Tech Roundup: Feb 24, 2013
Artificial intelligence experts and Nobel peace prize laureates fear the rise of Terminator like killing machines:
Unmanned drones are now passée! Welcome to the world of robot warfare which is being considered as the next step towards autonomous defense weapons. Remember Terminator? Artificial Intelligence expert Dr. Noel Sharkey is however of the opinion that the development of these weapons are happening with obvious disregard to the moral implications and that these 'killer robots' are no science fiction. "These things are not science fiction; they are well into development," says Sharkey. "In America they are already training more drone pilots than real aircraft pilots, looking for young men who are very good at computer games. They are looking at swarms of robots, with perhaps one person watching what they do." Sounds like straight out of a Hollywood movie? You bet! Catch the full article on The Guardian here.
HTC's latest attempt to recover lost ground faces a tough battle:
In what could be a make or break moment, struggling Taiwanese handset maker HTC has once again reaffirmed its belief in unifying the One brand and has unveiled, well, the HTC One. Earlier revealed as M7, the 4.7-incher smartphone is a design marvel but on the software side, it still ships with Android 4.1.2 and a new version of Sense UI.
The most curious aspects are its home screen and the camera. Gone is the traditional iconic Sense clock face and it's replaced with a monochrome version and something called BlinkFeed, a live screen that updates continuously in a Flipboard like fashion with all your social network updates, news and other select RSS feeds (reserving concerns about battery life for now!). HTC which has itself launched phones with 8 megapixel cameras now wants you to not buy into the "myth of the megapixel" and has launched the One with just a 4 MP rear camera which supposedly offers astounding low-light performance by capturing 300% more light than the current competition.
While all these may be true, HTC has an uphill task convincing the normal users about the technical aspects of the phone and seriously needs to get into a marketing drive that will put Samsung to shame! With the latter's Galaxy S IV launch in a month, it should also hope to avert a disaster like last year when the SIII almost wiped off the One X with its superior features.
Apple in trouble again in Brazil:
After just about losing the iPhone trademark in Brazil, technology giant Apple is facing a new trouble of sorts in the South American nation. The Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) has filed a lawsuit against Apple for launching the iPad 4 barely seven months later after the iPad 3. According to them, the upgrades to the processor and the likes could have been implemented on the iPad 3 itself and by not doing so the company took part in unethical business practices.
While it was definitely a surprise that Apple broke its yearly tradition with the iPad 4 launch, the new iPad in no way makes the previous version obsolete. However having said that, it is a point to be noted that it seems Apple has begun to milk its consumer brand loyalty as a means to boost its revenues. If at all the company loses the case, it will have to cough up monetary compensation for the iPad 3 buyers.
Google Chromebook Pixel is official; but is way too pricey:
After weeks of non-stop rumours about a new Google made Chromebook (it all started with a leaked video), the company has made the Chromebook Pixel official. Chromebooks so far have been meant for light-weight usage as it's a browser-based cloud operating system, but apparently Google wants to change that notion through its latest touch-enabled offering which boasts of an incredible display that could beat Apple's Retina Display any day. The obvious downside to this new piece of handsome gadget is its cost. Priced (or rather overpriced) at $1299 USD, it sure is not going to win many fans considering its limitations.
Does a low-cost iPhone really make sense?
Apple is now rumoured to be announcing a low-cost iPhone in its attempt to capture emerging markets like India and other nations where consumers are more budget conscious. But does the phone actually make sense? Apple has been synonymous with unparalleled quality in its both hardware and software and hence making sure that it offers the same experience with its low-cost variant is of paramount importance. While it can learn from the success of iPad mini, even a small misstep could backfire against the tech giant. But if it can crack the whole thing, it definitely has a winner in its hands.
Contrast this with Google's Android smartphones, where budget phones aren't expected to perform as well as its big-sized supersmartphone brothers. The reasoning behind this is that an Android phone is always considered good enough for what it costs, and lower the price, lesser are the expectations from the device. A paradox indeed!
Samsung Galaxy devices affected by a weird clipboard bug?
Many Samsung Galaxy devices, running TouchWiz 3.0 or after, are reportedly crippled by a clipboard bug that reboots them or even worst wipes them clean when the number of items in clipboard reaches a count of twenty. If at all you have been following my weekly Tech Roundup columns, I had already mentioned about this random reboot problem on my Galaxy S III a couple of weeks back. Though at times the reboot happened immediately after I copied something from an app (the browser for instance), it occurred more in conjunction with a high RAM usage which Samsung apparently fixed in its Premium Suite update.
Post this, personally I haven't faced any reboot issues but if the complaints in Samsung Developers forum are anything to go by, it seems the problem is still out in the open. For starters, the clipboard is an app that stores anything (screenshots, images, text etc.) that you have copied and for the Samsung TouchWiz devices the count seems to be 20 items, after which they crash and reboot and sometimes even erase all data from the phone.
While the bug has been around ever since the official availability of Galaxy S III, Samsung is yet to issue a foolproof fix. If yours is one of those suffering from this problem follow the below steps (screenshots on the right with selections highlighted in a white border):
1] Access clipboard by long-pressing the onscreen button left to the space bar on the Samsung keyboard; it's the Settings in my case and it changes depending on the last option you have selected. (Another way is to root your phone and access its contents via a file manager.)
2] Select the clipboard option and press 'Clear' and then select 'Delete All' which should hopefully clear the clipboard contents.
In other news:
Unmanned drones are now passée! Welcome to the world of robot warfare which is being considered as the next step towards autonomous defense weapons. Remember Terminator? Artificial Intelligence expert Dr. Noel Sharkey is however of the opinion that the development of these weapons are happening with obvious disregard to the moral implications and that these 'killer robots' are no science fiction. "These things are not science fiction; they are well into development," says Sharkey. "In America they are already training more drone pilots than real aircraft pilots, looking for young men who are very good at computer games. They are looking at swarms of robots, with perhaps one person watching what they do." Sounds like straight out of a Hollywood movie? You bet! Catch the full article on The Guardian here.
 |
| HTC One M7 |
In what could be a make or break moment, struggling Taiwanese handset maker HTC has once again reaffirmed its belief in unifying the One brand and has unveiled, well, the HTC One. Earlier revealed as M7, the 4.7-incher smartphone is a design marvel but on the software side, it still ships with Android 4.1.2 and a new version of Sense UI.
The most curious aspects are its home screen and the camera. Gone is the traditional iconic Sense clock face and it's replaced with a monochrome version and something called BlinkFeed, a live screen that updates continuously in a Flipboard like fashion with all your social network updates, news and other select RSS feeds (reserving concerns about battery life for now!). HTC which has itself launched phones with 8 megapixel cameras now wants you to not buy into the "myth of the megapixel" and has launched the One with just a 4 MP rear camera which supposedly offers astounding low-light performance by capturing 300% more light than the current competition.
While all these may be true, HTC has an uphill task convincing the normal users about the technical aspects of the phone and seriously needs to get into a marketing drive that will put Samsung to shame! With the latter's Galaxy S IV launch in a month, it should also hope to avert a disaster like last year when the SIII almost wiped off the One X with its superior features.
Apple in trouble again in Brazil:
After just about losing the iPhone trademark in Brazil, technology giant Apple is facing a new trouble of sorts in the South American nation. The Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) has filed a lawsuit against Apple for launching the iPad 4 barely seven months later after the iPad 3. According to them, the upgrades to the processor and the likes could have been implemented on the iPad 3 itself and by not doing so the company took part in unethical business practices.
While it was definitely a surprise that Apple broke its yearly tradition with the iPad 4 launch, the new iPad in no way makes the previous version obsolete. However having said that, it is a point to be noted that it seems Apple has begun to milk its consumer brand loyalty as a means to boost its revenues. If at all the company loses the case, it will have to cough up monetary compensation for the iPad 3 buyers.
Google Chromebook Pixel is official; but is way too pricey:
After weeks of non-stop rumours about a new Google made Chromebook (it all started with a leaked video), the company has made the Chromebook Pixel official. Chromebooks so far have been meant for light-weight usage as it's a browser-based cloud operating system, but apparently Google wants to change that notion through its latest touch-enabled offering which boasts of an incredible display that could beat Apple's Retina Display any day. The obvious downside to this new piece of handsome gadget is its cost. Priced (or rather overpriced) at $1299 USD, it sure is not going to win many fans considering its limitations.
Does a low-cost iPhone really make sense?
Apple is now rumoured to be announcing a low-cost iPhone in its attempt to capture emerging markets like India and other nations where consumers are more budget conscious. But does the phone actually make sense? Apple has been synonymous with unparalleled quality in its both hardware and software and hence making sure that it offers the same experience with its low-cost variant is of paramount importance. While it can learn from the success of iPad mini, even a small misstep could backfire against the tech giant. But if it can crack the whole thing, it definitely has a winner in its hands.
Contrast this with Google's Android smartphones, where budget phones aren't expected to perform as well as its big-sized supersmartphone brothers. The reasoning behind this is that an Android phone is always considered good enough for what it costs, and lower the price, lesser are the expectations from the device. A paradox indeed!
Samsung Galaxy devices affected by a weird clipboard bug?
Post this, personally I haven't faced any reboot issues but if the complaints in Samsung Developers forum are anything to go by, it seems the problem is still out in the open. For starters, the clipboard is an app that stores anything (screenshots, images, text etc.) that you have copied and for the Samsung TouchWiz devices the count seems to be 20 items, after which they crash and reboot and sometimes even erase all data from the phone.
While the bug has been around ever since the official availability of Galaxy S III, Samsung is yet to issue a foolproof fix. If yours is one of those suffering from this problem follow the below steps (screenshots on the right with selections highlighted in a white border):
2] Select the clipboard option and press 'Clear' and then select 'Delete All' which should hopefully clear the clipboard contents.
In other news:
- Sony unveils PlayStation 4 without actually showing the console as Microsoft prepares to debut its next gen Xbox at E3 next month.
- Samsung announces Galaxy Tab 8.0 at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona to take on iPad mini.
- Google reportedly in talks with record labels to launch its own music streaming service, reports Financial Times.
- Apple and Microsoft become the latest victims to be exploited by Java security flaw; vector for these attacks traced to the popular iOS development site iPhone Dev SDK.
- Wikipedia to soon offer articles via text messages.
- Vatican to close Pope's Twitter account @Pontifex as he prepares to leave office.
- Apple releases iOS 6.1.2 update to fix Microsoft Exchange bug; passcode flaw to be fixed in iOS 6.1.3.
- Microsoft's Outlook.com sheds its preview tag; crosses 60 million active users.
- Mozilla Firefox 19 and Google Chrome 25 now available for download.
- Apple TV (not to be confused with its rumored TV offering) launches in India for Rs. 7999.
- Yahoo! homepage undergoes a major overhaul; gets more visually pleasing.
- Google's share price crosses the $800 USD mark for the first time.
- Microsoft to merge Lync (formerly Office Comunicator) and Skype together staring June this year.
- Taiwanese company Polytron Technologies shows off a transparent smartphone prototype.
- Intel planning to launch its own internet television service with live and on-demand content.
- Samsung to announce Galaxy S IV at a March 14 event, says Sammobile.
- Google Glass is demoed in a new video; to be available later this year under $1500 USD.
- Apple gets a patent for wearable device; could be the much speculated iWatch.
- Adobe releases a patch for Adobe Reader security flaw.
- Bill Gates calls for more innovation at Microsoft.
- Canonical teases Ubuntu for tablets; shares the same design elements of its smartphone and desktop counterparts.
- HP quarterly results beat market expectations as it hopes for a turnaround.
- Canadian judge rules that access to internet (aka Google) is a right for the arrested to look up for legal counsel.
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