Daily Dispatch: Facebook privacy breach; Why Woz wants 2 iPads
Mar 31, 2010 Technology
Combing through hundreds of blog posts and news articles daily, Dirk Klingner, our technology-trend watcher, sifts through the noise to bring you the tech news most important to consumers. If you have a tip on a story you want to share, leave a comment below.
Facebook Revealed Private Email Addresses Last Night (VALLEYWAG)
A brief rift in the Facebook privacy shield has been healed, but not before dozens of people documented it. For about 30 minutes late Tuesday, private email addresses were revealed—and then, just as suddenly, they were hidden again.
NASA to help on Toyota probe (REUTERS)
U.S. auto safety regulators are turning to scientists from the NASA space and aeronautics agency for help analyzing Toyota electronic throttles to see if they are behind unintended acceleration, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.
Google Search Shows IMDb Ratings (Google Operating System)
…Now you can see the ratings without having to click on the search results, which is useful if you browse the web using a mobile phone or you want to check the ratings for a lot of movies.
The Wisdom of Woz: Why Apple’s cofounder wants two iPads (Newsweek)
…I’m out here on the road with four cell phones and two GPS devices, trying to look at maps, and I wish I had an iPad with me now.
Lighter side: Life & Death of a Gobstopper (That Guy with the Glasses)
…Witness my life or death struggle with a jawbreaker the size of a toddler’s head!
Tags: dirk klingner, facebook, News
iPad: The latest news from the Web about Apple’s coming tablet
Mar 31, 2010 Technology
The iPad launch is just around the corner, so we thought we’d offer a roundup of the plethora of pre-launch stories flying around the Web today.
- If you’re afraid the iPad puts too much of a pinch on your wallet, think back to the Lisa. AppleInsider tells us the Lisa, an early Apple a computer with a price that started at $9,995 in 1983, would cost $21,844 in 2010 dollars. That $499 iPad price tag starts looking pretty good…
- The iPad—along with the iPod Touch and the iPhone—is already the subject of a patent-infringement lawsuit, with Taiwanese chipmaker Elan Microelectronics suing Apple for using multitouch technology that Elan claims as its own. Scary news for Apple: Elan won a suit against Synaptics over the same technology, according to ZDNet.
- The latest release of iTunes—version 9.1—adds support for e-books and syncing for the iPad. Wired.com points out that Apple usually doesn’t update iTunes for a new product until the day the product ships. This slightly early update, Wired says, could mean Apple has learned a lesson from the slow downloads that result from a simultaneous product launch/iTunes upgrade. Or it could mean Apple thinks a mighty lot of iPads will be getting into users’ hands Saturday, and wants to be prepared ahead of time.
- Environmental activists at Greenpeace are calling on Apple and other keepers of the cloud (the computing cloud, that is) to look to alternative energy sources for running data centers currently powered by coal. The Greenpeace report, “Make IT Green: Cloud Computing and Its Contribution to Climate Change,” points out that the more we count on devices like the iPad (and other users of the cloud), the bigger the carbon footprint of cloud computing becomes. Says Greenpeace: “…at current growth rates data centers and telecommunication networks will consume about 1,963 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2020.”
- About 20 percent of consumers say they would use the iPad as an additional productivity device, according to eReader & Book Trends, a (Adobe PDF) report produced by PriceGrabber.com. More than 10 percent say they’d use it primarily as an e-book reader, and 19 percent say they’d replace a laptop or netbook with the iPad.
&emdash;Donna Tapellini
Tags: donna tapellini, ipad, mobile electronics, Photography, tablet computers
In the Labs: 3D TVs, smaller LCD sets, first 2010 models
Mar 31, 2010 Technology
The Panasonic TC-P50VT20 3D LCD TV.
Photo: Panasonic.com
Our indefatigable engineers are at it again: They're busily testing a new batch of TVs, ranging from high-end, cutting-edge sets to small, lower-priced models you can use in your kitchen or office.
In the upper tiers, we're putting two 3D TV sets—the Samsung UN46C7000, a 46-inch LCD priced at $2,600, and the 50-inch Panasonic TC-P50VT20 plasma TV ($2,500)—through our full battery of tests and will be including them in our next Ratings of HDTVs. (Ratings are available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers.) While we've already given you our first impressions of their 3D performance, we'll soon tell you how they stack up for overall picture and sound quality compared to other HDTVs.
We don't often test small screens, but there is a place for them, usually on a kitchen counter or a corner of a desk. We've got three, all LCDs: the 19-inch Auvio 16-912, $199 at Radio Shack; the 19-inch Toshiba Stainless Style 19LV612U, which incorporates a DVD player, $350; and the 20-inch Viewsonic VT2042, $299.
Two larger LCD sets are of particular interest to us. The 42-inch Vizio SV422XVT and 46-inch SV472XVT, an LED-backlit set, are the first with that company's VIA (Vizio Interactive Apps) apps platform and a unique Bluetooth remote with a slideout QWERTY keypad. They also have built-in WiFi.
The rest of the LCD group includes two of the first-available 2010 Sony models, the KDL-40EX500 and KDL-46EX700, an edge LED model; the Toshiba Regza Cinema Series 40XV648U; and the Samsung LN46C630. On the plasma side, we have three 720p models, the LG 42PJ350 and 50PJ350 and Samsung PN42C450, as well as a set from Panasonic's new entry-level 1080p line, the Panasonic TC-P46S2.
Check back in a few weeks for full Ratings and test results (available to subscribers).
—Eileen McCooey
Next Steps
Subscribers can view and compare all TV Ratings.
Look at the ones that we chose as the best of the best.
Tags: 3d tv, in the labs, Internet, News
In the Labs: 3D TVs, smaller LCD sets, first 2010 models
Mar 31, 2010 Technology
The Panasonic TC-P50VT20 3D LCD TV.
Photo: Panasonic.com
Our indefatigable engineers are at it again: They're busily testing a new batch of TVs, ranging from high-end, cutting-edge sets to small, lower-priced models you can use in your kitchen or office.
In the upper tiers, we're putting two 3D TV sets—the Samsung UN46C7000, a 46-inch LCD priced at $2,600, and the 50-inch Panasonic TC-P50VT20 plasma TV ($2,500)—through our full battery of tests and will be including them in our next Ratings of HDTVs. (Ratings are available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers.) While we've already given you our first impressions of their 3D performance, we'll soon tell you how they stack up for overall picture and sound quality compared to other HDTVs.
We don't often test small screens, but there is a place for them, usually on a kitchen counter or a corner of a desk. We've got three, all LCDs: the 19-inch Auvio 16-912, $199 at Radio Shack; the 19-inch Toshiba Stainless Style 19LV612U, which incorporates a DVD player, $350; and the 20-inch Viewsonic VT2042, $299.
Two larger LCD sets are of particular interest to us. The 42-inch Vizio SV422XVT and 46-inch SV472XVT, an LED-backlit set, are the first with that company's VIA (Vizio Interactive Apps) apps platform and a unique Bluetooth remote with a slideout QWERTY keypad. They also have built-in WiFi.
The rest of the LCD group includes two of the first-available 2010 Sony models, the KDL-40EX500 and KDL-46EX700, an edge LED model; the Toshiba Regza Cinema Series 40XV648U; and the Samsung LN46C630. On the plasma side, we have three 720p models, the LG 42PJ350 and 50PJ350 and Samsung PN42C450, as well as a set from Panasonic's new entry-level 1080p line, the Panasonic TC-P46S2.
Check back in a few weeks for full Ratings and test results (available to subscribers).
—Eileen McCooey
Next Steps
Subscribers can view and compare all TV Ratings.
Look at the ones that we chose as the best of the best.
Tags: lcd tvs, News, plasma tvs
MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Server 2010 (Part 4 of 8): Building Business Applications With Silverlight 4 and SharePoint 2010 (Level 100)
Mar 31, 2010 Whitepapers
Attend this webcast to learn how to use Microsoft Silverlight 4 to integrate rich, powerful applications into Microsoft SharePoint 2010 and how the features of Silverlight 4 can power interactive business applications on Microsoft SharePoint 2010. The presenter takes the attendee through examples of patterns for integrating and hosting Silverlight applications in SharePoint 2010 using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.
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MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Server 2010 (Part 4 of 8): Building Business Applications With Silverlight 4 and SharePoint 2010 (Level 100)
Tags: library, Photography, white-papers
TechNet Webcast: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Audio Conferencing Deep Dive (Level 200)
Mar 31, 2010 Whitepapers
Familiar with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 dial-in conferencing and want to go deeper into the technical details? Or thinking about deploying dial-in conferencing but have not yet done so
Read the rest here:
TechNet Webcast: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Audio Conferencing Deep Dive (Level 200)
Tags: downloads, Internet, Whitepapers
MSDN Webcast: Microsoft Bing Maps Server (Part 2 of 3): Configuration and Management (Level 200)
Mar 31, 2010 Whitepapers
Microsoft Bing Maps Server is the on-premises, offline, or secure intranet version of the Microsoft Bing Maps Internet mapping platform that was developed by Vexcel, a Microsoft geospatial subsidiary. In this webcast the presenter introduces the attendee to the features of Bing Maps Server and then focus on how to configure and manage it within a customer’s enterprise environment. The presenter covers hardware and software infrastructure requirements, installation, feature configuration, troubleshooting, updates, and integration with other applications.
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MSDN Webcast: Microsoft Bing Maps Server (Part 2 of 3): Configuration and Management (Level 200)
Tags: library, microsoft, Technology, webcasts, Whitepapers
MSDN Webcast: BenkoTips Live and on Demand: Getting Started With Team Foundation Server 2010 (Level 200)
Mar 31, 2010 Whitepapers
Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2010 is an exciting addition to the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Subscription. In this webcast, the presenter explains how one can take advantage of the great facilities and features of TFS 2010, from simplified setup to tracking tasks and tests
Continued here:
MSDN Webcast: BenkoTips Live and on Demand: Getting Started With Team Foundation Server 2010 (Level 200)
Tags: Internet, News, Photography, webcasts
TechNet Webcast: Monitoring, Backing Up, and Restoring Exchange Server 2010 With System Center (Level 300)
Mar 31, 2010 Whitepapers
Microsoft System Center helps one get the most from their mission-critical messaging infrastructure with management solutions that enhance the availability features built into Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. In this webcast, the presenter look at how System Center can improve the health and availability of their servers running Exchange with the Exchange Server 2010 Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2007 and Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2007. System Center has application awareness built into its management solutions to help deliver guidance and best practices to Exchange administrators, ensuring Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are met and saving organizations money.
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TechNet Webcast: Monitoring, Backing Up, and Restoring Exchange Server 2010 With System Center (Level 300)
Tags: Internet, microsoft, Technology
TechNet Webcast: Discover the New OWA: Outlook Web App (Level 200)
Mar 31, 2010 Whitepapers
Outlook Web App provides the most robust Web experience for accessing Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. With Outlook Web App, users get more ways to communicate from the Web, including the new Outlook Web App Instant Messaging (IM) and SMS sync features, changes made to the conversation view, new communication types, and presentation methods in Outlook Web App that can increase user productivity
Read more here:
TechNet Webcast: Discover the New OWA: Outlook Web App (Level 200)
Tags: downloads, Internet, Photography, Technology, white-papers
