Tech Gadgets Reviews

Other than Flash, there’s one key feature missing from the iphone and every other browser-equipped handset: Firefox. Fortunately, Mozilla has confirmed that the first alpha version of Firefox mobile will be available in the coming weeks.

Mozilla CEO John Lilly told the San Jose Mercury that his company has been working toward an open-platform mobile browser similar to the current desktop version of Firefox.

"We want to make sure that the Web on mobile is more like the Web than what the mobile industry offers today, which is closed, separate networks and not a very good information-getting experience for the user," Lilly said. "The first thing is to bring Firefox to mobile devices. We’re working on that, and we’ll see some alphas in a few weeks."

This sounds quite exciting. Think about how much Firefox add-ons would enhance your mobile browsing experience. What’d be really cool is a touchscreen version of All-in-One Gestures, which allows you to program custom mouse gestures to execute commands such as spell check, switching windows, opening a new tab and so on.

What do you got for us, Firefox? We’ll have to wait and see in the coming weeks.

See also:

• They Shrunk My Firefox! Mozilla Shows off Mobile Mockups
• Ring, Ring! Pick Up the Phone, Firefox Is Calling
• Mozilla’s Weave Ties Your Desktop and Your Personal Web Together
• Firefox 3 beta 2 Arrives with More Speed and Fewer Bugs
• Beauty And The Geek: Firefox 3’s Visual Makeover

Q&A with John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla [San Jose Mercury]

Boston University researchers are devising a method to transmit data through light rather than a traditional Wi-Fi router.

The technology involves utilizing LEDs that flicker at imperceptible speeds, communicating with network-enabled devices at speeds from one to 10 megabits per second. That’s a tad slow compared to the current 802.11g Wi-Fi standard, which transmits data at rates up to 54 megabits per second. But researchers are aiming the light technology at networking household appliances, such as refrigerators, photo frames or printers — bringing us a step closer to the dream of a wireless household.

An LED wireless system would certainly eliminate clutter taken up by a traditional Wi-Fi or femtocell hub. But, as TechDigest also pointed out, I wonder if my shadow would interfere with wireless communication with a device? That would be slightly annoying, no?

Lightbulbs Could Replace Wi-Fi Hotspots [Cellular News via TechDigest]

Photo: Cellular News

That’s right. Pretty soon, computer users will soon have an potentially uninterrupted wireless connection thanks to the use of light emitting diodes (LEDS) as both lighting fixtures and wifi access points. The idea, funded by an $18.5m grant from the US National Science Foundation, is being studied by researchers of Boston University is essentially that because LEDs run so cool, and use so little power, that the remaining signal used by the LED for power can also be used as conduit for wireless access points.

And it’ll be pretty fast too, as data will be able to travel using visible light at up to 10 Mega bytes per second. And the best part is, the technology can be adapted using existing power lines, so there’s not need for investment in an expensive infrastructure.

And it makes a lot of sense. With today’s tech obsessed workers getting more mobile, and with smart phones actually just computer platforms with a cellphone connection, why wouldn’t it? Phone’s like the iphone not only have cell connections, but also wifi access. More and more manufacturers are starting to see that people want to be more mobile and not chained to their desks. So, if Boston University can get this working, it could revolutionize the corporate workplace.

Hat tip/photo credit – The Giz

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SAN JOSE — Apple’s 10 million iPhone users are now meaningful research subjects for IBM’s Almaden Research Center.

Scientists studying the mobile web are seeding Apple’s iphone Applications Store with research projects in a bid to see how users in the real world take to them. The projects include an experimental text-input system and an application to sync multiple devices.

Almaden is so interested in the iPhone, it is making them available for free to all 100 of its computer scientists to help them understand how consumers use the device.

"The iPhone App Store gave us a chance to experiment in the wild," says researcher Shumin Zhai, who has added the experimental text-input system WritingPad to the App Store as a free download. "Putting it on the iPhone App Store gave us a sense of the value of the technology."

Computer scientists’ interest in the iPhone is not surprising. The device is quickly becoming the first mainstream mobile computing platform. The iPhone has already captured about 17 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, according to the NPD Group, and the App Store has become a quick and easy way for third party developers to distribute their software. As of August, more than 60 million iPhone apps had been downloaded, according to Apple.

IBM researchers at Almaden are thinking broadly about how to redesign the user experiences for common applications like email and calendar for desktops, laptops and smartphones. And the iPhone with its touchscreen has set the standard for user interaction among smartphones and possibly, future computers.

Using the iPhone App Store to distribute research projects appears to be a novel way of studying experimental software, says Tim Bajarin, president of consulting firm Creative Strategies. Bajarin says it’s the first time he has heard of a major research lab using Apple’s distribution platform.

"The idea is innovative and conceptually has a lot of potential," says Bajarin. "Researchers as well as software developers often come up with great ideas but don’t have ways to test them, especially from the standpoint of getting them to a lot of people," says Bajarin. "So this could be invaluable."

"The iPhone is one of the most interesting devices out there in recent years from a computing perspective," says Jeff Pierce, a researcher at IBM Almaden focusing on the mobile web, "and the App Store is one way to bring research ideas to a bigger group of users."

Earlier this year, researcher Zhai added to the store a text input system called WritingPad that traces words on the keypad instead of inputting them letter-by-letter.

With WritingPad, words are "drawn" by tracing a continuous line from letter to letter on a keyboard. The system infers the word from the pattern drawn across the keyboard allowing users to increase their typing speed on a touchscreen significantly.

"In the first 24 hours of the program’s release on the App Store it bagged about 60 reviews from real users. Now more than 500 reviews have been written of it," he says. "You can never have a total sense of user experience by doing lab studies."

Zhai has been studying for years ways of improving human-computer interaction and his technology was first released in 2004 internally for IBM employees to test.

At that time it was targeted at tablet pc users. But the device never achieved mass adoption and when the iPhone came along it seemed like a perfect vehicle to test out the technology, says Zhai.

Next from Alamden could be Pierce’s project known internally as the Personal Information Environment. It’s a new way to synchronize and manage data across multiple devices. The application uses an instant messaging-like protocol to allow users to add different devices to an IM-like client and then share information and data across those devices.

Pierce who plans to present the research at a conference in Monterey, California later this month thinks an iPhone app could be the next step for his idea as it offers an alternate platform.

There are many different criteria and standards on what ideas from the research lab can eventually make an IBM release as a product," says Pierce. "But it could be easier to make it available to the larger public through the App Store."

The App Store is also significant for another reason, says Bajarin. Though IBM has alphaWorks, a website to offer access to emerging technologies from its stable. and other open source sites to make its projects available, the App Store offers a unique way to reach potential users.

"What Apple has delivered is a solid distribution channel and a targeted one," says Bajarin. "That’s a major difference compared to just putting it on a website."

It’s not all rosy for the researchers who have to deal with Apple’s whims and culture of secrecy. Apple’s recent non-disclosure agreement that muzzled developers and placed severe restrictions on what they could say led to IBM Almaden clamping down on its efforts to potentially bring more of its projects to the store as apps.

But with Apple lifting some of the NDA requirements, Pierce says he will restart work on developing an iPhone version of his project.

Pierce and his colleagues are no Apple loyalists. When the Google’s Android operating system based T-Mobile G1 phone becomes available next month, they may use it in their projects. But for now, the focus is firmly on the iPhone.

IBM Almaden’s experiment with the App Store eventually could have wider ramifications for the research community. Other organizations could follow IBM’s lead and bring some of their projects to the App Store, says  Bajarin.

"I think more research institutions will be open to it," he says. "You have to see what IBM has done here as a test case."

Photo: (shapeshift/Flickr)

In The Matrix, machines enslaved humans in womb-like pods and used their collective energy as a main source of power. A Japanese company is in the process of creating the next generation of batteries by using a similar principle of self-generating energy. But don’t be scared.

Murata Manufacturing has only created a thermoelectric device that turns heat into electricity, an innovation that could eventually lead to self-powered gadgets. So thankfully, this won’t involve any evil, sentient robots or even an overwrought performance by Keanu Reeves.

Murata placed two ceramic semiconductors at opposing temperatures (in a single device) to create electric currents. One is heated to 90 degrees °C and the second is cooled to 20 degrees °C — when a metal plate connects them, the temperature gradient creates a very small electric current (about 10 milliwatts.)

The expectation is that these types of devices will be able to push larger currents without heating up or bursting through surrounding electronics in very small packages.   

Currently, this device creates about 39 milliwatts of power per square centimeter at 360 degrees Celsius. That’s barely enough to run small time fan (much less a Big Ass Fan or a few hours of a mid-range laptop), but it’s a harbinger of battery power to come (we hope).

‘Recycling’ energy sources, like the heating of a gadget, for the benefit of the consumer is the type of resourceful idea that we expect many companies will working on for the next few years.

Lead photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Ford has a new MyKey system that aims to help teens drive much safer, considering the fact that those who have just received their new driving license tend to think they’re immortal or something along the lines, only to find out much later that a car has its limits and real world driving is totally different from video games, no matter how many laps you have done at home in Gran Turismo. The MyKey system from Ford enables parents to limit not only the speed of the vehicle, but the audio volume as well. That’s pretty nifty and interesting - after all, teens need to let out their angst through music, so a cap on volume level is most welcome to geezers like me.

The MyKey feature will roll out in 2009 onwards as standard equipment on the 2010 Focus coupe, and it will also be a standard feature on other Ford models to follow including the Lincoln and Mercury lines. Owners will be able to program a key to limit the vehicle’s top speed and audio volume, where the former will be limited to just 80 mph while the audio system cannot pump out anything more than 44% of the maximum volume. Perfect to let the parent sitting on the passenger side in front to continue nagging the new driver beside without having the latest track from Linkin’ Park drowning out the one-sided conversation.

In addition, one can also program in speed alerts that chime at 45, 55 and 65 mph speeds. This reduced speed function works great since fuel economy can be improved as well, as research has shown that driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph consumes 15% less fuel, while being forced to mastering eco-driving habits such as avoiding jackrabbit starts and excessive idling will be able to further improve fuel economy by over 50%. The MyKey system also has an earlier low fuel warning at 75 miles to empty instead of the usual 50 miles, which will prevent parents from getting a call in the middle of the night to drive out and meet their kid in a stalled vehicle that’s run dry.

Source: Autoblog

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Now that snow has begun to fly and the drifts are piling up, it’s boot time. Just kidding about the snow, but it IS boot time. Green boot time, in fact.

This eco-conscious roundup, brought to you by White Apricot, includes green boots that demand lots of green. It leads off with a Stella McCartney vegan pair from Bergdorf’s, which comes in at, gasp, $1145 despite lack of jewels and precious metals as well as animal parts. What costly plants can they be made of, do you suppose? An interesting choice, given current financial news.

My favorite for looks, although at $300 even it is above my limit, is the Cri de Coeur Sabina boot. It’s a faux-leather classic riding boot with slightly tapered toe and very flat heel. The upper is elaborately stitched–”fossil stitched,” whatever that means–and the tops are said to be wide enough to stuff with jeans. Which perhaps means they could accommodate my, um, well-developed calves.

Pictured above is the red wrap boot, a bargain at only $118. These may be red but are not really green, being made of elastic wrap fastened with Velcro. Maker Toms Shoes compensates by declaring that, for every pair sold, it will donate shoes to a child in need.

The wrap boots look quite tricky to put on, to say nothing of time-consuming. Still, I guess they would fit any calf size, and they appear to be flying out the door. I hope you’ve got big feet. When last I checked, Toms was sold out of every size but 10 and 11.

If you have a Cinderella-type foot but are also a DIY devotee, perhaps you could still embrace the trend. Take a trip to the drugstore for elastic bandages. You’ll save money, but you’ll have to settle for beige.

Yesterday, we brought you the news that MSI’s Wind would soon be stocked by “a major U.S. retailer”. Today, Best Buy has made it official. The little netbook will be sold in its Windows XP Home incarnation, and sit on the shelves alongside Asus’ Eee PC 900.

Best Buy hasn’t yet revealed the price, nor has the Wind appeared on the website, but we can’t imagine it will be far off the $500 Amazon is asking. The specs remaon the same: Black or white, a 120GB hard drive, a three cell battery (that’s the one that lasts a couple of hours), a Gig of RAM and a 10″ screen. Wi-Fi is b/g and the processor is that netbook standard, the Intel Atom 1.6GHz.

With these things ready to pick up and go, we predict a lot of 10″ packages in this year’s Christmas stockings.

Retailer page [Best Buy. Thanks, Mark!]

A lot of Apple stores offer classes and tutorials on how to use their products.  Now, Verizon is going to do the same.  Starting today, two of Verizon’s stores in Manhattan will offer workshops on “20 Things a PDA Can Do For You.”

They will cover how to sync your music, text messaging, Bluetooth, and address book synchronization.  With all the advances in cell phones, sometimes you forget how complex these machines really are. 

This looks like a good move by Verizon.  Explaining how these smartphones can be used should probably help sales. 

Since this program is only in two stores, it really looks like a test.  Verizon will probably see if there is any interest in these workshops.  If there is interest, expect more workshops at other stores. 

For more information like location and times visit: [Verizon Press Release]

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by Darren Murph, posted Oct 6th 2008 at 3:19PM

The Foundations said it best in their 1968 classic, but seriously, why let us down like this? Nokia didn’t mind busting out a litany of press shots and all the specifications one could need to get amped up about the 5800 XpressMusic, but it obviously has something holding it back from launching in “mature markets” before 2009. In an announcement that’s just as disappointing to the suits in Espoo as it is to those in North America and Down Under (just to name a couple), we’ve now learned that the touchscreen-dominated handset will only be available in seven countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe before 2009 dawns. Even worse? Not knowing how deep into next year we’ll have to wait for this thing here in the US of A. Catch our feelings spelled out in video form after the break.

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