Zoran Stosic | IT newspaper

Apple patents solar-powered MacBook

February 22nd, 2014 | Edited by Zoran Stosic | hardware

Feb
22

Apple was awarded a patent for a MacBook that would be powered with solar cells (photovoltaics), meaning your laptop could be powered or at least recharged through light.
The patent, titled “Electronic device display module” describes a two-sided display for the lid of a portable computer, such as Apple’s MacBook. The front of the lid facing the user would still sport the typical display screen but the rear would serve as more than just a cover.
The patent describes a rear plate made of “electrochromic glass” also known as “ smart glass” or “switchable glass.”
”Electrochromic glass, which is sometimes referred to as electrically switchable glass, may receive control signals (e.g., voltage control signals) from control circuitry,” the patent submission states. “The control signals can be used to place electrochromic glass in either a transparent (light-passing) state or a translucent (light-blocking) state.”

A sketch of the proposed laptop, which uses an electrochromic glass back panel that can be made opaque or translucent through a small electrical charge. The back panel would have solar cells embedded in it to collect power from light.
In the light-blocking state, the interior of the MacBook’s display would be hidden from the exterior view; the rear panel would appear opaque or translucent.
In the light-passing state, the rear panel would appear clear and allow images or other light output from status light-emitting diodes or other light sources, Apple stated.
The solar cells would be placed under the electrochromic glass layer on the rear plate.
”For example, photovoltaic cells may be interposed between a glass layer (rear plate) and liquid crystal display structures for display,” the patent states. Photo voltaic cells produce electricity when exposed to light.
When the laptop is near a light source, the light rays would pass through the electrochromic glass that forms the rear plate.
The solar cells would take in light as it passed through the glass, converting it into electrical power at a rate of 10 milliwatts or more.
Apple proposed that the solar cells would be capable of producing from 100 milliwatts to 1 watt “or even more” in order to charge the laptop’s battery or power the computer while it is in use.
The rear smart glass could also be used to display Apple’s logo by incorporating an additional light emitting diode layer as well as backlighting.
”To ensure that display is evenly illuminated, the back light unit that provides backlight for display… may be provided with light-emitting diodes that are arranged along more than one of the edges of the light guide layer in the back light unit,” Apple stated.

Source: www.pcworld.com

Is Microsoft rethinking its decision to build Office for iPad?

February 20th, 2014 | Edited by Zoran Stosic | software

Feb
20

In appearances in September and October, Steve Ballmer said Microsoft would build native Office editions for iPads and Android tablets, but the company’s marketing chief spoke with much less certainty when asked about this on Thursday, February 13th.
At the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference, Marketing Executive Vice President Tami Reller was asked about Microsoft’s willingness to “repurpose” Office for other platforms, even if this means hurting Windows’ appeal.
Microsoft must make sure its most important brands are differentiated in the market, and Windows is no exception, Reller said .
“With Windows, we’re obviously spending a lot of time thinking about how do we continue to differentiate the full Windows experience,” she said.
A big asset for Windows continues to be Office, she said, adding that Office is also a major franchise in its own right.
Without directly answering the specific question posed by the moderator, Reller said those types of decisions will be made on a business-by-business and product-by-product basis.

The answer is a far cry from the unequivocal comments former CEO Ballmer made several months ago, when he went so far as to say that the Office version for iPads and Android tablets would come after Microsoft delivered a touch-first version for Windows 8.
Reller’s answer begs the question whether Microsoft is having second thoughts about its plan to port Office to those rival tablet devices and is back to hand-wringing mode over the dilemma of protecting Windows at the expense of liberating Office.
Many critics fault Microsoft for having taken so long to deliver a full version of Office for iPads, in particular.
Regarding Windows 8, Reller disclosed that the OS recently topped the 200 million license mark, a milestone she described as “stunning” while cautioning that Microsoft isn’t relaxing its efforts and focus on the OS.
“With Windows 8 we’re being very thoughtful about what’s going well and with what’s not going well, how do we change that?” she said.
The OS has “a lot of traction” but there is “yet a lot more work to do,” she added.
Expectations for Windows 8 were sky high when it shipped in October 2012, because Microsoft designed it with a touch-optimized interface intended to improve the OS’ anemic position in the tablet market.
However, that tile-based interface got very mixed reviews, especially from consumers and businesses that planned to use it primarily with keyboards and mice. Windows 8.1, an update released almost a year later, addressed many of those complaints but also came with a new set of bugs, some of them widespread and disruptive.
Right now, Microsoft is focused on making sure Windows offers an outstanding user experience across a broad variety of existing and future devices, from small tablets and smartphones all the way up to high-performance desktop PCs, Reller said.
Asked about the future of Windows RT—the Windows 8 version for devices running on ARM chips—Reller said Microsoft is happy with the way it’s working in its Surface 2 tablets. She also said Microsoft aims to have “a world-class mobile OS.”
There have been rumors in recent months that Microsoft plans to merge Windows RT and the Windows Phone OS, which today are separate products.

Source: www.macworld.com

Intel moves deeper into software with server KVM tool

February 18th, 2014 | Edited by Zoran Stosic | software

Feb
18

Intel has released a new tool for remotely managing servers from multiple hardware vendors, though it’s having to be careful not to upset partners as it looks to make more money from software.
Intel’s Virtual KVM Gateway is a software console that lets operators troubleshoot server and other hardware problems remotely, allowing them to check BIOS configurations, analyze server logs and in some cases restart systems.
Intel launched the Virtual KVM Gateway as an SDK (software development kit) last year, allowing partners such as Schneider Electric and Japan’s Niscom to bundle it with their DCIM (data center infrastructure management) suites. This week it started to sell the software as a standalone product on its website, priced at US$99 per server, said Jeff Klaus, general manager of Intel’s Data Center Solutions Group. There is also an option for a 30-day free trial.
KVM tools have traditionally been hardware switches that connect directly to servers (the KVM stands for the keyboard, video and mouse that plug into the switch). That approach creates extra cabling in the data center, though, and extra hardware boxes to manage.
So the market is moving toward virtual KVMs, or tools that provide remote management by tapping directly into server firmware instead of going through a switch, according to Klaus.
Most server makers offer their own KVM tools, so operators can end up having to switch back and forth between different consoles. One big benefit of Intel’s KVM is that it can be used to manage hardware from multiple vendors on a single screen, Klaus said.
Intel’s Virtual KVM allows operators to access up to 50 servers simultaneously, he said, making it easier to compare data from a group of servers. It can also access network and storage gear, or pretty much any equipment with a standard IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) port, he said.

The tool provides both in-band and out-of-band (OOB) access to servers, though OOB might be a challenge in some cases. OOB access involves skirting the server OS and communicating directly with the baseboard management controller, which allows access to servers when they’re offline.
However, server makers generally charge extra to enable OOB access to their systems, and the top-tier vendors—HP, Dell and IBM—only sell it as part of a bundle that includes their own KVM. So customers who want the benefits of Intel’s KVM might end up paying more if they need OOB access.
Klaus noted that second-tier OEMs such as Fujitsu and Lenovo tend to offer OOB access as an “a la carte option,” making it a smaller additional fee. And not all the top-tier OEMs’ customers buy their enterprise server management tools anyway, he said.
As Intel looks to sell more data center management products, it has to be careful not to cause friction with partners like Schneider that license its technologies. Intel intentionally priced its Virtual KVM Gateway so that it doesn’t undercut its partners’ offerings, Klaus said.
“It’s delicate, I won’t deny it,” he said.
Intel could face similar challenges in other areas besides KVM. It commands some 95 percent of the x86 server market, giving it access to a variety of instrumentation data including thermals and power consumption. It licenses access to that data to other companies that make data center management tools, particularly ones used to manage energy use.
“We think we’re in the best position, being the manufacturer of the hardware, to be that connected layer just on top of the hardware, and to provide that instrumentation data,” Klaus said.
A decision for Intel is whether it will continue to monetize the power and thermal data primarily through third parties, or whether it will use it to develop more software products of its own. The answer might depend on how well those third-party tools sell.
“Are we going to achieve the growth through partners, or are we going to have to pivot and be more direct?” Klaus said. “Right now, we’re putting more emphasis on partners on the power and thermals side, and we’re just trying this direct route on virtual KVM.”
How that strategy will evolve remains to be seen.

Source: www.pcworld.com

How to prevent strangers on Google+ from flooding your Gmail inbox

January 18th, 2014 | Edited by Zoran Stosic | software

Jan
18

If you use Google+ and Gmail, Google is about to open your email account to a whole new level of spam. A new feature rolling out over the next couple of days makes it possible for any Google+ user to email you, as long as they follow you on Google+—they don’t need to know your actual email address, and you don’t even have to follow them back. And to make it even worse, Google took the Facebook approach by turning on the new feature by default.
Fun, right? Not so much. I’ve already got this new “feature” in my inbox and the first thing I did was turn it off. Today, I’m going to show you how to do the same thing.
But first, let’s cover the basics about how this new “email via Google+” feature works.

The good news

Even though any Google+ user can crowd your inbox now, they won’t know your actual email address unless you reply to their message. Plus, Google+ users who aren’t in your Circles (read: you aren’t following) can only email you once without your approval. When someone from your Circles emails you, it shows up in your Gmail’s “Primary” inbox tab. If the message is from some random Google+ stranger, the email gets filtered into your “Social” inbox tab.
The other good thing is that if you want to keep the “email via Google+” feature, you can restrict Google+ emails to just people in your Circles or your extended Circles (which functions like Facebook’s friends of friends).
Got it? Good. Let’s get down to business.

Stop the email madness

To prevent Google+ users from emailing you, simply click on the settings cog in the upper right-hand corner of your Gmail inbox and select Settings from the drop down menu.
When the Settings panel opens, scroll down the “General” tab until you see “Email via Google+” label. (If you don’t see the new setting in your Gmail account, check back over the next few days, as the feature is still rolling out to all Gmail users.) Click on the drop-down menu and choose the setting that you’re most comfortable with. Remember, by default Google is letting anyone from Google+ send you unsolicited mail. I chose to stop Google+ emails completely by selecting “No one,” as you can see below.
Once you’ve picked your setting, scroll down to the bottom and click on “Save Changes.”
After that, Gmail kicks you back to your inbox. Congratulations, you’ve beaten back a potentially serious case of Google+ spam.

Source: www.macworld.com

How to unfreeze a frozen phone

January 16th, 2014 | Edited by Zoran Stosic | hardware

Jan
16

You may not think of your smartphone as a computer, but it’s just as much of one as a laptop or desktop. With it come some very typical computer problems—crashes and freezes. A lot of the time, the fixes to these sorts of issues, while simple, aren’t immediately obvious. The next time your iOS or Android phone crashes or freezes, try these tips.

Dealing with a stuck iPhone

Force-close a frozen app: If one app in particular is causing you problems, try force-closing it. To do this on iOS 7, double-tap the Home button to bring up the app switcher, which Apple calls the multitask bar. Next, scroll left or right unti you can see the frozen app, and swipe up on the screenshot of the app to “fling” it off your screen. If you’re using iOS 6, tap the Home button to get to the home screen, then double-tap the Home button to bring up the app switcher. Next, hold your finger down on an app icon for a couple seconds until the icons start wiggling, then tap the red minus (-) button for the app you want to close.
Restart your phone: If your iPhone is acting wonky in general, or you can’t even open the app switcher to kill a frozen app, try restarting it. Hold down the Sleep button on the top of your phone until the red “slide to power off” slider appears. Slide your finger from left to right as instructed, and your phone will power down. To turn your phone back on, hold the Sleep button for a few seconds until you see the Apple logo on your screen. It will take a minute before your phone finishes booting up and is ready to use.
Force-restart your phone: If your phone isn’t responding to your taps or button presses, you may need to force it to restart. Hold down the Sleep button and the Home button for a few seconds until the Apple logo appears, and your phone will restart. After a few moments, it will take you to the lock screen and be up and running as usual.
Reset to factory defaults: If you have a nagging issue with your phone that won’t go away readily—or if you want a fresh start—you can try reverting your iPhone to factory default settings. To do so, go to the Settings app, then go to General > Reset and select Reset All Settings. This option will reset your phone’s settings, but it will preserve any data you have on your phone. If you want to clear off your phone completely and start fresh, select Erase All Content and Settings for that new-out-of-the-box experience.
Restore using iTunes: You can also try restoring your iPhone via iTunes. Plug your iPhone into your computer using your USB cable, and select your iPhone from the source list. Go to the Summary tab, and then select Restore iPhone: This will create a backup of your phone’s settings, and then download and install a fresh copy of iOS and revert your phone to default settings. You can then put your data back on your phone by selecting Restore Backup from under the Backups heading.

Dealing with a stuck Android phone

Force-close an app: If you need to force a hung app to close, go to your phone’s Settings app, then tap Apps. Swipe over to the Running tab, select the app you want to close, then tap the Stop button. If you don’t see the troublesome app in the list, tap the Show Cached Processes toggle in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Restart your phone: Restarting your phone can help clear up stubborn problems. To do so, hold down your phone’s sleep/power button for a few seconds until it asks you if you really want to turn off your phone. Confirm that you do, and your phone will power off. Once it’s off, hold down the power button again until the screen turns on; your phone should be up and running again after a few moments.
Force-restart your phone: The standard shut-down-and-restart method may not work if your phone is frozen, in which case you may have to force your phone to restart. Unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated on Android than it is on iOS, because different phones may have different hard-restart methods. You can force many Android phones to shut down, however, by holding down the power button and volume-up button until the screen goes dark. From there, power on your phone again by pressing the power button for a few seconds. If the volume-up button doesn’t work, try the volume-down button. If this doesn’t work, refer to your phone’s documentation.
Remove the battery: If your Android phone is frozen solid and it has a removable battery, the easiest way to force-restart it is to simply remove the battery. Pop off the battery cover, remove the battery for a few seconds, put it back into place, snap the battery cover back on, then turn your phone back on by holding the power button down for a few seconds. You should use this method only if the standard method of powering off and restarting your phone fails, however.
Restore to factory defaults: Maybe you decided that trying to troubleshoot an issue just isn’t worth the hassle. If so, you can reset your phone entirely and restore it to factory defaults. To do so, open your phone’s Settings app, scroll down, and tap the Backup and Reset menu. Next, look for Factory data reset, and tap it. Your phone will ask you to confirm that you want to do the deed; once you do, it will restore itself to pristine, fresh-from-the-factory settings.

Source: www.techive.com

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