HiWEB-Interactive Show Log –
032– 100908
-Opening Comments
“Welcome to HiWEB-Interactive, bringing you information from the edge of technology”
*This is a summary
of recent news and technology highlights.
HiWEB-Interactive – Show #32 – From October 9th 2008
Airing weekly Thursdays at 9p (PST) – And available on LIVE.HIWEB.NET as well as archived
*Complete Co-Host Intro’s
-Hot News Topics this week
(*Prepped 24 Hours Prior)
1 -
Apple "notebook" event is on, October 14th!
2 -
Microsoft's 'New Xbox Experience' To Launch Soon
3 -
Wireless at Fiber Speeds
4 -
Ford introduces car-limiting MyKey for worried parents
5 -
Run multiple iPhone apps at a time with Backgrounder
6 -
Opera Updates to Version 9.6, Gets Faster, Adds Features
*Youtube viewers make sure to see HiWEB.NET for the live streaming, also this entire show and other past shows.
<<<CUT FOR YOUTUBE POSTS>>> IE: Stop Recording/Start Recording
-Review of Hot Topics
(*Elaborate on Hot Topics)
*SEE PRINTED
NOTES…..
1 -
Apple "notebook" event is on, October 14th! -
The rumors were true folks. Apple is staging an invitation-only Town Hall event
in Cupertino next Tuesday, October 14th at 10AM PDT. It's absolutely safe to say
they'll be showing off new laptops... and you know we'll be there live!
Will this be an unveiling of a
whole new
form factor? Will this "Brick"
mystery be put to bed? Will they come in
rainbow colors?
Tune in to find out.
Rumors will materialize soon…. $899 MacBook, Brick…. Stay Tuned for the New
Apple Notebooks
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/09/apple-notebook-event-is-on-october-14th/
<Change Slide>
2 -
Microsoft's 'New Xbox Experience' To Launch Nov. 19 -
Microsoft said Wednesday that it is planning to launch a major overhaul of its
Xbox interface on Nov. 19.
"On that day, millions of Xbox 360 owners worldwide will experience a completely
new Xbox 360 that is fun, social, and simple to use -- and puts more
entertainment at their fingertips than any other device connected to the TV,"
the company said in a statement.
New Xbox Experience, as the revamp is called, will feature a revised user
interface that, among other things, allows users to cycle through options as
they would if they were using Windows Vista's Aero interface. Available games,
movies, and TV shows will be presented side by side and will be easier to find
and access, Microsoft said.
A new feature called Xbox Live Party will let parties of up to seven people chat
and share pictures over a television screen while simultaneously playing games.
The Personality Plus tool will let users create customized avatars that will
represent them throughout the Xbox world.
"When the New Xbox Experience launches in just six weeks, we will be inviting
the whole world to play," said John Schappert, Microsoft's corporate VP for
Interactive Entertainment, in a statement from the
Tokyo Game Show 2008.
Microsoft is looking to maintain recent Xbox sales momentum in the face of stiff
competition from Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii unit. The company last
month slashed the price of its Xbox 360 video game console by almost 30% for
some models.
The cuts saw the price of the entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade system fall from $279
to $199. The basic Xbox 360 model, which features a 60-GB hard drive, dropped to
$299 from $349. The high-end Xbox 360 Elite, which includes a 120-GB hard drive,
now sells for $399 -- down from $449.
In its most recent quarter, Microsoft reported that Xbox 360 total console sales
surpassed 19 million units during the period, up 74% from the previous year.
Recent releases of hot-selling game titles, including Halo 3 and Grand Theft
Auto IV, have helped spur Xbox 360 sales. Halo 3, an Xbox 360 exclusive,
smashed game industry records
when it debuted late last year -- including the record for most launch-day
sales.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210800780&subSection=All+Stories
<Change Slide>
3 -
Wireless at Fiber Speeds
-
There's no shortage of demand for faster
wireless,
but today's fastest technologies--Wi-Fi, 3G cellular networks, and even the
upcoming
WiMax--max
out at tens or hundreds of megabits per second. So far, no commercial wireless
system can beat the raw speed of optical fiber, which can carry tens of gigabits
per second.
One way to achieve faster speeds is to harness the millimeter-wavelength
frequency of the wireless spectrum, although this usually requires expensive and
very complex equipment. Now, engineers at
Battelle,
a research and development firm based in Columbus, OH, have come up with a
simpler way to send data through the air with millimeter-wave technology.
Earlier this year, in field tests of a prototype point-to-point system, the team
was able to send a 10.6-gigabit-per-second signal between antennas 800 meters
apart. And more recently, the researchers demonstrated a 20-gigabit-per-second
signal in the lab.
Richard Ridgway, a senior researcher at Battelle, says that the technique could
be used to send huge files across college campuses, to quickly set up emergency
networks in a disaster, and even to
stream uncompressed high-definition
video from a computer or set-top box to a display.
Whereas
Wi-Fi
and cellular networks operate on frequencies of 2.4 to 5.0 gigahertz,
millimeter-wave technology exploits a region from about 60 to 100 gigahertz.
These waves can carry more data because they oscillate faster. Much of the
millimeter region is unlicensed and open for use; it has only been neglected
because of the difficulty and expense involved in generating a millimeter-wave
signal, encoding information on it, and then decoding at the other end. Usually,
data is encoded by first generating a low-frequency wave of around 10 gigahertz,
then converting it into a higher-frequency signal. The drawback is that encoding
data on a 10-gigahertz signal limits the data rate to about one gigabit per
second.
The Battelle team was able to better this by more than a factor of 10 using
off-the-shelf optical telecommunication components. The researchers modulated
data on two low-frequency laser beams, then combined the two. When these two
beams combine, they create a pattern of interference that acts as a
100-gigahertz signal. "It looks as though we have a laser beam that has a
100-gigahertz frequency," Ridgway says.
In the past few years, researchers at Georgia Tech, MIT, Intel, and elsewhere
have made great strides in developing millimeter-wave devices. Companies such as
Intel have even started pushing for standards that could help develop
interoperable technologies that operate at 60 gigahertz. And one company,
Gigabeam,
has rolled out
products
that can achieve around one gigabit per second using a point-to-point link over
a few hundred meters.
Ridgway explains that using telecommunication lasers has two big advantages.
First, they are high power, so the resulting millimeter wave is also of
relatively high power. Second, the lasers have been engineered to be stable and
dependable, producing a signal that doesn't fluctuate much compared with
standard millimeter-wave sources.
Alan Crouch, director of the Communications Technology Lab at Intel, says that
the Battelle work is further evidence that millimeter-wave technology could
become increasingly important. "There's demand for more and more
wireless
communication solutions in this space," he says, adding that "there is strong
industry interest."
But the research may be years away from being deployed in a product. Ridgway
explains that, since the system has been put together from existing components,
it's much larger than it ultimately needs to be. In addition, a property of the
signal called polarization, which plays a role in encoding data, tends to drift
during operation, which means that the system requires attention when running.
But Ridgway hopes that, with some more engineering, these problems can be ironed
out. "We'd like to get it to a point where you could just turn on and go," he
says.
http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/21464/?a=f
<Change Slide>
4 -
Ford introduces car-limiting MyKey for worried parents
-
Ford announced today a new technology called MyKey that will be standard on the
2010 Focus Coupe and quickly spread to the rest of the Blue Oval's lineup. MyKey
can do three basic things: allow parents to limit a vehicle's top speed to 80
mph and/or the stereo's volume up to 44% of its max, and set a sustaining chime
if the seatbelts aren't being used. Clearly targeted towards worry wart parents,
the MyKey system is meant to keep teens safe despite their protestation that a
system like this curtails their kiddy freedoms. Ford did some polling and found
that 67% of teens didn't like the idea, though that number fell to 36% if the
MyKey system led to parents letting the kids use the car more.
The MyKey system uses off-the-shelf technology from within Ford, particularly
the SecuriLock passive anti-theft system, to identify which keys are in the
ignition and therefore which driving mode to enable. It's certainly feels a lot
like Big Brother, but we suppose parents have the right to play Big Bro' when
the safety of their children is at stake.
Other things the MyKey system can do is permanently enable the traction control
system and set chimes for when the car reaches 45, 55 or 65 mph. This technology
will likely make the Ford Focus Coupe a popular choice for both parents and
teens, the latter of which may be appeased by the SNYC system that's also
available in these cars.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/06/ford-introduces-limiting-mykey-for-worried-parents/
<Change Slide>
5 -
Run multiple iPhone apps at a time with Backgrounder -
In and of itself, Pandora is reason enough to carry around an iPhone. Yesterday,
we posted about how the iPhone has
doubled the number of Pandora users.
What people really want is to listen to Pandora and do other work at the same
time.
With iPhone 2.0, Apple introduced a firm one-application-at-a-time rule. And
ever since this whole 2.0, no-background-process rule took over, I've really
missed listening to Pandora while using other functions on my iPhone.
The iPhone is a first-class Unix platform, and there's no technological reason
Apple must insist on one application at a time. (The non-tech explanation
is generally understood to be nonlethal suboxygenated cranial trauma induced by
chronic undergarment waddage.) iPhone hacker Ashikase's
Backgrounder
utility changes everything, though. Backgrounder leverages the iPhone OS and
brings multi-app support to the standard iPhone SpringBoard interface.
Putting apps into the background
With Backgrounder, you don't have to log into a secure shell session. You don't
have to perform black magic. You just press and hold the home key while running
any application. After a few seconds, the Backgrounding Enabled pop-up appears.
Release the home button and go about your business. Backgrounder automatically
returns you to SpringBoard.
To quit the background application, re-launch it from SpringBoard, then press
and hold Home until the Backgrounding Disabled pop-up appears.
To get Pandora to play in the background, do this: Launch the app, start the
music playing, press Home until the message displays, and then release. It's
really that simple.
Drawbacks
Of course, as with most OS hacks, there are drawbacks to using Backgrounder.
Here are the things you really need to know about:
First, and most obviously, you must use a jailbroken phone. Backgrounder is a
Cydia app, and you cannot download it (unfortunately) from App store.
Second, when using Backgrounder with Pandora, understand how the iPhone handles
sounds. There are System sounds—basically alerts—which overlay any background
sounds. Apps that stick to System audio will not interfere with Pandora
playback.
There are also Audio Queue sounds, and apps that use these will generally cause
Pandora to shut down its audio. And, because Pandora is running in the
background, there's no easy way to tell it to start playing again.
Worse, conflicting audio makes some apps go all crashy crashy—nothing that a
nice fresh reboot won't fix, but something that can make users get cranky cranky
when it happens. Therefore, you might want to use a backgrounded Pandora to surf
the 'Net and check your mail, but don't mix it with audio-intensive games.
Third, be aware that Backgrounder is still young and developing. Don't expect a
robust error-proof system. Use it for what it is and let its features grow over
time.
Summary
Backgrounder is a great addition to the jailbroken app arena. For me, it
provides just enough functionality to let me enjoy my Pandora music without
being chained into leaving the program open at all times. If you're not afraid
of the occasional (or even less occasional and more regular) reboot and you've
already jailbroken your phone, this is one application you should really
consider installing.
<Change Slide>
6 -
Opera Updates to Version 9.6, Gets Faster, Adds Features
-
Windows/Mac/Linux: Popular web browser Opera just pushed out a new stable
release featuring overall speed improvements, several cool feature updates, and
a laundry list of bug fixes. Opera still has all the excellent features that
made us declare that
Opera is still in the browser race
with its previous release, but this latest release is faster, and it continues
to add innovative features that most browsers only support through third-party
extensions. Keep reading for a closer look.
Better Syncing
Opera Link,
the feature that syncs Opera browser settings across multiple computers (sort of
like
previously mentioned Mozilla Weave
but built into Opera), has expanded to support custom search engines and your
typed URL history in addition to the information it already syncs (which
includes Speed Dial, Bookmarks, and more).
Feed Previews
The new Feed Preview feature lets you view a site's RSS feed before you
subscribe to it in Opera's built-in RSS reader. It's nicely formatted so you can
get a quick glance at what kind of content is included in the feed (e.g.,
whether or not it's a full or partial content feed) similar to the RSS preview
feature in other browsers.
Low-Bandwidth Email
Opera's built-in email client is also sporting several cool new features,
including a low-bandwidth mode that reduces data downloads for faster email
along with two new thread options to alternately help you keep a closer eye on
an email thread or ignore a thread that's not important to you.
And All the Rest
Of course, the latest Opera still sports the excellent stable of features we
focused on
last time we took a close look at Opera,
including Speed Dial (the homepage idea that's inspired countless Firefox
knock-offs), mouse gestures, note-taking, BitTorrent support, and even
voice-controlled browsing.
As I mentioned above, this release is also supposed to be significantly faster.
If Opera is your browser of choice, let us know if the speed improvements show
up in your browsing in the comments.
http://www.opera.com/products/link/
http://lifehacker.com/5060591/opera-updates-to-version-96-gets-faster-adds-features
<Change Slide>
- Viewer Questions
(*Troubleshooting,
New Tech, Etc.)
How can I recover my lost password on Windows?
Recover with a program called PCLoginNow – An new program I just found. (Linux
Live CD)
A lost admin password can definitely help one to define the words “frustrated”,
and “helpless”. Losing your password can end up with you being locked out of
your own machine, and what can be more frustrating than that?
You would think that it would be virtually impossible to forget your Logon
password; but it happens more frequently than you might think. I have several
friends who rarely use their computers, and sure enough I got a call last week
from one of those friends who had forgotten her Logon password.
My friend is a writer and author who had just gotten over her writers block,
which she had endured for months, and it was now time for her to hit the keys.
Being a smart woman she had written down her password, but as so often happens,
she had “lost” the piece of paper. Being a smart woman, plan number two was to
call me. LOL!
Within a few minutes after arriving at her home; her machine was up and running.
So a potentially disastrous situation was handled quickly, efficiently no mess,
no fuss. To my friend it seemed like magic.
In a sense it was magic, but the magic was all about using the right tool. In
this case, the tool of choice was PCLoginNow, a simple, free application,
designed specifically to reset Windows logon passwords, change an account to
administrator level, lock or disable accounts, and to set passwords to never
expired.
PCLoginNow doesn’t recover the forgotten password as many password cracking
programs do, instead it erases the password. In handling the problem in this
way, you can then Logon to Windows without inputting a password.
If you are a “geeky techie” who has a lot of friends who expect you to solve all
of their computer related problems, then PCLoginNow is a must have tool.
Visit the PCLoginNow download site and download the ISO image file which you’ll
then burn to a CD. Using the application, is as simply as booting the affected
machine from the CD. A great solution to what can often be a nasty problem.
Quick facts about PCLoginNow:
-Resets any passwords on any Windows computer with a 100% success rate
-PCLoginNow can easily bypass Syskey
-PCLoginNow runs on a Linux Live CD
-Supports NTFS, FAT16, and FAT32 file systems
-Supports Windows Vista, XP, 2003 server, 2000/NT
-Supports IDE, SATA, SCSI, USB drives
-Supports a wide range of PCI PCI-EX cards
-Designed for non-professionals
Download at:
http://www.pcloginnow.com/product.html
Other Tools:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=305
-
Via the recovery
console
http://www.tech-faq.com/lost-windows-password.shtml
- Create windows password recovery disk
Hiren Boot CD with a
utility to reset windows nt/2000/xp administrator/user password.
Trinity Rescue -
http://lifehacker.com/374161/trinity-rescue-kit-resets-forgotten-windows-passwords
-----Commercial
(IE: Brought to you by
NewEgg.COM)
“This show is being brought to you by many affiliates including NewEgg.COM – See
NewEgg.COM for some of the best deals on the WEB.”
See ‘shop newegg’ in the live.hiweb.net chat room which links you via HiWEB to
NewEgg @
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/email-2779780-10440554
Or stop by
http://shop.hiweb.net
Anytime….
<Video Cut /
Resume>
-New Technology to keep an
Eye On
(Auto
Tech, Alt. Fuel, Environment, Hacking, High Tech, etc…)
1 -
180 MPG Hybrid Scooter Available Now for $3k
-
First
Peugot one-ups
Honda's 2-wheeler hybrid
promise, now an unknown start up in California called
ELV Motors
has beaten them both with the ultimate in efficient transportation...a 180 MPG
hybrid scooter. Of course, they've made some compromises that Honda nor Peugot
would never make on one of their vehicles...most importantly, a top speed of 40
mph.
To remain ultra-efficient, ELV's scooters use a small, 49 cc engine to power a
small electric motor. That keeps the bikes ultra-light (200 lbs),
ultra-efficient, and slower than your average vehicle. But, frankly, most
scooters aren't highway ready anyhow, and I wouldn't want to go faster than 40
mph even if I could.
But it beats Honda and Peugot in two other important ways. The MSRP is $2890 and
it's available NOW. For a faster, more mainstream scooter, you're going to have
to wait a few years.
Check out their website
for more information on how to get yourself one of these beauties.
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2195/69/
<Change Slide>
2 -
Tubular Solar Panels Slash Costs, Boost Efficiency
- There are a lot of reasons to think that flat solar panels would be the right
way to go. The best way to capture sunlight is by being perpendicular to the sun
and it's usually cheaper to make things flat than round. But the folks at
Solyndra
have discovered that this traditional wisdom might be a bit faulty.
First, as to the second point, when dealing with thin-film CIGS solar panels,
cylindrical is just as good as flat. But the first point, concerning harvesting
the maximum amount of sunlight, gets a little confusing.
The cylindrical solar panels (think of fluorescent tube lights...except in
reverse) can absorb energy from every direction, and when combined with a white
roof (which are now the only legal, flat roofs in California) can capture up to
20% more light than traditional solar panels. The other gigantic advantage is
that they don't have to move to track the sun. The panels are always presenting
some of their face directly perpendicular to the sun.
By removing solar-tracking and orientation from the equation, these systems can
simply be laid onto roofs. Tracking solar panels have to be able to resist the
force of strong winds, these will just lay flat and out of the way reducing
installation costs, which often comprise about half of the price of a solar
project.
And with 30 billion square feet of flat roofs in America, this could be quite a
market for cheap, clean electricity. Solyndra just announced, in fact, that
they've got $1.2 B in contracts throughout Europe and America, and I can't
imagine that going anywhere but up.
Full press release from Solyndra below
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2187/83/
<Change Slide>
3 -
SunTech Power to Triple US Operations in One Year
- Get used to seeing plans like this one. Now that the
Solar Investment Tax Credit has been passed,
every solar company in the world is going to be pushing like mad to help
green-up America.
SunTech Power
was the first to announce their plan, saying that they're going to triple their
U.S. Operations with an aggressive push toward grid-level, residential and
commercial installations. Helping them along will be EL Solutions, the company
behind
Google's solar plantation,
which SunPower just acquired.
SunTech is betting on the United States becoming the world's largest market for
their solar panels, which could easily happen in the next few years. Frankly,
with all of that sunny desert in the South West, I can't believe we aren't the
world's largest market yet. But government subsidies in Europe have kept the
U.S. playing second fiddle.
But now, with prices dropping, and a
nice fat subsidy
of our own, we should be catching up pretty quick.
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2179/83/
<Change Slide>
-Weekly
Picture
The red list includes 188 mammals in the highest threat category of critically
endangered, including the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), which has a population
of just 84-143 adults and has continued to decline due to a shortage of its
primary prey, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
See 14 other endangered animals at this link (China’s Père David’s deer,
Tasmanian devil, The fishing cat, The Caspian Seal, elephant shrew, black-footed
ferret, African elephant and 6 others.)
-Tech
Tip / Demo
Why call the operator and pay a surcharge to have them connect the call when you
can call 1-800-GOOG411 for free?
About GOOG-411
Google's
411 service is free, fast and easy to use. Give it a try now and see how simple
it is to find and connect with local businesses for free. (*)
Now you can find businesses for free from any phone – no internet access
required, and with no 411 charges. Just call 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411)
and say where you are and what you're looking for.
-No need to memorize or write down phone numbers.
-Call and connect directly to businesses.
-Get the businesses' info sent to your phone for free via SMS.
Call 1-800-466-4411
http://www.google.com/goog411/
http://www.google.com/mobile/default/goog411/
-General Talk/Discussions
1-Viewers see giveaway link on HiWEB.NET for more details. Next Giveaway Show #33 on October 16th - Remember the eligibility requirements. Subscribe to Youtube, Follow on Twitter, Register and Comment on Blog – *And then stay Tuned for Hot Giveaways
2- Future segments will include music production segments, hardware reviews and demos
3- We are currently engaging SME to produce custom segments away from live show –
4- Viewers can send show Tips / Recommendations to live@hiweb.net
5- HiWEB-Interactive Past Shows on http://www.hiweb.net/pastshows.html (past shows)
6- Talkshoe at
Phone Number:
(724) 444-7444
@
Call ID:
13364
-Closing Comments
This was HiWEB-Interactive – Show #32
Remember tune in anytime at live.hiweb.net and Thursdays at 9p (PST) *Summer Hours -for the HiWEB-Interactive Tech Show
“Thank You for participating in HiWEB-Interactive, we look forward to bringing you more information from the edge of technology” Until next time have Fun with your technology – GottaJiboo!