Tech Talk

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.

Much has been written recently about how technology is creating a Fifth Estate in America. The media has long been regarded as the Fourth Estate, or watchers of government.

Citizen and online journalists, who fall in the new category, are utilizing blogs, smart phones and server space to disseminate news and information quickly around the world.

However, smart phones are not only helping people around the world try their hand at journalism.  They are also saving lives.

According to an NBC News report, Dan Woolley survived under tons of wreckage in the lobby of his hotel in Haiti, in large part thanks to his iPhone.

Woolley had taken refuge in an elevator shaft, where he used an iPhone first-aid app to treat a compound fracture of his leg and a cut on his head. He had already used his digital SLR camera’s focusing light to illuminate his surroundings, and taken pictures of the wreckage to help find a safe place to wait to be rescued — or to die.

The app taught him how to fashion a bandage and touniquet for his leg and to stop the bleeding from a head injury, NBC News reported. It also advised him not to allow him to drift into deep sleep if he thought he might be going into shock. He told the peacock network that he utilized his phone’s alarm clock to go off every 20 minutes.

Eventually French rescuers discovered Woolley and brought him to safety.

A hacker claims that he has broken the encryption that protects the majority of cell phone calls on earth, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

Karsten Nohl, a German hacker, said he and his small team have broken the code for networks that utilize GSM technology, which includes AT&T and 80 percent of the world’s wireless networks.  He said his purpose, according to the Journal, is to make phone carriers more serious about securing the calls.

The newspaper quoted him as saying he does not fear a lawsuit because “Everything we do is within the framework of academic research.”

The Journal reported that he is expected to prove his claim Wednesday.

If Nohl’s claims are true and his team’s research is used maliciously, we could all suffer. 

Let’s hope that regardless of whether his claims pan out that our nation’s cellular providers increase security and encryption.

Please click here to read the full Wall Street Journal report.

The American justice system is facing a threat that could result in the incarceration of the innocent and freedom of the guilty.

Graphic courtesy of California Court System

For years, judges have instructed juries to refrain from reading newspapers or watching local television news to preserve each defendant’s right to a fair trial.  However, the Internet threatens to strip our society from that inherent right of all men, women and children.

As Americans, and particularly folks from Southwestern Connecticut, become increasingly connected, it is becoming more difficult to avoid tainting a jury pool.  Countless blogs, tweets and Facebook statuses are disseminated everyday on a variety of topics — in an unpredictable manner.  As an example, a Tech Talk post from last week reported that almost 100 million words a day were posted in Facebook status updates at the beginning of the year.  It is impossible to anticipate the information one will find by logging onto the net.

For this reason, judges need to instruct juries to not just avoid – but stop visiting blogs and social networking sites – during their service as a juror.  Who knows, as was mentioned in a Tech Talk post earlier this week, it might even do the jurors some good to cut their digital leash for a little while.

The Internet also allows people, jurors included, to find supplemental information.  Jurors should be banned from using the net to find more information on the case they have been selected to offer a judgement on.

A TIME article reported that one juror doing research led to a mistrial in Miami.  This juror should be imprisoned.  It may seem harsh, but such actions threaten the very integrity of this country’s jury system — it’s that simple.  Think that juror’s actions were an isolated incident?  Think again! It was determined that at least nine of the 12 jurors Googled after hours.  America needs to get serious on this issue.

In another instance cited in the same article, a New York City juror sent a Facebook friend request to a witness during deliberations.  Following a guilty verdict, the defense team tried to get the verdict overturned, according to the article.  If the request had been granted, a potentially guilty person could have gone free and threatened the innocent.  If this person was innocent, someone who should not have been jailed was. How would you like to be imprisoned for something you did not do because of Facebook?  Either way, it is clear that judges need to prohibit jurors from utilizing social networking sites entirely during trials — and make clear that any use of the Internet, or any other means, to get supplemental information or to connect with people involved in the case will be a jailable offense.

New York City customers could once again purchase the iPhone online, Tech Talk has confirmed, as the Associated Press originally reported Monday afternoon.

AT&T customers living in New York City discovered over the past few days that they were no longer able to purchase the wildly popular iPhone from its Web site.

Customers who entered a New York City ZIP code were instructed to “Please shop for another phone.”

AT&T has yet to explain the reason for the suspension of sales, which the AP reports began several days ago, beyond that it periodically “modifies” its distribution channels.

The AP had previously reported that the phone company said its data network is overburdened with iPhone users in  New York and San Francisco creating speculation that the sales blackout is a traffic management technique.

However, interestingly customers were always able to purchase iPhones in New York City stores and from Apple’s Web site, AT&T customers reported extensively online.

Customers in New York have complained for months of dropped calls and slow service.  An AT&T representative indirectly confirmed that such service was at least particularly responsible for the change in service.

The Consumerist, the blog that may have broken the news, quoted an AT&T customer service representative as saying “New York is not ready for the iPhone. … You don’t have enough towers to handle the phone.”

Mashable, the social media Web site, reported that some callers to AT&T were told that sales have been halted due to fraud.

As another stressful holiday season slowly fades from the realm of reality to memory, it is important to take a moment to exhale and make sure we are OK.

After concentrating on our friends, family and loved ones for month-long marathon period encompassing Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, it is time to turn the focus to ourselves.  To do this most effectively, it is best to turn off the electronic gadgets we have become so reliant on — of course, not until you finish this installment of Tech Talk.

We could learn a lot from the folks at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo.

There, according to the Associated Press, school officials are a little more hands-on about getting the community to power off in accordance with a 176-year-old college tradition.

Earlier this month, several dozen undergraduates powered off their cell phones and piled them in collection baskets in the school’s candlelit chapel. 

Alexis Dornseif, a senior at the college, said she appreciated the Alexis time.

“Sometimes it’s really overwhelming,” she told the AP. “It’s good to have time to think, to not worry about what’s going on tomorrow.”

Dianne Lynch, president of the all female college, said all of the students’ attention paid to technology prevents clutter-free thought.  She told the AP that she wants her students to pursue the state of mind that comes with silence.  She said she hopes to hold the voluntary service at least twice each month.

Universities and corporations across the country should take note of Stephens College’s example and follow suit. 

It is important to remember that in an era where our digital metaphorical leashes are becoming increasingly short that there is life beyond technology. 

Now, I encourage you to follow my lead. Turn off that monitor, BlackBerry, Droid or iPhone and walk away — at least for five minutes.

It will provide the perfect opportunity for you to collect your thoughts, and concentrate on what is most important.

Perhaps you could utilize your tech-free time to go for a ride alone — or with a loved one, or maybe even with the dog.  Or perhaps you could engage in a rousing game of Monopoly, Scrabble or even Taboo!

Come on, give it a try.  It’s just crazy enough to be enjoyable.

More epic than the rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees, Seinfeld and Newman or even Batman and the Joker is that between the BlackBerry and the iPhone.

I, a loyal and long-time BlackBerry user, find myself torn between these two gadgets as my AT&T contact comes up for renewal. 

I can’t seem to find a clear consensus among friends as to each one is superior — everyone is committed to their gadget of choice — so I turned to the all-knowing Internet for some guidance.

Among the better comparison articles I found on the topic was on Wired.com.

Among the highlights:

In terms of applications:

“I’ve not been impressed by the application selection the Blackberry offers. While there are some free applications, most are second rate at best and the selection of pay applications isn’t nearly as robust as it should be. The Blackberry App Store is like a pawn shop that only sells used 8-track players.

…

Application development on the iPhone has been one of the highlights of the device since its inception. Developers are encouraged to design and sell their own applications, and there are thousands of applications available in the iPhone App Store. Even though there are several hundred useless applications, there are hundreds more to make life easier in the palm of your hand.”

In terms of physical attributes:

“The touchscreen and motion sensibility on the iPhone is unmatched by any other touchscreen devices. Bump to exchange contact information, play games by tilting the phone, zoom in with a finger slide motion. It’s simply amazing technology and even the touchscreen Blackberry Storm doesn’t come close. But you still wouldn’t want to drop an iPhone more than once.

…

Even if it gets run over by a truck the Blackberry still holds its form, avoids cracks and doesn’t lose a key. The Blackberry, built for business and travel, is a durable and strong phone.”

In terms of gaming:

“Playing games on the iPhone is a fantastic and handy experience, especially multiplayer games. “

In terms of functionality:

“Companies run Blackberry server products. From the connectivity to Microsoft Exchange server and the ease of mobile e-mail, the Blackberry is far superior to the iPhone.

…

The iPhone has more storage, a faster CPU and more RAM. … As I’ve witnessed at work, the iPhone is the anti-productivity phone.

…

Recently, the iPhone became compatible with Exchange Server, which was a huge step toward integrating with business.”

The writer’s conclusion … a tie?

“The bottom line is, we’re geeks. Geeks like awesome tech toys and the iPhone is certainly that. From its gaming to its thousands of unique and specific applications, it’s a device that every geek wants to carry even if they already have a Blackberry.”

And you know what? I agree.  We are all geeks.  However, with that said, I think I will eventually give in and purchase an iPhone and abandon my beloved BlackBerry. 

And here’s why:

• Superior video and photo capabilities
• Ability to surf the real Internet, as opposed to the mobile net
• Access to tens of thousands of spectacular and practical applications
• Ability to remotely erase data if phone is lost or stolen
• Fewer keystrokes
• Easier data entry through a variety of techniques
• Ability to store and listen to music

Though with that said, there are things I fear about the iPhone, including:

• Including having to type on a screen, rather than keys
• Horror stories concerning battery life
• Limited third-party support
• Loss of MMS capabilities
• Only being to use one application at a time
• Durability of the iPhone screen
• Speaker phone is less than adequate
• Inability to save documents

AT&T has denied Internet reports that the telephone company would be delaying multi-media messaging (images, audio, video, rich text,) and that a tethering plan would cost an additional $55 per month for iPhone users in an e-mail to Wired.com.

In the message, a spokesman said that while the company will charge for a tethering plan, it has yet to be determined how much it will cost or when it will become available.  AT&T also maintained that MMS will be available “later this summer.”

However, the article does note a problem with the statement:
“Early September is still considered late summer, so if MMS doesn’t arrive until then, AT&T will not have broken its promise.”