Pakistan wants website filtering system

Islamabad, Mar 16: Pakistan is looking at having a website filtering system, a move that has come in for criticism from bloggers.
 Information Communication Technology Research and Development Fund has called for proposals to install a national level website filtering system, reported Dawn.
 An expert said the system will help the government block websites systematically, similar to the internet censoring methods adopted by the Chinese.
 The authorities want the blocking system should be able to handle a block list of up to 50 million URLs (website addresses) with a processing delay of not more than one millisecond.
 Wahajus Siraj, national convener for the Internet Service Providing Companies, said: "Blocking pornographic websites and blasphemous content is a good move and we appreciate it. Even the installation of a filtering system is fair but what guarantee do we have that this filter will not be used by the government to block websites of media houses, political parties and bloggers in the future?"
 "This is an attempt by the government to pressure people's right to information. People know what is good and bad for them when using the internet and don't need regulation," Pervez Hoodbhoy, a professor, was quoted as saying.
 He added: "This is against the freedom of expression."
 Asfham Mushtaq, a political blogger, said: "After the installation of this national level filter, political blogging websites that are critical of the government or any critical international research think-tank that publishes reports against the government or its polices will be under threat of being blocked. This will affect our access to varieties of opinions and information." (IANS) 

Give Your Laptop a 3D Makeover

We've seen laptops made for glasses-free 3D, but what if you could get that same functionality without buying a whole new laptop? The 3D gurus at Spatial View Inc. have announced the 3DeeScreen, a snap-on accessory that brings this same glasses-free 3D to your existing 2D laptop.

The 3DeeScreen is a lenticular lens filter that attaches over the screen of any supported 15.6-inch laptop. The screen filter uses a magnetized mounting frame to snap onto your laptop monitor, which works in concert with the accompanying 3Dee Screen software to project 3D content without the need for special glasses. It's similar to the technology seen in the Toshiba Qosmio F755-3D290, but functions as an additional accessory instead of an integrated part of the laptop.

"Wearing 3D glasses to view content on portable devices such as laptops is not desirable for users," says Spatial View general manager Ihor Petelycky. "However, current glasses-free display technology has not provided the quality and flexibility users expect. Our goal is to provide a superior 3D viewing experience and enable existing laptops with 3D functionality at a reasonable price. With 3DeeScreen, Spatial View has achieved that goal."

The 3DeeScreen uses eye-tracking technology to adjust the auto-stereoscopic images on the fly, projecting separate right and left views to the viewer's right and left eyes. The software allows playback of 3D Blu-ray movies—assuming, of course, that your laptop is equipped with a Blu-ray drive. Further 3D content is available through 3DeeCentral, Spatial View's own one-stop shop for 3D images and video. At present, the content selection is sparse, but includes several documentaries, concerts, and short films filmed in 3D.

System requirements include an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processor, a discrete graphics processor by Nvidia or AMD, and a webcam that captures at least 30 frames per second at 640-by-480 resolution or better. Currently, Spatial View lists only a handful of supported laptops, from Dell and Hewlett-Packard, including the Dell Inspiron 1564. A full list is available on the product webpage.

The 3DeeScreen is available now for $129.99, through the SpatialView.com.

Refrence: 

Apple loses bid to ban sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N

DUESSELDORF: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's reworked tablet PC does not look like a copycat version of the iPad, a German court said, affirming a preliminary assessment and dealing another legal blow to Apple Inc.

Apple is fighting several rival makers of smartphones and tablet PCs in courts worldwide over intellectual property.

Samsung changed the design of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the German market -- naming it Galaxy Tab 10.1N -- to get around a sales ban imposed by a court in September, and Apple challenged the new version.

The state court in Duesseldorf said on Thursday there were "clear differences" between the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and the iPad.

Apple's battle with Samsung, whose tablets are based on Google Inc's Android software, has been especially bitter, with the Galaxy devices seen as among the biggest challengers to Apple's mobile products.

In a global intellectual property battle, Apple has claimed the Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied the iPhone and iPad and has sued the Korean company in the United States, Australia, Japan and Korea as well as in Europe.

Since then, several countries including the Netherlands, the United States and Australia have decided to allow Samsung to sell the Galaxy tablet.

Samsung, which is Apple's supplier as well as a competitor, has been trying to have the ban on sales of the original Galaxy Tab in Germany overturned while also seeking other means to fight Apple. The ban was upheld by a court last week.

Samsung has counter-sued Apple in Germany, claiming infringements of mobile technology patents. A court in Mannheim has ruled against Samsung in cases concerning two of the patents and is due to decide on a third on March 2.

Refrence: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Apple-loses-bid-to-ban-sales-of-Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-10-1N/articleshow/11823643.cms

A glance at big differences between Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet computer and Apple’s iPad

A look at some of the major differences between Amazon.com Inc.’s tablet computer, the Kindle Fire, and Apple Inc.’s popular iPad:

Price: The Kindle Fire, which connects to the Internet over Wi-Fi networks, costs $199. The iPad costs $499 to $829, depending on storage capacity and its wireless capabilities. Some iPad models can access cellular networks.

Screen size: The Kindle Fire’s display measures 7 inches diagonally, while the iPad has a 9.7-inch display. That makes the Fire’s screen a bit less than half the size of the iPad’s.

Software: The Kindle Fire runs Google Inc.’s Android software. The iPad uses Apple’s own iOS software.
Storage: The Kindle Fire includes 8 gigabytes of internal storage and free Web-based storage for any digital content you get from Amazon, such as Kindle e-books, movies or music. The iPad includes 16 GB to 64 GB of storage space, depending on price.

Thickness: The Kindle Fire is 0.45 inches thick; the iPad is 0.34 inches thick.
Weight: The Kindle Fire tips the scales at 14.6 ounces — slightly less than a pound — while the iPad weighs about 1.3 pounds.

Apps: Kindle Fire users have built-in access to the Amazon Appstore, which includes thousands of free and paid games and apps. By contrast, the iPad has a selection of apps that is about 50 times greater. Apple’s online App Store has more than 100,000 apps tailored specifically for the iPad — including apps for Amazon.com and the Kindle.

Camera: While the iPad has front and rear cameras for taking photos and video chatting, the Kindle Fire does not include a camera.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

iPhone 5 release date: despite 4S goldrush, 12 month wait not expected

The iPhone 5 won’t see release date until a full year after the iPhone 4S launch, the logic goes, because new iPhone models are always around for exactly a year and because Apple always goes through two iterations of each iPhone body style for a year each before moving on to something new. But that logic, while widely believed, it flawed on both ends. The first was once true: Apple routinely released a new iPhone each summer from 2007 to 2010, creating an expectation that it would do so again in the summer of 2011 and shocking many would-be customers when the anniversary came and went with nary a peep. The iPhone wasn’t ultimately updated until October of this year, after the iPhone 4 was on the market for sixteen months, thus ending Apple’s era of consistent annual iPhone launches. That means the iPhone 5 release date could come at any time in 2012, as Apple is no longer on its annual release schedule and could take corrective action in any manner it wants. And now the other half of the logic goes faulty as well, the part about the iPhone 4S having been part of the plan Reports surfaced this week confirming what seemed to be the case all along: Apple had been aiming for a summer 2011 release for the iPhone 5, kept pushing it back because it wasn’t ready yet, and only launched the iPhone 4S as its new “flagship” iPhone model in October because it felt like it needed an updated hardware model heading into the holiday shopping season and because new technologies like the A5, Siri, and iOS 5 were ready for launch even if the iPhone 5 itself wasn’t. That means the notion that Apple “always” does two iterations of each phone, a popular one despite the fact that Apple has only ever done it on purpose once (3G and 3S), wasn’t the case this year. Apple was looking to do an entirely new iPhone, couldn’t pull it off in time, and went with a rehash as a fallback. In that light, it makes one wonder if the 3GS wasn’t a result of the same fallback scenario rather than having been any part of any intended gameplan. And if the iPhone 4S wasn’t even supposed to exist, or was supposed to be merely a bargain sidekick to debut alongside the real iPhone 5 this year, then by Apple’s clock, the iPhone 5 is overdue already. Even if it’s somehow ready to go before the end of 2011, that won’t happen. It’s too close to the holiday season, and Apple has already tagged the iPhone 4S as its flagship holiday product. But all bets are off once 2012 arrives, and Apple starts looking at launching the iPhone 5 as early in the year as it’s ready to go. That still doesn’t predict whether the iPhone 5 will be ready from a technical standpoint by the spring, or the summer, or the fall. But with no remaining allegiance to annual launches, and with the revelation that the iPhone 5 is already four months late to market according to Apple’s own calendar, there’s no reason to expect the iPhone 4S to get a full twelve months in the spotlight unless the iPhone 5 simply isn’t ready any sooner.

PTCL starts broadband services in Sukkur

Karachi—The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) under the Universal Service Fund (USF) has started the installation and provision of broadband services in Sukkur Region. This was stated by PTCL’s Senior Executive Vice-President Corporate Development, Sikandar Naqi. In a statement here on Saturday he said that the PTCL is working in a determined manner for the government’s programme of the promotion of the development of telecommunication services and spread of modern information and communication technology services to ensure dissemination of knowledge and information. It said that the PTCL in open bidding obtained the right for provision of broadband services in 10 districts of Sukkur Region. These included Ghotki, Jacobabad, Kambar-Shahdadkot, Khairpur, Nausherferoze, Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah). In these districts 104 educational broadband centres and 51 community broadband centres would also be established, it was further stated.

Post to blogger blog through iOS

Search giant Google Inc. has released a new Blogger app that allows users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad devices to post blogs directly to their Blogger accounts.

Product manager Chang Kim said the new app allows a user to write a new blog post and publish it immediately, or save it as a draft, right from the iOS device.

“You can also open a blog post you’ve been working on from your computer and continue editing it while you’re on-the-go. Your blog posts are automatically synced across devices, so you’ll always have access to the latest version," Kim said in a blog post.

Kim said the Blogger app also makes it easy to add photos either by choosing from the gallery or taking a new photo right within the app.

He said one can also add labels and location to provide more details about the post.

The app is available for iOS 3.2 and higher.

“Although the user interface is only available in English at this time, the app supports blog posts written in all languages," Kim said.

A separate article on TheNextWeb said the app seems to stick to the Google “less is more" aesthetic, with a two-tone “orangesickle" interface.

“You also can’t do much more than write and publish. No formatting, no image adjustment, not even a choice of fonts or even a button to add a link. It seems incredibly bare-bones at this point. There are a dozen other alternatives that offer more features on the App Store. It is a start, however, and Google seems to like dropping apps like this and then iterating on them in public, so hopefully we’ll see some updates coming in the future that add the basic necessities," it said.

Good Bye C and C++, Welcome Dart

Google's at it again with a new programming language, this one called Dart.
In 2009, Google launched Go, a language designed for writing server software and handling other chores often handled today by C or C++. Dart, though, is "a new programming language for structured Web programming," according to the schedule for the Goto conference where Googlers plan to describe it next month.
There are two Dart presenters. First is Gilad Bracha, who created the Newspeak programming language that just reached version 3. He also was co-author of the Java Language Specification and worked at SAP Labs, Cadence, and Sun Microsystems.
Second is Lars Bak, who led the team that built the Chrome browser's V8 engine. V8 was built in Aarhus, Denmark, where the Goto conference will take place in October. Bak has a particular specialty in virtual machines, software foundations that act like computers that run higher-level languages.
It's tough to design new programming languages and tougher to get them established. The payoff, though, can take several forms: higher programmer productivity, software that runs more efficiently, hardware features that can be tapped.
The interesting thing about Google is that it has enough programmers on staff creating enough in-house software that the company can single-handedly make a programming language at least somewhat relevant. And because it's got such a vast computing infrastructure, anything that increases the efficiency of power consumption, or improves the flexibility of the computing foundation, can pay off directly in lower electricity bills and higher reliability.
In other words, even the very academic subject of programming languages can be a very practical activity at Google.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20103843-264/google-to-debut-dart-a-new-language-for-the-web/#ixzz1XXk9MGXc