Technews

By Allan D. Francisco

EVERY MONDAY August 29, 2011

D3

Touch on a giant screen

Android has overtaken Java Micro Edition as the top recipient of security attacks among all the mobile platforms. About 60 percent of the 1,200 mobile malware examined by McAfee were specifically designed for Android devices. Mobile malware still accounts for minuscule share of the overall malware "market." Nevertheless, signs indicate that Google's mobile platform is by far the digital criminals' favorite target, with Android malware increasing 76 percent during the period covered by the report. I guess, owning Android smartphones and tablets in the new millennium must be reminiscent of owning a Windows PC since the 1990s until now. Rumors True So, the rumors seem to have been right after all. Apple, plenty of media reports say, is preparing a cheaper version of the iPhone 4. Reuters says the coolest tech company on Earth must really be eyeing the lower end of the smartphone market. I see hordes of people, those who have always wanted to own an iPhone but are socio-economically challenged, raising the roof and overjoyed, their dream finally getting closer to turning into reality. I also see a bunch of handset makers, those who have made lower-cost smartphones their bread and butter, weeping and gnashing their teeth. That's all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT. he touch-sensing technology used in gadgets like the iPhone and iPad could soon be seen in screens several meters across but only a few inches deep. Perceptive Pixel, based in New York, released a touch screen today with a diagonal dimension of 82 inches _ just under seven feet _ but only six inches thick. All of the (tablet) and phone manufacturers have settled on projected capacitance as the best way to do multitouch, but it has been really difficult to scale up, says Jeff Han, founder of Perceptive Pixel. Projected capacitance involves sensing fingers when they distort the electric field around a transparent layer of electrodes across the surface of a screen. Scaling that up to much larger screens is challenging, because noise from the electronics in a display muddy the signal from a users touches. Perceptive Pixel already makes large touch panels; some are used by broadcasters, including CNN, to display data such as weather forecasts or election results. But today, these screens are relatively bulky

Android finds that popularity is indeed a two-edged sword

t is increasingly getting difficult to do. But we have to keep trusting our fellowmen; otherwise what is the point in having

neighbors. Yes, TV news nightly bombard us with reports about some humans' inhumanity against other people, but this should not frighten us into closing our eyes and our hearts to everybody else's potential to do good. We have to keep believing that people are by nature good beings who care about what happen to those who live near and far. We need to hold on to that ideal that people are bound by logic, and put the interest of others before their own. People can and do rise above the evil that seems to permeate everything else. We need to keep trusting each other, try to do good to each other at all times. Otherwise, what is the point? Android, Well-Loved Well, Google is again rediscovering some of the headaches that come with being the 800-pound gorilla in a room full of china. Although it must have been quite used to being the largest online search engine and its collateral costs, the never-be-evil company must be finding it hard to turn the other cheek or at least play it cool with the way mobile malware developers are concentrating their energies on Android devices. IT security firm McAfee's latest quarterly report says that Google's

New technology makes multitouch possible on a five-foot-wide screen only a few inches thick.

By Jaye C. Bautista

Perceptive Pixel already makes large touch panels; some used by broadcasters to display data such as weather forecasts. These screens are relatively bulky -- up to a meter deep. They sense touches using a technique known as frustrated internal reflection. It involves shining infrared light sideways through the glass surface of a display and using a camera behind the screen to track how fingers change the lights path.

_ up to a meter deep. They sense touches using a technique known as frustrated internal reflection. It involves shining infrared light sideways through the glass surface of a display and using a camera behind the screen to track how fingers change the lights path. The camera behind the screen needs to be a certain distance away in order to capture every touch. Perceptive Pixel has sold most of its displays to federal and defense customers that are willing to design or build rooms around the space required for such large displays. Now the company has found a way to make projected capacitance work in much larger screens. We developed algorithms for signal processing that can filter out that noise so you can detect the really small changes in capacitance needed to do multitouch, Han says. We can finally bring projected capacitance to the full-size range. Earlier this year, Han announced a 27-inch screen that made use of this technology; improvements to the technique enabled the new 82inch panel. Han says this will allow much larger touch displays to appear in many more places. This makes it possible for normal companies to

use large multitouch displays for everyday work, he says. They are thin enough to install in any boardroom. Han expects to see his displays used by architects collaborating interactively on design ideas or for videoconferencing where people on opposites sides of the country can use touch panels like a white board for long-distance brainstorming. This is really a communication device, Han says. Perceptive Pixel has also developed software than can be used to manipulate data on its screen in certain common formats. It is also working with large software companies to develop plug-ins so that their products can be used on large multitouch displays. Jennifer Colegrove, an analyst specializing in emerging display technology at DisplaySearch, says that scaling projected capacitance to such a large display is impressive. The technology is more expensive than other methods of detecting touch, such as infrared, or using cameras, but it should be more accurate, Colegrove says. Most people claim that you can detect the touches of 10 separate fingers at once, she says, and it is easier to reject accidental palm touches. (NYT)

Tablets can a business make

he stepping down of Apples CEO Steve Jobs was a shocker to most but expected by some. But the fact remains that synonymous to the mans name is the legacy he is leaving behind, iPad included. For some, the tablets coming is a clear portent that the post-PC world is already here. Tablet computers, exemplified by Apples iPad, are post-PC devices, as Forrester analyst Ted Schadler sees it. And theyre coming to businesses, like it or not. Schadler reported that new tablets seem to appear every day. He cites the Cisco Cius, Google Chrome OS tablets, the Dell Streak, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the RIM PlayBook, and the HP PalmPad, as examples. While its true that Apple lorded tablet sales initially, thats selling a lot of the devices -- 4.19 million sold during their most recent quarter -Forrester had predicted 13 million tablets will have been sold by the end of 2010 which is what happened and even surpassed that and 59 million will have been sold by the end of 2015. And these numbers are rapidly being realized as we speak! The tablet trend is on the rise and this is not going unnoticed by companies. The interest on the tablets has increased in tremendous proportions and has given way to all types of tablets, and has become more affordable at that! IT organizations seem to be ahead of the curve on this one, determined not to be playing catchup as happened with employee and executive demand for iPhones. Schadlers report tells of tablets entering the workplace in three ways:

As replacements for traditional tools like laptops As replacements for paper And in new business scenarios where bulky computers arent convenient. IPads are used in unexpected ways: Lloyds of London, for example is testing iPads with brokers so that they can write business from the field. Theres also a Connecticut hospital thats trying to work iPads into the routines of clinicians to make patient records, drug conflict data, and health information more accessible. And Japanese business solutions vendor Gotanda Denshi has been testing iPads with Japanese retailers, with preliminary results pointing to higher sales and order sizes. As I had mentioned before more and more use for the tablet are seen in the workplace real estate, music industry, in schools. However promising it may seem, tablet usage has its challenges too. Forresters report advises focusing on iOS, Android, and HTML5, rather than trying to support all the other operating systems that are trying to gain traction. It calls for educating employees, who may be at a loss when not provided with Microsoft Office, and for taking the time to review the security issues. One thing about this products selling point though is the fact that more employees are willing to pay for them and use it as a marketing tool or work aid. They wanna own one so theyre often paid for by employees. In this manner, the tablet as a business and in business, ultimately becomes win-win. Lemme hear from yah! techiemommy@gmail.com

ECCP encourages members to adapt WebTalk technology. The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) hails the integration of WebTalk, the first complete and fully functional communication services via the web in the chambers website as having streamlined the communications and increased the visibility of its members worldwide. At the chambers annual general membership meeting, newly elected Vice President and General Manager Michel Miloda discussed the impact WebTalk has done for ECCP. WebTalk has eased communications and transactions for our members since its integrations earlier this year. With its toll-free calls, ECCP members can contact their clients from anywhere in the globe while their profiles can be customized using their preferred tags that has increased their visibility via the web. The integration of WebTalk

technology to the chambers website (www.eccp.com), allow its members to enjoy several benefits that can improve online customer service and promotion as well as increase visibility and reach to clients via free VOIP calls. Cyril Rocke, President of VoiceOne Asia, says, Using VoIP technology will help enterprises achieve an edge over competitors

when it comes to business communications. Shown in photo (L-R): Dominique Lebastard, Head of the Economic Department of the French Embassy; Peter Labrie, Country Head of BNP Paribas; Rocke; Miloda, and Gerry Constantino, Assistant Vice President for Operations of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

Question is, will TouchPads be alive had it been cheaper?

Tech junkies got the shock of their life when Hewlett-Packard dropped the bombshell by announcing the demise of the HP TouchPad and also the WebOS platform. Only a few weeks after the announcement of the WebOSbased tablet, HP immediately killed the fire and announced that they will no longer manufacture the HP TouchPad in the 4th quarter, since it still couldnt drive demand even after the tablets price was cut three times in the course of a week. Admittedly, people today are still looking for less expensive tablet computers. In fact, there is a huge demand for it even on this era when Apples iPad reigns supreme. Case in point is the fire sale of HP, Amazon, and Best Buy where TouchPads price was lowered from $399 to $99. Surprisingly, stocks ran out fast even if there will no longer be full support on the said tablet and its OS. The question now lingers Had HP put the price lower, will the TouchPad still be around? HP certainly cannot spend $306 (bill of materials and manufacturing costs combined for the 16GB variant) and then sell it for only $100. But they can definitely build a great tablet computer with capacitive touch screen running on a decent hardware for less than $200. How? Perhaps by getting half the price of touch screens they currently use. In addition, HP can also spend less on memory since theres already the Cloud storage technology, which they widely use on their printer fleet. At present, there are already a number of developers programming useful applications for WebOS. If HP had made the prices significantly lower than what they used to sell it, Im definite that they can sell millions of tablets. As such, a very robust developer network would prosper around WebOS. The WebOS had a lot of potential and could have been a major player in the mobile field. However, HP seemed to have pulled the plug very early and gave up the game without putting much effort on the fight. Now that its the end for the HP TouchPad, the tablet market is really just the iPad market. Android, Windows, and BlackBerry may seem to still run the race, but no one has come close to what Apple has achieved. Will it forever be Apples kingship over all tablet computers? Which brand will take its place as number one? The future begins today. (Glenn Richmond Ong)