PlayStation 3 ‘hacked’ by hardware crackers
August 21, 2010
A group of hardware hackers claim they are about to release the first product to allow gamers to play homemade and pirated games on the PlayStation 3.
The PS3 is the only games console that has not been hacked, despite being on the market for more than three years.
Web attack knows where you live
August 3, 2010
One visit to a booby-trapped website could direct attackers to a person’s home, a security expert has shown.
The attack, thought up by hacker Samy Kamkar, exploits shortcomings in many routers to find out a key identification number.
Amazon offers new look Kindle for the UK market
July 29, 2010
Amazon is releasing a slimmed-down Kindle e-reader with a beefed-up selection of books for the UK market.
It comes as the book giant predicts that digital reading will go mass market with the majority of books being sold in digital format “in coming years”.
India unveils prototype for $35 touch-screen computer
July 26, 2010
Aimed at students, the tablet supports web browsing, video conferencing and word processing, say developers.
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said a manufacturer was being sought for the gadget, which was developed by India’s top IT colleges.
An earlier cheap laptop plan by the same ministry came to nothing.
The device unveiled on Thursday has no hard disk, using a memory card instead, like a mobile phone, and can run on solar power, according to reports.
‘Manufacturer interest’
It would cost a fraction of the price of California-based technology giant Apple’s hugely popular iPad, which retails from $499.
Mr Sibal said the Indian tablet, said to run the Linux operating system, was expected to be introduced to higher education institutions next year.
The plan was to drop the price eventually to $20 and ultimately to $10, he added.
Unveiling the gadget, the human resource development minister told the Economic Times newspaper it was India’s answer to the “$100 laptops” developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
“The solutions for tomorrow will emerge from India,” Mr Sibal said, reports news agency AFP.
Last year, one of the ministry’s officials announced it was about to unveil a $10 laptop, triggering worldwide media interest.
But there was disappointment after the “Sakshat” turned out to be a prototype of a handheld device, with an unspecified price tag, that never materialised.
To develop its latest gadget, the ministry said it had turned to the elite Indian Institute of Technology, and the Indian Institute of Science, after a lacklustre response from the private sector.
Mamta Varma, a ministry spokeswoman, said the device was feasible because of falling hardware costs.
Several global manufacturers, including at least one from Taiwan, had expressed interest in making the device, she said, although no deals had been agreed, and she declined to name any of the companies.
The project is part of a government initiative which also aims to extend broadband to all of India’s 25,000 colleges and 500 universities.
In 2005, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) unveiled the prototype of a $100 laptop for children in the developing world, although it ended up costing about double that price.
In May, Nicholas Negroponte - of the MIT’s Media Lab - announced plans to develop a basic tablet computer for $99 through his non-profit association, One Laptop per Child.
Neurons ’show way for computers’
July 24, 2010
The way neurons communicate could inspire the next generation of computers.
Researchers are developing novel computers by mimicking the way that neurons are built and how they talk to each other.
Solar-powered plane lands safely after 26-hour flight
July 8, 2010
An experimental solar-powered aircraft launched on Wednesday has landed safely in Switzerland after successfully flying through the night.
The feat is a step toward the makers’ aim of circling the globe using the power of the Sun to fuel the plane.
The aircraft used super-efficient solar cells and batteries to stay in the air after the Sun’s rays had faded.
The plane touched down at an airfield about 30 miles (50 km) from the Swiss capital Bern at 0900 (0700 GMT).
The plane landed at Payerne airport after a total flight time of 26 hours.
During the flight it reached a height of 8,700 m (28,543 ft).
It is the longest and highest flight recorded by a solar-powered plane.
The four-engine aircraft was steered by Andre Borschberg, a former fighter jet pilot from Switzerland.
The plane has 12,000 solar cells arranged on its wingspan which collected enough energy to power the plane for the flight.
‘Perpetual flight’
The designers, the Solar Impulse team led by Mr Borschberg and fellow aviator Bertrand Piccard, say that this proves that a plane can be kept in the air around the clock.
“It’s the first time ever that a solar airplane has flown through the night,” Mr Piccard told journalists.
“That was the moment that proved the mission was successful, we made it.”
The plane emerged from the darkness of night with three hours power remaining in its batteries, more than had been expected.
“Nothing can prevent us from another day and night, and the myth of perpetual flight.”
The team will now build a new, more advanced, model of the plane.
They aim to circumnavigate the globe by 2013.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
iPhone 4 signal fault leaves Apple ’stunned’
July 5, 2010
Apple says a fault on its new iPhone 4 is causing it to incorrectly display the phone’s signal.
Users who gripped the phone - which went on sale on 24 June - on the lower left-hand side noticed the signal strength and reception fell away.
Scientists to present car for blind drivers next year
July 4, 2010
US Scientists and the National Federation of the Blind are developing a car for the blind and will present a prototype next year.
The vehicle will be fitted with technology that allows a blind person to drive independently, the NFB and Virginia Tech University said.
Google enters travel market with flight data purchase
July 3, 2010
Search engine giant Google has entered the travel market after acquiring flight information firm ITA Software.
ITA provides software that organises fares, flight and journey times that are used by airlines, travel agents and flight comparison sites such as Orbitz.
Apple issues advice to avoid iPhone flaw
June 27, 2010
Apple has released official advice for iPhone 4 owners to overcome the problem of the device losing signal when held by the lower left corner.
Steve Jobs responded to a query about the problem from one owner by saying: “Just avoid holding it in that way.”