 7 during a question and answer session at the 25th anniversary celebration of MIT’s legendary Media Lab. In a wide-ranging discussion with National Public Radio journalist John Hockenberry, Schmidt proclaimed that the goal of great technology is to get people to use computers less so they can be more productive. That’s fine, but he didn’t stop there. “The hours I spend reprogramming my PC in Windows 7 is not a very good use of my time,” he told students in the MIT Media Lab auditorium according to CRN. “Why I choose to do that in the first place is a problem with judgment,” he added. ...

The time for rumors and speculations is drawing to a close—as far as AMD’s upcoming Radeon HD 6850 and 6870 are concerned, at least. These two next-generation graphics cards are churning away in Damage Labs as we speak, and for the first time, we can bring you official, genuine pictures of them. Here’s the 6870… …and its little brother, the Radeon HD 6850: and More pictures: ...

Apple’s chief executive, Steve Jobs, said that Google’s mobile platform was “fragmented” and bad for developers and consumers. Steve Jobs launched in to an astonishing five-minute critique of rival companies, operating systems and platforms during the earnings call, in which Apple announced record profits of $20bn for the quarter. He said that the Google Android platform was “fragmented”, and not as open as some people made out, while also saying that iPad-style tablet computers with smaller 7in screens would be “dead on arrival”. ...

Google is set to expand into television production by joining forces with Sony to release new TV sets that allow viewers to browse the Internet. The high-definition sets, which were unveiled in New York, will have LCD screens ranging from 24 inches to 46 inches and a remote control system that comes with the standard QWERTY keyboard to enter search requests, send emails or make comments on the Web whilst simultaneously whilst watching television. ...

The New Acrobat X is finally here! What can it do for education? Here is a quick list of new and improved features: New user interface The Interface tool pane brings top user needs out front Customizable Tool Bar Tools Pane reveals most useful tools to improve productivity Tools and Tasks are easier to access HUD display provides more real estate for viewing __ Amazing document repurposing New export options allow for Word and Excel options including headers, footers, and worksheets New scanning engine improves accuracy and file size Efficient tagging and reflow ensure viewing and access on a variety of screens __ ...

Media report about a new privacy leak on Facebook which has been found just recently. It is possible to find out with which persons someone is in contact with – therefore one just has to create a fake account using a known email address of the person to spy upon. Facebook doesn’t verify whether the address is real so the new account can already be used. Up to 20 contacts are visible according to the reports. ...