Tech Roundup: Feb 17, 2013

Google Now gets a widget!

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle proved at macro level:
Werner Heisenberg credited with the famous Uncertainty Principle stated that it was impossible to measure the momentum of an object and its position at the same time. While this was observed so far at the microscopic level, physicists at the University of Colorado have successfully demonstrated this tenet at the macro level for the very first time.

They built a square drum frame made of silicon with each side 0.5 millimeters long and later stretched a thin film of silicon nitride over the frame to create the drum head. Upon placing the drum in vacuum and eliminating other factors that could produce noise, they shot a laser at it and recorded the drum head's movements. The experiment, needless to say, perfectly abided by Heisenberg's principle and proved that it can be observed with objects visible to the naked eye as well.

Cure for age-related cognitive decline found?
We are all aware that ageing can bring about a gradual decline in memory and recognition abilities of an individual. Now scientists at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg may have just discovered the reason behind this. And yes, it's a molecule named Dickkoph-1 (Dkk1). They found that by blocking Dkk1 in rats, the older rats performed just as well as the young ones in recognition and memory tests.

Apple's iOS 6.1 marred by problems:
Tech giant Apple's recent iOS 6.1 update caused a lot of overheating and battery depletion problems and in addition it also resulted in cellular connectivity issues on the iPhone 4S. The problem was apparently so worse that several European carriers warned users against updating to iOS 6.1. Apple quickly released a patch (iOS 6.1.1) for the iPhone 4S to fix this and although the connectivity related bug may have been resolved, it seems to have introduced a significant battery drain on the 4S. A sync problem between devices already on iOS 6.1 and Microsoft's Exchange mail service is said to be leading to the reduced battery life.

Another newly identified security flaw can allow someone to sneak past the lock screen passcode and allow him to gain access to dialer, call logs and check voice mails. Though the steps require some sleight of hand (check the YouTube video here), it can be certainly reproduced. An Apple spokesperson said "Apple takes user security very seriously. We are aware of this issue, and will deliver a fix in a future software update." iOS 4.1 too suffered from a similar bug and let's hope Apple delivers the goods in a forthcoming update.

Google Now gets a widget:
Google's predictive assistant Google Now is so awesome that now I can't imagine a life without it. While it may not as useful as it is in the United States, it does satiate my needs fairly well. With the app getting more powerful, I find other Google apps like Translate and Goggles becoming virtually useless with each passing day. In a new update, the search app adds cool new features (mostly restricted to the US) including support for widgets. Though the widget gets your job done, it sure could have been conceived better. Occupying a 4 x 4 space on the homescreen by default, resizing it to 4 x 1 makes for uncomfortable usage as there is no option to scroll when more than one card appears. Either Google should let the users pick the card they want to see on screen or add a scroll bar!

Apple and smartwatch? The plot thickens:
That Apple is working on a smartwatch has been doing the rounds for quite some time. Last week multiple reports from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg cited this development, and the latest buzz is that the smartwatch will takeover some of the functions of your iDevice (iPhone or iPad). I was initially skeptical of such a gadget coming from Apple but now after reading through these article pieces, it's hard to be dismissive about the whole thing.

Considering that there is indeed a smartwatch in the offing, the biggest question is whether it can be as disruptive as the iPod or iPhone or iPad. Watches are more like a fashion accessory and all previous attempts at a smartwatch have backfired (am excluding Nike's Fuel wristband here). Their small screen size notwithstanding, battery woes have hampered the sales of every smartwatch that's been out so far. Even the Pebble smartwatch is no exception. It remains to be seen if Apple can pull of a coup with its iWatch!

Facebook latest monetization attempt - pay to promote your friends' status:
Social network giant Facebook is looking at new ways to make money and its new attempt could not get more sillier. One can at least understand the logic behind promoting his(er) own status updates in order to catch attention but paying to promote your friends' updates borderlines on ridiculousness. In Facebook's terms, liking your friend's status just doesn't make the cut and you should be more than willing to dole out some cash ($7 USD) to ensure that your liking of the status is broadcasted to your (and his) entire friend circle. It's to be noted that you need not take your friend's permission (privacy concerns anyone?) beforehand to do this and is available only to people with fewer than 5,000 total friends and subscribers. Be on guard and don't post anything embarrassing; who knows your friends might announce it to a wider audience!

Adobe Reader Zero-day vulnerability being exploited in the wild:
A new security flaw in Adobe Reader (versions 11 and earlier) allows attackers to surreptitiously install malware, security firm FireEye has revealed. It also added that the zero-day vulnerability is being currently exploited in the wild and that it bypasses the sandbox anti-exploitation protection in Adobe Reader. While Adobe is said to be working on a patch, it has asked users to enable Protected View mode by going to Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) menu and choosing the "Files from potentially unsafe locations" option.

Back to being a happy Samsung Galaxy S III user!
Weeks back I mentioned how frustrated I was with my Galaxy S III phone due to the Jelly Bean update. Not only the phone became sluggish, there were a lot of random reboots as well. I am happy to say that the new 4.1.2 Premium Suite update (which rolled out to India in the last week of January) has fixed all these nagging problems of mine to satisfactory effect. Gone are the slowness and the extreme high RAM usage, and the phone is back to being crazily fast. Thanks Sammy!

In other news:

• CERN's particle accelerator Large Hadron Collider (LHC) halts its operation for two years for upgrades.
• Smartphone users check mobiles up to 150 times a day, says a new study commissioned by Nokia.
• Mars Curiosity rover drills into Martian surface to look for evidence of water.
• Facebook rolling out 'Buy Tickets' option for event pages.
• World's first bionic man Rex created in UK for a TV documentary series.
• Mozilla outs Firefox for Windows 8.
• Google Takeout now makes it possible to download Blogger blogs and Google+ pages.
• Apple loses iPhone trademark in Brazil.
• LG unveils 5.5-inch Optimus Pro ahead of Mobile World Congress.
• Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday for February fixes a record 57 security vulnerabilities; 32 of them identified by Google engineers.
• PC maker HP making Android smartphones and tablets, reports ReadWrite blog.
• Google rolls out Android 4.2.2 for Nexus devices; brings in minor cosmetic changes.
• Samsung to not launch Samsung Galaxy S III Mini in India; outs low-end Rex models to compete with Nokia in emerging markets.
• BlackBerry Z10 to be available in India starting February 25.
• Facebook reveals that it was hacked last month in a 'sophisticated' attack through a Java security exploit; assures no user data was compromised.
• North Korea successfully conducts its third nuclear test; tells its ally China of more tests in store this year.
• Excessive consumption of Coca-Cola linked to the death of 30-year old New Zealander Natasha Harris.
• Google could pay Apple over $1 billion to remain the default search engine on iOS next year.
• Microsoft's upcoming operating system Windows Blue confirmed in a job listing.
• Meteor shower explodes over central Russia injuring hundreds as asteroid 2012 DA₁₄ safely whizzes past earth on the same day.
• Apple, Microsoft and Adobe summoned by Australian court demanding reasons for having to shell out more money for buying their products than in other countries.
• Microsoft to merge Live Messenger with Skype starting April 8.
• Photo-sharing social network Instagram seeks dismissal of lawsuit over Terms of Service changes.

Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.