1. PlayStation Network hacked, data stolen: how badly is Sony hurt?
Sony has announced the bad news: hackers have your personal data, and they may have your credit card information as well. Now it's time for the questions, such as how much this breach and the bad PR attached to it will hurt Sony, and how long the company knew the data was in the hands of the hackers before sharing that information with customers. While it doesn't look like Sony will be liable in any legal sense for holding back information, this black eye won't soon go away.
2. Sony Makes Quirky Entrance Into Tablet Market
Sony is developing its first entries into the tablet market. The tablets are going by the code names "S1" and "S2," and they will be available in the global market in fall 2011. S1 will be optimized for rich media entertainment, and S2 will be optimized for mobile communication and entertainment. The Sony tablets utilize the latest Android OS -- version 3.0, aka "Honeycomb" -- which is designed for use on large screens. Both devices are compatible with WiFi and WAN (3G/4G) and run on Nvidia's Tegra CPU.
3. This App's Best-Laid Floor Plans Oft Go Pretty Well
A floor plan of your home might not be something you use every day. But having one can come very much in handy in situations like selling your house, renting out a property, working with a contractor, buying furniture, figuring out which stuff is going to fit in which room as you get ready to move into a new place, and at least a dozen other scenarios. With MagicPlan, you can put away the graph paper -- though you'll probably want to hang on to the measuring tape. The app works on the iPhone 4 and the fourth-gen iPod touch.
4. TuneIn Radio Pro: So Good You'll Start Listening to the Radio Again
I've been skeptical of streaming radio apps for my iPhone. I've been mostly disinterested because between Pandora and my iTunes music purchases, do I really need to listen to annoying radio advertisements too? I mean seriously, while driving down the road listening to the radio at 70 mph, I sometimes want to beat my head against the driver's side door glass when the inane head-worm ad jingles start infecting my brain. It's just not safe. Why would I want to pack the radio in my iPhone?
5. Natty Narwhal About to Surface
Canonical is releasing its Ubuntu 11.04 suite of corporate and developer desktops and servers -- aka "Natty Narwhal" -- on April 28. New features include a technology preview for Ubuntu Server 11.04, which is downloadable through the Ubuntu software repositories. Ubuntu 11.04 for the corporate desktop includes the Unity interface, which debuted last year in Ubuntu 10.10, geared for netbooks. However, with Ubuntu 11.04, users can opt to stay with the "classic" interface. Unity will be the interface in the next long-term support release, however, scheduled for April 2012.
6. Windows 7: 350 million licenses sold in 18 months
Eighteen months after Windows 7 was released, Microsoft is boasting that it has sold 350 million licenses of its flagship operating system. The platform's sales have barely slowed since the company last bragged about numbers; after 12 months, 240 million licenses had been shipped.
All a far cry from Windows Vista's market take-up. Though Windows Vista sold well—around 330 million Internet users two years after launch—its reception was lukewarm, and though users actually quite liked it, it failed to achieve acceptance in the essential corporate market.
Windows 7, in contrast, is flourishing both at home and at work. Microsoft cites an IDC estimate that 90 percent of corporations are currently in the process of migrating to Windows 7, and Redmond claims that deploying Windows 7 will allow businesses to save around $140 per PC per year. This corporate take-up should have some nice side-effects—notably, it'll be another nail in the coffin of Internet Explorer 6.
Windows XP, which will be a decade old this October, remains king of the hill, however. Though Windows 7 has surpassed that operating system's share in some markets, including the US, the old operating system still holds about 54 percent of the global market. Windows 7 has just 24 percent. If current trends continue, Windows 7 will eclipse its ancient predecessor in 12 to 15 months—just in time for the expected launch of Windows 8.
7. Red Hat's New Java Alternative: From Coffee to Tea
When a FOSS company gets to be the size of Red Hat, pretty much every move it makes is of interest to those of us here in the Linux community. So when said company unveils plans to create an alternative to none other than Java, well, let's just say everyone sits up and starts listening. Sure enough, that's just what leaked out into the Linux blogosphere last week, thanks first to one Marc Richards and then the rowdy crowds over at Slashdot. In no time at all, Red Hat's own Gavin King was chiming in on the subject.
Sony has announced the bad news: hackers have your personal data, and they may have your credit card information as well. Now it's time for the questions, such as how much this breach and the bad PR attached to it will hurt Sony, and how long the company knew the data was in the hands of the hackers before sharing that information with customers. While it doesn't look like Sony will be liable in any legal sense for holding back information, this black eye won't soon go away.
2. Sony Makes Quirky Entrance Into Tablet Market
Sony is developing its first entries into the tablet market. The tablets are going by the code names "S1" and "S2," and they will be available in the global market in fall 2011. S1 will be optimized for rich media entertainment, and S2 will be optimized for mobile communication and entertainment. The Sony tablets utilize the latest Android OS -- version 3.0, aka "Honeycomb" -- which is designed for use on large screens. Both devices are compatible with WiFi and WAN (3G/4G) and run on Nvidia's Tegra CPU.
3. This App's Best-Laid Floor Plans Oft Go Pretty Well
A floor plan of your home might not be something you use every day. But having one can come very much in handy in situations like selling your house, renting out a property, working with a contractor, buying furniture, figuring out which stuff is going to fit in which room as you get ready to move into a new place, and at least a dozen other scenarios. With MagicPlan, you can put away the graph paper -- though you'll probably want to hang on to the measuring tape. The app works on the iPhone 4 and the fourth-gen iPod touch.
4. TuneIn Radio Pro: So Good You'll Start Listening to the Radio Again
I've been skeptical of streaming radio apps for my iPhone. I've been mostly disinterested because between Pandora and my iTunes music purchases, do I really need to listen to annoying radio advertisements too? I mean seriously, while driving down the road listening to the radio at 70 mph, I sometimes want to beat my head against the driver's side door glass when the inane head-worm ad jingles start infecting my brain. It's just not safe. Why would I want to pack the radio in my iPhone?
5. Natty Narwhal About to Surface
Canonical is releasing its Ubuntu 11.04 suite of corporate and developer desktops and servers -- aka "Natty Narwhal" -- on April 28. New features include a technology preview for Ubuntu Server 11.04, which is downloadable through the Ubuntu software repositories. Ubuntu 11.04 for the corporate desktop includes the Unity interface, which debuted last year in Ubuntu 10.10, geared for netbooks. However, with Ubuntu 11.04, users can opt to stay with the "classic" interface. Unity will be the interface in the next long-term support release, however, scheduled for April 2012.
6. Windows 7: 350 million licenses sold in 18 months
Eighteen months after Windows 7 was released, Microsoft is boasting that it has sold 350 million licenses of its flagship operating system. The platform's sales have barely slowed since the company last bragged about numbers; after 12 months, 240 million licenses had been shipped.
All a far cry from Windows Vista's market take-up. Though Windows Vista sold well—around 330 million Internet users two years after launch—its reception was lukewarm, and though users actually quite liked it, it failed to achieve acceptance in the essential corporate market.
Windows 7, in contrast, is flourishing both at home and at work. Microsoft cites an IDC estimate that 90 percent of corporations are currently in the process of migrating to Windows 7, and Redmond claims that deploying Windows 7 will allow businesses to save around $140 per PC per year. This corporate take-up should have some nice side-effects—notably, it'll be another nail in the coffin of Internet Explorer 6.
Windows XP, which will be a decade old this October, remains king of the hill, however. Though Windows 7 has surpassed that operating system's share in some markets, including the US, the old operating system still holds about 54 percent of the global market. Windows 7 has just 24 percent. If current trends continue, Windows 7 will eclipse its ancient predecessor in 12 to 15 months—just in time for the expected launch of Windows 8.
7. Red Hat's New Java Alternative: From Coffee to Tea
When a FOSS company gets to be the size of Red Hat, pretty much every move it makes is of interest to those of us here in the Linux community. So when said company unveils plans to create an alternative to none other than Java, well, let's just say everyone sits up and starts listening. Sure enough, that's just what leaked out into the Linux blogosphere last week, thanks first to one Marc Richards and then the rowdy crowds over at Slashdot. In no time at all, Red Hat's own Gavin King was chiming in on the subject.
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