With over 750 million users worldwide, online companies are taking aim at Facebook to fight for consumers’ time and advertising dollars, but Facebook doesn’t plan on backing down anytime soon. Amidst the notable launch of Google+, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last week that Facebook would be launching “something awesome” this week during a press conference for media members. The news event will take place tomorrow at Facebook’s headquarters located in Palo Alto, California.

While touring the company’s 40-person engineering campus in Seattle, Zuckerberg said that the announcement would be about something that was developed there at the site – which plays a major role in the mobile arena for Facebook. Although there are numerous rumors regarding the announcement, it is speculated that the company will either be launching the long-anticipated Apple iPad app or new features such as a photo-sharing app and video-chat powered by Skype. The two well-known brands, Facebook and Skype, have already entered into a partnership that integrates the social media outlet with clients for Skype. When Skype was purchased by Microsoft in May, the connection between Facebook and Skype became even more entrenched, as Microsoft bought a $240 million piece of the Facebook pie in 2007.

Facebook has taken its own steps in trying to make any transition to Google+ more difficult by blocking Facebook Friend Exporter, a Google Chrome extension that let’s users extract contact information their friends have shared with them via Facebook and import them elsewhere. After Google+ was announced last week, one of the first to create an account was Mark Zuckerberg – who ironically has the most followers… even more than Google CEO Larry Page.

Photo by Doug Gross via CNN

The dog days of summer have arrived. June 21st marked the first official day of summer, when the Earth’s semi-axis in the Northern Hemisphere reached its maximum incline tilt of 23° 26′ towards the sun – the Summer Solstice. With the basketball season over now, the only thing to keep us sports fans occupied is baseball, beer, and barbecues – but hey, I’m not complaining about that. So take a break from counting down the minutes until your weekend starts and let’s reflect on what’s happened over the last month in the tech world.

The Downfall of Research in Motion

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! The former king of the smartphone industry, RIM, is dying at a rapid rate… and employees and stockholders alike are making it known to the world. Yesterday, a high-level RIM employee sent an anonymous open letter to the RIM Senior Management Team that ripped the company apart. RIM, on the defensive, responded by issuing its own statement to the public concerning the letter. In the end though, Research in Motion is freefalling and investors are clamoring for a top-down restructuring of the company, but really, can anyone save BlackBerry?

The Future of Apple

OS X Lion is nearing a public launch for July, after Apple “seeded the golden master version of OS X Lion to developers” earlier today. “OS X Lion brings many innovations from iOS including home screens (called Launchpad in Lion), autosaving, full screen application interfaces, and auto resume in apps. This is in addition to native support for the Mac App Store, Mission Control, an all new email client, built-in FaceTime, and interface and feature  improvements through out the operating system. Lion also includes AirDrop file sharing, multi-user remote computer access, and Find my Mac (through iCloud).” – Source: 9to5Mac

Apple has done significantly well this quarter, and it is estimated that users of the iOS platform alone generates roughly $150 of revenue a year per account (not including the cost of the actual iOS device). The iPhone, however, has a ton of competition these days and the biggest threat may be the Samsung Galaxy S II – the follow-up to one of the most popular Android phones, the Galaxy S.

“LulzSec” Hackers: Attacking the Internet

After hacking the CIA, PBS, and numerous other web sites, it looks like LulzSec’s run of terror has finally come to an end. The group announced on multiple web sites that it would be disbanding on Monday, but did not provide any particular reason for the decision. For 50 days LulzSec hacked and terrorized corporations and governments for the sake of humor, and hopefully this is the last we hear of their exploits.

Photo by DrCrawford via DeviantArt

Facebook has caused a worldwide revolution in social media, and Google may have finally developed a similar product that can rival their nemesis. Google’s response to Facebook, Google+, was launched on Tuesday to a select number of people as a “social field test” – meaning Google+ is not in the public beta release stage yet. Plus is the first major launch by Larry Page, Google’s co-founder and new Chief Executive Officer since April.

Google has had prior hiccups entering the social media game with failed products like Google Buzz, Google Orkut, and Google Wave, so it’s no surprise that the search giant’s latest attempt at a social media avenue has generated mixed feelings from its users. Some are receptive of the features offered in the Facebook alternative, most notably the ability to create “Circles” – an easier way to maintain and group contacts. Other features are described by Reuters below:

Google+ will have some obviously-essential features for a social network ? a news component called the Stream, a search/alert component called Sparks which will serve up different results on your interests than a plain vanilla Google search. There is also the ability to share with people who aren’t signed up for the service ? which addresses the problem of opt-in-itis.

But at first blush the most intriguing aspect of Google+ seems to be the granularity with which you can pigeonhole your friends, acquaintances, family, contacts and whomever into the exact right slot in your social web. It’s a seemingly obvious problem to solve and one which Facebook hasn’t, perhaps, because it hasn’t seen the need to ? ?groups? notwithstanding.

Critics, however, are saying that Plus is not differentiated enough from its competition and is basically a replica of Facebook, and not many people are interested in maintaining multiple social media outlets.

One thing is clear though, Google+ is generating a lot of buzz. The VP of Social at Google, Vic Gundotra,  posted on Plus, “We’ve shut down invite mechanism for the night. Insane demand. We need to do this carefully, and in a controlled way. Thank you all for your interest!” While the platform has a loooooooong way to go before it can compete with Facebook, the company claims that Plus is not a Facebook Killer but an overall improvement of the Google experience. Fast Company writes, “Google+ is one element in a much larger strategy the company launched last year to gradually shift all of Google–Search, YouTube, Places, etc—from standalone tools to a set of services that operate much more socially.”

So for now, users who weren’t granted an invite (like myself) can browse Business Insider’s top-to-bottom tour of Google+ and can play around on the Google+ demo site to take a look at the social media site while its still in its infancy.

Photo by Google

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 7-to-2 majority opinion against a California law that banned the sale of violent video games to children in the case Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. The majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, says that video games “qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium.” The First Amendment essentially provides those protected by the U.S. Constitution with the right to freedom of expression, and in this instance, video games are a way to communicate ideas.

The California law would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent video games to minors under the age of 18, with violent video games defined as “killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being.” Retailers who violated the act would have been fined up to $1,000 per infraction. The video game law was originally signed by then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October of 2005 but was blocked by a federal judge, whose decision was upheld by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The state of California appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn those decisions in May of 2009.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer dissented from the Supreme Court’s ruling. Thomas said that the view at the time when the Bill of Rights was originally amended “does not include a right to speak to minors (or a right of minors to access speech) without going through the minors’ parents or guardians,” and Breyer wrote, “California’s law imposes no more than a modest restriction on expression. The statute prevents no one from playing a video game, it prevents no adult from buying a video game, and it prevents no child or adolescent from obtaining a game provided a parent is willing to help.”

The Supreme Court ruling, however, is a huge win for the video game industry which makes $10.5 billion in domestic annual sales. The computer and video game industry are represented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in the United States, with members including Disney Interactive Studios, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Corp, and Sony Computer Entertainment America. Michael D. Gallagher, the president and CEO of the ESA stated, “Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we have always known–that free speech protections apply every bit as much to video games as they do to other forms of creative expression like books, movies and music… The Court declared forcefully that content-based restrictions on games are unconstitutional; and that parents, not government bureaucrats, have the right to decide what is appropriate for their children.”

The Supreme Court’s decision will most likely put an end to all the expensive litigation by individual states to ban the sale of violent video games to minors, and undoubtedly put a smile on the faces of children who have been patiently waiting to kill some nazi zombies.

Photo by BlackSpider-Man via DeviantArt

Last year, Sprint was the first wireless carrier to announce a fourth generation (4G) wireless network. T-Mobile came next with what it proclaimed as “America’s largest 4G network.” Then Verizon entered the picture with its own 4G network which they announced as the largest and fastest in the United States. AT&T, of course, eventually released its own 4G network to keep up with the competition, but in hindsight, none of these telecommunications giants have a network that can truly be called 4G. In actuality, what these companies are offering is basically a 3.5G network. A marketing ploy. A hoax…

In November of 2010, the global wireless standards-setting organization, called the International Telecommunication Union, defined 4G as a network that is capable of download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps). While all of the supposed 4G networks out there are clear improvements to the current 3G networks that offer speeds between 500 kbps to 1.5 Mbps, none of them conform to the International Telecommunication Union’s 4G definition. Even more perplexing, each carrier has its own 4G network based on different technologies:

• Sprint offers a 4G network based on Wi-MAX technology.
• T-Mobile offers a 4G network based on an expansion of its 3G-HSPA+ network.
• Verizon offers a 4G network based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.
• AT&T offers a 4G network similar to T-Mobile’s expanded 3G-HSPA+ network and is set to launch their own LTE 4G network sometime this year.

On Wednesday, however, Congress introduced a bill that would hopefully clear up some of the confusion between all of the different 4G offerings. Initiated by the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act would force wireless carriers to provide specific information about coverage, reliability, speed, pricing, and the type of technology used by the service. A side-by-side comparison of the top 10 competing networks’ speeds and prices would also be available to consumers, and the bill would get the FCC to work with the wireless providers to establish a guaranteed, minimum speed standard for 4G.

With all confusion and technical jargon aside, the bill is a great proposal to help consumers make better choices. Eshoo explained, “Consumers need to know the truth about the speeds they’re actually getting. My legislation is simple?it will establish guidelines for understanding what 4G speed really is, and ensure that consumers have all the information they need to make an informed decision.”

You can learn more about 4G in the video below:

Photo by David Goldman via CNN

British police announced that they arrested a 19-year-old in Essex, outside London, in possible connection with the hacking of Sony, the CIA, and the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency. The joint operation between the Scotland Yard and the FBI “follows an investigation into network intrusions and distributed denial of service attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group. Searches at a residential address in Wickford, Essex, following the arrest last night have led to the examination of a significant amount of material,? said a Scotland Yard spokesman. In Britain, it is illegal to name suspects who have been arrested but the spokesman said that the arrested man’s computers will also be examined for activities linked between the suspect and LulzSec.

London’s Metropolitan Police said the man is being interrogated in a London police station, and it is suspected that he is in violation of the British Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act. A related article on Wired.com says, “The Guardian identified the suspect as Ryan Cleary of Wickford, Essex. In May, the griefer group Anonymous ? now a LulzSec ally ? outed Cleary as a Anonymous member called ‘viraL’ who’d attempted an internal coup in an Anonymous chat room. Phone calls to Cleary’s last known number went directly to voice mail Tuesday.” The alleged suspect, Ryan Cleary is said to have been “responsible for running one of the IRC servers used by AnonOps, a faction of the Anonymous group that co-ordinated attacks on both perceived ‘enemies’ of WikiLeaks and various Middle Eastern governments, until an acrimonious split last month. Subsequently, he is believed to have been a member of Lulz Security, responsible for running that group’s IRC server.” LulzSec has denied that the arrested suspect is their proposed ringleader by posting the message in the image above on their Twitter site, which has over 230,000 followers.

This is just the beginning, as LulzSec has teamed up with another major hacking Group, Anonymous, who together have declared a cyber war against government and security agencies around the world.

Photo by Stan Schroeder via Mashable

We may soon be saying R-I-P to R-I-M, the maker of the once beloved BlackBerry smartphone. After reducing their initial profit forecast roughly two months ago, Research in Motion announced its first quarter financial earnings results yesterday which were almost $1 billion lower than expected. Although RIM managed to ship 13.2 million BlackBerry devices and 500,000 BlackBerry Playbook tablets during the quarter, the discouraging news of the drop in profit and revenue caused shares in the company to fall 14 percent in after-hours trading last night. Now, Research in Motion is going to cut costs through “headcount reductions”… meaning layoffs are on the way.

RIM is quickly fading into oblivion behind the new giants in the business – Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd., Research in Motion’s sixth-largest investor, just revealed that it would be dumping all of its 10.2 million shares in the company, with the chairman of the investment group leaving this ominous quote,” We are on the way out. The stake has been reduced by more than 50% or even more… They are resting on their laurels … Steve Jobs is a much better marketer than RIM.”

So what is RIM’s main problem? Delays in production… and the fact that their technology is not keeping up with competitors’. No new products will be released by the company during the summer until August, the latest BlackBerry OS 7.0 update coming out won’t even work for most of the current models, and who honestly wants to buy a PlayBook over another tablet?

Co-CEO Jim Balsillie announced in a press release:

“Fiscal 2012 has gotten off to a challenging start. The slowdown we saw in the first quarter is continuing into Q2, and delays in new product introductions into the very late part of August is leading to a lower than expected outlook in the second quarter… RIM’s business is profitable and remains solid overall with growing market share in numerous markets around the world and a strong balance sheet with almost $3 billion in cash. We believe that with the new products scheduled for launch in the next few months and realigning our cost structure, RIM will see strong profit growth in the latter part of fiscal 2012.”

With investors’ confidence already shaken, this statement does not provide much reassurance, and the outlook is looking very grim for a company that was once considered the world leader in the smartphone market.

Photo by darkscher via deviantART

Apparently no one is safe from the wrath of LulzSecurity, the notorious rogue hacker group who claimed the recent high-profile attacks on Sony Pictures Website and Nintendo’s servers. Now, their targets are set on the U.S. Government after hacking into the Senate’s website and even going as far as taking down the CIA’s site, which was restored shortly afterward.

The group is apparently motivated by hacktivist culture and fueled by the amount of amusement – or “lulz” – that they can generate by causing mayhem on the internet. To bring down the Central Intelligence Agency’s website on Wednesday, LulzSecurity used a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack which uses computers to flood the targeted site with so much traffic that it causes it to go offline. It is suggested that LulzSec probably did not steal any sensitive information from the breach on the government websites and while this is reassuring, it doesn’t bode well for those who were among one of the 26,000 e-mail addresses and passwords that the group recently leaked.

Mashable mentions, “One thing separates LulzSec from many other similar groups, however: Its members are actively communicating with users, and they love the attention. And with a high-profile site being attacked almost daily in the past several weeks, we’re sure we’ll hear more about LulzSec in future.” LulzSec is active on the social media site Twitter and has even created a telephone hotline service which invites users to request potential targets for the group to attack in the future.

Although LulzSec may be amusing themselves for the time being, the CIA has surely taken notice of the group and will likely be the ones having the last laugh.

Photo by Stan Schroeder via Mashable

On Tuesday, Sony unveiled its next-generation portable gaming device, the PlayStation Vita, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. Sony President of Consumer Products, Kazuo Hirai, said that the PlayStation Vita will “revolutionize the portable entertainment experience.” As the heavily hyped successor to the PSP, the device looks like it will actually live up to the high standards that Sony has already set for its upcoming product.

The PlayStation Vita will feature a high-resolution, 5-inch multi-touch OLED touchscreen, 6-axis motion sensors, dual analog sticks, rear touch pad, dual front and back mounted cameras, built-in GPS, and will run on a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 Processor. Even more impressive, Sony announced that the Vita will give users the ability to enjoy continuous, uninterrupted gameplay by allowing for cross-platform play with compatible games on the PlayStation 3. According to Sony, there are over 80 titles already in development, and the company showed off the capabilities of the system with some of the top-tiered titles like a Diablo-like RPG game called Ruin.

Last but definitely not least, Sony revealed that the PlayStation Vita will start at the low price of $249 for the Wi-Fi only version and $299 for the 3G model, which AT&T will be the exclusive service provider for – much to the chagrin of the audience who openly booed the announcement. Price-wise, this means that the PlayStation Vita will be in direct competition to the Nintendo 3DS, which can’t really be considered in the same arena of portable gaming once the Vita is released later this year, just in time for the holiday season.

Photo via PlayStation

Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January, triumphantly walked out to a standing ovation at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Taking place in San Francisco, the gaunt and seemingly frail Apple CEO managed to address the thousands of developers in attendance by revealing major developments in Apple software that will be coming soon to consumers throughout the world.

The latest Mac Operating System, called Lion, will add 250 new improvements – such as multi-touch gestures for controlling applications. As the eighth major release of Mac OS, Apple has taken a step in a different direction by making the new release emulate the mobile iOS platform. Jobs has stated in the past that the PC-era will soon pass by, and with over 50 million Mac users across the globe his vision is coming into fruition. The software update will be on sale next month exclusively in the Mac App Store, and unlike previous Mac updates that usually cost $129.99, the 4GB Lion update can be downloaded for a mere $29.

Read more about Lion in Apple’s Official Press Release.

After selling over 200 million iOS devices like the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch,
the highly popular mobile Apple iOS software will receive a much-anticipated update in the fall. Over 200 new features will be added including Notification Center, iMessage, Newsstand, and built-in Twitter integration. Users will be sent the new update over-the-air after it was announced that iOS devices will no longer require syncing with a computer to be activated or receive updates.

Read more about iOS 5 here.

iCloud

The headliner of the WWDC was undoubtedly the unveiling of Apple’s iCloud, a free wireless storage and syncing system. Based on the idea of cloud computing, which allows users to store files and applications on the internet instead of on their own devices, the iCloud will help further integrate and synchronize Apple devices in an efficient and simple manner. Using Apple’s servers, new files that a user loads onto their device will be automatically pushed and available in “the cloud” without having to manually sync or transfer anything.

Several features set Apple’s cloud computing service apart from competing cloud systems launched by Amazon and Google. The largest competitive advantage that the iCloud holds is its iTunes integration. As rumored before its release, iTunes will automatically push a user’s purchased song to all other devices running iTunes at no charge. For an additional $25 a year, though, you can access up to 20,000 songs from your entire iTunes library through a new service known as iTunes Match, which scans the iTunes library and matches it to the millions of songs that the company acquired licensing rights to. Users can also upload additional songs that haven’t found a match using the new program. Besides the iTunes integration, iCloud will also integrate with applications, documents, and photos.

Apple iCloud is set to fully launch during the fall, but some features are available right now.

Additional information about the iCloud can be found at Apple’s web site.

Full WWDC keynote below:

Photo via Ology

With Nintendo’s sales slumping due to the rise in popularity of the Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Move, the company unveiled the prototype to it’s next-generation console, the Wii U, today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. Nintendo opened their press conference with interactive demos of the system’s video gameplay, largely focusing the event on the Wii U’s revolutionary new controller.

Nintendo revealed throughout the keynote that games on the Wii U can either be played on the television or through the 6.2-inch touchscreen controller – which can display exactly what is on the TV, offer different camera angles, or allow the user to view a completely separate picture. The company’s executives made it clear that the Wii U is not a portable gaming device as the content is streamed wirelessly from the console to the controller.

The Wii U, unlike its predecessor, will feature High Definition graphics and to the jubilation of Wii owners, the console will be fully backward-compatible with all Wii games and accessories, such as the Wii Remote and Wii Fit board. The gaming system will also supply internal storage, plus the ability to upgrade memory by using SD cards and flash drives through its four USB 2.0 slots.

Additional features of the intuitive Wii U handheld controller will include:

• Motion sensors, accelerometer, gyroscope
• Contoured grips with traditional directional pad, buttons, and analog joysticks (as well as the touchscreen controls)
• Built-in microphone, speakers, in-ward facing camera, and internet access

Gizmodo blogged about the Wii U controller:

“Nintendo showed it doing some seriously wild stuff: Attached to a gun it’s acting like a sight (kind of like Silent Scope), and in another demo, held portrait-style, it was a way to flick shuriken. In another, your holding up the controller like a shield to block pirate arrows. You can basically play an entirely different game on the touch controller than everybody else is playing on the big screen. Or use it for another view of what’s happening up on your TV. The possibilities do seem legit limitless. Multiplayer with Wiimotes is interesting?in one example, the touchscreen remote has a top-down view of the gaming, while everybody else plays normally with Wiimotes… It also does video chat, it’s web browser, and it mirrors photos/videos up on the TV.”

According to Nintendo, Wii U games will be released on “proprietary high-density optical discs”, and an assortment of games were announced for the console including Batman: Arkham City, an Assassin’s Creed game, Dirt, Ghost Recon Online, Tekken, Metro Last Light, Aliens Colonial Marines, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, Darksiders II, Lego City Stories, and a brand new entry in the highly popular Smash Bros. series.

The Wii U will be launched sometime in 2012, and gamers throughout the world will be patiently anticipating their opportunity to (hopefully not…) throw their Wii U controller through their expensive HDTV.

Photo by Vlad Savov via Engadget

Earlier this week, it was revealed to the public that the downloadable al-Qaeda magazine, Inspire, was infiltrated by the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters and British MI6 intelligence hackers in 2010. The mission, called “Operation Cupcake”, replaced a lethal tutorial on ?How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom? with an encrypted, heart-attack inducing recipe for “The Best Cupcakes in America,” which came from the Ellen DeGeneres talkshow website.

The 67-page al-Qaeda magazine originally contained articles such as ?What to expect in Jihad,” and articles written by Osama bin Laden and his right-hand man Ayman al-Zawahiri. As mentioned before, the al-Qaeda tutorial also included a recipe showing how to make a deadly pipe bomb with sugar, match heads, and a miniature lightbulb attached to a timer – all ingredients that could be easily found in the home. As the first English-language Jihadist online magazine, the purpose of the propaganda was to attract and recruit al-Qaeda supporters throughout the Arabian Peninsula and even “lone-wolf” terrorists in the US and UK.

As humorous as the mission sounds, “Operation Cupcake” was a failure in several ways. The Inspire, run by the extremist preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, was reissued with the correct bomb recipe only two weeks later, had four additional editions that followed, and the intelligence agencies missed a golden opportunity to alter the ingredients subtly so that al-Qaeda may not have realized that the magazine was on the radar. In response to the operation, user “Symbiote” commented online, “Why not replace the bomb recipes with harmless things that look like they could be bombs, but have no chance of working? Or perhaps require large quantities of strange ingredients, to help trace where the people using the recipe are… MI6 (if this was them) should be better than this.” A similar Pentagon operation was blocked by the CIA last year because they believed that it would have exposed sources of valuable information… and they were right.

Even though today is National Doughtnut Day, if you’re at least looking to make some delicious Mojito and Rocky Road cupcakes, you know to search for “The Best Cupcakes in America” by Main Street Cupcakes.

Photo by Zack Whittaker via ZDNet

Meeting in Lyon, France, Member’s of the World Health Organization formed a panel in late May to discuss the potential carcinogenic hazards from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, like those emitted by cellular phones and other wireless communications devices. The panel, which represents the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), consisted of 31 scientists from 14 different countries. While the group did not conduct any new research, the panel reviewed numerous existing studies that focused on the health effects of the radiofrequency magnetic fields emitted from cellphones, and concluded that there is a possibility that exposure to these low levels of radiation might induce long-term health risks, including an increased risk of cancer.

The IARC panel classified cellphones under the category Group 2B, the same category as certain dry cleaning chemicals, pesticides such as DDT, engine exhaust, lead, and various other industrial chemicals. However, the cellphone industry was quick to point out that pickled vegetables and coffee also made the 2B designation, which is defined by the IARC below:

“This category is used for agents for which there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. It may also be used when there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In some instances, an agent for which there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals together with supporting evidence from mechanistic and other relevant data may be placed in this group. An agent may be classified in this category solely on the basis of strong evidence from mechanistic and other relevant data.”

Major medical groups such as the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute have reassured the public that there is little concern in regards to adverse health effects because cellphones emit nonionizing radiation – which are supposedly non-cancerous. In February, however, researchers from the National Institutes of Health published a study which found that less than an hour of cellphone usage can speed up brain activity at the area nearest to the phone antenna. This study was one of the most significant of its kind to document the measurable effects of the radio frequency signals to the brain.

The New York Times reported:

“In the past, any concerns about the health effects of cellphones have been largely dismissed because the radiofrequency waves emitted from the devices are believed to be benign. Cellphones emit nonionizing radiation, waves of energy that are too weak to break chemical bonds or to set off the DNA damage known to cause cancers. Scientists have said repeatedly that there is no known biological mechanism to explain how nonionizing radiation might lead to cancer or other health problems.

But the new study opens up an entirely new potential area of research. Although an increase in brain glucose metabolism happens during normal brain function, the question is whether repeated artificial stimulation as a result of exposure to electromagnetic radiation might have a detrimental effect.

Although speculative, one theory about how an artificial increase in brain glucose metabolism could be harmful is that it could potentially lead to the creation of molecules called free radicals, which in excess can damage healthy cells. Or it may be that repeated stimulation by electromagnetic radiation could set off an inflammatory response, which studies suggest is associated with a number of health problems, including cancer.”

While there are no official recommendations for the public following the study, the use of hands-free devices and text messaging may lower exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic waves emitted by cellphones. Even though all of this may seem alarming, the Group 2B designation simply means that there may (or may not) be a possible link between cellphone usage and certain forms of cancer. In other words, this is fearmongering at its finest, and Stephen Colbert has already solved the problem.

Photo by Sam Biddle via Gizmodo

From deadly tornadoes ripping through Missouri to the faulty claims of judgment day’s arrival, this has been quite a hectic month. After being granted a week-long hiatus from writing to enjoy a mini-vacation (thanks again Ray), I return to close out the end of May by revisiting some of the trending topics in the tech world and… well, I might as well throw this out there – Go Mavericks!

The World’s Most Wanted: Osama bin Laden

Meet Cairo, a member of the Navy SEAL team who helped take out Osama bin Laden with the help of high tech doggie body armor, called the Intruder. Costing up to $30,000, the ultralight vest is not only bulletproof, but the Intruder also has a high-definition camera that is mounted on the war dog’s back so that its handlers can see his every movement. Now that’s one badass puppy.

Reconnected: PlayStation Network Back Online

What a complete nightmare the PSN outage has become for Sony, but it looks like they have finally gotten things under control as their latest Press Release may suggest. However, Sony won’t come out unscathed as the company has reportedly lost billions of dollars over the security breach, which has shaken consumer confidence in the PlayStation Network.

Greatest Marriage Proposal Ever?

3 million views in 3 days. 15 million views in 2 weeks. That means millions of women saw this marriage proposal video on YouTube throughout the world, leaving millions of women expecting a similar grand gesture of love. F.M.L.? More like “F.O.L.” for all the guys out there. But hey, at least Matt & Ginny appreciate all the responses you all have given them. Sigh…

Apple Gearing Up for Cloud Music Service

While Steve Jobs is currently on medical leave due to health-related issues, it’s not stopping him from delivering the keynote address at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference next Monday. As for Apple’s cloud-based music service, it looks like iCloud (or whatever they name it) will allow users to mirror their iTunes library as anticipated.

Official Press Release: Apple to Unveil Next Generation Software at Keynote Address on Monday, June 6

CUPERTINO, California?May 31, 2011?Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers.

For more details, visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website at developer.apple.com/wwdc.

Photo by CT via CraveSomethingMore

After signing contracts with three of the four major music labels (Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, and the Warner Music Group) to license their recordings, Apple has just entered the final stages of preparation for its cloud-based music service to be launched. Apple is still in negotiations with the largest of the four labels, Universal Music Group, but that deal is expected to be completed by sometime next week.

Like Amazon’s Cloud Drive and Google’s Music Beta, Apple’s cloud-based music service would allow users to store their digital music library on the Web and stream it directly to their smartphones, computers, tablets, and other electronic devices. However, unlike Amazon and Google’s cloud-based music services, which were introduced within the past two months, Apple has taken the added precaution of obtaining licenses from the major music labels as well as beginning to obtain licenses from music publishers, who ultimately control the copyrights for the composition of songs. While Amazon’s Cloud Drive and Google’s Music Beta services are free, Apple will likely charge a small fee to be able to use their streaming music service to offset the cost of the contracts with music labels and publishers. The permission to use copyrighted material will allow Apple’s cloud music service to have more advanced features than either Amazon or Google’s services though, which are essentially Web-based hard drives that users would have to directly upload music to. The label licenses would also allow Apple to design a more efficient system in which it is predicted that the service would be able to scan a user’s iTunes library and sync these songs to the company’s master collection located on Apple’s servers, without the hassle of having to upload each song to the cloud – which could take days.

With a ready market of over 200 million iTunes users, analysts say that Apple might announce the new music service as early as next month, when the company holds its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. “The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) showcases the latest innovations and the newest technologies in iOS and Mac OS X. Over 1,000 Apple engineers guide you through five exciting days of in-depth technical sessions and hands-on labs that demonstrate how to harness the incredible power of the world’s most advanced operating systems into your apps.”

Apple fanboys may have to wait a while until the service is ready for a release date though, as the company always makes sure to work out all the kinks and to release a product only when it has been thoroughly tested… but you should already know that by now, since Apple has seemingly become its own religion.

Photo by Mark Milian via CNN

It’s been a slow week in the Tech world and while I could write about the latest developments in fields such as biometrics or cellular technology in order to bore you to death, I would much rather share with everyone something unique that I happened to stumble upon this morning.

From traveling across the world to rekindle a romance, or giving one’s life to save another… love can drive people to do unpredictable things. Sometimes these unpredictable actions have bad results when driven by jealous, blinding anger, but when the intentions are good, the outcome often leaves a touching story to be told for years to come. Now, more than ever before, these stories can be easily experienced by the whole world thanks to the advancements in technology and especially due to the acceptance and widespread use of digital media over the last ten years.

So while I was surfing the web in search of a topic to write about today, I inadvertently found this video of a man proposing to his fiancé in what can only be described as one of the most romantic marriage proposals ever.

Meet Matt & Ginny from Georgia, whose video was posted only 3 days ago and already has nearly 3 million views on YouTube.

Matt wanted to surprise Ginny with a proposal that she would never be able to forget; it came in the form of a movie trailer where he would ask for her father’s approval to take his daughter’s hand in marriage and… well, you need to see the rest of the video to get the whole story.

Learn more about Matt & Ginny and the background behind the proposal in their Hot 89.9 interview from yesterday:

Needless to say, Matt has really set the bar high for the rest of us with his proposal. Honestly, Matt, how are we supposed to top this?

A recent study conducted by the internet traffic experts at Sandvine Inc. revealed that peer-to-peer file sharing networks have just been surpassed in North American bandwidth usage by Netflix, which may be the first time in the history of the internet that the largest percentage of internet traffic is from content that is actually paid for. Peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent have long held the top spot of U.S. broadband traffic, with a large percentage of usage coming from the sharing of copyrighted files. According to the report though, Netflix, the popular online service which streams movie and television shows, is now the “unquestioned king of North America’s fixed access networks.”

When measuring total web traffic and averages over a 24-hour period, Netflix accounts for 22.2% of North American web traffic as opposed to BitTorrent’s 21.6% share. During the peak prime time hours between 8 and 10 PM, Netflix even hits 29.7% of all wired network traffic – signifying the rapid growth of Video-on-Demand and Real-Time Entertainment services.

The growth of Netflix and similar online alternatives certainly benefit the consumer, with monthly subscriptions costing only $7.99 for Netflix’s all-you-can-watch, streaming-only service. Traditional TV networks, however, are not too pleased with the online competition threatening their business model. Also, the enormous amount of bandwidth that Netflix takes up decreases internet speeds for other users, which is one of the main arguments against Network Neutrality. While Netflix is currently only available in Canada and the United States, CEO Reed Hastings sees Netflix expanding in the future into “all the markets where people have broadband and like TV.”

Who knows what will happen, but maybe, just maybe… the traditional television/boob tube/idiot box will disappear altogether one day – from a simple $3 billion idea that was launched after Hastings was charged late fees for returning a copy of Apollo 13 after the due date.

Photo by Jay Yarow via BusinessInsider

After 22 grueling days of outage, gamers and users throughout the world can finally reconnect to the PlayStation Network after Sony carried out a phased restoration process. Although PlayStation store access won’t be restored until later, PSN’s reactivation restores online multiplayer and chat functions, friends list and trophy comparison functionality, PlayStation Home, and services like Hulu, Netflix, and MLB.tv. Once logging in, PSN users will be required to update to the latest 3.61 firmware and change their account passwords. Details about changing your password are provided below from the PlayStation Blog:

“If using a PS3, your password can only be changed on your own PS3 (or a PS3 on which your PSN account was activated), as an added layer of security. If you have never downloaded any content using your account on the system, an email will be sent to the registered sign-in ID (email address) associated with your account when you first attempt to sign-in to PSN. This e-mail will contain a link that will enable you to change your password. In this email, click on the link and follow the instructions to change your password. Once you have changed your password you can sign-in to your account using your new password.”

Down for over 3 weeks after hackers breached the network’s security, Sony had to rebuild the entire PlayStation Network with more advanced security technology, encryption, firewalls, and early-warning systems. The outage affected over 77 million users worldwide and, even worse, the security breach may have allowed for the hackers to steal personal credit and debit card information from over 24 million user accounts.

Kazuo Hirai, Sony Corporation’s Executive Deputy President, released a video statement on the PlayStation Blog providing more detailed information on the restoration of the PlayStation Network and the new security features being implemented.

To compensate for the long outage and compromise of account information, Sony is offering 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus service, which provides exclusive access to certain games and beta trials. To those users who are already subscribed to the PlayStation Plus service, an additional 30 days will be added for free. Sony Online Entertainment subscribers will also receive a special Welcome Back Program upon return.

At this point though, how many PSN users will even want to return to the network after the massive failure that Sony just dealt with?

“Innovation in the Open” or Input/Output? Take your pick. Whichever you chose, yesterday marked the end of 2011’s “Google I/O”, a two-day developer-focused conference that’s taken place every year since 2008. The live conference features comprehensive and highly technical sessions on ongoing developments in the world of Google’s open technologies and applications. Take a look at some of the key highlights of this year’s event; there are several exciting new Google products, applications, and services that will be available soon that could change the industry, as well as important updates that are coming to the Android mobile platform.

Chromebooks: “Ready When You Are”

June 15th, mark that date on your calendar because Google Chromebooks are on the way, with the first two offerings made by Samsung and Acer. The sleek, lightweight netbooks will run Google’s Chrome OS for computers which will exclusively use Google’s cloud computing services. Although the Chromebook may have come a little too late for consumer use with the rise of tablets and other netbooks, Google is “going right after Microsoft’s heart — the corporate IT department.” The initial plan is for Google to target businesses and schools with the Web-based operating system by offering a cheaper and easier alternative to manage than current Windows PCs. Monthly subscriptions will be available from as low as $28/user for businesses and $20/user for schools.

More about the Chromebook from Google’s Official Blog:

“These are not typical notebooks. With a Chromebook you won’t wait minutes for your computer to boot and browser to start. You’ll be reading your email in seconds. Thanks to automatic updates the software on your Chromebook will get faster over time. Your apps, games, photos, music, movies and documents will be accessible wherever you are and you won’t need to worry about losing your computer or forgetting to back up files. Chromebooks will last a day of use on a single charge, so you don’t need to carry a power cord everywhere. And with optional 3G, just like your phone, you’ll have the web when you need it. Chromebooks have many layers of security built in so there is no anti-virus software to buy and maintain. Even more importantly, you won’t spend hours fighting your computer to set it up and keep it up to date.”

The Future of Android

*Ice Cream Sandwich*

At the I/O conference, Google announced the next version of Android, called Ice Cream Sandwich. The name shouldn’t come as a surprise to Android users, as Google has put out each new version in the name of a tasty treat – from the likes of Cupcake and Éclair, to the most current Android versions Gingerbread and Honeycomb.

With Ice Cream Sandwich, however, Google is beginning their transition into standardizing the Android platform across all types of mobile devices (including tablets) in response to the complaints from developers and Android fanboys about the heavy fragmentation that has been a black eye for the Android OS. A post on Google’s Official Blog states, “Our goal with Ice Cream Sandwich is to deliver one operating system that works everywhere, regardless of device. Ice Cream Sandwich will bring everything you love about Honeycomb on your tablet to your phone, including the holographic user interface, more multitasking, the new launcher and richer widgets.” Now developers will be able to create applications for one firmware instead of having to accommodate to separate versions of Android which depended on the device, manufacturer, and telecommunications provider to release compatible updates.

*Important Changes to the Android Market*

Another black eye for Android has been the ease of navigability (or lack thereof) in discovering apps, but Google listened to the complaints and added several updates to the Android Market. Specifically, there are several new lists including a top “Trending” list, “Also Viewed” list, and “Also Installed” list that will make it easier for both customers and app developers alike.

Google also just launched a new app in the Android Market called Movies for Android, which allows users to rent and play movies on phones and tablets for $1.99 per movie.

The Launch of Google Music

Google Music is a new service that will allow you to upload up to 20,000 songs to Google’s cloud for streaming directly to your Android devices and computer. Everything will be kept in sync automatically between all devices that are connected through the service, even offering the ability to access your most recently played music when you’re offline. You can request an invitation to try out Google Music Beta here, and some of the new music service’s features can be seen in the video below:

While I only touched on a handful of the keynotes that were addressed at Google I/O 2011, there are some developments on the way (like the Android@Home project) that will change the game forever, but whatever the future holds for Google, it seems like they know how to have a good time.

Photo by Google.com

Android has come a long way since the inception of Google’s first Android-based smartphone, the HTC Dream. Better known as T-Mobile’s G1, the HTC Dream was the 3rd cell phone that I have ever owned, and I definitely saw promise in Google’s vision of an open-source platform. With over 1/3 of the smartphone market share, consumers are rapidly joining the bandwagon, and I’d like to share some Android apps that I believe will make the transition more worthwhile. Click on the application name to view more information as well as screenshot previews; to view a complete list of the Android applications I have installed, click here.

#1) Dropbox (Free)

“Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your Android device, and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.”

Dropbox is a simple way for you to transfer or access files, without the need of a cable connecting your phone and your computer.

#2) Google Maps (Free)

*Navigation: Free, voice-guided GPS navigation system
*Places: Find, rate, and get recommendations for places
*Latitude: See friends on the map and check in at places

A free navigation system, what more could you ask for?

#3) Elixir (Free)

“Elixir is a system information application with highly configurable widgets. Displays information about battery, cpu usage, memory usage, internal and external storage (sd-card), display, wifi, mobile network, location services (gps), bluetooth, sync, airplane mode, sensors, etc.”

Elixir is a consolidated system information tool. I’ve tried many others like it, but Elixir takes the cake by far. Not only is the UI simple and intuitive, but Tamás Barta, the developer, listened to one of the suggestions I sent him via e-mail and immediately implemented it into his next update. He’s constantly working on this app and with each update, it has only gotten better!

#4) Smart Taskbar (Free)

“Launch any application instantly. Slide your finger or click icon anytime in any App to bring up a mini sidebar for super fast app launching also works as app organizer, task switcher, task killer, and shortcut manager.

If you want to use your phone one handed with complete touch experience, you find Android system takes too many steps to complete one simple job, or you need a faster way to get things organized, get Smart Taskbar to make your life easier.”

Smart Taskbar is a convenient app that runs in the background; simply press the sidebar icon and it pulls up the app drawer without having to leave your current application.

#5) Fancy Widget (Free & Pro Version)

“Fancy clock and weather widget with lots of customization options.”

Fancy Widget reduces clutter by allowing you to view the date, time, and weather all in one widget. You can even click each individual part of the widget to open either a calendar, alarm clock, or weather application. While the free version is worth a download by itself, the paid version offers hundreds of customizable widget themes that you can toy with.

#6) PowerAMP Music Player (Trial & Pro Version)

“PowerAMP is a powerful music player for Android.”

If you are like me and you like to mess around with your smartphone and customize the hell out of it to fit your own style, then PowerAMP Music Player is not only the best looking music player out there on Android, but offers some of the best features like the lock screen widget and equalizer. The trial version allows you full featured access for 15 days before asking you to purchase it, but it definitely is worth it considering you will be able to download it at no extra cost on any Android phone you own in the future as well.

#7) Dolphin Browser? Mini (Free)

“Something powerful, something elegant, something valuable! It is Dolphin Browser HD.
Something fast, something simple, something new! It is Dolphin Browser Mini.
Browsing made wonderful.

Dolphin Browser Mini aims at providing a friendly user experience for all of you.
Enjoy this new version now and let us know how it works for you.”

Both Dolphin Browser HD and Dolphin Browser Mini are much better than the stock Web browser that comes on most Android phones. Both offer intuitive UI design and are more efficient/faster than most of the other top browsers I have tried (Opera Mini, Firefox Mobile, MIREN Browser).

#8) Camera360 (Free & Pro Version)

“Turn your phone into a professional camera. Provides LOMO, HDR, axis shift, draft, ghost, etc. and multiple styles.”

Makes your stock mobile camera 100 times better; Camera360 provides many different camera modes, effects, and enhancements that will give you a reason to leave your actual camera at home.

(For Rooted Android Phones)

#9) Titanium Backup (Free & Pro Version)

“The ONLY tool that can backup, restore, freeze (with Pro) your apps + data + Market links! Supports protected and system apps! 0-click Batch/scheduled backups! The PRO version has 0-click batch restores, Dropbox sync, Dalvik cleaner & MORE!”

A real lifesaver. Once you are rooted, Titanium Backup is one of the apps that you will be downloading first. It allows you to backup your existing apps and system data so that you can easily restore them.

#10) Root Explorer (Paid Version Only)

“Root Explorer is the ultimate file manager for root users. Access the whole of android’s file system (including the elusive data folder!).

Features include SQLite database viewer, Text Editor, create and extract zip or tar/gzip files, multi-select, execute scripts, search, remount, permissions, bookmarks, send files (via email, bluetooth etc), image thumbnails, APK binary XML viewer, change file owner and group.”

If you are rooted, Root Explorer is one of the bread-and-butter applications that you will need in order to take full advantage of the Superuser access that you are granted. Like the description says, it is the ultimate file manager on the Android market.

Photo by Tamás Barta via AppBrain

Hate to be the bearer of bad news for AT&T Broadband users, but on Sunday the 2nd, AT&T began implementing the usage of data caps for their terrestrial broadband services. After being tested in portions of Texas and Nevada, the data caps are now in nationwide effect for the 16 million users of AT&T’s Broadband DSL and U-Verse services. Comcast, the largest broadband service provider in the United States, already has a 250 GB data cap that has existed since October of 2008.

It is estimated that only 2% of the 16 million AT&T Broadband users will be affected by the data caps, set at 150 gigabytes of uploads and downloads per month for regular AT&T DSL customers and 250 gigabytes of monthly broadband usage for subscribers of U-Verse, AT&T’s high-speed fiber communications network. Customers will be notified once usage hits 65%, 90%, and 100% of total usage, and for customers who exceed the monthly data caps three times, they will be charged $10 for every 50GB above their allowed usage. On average, AT&T DSL customers only use 18 GB per month.

With Cable TV services being dropped in favor of video on-demand streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, cable companies are trying to make up for the lost revenue by increasing prices on their internet-access services. AT&T says that the restrictions are a necessity because the top 2% of highest-traffic subscribers use up 20% of network bandwidth, which slows network speeds for other users.

DSLReports.com offers several interesting arguments against the AT&T data caps:

“There was already no economic justification for imposing such limits on wired broadband users given the fact that flat-rate pricing is perfectly profitable, and most ISP costs for providing bandwidth are fixed or dropping… There’s also concerns that AT&T won’t be capable of metering consumer usage accurately. We’ve cited time and time again how ISPs are so eager to impose these new limits they can’t be bothered to ensure their meters work properly, and there’s no regulatory oversight of these limits. AT&T is no exception, our users already noting problems with AT&T meter accuracy, which AT&T tells us they’re working on.”

Consumers and public interest groups are already issuing complaints to the government, asking federal regulators Friday to “take a close look at AT&T’s new limits on their broadband customer’s internet usage, saying the caps could undermine the national broadband plan.”

For now, AT&T Broadband users can access their usage meters on Myusage.att.com after signing into their account to see if you should be expecting any overage charges.

Photo by Jeff Bertolucci via PCWorld

3-D Tri-Gate. While it might sound like a mix between Trident gum and the Watergate scandal, Tri-Gate is actually a revolutionary 3-D transistor designed by Intel that will soon be put into high-volume manufacturing. As the microscopic building block of modern electronics, transistors are semiconductor devices that are used to switch and amplify electronic signals.

For decades, the 2-D planar transistor structure has powered nearly every electronics device, and now, Intel has announced that it will be putting their new 3-D transistors into high-volume production at the 22-nanometer node in an Intel processor – simply known as “Ivy Bridge”. The Tri-Gate transistors will help Intel keep pace with Moore’s Law, named after Intel’s co-founder, Gordon Moore, which describes a trend in computing hardware in which the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit doubles nearly every two years. This is a huge breakthrough in transistor technology.

You may be asking, “Why should I care?” Well, the new 3-D Tri-Gate transistors will be much faster, much smaller, and consume up to 50% less power. Intel, the largest provider of PC processors, says that the new 3-D transistors are so small that more than 100 million could fit on the head of a pin. Ivy Bridge is also said to be 37% more efficient than the best of Intel’s current chips at low voltage, and could help Intel break into the mobile arena of smartphones and tablets. Although the mass production of Ivy Bridge won’t begin until later this year or early next year, Intel began demonstrating prototypes of computers and servers running the new 3-D chip yesterday at a news conference. We are now witnessing the future of technology in transition!

Photo by Kit Eaton via Fast Company

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that the world’s most wanted international terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was killed in his million-dollar compound in Pakistan on the 1st of May. Suspected as the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, news of bin Laden’s death signaled a time for Americans to rejoice and to celebrate what we have been longing for – justice.

The military’s elite special forces group who killed bin Laden, unofficially called SEAL Team 6, deserves all the credit that they have received for executing their mission to perfection. Upon confirming bin Laden’s death, the black ops kill team even grabbed all the electronic material they could find as they hurriedly exited the Abbottabad compound, including dozens of computers, flash drives, and disks. This electronic material was given to a special team of military intelligence operatives and members of the CIA to be analyzed as quickly as possible so that any information can be used while it remains pertinent. SEAL Team 6 and all of the troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq must be praised, whether you agree or disagree with our country’s military actions, but none of this would have been remotely possible without the use of technology.

From the tapped phone call of Osama’s courier that led the US military directly to the front steps of his compound, to the use of satellites in order to map the operation, to the live video feed of the mission sent over 7,000 miles to the President and his advisors, and from the use of sophisticated biometric tools used to identify the body, there have been remarkable advancements in technology since the tragedy that occurred nearly 10 years ago.

Not only has technology helped locate and identify America’s (former) Most Wanted, it helped spread the news of Osama bin Laden’s death like wildfire. Many of you found out through popular social media outlets or by mobile device long before President Obama delivered his address to the nation. News of bin Laden’s death even set a Twitter record for the highest sustained rate of tweets ever, with an average of 3,440 Tweets per second from 10:45PM-12:30AM. As for myself, I found out through a friend harmlessly checking his cell phone during a break in a late night session of doubles tennis. The Internet, however, has its downsides as well: It seems like every mistake you make could be put out there for the world to see… just ask Fox40 News.

Photo by landerinn via deviantART

From tornadoes and thundering superstorms, to the dry, blistering heat of the approaching summer,  April had its fair share of interesting weather here in Georgia. Much like the annual return of the scorching heat and the pestering pollen, I figured that it would only make sense for me to begin my own tradition as April fades away and May begins to near. As my first month of writing for Deemable comes to a close, I will leave you with some important updates to this month’s articles, as I will continue to do so for each month hereafter.

Android Continues to Surge Past the Apple iPhone

Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, announced on Thursday that they were slashing their earnings forecast for the current sales quarter which ends on May 31. For a company whose devices once dominated its market, RIM is losing badly in the war against the Apple iPhone and Android smartphones. RIM’s new tablet, the PlayBook, did not fare well after debuting earlier this month. RIM definitely needs to make a transition in its product line, or it may not be “in motion” for much longer.

Copycat! Apple Sues Samsung

An eye for an eye. Samsung, after being sued by Apple over the Galaxy line, filed its own lawsuits against Apple in Asia, Europe, and the United States. In the lawsuit that was filed in the U.S., Samsung says that Apple violated patents that ?relate to fundamental innovations that increase mobile device reliability, efficiency, and quality, and improve user interface in mobile handsets and other products.? At this point, the arguments are becoming so broadly generalized that it is almost childish to see these two giants in the tech world sue and countersue over patent infringement.

iSpy: Apple is Secretly Recording Your Location History

After it was announced last week that Apple was secretly recording your location history, both Microsoft and Google-based Android smartphones were also found to be tracking your location history. Google is now facing a $50 million class action lawsuit over concerns relating to the location data. However, Android’s location tracking is entirely opt-in by the user and ties a unique ID number to the device’s data. Apple released a news statement that said, “The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly. We don’t think the iPhone needs to store more than seven days of this data.”  Overall though, it really seems like no one cares too much about this invasion of privacy and security.

PlayStation Network Goes Down

Update (4/1) – PlayStation announces that they will begin to restore several services starting this week.

The PlayStation Network is still down nearly 10 days after the initial outage. During this time, it was found that your personal information and potentially your credit card information was compromised by those who hacked into the network. The FBI is now working with Sony and users may be compensated for their subscription-based games and services.

You can read more about the ongoing PSN issues on their official blog:

Q&A #1

Q&A #2

Photo by GloomyCloud via deviantART

Wii! Nintendo announced earlier this week that the successor to the popular Wii gaming console will be launched sometime after March of 2012. Although the Wii was already cheaper than its rival consoles, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3, Nintendo lowered the price of the gaming system even further from $199 to $169 on April 18th. Details and a playable model of the successor to the Wii console will be released at this year’s E3 Expo (held from June 7th to June 9th) where the computer and video game industries showcase their latest and greatest to fans and the media.

The broad appeal of the Wii to friends and family, the use of Motion Controllers with built-in accelerometers instead of the traditional gaming controller, and Nintendo’s throwback to developing games that were actually fun to play made the system the most successful console release of its generation, selling over 86 million units compared to the 53 million units sold of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and 49.5 million units sold for the Sony PlayStation 3.

There are many rumors flying around about what the Wii 2 has to offer, but one thing is for certain: Nintendo always brings gaming to another level.

Official Press Release

April 25, 2011

To whom it may concern:

Re: Wii’s Successor System

Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011.

We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.

Sales of this new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.

 

 

Photo by Vlad Savov via Engadget