Interview about Microsoft on the PS3 launch
With Xbox 360 and Wii already selling well across Europe, the obvious question is; has the PS3 launch come too late?
McGill: I think consumers are certainly going to see it as quite late and they’ve got lots of great choice already out here. I think the good thing is that they’re actually here now; we’ve been waiting for them for quite a while and I think it gives consumers the chance to make an informed decision, because there’s been a lot of hype and a lot of great demos. Now they can actually see the real thing and decide whether the £425 is worth it or not.
I’m feeling pretty good about where we are in the business; we’ve got a great install base, we’ve got fantastic membership on Xbox Live, we’ve got a portfolio that’s unrivalled and I don’t see that changing. It’s a great position we’re in and we’re looking forward to continuing that position.
Do you think the average gamer will decide PS3 is worth the price tag?
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Source : www.pspl.com
4G prototypes reach blistering speeds
Cellphones capable of transmitting data at blistering speeds have been demonstrated by NTT DoCoMo in Japan.
In experiments, prototype phones were used to view 32 high definition video streams, while travelling in an automobile at 20 kilometres per hour. Officials from NTT DoCoMo say the phones could receive data at 100 megabits per second on the move and at up to a gigabit per second while static. At this rate, an entire DVD could be downloaded within a minute. DoCoMo’s current 3G (third generation) phone network offers download speeds of 384 kilobits per second and upload speeds of 129 kilobits per second.
The technology behind NTT DoCoMo’s high-speed phone network remains experimental, but the 4G tests used a method called Variable-Spreading-Factor Spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (VSF-Spread OFDM), which increases downlink speeds by using multiple radio frequencies to send the same data stream.
Multiple routes
Another wireless networking trick, called multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) multiplexing, was used to send data via various routes across a network, in order to further increase data capacity. For example, MIMO could enable a cellphone to receive data from more than one base station in range.
The activities “are technically impressive,” says Lajos Hanzo, a communications expert at Southampton University in the UK. But Hanzo told New Scientist NTT DoCoMo will need assistance from other phone companies if it is to kick-start 4G uptake. “In today’s world nobody can go it alone,” he says. “And hence any standard proposal must be internationally ratified, which has not as yet taken place.”
Some countries have already begun cooperating on such standards. Japan and China signed a memorandum on 24 August to work together on 4G. NTT DoCoMo hopes to launch a commercial 4G network by 2010.
source : www.newscientist.com
Nikon D40X and preview
Pre-PMA 2007: Just under four months since the D40 and Nikon has announced an upgraded ten megapixel version of the camera. The new Nikon D40X is essentially identical to the D40 apart from its ten megapixel CCD, a lower base sensitivity of ISO 100 and faster continuous shooting (now up to 3.0 fps). Obviously the competitive target for this camera is the Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi), and it is clearly priced to achieve that at $799 including the 18-55 mm kit lens. We have a detailed hands-on preview of the Nikon D40X. (04:00 GMT)
Nikon AF-S DX VR 55-200 mm lens
Pre-PMA 2007: Nikon has today announced an updated version of its AF-S DX 55-200 mm lens. The new AF-S DX VR 55-200 mm F4.0-F5.6G IF-ED has a Silent Wave Motor for fast and quiet focusing, ED glass lens element and most significantly optical Vibration Reduction. This lens provides 3.6x zoom and delivers an equivelant field of view of 82.5 - 300 mm when used on a DX digital SLR (1.5x FOV crop).
source : www. dpreview.com
Information technology
Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)is: “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.” In short, IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and retrieve information.
In this definition, the term “information” can usually be replaced by “data” without loss of meaning.
Nowadays it has become popular to broaden the term to explictly include the field of electronic communication so that people tend to use the abbreviation ICT (Information and Communication Technology). Strictly speaking, this name contains some redundancy. more
Microsoft: UAC Can Be Hijacked by Social Engineering
Microsoft’s UAC in its Vista operating system release was meant to signify that finally, the company has gotten serious about securing Windows by limiting a user’s rights during day-to-day computer usage. It’s come to signify something much less than security or trust in the minds of some security experts, though. Security expert Joanna Rutkowska kicked off the dissection of UAC in her blog, and the latest salvo against User Account Control was heaved by Symantec Research Scientist Ollie Whitehouse with a Feb. 20 posting titled An Example of Why UAC Prompts in Vista Can’t Always Be Trusted. The upshot: Microsoft has admitted that yes, UAC is liable to social engineering. The idea behind User Account Control is to limit user privileges as much as possible for most of a user’s interaction with the desktop. User rights are elevated only when necessary for administrative tasks, at which point a dialog box prompts the user to OK the escalation. Limiting normal permissions is a good thing, given that it reveals less operating system surface for an attacker to latch onto. The problem, according to Whitehouse, is the level of trust granted to UAC prompts—a level of trust that he thinks is undeserved. At issue are the types and colors of dialog boxes thrown up by UAC. They range in color from red to signal when an application has been blocked, to greenish-blue dialog boxes for applications that are supposedly a part of Vista, to a light gray color used for third-party applications, and finally to what Whitehouse describes as a “semi-scary yellowy orange” for unsigned third-party code. 
In fact, Microsoft’s own description of the colors used refers to color elevation that coincides with an application’s diminishing presumed trustworthiness. However, Whitehouse discovered that an arbitrary file, produced by a random individual, could be made to appear as a legitimate part of Vista’s core operating system, using the calming teal color to Read more
Canon PowerShot A710 IS Overview
The Canon PowerShot A710 IS couples a 7 megapixel CCD imager sensor with an image stabilized 6x optical zoom lens that offers a 35mm-equivalent focal range of 35 to 210mm — a moderate wide angle to a useful telephoto. With a total range of 6x optical zoom, this is quite a bit more than most compact cameras offer, and the inclusion of a stabilizer should help ensure photos aren’t blurred from camera shake at the telephoto end of the zoom. Maximum apertures vary from f/2.8 to f/4.8 across the zoom range. The A710’s sensor yields an ISO range equivalent to 80 to 800, while shutter speeds from 1/2000 to 15 seconds are possible.
Designed with ease of use in mind, the Canon A710 IS offers a range of features that make it approachable to beginners, plus the ability to exert more control over the photographic process. For the former category of users, there’s a fully automatic mode, and Read more
