Tech Talk

Apple has unveiled the much-hyped and highly anticipated tablet device – known as the iPad.

“It’s a giant iPod Touch-looking device, just like we thought. Same home button, same bezel,” Erica Ogg wrote in a live-blog from within the tablet’s unveiling for CNET News.

The device, which can be oriented in either landscape or portrait mode like its iPhone cousin, could be utilized to surf the Web using the familiar touch screen navigation, Ogg wrote.

Like on the iPhone, there is a calendar an address book and access to Google Maps and, of course, the iTunes Store.

Videos could be watched, Ogg wrote, through YouTube and other sites.

It appears that it is very similar in operation to the iPhone — in terms of zooming, scrolling and syncing with computers, based on Ogg’s description. It also has a built-in iPod.

The iPad is WiFi enabled, Ogg wrote. Models will also have 3G, Ogg reported.

There will be two plans, according to CNET: 250MB of data every month for $15 or unlimited data for $30 per month. AT&T will continue to serve as the carrier. Both plans are pre-paid and require no contracts, Ogg wrote.

There are also groovy accessories — including a keyboard, Ogg reports, for folks who need to do a lot of typing.

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO and founder, said the iPad is much more intimiate than a laptop, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Journal reports that the thin device looks like a larger iPhone:

More on the looks: Thick black border on all sides. The background of the home screen is a photo that you can set for yourself. Jobs has finished the demo and is now talking about the hardware. It’s a half-inch in thickness and features a 9.7-inch IPS display, with multi-touch sensors.

The device, which comes with as much as 64 GB of flash storage, has WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities standard, the Journal reports. It also has 10 hours of battery life and more than a month of standby life, Jobs said.

The New York Times created an app for the iPad that, according to the Journal, “looks more like a newspaper than the iPhone app — you can resize fonts, and it flows along columns. Videos accompany the stories and can be watched along side.” No mention of price, though.

iBookstore was also unveiled by Jobs, according to the Journal.  Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon Schuster, Macmillan and Hachette books will be available. CNET reports that text books will also be available.

New York Times’ Brad Stone was really impressed with iBook:

The iBooks store looks neat — plenty of colors, vivid book covers. Mr. Jobs is showing “True Compass” by Edward Kennedy, a book that was not available in the Kindle store for weeks after its release.

Among the cooler items on the device is iWork, which according to CNET, allows users to create presentations “with touch input only.” Spreadsheets could also be crafted.

16GB iPads will cost $499, Ogg reports. 32GB models will cost $599, 64GB models will cost $699; devices with 3G with cost an additional $130.

Shipments will begin in 60 days, she said. 3G models will begin shipping in 90 days.

Stone notes some of the more significant short-comings of the iPad:

• No ability to play Adobe Flash animations
• No camera
• No non-Internet phone function
• No removable battery for a device that can suck a lot of power
• No removable storage

Bottom line: The iPad looks cool and has a few neat new features, but will it be worth the price — particularly if you already own an iPhone 3GS and have a small laptop?

The hour tech enthusiasts have been dreaming about for months is almost here.

Speculation that a revolutionary must-have product will be unveiled at a keynote address slated for 1 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday has been swirling for months.

The product, that some have predicted will be called the Apple Tablet, has faced some of the highest expectations of any technology release in recent memory.

The Wall Street Journal describes the Tablet:

Apple’s new multimedia tablet device, with a 10-inch touch screen that is expected to deliver video, text, navigation and social-networking applications, is trying to change the way much of traditional media is delivered.

Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple, has been quoted as saying the new device will “will be the most important thing I’ve ever done.”

Given the unparalleled opportunities and life-saving information the iPhone put at folks’ fingertips,  it is a pretty dynamic statement.

According to the Journal: “The Apple tablet aims to reshape many corners of the media industry, just as Apple’s iPod revolutionized the music business when it made its debut in 2001.”

Learn more about the Tablet here.

And get the latest news on the anticipated news by following @bxchen and @gadgetlab.

One of the biggest issues facing cell phone service providers is their inability to offer customers service during peak periods — like the dawn of a new year or during the height of a disaster.

As I write this post just 80 minutes into 2010 on the East Coast, I lack cellular service from AT&T in a location I generally have full service. I am suffering the same fate on my cell phone that utilizes Verizon service.

If cellular companies cannot provide service during periods of anticipated spikes in demand, what are they going to muster during unexpected spikes that occur during disasters where getting connected could be the difference of life or death?

One place I haven’t had any difficulties connecting this morning was through my home’s good old fashion landline — which got me thinking and grateful. Perhaps it’s because phone companies can better accomodate surges in customer demand over landlines, or perhaps it’s because fewer people are utilizing this technology to wish loved ones well tonight, but regardless, landlines connected me to the people I wished to speak with immediately without fearing a loss of service.

I had considered canceling my landline service, but changed my mind tonight. And I suggest you give a second thought before even considering canceling your traditional phone service. It may prove to be a life saver one day.

May 2010 be a wonderful year for you.

Technology makes tracking Santa Claus as easy as entering a few key strokes and clicking through a few screens.

Photo courtesy of NORAD

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is tracking the big man is red from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

NORAD, which was established by the governments of Canada and the United States, has been tracking the jolly old elf since its formation in 1958. Prior to that, the military organization’s predecessor, CONAD, tracked Santa since the Sears Roebuck & Co. inadvertently encouraged children to call the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations hotline in 1955.  Col. Harry Shoup, according to NORAD, had his staff check for indications of Santa and gave children his current location.

NORAD utilizes its high-tech equipment, including radar, satellites, Santa Cams and even fighter jets, to monitor Claus’ movement, NORAD reports.

The North Warning System alerts the military when the international traveler takes off using 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America.

Once NORAD confirms take-off, the agency’s cutting-edge technology does the rest.

And once he arrives in North America, Canadian fighter pilots greet Santa Claus, NORAD reports.  When he crosses the border into the United States, a few lucky American NORAD pilots fly alongside his sleigh and tiny reindeer,

You can track Santa Claus by clicking here.

A federal appeals court upheld a $200M  judgement against Microsoft Corp. and issued an injunction that will stop the technology giant from selling some of its Word software until it is altered, the Associated Press reports.

The injunction will go into effect against the world’s biggest software maker on Jan. 11, the wire service reported in the past hour.

Microsoft had appealed a jury decision in favor of I4i LP, a Canadian company, that successfully argued recent editions of Microsoft Word had infringed on a patent, according to the AP.

However, the court ruled that the decision does not affect copies of the programs sold before the injunction goes into effect, the AP reported.

Word, which is part of the Office suite, is used by more than 500 million people, Bloomberg News reported.

As a result, Microsoft has argued that the injunction will not just only hurt the company but also the public, the AP reported.

However things might not be as bad for consumers as Microsoft may be making them out to be.

Bloomberg reported:

Copies of Word 2007 and Office 2007, with (a feature allowing for the customization of the markup language XML) removed, will be available for U.S. sale by Jan. 11, and “beta versions of Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Office 2010, which are available now for downloading, don’t contain the technology covered by the injunction,” said company spokesman Kevin Kutz.

Facebook released a fascinating snapshot of its users Monday afternoon.

In its most recent company blog post, Lars Backstrom offered a perspective of the world as perceived through the words of the social network’s users in status messages over the past year.

Among the top status trends in 2009 on Facebook in order, according to the blog:

1. Facebook Applications
   Specific words: Farmville, Farm Town, Social Living
2. FML (or F*** My Life)
   Specific words: FML
3. Swine Flu
   Specific words: Flu, Swine Flu, H1N1
4. Celebrity Deaths
   Specific words: Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Billy Mays
5. Family
   Specific words: Family, Mom, Dad, Son, Daughter, Kids
6. Movies
   Specific words: New Moon, Transformers, Star Trek, The Hangover, Paranormal Activity, Harry Potter
7. Sports
   Specific words: Steelers, Yankees
8. Health Care
   Specific words: Health Care, No one should have to…
9. FB
   Specific words: FB, FB Friends, News Feed
10. Twitter
    Specific words: Twitter, RT
11. Years
    Specific words: 2008, 2009, 2010
12. Lady Gaga
    Specific words: Gaga, Poker Face
13. Yard
    Specific words: Yard
14. Religion
    Specific words: Easter, Lord, God
15. I
    Specific words: I, is

The data provides some insight into the social network’s users.  Among the most striking aspects to me:

• How prominent applications have become in users’ experiences on Facebook.  I could attest to how many notifications I receive daily sparked by applications; some days, I am sorry to admit I have nearly as many from applications as I do friends.
• How honest, or perhaps frank, users are about their lives. 
  NOTE: According to the blog posting, this term was used the least over the summer and the most on Mondays and Tuesdays.  On a note, it was posted that it was used more commonly on Tuesdays.  This to me, seems to be an indicative of young people continuing to utilize the social network to communicate among peers.  I wouldn’t expect folks using the network for professional means to use the term “FML,” which is generally used to discuss a negative element of one’s day or existence.
• It makes sense that people discussed the swine flu, as it was one of the most prominently reported stories of the year.  It also makes sense as the target demographic is young people.  However, according to the post, the use of the word was used the least on Sundays.  There is no indication as to the reason.
• The only surprising thing about celebrities making the list is how relatively low it is.  I would have guessed it would have been higher than swine flu.  According the post, Patrick Swayze’s death was almost as discussed as Michael Jackson’s.  I would think this is the data’s first indication of an older audience.
• According to the data, “New Moon” was the most discussed movie.  Personally, I thought it wasn’t very good.  I am also surprised that movie chatter didn’t fare higher on this list.
• Facebook users discussed the Yankees and Steelers more than any other teams, according to the data presented on the blog.  It makes sense as the Pittsburgh team won the Super Bowl and the Yankees won yet another World Series championship. 
• Health Care: An interesting trend.  While this issue has consistently been in the news since President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January, it surprised me it made this list.  I would think the social network’s older demographic would have propelled it into such a trending topic.  According to the data, millions of people posted “No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.” Apparently viral marketing works.  Beyond that, health care mentions are up 10 times since a year ago, according to the data.
• It didn’t surprise me that people discussed Facebook or Twitter on Facebook.  Social networkers tend to be opinionated.  As for Twitter, many people tie their Twitter accounts with their Facebook equivalent.
• Frankly, I was shocked to see Lady Gaga in the top mix.  I knew she was huge, but had no idea she was this big.  This is clearly a mark of the younger demographic.
• Yard took me and Facebook by complete surprise. According to the data, it appears that the newer, older demographic have been updating their friends on the yard work they have been doing. 
• The mention of religion, according to the data, was up 30 percent over last year.  I would think this is yet another indication of newer, older users who tend to be more in line with God and religion.  It has been my experience that fewer of my teenage and high school friends mention the church or synagogue as often as my older friends do.

According to Facebook, there were almost 100 million words a day posted in status updates at the beginning of the year. That is up by a factor of four in the past year.  No one could dispute that Facebook has become an integral part of our society.  And as such, Facebook offers a unique perspective of what the pulse of our nation, and indeed world, truly is.  While it is far (read: far, far, far, far, far) from perfect, it is one of the best we have.  And as more people sign on to Facebook from more diverse demographics, the more accurate that pulse will become.

Insurgents are using inexpensive software to breach one of America’s primary tools in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, senior defense and intelligence officials were quoted in a prominent American newspaper as saying.

The militants have been utilizing over-the-counter software, like SkyGrabber, sold for as little as $25.95 on the Internet to intercept and capture live video feeds coming from U.S. Predator drones, the Wall Street Journal reported late this week.  The feeds could allow America’s enemies to evade and monitor military operations.

The newspaper reports:

[T]he intercepts could give America’s enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance.

The story is significant for two reasons:

• The first is that the Obama administration has come to rely largely on the drones in this two battlefronts.  Hacking into their operations could greatly reduce their effectiveness.  According to the Journal, drones account for 36 percent of the planes in the Air Force’s proposed 2010 budget.
• Insurgents have found yet another means to utilize cheap software to outmaneuver America’s trillion-dollar military budget.  And with more software being developed and becoming available to consumers around the world, the trend will likely grow. 

Internet users across the country have woken up this week to devastating news of new malware that could plant child pornography onto innocent people’s computers.

And the idea isn’t just hypothetical, it has apparently already happened and ruined one man’s life, and almost resulted in prison-time.

CBS News reported this week:

The AP story reportedabout the case of Michael Fiola, a former Massachusetts state employee whose state-owned work computer was found to contain illegal child pornography images. He was fired and charged with possession of child pornography which, had he been convicted, could have landed him in prison for up to five years, according to the AP.

However, the charges were ultimately dropped when his attorneys were able to prove the number of sites visited in the actual time frame would not be possible by a  human being.

CBS News explored this issue and determined the likelihood of such a case happening to the typical user is slim.

Among the reasons why:

• Most malware is planted to make money, and there is no indication this practice would rake in the dough.
• Images put on someone else’s computer would not be accessible whenever the planter wanted it.
• A digital trail is often left between the planter’s system and victim’s computer.
• The time lapse between image downloads is often much higher when a computer does it than when a person does.
• The prosecution will have to prove the defendant knowingly and intentionally possessed, received or distributed child pornography.

Also, users who keep their system security up-to-date should be relatively safe.

CBS advises:

• Making sure that your operating system and regularly used software are up-to-date.
• Using good software addressing malware, phishing attacks, and/or spam, and keeping it up to date. Subscriptions to paid programs should be renewed.
• Being cautious about spam and about providing information to sites you navigate to from links within even the most legitimate-appearing e-mails.