Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Google officially announced the forthcoming release of an open source, royalty-free video format called WebM. Using the VP8 codec that Google acquired from On2 last February, the format is backed by fellow browser makers Mozilla and Opera.
In April, rumors about the open sourcing of VP8 started to take off, but the implications of what VP8 — and now WebM — might mean has been somewhat clouded by the bigger battle between Apple and Adobe over HTML5, Flash and the future of mobile platforms.
While WebM is not currently part of the HTML5 spec, it will be added as a supported part of the tag for the Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers.
Microsoft and Yahoo! has finally struck a partnership in terms of internet searches as Microsoft now powers Yahoo search engine.
A 10-year deal announced Wednesday gives Microsoft its best shot yet to show its new search technology, Bing, is as good as or better than Google’s. Microsoft also hopes to use Yahoo to divert sales from Google, which generates more than $20 billion a year from ads.
More about this news on Yahoo! News
Now that Ubuntu 9.04 has been officially released, we can now customized it’s look to better suit our lifestyle. Unixmen.com has posted a number of Great Themes for the Ubuntu 9.04 distro. If you haven’t heard about Ubuntu 9.04 you can read all about it on my previous post.
Microsoft must really love open source and want to see it succeed. Recently, Microsoft’s open-source team lead, Sam Ramji, urged open-source vendors not to compete with Microsoft on price, but instead focus on “value.”
While I’m sure Ramji meant well, I’m equally certain that Microsoft would like nothing more than to not be reminded of how expensive its products can be compared with open-source solutions. After all, Microsoft was the company that turned the software industry on its head by introducing lower-cost solutions years ago to undermine the Unix businesses of IBM and Hewlett-Packard, and the database businesses of Oracle and IBM.
Google still isn’t saying publicly that they’re going to deploy Android as a desktop Linux, but HP, ASUS, and other major computer makers are apparently in talks with the company about deploying Android on netbooks
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Satjiv Chahil, a vice president in HP’s PC division, declined to comment on whether the world’s largest PC maker will sell either netbooks or smartphones running Android but confirmed that HP is “studying” the free operating system.
We already know that Android will work as a desktop operating system, because it’s already been done. And, it was done not by some hackers whose second language is C++, but by a pair of journalists. If we can do it, anyone can do it.
Imagine charging your cell phone or iPod by waving your hand, or stretching your arm, or taking a stroll. Well, it could be a reality soon.
Scientists are mulling a technology which can convert mechanical energy from body movements or the flow of blood in the body into electric energy that may be utilised to power a broad range of electronic devices without batteries.
“This research will have a major impact on defence technology, environmental monitoring, biomedical sciences and even personal electronics,” lead researcher Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology said.
When you’re strapped for cash for a can’t-avoid-it purchase, sometimes it’s worth sacrificing a few frills. We zeroed in on a desktop, a laptop, an inkjet printer, a camera, and an HDTV. Each represents a great value in its category.