Dream@Tic :: Dream@Tic News

MZA: Avaya Continues to Lead PBX Market

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:50:00 +0100

The latest figures released by analyst firm MZA have shown that the Corded PBX market (excluding Micro PBX products) increased by 16% in Q2 2010 compared to Q2 2009 at a global level. Avaya continued to lead the world PBX market, growing market share from 13% in Q1 2010 to 15% in Q2 2010.

Continue reading MZA: Avaya Continues to Lead PBX Market

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 10/09/2010

Continue reading MZA: Avaya Continues to Lead PBX Market

Privus Mobile Debuts Real-Time Caller ID and Text ID for BlackBerry

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:03:00 +0100

Privus Mobile, the Caller ID solution for BlackBerry smartphones, has released new features for its smartphone Caller ID application delivering real-time caller and text identification. Through this feature Privus Mobile announces the name of the incoming call or text for true hands-free operations regardless of whether the person is in the user’s contact list or not.

Continue reading Privus Mobile Debuts Real-Time Caller ID and Text ID for BlackBerry

Originally appeared on Smartphone Biz-news.com on 09/09/2010

Continue reading Privus Mobile Debuts Real-Time Caller ID and Text ID for BlackBerry

Skype Launches Channel Partner Program in the U.S.

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:55:00 +0100

Skype has announced the introduction of the Skype Channel Partner Program to help businesses who are looking to use Skype for their collaboration and communication needs. According to Skype, the goal of the program is to establish a qualified network of channel partners in the United States that can assist companies interested in using Skype “to improve their productivity and optimize their communication costs.”

Continue reading Skype Launches Channel Partner Program in the U.S.

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 09/09/2010

Continue reading Skype Launches Channel Partner Program in the U.S.

Leading Technology Companies Announce HD Voice Initiative in the U.K.

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0100

XConnect, Polycom, BroadSoft and Dialogic announced an initiative to promote the adoption of high-definition voice by service providers in the United Kingdom. Through workshops and cooperative communication and marketing, the HD initiative is designed to raise awareness and educate service providers about the benefits of HD voice and help them resolve implementation challenges.

Continue reading Leading Technology Companies Announce HD Voice Initiative in the U.K.

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 09/09/2010

Continue reading Leading Technology Companies Announce HD Voice Initiative in the U.K.

HP overhauls SANs, management software for SMEs

http://www.techworld.com/storage (Tech World) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:26:00 +0100

HP adds 10Gbit/sec. Ethernet option to its P2000 modular storage array

Hewlett-Packard has announced several product upgrades for its small and mid-sized customers, including a new version of its modular storage array with 10Gbit/sec. Ethernet ports.

Continue reading HP overhauls SANs, management software for SMEs

Brewery moves to private cloud with virtual storage solution

http://www.techworld.com/storage (Tech World) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:01:00 +0100

Heineken speeds up supply-chain process with Compellent Fluid Data

Brewing company Heineken Netherlands has turned to a private cloud environment in its data centre to help manage data growth, save on costs and space and to automate data management.

Continue reading Brewery moves to private cloud with virtual storage solution

EMC hints at mid-range storage system

http://www.theregister.co.uk/ (The Register) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:07:22 +0100

NX3e - e for exciting

EMC has signalled that a new mid-range storage system is coming - a low-end one in the $10,000-$75,000 area. We reckon it's the Celerra NX3e, and we're spilling the beans here.…

Reg Guide to Enterprise Virtualization - Free Download!

Continue reading EMC hints at mid-range storage system

Def Jam, Warner/Chappell, SRC, Atlantic, Jive (4th Quarter)

http://www.platinumbluemusic.com/in-the-media/ (pbmi) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:38:58 +0100

Def Jam, Warner/Chappell, SRC, Atlantic, Jive (4th Quarter)
Mynority
Please include a email inside the submission form. Please do not submit instrumentals, These record labels are looking for full songs.
PS. think TOP 40

Continue reading Def Jam, Warner/Chappell, SRC, Atlantic, Jive (4th Quarter)

IDC Reports Mixed Messages from Storage Software Market

http://www.eweek.com (Eweek) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:08:45 +0100

Year-over-year numbers show 3.3 percent growth, while quarter-to-quarter results indicate a 2.3 percent revenue decrease. - Industry analyst IDC reported Sept. 7 that the worldwide storage software sector enjoyed a small revenue gain year-over-year in the second quarter of 2010 but also that market numbers dropped a bit from Q1. In its quarterly Worldwide Quarterly Storage Software Tracker report, IDC said the storage...

Continue reading IDC Reports Mixed Messages from Storage Software Market

SoliCall Releases Personal PBXMate for SMB’s and Private Users

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:07:00 +0100

SoliCall, a provider of real time noise reduction and echo cancellation solutions for voice calls, has announced the release of a personal version of its enterprise level PBXMate product.

Continue reading SoliCall Releases Personal PBXMate for SMB’s and Private Users

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 08/09/2010

Continue reading SoliCall Releases Personal PBXMate for SMB’s and Private Users

Pliant Technology introduces multi-level cell (MLC) solid-state drives

Sonia R. Lelii ( ) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:57:56 +0100

Pliant Technology offers its first multi-level cell (MLC) flash solid-state drives; sees MLC and pricier single-level cell (SLC) devices forming enterprise performance and capacity tiers.

Solid-state drive - Multi-level cell - Single-level cell - Pliant Technology - Hardware

Continue reading Pliant Technology introduces multi-level cell (MLC) solid-state drives

Nokia N8 Offcially for Sale at the end of September

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:42:00 +0100

Nokia finally announced that Nokia N8, the company's long-awaited, flagship handset, will be on-sale in the last week of September for £429 SIM free or on contract from £35 per month.

Continue reading Nokia N8 Offcially for Sale at the end of September

Originally appeared on Smartphone Biz-news.com on 08/09/2010

Continue reading Nokia N8 Offcially for Sale at the end of September

EMC girds itself for low-end mid-range assault

http://www.theregister.co.uk/ (The Register) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:32:18 +0100

Due early 2011

EMC will introduce a new mid-range storage product in early 2011. EMC's chief financial officer, David Goulden, said the new product will refresh the low end of EMC's mid-range storage array product portfolio, currently supplied with CLARiiON and Celerra products.…

Continue reading EMC girds itself for low-end mid-range assault

Symantec reveals de-duplication appliance, cloud storage service

http://www.techworld.com/storage (Tech World) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:00:00 +0100

NetBackup 5000 can burn through 4.3TB of data an hour

Symantec has announced a new de-duplication appliance based on its existing software product. It also announced a cloud storage service for NetBackup and Backup Exec customers. The company also announced a new version of its archive software, Enterprise Vault 9.0, which combines email from Microsoft Exchange Online with on-premise archived content sources into a central repository for more comprehensive e-discovery capabilities.

Continue reading Symantec reveals de-duplication appliance, cloud storage service

Pliant does MLC flash

http://www.theregister.co.uk/ (The Register) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:18:29 +0100

Cheaper flash storage array drives

The march of MLC flash into mainstream enterprise storage took another step forward today as Pliant launched its Enterprise Flash Disk (EFD) products.…

Continue reading Pliant does MLC flash

VMware customers virtualize Windows apps with Hyper-V

Bridget Botelho ( ) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:51:47 +0100

IT shops are running business applications on ESX, but then frequently turn to Hyper-V when they virtualize their Windows apps.

VMware - VMware ESX - Hyper-V - Microsoft - Windows

Continue reading VMware customers virtualize Windows apps with Hyper-V

Are Flame Retardants Putting Our Health at Risk?

natrummur@tips4mums.com (Natrum Mur) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:45:00 +0100

Chemical flame retardants have made their way into a very long list of mundane everyday household objects. This was no doubt originally intended to help save lives, which it has done. Unfortunately a string of studies published over the past few decades have shown that flame retardants may also be putting our health at risk in other ways.

There has been growing concern about the long term side-effects of Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, in particular. PBDEs are a family of closely related chemicals that have been a popular form of flame retardant since the late 1970s. They are commonly found in a number of everyday consumer products ranging from computers and home theater components, to clothing, and even the stuffing in your mattress.

Whenever your PC or home stereo heats up due to normal use, its plastic casing releases a small amount of PBDE into the air. Like many toxins, exposure to PDBEs doesn’t normally trigger an acute response from the body, but it can have a serious cumulative effect. As concentrations build up in the body, there is an increased risk of permanent nervous and reproductive system damage.

Read the article on Global Healing Center

Continue reading Are Flame Retardants Putting Our Health at Risk?

IT shops resist Oracle VM push

Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer ( ) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:47:33 +0100

Oracle's leadership wants to steer customers toward its Xen-based hypervisor, but users are forging their own path with VMware's vSphere.

VMware - VMware vSphere - Oracle VM - Oracle - Emulators

Continue reading IT shops resist Oracle VM push

Symantec delivers NetBackup with data deduplication on appliance

Sonia Lelli ( ) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:02:16 +0100

Symantec ships its first NetBackup bundled appliance targeted for enterprise backup; also adds cloud connectors to NetBackup and Backup Exec software and adds eDiscovery upgrades to Enterprise Vault.

NetBackup - BackupExec - Data deduplication - Backup - Hardware

Continue reading Symantec delivers NetBackup with data deduplication on appliance

The anatomy of a SAN: Fibre Channel SAN explained

Marc Staimer ( ) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:34:44 +0100

In part one of our series, we examine the features of a Fibre Channel SAN to help you decide if it's the best SAN technology for your SMB.

Fibre Channel - Storage area network - Hardware - Buses - Fibre Channel SAN

Continue reading The anatomy of a SAN: Fibre Channel SAN explained

Simplify virtual machine backup with image-level backups, CDP and near-CDP

W. Curtis Preston ( ) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:31:20 +0100

Learn how to simplify virtual machine backup with image-level backup, continuous data protection (CDP) and near-CDP in this column by W. Curtis Preston.

Backup - Virtual machine - Continuous data protection - Site Management - Freeware

Continue reading Simplify virtual machine backup with image-level backups, CDP and near-CDP

Best backup and recovery software: CommVault wins enterprise honor, Acronis top midrange app

Rich Castagna ( ) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:28:29 +0100

Learn who won the best backup and recovery software award from Storage magazine's Quality Awards program in 2010.

Acronis - Backup - Storage - Hard disk drive - Disk Management

Continue reading Best backup and recovery software: CommVault wins enterprise honor, Acronis top midrange app

Druva delivers deduping laptop backup

http://www.theregister.co.uk/ (The Register) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:18:34 +0100

Outlook and Office-aware

Three-year-old start-up Druva is opening an office in the UK and delivering global deduplicating backup software for laptops. It's Outlook and Office-aware to reduce network transmission loads and provide user self-service restores, which Druva says Avamar cannot.…

Continue reading Druva delivers deduping laptop backup

The Nature Conservancy and IBM Launch Program for Sustaining Watersheds

http://www.ibm.com/press (IBM Storage) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:01:52 +0100


E-mail this page	Save to del.icio.us	Digg this

Continue reading The Nature Conservancy and IBM Launch Program for Sustaining Watersheds

IBM'S World Community Grid Unveils Research Projects on Three Continents to Improve Water Quality

http://www.ibm.com/press (IBM Storage) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:01:23 +0100

IBM's World Community Grid, a worldwide network of PC owners helping scientists solve humanitarian challenges, today announced several computing projects aimed at developing techniques to produce cleaner and safer water, an increasingly scarce commodity eluding at least 1.2 billion people worldwide.


E-mail this page	Save to del.icio.us	Digg this

Continue reading IBM'S World Community Grid Unveils Research Projects on Three Continents to Improve Water Quality

Symantec stumbles, drops further behind EMC

http://www.theregister.co.uk/ (The Register) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:11:56 +0100

Shaky second quarter

The gap between EMC and Symantec storage software revenues is widening, according to IDC's worldwide quarterly Storage Software Tracker.…

Continue reading Symantec stumbles, drops further behind EMC

Gulf Oil Dispersants Now Being Found in Seafood

natrummur@tips4mums.com (Natrum Mur) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A lab hired by the United Commercial Fishermen's Association analyzed coastal fishing waters. The results indicate that the U.S. government's claim that Gulf of Mexico seafood is safe to eat may be premature.

The lab found dispersant in a sample taken near Biloxi, Missouri, almost a month after BP said it had stopped using the toxic chemical to break up crude oil from the Gulf spill.

Read the article on Mercola.com

Continue reading Gulf Oil Dispersants Now Being Found in Seafood

New Research: Soy Formula Affects Reproductive Development in Mice

natrummur@tips4mums.com (Natrum Mur) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:17:00 +0100

by Dr. Edward Group

You might already know that I’m not a big fan of certain non-fermented soy products. The results of a newly published study on the effects of soy formula on the reproductive systems of mice only underscores how bad they can be for the body.

In this particular study, newborn mice were fed soy formula mixed with a plant derived isoflavone called genistein. Isoflavones occur naturally in a number of legumes, including soy beans. And while many types of isoflavones are rich in antioxidants and other healthful compounds, genistein specifically, has been connected to a wide range of serious health concerns such as cancer and, as this article points out, reproductive abnormalities.

Read the article on Global Healing Center

Continue reading New Research: Soy Formula Affects Reproductive Development in Mice

New Apple TV: What We Know So Far

(tomek) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:47:50 +0100

“We’ve sold a lot of them but it’s never been huge hit,” Jobs said last week. How could we not agree: Apple TV wasn’t a game changer for the living room. But hey, there are hundreds thousands of users completely satisfied with the existing ATV (according to the analysts, Apple might have sold 3 million Apple TV devices worldwide) and most of them never even thought of hacking this mysterious box! That’s why here at Apple TV Hacks, we think Steve has figured it out very well: what the average customer wants from his/her HDTV in the living room is to play latest movies, popular TV shows, family vacation photo slideshow and maybe some music from time to time. We, geeks, need more, that’s obvious, and that’s why we are so disappointed with the new device. The only thing we can do now is to try to squeeze as much as we can out of this hockey puck when we put our hands on it sometime at the end of September.

But before that happens, let’s focus on what we know about the second generation Apple TV so far.

The box

3.9 inches (98 mm)x3.9 inches x0.9 inches (23 mm); 0.6 pounds (1/4th the size of existing ATV)
built-in power supply
no power button

Connectivity

HDMI (cable sold separately)
Optical audio
10/100BASE-T Ethernet
Micro-USB (for service and support); loses host USB
Built-in IR receiver

Wireless

802.11n Wi-Fi (a/b/g compatible)
2.4GHz and 5GHz

Processor
Apple A4 chip (replacing Intel Pentium M that powered the old ATV)

Storage
No internal storage – instant online streaming (iTunes, Netflix, Flickr, Mobile Me, etc.) and local streaming (from your mac or pc via iTunes).
But Steve only said there will be no “storage management”, no details were given on what exactly is inside the box, no details on RAM.

Video formats
H.264 (up to 720p, 30 fps)
MPEG-4 (up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 fps)
Motion JPEG (up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 fps)

No 1080p, only720p!
According to Engadget, Apple felt that using 720p allowed them to strike a balance between quality and bandwidth.
In comparison to old, hacked ATV, the new device looses 1080p

Audio formats:
HE-AAC (V1), AAC, protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV;
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through

Photo formats
JPEG, GIF, TIFF

Controller

Aluminum Apple Remote (included)
iPhone or iPod touch running Remote app (free). Not so comfortable as Apple Remote device, but facilitates writing: use your device’s QWERTY keyboard to quickly tap out the title instead of clicking letters on the Apple TV screen.

OS
No details on the OS are given by Apple. According to Boing Boing, an Apple spokesperson said that the new Nano and Apple TV don’t use iOS, but other sources reports he has only confirmed that the new Nano doesn’t use this OS.

Since the second generation Apple TV is powered by A4 chip, like other iOS devices, it probably runs some form of iOS, just not identical as iPhone or iPad.

Content

Movies

-          iTunes rentals available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom:
-          HD: new releases – $4.99, library titles – $3.99
-          SD: new releases – $3.99, library titles – $2.99
-          instant access; you have 30 days to start watching, and once you begin, you can watch as many times as you want in 24 hours
-          availability: often the same day they come out on DVD
-          searching by top movies, title, or genre; trailers, reviews, Rotten Tomatoes rating

Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only.

TV Shows

-          iTunes rentals only available in the US
-          titles from: ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America
-          commercial free
-          99¢ per episode (HD and SD)
-          once you rent an episode, you have 30 days to press Play. Then it’s yours for the next 48 hours
-          Apple TV keeps track of your favorite shows so the next time you turn on your TV, you can see which season you’re watching and which episodes are new

Netflix

-          only available in the US
-          Netflix subscription required
-          watch your content right away or add it to your instant-watch queue

Mobile Me (access to Mobile Me galleries)
Fickr
YouTube
Slidshows (various slideshow themes, music from your iTunes library)
Internet radio
Local streaming

- music, videos and photos streamed from PCs and Mac
- iTunes 10 required

Coming soon: streaming from iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to the Apple TV with AirPlay, a new feature that will come with iOS 4.2 in November. There will be no need to rent or buy a movie or TV show again if you already have it on one of your iOS devices.

Price and availability
Apple will start shipping the new Apple TV at the of September/beginning of October for $99.

Sadly, there will be no updates for current ATV.

Possible hacks
Hacking the new Apple TV will be much more difficult since it has no USB host (no patchstick, no external hard drive) and hard drive (no room for additional files). “The hacking will probably have to be done via hooking the AppleTV up like a hard drive, and I doubt it will be as easy as the original one,” thinks NitoTV. And if the device is truly based on some form of the iOS, we will rather have to talk about “jailbreaking”, not “hacking”.

But we are sure that together with the great and creative ATV Hacks community we will soon make the new device more “usable”. “We’re committed to developing for the AppleTV platform, and will continue to do so once these new models are available,” said Firecore, the developer behind aTV Flash. Fingers crossed!

Interesting comment from our Facebook page:
“The real question is whether app developers will be able to utilize “air play” for their apps.. If so then apps like HuLu+ pandora ect will be able to work on the new aTV that way and apps like stream-to-me and airVideo will be able to deliver any video codec from your Mac or network storage drive (if you have an iOS device).”

Hands-on
Engadget
WIRED
Ars Technica
Boing Boing

Continue reading New Apple TV: What We Know So Far

Placebo Effect in Homeopathy

natrummur@tips4mums.com (Natrum Mur) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:27:00 +0100

A new study was done to see if the placebo effect is greater in homeopathy than conventional medicines. Researchers went through literature to match homeopathy trials to conventional trials. These trials matched classical homeopathy trials. In classical homeopathy trials, each remedy is individualized for each person and condition.

Some matches had to be excluded for the data because insufficient amount of data. Other matches were excluded because there was not a sufficient match on the conventional side to compare against. Similar criteria was evaluated for each trial. 25 trials were evaluated. 13 trials showed the placebo effect in homeopathy to be more than conventional medicines. 12 trials showed the placebo effect in conventional medicines to be greater than homeopathy. The researchers found that the placebo effect in homeopathy is no greater than in conventional medicines.

Read the article on Hmedicine.com

Continue reading Placebo Effect in Homeopathy

Hitachi GST: Sale or IPO?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/ (The Register) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:18:50 +0100

'Ere... wanna buy a high-ranking disk drive operation?

Opinion Hitachi is reported to be considering an IPO or sale of Hitachi GST, its disk drive operation, ranked third in the industry behind Seagate and Western Digital. How much is it worth? Who would want to buy it?…

Free On-Demand Webcast - Virtualizing the Hard Stuff

Continue reading Hitachi GST: Sale or IPO?

Submission for song placement for Universal Music Group Asia

http://www.platinumbluemusic.com/in-the-media/ (pbmi) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:29:31 +0100

Universal Music Group Asia is looking for songs genre including Ballad, Rock, Pop Rock, Upbeat pop, etc. Songs sounding like American Top 40s are more than welcome. Broadcasting quality demos or rough demos for different placement, advance and deals. Writers own the writer's shares and credits in all deals.

KCS Entertainment is a worldwide music publishing and a one stop music production team. We assist more than 50 writers for song placement around the globe including the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

Continue reading Submission for song placement for Universal Music Group Asia

Children Who Eat Vended Snack Foods More Likely to Develop Poor Diet

natrummur@tips4mums.com (Natrum Mur) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:19:00 +0100

According to research, school children who consume foods purchased in vending machines are more likely to develop poor diet quality – and that may be associated with being overweight, obese or at risk for chronic health problems such as diabetes and coronary artery disease.

The study also looked at foods sold in school stores, snack bars and other related sales that compete with USDA lunch program offerings and found that these pose the same health and diet risks in school-aged children.

"The foods that children are exposed to early on in life influence the pattern for their eating habits as adults," says lead study author Madhuri Kakarala.

Read the article on Elements4Health

Continue reading Children Who Eat Vended Snack Foods More Likely to Develop Poor Diet

Young R&B Entertainer, Young Steff (Atlantic Records) Seeks Smash Hit Beats and Songs

http://www.platinumbluemusic.com/in-the-media/ (pbmi) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:53:23 +0100

Young R&B Entertainer, Young Steff (Atlantic Records) Seeks Smash Hit Beats and Songs

Young R&B entertainer seeks hot beats and smash singles for his forthcoming album. He is seeking urban pop songs (think Usher-OMG). He was signed by Jay-Z at 12 years old, and then to Atlantic Records. He is ready to take the reigns as the next, major performer.

Continue reading Young R&B Entertainer, Young Steff (Atlantic Records) Seeks Smash Hit Beats and Songs

Logitech Revue and Google TV get very early blurrycam impressions

(Ross Miller) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:25:00 +0100

Well, what do we have here? Looks like a Logitech beta user was kind enough to (potentially break his NDA and) show off his early grab: the Google TV-infused Revue. What follows is a series of blurred photos that'd make the FCC weep, but all the same, who are we to critique news? The little unassuming box has HDMI in and out ports, a couple of USB inputs, ethernet, and SPDIF. According to the handler, installation was a "12-step process includes asking the details of your Google account, your physical location, TV, cable box, amp, and more." It works with any Harmony remote, an Android device (in this case, a Droid Incredible), or the packaged keyboard. That latter input we last heard was still in development, but it seems to be working fine right here: full QWERTY, a trackpad, all the necessary keys for GTV navigation. One more pic of the keyboard after the break, as well a video walkthrough.

[Thanks, Craig]

Continue reading Logitech Revue and Google TV get very early blurrycam impressions

Logitech Revue and Google TV get very early blurrycam impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Logitech Revue and Google TV get very early blurrycam impressions

Investors Enjoy Huge Takeaway in HP Buy of 3PAR

http://www.eweek.com (Eweek) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:09:01 +0100

ANALYSIS: CEO David Scott and venture capital firms Menlo Ventures, Worldview Technology Partners and Mayfield Fund will come away with many dollars when the deal is done. - In the aftermath of the out-of-control bidding war that recently concluded with Hewlett-Packard out-spending Dell at $2.35 billion for storage maker 3PAR, the winners undoubtedly are enjoying one of the sweetest Labor Day weekends of their lives. Those victors include CEO David Scott and venture ...

Continue reading Investors Enjoy Huge Takeaway in HP Buy of 3PAR

Skype Introduces 10-Way Video Calling

(Dal) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:44:09 +0100

Skype — apparently pleased with its five-way beta group video-calling functionality — has just released a new version of Skype 5.0 for Windows that doubles group support. It now allows for up to 10 video callers.

Skype 5.0 beta two is already available for download; it includes 10-way video calls, automatic call recovery and a cleaner user interface. The update is also said to improve call quality and includes a number of bug fixes to make the overall experience much smoother.

Of course, the standout feature is 10-way video calling, something that certainly one-ups their own previous offering and makes it suitable for even larger virtual team meetings and mini family reunions. Of course, it also makes Gmail’s (Gmail) video-calling functionality look like the ugly step sister — a proactive move on the part of Skype (Skype) to combat recent buzz surrounding Gmail Voice Calling.

Still, Skype does caution that 5.0 is beta, and hence, very buggy. It’s also limited to Windows (Windows) users, and 10-way video calls require all group chatters to be using the same second beta version of the app. Have you tested out five-way video calls? Are you ready to upgrade to the 10-person variety?

Source

Continue reading Skype Introduces 10-Way Video Calling

Inception European Limited Edition Blu-ray (w/ briefcase) listed for December 6

(Richard Lawler) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:13:00 +0100

After The Dark Knight, there's no doubt many Blu-ray fans can't wait to see Christopher Nolan's next blockbuster on their HDTVs, and now the Inception special edition has been listed for pre-order in the UK. Specs confirm Warner will include its Maximum Movie Mode where the director walks you through key moments of the film and two digital comics that serve as prologues to the film's events. The packaging itself is also special, with a case resembling the PASIV (Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous) device that controls dreams in the movie, a spinning top to remind you when things are over and of course, DVD and digital copy version. Play.com lists a December 6 release date, here's hoping the US gets a similarly full-featured treatment for one of this year's biggest movies.

Inception European Limited Edition Blu-ray (w/ briefcase) listed for December 6 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Inception European Limited Edition Blu-ray (w/ briefcase) listed for December 6

Panasonic locks up Avatar Blu-ray 3D release for 2010

(Richard Lawler) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:07:00 +0100

Confirming earlier rumors and despite Fox's denials Panasonic representatives told TWICE and CNET we can expect a n exclusive offering of Avatar on the Blu-ray 3D format in "early December." Naturally, the 3D blockbuster is expected to push more than a few to make the jump, but this is nothing but bad news to those with televisions from other manufacturers like Samsung and Sony. There aren't many other details available yet, like if equipment outside of 3DTVs qualifies, or how much it might cost, so for now we'll just let the disappointment of yet another 3D exclusive wash over us.

Panasonic locks up Avatar Blu-ray 3D release for 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Panasonic locks up Avatar Blu-ray 3D release for 2010

IDC Reports More Double-Digit Growth in Disk Storage Market

http://www.eweek.com (Eweek) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:12:57 +0100

The total disk storage systems market grew to $6.8 billion in revenues, representing 20.7 percent growth from 2009's second quarter. - Worldwide sales of disk-based storage arrays, which leveled off only briefly during the last two years of a difficult macroeconomy, climbed a healthy 21 percent in the second quarter of 2010 over the same period a year ago, industry researcher IDC reported Sept. 3. For the quarter, the total d...

Continue reading IDC Reports More Double-Digit Growth in Disk Storage Market

Philips Dimenco glasses-less 3D TV of the future, hopefully our future

(Thomas Ricker) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:15:00 +0100

The problem with the future is that it's always 3 to 5 years away. Nevertheless, what you're looking at is what Philips and Dimenco, a small company of ex-Philips engineers, say will be coming to the consumer television market as early as 2013 -- earlier if you're in the professional advertising business or just want to view your family photos on a small 3D photo frame. Just remember that Philips has been showing off variations of the glasses-free technology behind this prototype lenticular lens television for years, so we're not getting our hopes up. Nevertheless, Dimenco assured us that the path to the consumer market for its 3D display is clear.

So how did it look? Well, it was ok, we guess. It doesn't have that in-your-face pop of the current generation of 3D televisions that require 3D glasses. The effect is more subtle (or maybe the content was). Our biggest problem was with the sharpness of the display. Although the 56-inch prototype CCFL LCD was 4k (that's 4 times the resolution of your Full HD TV) the image we saw was coarse in appearance due to the lenticular lens required to refract the left and right images for each eye. Having said that, the lenticular lens technology used is certainly better suited for non-stationary viewing. While the border around objects on the screen tended to shift quickly and blur (see the video after the break) when looking at the panel frombetween any of its 15 viewing angles (spread across a 120-degree arc), at least it didn't exhibit those horrible dark vertical bands seen when changing your angle even slightly while viewing 3D panels based on the parallax barrier method of glasses-less 3D. Still, it was hard to find the viewing sweet spot and honestly, given the option to sit in front of this display and a 4k panel "limited" to 2D, we'd have to opt for the latter. Get back to us in 3 to 5 and see if we feel the same.

Continue reading Philips Dimenco glasses-less 3D TV of the future, hopefully our future

Philips Dimenco glasses-less 3D TV of the future, hopefully our future originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Philips Dimenco glasses-less 3D TV of the future, hopefully our future

Hewlett-Packard beats Dell, pays $2.35 billion for 3PAR

Dave Raffo ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:03:52 +0100

Hewlett-Packard outbids Dell and will pay $2.35 billion for storage array vendor 3PAR; HP needs to determine where 3PAR's products fit in its storage strategy while Dell considers its next move.

Dell - Hewlett-Packard - Personal computer - HP - Hardware

Continue reading Hewlett-Packard beats Dell, pays $2.35 billion for 3PAR

Plex announces paternship with LG, pledges to beat Boxee Box and Apple TV for free

(Tim Stevens) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:26:00 +0100

We're excited about the Boxee Box, and the new-look Apple TV is intriguing, but no single box is as good as a box that doesn't exist yet does the same stuff. Confused? Sit down, let us explain. That's the point Plex is making in announcing its new partnership with LG, which will integrate Plex software into its 2011 Netcast HDTVs and Blu-ray players. Plex enables the same sort of functionality as those smart little boxes mentioned above, letting you serve content from a machine running OS X and push it to your TV or to a mobile device (iPhone and iPad right now, Android coming). Plex also supports all the major online streamers, like Netflix, Hulu, and even the BBC iPlayer. Lack of PC support is something of a bummer, but a Windows version is said to be coming, so even your beige box can soon get in on the box-free fun.

Continue reading Plex announces paternship with LG, pledges to beat Boxee Box and Apple TV for free

Plex announces paternship with LG, pledges to beat Boxee Box and Apple TV for free originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Plex announces paternship with LG, pledges to beat Boxee Box and Apple TV for free

Disk storage is bouncing back, IDC says

http://www.techworld.com/storage (Tech World) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:16:00 +0100

HP leads enterprise disk market, but won't get a boost from 3Par

The market for enterprise disk storage systems grew strongly in the second quarter, continuing to recover from a slump brought on by the economic slowdown of 2008 and 2009, research company IDC said on Friday.

Continue reading Disk storage is bouncing back, IDC says

HP and EMC vie for disk storage lead

http://www.theregister.co.uk/ (The Register) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:32:29 +0100

IBM looking peaky

IDC's latest quarterly disk storage tracker shows EMC and HP competing for the market lead, with EMC growing faster than HP. NetApp is growing faster still but has a lot of ground to make up.…

Continue reading HP and EMC vie for disk storage lead

HP, 3Par sign definitive merger agreement

http://www.techworld.com/storage (Tech World) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:15:00 +0100

3Par's shareholders have until 24 September to tender their shares in favour of the deal

Hewlett-Packard and 3Par have signed a definitive agreement for HP to buy the California storage vendor for US$2.35 billion, the companies said Thursday.

Continue reading HP, 3Par sign definitive merger agreement

Evidence-based vaccinations: A scientific look at the missing science behind flu season vaccines

natrummur@tips4mums.com (Natrum Mur) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:39:00 +0100

(NaturalNews)Conventional medicine, they say, is really "Evidence-Based Medicine" (EBM). That is, everything promoted by conventional medicine is supposed to be based on "rigorous scientific scrutiny." It's all supposed to be statistically validated and proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it works as advertised. And in the case of flu vaccines, they are advertised as providing some sort of absolute protection against influenza. "Don't miss work this flu season. Get a flu shot!" The idea, of course, is that getting a flu shot offers 100% protection from the flu. If you get a shot, they say, you won't miss work from sickness.

This implication is wildly inaccurate. In fact, it's just flat-out false. As you'll see below, it's false advertising wrapped around junk science.

You see, there was never an independent, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study proving either the safety or effectiveness of the H1N1 swine flu vaccines that were heavily pushed last year (and are in fact in this year's flu shot cocktail). No such study has ever been done. As a result, there is no rigorous scientific basis from which to sell such vaccines in the first place.

Read the article on NaturalNews.com

Continue reading Evidence-based vaccinations: A scientific look at the missing science behind flu season vaccines

SageTV puts $150 HD Theater 300 up for pre-order, breaks down the specifications

(Darren Murph) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:42:00 +0100

Whoa, welcome to the new decade SageTV! Nearly two full years after introducing the HD Theater HD200, the aforesaid company is hitting back with the HD Theater 300 -- and frankly, the timing couldn't possibly be worse. Last month, a $149.95 price tag on a no-name streamer may have looked attractive, but with the revised Apple TV and price-adjusted Roku line, we get the feeling this one will be a hard sell. At any rate, this new networked set-top box boasts a non-stackable design, a Toslink optical audio jack, HDMI 1.3 socket, a pair of USB jacks and an Ethernet connector. It also supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD/MA (which means you're cleared to bitstream to your HDMI 1.3 receiver), but you'll need to pony up an extra $29.95 for a WiFi dongle. Yeah, bummer. The outfit suggests that you turn this critter into a whole home DVR solution by running SageTV Media Center software alongside of it, but you should probably know that you'll have some trouble if trying to shove DRM'd content through it. It's available for pre-order down in the source link if you're interested.

[Thanks, Tom]

Continue reading SageTV puts $150 HD Theater 300 up for pre-order, breaks down the specifications

SageTV puts $150 HD Theater 300 up for pre-order, breaks down the specifications originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading SageTV puts $150 HD Theater 300 up for pre-order, breaks down the specifications

Is Your Favorite Ice Cream Made With Monsanto's Artificial Hormones?

natrummur@tips4mums.com (Natrum Mur) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Ben & Jerry's gets all their milk from dairies that have pledged not to inject their cows with the Monsanto-developed genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Why, then, can't Haagen Dazs, Breyers and Baskin-Robbins do the same?

The three ice cream continue to use milk from cows injected with rBGH, a hormone that's been banned in Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and all 27 nations of the European Union. Meanwhile, Haagen Dazs and Breyers have the audacity to call their ice cream "All Natural."

Read the article on Mercola.com

Continue reading Is Your Favorite Ice Cream Made With Monsanto's Artificial Hormones?

Samsung's 50-inch 720p PN50C490 3D plasma on sale now for under a grand

(Darren Murph) ( ) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:56:00 +0100

Looking to spoil yourself with a fancy new 3DTV? Ain't got the cash to go all-out? Hello, compromise. Samsung's 50-inch PN50C490 -- which we peeked just a few weeks ago -- is now shipping from Amazon, Best Buy and a slew of other local consumer electronic marts if we had to guess. As a refresher, this mid-sized HDTV has a 720p resolution, 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, no internet connectivity to speak of, a USB socket, three HDMI inputs, a pair of component jacks and support for the third dimension. It's up for grabs today at just $989, but you'll probably want to budget a few extra hundies for that Samsung 3D Starter Kit (not to mention a few 3D Blu-ray Discs).

[Thanks, James]

Samsung's 50-inch 720p PN50C490 3D plasma on sale now for under a grand originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Samsung's 50-inch 720p PN50C490 3D plasma on sale now for under a grand