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Google To Delay Launch of TV Sets
Google sent out word to some hardware makers last week asking them not to announce additional products yet, saying the delay may allow the company to improve its software, the paper said. However, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will go ahead with its launch of Google TV products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January, WSJ said. Google did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. TVs with Google's software let viewers surf the Web directly from TV sets. The initial Google TV devices are offered by Sony Corp and Logitech International SA. Internet addiction driving South Koreans into realms of fantasy Government caught between promoting gaming and restraining its use in world's most wired nation
His only companions are a bottle of vitamin drink, cigarettes and a monitor displaying a scene from Aion, one of South Korea's most popular online games. When the hunger pangs become irresistible, he will click a box in the corner of his PC screen and order instant noodles. By Monday morning, after two days of almost non-stop gaming, Ji will make his way to work, pale and sleep-deprived, but content that he has progressed in the virtual world that has been his second home for the past two years. Seated next to him among rows of screens at this PC bang, an internet cafe in the South Korean capital, are scores of fellow obsessives whose attachment to online gaming is fast becoming a problem in the world's most advanced internet society. According to the government, about 2 million South Koreans – nearly one in 10 online users – are addicted to the internet. Many spend every waking moment immersed in role-playing games, in which players form alliances to guide their characters through mythical worlds, collecting extra powers and other items as they go. "I've been playing this for about two years and won't stop until I get to the end," Ji, a 27-year-old mobile content developer, says as beads of sweat form on his brow. "In my line of work I spend a lot of time in front of a computer, so this is where I feel most comfortable." But he denies that his obsession could be turning into an addiction. "It's my way of relieving stress. I could drink or go to the cinema, but this is how I want to spend my spare time. I don't have a girlfriend, and I'm not likely to meet one here." The government has responded to juvenile web addiction by spending millions of dollars on counselling centres and awareness classes for children. From September, gamers aged under 18 will be unable to access 19 popular online titles, such as Maple Story and Dragon Nest, from midnight to 8am. Those who play outside the curfew will find their characters growing weaker the longer they play. Now, however, the government must reconcile its support for online activity with the emergence of an older generation of web addicts. While the number of teenage addicts has fallen from more than 1 million to 938,000 in the past two years, those in their 20s and 30s have risen to 975,000, with the unemployed and university students considered at greatest risk. South Korea's status as the world's most wired nation gives them the technical wherewithal to fuel their addiction. The country boasts the fastest and most developed broadband network on the planet, and more than 90% of homes have high-speed internet connections. There are almost 22,000 PC bangs – online havens where, for a small hourly fee, the real world gives way to a virtual one that some enter only to find they are unable to leave. They are the driving force behind a gaming industry worth an estimated £1.6bn and involving 30 million people. The popularity of StarCraft, a military-sci-fi game, has given rise to an elite class of professional gamers who have been elevated to the status of national e-sports icons. The best are said to make up to $300,000 a year in televised contests watched online by tens of thousands of adoring fans. The arrival later this month of a new version, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, is expected to generate the sort of hysteria usually reserved for a Hollywood blockbuster. Eo Gee-jun, president of the Korea Computer Life Institute, says South Korea is simply going through the growing pains of becoming the world's first fully fledged information society. And the authorities, he adds, are reluctant to stifle the county's thriving online culture. "The government is in charge of promoting gaming, so although it has established regulations, there are no penalties if they are broken. The ministry of culture, tourism and sports has established regulations that game companies don't have to follow." Attempts to wean adult gamers off their addiction have been frustrated by the arrival of a £790m illicit market in cyber-weapons, costumes and other items that can be traded online for real money. The gravity of the problem was underlined in May, when a man was sentenced to two years in prison after he and his wife allowed their three-month-old daughter to starve to death while they raised a virtual child, for up to half a day at a time, at a 24-hour internet cafe. The same month a court sentenced a 22-year-old to 20 years in prison for clubbing his mother to death after she complained about his online gaming habit, and earlier this year a 32-year-old man dropped dead after a gaming session that lasted five days. "In South Korea it is easier for citizens to play online games than to invest in their offline personal relations through face-to-face conversations," said Dr Kim Tae-hoon, a psychiatrist. "People are becoming numb to human interaction." In another Sinchon PC bang, Kim Dong-ju and his new girlfriend, Kim Saet-byul, are bonding against a backdrop of extreme virtual violence. When the 20-year-olds met a month ago Ms Kim had no interest in games; now, her fingers zip across the keys with the speed and accuracy of a seasoned pro. She screeches and, only half playfully, thumps her boyfriend on the arm. He has let the side down in Sudden Attack, a game of military conquest that draws them into PC bangs for at least five hours at a time, several times a week. Having blasted her way thorough a disused warehouse, Ms Kim pauses: "I never thought gaming would be this exciting. But to be honest, I am worried that I am a little too into it." But her reticence is short-lived. "We've been here for about four hours," she says. "We'll call it a day when we want to eat … but I have no idea when that will be." Wacom Simplifies Creation and Use of GIS Data within Esri's ArcGIS 10
Vancouver, WA - July 12, 2010 - Wacom's DTU-2231 interactive pen display enhances the productivity and accessibility features of Esri's recently released ArcGIS 10. Previously, ArcGIS users have been able to take advantage of the speed and efficiency of heads-up digitizing, red-lining and review when using Wacom's pen display products. Now, when combined with the new Feature Templates within ArcGIS 10, Wacom's pen input technology greatly simplifies data creation and editing, helping to broaden access and use of geospatial data for key decision making. As the first HD interactive pen display for the GIS industry, the DTU-2231's direct pen-on-screen capability perfectly complements ArcGIS 10 data creation, analysis and review capabilities. With the DTU-2231, users employ Wacom's patented battery-free pen to work, draw and navigate directly on the surface of the pen display's 21.5-inch HD LCD. By simulating the natural process of drawing and writing on paper, but with the added benefits of a completely digital workflow, users experience improved organizational efficiency due to faster and more comfortable control within the software application, streamlined data conversion processes and improved collaboration across the enterprise. The introduction of sketch-based editing using Feature Templates in ArcGIS 10 further simplifies the data editing process. Users of GIS may now select the appropriate symbol from customizable on-screen feature templates and immediately begin drawing with the Wacom pen, creating features while ArcGIS 10 manages the properties and attributes in the geodatabase. "The DTU-2231 truly brings the new capabilities of ArcGIS 10 Feature Templates to life," explains Mike Dana, business development manager at Wacom Technology. "Editing becomes intuitive as users are literally drawing with a pen. This simplifies editing for both trained and non-trained users of GIS, creating a modern approach to digital workflows." The concept of sketch in data creation and editing is central to Geodesign. Wacom's pen displays allow a broad audience to rapidly create designs which can then be analyzed for suitability based on a variety of criteria. This democratization of geographic information helps ensure that this critical data can be incorporated into the design process. "Sketching is the language of GeoDesign," says Jack Dangermond, Esri president. "Interactive displays like those from Wacom bring sketching capabilities to more GIS professionals and act as an enabling technology for GeoDesign." Wacom is an Esri Authorized Business Partner. The DTU-2231 is being showcased throughout the Esri International User Conference, including Wacom's booth #2713, taking place July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. For more information regarding Wacom Technology or the DTU-2231, please visit www.wacomGIS.com. About Wacom Founded in 1983, Wacom®'s vision to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies has made it the world's leading manufacturer of digital human interface solutions. Wacom revolutionized the nature of digital input when it introduced its family of interactive pen displays, allowing users to work with a pressure-sensitive pen directly on screen. Today, thousands of GIS, design and other professionals count on Wacom displays to express their creativity with superior control and comfort. Visit www.wacom.com for more information. Does Apple wield too much power in the technology marketplace? Technology
Then in 2007 it redefined the mobile phone market with the iPhone, which is essentially a powerful, handheld networked computer that also happens to make voice calls. A year later, the real purpose of the iPhone became clear with the launch of the Apps store – which instantly redefined the market for software into an online exchange in which tiny programs sell in huge volumes for relatively little money – with Apple taking a 30% cut of every transaction and approving every single app before it appears on the store. As a result, Apple has morphed imperceptibly from a small company that made cool computers, but enjoyed minuscule market share, into a global giant. With a market cap of $214bn (£140bn), Apple is now bigger than Google (£118bn) and is rapidly gaining on Microsoft (£170bn). It's as if BMW had overtaken Mercedes and is now threatening Ford. Yesterday saw the next stage in Apple's march towards global domination as the iPad was delivered to the first US customers. The iPad is like the iPhone on steroids: a powerful, handheld device which gives mobile broadband access to the net and runs any software that Apple allows. And it has a delicious, high-definition screen which promises "immersive" reading and viewing experiences. With the launch of the iTunes store in 2003, Apple rescued the music business from the consequences of its own folly, not to mention its cluelessness about the net. But salvation came at a price: the record labels effectively surrendered control of the distribution channel. Now, seven years later, we have another industry in deep trouble – newspapers and magazines – and once again Apple appears to hold out the prospect of a rescue. The iPad is seen by many in the print business as a way of delivering high-value digital content to customers paying real money. But once again, salvation (if that what it turns out to be) will come at a price: Apple will control the distribution channel – and take a slice of every transaction. So what's the problem? The iPhone and iPad are really just gateways to the internet. Up to now, our gateways have been personal computers which have an open architecture: the user has complete control over what runs on them and can do with them what she or he likes. But the iPhone and iPad are radically different: they are tightly controlled by Apple. Nothing runs on them unless it has been expressly approved by Apple. And if you try to install unapproved stuff on them, you may find that your expensive device has been remotely "bricked". We already know that iPhone owners use it incessantly as an internet gateway and that they use their PCs less. The iPad is likely to turbocharge this trend. So we could be heading for a time when a significant proportion of internet users will access the network via a gateway controlled by a single powerful, secretive company. And a world in which most online paid-for journalism comes through a channel controlled by that same company. So if your image of Apple is of a small, cheeky outsider, think again. What was it that Lord Acton said about power...? Google Pulling Out of China? Don't Bet On It. Is Wal-Mart is next?
China has the world's largest Internet market, and just claimed the title of top export nation. But a cyber attack and censorship laws -- on top of limited success in China -- could lead Google to withdraw. Transcript of radio broadcast: 01/14/2010 Google on Tuesday 01/19/2010, took a very bold stand by saying it would no longer censor search results on its Chinese site, and may even consider closing operations in that country. The search giant made this decision after the company revealed it, as well as 20 other large companies, were the targets of cyberattacks that Google says can be traced back to China, much like the attacks of 2001. Google said the primary goal of the attacks directed at the search giant appeared to be an attempt to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Responding to the attacks, David Drummond Google's senior vice president for Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that, "We [Google] have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn... We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China." That's a courageous statement for Google to make, and leaves very little maneuvering room for the search giant to find a compromise with the Chinese government. But is it likely that Google would stop doing business in the largest emerging economy in the world? I don't think so. Is Wal-Mart is next? Email Breakdown on Blackbery The Second Time in Two Weeks
Spokesperson for the brand said, "Some Blackberry customers in the Americas are currently experiencing delays in message delivery, Our technical teams are actively working to resolve this issue for those impacted. We apologize for any inconvenience,". The problem appeared early Wednesday, and later in the day it was down altogether. The disruption comes about a week after it was hit with a massive outage that curtailed Blackberry service throughout much of North America. That outage hit Blackberry services offered by numerous carriers, including Sprint Nextel, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Canada's Rogers. The trouble appeared to be limited to consumer-oriented Internet service, and did not affect corporate users who send messages through a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. American Online is On Its Own Now Time Warner Breaks Away From The 2001 Merger
AOL Inc. will no longer have the luxury of big media giant Time Warner to rest its heels. A more focused company, that would likely not be ready to take on Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. or any top Internet company for the $29 billion online advertising. Tim Armstrong AOL CEO is trying new strategies to streamline and help sell digital ads.Speaking to reporters in New York, Mr Armstrong said, "We have the right talent now to make a run at it," Mr. Armstrong's task is huge, AOL's prospects are uncertain. AOL is trying to move from its roots as a subscription-based service for logging on to the Internet to an advertising-supported digital media company. AOL wants people to visit its AOL.com homepage and use its services, such as email, though, AOL faces double-digit declines in subscription and advertising revenues, most of its money last year came from businesses. The company is looking to cut $300 million in annual costs of business. AOL is asking 2,500 employees to take buyout packages through a voluntary layoff program that ends Friday. Still A Good Time To Sell That Gold Prices Fall Days in a Roll
Even with the decline over the past few days, gold prices are still up 29.3 percent for the year. The glory days may be over. Gold has benefited from the US dollar decline, and it may be time to look somewhere else. Commodities may rally from high demand around the world, but the rise of gold may have been fueled by other reason, which makes this a good time to find other places to park those wealth. MAC Now Gets About 50 Percent of PC Sales Revenue Apple's Selling Price Ranges Above $1,000
One factor helping Apple is average selling price. The Mac maker has largely chosen not to compete with Windows PC manufacturers below $1,000. While price wars continue at the low end among Windows PC manufacturers, Apple's entry-level iMac starts at $1,199. True, Apple offers the Mac mini for $599 or $799, but the ASP is considerably higher than comparably priced Windows PCs. Low-cost Windows PCs typically come with monitor, keyboard and mouse, which are all extra-cost items for Mac mini unless the buyer uses existing gear. Can Apple sustain this trend, or with Windows push back. based on Apple's ability to defy the recession's downward pull on computer sales and just how consistently busy are the company's retail stores, I'll predict that Mac overall US retail revenue share will stay well above one-third and more than 40 percent for desktops. Apple Computers To Dishonor Warranties for Smoking Clients Smoking Destroys Mac Computers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mentions a number of other hazardous substances including calcium carbonate, sucrose, and talcum powder. One Mac user had an extended Applecare warranty in place and was told that his broken computer couldn't be fixed because it was contaminated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 43.4 million US adults smoked in 2007 - the most recent figures available. That's nearly 20 percent of all adults. |
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