Know me

Visitors to the Toshiba Science Museum in Kawasaki, Japan, got a treat the other day when the electronics giant showed off a new two-wheeled robot that can balance a plate of food on its head.The bot seems to be called Wheelie, and it's still experimental.

Toshiba hasn't released any info on it yet, but judging from the video, it can self-balance like a Segway, tackle a gentle gradient, and avoid obstacles.
It can also squeeze into tight spots. Two small retractable wheels pop out for added stability while Wheelie is in standby mode.
Its purpose seems to be to help out around the home by carrying objects to and fro. Looks like it would make a good mobile beer coaster, too.
Toshiba has produced a number of household robots, including ApriPoko, ApriAlpha, and ApriAttenda, but unfortunately has yet to commercialize them. I hope Wheelie isn't another tease.

All week long we've been talking about the popularity of 3D technology, both in the home and in the theater, and we've finally decided to invite someone on the show to answer our questions on the future of home theater. David Katzmaier, senior editor of TVs and home theater for CNET, joins us on today's episode to fill us in on the latest developments in the world of 3D TVs and what we can expect to see down the line.

3D TVs were easily the biggest trend at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, but they've only recently started becoming available to consumers. Panasonic announced its first 3D TV bundle at Best Buy earlier this week, but before you run out and drop $2,900, make sure you know exactly what you're getting into.
For example, David talks to us about the extra hardware you'll need to purchase along with your 3D TV. Aside from the obvious 3D-compatible television set, you'll also need a 3D Blu-ray player (unless you have a Sony PS3, which will get a 3D firmware upgrade in June 2010), and a couple sets of 3D glasses, since some companies like Sony won't include them with the TVs.

David also points out that although the concept of 3D TVs are definitely exciting, it'll be awhile before enough 3D video games and 3D DVDs come out to justify the high price of the hardware. In the meantime, it's worth the experience to head out to a theater and view a 3D movie, especially with so many titles coming out this year. "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D are still in theaters, and with "Titanic" and In "The Beginning" (adaptation of the Genesis story) coming down the pike, there are plenty of opportunities to familiarize yourself with 3D before writing it off or becoming a fanboy.
We tried to answer as many of your 3D TV questions as possible, but don't stress if we didn't get to yours--there's a good chance that CNET's comprehensive 3D TV FAQ and 3D TV resource guide have your answers. We'll also have David on the show again soon as more 3D TV news unfolds. Have a great weekend everyone!

The recent flood of news about new 3D TVs, itself spurred by the hype surrounding the 3D release of "Avatar," has raised a few questions. This article, arranged in the tried-but-true manner of "Frequently Asked Questions," attempts to answer them.

When this FAQ was first published in January 2010 we polled the six major TV makers that announced new 3D models--LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Vizio--to help with some answers. We also gleaned information from enthusiast sites like AVS forum and EngadgetHD. In the last couple of months more details have been announced, and we've had more in-depth conversations on the subject. You'll find many updates incorporated into the answers below, which represent our best current information on the subject.
This article is targeted toward people looking for an introduction to modern 3D TV technology. If you're an advanced reader just looking for the latest news your best bet is going straight to CNET's 3D TV resource guide. And if you have anything to add to this article, feel free to leave a comment or at least vote in the poll.
1. What is 3D TV?
3D TV is a generic term for a display technology that lets home viewers experience TV programs, movies, games, and other video content in a stereoscopic effect. It adds the illusion of a third dimension, depth, to current TV and HDTV display technology, which is typically limited to only height and width ("2D").
2. How can you get 3D from a 2D screen?
A 3D TV or theater screen showing 3D content displays two separate images of the same scene simultaneously, one intended for the viewer's right eye and one for the left eye. The two full-size images occupy the entire screen and appear intermixed with one another--objects in one image are often repeated or skewed slightly to the left (or right) of corresponding objects in the other--when viewed without the aid of special 3D glasses. When viewers don the glasses, they can perceive these two images as a single 3D image.

Here's what a 3D video game looks like without the glasses.
(Credit: Jeff Bakalar/CNET)
The system relies on a visual process called stereopsis. The eyes of an adult human lie about 2.5 inches apart, which lets each eye see objects from slightly different angles. The two images on a 3D TV screen present objects from two slightly different angles as well, and when those images combine in the viewer's mind with the aid of the glasses, the illusion of depth is created.
3. How is the new 3D TV technology different from older 3D?
Most people are familiar with the old anaglyph method, where a pair of glasses with lenses tinted red and cyan (or other colors) is used to combine two false-color images. The result seen by the viewer is discolored and usually lower-resolution than the new method.
The principal improvements afforded by new 3D TV technologies are full color and high resolution--reportedly full 1080p HD resolution for both eyes in the Blu-ray 3D, for example, and half that resolution in the DirecTV system. We expect DirecTV's 3D channels to look quite sharp despite lack of full 1080p resolution; see HDTV resolution explained for some reasons why.

A pair of LC shutter glasses
(Credit: Panasonic)
New 3D TVs require active liquid crystal shutter glasses, which work by very quickly blocking each eye in sequence (120 times per second systems like Panasonic's Full HD 3D). The glasses, in addition to the liquid-crystal lenses, contain electronics and batteries (typically good for 80 or more hours), that sync to the TV via an infrared or Bluetooth signal.
(Note: For the remainder of this article, any mention of "3D" refers to the new full-color, high-resolution version, not the old anaglyph variety.)
4. How is 3D TV different from 3D in the theater?
Many viewers have experienced newer 3D presentations, such as IMAX 3D, in movie theaters. Though the technologies differ somewhat--most theaters use passive polarized 3D glasses, for example--the main practical difference between 3D TV in the home and theatrical 3D is the size of the screen. In the home, the image is generally much smaller, occupying a lower percentage of viewers' fields of vision. Among TV makers we asked, only Panasonic recommend a closer seating distance (of 3x the screen height away--about 6.2 feet from a 50-inch screen) for a better experience; however, we suspect sitting closer or watching on a bigger screen will definitely help with any home 3D presentation. Smaller screens may also present other issues unique to 3D, such as a relatively narrow viewing distance range.
One advantage of 3D TV at home as opposed to the theater is user control. You can generally sit where you want relative to the screen at home, and some 3D compatible TVs provide some control over the 3D experience in addition to standard picture settings. Samsung's models, for example, allow you to adjust the "G axis," or the amount of 3D effect, to taste, comfort or to compensate for variations in eye spacing.
Since we at CNET haven't yet tested any 3D TVs thoroughly, we can't definitively speak to other differences between home and in-theater 3D yet.
5. Can everyone see 3D?
No. Between 5 percent and 10 percent of Americans suffer from stereo blindness, according to the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. They often have good depth perception--which relies on more than just stereopsis--but cannot perceive the depth dimension of 3D video presentations. Some stereo-blind viewers can watch 3D material with no problem as long as they wear glasses; it simply appears as 2D to them. Others may experience headaches, eye fatigue or other problems. (See also TV industry turns blind eye to non-3D viewers.)
6. I've heard 3D causes headaches. Is that true?
Most people watching 3D suffer no ill effects after a brief orientation period lasting a few seconds as the image "snaps" into place, but in others, 3D can cause disorientation or headaches after extended periods. Viewer comfort is a major concern of 3D content producers; too much of a 3D effect can become tiresome after a while, abrupt camera movement can be disorienting, and certain onscreen objects can appear blurry, for example. Creators of 3D movies for children also have to account for the fact that a child's eyes are closer together (about 2 inches) than an adult's.
7. Does everyone watching a 3D TV need to wear the glasses?
Yes. Every member of a family sitting around the 3D TV, for example, must wear the glasses to see the 3D effect. If they don't, the image on the screen will appear doubled, distorted, and, for most practical purposes, unwatchable. Currently, there's no technology that lets a single TV display both 2D and 3D content simultaneously without glasses.
People who wear normal prescription lenses already can experience the full effect--and generally suffer little or no discomfort--by wearing the 3D glasses too, which are designed to fit over an existing pair of glasses.
8. Do I need a new TV?
Yes. With one exception, none of the TV manufacturers we spoke with said that any of their current HDTVs can be upgraded to support the new 3D formats used by Blu-ray, DirecTV and others. One reason is because the TV must be able to accept a higher-bandwidth signal (technically a 120Hz signal) to display those formats, and older TVs--even non-3D LCDs that mention high refresh rates like 120Hz and 240Hz, as well as "600Hz" plasmas--cannot handle such a signal. Another is that 3D requires different video processing and additional hardware, including some way to send the necessary Infrared or Bluetooth signal to the 3D glasses.
3D TV roundup (photos)

The exception applies to the approximately 4 million 3D compatible rear-projection DLP and plasma TVs sold in the last few years by Mitsubishi and Samsung. Both companies sold such DLPs, and Samsung also sold the PNB450 (2009) and PNA450 (2008) series plasmas, but all of them required a special 3D kit, along with connection to a PC source, to display 3D. Now Mitsubishi has announced a converter box, available later this year (model 3DC-1000, reportedly $100) that will allow those older TVs from both makers to display 3D Blu-ray, DirecTV and other new 3D formats. For its part Samsung says it has no plans to release its own such box. It remains to be seen how the old 3D compatible TVs can compare to the newer models in terms of 3D picture quality.
9. Do I need a new Blu-ray player, cable box, game console, or AV receiver?
With one huge exception the answer for Blu-ray players is "yes." No Blu-ray player maker has said it will upgrade existing 2009 or earlier standalone players to work with Blu-ray 3D movies, so a new 3D Blu-ray player will be required for many viewers to view the new 3D Blu-rays.
CES 2010: 3D Blu-ray player roundup (photos)

The Sony PS3 is the huge exception. Sony says that the game console will receive two separate firmware upgrades--one for gaming and another to allow display of 3D Blu-rays--in June 2010. Previously there was some confusion about whether the Blu-ray capability of the console would in fact be full HD resolution as seen on newer standalone Blu-ray players, but Sony assures us that it will, despite the fact that the PS3 is not HDMI 1.4-certified (question 10). When we asked about another rumor, which hinted that the console's 3D capability would only work with Sony TVs, the company replied that the PS3 would work in 3D with any 3D-compatible TV, regardless of brand.
As for the Xbox 360 and the Wii, neither Microsoft nor Nintendo has outlined its plans for 3D gaming.
DirecTV has said that its lower-resolution 3D system will require only a free software update to the company's current HD boxes. No other TV provider has announced 3D yet, but we assume some will follow suit and enable 3D without a new box.
Unless you use your AV receiver for switching between HDMI video sources, you won't have to upgrade to enjoy 3D Blu-ray movies. You can instead opt for a Blu-ray player with dual-HDMI outputs, such as the Panasonic DMP-BDT350, or forgo high-resolution audio (Dolby True HD or DTS Master Audio) that requires an HDMI connection to the receiver. If you do want to retain HDMI switching on a receiver with even a single 3D source (with the possible exception of the PS3), you will need to get an AV receiver that's 3D compatible. Numerous AV receiver makers have announced so-equipped 2010 models, including Onkyo, Pioneer and Sony, while 3D compatible home theater systems are also coming this year.

HDMI 1.4 cables are coming, but don't buy them just for 3D.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)
10. Can I use my existing HDMI cables?
At this point, it appears you can. We've heard conflicting reports from manufacturers, but the best information we have indicates that most current HDMI cables, including the inexpensive ones CNET recommends, will work fine with the new 3D formats. One caveat is that that longer cables, say over three feet, might have problems. We'll be able to confirm once we can test one of the new 3D TVs with a 3D Blu-ray player, but until then we recommend trying to use your old cables before spending extra on "high-speed," "HDMI 1.4-certified" or "3D-ready" HDMI cables.
There has also been some confusion over whether certification in the newest HDMI standards, namely HDMI 1.4 and HDMI 1.4a, is required for cables, TVs or other AV gear to properly handle 3D. The answer according to sources we spoke with, including Sony, is "no." In short, HDMI specification is a messy business. Being HDMI 1.4 certified doesn't mean that certain features of the new specification, such as 3D, higher-than-1080p resolution and a new Ethernet channel, are necessarily included on a given piece of hardware. Our best advice is to ignore the HDMI version of a particular product and focus on actual features provided in manufacturer product information, such as the ability to handle 3D.
11. Can I watch current 2D shows, movies, games, and other content in 3D?
That depends on the TV. Samsung, Sony and Toshiba models will include 2D to 3D conversion processing that will allow viewers to "watch everything in 3D." However, we don't expect these systems, especially in their first generation, to come close to the realism of true 3D content. We checked out a canned demo of Toshiba's process at CES and it seemed to work, but it certainly could stand improvement.
Panasonic's 2010 3D TVs announced so far do not offer 2D to 3D conversion. No other TV manufacturer (namely LG and Vizio among current purveyors of 3D TVs) has announced a built-in conversion system. Given the lack of true 3D content, we wouldn't be surprised to hear about a add-on 2D to 3D solution that works with the new TVs.
12. Can the 3D feature on a 3D TV be tuned off?
Yes. All 3D TVs will display current 2D content with no problem and no glasses required, and we don't expect their picture quality in 2D to be any worse than on an equivalent 2D HDTV. The Blu-ray 3D specification calls for all such discs to also include a 2D version of the movie, allowing current 2D players to play them with no problem.
13. Do 3D TVs use more power?
It's just too early to know until we can test one. No manufacturer we asked would say one way or another whether power use increased in 3D mode. Two other sources CNET spoke with, the head of USC's Entertainment Technology Center, as well as Bruce Berkoff of the LCD TV association, said it does not.
On the other hand, it's true that the active LC shutter glasses effectively block half of the light arriving from the screen, and the lenses are not entirely transparent to begin with, so logically a TV displaying a 3D image could use more power than the same TV to produce a 2D image of equivalent brightness. We also understand that Panasonic's 3D plasma, for example, includes a built-in "brightness offset" that automatically increases the light output (a major component of power use) to make up for the dimmer image when viewed through the glasses. It's conceivable that other makers do the same kind of thing.

The 3D-compatible Samsung UNC7000 series is available for sale now.
(Credit: Samsung) 14. What 3D TVs are going to be available this year?
Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Toshiba, among others, announced 3D TVs that will ship in 2010. The first to arrive was the Samsung UNC7000 series, followed closely by the Panasonic TC-P50V20. More will appear in late spring and early summer: more Samsungs in April, May and later; LG's 3D TV in May; Sony's models in June; Vizio's line in August; and Toshiba's CELL TV later. See CNET's CES 2010 TV wrap-up for more information, or check out the videos.
15. Do 3D TVs come with glasses? How many pairs?
Only Sony, Panasonic, and Toshiba are on record saying that their models, the LX900 series (two pairs), the 50VT20/VT25 series (one pair), and CELL TV (number of pairs not specified), respectively, would include the necessary glasses. Sony's other 3D series aside from the LX900 will reportedly not include glasses.
Samsung has not announced the inclusion of glasses on any of its models. The company is offering a bundle deal, however; when you buy a new 3D TV and 3D Blu-ray player, you get a "starter kit" consisting of two pairs of glasses and a Blu-ray version of "Monsters vs. Aliens." Panasonic has a similar deal, albeit with a 50-inch plasma, a Blu-ray player, one pair of glasses and no movie (yet).
Glasses are currently proprietary for each manufacturer, so for example if you have a Samsung 3D TV, only the new Samsung 3D glasses will work with it.
16. What 3D movies are coming out this year on home video? 3D TV channels? 3D games?
Blu-ray movies announced this year in full-HD 3D include "Monsters vs. Aliens," "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," "Disney's A Christmas Carol," "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," and all three "Shrek" movies. More 3D movies are sure to be announced soon, among them the first non-animated titles. The biggest question mark is "Avatar," whose 3D home video details are still uncertain, although director James Cameron may have betrayed a November release date.
In a USA Today interview, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said "Monsters vs. Aliens" (available in March, officially the first 3D Blu-ray to use the new technology) and "Shrek" (4th quarter of 2010) would be exclusive to Samsung for a year, which we assume means that they'll only be included in the starter kit. In the same article Samsung's Bookeun Yoon, president of the company's visual display business, predicted that 70 3D Blu-ray titles would be available by the end of the year.

This logo is reserved for Blu-ray discs that use the "new" 3D technology.
(Credit: Blu-ray Disc Association)
Existing Blu-ray and DVD discs in 3D, such as "Coraline" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth," contain versions of the films (and often a couple pairs of colored glasses) in the old anaglyph style, and so cannot deliver full-color, high-resolution 3D. The best way to differentiate between the new ("full HD") and the old ("anaglyph") 3D Blu-ray discs is to look for the official 3D Blu-ray logo.
DirecTV will be the first TV provider with 3D content, announcing three 3D channels of its own (one on-demand channel, one pay channel, and one free channel). Content is scarce, although select sporting events, namely the All-Star Game in baseball and the World Cup in Soccer, will also be presented in 3D. ESPN and Discovery each said it would also launch 3D channels this year, although no provider, including DirecTV, has yet announced carriage of either one.
With the help of gear like the Nvidia 3D kit, PCs have been able to deliver 3D games, many converted from 2D versions, for the last few years to some compatible TVs (see question 8) and monitors. However, no console games specifically designed to work with the new 3D TVs have been announced, aside from Avatar: The Game. We expect 3D versions of existing games to be announced this year, perhaps with an "upgrade path" allowing existing owners to not have to repurchase the game at full price, but nothing's been officially announced yet.
17. Will 3D TVs work with all 3D formats?
Unlike with Blu-ray versus HD DVD, there doesn't seem to be a major "format war" between the various methods for delivering 3D. All of the TV makers we spoke with specified that their upcoming 3D sets would work with the Blu-ray format, and we expect them all to support DirecTV's 3D channels and the well-established RealD format as well. When we asked about other 3D formats, including ones that use side-by-side, checkerboard, and top-and-bottom modes, and 3D found on current source devices like PCs using Nvidia's 3D Vision, TV makers who responded either specified their sets would be compatible or implied they would be by launch time. In short, compatibility shouldn't be a major hurdle for 3D TVs, although the glasses are proprietary to each manufacturer (question 15).
18. How much does all of this cost?
3D TVs and Blu-ray players are invariably found at the high end of manufacturers' product lines in 2010. They command a minimum $200-$300 premium over the most similar non-3D versions, although they often include extra other features unrelated to 3D that help jack up that price. The least expensive 3D TV announced so far is the Samsung PN50C7000 plasma ($1,700, April), which does not include the glasses. Check out our list of 3D compatible TVs for pricing information on currently available models.
The only 3D-compatible Blu-ray player currently available is the Samsung BD-C6900 ($250-$400), while the Panasonic DMP-BD350/300 (both $400) will be available soon. When Sony releases its 3D Blu-ray firmware update later this summer (question 9) the PS3 Slim ($299) will become 3D compatible, while the Sony BDP-S470 ($200), as well as other 2010 Sony models, will also get firmware updates to go 3D. No other Blu-ray maker has announced a similar upgrade plan, and no other 3D player has been announced with pricing.
Panasonic and Samsung have said each pair of 3D glasses will cost $150, and we expect other makers to charge the same amount initially. You'll need four pairs of glasses for your family of four, for example, to all watch a 3D movie together, which works out to $600 when sold separately.
We don't expect 3D Blu-ray discs to cost much more than their 2D counterparts, and you should be able to use your old HDMI cables (question 10).
19. Seriously, is 3D TV any good or just the latest gimmick to get me to buy new crap?
In our early opinion, informed by the limited demos we've seen, the new 3D TV technology seen under the right conditions can be very impressive and definitely delivers a "wow" factor that will appeal to fans of immersive home theater, gamers, and other early adopters. Aside from screen size, the experience is very similar to what you'll see at the theater.

But that screen size difference is huge, and final versions of 3D TVs shipping later this year might perform differently from demos. And we have no idea how home viewing conditions like ambient light, seating distance, viewing angle, and other factors, which figure less prominently into the theater experience, affect 3D in the home.
Finally, when evaluating whether 3D TV is "any good," it's worth drawing attention again to the many issues described above and elsewhere.
And of course, like any new technology (or product for that matter), 3D is in essence intended to get you to buy more stuff. Years of underwhelming 3D implementations and misguided marketing earns 3D more of a right than other technologies to bear the description "gimmick." Again, we recommend seeing 3D in the theater, or better yet visiting an electronics store and seeing a 3D TV demo yourself, before writing 3D off or becoming a fanboy/girl. Even after seeing an impressive in-store demo (check out the video above), it pays to consider how the technology would be used in your home.
20. I'm thinking of buying a new TV. Should I wait for 3D TVs?
Not unless you're an early adopter or a die-hard 3D fan who simply can't wait for the next best thing. 3D content will be rare in the first couple of years. Glasses, 3D gear, and of course, the TVs themselves will command a premium price. And like any technology, we expect it to improve quickly--although glasses-free 3D is still a few years away. Getting a new, non-3D TV now is still a fairly safe bet, and you can be sure to enjoy it even after 3D becomes more common. Even when 3D is available on just about every TV--something we expect to happen within the next few years--viewers will probably don the glasses mainly for special events like sports and movies, and not necessarily to watch the evening news.
So there you have it: the basics of what we know about 3D TV today. We're receiving updated information constantly, so we'll update this article periodically and add new questions and answers when appropriate. In the meantime, feel free to sound off in the comments section if we missed something major, think we did a good job, or you just feel like venting.

Browser makers, grappling with outmoded technology and a vision to rebuild the Web as a foundation for applications, have begun converging on a seemingly basic by very important element of cloud computing.That ability is called local storage, and the new mechanism is called Indexed DB.Indexed DB, proposed by Oracle and initially called WebSimpleDB, is largely just a prototype at this stage, not something Web programmers can use yet.

But already it's won endorsements from Microsoft, Mozilla, and Google, and together, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome account for more than 90 percent of the usage on the Net today.

"Indexed DB is interesting to both Firefox and Microsoft, so if we get to the point where we prototype it and want to ship it, it will have very wide availability," said Chris Blizzard, director of evangelism for Mozilla.
And standardization could come. Advocates have worked Indexed DB into the considerations of the W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium that standardizes HTML and other Web technologies. In the W3C discussions, Indexed DB got a warm reception from Opera, the fifth-ranked browser.
Microsoft comes to the table
The creation of the Indexed DB interface is notable for another reason: Microsoft.
For years, Microsoft essentially sat out a lot of HTML discussions. Now, though, become closely involved, for example through detailed feedback from Pablo Castro, a Microsoft software architect. Castro not only praised Indexed DB on his blog, but also said that Microsoft is hiring staff to work on Indexed DB.
Finally, Microsoft publicly endorsed Indexed DB on its IE blog: "Together with Mozilla, we're excited about a new design for local storage called Indexed DB. We think this is a great solution for the Web," said program manager Adrian Bateman.
Microsoft's praise is important. For one thing, the company maintains a dominant, though diminishing, share of browser usage, so even Web programmers who've scorned the company's earlier lack of interest in advancing Web technologies should pay attention to what it says. They should pay even more attention when Microsoft and its longtime arch-rival Mozilla agree on something. Microsoft's cooperation makes it more likely Indexed DB will be a real tool for Web programmers, not just an academic concept with little real-world relevance.
For another, Microsoft is working hard on the next generation of its browser, with IE 9 getting a starring role at the company's Mix conference next week. Though the company has been mostly mum about what new technologies will arrive in its updated browser, its activity signals that the company is very serious about the market.
Local or on the Net?
It may sound perverse, but the ability to store data locally on a computer turns out to be a very important part of the Web application era that's really just getting under way. The whole idea behind cloud computing is to put applications on the network, liberating them from being tied to a particular computer, but it turns out that the computer still matters, because the network is neither fast nor ubiquitous.
Local storage lets Web programmers save data onto computers where it's convenient for processors to access. That can mean, for example, that some aspects of Gmail and Google Docs can work while you're disconnected from the network. It also lets data be cached on the computer for quick access later. The overall state of the Web application is maintained on the server, but stashing data locally can make cloud computing faster and more reliable.
"Building a database to store a line of text is like hitting metal screws into wood with a very big hammer--it works, but it probably isn't the best way. But for managing large-scale data in Web applications and widgets, a real database is more valuable," said Charles McCathieNevile, Opera's chief standards officer. That enables offline e-mail, better management of bookmarks, dictionaries, synchronized contacts, and other sophisticated abilities, he said.
Web browsers have been able to store data locally for years in a primitive fashion through small text files called cookies. Browser makers have been casting about for a more powerful mechanism, though, resulting in a hodge-podge of possibilities.
One newer method, appropriately enough called LocalStorage, is supported in Firefox and IE 8. But even as it becomes formally standardized through the W3C as Web Storage, browser makers have recognized its limits for modern browser designs.
One problem is that LocalStorage stems from the days when browser computing took place in a single computing process, a design that meant programmers didn't have to worry about one browser task meddling with data that another browser task thought it was controlling. With multi-process browsers arriving--Chrome is an example today, and Firefox is moving in that direction--browsers get the ability to do more things in parallel, and LocalStorage can't keep up.
"Because more than one [browser] tab can access the same data, you have to make sure that what one tab does is seen by others at the same time," Blizzard said. "That's extra-hard with a browser that might have more than one process."
The rise and fall of Web SQL
Another local storage method from Apple, Web SQL and sometimes called Web DB, offers more sophistication and enjoyed a start in the HTML standards process. It employed an ages-old standard for storing and retrieving data called Structured Query Language.
Safari supports Web SQL, as does Chrome 4, and Opera is building support in since the technology is in use on the Web.
Web SQL ran into problems, though. SQL has as many variations as there are databases that support it, and Web SQL used one from software called SQLite. That interface isn't standardized, though.
Google, despite the fact that its Gears browser plug-in uses a SQL interface to provide offline access to Gmail and other services, shares the concern that "the dialect of SQL is currently not specified," spokesman Eitan Bencuya said. "There are ongoing conversations about specifying in greater detail the exact dialect of SQL that should be supported for this feature."
Maciej Stachowiak, an Apple programmer, pointed out that there will be multiple shipping versions of Web SQL in a W3C discussion of local storage technologies. But his argument didn't prevail.
"I don't want to work on a spec without five out of five implementations," said Ian Hickson, the editor of the HTML5 specification and a Google employee, in the W3C meeting, referring to the lack of support from all the five top browser makers.
And indeed, the draft specification now includes these words: "This specification has reached an impasse," because it uses the SQLite interface. Somebody interested in an independent SQL interface can "please contact the editor so that he can write a specification for the dialect, thus allowing this specification to move forward."
Enter Indexed DB
Indexed DB brings the database approach to browsers, but keeps the interface at a very low level.
Microsoft and Mozilla are in agreement that this strategy is the right one. Programmers can choose to build a more sophisticated interface on top out of the raw materials of Indexed DB. They've done just that with browsers' JavaScript program technology, building libraries such as jQuery, Dojo, and YUI that are widely used to build sophisticated Web.
"What we've learned from the recent history of the Web is that putting out simple APIs [application programming interfaces] that push decisions and complexity to the edges is a strategy that works. The way that the Web works today is that programmers aren't using a lot of browser APIs directly. Instead they are using jQuery or Dojo or one of the other libraries that are out there for doing cross-browser and cross-version compatibility," Blizzard said. "We think that instead of delivering an API that's complicated and underspecified that will cause browser vendors and developers to have to struggle with incompatible APIs, that we can deliver something that is simple, well-specified and understood that developers and people building Web browsers can build on."
It's not clear yet what Opera will do, but McCathieNevile had words of praise in the W3C meeting. "We found Nikunj to be more to our liking," he said, according to the meeting notes, referring to Indexed DB, which was written by an Oracle employee, Nikunj Mehta.
Apple declined to comment about its support for IndexedDB.
However, if IE, Mozilla, and Chrome support Indexed DB, and it becomes a W3C standard, it's likely Apple won't have much choice, because programmers will begin to use it.
Happily for Apple, Google has detailed its approach in a Chrome design document and has begun checking Indexed DB code into WebKit, the open-source project that underlies both Safari and Chrome. That means Apple will be able to adopt a tested version of the technology relatively quickly.
Indexed DB isn't a sure thing yet, to be sure, and the drawn-out history of LocalStorage shows that being established in the standards process isn't everything.
But Indexed DB has powerful allies in the right places and is on its way to being technology Web developers can at least start trying. With time, it stands to become a key part of the Web application world.

Siapa yang tidak kenal dengan situs Kaskus? Setiap orang yang rajin berdiskusi di forum internet bisa dipastikan mengenal situs ini. Istilah Pertamaxx, Lanjut Gan, Nice inpo, menjadi akrab di otak kita.Kaskus adalah situs forum komunitas maya terbesar Indonesia.

Kaskus lahir pada tanggal 6 November 1999 oleh tiga pemuda asal Indonesia yang sedang melanjutkan studi di Seattle, Amerika Serikat. Situs ini dikelola oleh PT. Darta Media Indonesia. Anggotanya, yang berjumlah lebih dari 1.000.000 member, tidak hanya berdomisili dari Indonesia namun tersebar juga hingga negara lainnya. Pengguna Kaskus umumnya berasal dari kalangan remaja hingga orang dewasa.

Kaskus, yang merupakan singkatan dari Kasak Kusuk, bermula dari sekedar hobi dari komunitas kecil yang kemudian berkembang hingga saat ini. Kaskus dikunjungi sedikitnya oleh 600.000 orang, dengan jumlah page view melebihi 3.500.000 setiap harinya. Hingga saat ini Kaskus sudah mempunyai lebih dari 80 juta post.

Tidak sedikit manfaat yang bisa di dapat dari situs yang berupa forum diskusi ini. Dan tidak sedikit pula hal-hal negatif yang ada di situs tersebut.

Sebelum undang-undang ITE yang dikeluarkan oleh Depkominfo, Kaskus telah lama menjadi ajang bagi penyebaran pornografi maupun ajang diskusi saling menghina dan mencaci keyakinan beragama. Sebutlah thread BB17 (buka-bukaan 17 tahun) yang dulu sempat ada di situs ini. Konon pada topik ini menyajikan berbagai macam erotisme dari yang semi vulgar sampai yang sangat vulgar. Dan sebelumnya juga ada thread FC (Fighting Club), yang berisi cacian, makian, hinaan terhadap apa dan siapa saja, termasuk keyakinan beragama.



Setelah undang-undang ITE diluncurkan, sang pemilik Kaskus sempat menghapus dan memberikan warning terhadap topik-topik diskusi yang dapat menimbulkan permasalahan, baik itu topik berkaitan dengan materi-materi pornografi maupun topik-topik yang menghina agama.

Namun sepertinya hal tersebut hanya bertahan sesaat. Banyak topik-topik diskusi di kaskus yang jelas-jelas berisi penghinaan terhadap agama khususnya Islam, diloloskan oleh moderator diskusi.

Salah satu thread yang sempat hadir di situs ini dengan judul “Muhammad si Perusak Moral”, dari judulnya saja sudah menghina dan melecehkan nabi Muhammad yang lebih dari 80 persen penduduk Indonesia penganut ajarannya. Anehnya thread diskusi ini bisa dilolosin oleh moderatornya.

Seorang berinisial FireLord Samael memposting topik tersebut. Dengan songongnya dia membuat kriteria beberapa “teladan” versi dia yang tidak layak dan tidak sepatutnya dilakukan manusia beradab. Isi poin-poin yang ia sebut semuanya menghina Islam, dan tidak ada bedanya dengan penghina Islam sebelumnya “Lapotuak”.

Beberapa anggota forum di situs Kaskus ini telah melakukan protes terhadap moderator yang dengan mudah meloloskan topik diskusi yang nyata-nyata menghujat dan menghina Islam, namun tidak (belum?) ditanggapi. Atau mungkin moderatornya sendiri membuat kloningan dirinya dan memposting topik tersebut? Wallahu A””lam.

Yang jelas hal-hal seperti ini tidak dapat dibiarkan terus menerus berlanjut. Keyakinan beragama orang khususnya Islam yang mayoritas di negeri ini dijadikan bahan ejekan dan hinaan oleh segelintir manusia yang kurang akal pikirannya. Dan Kaskus sebagai situs forum diskusi terbesar di Indonesia bertanggung jawab penuh atas semua ini.



Kalau beberapa waktu lalu Depkominfo bisa memblokir situs forum diskusi Indonesia Faith Freedom, karena di dalamnya banyak berisi penghinaan terhadap Islam, kenapa tidak untuk saat ini Depkominfo melakukan teguran keras terhadap kaskus karena konten situsnya banyak yang berisi hal sejenis seperti yang ada di situs Indonesia Faith Freedom.

Mari kita sebagai umat Islam merasa tersinggung dan marah terhadap topik diskusi yang menghina Islam yang ada di Kaskus, layangkan surat protes terhadap pengelola kaskus atau langsung melapor ke Depkominfo. Gunakanlah Ghiroh kita untuk membela ISLAM, jangan kita hanya bisa sangat emosi dan marah apabila kelompok kita atau partai kita dihina. Tunjukkan bahwa kita adalah MUSLIM yang tidak rela agamanya dihina! Lanjut Gan…!! (fq)
sumber: http://eramuslim.com/berita/nasional/kaskus-jadi-situs-penghina-islam.htm

Microsoft said on Friday it is testing a patch to fix a new hole in Internet Explorer 6 and IE 7 following the release of exploit code on the Internet.With the announcement it seems increasingly likely that the company will be issuing a patch for the hole before the next Patch Tuesday in about four weeks, if the testing of the patch goes quickly.

Microsoft warned about the hole, which it said was being targeted in attacks and could allow an attacker to take control of a computer, in an advisory on Tuesday. The next day, Israeli researcher Moshe Ben Abu released exploit code for the vulnerability after using clues in a McAfee blog post to find existing exploit code and pinpointing the weakness from there.

"We have seen speculation that Microsoft might release an update for this issue out of band. I can tell you that we are working hard to produce an update which is now in testing," Jerry Bryant, senior security communications manager lead at Microsoft, wrote in a post on the Microsoft Security Response Center blog.

"This is a critical and time-intensive step of the process as the update must be tested against all affected versions of Internet Explorer on all supported versions of Windows. Additionally, each supported language version needs to be tested as well as testing against thousands of third party applications," he wrote. "We never rule out the possibility of an out-of-band update. When the update is ready for broad distribution, we will make that decision based on customer needs."

Microsoft included workaround information in its initial advisory on the hole, which does not affect IE 8, and on Friday updated Security Advisory 981374 to add more information on workarounds following Ben Abu's work.

"With today's update, we have added a Microsoft Fix It to automate this workaround for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 customers," Bryant said. "As always, customers should test this thoroughly before deploying as certain functionality that depends on the peer factory class, such as printing from Internet Explorer and the use of Web folders, may be affected."

Intel has officially introduced its six-core monster for high-end gaming boxes--its first desktop chip packing that many processing cores.Dell Alienware boxes are expected to use the Core i7- 980X six-core processor.As previously reported, the Core i7- 980X Extreme Edition processor was introduced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.

The chip is based on Intel's newest 32-nanometer process technology. Generally, the smaller the manufacturing process, the better the performance. Most Intel processors still use "fatter" 45-nanometer technology.
Like other Core i series processors, it features Hyper-Threading, which can double the number of tasks--or threads--a processor can execute. The technology, which is not offered on prior-generation Core 2 chips, allows a six-core processor to handle 12 threads.
"The Core i7-980X Extreme Edition is the fastest desktop processor we have ever tested, bar none," HotHardware.com said in a review published on Wednesday. "Factor in support for AES-NI, HyperThreading, and bump the shared L3 cache up to a cool 12MB, and you've got the makings of one seriously fast CPU." (AES-NI, or Advanced Encryption Standard New Instruction, is a technology for boosting security, available on Intel "Westmere" 32-nanometer processors.)
As many users will elect to build their own systems, motherboards already available from vendors such as Gigabyte (e.g., the EX58A-UD5) and Asus can take the new 980x chip. Game box suppliers such as Falcon Northwest and Dell's Alienware unit are also expected to offer configurations with the new processor. (Update: CNET has reviewed the Falcon Northwest Mach V, saying: "record-setting application performance thanks to overclocking and Intel's new six-core Core i7 chip.")
Intel also introduced GPA (graphics performance analyzer) v3.0, which helps PC game developers analyze and optimize game performance. The updated development platform supports multicore optimizations and includes support for DirectX 10.1 and 64-bit game executables, Intel said.
Intel recently rolled out Core i3, i5, and i7 processors for laptops, which can also take advantage of GPA v3.0.
GDC attendees can see demonstrations of games enhanced using Intel GPA and running on Intel's newest HD Graphics, including such titles as Atari Star Trek Online, Electronic Arts Tiger Woods Golf, Intel said. Developers can download the new Intel GPA suite of software tools here.

Check Software Update! Apple has released Safari 4.0.5, which brings a number of performance enhancements and bug fixes to Apple's browser. According to the updater, the following has been addressed:

Performance improvements for Top Sites
Stability improvements for 3rd-party plug-ins
Stability improvements for websites with online forms and Scalable Vector Graphics
Fixes an issue that prevented Safari from changing settings on some Linksys routers
Fixes an issue that prevented some iWork.com users from commenting on documents
The update is available for Windows and OS X, but on the Mac side the specific problems addressed are issues with RSS feeds setting values in cookies, even if you have blocked cookies, and potential problems with WebKit's loading of CSS, XML, and HTML scripts that could cause arbitrary code execution or crashing.
For specifics on the issues addressed, see this Apple knowledgebase document: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4070
The Safari update is 31.8MB, and does require a restart to fully install. Be sure to back up your system before installing, and also have an alternative browser available as a backup. Keep in mind that third-party add-ons may be affected by the update, so check their functionality after updating, and be prepared to remove or reinstall them if needed.

Microsoft's year-old Elevate America program, which offers free technology training and certification, is coming to California.The program was announced by Microsoft a year ago as the country was gripped by recession, with Washington state as the first government partner.

Since then, other states have slowly been coming on board.
Seven states have already distributed training vouchers, while five are still in the process of issuing the vouchers, according to a map on Microsoft's Web site. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to detail California's participation in a Webcast due to begin at 10:15 a.m. PST.
A second component, offering Web-based tips on things like creating a resume or sending e-mail, has been up and running for all Americans since the program began.
Update 10:25 a.m. PST: At a press conference at Microsoft's Silicon Valley office in Mountain View, Calif., Schwarzenegger said that Microsoft has awarded 166,500 vouchers that will be good for technology training. The tech training will be helpful, he said, as the state grapples with 12.5 percent unemployment.
"We want to put people to work," he said. "So many people lost jobs in this economic downturn."
He then launched into a tirade on legislators in Sacramento for not doing enough to create jobs. "People deserve the security of a paycheck."
Schwarzenegger also praised another Microsoft program, the Elevate America veterans' program, which Microsoft announced earlier this week.
Update 10:30 a.m. PST: "Microsoft believes that technology can be an incredible catalyst for economic growth," Corporate Vice President Dan'l Lewin said, speaking after Schwarzenegger.
But Lewin also added that technology alone isn't enough, nor can either government or the private sector solve economic issues alone. "This requires effective public-private partnerships."
Microsoft's overall goal with Elevate America, Lewin said, remains to offer technology training to more than 2 million people over the life of the program.

This year's Mix trade show won't be the first time that people hear about Internet Explorer 9 or Windows Phone 7 Series, but it is the event where developers will get enough information to start creating products targeting the new browser and mobile operating system.

The three-day Las Vegas event kicks off on Monday, with Windows Phone executive Joe Belfiore talking about the new phone operating system. On Tuesday, Internet Explorer head Dean Hachamovitch is slated to talk IE 9 and I would not be surprised at all if actual code is offered up this time. Microsoft offered a brief glimpse of IE 9 in November, highlighting its ability to use hardware acceleration for improved text and graphics rendering.

On the phone front, Microsoft has already tipped its hand on the basics of writing software for its new mobile operating system, confirming last week that XNA and Silverlight will be the means of developing software that works on the Windows Phone 7 Series devices that start shipping later this year.
There are more than a dozen sessions on the topic and Microsoft has promised that--although existing Windows Mobile apps won't naturally run on the new phones--Microsoft wants to make it as easy as possible for developers to start writing code for the new operating system.
Although Microsoft hasn't gone into much detail about the tools needed to write Silverlight apps for Windows Phone 7 Series, the company did say at this week's Game Developer Conference in San Francisco that writing XNA games for Windows Phone will require the new version 4.0 of the XNA Game Studio. The company also confirmed that games can be hardware accelerated, connect to Xbox Live and bring in a user's gamertag, achievements and avatar.
More broadly, Mix remains Microsoft's event centered around design and once again attendees will hear from Microsoft researcher and design expert Bill Buxton, who is speaking on Tuesday.. Expect to hear a little bit more on Microsoft's Windows Azure-based cloud efforts, but I'm hearing we will have to wait a little longer to hear about Windows Live Wave 4--the next version of Microsoft's consumer Web services. And we'll probably have to wait longer still to hear anything about the next version of Windows or even when Microsoft plans a significant update to Windows 7.

If you're looking to upgrade your PC speakers, we have a sweet giveaway this week, a set of Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra MX6021 PC speakers.
We recently reviewed this 2.1 rig and came away impressed, giving the Ultra a four-star "excellent" rating. These Altec speakers really deliver a lot of bass and good, detailed sound for the money.

Normally, the Expressionist Ultra PC speakers would cost around $200, but you have the chance to get them gratis.
So, how do you try to win the Expressionist Ultra speakers? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.
Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.
Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra PC speakers. Approximate retail value is $200.
If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
Entries can be submitted until Monday, March 15 at 12 PM EST.
And here's the disclaimer that our legal department said we had to include (sorry for the caps, but rules are rules):
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 PM EST on March 15, 2010.

Consumer Reports on Wednesday published results of its latest survey on the best and worst companies for computer tech support.In January, the survey asked 7,000 subscribers who owned a laptop or desktop computer to rate their computer manufacturer in several categories: problem solved; phone waits; phone staff; and online support.

For laptop computers, Apple scored 86 out of a possible 100. That's 23 points above its nearest competitor, Lenovo, which scored a 63. In fact, Apple scored the highest in each of the Consumer Reports categories.
Rounding out the list after Apple and Lenovo are Toshiba (60), Dell (56), HP/Compaq (53), and Acer/Gateway/eMachines (39).
Apple actually did better for desktops than it did for laptops, according to the data. The company scored an 87 out of a possible 100 for its desktop tech support, once again leading its competitors in every category.
Apple's nearest competitor, Dell, was 32 points behind with a score of 55 for desktop tech support. HP/Compaq was third with 53 and Acer/Gateway/eMachines finished last with 39 points. The full results of the survey are only available to subscribers of Consumer Reports.

Nowadays, many media recording and playback devices, such as camcorders, TVs, DVRs, and Blu-ray players, use external storage devices for storage. If you own one of those and wonder which storage device is most compatible with it, Western Digital might have what you're looking for.

The company announced Wednesday the new My Passport AV portable media drive that's designed to store digital content for digital media players and recorders. According to company representatives, the new drive "delivers the formatting and low-power consumption that assures out-of-the-box compatibility with many leading consumer electronics devices."
WD assures that the My Passport AV portable media drive has been tested to operate seamlessly with the Direct Copy feature offered in Sony's new Handycam video recorders. Direct Copy lets Handycam users archive HD video directly to a USB external storage device without a computer, creating room for more videos when the camcorder's internal storage becomes full.
The video stored on the My Passport AV can then be played back using either Sony's latest Blu-ray players or any other digital players, such as the WD TV or WD TV Live. WD says that not all models of the Handycam and Blu-ray players are supported by the My Passport AV, though most of them are. A list of supported devices can be found at WD's Web site.
Other than that, the new My Passport AV shares a similar design with other My Passport portable hard drives that WD has released before, such as the My Passport Studio. It comes with only one USB 2.0 port, which serves as both a data and a power connection.
The My Passport AV external hard drive is available now in a 320GB capacity and costs $110.

Owners of the TiVo digital video recorder and a Windows Home Server-based NAS server from HP, I have some good news.HP announced Wednesday the free HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo.

This is a software application that lets the TiVo DVR use the storage of HP MediaSmart servers, such as HP MediaSmart Server EX495, to storage and manage TV recordings.

The MediaSmart EX495 NAS server from HP.
(Credit: CNET)
More specifically, according to HP, the software allows TiVo owners to:
Transfer shows from a TiVo DVR to a HP MediaSmart Server and back to a TiVo DVR.
Manage TiVo recordings stored on a HP MediaSmart Server.
Watch TiVo DVR recordings that are stored on a HP MediaSmart Server on any PC within the local network.
This is especially good news for those who have been looking for ways to easily expand the storage capacity of their TiVo DVR.
CNET has reviewed most of MediaSmart NAS servers from HP and found them to be great servers when it comes to throughput performance, especially the EX495 models. This model can also support up to 8TB of internal storage and even more when external devices are used.
The free HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo application is available now and can be accessed through the Windows Home Server Console of the HP MediaSmart Server EX490/EX495 and HP Data Vault.

Though the shipping date for JooJoo, the underdog tablet, was recently pushed back to March 25, manufacturer Fusion Garage isn't letting that time go to waste. It's overhauled the JooJoo's interface, expanded local video playback, and given its backplate a makeover.

Engadget has shots of the tablet's new look, the most striking change being that of the home screen, which now sports a customizable wallpaper with nice, shiny icons. Here's what it looked like when we played with it in December:
(Credit: Gizmodo)
The updates aren't only aesthetic, though. Fusion Garage has streamlined and updated navigation gestures, added a moveable, one-hand on-screen keyboard, and ironed out the multitouch kinks on the full keyboard.

The revamped JooJoo also sports a new silver-ish backplate (as opposed to the old black one) and apparently runs Flash without a hitch.
With the product's somewhat sordid past, it's hard to get too excited about the JooJoo until Fusion Garage actually starts shipping the thing, but these tweaks make it an increasingly attractive alternative to that other tablet that's headed our way in a few weeks. Head to Engadget for more shots of the makeover.
This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

Back in November of last year, we wrote about an upcoming Apple-certified iPhone and iPod Touch solar charger from a company called Novothink. Well, four months later, the Solar Surge charging case, which Novothink is marketing toward "outdoor enthusiasts," is now available for purchase.

As anybody who's tried to charge an electronic device using a solar charger knows, it doesn't juice up the device nearly as quickly as your typical power adapter would. However, Novothink is touting the charging case's capability to provide up to 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network or 60 minutes on 2G from a "mere" 30 minutes of direct sunlight. Novothink also includes a USB cable to power the Surge on cloudy or rainy days, though you'll obviously need to be near a power source--or a charged-up laptop--to recharge the unit.
In the company's marketing materials, it shows the Surge in an array of colors, but for now anyway, Novothink has released only black and white models that you slip your iPhone or iPod Touch into. The iPhone version retails for $79.95, and the Touch version goes for $69.95.

SAN FRANCISCO--While at the Game Developers Conference, we just got a peek at Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 running on a Palm Pre Plus. It's the same technical demo that's been shown off on the iPhone, both at CES back in January and on Wednesday at Epic's talk about changes it had to make in order to get the engine running on Apple's iPhone OS.

According to Epic Games' Vice President Mark Rein, with whom CNET spoke earlier on Thursday, Palm was only given a test version of the Unreal Development Kit two weeks ago and just managed to get everything running well enough late Wednesday night to share it publicly at the show.
The one big thing that holds promise on Palm's Web OS over what was shown off on the iPhone is that users can keep a game running in the background while they multitask to other apps. In the case of the Unreal Engine demo, the thumbnail for the game refreshes once a second, so you can still see what's going on in that game while using other application cards. Neither Palm or Unreal would say whether that can be increased without eating up too much battery life.
Epic's Unreal Engine is what powers many of today's popular PC and console titles like Gears of War, BioShock, Mass Effect, and of course Epic's Unreal Tournament. What the company builds for its own games, it then licenses out, meaning other publishers can use it on their own titles.
It remains a ways off from being in the hands of mobile game makers, but the company has made it clear at GDC that it's now one of its priorities. Though based on the various technical differences between Palm's Web OS and Apple's Web OS, developers could end up with some very interesting challenges in trying to port games--something Epic Games is likely working to make as simple as possible.

More and more electric bicycles are being developed in Japan to give riders a little help when commuting or going grocery shopping. They're a common sight on the hilly streets of Tokyo, where "mamachari" bikes with baskets and kid seats over the wheels are the norm.

Sanyo recently unveiled a new series of two-wheel drive eneloop electric hybrid bicycles whose lithium ion batteries can recharge while the bike is being pedaled on level terrain. Previous models relied on braking or downhill energy to re-power.
The Eco Charge Mode featured on the SPL series gives you more recharging opportunities while the bike is in use. It reads foot pressure on the pedals, as well as pedal torque and the revolution speed of the dynamotor on the front wheel, and charges the battery along flat roads, on downhills, and during braking. When the rider comes to an uphill gradient, the motor assist function kicks in automatically.
The Eco Charge Mode increases driving distance per charge by 53 percent compared with just biking in a high power-assist mode; Sanyo says the new SPL bikes can travel about 34 miles per charge.
By traveling 1 kilometer (1,093 yards) on flat ground in Eco Charge Mode, you can generate enough electricity to go about 300 meters (328 yards) in Power Mode, which provides lots of power assist. A power reserve function stores an extra bit of juice for those times when the battery runs out before you arrive at your destination.
To be released in Japan in April, the 26-inch CY-SPL226 and the 24-inch CY-SPL224 will have a price tag of about $1,700.
(Credit: Sanyo)
Meanwhile, industrial products maker Iwatani recently showed off a hydrogen-powered electric bicycle at FC Tokyo, a gathering of companies in the fuel cell business.
Developed last year, the motorized hydrogen bicycle has a 60W polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) stack, a 26V lithium ion battery, and a hydrogen cartridge that's located in a cargo carrier over the back wheel.
(Credit: Iwatani)
Battery power drives the bike's motor to help with pedaling. When the battery power runs low, the cartridge automatically supplies hydrogen to the fuel cell to recharge the battery, but the system can still provide pedaling assistance during the recharge. It eliminates the need to take out and recharge the battery--much more convenient than charging an e-bike for five hours.
The bicycle weighs about 68 pounds and can provide power-assist travel for about 28 miles, depending on road conditions, or a continuous power supply for three hours.
Iwatani has been showing the bike off at Kansai International Airport and various events like FC Tokyo. It's a great concept, but Iwatani won't be commercializing the bike anytime soon because the PEFC's output is too weak.
"Depending on driving conditions, it sometimes cannot supply the bicycle with enough electricity," the company told Nikkei Monozukuri magazine, adding that it plans to make the PEFC system more powerful.

A skipper's dream of sailing across the ocean using solar power is about to come true. More impressively, he'll be sailing on arguably the world's largest pollution-free yacht, the PlanetSolar, which was unveiled Thursday at the HDW Shipyard in Germany.

Raphael Domjan, the skipper and CEO of the PlanetSolar project, regards this event as a confirmation that "the solar-powered boat is now a reality." Since the '80s, Domjan has been dreaming of touring the world using the minimum amount of energy. He envisioned a solar-powered boat in 2004 and the PlanetSolar project has been in full swing since early 2008. Now he looks forward to the solar-powered around-the-world trip.

Designed by a team of international engineers, PlanetSolar is a multihull white catamaran topped by about 5,300 square feet of black photovoltaic solar panels consisting of some 38,000 of SunPower's next-generation cells. Each of the cells offers an efficiency of at least 22 percent--the highest-efficiency solar cells commercially available. The boat is expected to be both silent and clean.

The boat is slated to be ready for testing in late March and will be ready for its world tour in early 2011. According to SolarPlanet, the cost of the project is around $24 million.

Measuring 100 feet long by 50 feet wide, the yacht is designed to reach a top speed of around 15 knots (about 17 miles per hour) and has enough space for 50 passengers. It's expected to be the fastest solar boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the first to cross both the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

During this trip of some 25,000 miles, the boat will stop at major cities, including Hamburg, London, and Paris in Europe, New York and San Francisco in the U.S., and Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The solar boat will be available for public display during each of its stops.

Sneaky intelligent machines have convinced their future human servants to put on the first National Robotics Week, announcing to the masses that robots can "make life easier."April 10-18, 2010 may go down in history as the week when Americans officially embraced robotic beings as their new best friends.

Just look at what happened with Jell-O. In 2001, the Utah legislature declared a Jell-O Week, and now Jello-O is everywhere--in our fridges, in our thoughts, and in our stomachs.

But make no mistake, robots are far more nefarious than gelatin dessert. Companies such as iRobot and Adept Technology, along with academic centers like Carnegie Mellon and Georgia Tech, will help sponsor robot tournaments, open houses, and other events across the country. There will even be a briefing at the Congressional Robotics Caucus. Yes, the influence of robots reaches to the highest levels of society.

The activities are meant to show how robotic technologies are growing in importance in everything from medicine to defense to farming, while encouraging the public to "experience the possibilities" in robots--instead of fleeing from them. Getting kids interested in science, technology, engineering, and math is another goal.

Laudable, perhaps. But what if all those kids end up using their skills to build more robots? See how sneaky those intelligent beings are?

Setting aside a period specifically aimed at increasing awareness is extremely dangerous. Someone declared a National Umbrella Month, and now umbrellas follow us to work, to the beach and to the golf course. If you don't want robots to take over your life, then don't drink this Kool-Aid.

In April, be afraid of robots. Be very afraid.

GENEVA--Lotus Engineering brought an impressive hybrid to the 2010 Geneva auto show. Built into Lotus' Evora model launched last year, this hybrid uses two electric motors, one driving each rear wheel, a lithium polymer battery pack, and a 1.2-liter range extender engine.

GENEVA--Lotus Engineering brought an impressive hybrid to the 2010 Geneva auto show. Built into Lotus' Evora model launched last year, this hybrid uses two electric motors, one driving each rear wheel, a lithium polymer battery pack, and a 1.2-liter range extender engine.

With acceleration to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and Lotus handling, the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid sounds like one hell of a sports car. But you will never see it on the road--Lotus Engineering developed it just to show off its hybrid technologies.

The two electric motors combine to give the car an overall 408 horsepower and a whopping 590 pound-feet of torque. Lotus' drive management technology includes an algorithm to vector torque across the rear wheels, giving the outside wheel more power during cornering. Lotus says its torque vectoring replaces conventional toe-in suspension geometry, increasing performance while reducing tire wear.

A lithium polymer battery pack gives the Evora 414E Hybrid 35 miles of pure electric range, and a purpose-built 1.2-liter range extender gasoline engine increases range to 300 miles total.

To emulate the feel of a gas engine car, Lotus includes a virtual transmission allowing seven downshifts with paddle shifters. Each downshift increases the amount of regenerative braking, slowing down the car.

As Lotus isn't building a production model of this car, it's up to another manufacturer to license the technology. We're hoping someone steps up to make this car a reality.

Ten years ago during a visit to Philadelphia, I passed a large ship docked at a pier on the Delaware River. The ship looked like an ocean liner and though I sped by in a car, I noticed the faded name "United States" on the bow. I wondered, could it be the same revolutionary passenger liner that still holds an Atlantic speed record a half a century after its speedy voyage? As it turns out, it was.

The SS United States has been moored in Philadelphia since 1994, but now it appears that its days could finally be numbered. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today that the ship's owner, Norwegian Cruise Lines, is seeking to sell the United States for scrap. Norwegian bought the liner in 2003 with the intention of refurbishing and returning it to service in Hawaii as part of NCL America. But as the Hawaii cruise market began to lose money, NCL kept the ship in Pennsylvania.

If the United States ends up in the scrap yard, it will be a sad end to a short, but spectacular, career. When the liner was launched in 1952, it was a technological breakthrough of its time. Thanks to a sharp-edged stern, a bulbous prow, powerful engines, and unique propellers--the design of which was kept secret for many years--the United States was very fast. Its top speed was 43 knots (49.5 miles per hour), but even its typical voyage speed of 34 knots (39.1 miles per hour) was enough to win it attention.

On its maiden voyage, it completed the eastbound Atlantic crossing from New York City to the Isles of Scilly off Great Britain in three days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes. That was more than 10 hours faster than the previous record holder, the Queen Mary, which is now moored in Long Beach, Calif. Even today, the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, the only passenger ships to regularly cross the North Atlantic on the same route, take about seven days. Days later on the return westbound trip, the United States made the journey in three days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes. It still holds the speed record, or The Blue Riband, for that route.

The SS United States (background) passes the SS America in New York Harbor during its heyday.

Though passengers appreciated a fast ship, the United States was conceived during World War II when ships like the British-flagged Queen Mary transported thousands of soldiers from Canada, the United States, and Australia to Europe. The U.S. Navy wanted a troopship of its own for future wars, and thus the United States could be converted from carrying passengers to troops in just 48 hours. To guard against torpedoes or a Titanic-style disaster, the United States also had a compartmentalized design and dual engine rooms. And as precaution against fire, the use of wood was limited to just a few places on the ship. Instead, much of the structure and furnishings were made of aluminum. The abundance of metal may have made the ship sterile to luxury-seeking passengers, but it made it safer and lighter, which contributed to its speed.

In the end, however, the United States came along too late. By the mid 1950s, airplanes were carrying passengers across the Atlantic in only a number of hours. And by 1958, the Boeing 707, the first successful jet airliner, had entered service. The United States sailed until 1969 when it was withdrawn from the North Atlantic run. It never played a role as a troopship.

But even now as its fate looks grim, individuals and organizations are raising money to save the SS United States either by buying it themselves or seeking another bidder to refurbish it. The United States Conservancy estimated it needs $3 million to buy the ship and maintain it for two years. What's unclear, however, is what the organization plans to do with it after that time. Though it is on both the National and Pennsylvania Registers of Historic Places, the federal status doesn't provide any protection against the SS United States being sold to a ship breaker.

Living in Japan, you have to sort your household garbage into burnable trash, non-burnable trash, recycling, and probably one other category I've forgotten. Each goes to the curb on a different day. I'm tickled to see that Japanese researchers have built a recycling robot that automatically sorts different kinds of plastic by using laser-sensing technology. They call it the first of its kind in the world.

The engineers at Osaka University's Photonics Advanced Research Center and automation firm IDEC, along with Mitsubishi Electric Engineering, say the sorting robot is designed to improve low recycling rates for plastics by automating the sorting process with lasers.

Operating on five different wavelengths, the lasers can recognize six kinds of plastic (even ones indistinguishable to the human eye): polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

The machine is about 5 feet by 6 feet, and houses a robot arm that transfers plastics from an input area to the laser scanning section. A screen displays the kinds of plastics identified and the related reduction in CO2 from recycling. It's unclear how much plastic the device can process per day.

The sorter is currently being used in a trial at stores in Nara and Osaka in Japan. IDEC apparently plans to commercialize a smaller version of the machine for around $55,000.

Along with its entry into the e-reader market at CeBit in Germany Tuesday, Asus showed off a sleeker redesign of its popular Netbook lines.One notable model, the 1018p, stands out. It has a fully aluminum enclosure, a 1,024x600 pixel 10.1-inch screen, and a keyboard that looks very much like those made by another notable laptop manufacturer.

Indeed, with the aforementioned keyboard, minimalist design, super-thin casing, and large trackpad, the 1018p seems to be created with Apple fans in mind.

It also has 2GB RAM, a 10-hour battery, and a 250GB hard drive in its stock configuration.

The 1018p runs on the Intel Atom n455 and n475 processors, which haven't been out that long. This means faster Netbooks, running at an apparent 1.83GHz, up from the 1.6GHz typical of the current crop of Netbooks.

Because the 1018p runs on Atom processors, there's a possibility the hackintosh community can find a way to run Apple's OS X on them. Asus Netbooks are popular among OS X fans for just this reason.

The 1018p should be available in May for about $500 in the U.S. And if it can indeed run OS X, then that, combined with the design, makes it look a lot like Asus is trying to covertly court Apple's portable customers away from the MacBook Air, which many find to be a beautiful but expensive alternative. And if Apple decides that's the case, look for the rumored changes in the next version of OS X, which would disable support for Atom processors, to come to bear.

More storage vendors are introducing solid-state hard drives these days; however, SSD prices have yet to go down to anywhere near the price of traditional hard drives. Sadly, the new SSD from OCZ hasn't changed that.

The company, known mostly as a maker of system memory, introduced its OCZ Onyx drive on Wednesday. According to OCZ, the drive offers "reliable performance without the high price normally associated with SSD drives." Yet the drive costs about $100 for the 32GB version. In comparison, you can get a 500GB high-speed SATA2 hard drive for about the same price.

Nonetheless, the OCZ Onyz is indeed one of the most affordable SSDs on the market. But it's about 15 times the price of traditional laptop hard drives when compared in terms of cost per gigabyte.

According to OCZ, its new "budget" Onyx SSD also comes with 64MB of cache memory and delivers up to 125MBps read and 70MBps write speeds. The Onyx SSD also has a durable and lightweight housing, according to the company, and like all other SSDs, it has no moving parts and therefore uses much less energy than traditional hard drives.

The Onyx is available now. The 2.5-inch drive uses the standard SATA2 interface. This means you can use it to replace your laptop's existing hard drive, in case you want to replace a huge amount of storage for a slightly better battery life and a possible improvement in system performance.

Our friend Dan Evans at PCMag.com's Gearlog was fortunate enough to be rebuilding his home desktop this weekend. We say "fortunate" because after calling a mutual friend and neighbor (Microsoft TechNet contributor Greg Steen) for some thermal paste, Dan came to find that Greg had fallen victim to the fake Core i7 scam plaguing NewEgg.com customers over the last week or so.

You can read Dan's hands-on with Greg's fake chip here. He was kind enough to bring the box over for us to check out, too. We were struck in particular with how heavy the box felt. In talking to Maingear CTO Chris Morley about it later, we learned the weight was likely not an accident. In addition to counterfeiting the packaging to look convincing enough to pass through the distribution system, the scammers also had to account for the scales along the way that measure package weight.

It was obvious as soon as you opened the box that its contents were fake, and a careful reading of the sticker on the packaging would have revealed suspicious-looking typos. But assuming the weight of the box was purposefully calibrated to trick the distribution path, the scammers apparently knew they had to account for more than just a visual inspection to get through the system.

Do you like the idea of a coffee table tablet PC, but can't imagine shelling out $500 for an iPad? If so, perhaps you'd be interested in paying half as much for half the functionality at half the speed.That seems to be the logic behind the latest announcement (Google Translate) from Archos, where details for a pair of "Home Tablets" were made public ahead of Cebit.

The Home Tablets are both based off Google's Android operating system, but skinned and augmented by Archos in a similar fashion as the Archos 5 Internet Tablet released near the end of last year.

The smaller of the two new tablets is the Archos 7, which sports a design similar to the Archos 5, but uses a larger 7-inch touch screen. Internally, the Archos 7 takes a big step back from the Archos 5, running its system on a basic 600MHz ARM 9 processor. You can connect over Wi-Fi to check e-mail and browse the Web, but Archos 5 features such as Bluetooth and GPS are a no-go.

The Archos 7 also includes a microSD memory slot, which is a good thing considering the device will only come in 2GB and 8GB capacities. Multimedia playback is mentioned in the press release (including Flash video), but no detailed format support is given. The device is rated for 7 hours of video playback, or 44 hours of music.
Photo of the Archos 8 Home Tablet.

The Archos 8 falls into that awkward Chumby/Sony Dash photo frame Internet widget host category.
(Credit: Archos)

If you like your tablets extra "tablet-y," the Archos 8 packs many of the same features into an 8-inch screen surrounded by a gigantic photo frame bezel. The tablet/photo frame offers 4GB of storage and what could be a video camera integrated into the top of the frame bezel.

Both models of the announced Home Tablets are priced at 149 euros (approximately $200), with the 8GB Archos 7 going for 179 euros (approximately $250). Europe can expect to see the tablets in April or May. As for American availability, don't hold your breath.

On a lighter note, Archos used this same press release to tease plans for "...a completely new series that is based on ARM Cortex with up to 1 GHz and will offer a large selection of different screen sizes - 3 to 10 inches."

I'll keep hope alive, Archos.