Techonomy

Plan Your Social Calendar with The Plangr

2012-01-29T06:48:00.000-08:00

Quick Pitch: Plangr is the first geo-calendar-social aggregator that shows people what’s happening today, tomorrow and beyond among their personal networks.
Idea: Plangr is web app that shows you a visual map of open upcoming events in your area and across your social network. It highlights what events your friends are attending and what events have the most buzz.
You can see what’s going on in your area or add other cities that you want to check out.

You can filter listings by event types, dates and locations which is an easy way to get an overview of what’s going on. By default it lists the events that are near to your place on the current day.
A nice touch is that once you select an event, you can not only see who is attending, but you can read a detailed description of the event.
Plangr is presented not only as a collaborative calendar where groups of friends can plan events of all kinds, but also as a network of recommendations for activities in our area. Although the amount of existing data is very low, is shown as an intelligent system that learns from your tastes to indicate places that may be concerned about where we live, as well as events that we can do alone or accompanied, while still providing all the necessary tools to organize our trips with friends. Maps, calendars, diaries, invitations, contacts, ... a good project recommendations that, if it spread throughout the world, can have one of the most lucrative business models of the year.

HTC TITAN BRINGING ITS MASSIVE DISPLAY TO AT&T

2011-09-13T10:57:00.001-07:00

AT & T business will shortly be means to get their hands upon a HTC Titan. The not long ago voiced models will uncover which ‘s roughly 5 inches, and Microsoft’ ultimate version; s mobile handling system. HTC TitanThe 4.7 英寸 WVGA (800 x 480) hold shade is roughly competent this as “tabphone”: half-tablets and a half phone. And it won ‘t be reduced in alternative areas: Giants uncover off a 1.5 GHz processor and twin LED peep and a 8-megapixel camera. This smartphone will be a initial phone with Windows 7.5 (mango).

Microsoft has softened in this chronicle of a browser, and do alternative enhancments. Giants have inner storage, though no removable label container 16GB. Other facilities will embody a 1600 mAh battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, video conferencing with a 1.3MP front confronting camera in Skype. HTC AT & T will launch a hulk in a fourth entertain to a little extent. Pricing is not revelead. In addition, a conduit ‘other Windows phone from HTC’s s, HD7S, and around, there will be upgrades mango.
When this happens is not announced, however. In associated news, eralier former AT & T currently voiced dual alternative arriving Windows Phone 7.5 model, Samsung concentration upon S and concentration flash.

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CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS REZURRECTION RISING ON PS3, PC SEPT. 22

2011-09-13T10:56:00.002-07:00

Call of Duty: a PlayStation 3′s Black Ops map fabricated in about a month ago and reliably followed their Xbox 360 counterparts, due to a timing of a exclusivity understanding in between Microsoft and Activision. Rezurrection will be no different, Activision currently reliable which a Black Ops’ fourth multi-player enlargement container for a Sep 22, PS3 and Personal Computer will arrive. $ fifteen additives, together with diversion ‘of 5 levels; s zombie mode, and refurbish a soundtrack, and “Moon” theme.

The initial 4 maps (Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi no Numa and Der Riese) is re-created from a work sourroundings requirements: in war, initial introduced a lizard God of a diversion world. Maps V – Moon – is new and in outdoor space, a moon. Four upgraded a universe map in a fight won ‘t is new to all gamers. These maps embody a work compulsory to be tougher or stronger and status iteration: Black Ops. The tip quarrel of a owners can revise giveaway download Rezurrection public to be in a Aug 23, map of a moon, soundtracks and themes. Expect is for a idea, check GameSpot ‘s Xbox 360 paper jobs edition impression.

SOCIAL NETWORKS EAT UP AMERICANS’ ONLINE TIME

2011-09-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

A new consult pronounced Americans than all a alternative blogs or amicable media and amicable networking sites some-more and some-more piercing, when Facebook looting some-more of a time. Social networks and blogs upon a Internet some-more and some-more Americans take up time upon a Internet right away comment for roughly outlayed a entertain of a time, concluded Nielsen ‘s amicable media report. Internet users in a United States in their amicable networks than a second many renouned difficulty outlay some-more than twice a volume of time to do a same: to fool around online games. Facebook is all a amicable networks and blogs of a tip destinations. Nielsen reported in May, 140 million people visited Facebook.

That ‘s all active U.S. Internet users, 70%. Google ‘s Blogger came in a apart second with 50 month million visitors, whilst a be scared in a third with twenty-three million spot. In further to Facebook’s some-more than people, they additionally outlay many of a time which site.ccording to a Nelson, Facebook users outlayed upon a site, 53.5 a single billion mins this past May. That ‘s and Yahoo, it was by a 17.5 a single billion mins upon a site in a same month, or Google comparison, see a users outlayed 12.5 a single billion mins there.

Idea Flight, an iPad App for Presentations

2011-09-12T14:15:00.003-07:00

by David Zax, Technology Review
In the age of the iPad, why should we rely on the same old slideshows? We shouldn’t. How does it work? It takes the metaphor of aviation, with one pilot and a series of passengers. (Okay, it might be a bit hokey to imagine a meeting as a “flight through ideas,” but the metaphor works, as you’ll see.) The pilot boots up her presentation on her iPad; any PDF file is fair game. Up to 15 passengers–the presentation’s audience–check in on their own iPads via WiFi or Bluetooth. Now the pilot steers the presentation. She swipes over to the next slide, and the action is replicated automatically on the passengers’ screens. She zooms in, and their iPads zoom in as well. They’re along for the ride. As one of the developers said at the Tech Meetup: “It literally keeps everyone on the same page.”

Should Apple Make a TV?

2011-09-12T14:15:00.001-07:00

David Zax, Technology Review
Rumor has it that Apple’s working on a TV set, one that might run a variant of the iOS operating system. But does it make sense? Apple has long been in the set-top box market; you can already buy Apple TV for $99. But would Apple ever manufacture a set of its own? Apple, after all, has been trending upwards where screen size is concerned. The iPhone swelled to the size of the iPad. Could the iPad now grow into the iTV? VentureBeat thinks it’s “almost certain” that Apple is already working on a device, citing “multiple sources in Silicon Valley.” A venture capitalist who used to be on TiVo’s board, Stewart Alsop, thinks it’s a likelihood, and even predicts a 2012 launch date.

Windows 8, Mac OS X ‘Lion’ Show Apple, Microsoft Philosophies

2011-09-12T14:14:00.005-07:00

By: Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek
How will Microsoft’s Windows 8 match up against Apple’s Mac OS X? Certainly, both operating systems are reflections of their respective companies’ evolving needs and philosophies. In the case of Windows 8, widely expected to be released in 2012, Microsoft finds itself confronted with two considerable tasks: convince a billion-strong user base that it needs to upgrade so soon after Windows 7, and make inroads into the tablet and mobility markets. For Apple, the ultimate goal seems to be bringing Mac OS X more in line with iOS, which powers the iPad and iPhone—in the process, emphasizing Apple’s self-focus as a mobility-tech company.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/Windows-8-Mac-OS-X-Lion-Show-Apple-Microsoft-Philosophies-441530/?kc=rss

Advanced Malware, Targeted Attacks Compromise Enterprises via ‘Security Gap’

2011-09-12T14:14:00.003-07:00

By: Fahmida Y. Rashid, eWeek
Nearly 99 percent of enterprise-level networks have a serious gap in their IT security defenses enabling advanced malware to easily slip through, according to FireEye. Successful attacks typically exploit zero-day vulnerabilities and frequently change the attacking domains and code binaries to avoid detection, according to a new FireEye report. About 80 percent of enterprises in the report were hit with more than 100 new infections per week in the first half of 2011, according to a report from FireEye Malware Intelligence Lab released Aug. 31. If that number wasn’t high enough, 98.5 percent of enterprises have at least 10 infections a week, the report found. Malware authors tend to employ dynamic “zero-day” tactics to exploit vulnerabilities no one else knows about and can’t defend against. Even so, 94 percent of malicious binaries are being “morphed” or modified within 24 hours of releasing them to stay undetected by security tools. The attackers also change the malicious domains hosting the malware within hours.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Advanced-Malware-Targeted-Attacks-Compromise-Enterprises-via-Security-Gap-622155/?kc=rss

Twitter Share Button Drives 7 Times More Exposure: BrightEdge

2011-09-12T14:14:00.001-07:00

by Darryl K. Taft, eWeek
According to SEO expert firm BrightEdge, Websites with Twitter share buttons get seven times more social exposure than sites that do not. BrightEdge, provider of an enterprise-class SEO platform that helps brands rise above the increasing clutter of the Web, said a first-of-its-kind, in-depth analysis of more than four million tweets shows pages that display Twitter share buttons get seven times the social media mentions than sites that do not.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Web-Services-Web-20-and-SOA/Twitter-Share-Button-Drives-7-Times-More-Exposure-BrightEdge-420123/?kc=rss

Sony Tablet S, Tablet P Bring New Twist to Today’s Honeycomb Tablets

2011-09-12T14:13:00.003-07:00

By Clint Boulton, Week
eSony Aug. 31 unveiled its first Android “Honeycomb” tablets in the form of the Sony Tablet S and Tablet P, known formerly as the S1 and S2 back in April. These are not your typical Honeycomb tablets. Available for $499 in a 16GB version and $599 for 32GB later this month, the Tablet S resembles a paper pad with folded sheets. The Tablet P, which does not have pricing or a formal launch date beyond the end of 2011, offers two 5.5-inch touch-screen displays and weighs only 0.83 pounds. The S has a 9.4-inch, 1,280×768-pixel touch-screen display and weighs a light 1.33 lbs. Both are powered by Nvidia’s 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, which has become ubiquitous among Android tablets from Motorola, Samsung and others. The Tablet S and Tablet P have front- and rear-facing cameras. Both are WiFi- and 4G LTE-capable (4G Long Term Evolution-capable) and will be available only on AT&T’s network in the U.S.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Sony-Tablet-S-Tablet-P-Bring-New-Twist-to-Todays-Honeycomb-Tablets-320401/?kc=rss

Internet Keeps Expanding With 5.2 Million More Addresses: VeriSign

2011-09-12T14:13:00.001-07:00

By: Fahmida Y. Rashid, eWeek
VeriSign’s quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief said there were more than 215 million domains registered at the end of the second quarter 2011, 16.9 million more than 2010. The Internet expanded by 2.5 percent in the second quarter of 2011 over the first quarter, VeriSign reported in its latest report. There were 5.2 million more domains by the end of the second quarter, the report found. More than 215 million domain names were registered across all top level domains at the second quarter of 2011, VeriSign found in its quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief released Aug. 31. Registrations have grown by more than 16.9 million, of 8.6 percent, since the second quarter of 2010, VeriSign found. However, the way VeriSign counts domains makes it hard to tell how many of the 215 million domains are actually being used.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/Internet-Keeps-Expanding-With-52-Million-More-Addresses-VeriSign-700854/?kc=rss

Google Chrome Browser Hikes to 15.5%

2011-09-12T14:12:00.003-07:00

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek
Google’s Chrome browser cracks the 15 percent market for its third birthday. Net Applications is now counting mobile device browser share separately, with Apple Safari leading. Google’s Chrome browser hit 15.5 percent market share through August, jumping more than a whole percentage point from the 14.3 percent the Web surfing software hit in July. Chrome just turned three years old Sept. 1 and it’s been a remarkable rise to this point, with the browser gaining share nearly every month for the last two years. What’s responsible for the latest share gains? It’s tough to pinpoint, but it could be an uptick of Chromebook sales from Samsung and Acer. It could also be the rapid, six-week release cycles that pump out new features, such as voice recognition capabilities.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Google-Chrome-Browser-Hikes-to-155-546552/?kc=rss

Apple puts older Final Cut Pro back on sale

2011-09-12T14:12:00.001-07:00

by the BBC
Apple has put an older version of its Final Cut video editing software on sale, after complaints that its replacement was not good enough for professional work. Final Cut Studio, which includes Final Cut Pro 7 is available for £834 through the company’s telephone sales line. Its recently introduced Final Cut Pro X received mixed reviews, with editors criticising the removal of key features Apple has said it is simply clearing stock of the old software.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14762758

Analytics Turns Pie Charts Into Increase Sales of Pizza Pies

2011-09-12T14:11:00.003-07:00

By eWEEK
Reacting to customer demands and complaints is the standard operating procedure in most companies. Increasingly, businesses want to be pro-active instead of reactive – taking actions that increase or improve the business without needing an event to trigger a response. To make this change, smart businesses are turning to predictive and real-time analytics, which help figure, given a set of circumstances, what is going to happen next. This video looks at one example, where a regional food chain was able to increase its average order total while simultaneously upping the frequency of orders per customer by using real-time analytics.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/Analytics-Turns-Pie-Charts-Into-Increase-Sales-of-Pizza-Pies/?kc=rss

Half of America Is Using Social Networks

2011-09-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

By SOMINI SENGUPTA, New York Times
Social networks have crossed another milestone. For the first time, half of all adults in the United States said they used a social networking site, according to a survey released on Friday by the Pew Research Center. That is 50 percent of all Americans, not just those who say they are online. Six years ago, when Pew first conducted a similar survey, only 5 percent of all adults said they used social sites, like Facebook, LinkedIn or MySpace. It is a sign of how deeply and widely social networking companies have penetrated the lives of ordinary people and, in turn, transformed the ways in which people communicate, authorities govern and companies sell things.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/half-of-america-is-using-social-networks/

What Will School Look Like in 10 Years?

2011-09-12T14:10:00.001-07:00

Computers, electronic whiteboards and other interactive technologies are fundamentally changing American education . That is the view of the experts whom The Times spoke with about what the classroom will look like 10 years from now. Listen to excerpts from their predictions below, and share your own thoughts in the comments section.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/what-will-school-look-like-in-10-years/

Supercomputer predicts revolution

2011-09-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

Feeding a supercomputer with news stories could help predict major world events, according to US research.

A study, based on millions of articles, charted deteriorating national sentiment ahead of the recent revolutions in Libya and Egypt.
While the analysis was carried out retrospectively, scientists say the same processes could be used to anticipate upcoming conflict.
The system also picked up early clues about Osama Bin Laden's location.
Kalev Leetaru, from the University of Illinois' Institute for Computing in the Humanities, Arts and Social Science, presented his findings in the journal First Monday.
Mood and location The study's information was taken from a range of sources including the US government-run Open Source Centre and BBC Monitoring, both of which monitor local media output around the world.
News outlets which published online versions were also analysed, as was the New York Times' archive, going back to 1945.
In total, Mr Leetaru gathered more than 100 million articles.
Reports were analysed for two main types of information: mood - whether the article represented good news or bad news, and location - where events were happening and the location of other participants in the story.

Google+ vs. Facebook: The war for online social games

2011-09-11T07:49:00.001-07:00

Editor's note: Scott Steinberg is the head of technology and video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, as well as the founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. A celebrated business keynote speaker, he frequently appears as an on-air technology analyst for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CNN.

(CNN) -- Google's social network, Google+, recently sent tremors through the gaming world with the announcement that it would be launching a new social games service.
But despite offering players 16 games, from Angry Birds to Bejeweled Blitz, and providing software developers more generous financial terms than competitors, it's dubious whether there's any real danger to rival Facebook.
Currently offering a small selection of digital diversions, many available from numerous other devices and sources, Google's initial library of games doesn't raise the bar for quality or innovation.
What's more, with an audience of 25 million users as compared to the nearly 800 million on Facebook, Google+ isn't suddenly going to topple Mark Zuckerberg's electronic entertainment empire overnight.
Given the thousands of titles already available on rival social networks, with dozens more released every day, it probably won't be the first place bored office drones look for entertainment either.
Still, as game makers from PopCap ("Plants vs. Zombies") to Rovio ("Angry Birds") and Electronic Arts ("The Sims Social") are aware, to dismiss the considerable opportunity that Google+ presents would be a fatal error.
Not only does the social network present a massive chance to greatly expand social gaming's reach and grow the audience for interactive entertainment as a whole -- it's also a prime opportunity for developers to hedge their bets on Facebook by creating another channel through which to sell high-quality, intuitive and free to play games.
With the market for virtual goods pegged somewhere around $1-to-$2.1 billion in revenue in 2011 by industry insiders, there's considerable extra money to be made hawking new buyers their simulated clothes, cars and power-ups.
Moreover, given Google's announcement that it would take only 5% of payments made to game companies for now, as opposed to the 30% toll demanded by Facebook, developers have added incentive to take the plunge.
Bolstering creators' bottom line, such efforts may provide greater windfalls, at least for a short while, that can be reinvested into more sophisticated and enjoyable games.
Above all else, however, Google's foray into social games provides some protection should Facebook decide to change the rules, up fees or meddle with an already delicate situation, with most games and developers currently struggling to gain visibility.
On social networks, power is already beginning to consolidate in the hands of giants like Zynga, Playdom and Electronic Arts, whose large audiences and deep pockets make an ever-shifting array of new releases easier to find. Once a bastion for independents, advertising and well-known brands are rapidly beginning to outpace creativity and innovation as the catalyst for success in these play environments, as in the traditional video games business.
If Google+ blossoms, unlike Buzz and Orkut, it presents what's possibly fertile new ground for scrappier competitors to colonize and cultivate.

installing django-sphinx

2011-09-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Requirements:
->Django
->Sphinx 0.9.9
->django-sphinx app

Steps:
To install the latest stable version:

sudo easy_install django-sphinx

To install the latest development version (updated quite often):

git clone git://github.com/dcramer/django-sphinx.git
cd django-sphinx
sudo python setup.py install

Note: You will need to install the sphinxapi.py package into your Python Path or use one of the included versions. To use the included version, you must specify the following in your settings.py file:

# Sphinx 0.9.9
SPHINX_API_VERSION = 0x116

# Sphinx 0.9.8
SPHINX_API_VERSION = 0x113

# Sphinx 0.9.7
SPHINX_API_VERSION = 0x107

To install sphinx API:
Go to http://sphinxsearch.com/downloads/ and download the latest stable version.

Extract everything from the distribution tarball (haven't you already?) and go to the sphinx subdirectory:

$ tar xzvf sphinx-0.9.9.tar.gz $ cd sphinx
Run the configuration program:

$ ./configure

There's a number of options to configure. The complete listing may be obtained by using --help switch. The most important ones are:

--prefix, which specifies where to install Sphinx; such as --prefix=/usr/local/sphinx (all of the examples use this prefix)
--with-mysql, which specifies where to look for MySQL include and library files, if auto-detection fails: you can run: which mysql, and specigy it.
--with-pgsql, which specifies where to look for PostgreSQL include and library files.

Build the binaries:
$ make
Install the binaries in the directory of your choice: (defaults to /usr/local/bin/ on *nix systems, but is overridden with configure --prefix)
$ make install

HTC Sues Apple Using Google Patents Bought Last Week as Battle Escalates

2011-09-10T15:12:00.001-07:00

HTC Corp. (2498), Asia’s second-biggest smartphone maker, is using nine patents bought from Google Inc. (GOOG) last week to pursue new infringement claims against Apple Inc. Google had taken ownership of the patents less than a year ago, with four of the patents originating from Motorola Inc., three from Openwave Systems Inc. and two from Palm Inc., according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Jim Prosser, a spokesman for Mountain View, California-based Google, wouldn’t discuss reasons for the nine transfers to HTC. HTC now has more ammunition in its fight to fend off multiple patent-infringement claims lodged by Apple that contend phones running Google’s Android operating system copy the iPhone. Google’s involvement in aiding HTC represents a new front in an industrywide dispute over smartphone technology that has also ensnared Android customers Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., Barnes & Noble Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

Twitter CEO On Google+: It’s Complicated

2011-09-10T15:11:00.001-07:00

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo held a press briefing at Twitter HQ this morning in order to talk about the Twitter’s path moving forward. Costolo indicated how important it was that Twitter focus if it wants to compete in today’s saturated social ecosystem, “We used to say if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there,” he said, implying that was a bad thing. When asked what he thought about Google+ after the talk, Costolo, who was briefly a Googler after the acquisition of Feedburner, said, “There’s no doubt that they’re going to draw in a large amount of users. You can’t not see that red notification alert on the sandbar,” he said, referring to the fact that you could basically advertise any product on the Google homepage and it would draw in a significant amount of people.

Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch pre-orders at Walmart for only $99

2011-09-10T15:10:00.001-07:00

Walmart has begun pre-orders for the Now Network’s version of the Samsung Galaxy S II known as the Epic 4G Touch and it’s offering it up at an awesome price. Originally said to cost $199 with a new two-year contract, the handset can now be had from Walmart for only $99 on contract. The much anticipated Samsung Galaxy S II made its US debut on August 30 and is expected to arrive on the nation’s third largest carrier on September 16. It will be the first of the three US version to launch. The other two will be from T-Mobile and AT&T, each with slight differences in hardware, mainly in the exterior look and screen size. As the WiMAX-toting Epic 4G Touch, the device will feature a larger 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display and a slightly more rounded chassis. Inside, all the powerful specs are about the same with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB onboard storage. It also has a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with auto-focus, LED flash, and 1080p HD video capture. The device will have Samsung’s Touch Wiz UI running on top of Android 2.3 Gingerbread and can function as a 3G/4G mobile hotspot for up to eight devices. For more details, make sure to check out our hands-on and video.

Motorola Droid Bionic:

2011-09-10T15:09:00.001-07:00

The Motorola Droid Bionic is finally in stores and comes with just about every high-end feature a smartphone user could want, as well as a high price. The Bionic, which was first announced in January, sells exclusively through Verizon for $299.99 on a two-year contract. The $300 price tag gets you a powerful phone with a dual-core 1-gigahertz processor, 1 gigabyte of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera capable of shooting 1080p video and a 2-megapixel camera on the front for video chatting and photos. At the heart of the the Bionic is a large 4.3-inch touchscreen, which makes great use of Verizon's speedy 4G LTE network (or the company's 3G network when 4G is out of range). The Bionic can hook up to an HDTV via an HDMI for checking out photos and video shot to the phone's 16 gigabytes of onboard storage. The new handset, which is exclusive to Verizon, also features an SD-card slot to add up to 32-gigabytes more of storage. Battery life, however, isn't great at all -- likely due to the Bionic's large screen and 4G connectivity. So, is the Bionic worth $300? If 4G, a big display and a point-and-shoot quality camera are what you're looking for, then the Bionic is one of the most ideal Android phones on the market right now. If price and battery life are what you're looking for, there are many better options to the Bionic, such as the Nexus S, the HTC Incredible, and even the Droid X2, which features a similar display but runs on Verizon's 3G network. View our hands-on video for a deeper look at the Droid Bionic and stay tuned to the Technology blog. Samsung's Galaxy S II smartphone is on the way and will be a major challenger to the Bionic as the top Android phone of the fall. Just as soon as we get our hands on the Galaxy S II, we'll let you know how these two stack up against each other.