
<?phpxml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" 
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
>
<channel>
<title>Haaze.com / Manisha / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Enryu rescue robot gets Fukushima mission]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=enryu-rescue-robot-gets-fukushima-mission</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=enryu-rescue-robot-gets-fukushima-mission</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>cmarkmammm</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=enryu-rescue-robot-gets-fukushima-mission</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The T-53 Enryu can hoist about 440 pounds.(Credit:Tmsuk)TOKYO--Japan's robotics response to the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been disappointing so far, but a 5-ton rescue robot developed after the 1995 Kobe earthquake may see some action at the facility soon. Created by Fukuoka-based Tmsuk in 2007, the T-53 Enryu (PDF) is a hulking, 9-foot-tall machine on treads with a bulldozer attachment and giant arms to move debris. Enryu (or &quot;Rescue Dragon&quot;) is expected to clear highly radioactive rubble at the plant to provide machines and people better access, but it may need to be shielded with lead to protect it from radiation. It would be the second Japanese robot on the scene following a radiation detector robot, which apparently hasn't been used much. Each of Enryu's arms has six joints and can hoist about 220 pounds. The machine can be operated directly from the cab or remotely via suitcase-portable hardware, for which it has seven cameras. A lighter, more compact version of its predecessor T-52, the T-53 helped in recovery efforts after the 2007 earthquake that hit Kashiwazaki City in Niigata, home to the world's largest nuclear power plant by capacity. Despite that experience, Tmsuk has only recently sent the T-53 to a holding center in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, following a request from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Remote-controlled robot loaders from Qinetiq North America are also undergoing evaluation at the center. The robots will next be sent to J-Village, a site near the Fukushima plant where machines are decontaminated following exposure to radiation. Two iRobot PackBots, often used by the U.S. military, have already been used to explore and image the interior of reactor buildings. Here's some video of the T-53 at a demo. It won't have the stirring music at Fukushima. (Via Kyodo News)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Apple launches Apple Support Communities]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-launches-apple-support-communities</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-launches-apple-support-communities</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 17 Apr 2011 07:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rasjubedsfsd</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-launches-apple-support-communities</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple's support discussion forum has been a popular location forMac users to interact with and get help from other Mac users. Last year, Apple announced that the forums would be evolving into a new social-based site called Apple Support Communities, but for the past seven months there has been no further information about the changes, until yesterday when new the Communities site went live.The new support site is now very user-centric and has a different layout and feel to it, so if you have frequently used the Apple discussions you might initially be confused by the changes. However, the site's organization is still similar.Previously, the discussions were composed of a main forum contents page that contained sections for each Apple product (a fairly standard forum layout), and in these sections users could post questions. Despite the changes in the new site, this organization still exists in that each Apple product is now represented by a &quot;community,&quot; within which users start discussions.The Communities support a number of user-centric features, including home pages, personal RSS feeds, subscriptions and notifications, and status information about discussions and user presence on the site. Postings also support a number of new organization and styling options, such as threaded discussions and the use of popularity-based tagging. These features should help people find answers to their questions and hopefully prevent redundancy in the site, but as with all new efforts, only time will tell to see how useful it is.We recommend you check the new site out and explore its new features, but if you find yourself initially getting lost in the site, just look for your support area in &quot;communities&quot; areas (ie, Leopard, Snow Leopard, MacBook Pro,iPad, oriPhone), and the site's organization should fall in place from there. If you need help getting started, Apple has a &quot;How it Works&quot; page that outlines the major features and how to use them. What do you think of the new Apple Support Communities Let us know in the comments.   Questions Comments Have a fix Post them below or email us!Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[This week in Crave: The globe-trotting edition]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-globe-trotting-edition</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-globe-trotting-edition</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 16 Apr 2011 07:10:16 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>drpepper782</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-globe-trotting-edition</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We had a whale of a good time in Oklahoma this week.(Credit:Amanda Kooser/CNET)This week, our international Crave team visited an open-source festival in Buenos Aires, walked the darkened streets of Tokyo, and made friends with a Blue Whale in Oklahoma. A bit closer to home: &amp;149' Donald played with RIM's BlackBerry Playbook.  &amp;149' Tablet speed smackdown:iPad 2 vs. PlayBook vs. Xoom. &amp;149' Speaking of smackdowns... &amp;149' How special is the Amazon Kindle with Special Offers  &amp;149' Even zebras are getting bar codes these days.  &amp;149' Boxing duel: You against the Punching Pro robot.  &amp;149' Sometimes, &quot;extra features&quot; become &quot;too many features.&quot; &amp;149' No myth: Mythbuster is helping to develop vehicle armor.  &amp;149' Just $12,500 for an Android app Such a deal! &amp;149' Is that a drum kit in your pants or are you just happy to be reading Crave Of course, you're happy to be reading Crave! Got a story tip or comment Want to take us for a spin in your life-size AT-AT Write to us at crave at cnet dot com. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Defunct Sharper Image looks to redeem gift cards]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=defunct-sharper-image-looks-to-redeem-gift-cards</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=defunct-sharper-image-looks-to-redeem-gift-cards</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>reuckbugsabah</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=defunct-sharper-image-looks-to-redeem-gift-cards</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Dust off that Sharper Image gift card because in a few months, you just might be able to get some cash for it.Sharper Image, which is now known as TSIC Inc., has petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to allow it to pay back gift cardholders nearly three years after it shuttered its operation, The Wall Street Journal reported today. If its request is approved on its May 17 hearing date, TSIC plans to give cash back to any cardholder who has up to $2,245 in gift card value. It also plans to spend $60,000 to promote its payback program, the Journal reported.Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008 and announced 96 store closures after the company's quirky, but sometimes useful, gadgets failed to appeal to consumers amid recession. By June of that year, its new owners--which acquired the firm for $49 million in a bankruptcy auction--announced that they would close the remaining 86 stores.Prior to that closure, Sharper Image engaged in a battle with consumers over its gift cards. After filing for bankruptcy, the company declined to honor gift cards. A month later, it announced that customers could redeem the full value of gift cards, but only if they bought products worth twice the value of their credit. When the company finally closed its doors, the retailer recommended gift cardholders file a claim with the bankruptcy court.Some other options did crop up for consumers. For example, Brookstone offered a 25 percent discount to anyone who presented a Sharper Image gift card in its stores at the time of purchase.Those who held on to their gift card will need to furnish a photocopy to prove they have one on-hand. Customers who do not provide a photocopy but say they have an unredeemed gift card will receive a refund only if enough cash is available.Today, Sharper Image lives on in name only. A company named Camelot Ventures Group operates under the licensed Sharper Image name. It sells many of the wacky gadgets the original store once carried.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Hulu tops all Web sites for video ads viewed]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hulu-tops-all-web-sites-for-video-ads-viewed</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hulu-tops-all-web-sites-for-video-ads-viewed</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>emosooooo</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hulu-tops-all-web-sites-for-video-ads-viewed</guid>
<description><![CDATA[More people viewed video ads at Hulu than at any other Web site last month, according to stats released yesterday by ComScore.Out of the 4.3 billion video ads that U.S. Internet users watched in March, 1.2 billion of those were at Hulu, making it the top site for video ad impressions for the month. Video network Tremor Media was next on the list with 804.3 million ad views, followed by video marketplace Adap.tv with 553 million video ad impressions, and BrightRoll Video Network with 398 million.(Credit:ComScore)Internet users spent a total of 1.9 billion minutes watching video ads last month, ComScore said. Out of those, Hulu was the top property, delivering 520 million minutes of video ad viewing. Overall, video ads accounted for 12.7 percent of all ads viewed online in March, while the average video ad ran for 24 seconds.ComScore's data for video ads includes only streaming advertising and not other types of video ads, such as banner ads or homepage ads.Among sites offering online videos, Google again took the top spot, due mostly to video viewing on YouTube. Overall, Google sites saw 143.2 million unique video viewers in March, according to ComScore. Google also captured the largest amount of time that each person on average spent watching online videos at 276 minutes, or 4.6 hours.Google's top ranking was followed by AOL in second place with 57 million video viewers, Yahoo with 56.4 million, and Microsoft sites with 53.1 million. Hulu just managed to make the top 10 list with 27.5 million video viewers. Overall, Web sites offering videos grabbed 174.3 million unique viewers in March, who each spent an average of 889 minutes, or almost 15 hours, watching online videos.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Faster Turbo in updated Opera]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=faster-turbo-in-updated-opera</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=faster-turbo-in-updated-opera</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>daviousthe</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=faster-turbo-in-updated-opera</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The latest stable version of Opera 11 debuts today with a faster Turbo, an expanded Speed Dial, and some plug-in tweaks. Opera 11.10 for Windows (download), Mac (download), and Linux (download), also makes a handful of other changes to the browser, notably adding in more HTML5 support, mail client improvements, an updated rendering engine, and better battery management on laptops.The version of Turbo that debuts in Opera 11.10 is up to four times faster than before, according to the company.(Credit:Opera)The changes to Opera Turbo and Speed Dial are the most apparent changes in Opera 11.10. The Norwegian company says that Turbo is four times faster than before, and Opera spokesman Thomas Ford said that those speed improvements are likely to filter down to Opera's mobile versions since the improvements were made to Turbo's servers. The gains were achieved in part by adopting support for Google's WebP image format, which resulted in higher image quality in Turbo mode. This still allowed sites to render 35 percent smaller and 15 percent faster than in Opera 11, according to Opera's internal benchmarks.Speed Dial, the feature that Opera developed to show frequently visited site thumbnails in a grid format, can now be configured to show an unlimited number of dials. The layout is customizable, and a new slider helps users zoom to show more or fewer dials by default.Other changes include the improved plug-in support that now offers to download and install plug-ins like Adobe Flash if missing from your system, a feature long-present in other browsers' partial HTML5 File API support, which means that Opera ought to be added soon to the list of official browsers that support Gmail' Web Open Font Format support, for next-generation font rendering' and search hijacking protection.Speed Dial can now handle an infinite number of thumbnails, and can be zoomed in or out.(Credit:Opera)IMAP has been improved in the built-in Opera Mail e-mail client, so that it better manages &quot;special status&quot; folders such as Trash, Spam, and Sent Items. You can read the full changelog for Opera 11.10 here.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Two more AV receivers join Onkyo's 2011 lineup]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=two-more-av-receivers-join-onkyos-2011-lineup</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=two-more-av-receivers-join-onkyos-2011-lineup</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:11:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>subnyawamen</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=two-more-av-receivers-join-onkyos-2011-lineup</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Onkyo HT-RC370(Credit:Onkyo)Less than two months after unveiling three new AV receivers with loads of extra features, Onkyo is already expanding its 2011 lineup. The new models feature Marvell Qdeo 4K video upscaling, USB audio support, and the ability to stream some Internet audio services such as Pandora, Rhapsody, and XM. HT-RC360 and HT-RC370 replace last year's HT-RC260 and HT-RC270, respectively. Read on to find out more about Onkyo's latest additions and see some of their key features.Onkyo HT-RC360The front panel of the Onkyo HT-RC360 (click for larger image)(Credit:Onkyo)The rear of the Onkyo HT-RC360 (click for larger image)(Credit:Onkyo)Key features of the Onkyo HT-RC360:7.2-channel AV receiver with Audyssey 2EQ room correctionMarvell Qdeo 4K video upscaling processorSix HDMI inputs, including one front-panel HDMI inputAdvanced HDMI features like 3D pass-through, standby pass-through and audio return channel (ARC)Ethernet portWi-Fi-ready (requires $40 UWF-1 USB adapter, sold separately)Networking functionality including Internet radio and DLNA compatibilityCan be controlled byiPhone/iPod Touch using Onkyo's free Remote appCan directly connectiPod/iPhone via front-panel USB port$549 list price' available in AprilOnkyo HT-RC370Onkyo HT-RC370 (click for larger image)(Credit:Onkyo)The rear of the Onkyo HT-RC370 (click for larger image)(Credit:Onkyo)Key step-up features of the Onkyo HT-RC370:7.2-channel AV receiver with Audyssey MultEQ XTSeven HDMI inputs, including one front-panel HDMI inputEarned THX's Select2 Plus certification for sound qualityVGA-style PC input$849 list price' available in AprilAt $549, the Onkyo HT-RC360 seems to be very redundant to Onkyo's own TX-NR609--a $500 receiver with an almost identical spec sheet. The HT-RC360 will also be competing against the recently announced Pioneer VSX-1021. That offering, which comes in at $549 as well, boasts many of the same features as the Onkyo (five HDMI inputs, a USB port to play music from external devices, network support via Ethernet port, plug-and-play iPod/iPhone compatibility via USB). Moreover, while the addition of 4K video upscaling to the Onkyo receivers provides a nice bit of future-proofing, it's one of those features (like &quot;Deep Color support&quot;) that won't have any real-world use for the foreseeable future. However, while both the Onkyo receivers and the Pioneer offer plug-and-play USB compatibility with iPhones and iPod Touch handhelds, the Pioneer receiver includes one feature that's conspicuously missing from all of Onkyo's 2011 products to date: Apple's AirPlay. Thanks to AirPlay, VSX-1021 owners can wirelessly stream content from their iPhone, iPod Touch, oriPad to the receiver. (AirPlay is also available on more expensive 2010 Denon and Marantz receivers, which means we're likely to see it on that company's soon-to-be-announced 2011 products as well.) We're glad to see that the new Onkyo models eliminate the need for a separate iPod dock (though that support still exists if you want it), and that they deliver the latest HDMI features (standby pass-through wasn't supported in the predecessor models.) But we hope the 2011 HT-RC models exhibit better sound quality than the HT-RC260, which lagged among its competitors in our 2010 evaluations. Related links&amp;149' Pioneer's 2011 line of AV receivers compared&amp;149' Sony unveils 2011 midrange AV receiver line&amp;149' Onkyo brings networking to its midrange receivers&amp;149' Apple AirPlay: 10 things you need to know <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[DIY Weekend: The scrap metal Turing machine]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=diy-weekend-the-scrap-metal-turing-machine</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=diy-weekend-the-scrap-metal-turing-machine</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 26 Mar 2011 07:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ideaveHen93</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=diy-weekend-the-scrap-metal-turing-machine</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The only thing that could make this cooler is if it was made out of Legos.(Credit:Jim MacArthur)A Turing machine is a very simple computer that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape to perform feats of logic. There isn't really much of a purpose to them these days' they exist as a novelty based on early computational theory by the great mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing. They're made as a type of thought experiment to show the advantages and limits of mechanical computing. To really understand what a Turing machine demonstrates, you probably have to be the type who can speak binary. Many have been made over the years, but one caught our eye on YouTube this week (video below). We didn't notice it because it's elegant or attractive--indeed, it's rather harsh-looking--but because it's entirely mechanical. It uses magnets and springs, but no electronics or even electricity. It was made by British hobbyist Jim MacArthur as a demonstration for a Maker Faire in the U.K.Most Turing devices use a type of tape on which symbols are punched, but this one moves along a metal grid. Ball bearings are dropped into grid squares based on the data input via a series of small levers. The positions of the balls on the grid act as symbols. When one knows what they're doing, the pattern of ball bearings on the grid can be translated into a rough program.For a logic unit, it uses a left-or-right switch mechanism to create binary input. It has up to 5 input symbols that allow for 10 &quot;states.&quot; If that doesn't make sense to you, that's OK, it's not really supposed to. It's a technical way of saying that while this DIY machine won't catch up to a pocket calculator anytime soon, it's still an impressive feat of engineering for not having any batteries.The entire thing is made from scrap metal collected by MacArthur. What's more, it's mechanical to the point that it's powered by turning a wheel by hand. At the end of the video, MacArthur points out that his current version uses a small electrical motor as an option, though it works just fine when powered by steam, too.Again, the machine doesn't actually do much if you're not really into computer science, but MacArthur is considering a new model that actually does do something useful. If you tried to do something productive with this machine, you'd be in for a bit of a wait. MacArthur says on his blog that while the gizmo looks cool, it would take months to add 2 to 3. Yes, you can actually calculate how long the problem would take to solve in a fraction of the time it would take to solve it.DIY doesn't have to be useful, it just has to be cool.To share your DIY project, simply e-mail a description of 350 words or less, including all the geeky ins and outs of your invention, plus relevant links and photos, to crave at cnet dot com. Please put DIY Weekend in the subject line.        Matt Hickey    Full Profile E-mail Matt Hickey   E-mail Matt Hickey If you have a question or comment for Matt Hickey, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.   Submit your question or comment here: 0 of 1500 characters       With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. Matt is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. E-mail Matt.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[LinkedIn hits 100 million users]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=linkedin-hits-100-million-users</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=linkedin-hits-100-million-users</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Celina</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=linkedin-hits-100-million-users</guid>
<description><![CDATA[LinkedIn announced today that it now has 100 million users.According to the professional-networking site, approximately 44 million of its users are in the U.S. LinkedIn said that it's adding about 1 million new users to its service every week. The company reported that 20 percent of its members are in the service industry, while 9 percent of users are in the &quot;high-tech&quot; sector. Apple, Amazon, eBay, and Cisco are among the &quot;most represented companies on its site.&quot; They're flanked by EMC and Campbell's. LinkedIn, which launched in 2003, announced plans earlier this year to go public. Although the United States is home to the biggest number of LinkedIn users, it can't compete with the growth LinkedIn is seeing elsewhere. The social network said that 2010 year-over-year growth in Brazil is 428 percent. Mexico, India, and France are trailing with growth rates of 178 percent, 76 percent, and 72 percent, respectively.Of course, LinkedIn isn't the only social network that's enjoying continued success. Facebook currently has over 600 million active users around the globe, and that figure continues to grow. Twitter is watching 1 billion tweets hit its service every week, according to data it released last week, and about 460,000 accounts are being added to the social network every day.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Hands on Opera Mobile 11, Opera Mini 6]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-opera-mobile-11-opera-mini-6</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-opera-mobile-11-opera-mini-6</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>IdiodsMeeni</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-opera-mobile-11-opera-mini-6</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Opera Mobile 11 is optimized for tablets. We tried it out on the Motorola Xoom.(Credit:Opera)Opera announced last week that it would launch two newmobile browsers at CTIA--Opera Mobile 11 and Opera Mini 6--but when it came to new and enhanced features, it mostly kept quiet.We were lucky enough to get our hands on a preview build before the show, and can share a lot more about what's in store for Opera on mobile phones andtablets.Opera Mobile 11 and Opera Mini 6 see some changes.(Credit:Photograph by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)Starting with the interface, the Opera browser gets a little bump in sophistication on an already graphically rich display. Opera loyalists will note some subtle changes--Opera has shaved off the title bar to give its browser more room, the Settings icon has changed into the Opera &quot;O&quot; icon, and the search engine selector has further retreated within the search field.A sharing menu shortcut is a new feature to hit the browser duo. Pressing the &quot;O&quot; icon pulls up the options screen. In addition to bookmarks, history, settings, downloads, and so on is the option to share via e-mail, text, Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks.You also get pinch-to-zoom across the board on all compatible devices supported by both browser versions. Before, you sometimes had to tap to zoom in. Opera says it has also enhanced the scrolling, panning, and zooming.Opera is also jumping on the tablet craze by optimizing Mini and Mobile for the larger tablet screens. On the Motorola Xoom (running Android 3.0 Honeycomb) that we loaded it on, Opera Mobile looks almost the same as it does on an Android smartphone, except that the navigation bar moves to the top.Overall, Opera worked quickly and smoothly, with just two exceptions. Opera had no problem loading Web sites, but we found one (Chow.com) whose loading width must have confused the browser because the image rhythmically shrank back, then expanded until we tapped it. (Chow.com is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET.) Another outlier issue is that Opera Mobile did not properly load a Web page we needed to authenticate CNET's public Wi-Fi. We had to open the default browser before we could use Opera. This has been a challenge for Opera for years, and one gap in its service that, while it won't affect most people, demonstrates a weakness that a browser of this caliber should have long overcome.Opera Mini 6--the more condensed, speedier, proxy version--will be available on Android, BlackBerry, Symbian/Series 60, and Java (J2ME) phones. Opera Mobile 11--the native, standalone browser--will be compatible with Android, Symbian,Windows 7 (think tablets), and MeeGo. You can download either of the free browsers in your device's app store (this may not be true for all) or by pointing the browser to m.opera.com. Then, let us know what you think about the new Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Gaming the Startup Bus stock market game]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gaming-the-startup-bus-stock-market-game</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gaming-the-startup-bus-stock-market-game</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:11:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>floreofrff</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gaming-the-startup-bus-stock-market-game</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The profile page for CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman in the Startup Bus stock market game.(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)TUSCON, Ariz.--I'm not a stock market whiz, but I'm trying to play one on a bus.For the last 35 hours, I've been riding on the Startup Bus, chronicling the entrepreneurial exploits of a couple dozen techies trying to build new companies from scratch in just three days. We're all on our way to the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. And while that has been an illuminating experience, another element of the project has got me captivated as well: trying to win the Startup Bus stock market game.This virtual exercise is an adjunct to the larger project. It poses the scenario that each of the several dozen new start-ups that the teams on the six buses are building has a viable stock in which anyone can invest. Pick the right stocks, and make the savviest moves under the rules, and you could earn Wall Street glory, Startup Bus-style.The game is actually quite simple. Shares appreciate 1 percent an hour, and when the teams hit certain milestones that rate accelerates. Share price valuation &quot;is based on your share price and the number of shares people hold in your start-up, so it's like a very simplified version of demand and supply...and it's probably better regarded as a confidence metric in your start-up by the audience,&quot; wrote Startup Bus founder Elias Bizannes in an e-mail explaining the game to the 160 &quot;buspreneurs&quot; rolling across America toward Austin.The milestones are linked directly to the steps the teams must take to move their fledgling businesses forward: Form a team' have an end goal and agree on share equity' register a domain' start a team Twitter account, a blog, a 30-second elevator pitch, and a press release' launch the product' and so on.The profile page for Bouncr, one of the start-ups in the stock market game, and on the Startup Bus.(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)This is smart marketing. Because anyone can play the stock game, its real purpose was to give the public at large another way--beyond reading bus-related blogs and following the flood of tweets about the project--to feel involved in the Startup Bus.&quot;The whole point is to promote awareness about Startup Bus,&quot; said Brandon Leonardo, the &quot;conductor&quot; running the San Francisco-to-Austin coach known as the Silicon Valley bus, &quot;and to give [people not on the bus] a chance to buy in.&quot;But while the dozens of buspreneurs are the ones who are putting their skin in this game, the Startup Bus organizers are hoping they're not actually playing the stock market.&quot;We don't want people on the inside playing the game,&quot; Leonardo continued. &quot;We want them to be working on their start-ups.&quot; In other words, if they're playing the stock market game to try to win virtual resources, they're not investing their real resource--time--wisely. But to be fair, it's clear that not all those on one of the six buses are heeding that advice, at least as evidenced by the fact that several buspreneurs are atop the game's leader boards.As of this writing, there were about 800 people playing the game, including an unknown number of teenagers that somehow stumbled upon it. One culprit may be StumbleUpon, which some players have used to promote the game.Winning strategyThere are several facets to success in the game. One is clearly a clever selection of stock purchases. Through the game's dashboard, you can see any stock's price at any time, and its history since the game began. You can also see how it's performing relative to the average stock. The stocks that have done well so far seem to continue to do so, which means that it's still possible to make money by buying higher-priced shares.But there are other elements that can help players, and in a big way. The most lucrative is referrals. Any time you get someone to click on your referral link, such as this one, which is mine, you earn a virtual dollar. Another helpful, though much more subtle tool, is buying your way up the experience ladder. Players begin as novices, but can spend $100 to move up a rung, the benefit of which is that they earn an additional $10 per hour. There are five levels, so you can spend up to $400 to improve their lot. Though that means $400 less to spend on stock purchases, it also means as much as $40 extra per hour in dividends.Another big, albeit onetime, boost is signing up for an account on the location-based business card service, Hollrback, which is a Startup Bus sponsor. I'm wondering how many people who signed up for their account did so and will never return to the site. At the moment, I plead guilty. But I certainly found the $100 in capital helpful in building my empire.Finally, players can earn badges for hitting various milestones of their own, things such as owning at least 250 shares' selling 50 or more shares in a single transaction' owning shares of more than five startups' referring 25 people to Startup Bus' and so on.I'm usually terrible at these games, and I expected to be terrible at this one too. But perhaps because I chose stocks wisely from the get-go, or because I quickly availed myself of the Hollrback sign-up bonus, or perhaps more likely because I turned to my Twitter followers for help clicking on the referral link--which was itself aided by uber-techie Robert Scoble favoriting the tweet, I soon found myself in eighth place. And in sixth place for total number of referrals.Having seen that success, my lust for more kicked in. There's something about visible evidence that you're doing well at something that makes you want to do better. At that point, I hadn't bought my way to the higher levels, but when I realized that the benefits outweighed the cost, I dived in.Because of my tweet asking for help--and, I admit, two subsequent ones--I've had a steady flow of referral bonuses. And with the hourly pay-off being $60 because of my investments in leveling up, I found myself checking the game's leaderboard constantly.However, because I gave up $400 in short order to level up so quickly, I lost my top-10 spot--and have yet to regain it, and believe me, I've been trying. And of course, the choice I made, that the long-term benefit of the hourly bonuses outweighed the cost, was pretty much exactly the &quot;balance&quot; that Leonardo said the game's designers wanted to build into it. Players would have to choose whether they wanted the cash now, or bet on being able to catch up later. No correlationBecause this is a stock market game, you'd expect that there would be a strong correlation between a stock's price and buyers' belief in the product or company behind it. But that's not really the case, Leonardo said.Instead, because teams have been able to reach out to their own social networks for support, those who have done well--in terms of the total valuation of their stocks--have not necessarily done so because of any particular promise of what they're building.That's in part, Leonardo said, because the game was launched when all players knew was teams' names, and not necessarily what they were creating, it's likely that the link between share performance and real product value is illusory. Plus, Leonardo added, because the list of start-ups that players looking to buy shares see is in alphabetical order, those at the top had a natural advantage.Of course, when it comes to advantages, there's little better when playing the market than getting and trading on inside information. This, of course, can get you locked up in the real world, but in a virtual stock game, there's nothing wrong with it, rightSo when I got a tweet yesterday afternoon from the official Startup Bus Twitter account warning me to &quot;Be careful. The bus economy is looking shaky--there may be a stock market collapse,&quot; I realized I should take action.This warning was clearly related to the one wild card in the game, the so-called &quot;Act of God.&quot; According to Leonardo, the game has a built-in mechanism that will, at certain points, make something happen that could affect one company or another. It could be that a fictional TechCrunch article comes out about a company, which would boost its stock's fortunes. Or it could be something harmful. As Leonardo explained it to me, these acts of God would be random and would tend to hit one company rather than the whole market. But the tweet I got--which was sent to me, but which was visible to anyone following @TheStartupBus--seemed to suggest that something bad might befall the entire market.What to do with that informationAfter thinking about it for awhile, I decided that I should act on it. The best way to do so, I figured--and maximize my chances of improving my place on the leader board--was to divest myself of all my shares. After all, my overall assets would only grow, and if the market did collapse, being in an all-cash position might vault me ahead of those above me who were heavily invested in stock. So, one by one, I went down my list of investments and hit sell. Except for one. Having spent most of yesterday shadowing Bouncr, one of the teams on my bus, and having put a lot of my money in its shares, I simply couldn't bring myself to get rid of its shares. Especially since the story I posted on the start-up earlier today likely boosted its share price.I also couldn't bring myself to tell anyone else about the impending doom. So either I'll reap the benefits and be able to swoop in with my giant vault of cash and dominate the rest of the game, or I'll feel awfully silly for abandoning the start-ups whose meteoric growth helped me to an overall gain of 21.28 percent. I just hope I can crack the top 10.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Get a look at SXSW's rumored Apple pop-up store]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=get-a-look-at-sxsws-rumored-apple-pop-up-store</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=get-a-look-at-sxsws-rumored-apple-pop-up-store</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dadhja</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=get-a-look-at-sxsws-rumored-apple-pop-up-store</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AUSTIN, Texas--Word broke earlier Thursday that Apple would be constructing a temporary &quot;pop-up&quot; store here this week, a move that would permit the thousands of geeks who have descended upon Austin for the annual South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) to obtain shiny newiPad 2 devices when they go on sale Friday. Downtown Austin does not have a permanent Apple retail store.The Austin American Statesman reported that Apple would be taking over a 5,000-square-foot space in the historic Scarbrough Building on Sixth Street and South Congress Avenue. So, armed with a camera, I went right on over upon my flight's arrival in Austin!Apple, in keeping with its penchant for furtiveness, has chosen not to confirm that the pop-up store even exists. Someone who appeared to be in charge of the construction efforts informed me that I was not permitted to take pictures, to which I responded, &quot;So, is this the Apple store&quot; He told me in a very polite Texas drawl, &quot;I can't say what it is until tomorrow.&quot; My response: &quot;So it is the Apple store.&quot; No further comment.Apple's Texas-sized secret at SXSW (photos) I did, however, peep through a crack in one of the doors (really) and got a look at what was going on inside. It looked, more or less, like an indoor construction site: no visible signs of anything Apple. If the space is going to be ready when the iPad 2 goes on sale at 5 p.m. Friday, that construction team certainly still has some work cut out for it.And for the record, no one was lined up out front.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Microsoft's contract with Nokia rumored at $1B]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-contract-with-nokia-rumored-at-1b</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-contract-with-nokia-rumored-at-1b</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:10:46 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ramadariversid7</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-contract-with-nokia-rumored-at-1b</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It's been less than a month since Microsoft and Nokia announced a strategic partnership to work together in a number of areas, though mainly on mobile phones. One detail that was not disclosed at the time was what kind of dollar investment Microsoft had promised Nokia for developing and marketing Nokia-made handsets that will ship with Microsoft's Windows Phone OS. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, left, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer explain their companies&amp;39' new tight alliance for mobile phones at an analyst and strategy meeting in London in early February.(Credit:Stephen Shankland/CNET)That detail has been made a bit clearer with a report by Bloomberg earlier today saying that Microsoft plans to pay Nokia more than $1 billion, while Nokia, in turn, pays Microsoft a licensing fee for each copy ofWindows Phone 7, as well as the right to use some of Microsoft's expansive patent portfolio.In addition, Microsoft is said to be paying some of its investment long before the first Nokia phones running Windows Phone 7 go into the sales channel. The deal, Bloomberg's Dina Bass says, will run for more than five years and has not yet been signed. A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the matter. Nokia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Qt no more In addition to the reported financial details of the Nokia and Microsoft deal, Nokia announced earlier today that it would be selling off its Qt application development framework business. Qt had let application developers create apps that run on both Symbian and MeeGo, two mobile operating systems that Nokia is pushing aside to put the focus on Microsoft's Windows Phone OS. (Credit:Nokia)Nokia picked up Qt in its $150 million acquisition of Trolltech in 2008. Buying it from Nokia is Finland-based Digia, which says it's going to set up subsidiaries in the U.S. and Norway to run Qt-related commercial licensing and operations businesses for the nearly 3,500 companies that currently use its Qt commercial licensing. The close of the sale is set for later this month for an undisclosed sum.The move is not the death of Qt, and Nokia will continue to be involved with serving Qt commercial licensees, wrote Sebastian Nystr&amp;246'm, who is the vice president of Qt and Webkit along with being the head of MeeGo for Nokia.&quot;Although Digia will now be responsible for issuing all Qt Commercial software licenses and for providing dedicated services and support to licensees, Nokia's Qt technical support team will support and work closely with Digia for the next year,&quot; Nystr&amp;246'm said. &quot;We will now begin work with Digia to ensure a smooth transition of all licenses and commercial relationships.&quot;The new ownership will also bring some extra features to the platform Nystr&amp;246'm said.&quot;Digia will invest significant resources in the ongoing development of Qt as a commercial framework. In particular, their plans include emphasizing Qt in the desktop and embedded environments and exploring new support models and feature requests,&quot; Nystr&amp;246'm explained. &quot;Commercial customers can also expect improvements in support and functionality for older platforms that were not on the Nokia development road map. If you are a holder of a Qt commercial license you can expect to hear more about this soon.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[SoloPower lands loan guarantee for solar plant]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=solopower-lands-loan-guarantee-for-solar-plant</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=solopower-lands-loan-guarantee-for-solar-plant</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:11:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Bakeruc</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=solopower-lands-loan-guarantee-for-solar-plant</guid>
<description><![CDATA[SoloPower&amp;39's solar collectors are flexible and can be adhered onto a flat roof.(Credit:SoloPower)SoloPower said yesterday that it has conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy for a $197 million loan guarantee to build a factory in Oregon.The company plans to start construction of a plant in Wilsonville, Ore., in the second quarter of this year. Once operating, it will be able to turn out 400 megawatts worth of solar panels per year.The move gives San Jose, Calif.-based SoloPower the financial wherewithal to expand beyond a smaller demonstration plant in San Jose. The company has also gotten a loan and tax credits from the state of Oregon.The company makes flexible solar collectors using thin-film solar cells made from a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS). Rather than the traditional glass-covered rigid panel, it makes thin strips which are designed for quick installation on corporate rooftops.It's the third thin-film solar company to receive a DOE loan guarantee, a program designed to provide relatively low-cost financing to companies seeking to commercialize new technologies. Colorado-based Abound Solar, which makes cadmium telluride thin-film panels, received $400 million in a DOE loan as part of $510 million in financing last December.In an interview earlier this year, DOE Loan Guarantee executive director Jonathan Silver said that thin-film solar is one technology with which U.S. technology companies have an opportunity to edge out global competitors, particularly low-cost Chinese suppliers using traditional polycrystalline silicon solar cells. The loan guarantee program, which could be scaled back as part of budget cuts, has yet to deliver a clear winner in solar. The first recipient of a DOE loan was Solyndra, which also makes a specialized solar collector for corporate rooftops but, like all solar companies, faces ongoing cost competition globally.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Spotify signs on EMI for U.S. launch]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spotify-signs-on-emi-for-u-s--launch</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spotify-signs-on-emi-for-u-s--launch</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>carolin7831</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spotify-signs-on-emi-for-u-s--launch</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It's getting closer: Spotify has finalized a U.S. distribution deal with EMI Music, multiple sources tell me.Both EMI and Spotify declined to comment.Coupled with last month's Sony deal, Spotify now has the approval from two of the four major music labels for an American launch. But that still doesn't guarantee you'll see the streaming music subscription service in America anytime soon.In order to make a credible offer to U.S. users, Spotify will need to at least get Universal Music Group, the world's biggest label, on board, and it's not there yet.It would also be nice if Spotify could land Warner Music Group, which now seems more doable than in the past, given Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman's increasingly positive comments about the company.If and when Spotify does come to the U.S., it will also have to contend with new rules from Apple, which will require a 30 percent cut of any subscriptions the service sells through Apple's iTunes platform. That tariff is going to be a significant problem for many of Spotify's peers, who are working on slim margins to begin with' I don't know how Spotify plans to address this one.Story Copyright (c) 2010 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Crave 33: Robot babies drive us up the wall (podcast)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=crave-33-robot-babies-drive-us-up-the-wall-podcast</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=crave-33-robot-babies-drive-us-up-the-wall-podcast</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:10:38 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>tarynkennn</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=crave-33-robot-babies-drive-us-up-the-wall-podcast</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Bing continues to grab more searches]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-continues-to-grab-more-searches</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-continues-to-grab-more-searches</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:10:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>resbimmarlk</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-continues-to-grab-more-searches</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Though Google is still king of the U.S. search engine market, the company saw its share drop slightly in January, while Bing continued to pick up more steam, according to ComScore.For the first month of 2011, the market researcher said Friday, Google's share of all searches dropped by 1 percentage point to 65.6 percent. At the same time, Bing's share crept up by 1.1 point to reach 13.1 percent. That left Yahoo pretty much flat with a 16.1 percent cut of all searches for January.Those numbers follow a pattern that's marked the past several months in which Google sheds a smidge of share, while Bing edges up a bit more. However, the changes have generally been measured in fractions of a percentage point rather than the full point seen in January. Looking at the hard numbers, the total number of core searches rose from 16.4 billion in December to 16.9 billion in January--a 3 percent increase. Google was No. 1, accounting for 11.1 billion of those searches in January. Yahoo took second place with 2.7 billion, while Bing took third place with 2.2 billion. The total core searches here reflected 1 percent increase for Google over December, a 4 percent jump for Yahoo, and a 13 percent increase for Bing.(Credit:ComScore)Per usual, ComScore's figures look specifically at explicit core searches, meaning search terms manually entered on a Web page. The data also takes into account all of a company's search sites. So in the case of Google, the results cover searches on its main page as well as those at YouTube, Google News, Google Images, and other properties.Beyond examining core searches, ComScore also tracked &quot;powered by&quot; searches. For January, Google's share of &quot;powered by&quot; searches at its own sites as well at on AOL and on Ask.com was 68.2 percent, while Bing searches on Microsoft and Yahoo sites hit 25.6 percent. Here too, January continued a familiar pattern of Google losing a small percentage of its &quot;powered by&quot; share and Bing winning a little bit more.Another recent report echos ComScore's findings for January. Data released last week by Experian Hitwise showed a dip in searches at Google and a rise for Bing.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Netflix streaming finally arrives on Boxee Box]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-streaming-finally-arrives-on-boxee-box</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-streaming-finally-arrives-on-boxee-box</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>maringsufcat</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-streaming-finally-arrives-on-boxee-box</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Well, it's about time.Boxee announced today that Netflix streaming is finally available to owners of the company's Boxee Box. In order to access Netflix streaming, users will need to either wait for the automatic update to take effect within the next 24 hours or manually update their set-top boxes.&quot;Netflix support was the most common request we had on our blog comments, forum posts, tweets, etc.,&quot; Boxee CEO Avner Ronen said in a blog post accompanying the announcement. &quot;We heard you loud and clear. We were bummed that we could not make it happen earlier, but are very excited to have it out today.&quot;When the Boxee Box first launched in November, the company said that it would make Netflix available by the end of 2010. After hitting some snags, it promised that Netflix was &quot;still on track&quot; for a launch at the end of January. Earlier this month, Boxee said in a blog post that it wasn't able to hit its self-imposed deadline because it had &quot;not yet satisfied Netflix's security requirements.&quot;Luckily, that wait is finally over. But now Boxee has some catching up to do. Netflix streaming has been running for quite some time on several of the device's competitors, including the Apple TV, Roku set-top boxes, and the Logitech Revue, among others.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[10 must-have apps for Verizon iPhone owners]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=10-must-have-apps-for-verizon-iphone-owners</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=10-must-have-apps-for-verizon-iphone-owners</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:10:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>jerrodsrjr</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=10-must-have-apps-for-verizon-iphone-owners</guid>
<description><![CDATA[After years of waiting, you've finally got a Verizon-brandediPhone. OK, now what You've played Angry Birds, updated your Facebook status, and watched an &quot;Arrested Development&quot; marathon on Netflix. Is that all there isOf course not. When you're ready to start using your iPhone like the power tool that it is, you're ready for my roundup of must-have apps. They're not the run-of-the-mill fodder like Pandora and Yelp' they're lesser-known gems that will make you marvel at what your shiny new toy can do.Needless to say, these are just my picks. What apps would you recommend for our new Verizon-powered brothers and sisters <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Google extends two-step log-in process to all]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-extends-two-step-log-in-process-to-all</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-extends-two-step-log-in-process-to-all</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:10:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Adam01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-extends-two-step-log-in-process-to-all</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This screen can be found in Google under &amp;34'Account Settings,&amp;34' linked on top of a Google page, and used to set up two-step verification.(Credit:Googl)Now all Google users can take advantage of the two-step log-in procedure previously available to Google Apps customers. The company started rolling out the option to use two-step verification to Google Account holders today, according to a blog post. The idea comes from a classic security tactic, the notion that accounts are more secure when you log in using two factors: something you know, such as a password, and something that only you have, such as your phone.Google Apps users started using this feature in September. Account holders log in to Google as usual, but the first time they enable the two-step process they will receive a code via a voice call or text message, or they can generate their own code using a mobile app available foriPhone, Android, or BlackBerry. That code can be saved for 30 days. Obviously it will be much harder for anyone bent on hacking your account to steal a code sent to your phone (unless you're a valuable enough target to warrant stealing your phone and hacking your password). It's an optional feature, but one strongly recommended by security experts.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[The Jetta for drivers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-jetta-for-drivers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-jetta-for-drivers</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>carriekristen</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-jetta-for-drivers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The GLI may look like any other Jetta, but it gets 200 horsepower from its turbocharged engine.(Credit:Volkswagen)Last year VW released its new Jetta, acar designed with the kind of boring nature that would appeal to Camry buyers. But now VW has a new version of the Jetta, this one built for the 1 percent of us who like to drive.Sporting a turbocharged 2-liter engine, the new Jetta GLI gets propelled by 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. Buyers can opt for a six-speed manual or VW's dual-clutch DSG transmission.Most importantly, VW reworked the suspension. Where the lower-trimmed Jettas get rear drum brakes, the GLI gets discs. For the GLI, VW replaced the torsion beam with a multilink suspension in the rear. The top-trim GLI, the Autobahn edition, gets 18-inch wheels.The new GLI does not look much different from a standard Jetta, and the cabin appointments are similar. In its top trim, the GLI gets a decent flash-drive navigation system, a Bluetooth phone system,iPod integration, and an audio system from guitar maker Fender.A 2012 model, the base Jetta GLI goes for $23,495, while the top-trim Autobahn with navigation and the Fender audio system is priced at $26,445.18-inch wheels come with the top-trim Autobahn edition GLI.(Credit:Volkswagen)Fully loaded, the Jetta GLI comes with navigation and a Fender audio system.(Credit:Volkswagen)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[IDC: IT spending surges in 2010]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=idc-it-spending-surges-in-2010</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=idc-it-spending-surges-in-2010</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>banely</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=idc-it-spending-surges-in-2010</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The IT market staged a healthy rebound last year, with global spending on IT products and services rising 8 percent from 2009 to more than $1.5 trillion, according to IDC's Worldwide Black Book report out today.The market research firm's 2010 numbers showed the fastest growth rate for the IT industry since 2007.Factoring in the telecommunications segment, the overall ICT (information and communications technology) market saw spending climb to almost $3 trillion, up 6 percent from 2009. Growth was driven by the need and ability among businesses to finally spend money to refresh their hardware and invest in their technology infrastructures, according to IDC. &quot;Like the global economy, the global IT industry performed better than expected in 2010,&quot; Stephen Minton, vice president of IDC's IT markets and strategies group, said in a statement. &quot;With business profits and stock markets back into a cycle of growth, many organizations took the opportunity to make up for lost time by upgrading mission critical systems and infrastructure over the course of the year.&quot;Overall, IDC found the recovery in the IT market more pronounced than those following previous recessions.Demand for new hardware drove 2010's rebound, as spending on computers, peripherals, storage technology, mobile devices, and network equipment rose by 16 percent to more than $661 billion, the fastest growth rate for hardware since 1996, said IDC. Breaking down the results, spending on storage products alone grew by 14 percent, spending on servers by 9 percent, and spending on PCs by 11 percent.Spending on software, though not as robust, also rose by 4 percent, while spending on IT services grew by 2 percent.IT spending in the U.S. rose by 6 percent last year and should grow by another 5 percent in 2011. But developing economies were the force behind much of the growth in 2010 and should continue to be so in 2011.Not counting Japan, the Asia/Pacific region's IT market climbed by 13 percent last year, with a 10 percent increase expected this year. IDC is also looking for double-digit growth from Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.IT spending in more developed economies, such as Western Europe, Japan, and Canada, will grow, but at slower rates, IDC said. Ongoing high levels of unemployment will dampen the ability to invest heavily in IT products and services, though companies will still spend on certain projects and services, such as cloud computing, mobile devices, and business analytics software. Looking ahead, IDC sees the overall IT market growing by 7 percent this year to $1.65 trillion. Spending on hardware will once again lead the way by rising 10 percent, while spending on software and IT services should rise by 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively, it predicts.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Wi-Fi Alliance urges use of WPA2 encryption (podcast)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wi-fi-alliance-urges-use-of-wpa2-encryption-podcast</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wi-fi-alliance-urges-use-of-wpa2-encryption-podcast</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>jerrodsrjr</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wi-fi-alliance-urges-use-of-wpa2-encryption-podcast</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The Wi-Fi Alliance is launching a campaign to urge consumers to configure routers and devices to use WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) on all their wireless Wi-Fi equipment.  &quot;Wi-Fi security has gone through some evolutions over the years and WP2, which has been around now for a few years, is the latest and greatest in Wi-Fi security,&quot; Kelly Davis-Kelner of the Wi-Fi Alliance said in this podcast interview. WPA2, which offers government- and enterprise-grade security, is available in all products that the alliance has anointed as &quot;WiFi Certified.&quot; The security standard replaces the original WPA and has stronger security than WPA and other protocols, including WEP (Wired Equivalent Protocol), which is still an option with most routers. WEP was introduced in 1997 and was largely supplanted by WPA and WPA2. Listen now:Download today's podcastSubscribe now:  iTunes (audio) |  RSS (audio)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Dialed In 160: We're a Triple Crown contender!]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dialed-in-160-were-a-triple-crown-contender</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dialed-in-160-were-a-triple-crown-contender</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>lasirman4</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dialed-in-160-were-a-triple-crown-contender</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It's yet another busy week in the mobile world, with the Google launch of the Android Market Web store, a preview of a 3D smartphone from LG, and a couple of 4G phones from T-Mobile and AT&amp;T. Oh, and apparently we're a Triple Crown contender in the Kentucky Derby! Sort of.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Two years later, AT&T realizes Android's potential]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=two-years-later-att-realizes-androids-potential</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=two-years-later-att-realizes-androids-potential</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>cleallomo</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=two-years-later-att-realizes-androids-potential</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Android and 4G figure to play a huge role in AT&amp;amp'T coming year.(Credit:Phandroid)After two years of lightly treading in the Android waters, AT&amp;T is finally ready to start swimming for the deep end of the pool. And almost as if it were pure coincidence, the carrier's broader ambitions come into light as it prepares to lose exclusivity of theiPhone. Looking ahead, AT&amp;T has plenty of Android on the roadmap for 2011, confirmed by a recently leaked internal document. The details uncovered by Phandroid indicate that the carrier plans to offer at least 12 new devices in the coming year, including a pair of exclusive smartphones. Looking at AT&amp;T's current lineup of Android phones, it's hard to get very excited. Sure, the Captivate is a great device, but it doesn't stand out from the other Galaxy S models of its time. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is fantastic hardware, but it's hindered by the outdated software. The rest of the roster is a lesson in smartphone mediocrity with assorted handsets from HTC and Motorola. The near future looks to take sharp turn for the positive, however, with three new phones deserving of your attention.  Just asCES was kicking off in early January, the carrier unveiled the Motorola Atrix 4G, the HTC Inspire 4G, and Samsung Infuse 4G. A quick glance at their respective specs and it's obvious that AT&amp;T is starting to &quot;get&quot; Android.While any one of these would instantly rise to the top of their class, it's the Atrix 4G that really gets me excited. In fact, given its impressive hardware, I'd be willing to bet big money that this Atrix is one of the two exclusives that AT&amp;T plans to get behind in 2011. Not only are we looking at a dual-core phone with laptop docking capabilities, but I'm also thinking it should carry a very attractive price point. A pair of recent sightings indicate the smartphone as carrying a $149 price tag once it arrives in late February or early March. And as for that laptop dock, Motorola may ask only $150 for it. So, for a shade under $300, you will be able to carry around an ultralight, yet powerful laptop, powered by Android. Outside of the Atrix 4G, I might look for something out of Sony Ericsson. AT&amp;T was the only provider to bring the Xperia X10 to the United States last year, so it seems fitting that they might offer the Xperia Arc. Sony Ericsson, much like AT&amp;T, is looking for second chance at Android with its 2011 plans.  Of course, another possibility is the Xperia Play, aka thePlayStation phone, which is said to be right around the corner. Regardless of who makes the device or which particular one it might be, I have a renewed faith in AT&amp;T. Let's hope the days of Backflips, Flipouts, and Flipsides truly are behind us.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Must-have car tech features]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=must-have-car-tech-features</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=must-have-car-tech-features</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>jermaimmmi</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=must-have-car-tech-features</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The 2010 Audi S4 received a high score when we reviewed it, thanks to a high level of cabin technology.(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)Must-have car tech features (photos) Today'scars so are full to the brim with high tech gizmos and gadgets that its easy to see how some users can get overwhelmed with the sheer complexity of it all. We receive emails and comments regularly asking what features should one look for in a new car and why.With that in mind, we've assembled a list of the must-have car tech features for your perusal. From dashboard technologies to safety features to powertrain and handling considerations, there's something for everyone in this list. And while you may not check every single box with your next vehicle purchase, we hope that you'll be better armed to understand what's available and where our must-haves and yours intersect.Check out our must-have car tech features in this gallery. Also, be sure to let us know what your must-have features are in the comments below.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[New array of telescopes could help search for E.T.]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-array-of-telescopes-could-help-search-for-e-t-</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-array-of-telescopes-could-help-search-for-e-t-</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:10:57 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sbvoor</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-array-of-telescopes-could-help-search-for-e-t-</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Multiple antennas of the LWA-1 station of the Long Wavelength Array in central New Mexico.(Credit:NASA)A new telescope array could bring us closer to better understanding the universe and perhaps even answer an age-old question: are we aloneTapping into the combined power of 13,000 individual antennas, the new Long Wavelength Array will be able to scan our corner of the galaxy using a wide and rarely explored range of frequencies, according to NASA. That power will give it the ability to find new worlds beyond our solar system by scanning for their radio waves.Led by the University of New Mexico and joined by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, which is supplying the digital electronic systems, the project will start off small this summer by powering up 256 antennas in central New Mexico. Once it's completed, though, the Long Wavelength Array will contain 53 stations with the 13,000 antennas taking up a space 248 miles in diameter.Beyond looking for distant worlds, the telescope array will be able to detect other events among the stars, those that occur naturally and possibly some that don't.&quot;We'll be looking for the occasional celestial flash,&quot; Joseph Lazio, a radio astronomer at JPL, said in a statement. &quot;These flashes can be anything from explosions on surfaces of nearby stars, deaths of distant stars, exploding black holes, or even perhaps transmissions by other civilizations.&quot;The Long Wavelength Array will use a radio frequency of 20 to 80 megahertz, says NASA, which corresponds to wavelengths of 49.2 feet to 12.5 feet. That's significant because these frequencies point to one of the last and least explored regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. On Earth, scientists will be able to examine high-resolution, detailed images of regions in space that are hundreds of times larger than the full moon.Radio astronomy and the project itself are the beneficiaries of lower costs and advances in technology, such as enhanced image processing, according to NASA. As a result, researchers are now able to grab a much better glimpse of the galaxy and learn more about the universe in which we live.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Otterbox now has Kindle and Nook covered]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=otterbox-now-has-kindle-and-nook-covered</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=otterbox-now-has-kindle-and-nook-covered</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wanjuaboh2534</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=otterbox-now-has-kindle-and-nook-covered</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Front and back side of the Commuter Series for Kindle (also available for Kindle DX, Nook, and Sony Reader Touch Edition).(Credit:Otterbox)From its humble beginnings as a small company that made tough, protective cases for youriPhone, Otterbox is branching out into all kinds of devices, including e-readers.The fast-growing Otterbox is now selling the new Commuter series for the Kindle 3, Kindle DX, Nook, and Sony Reader Touch Edition.Alas, no case yet for the Nook Color, but hopefully something is coming. Except for the Kindle DX version ($64.95), each cover costs $49.95. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Report: Net users more apt to be joiners in real life]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-net-users-more-apt-to-be-joiners-in-real-life</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-net-users-more-apt-to-be-joiners-in-real-life</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jan 2011 08:10:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>breannavfd3</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-net-users-more-apt-to-be-joiners-in-real-life</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Contrasting with the stereotype of the lone computer geek, Internet users are more likely to join groups in the real world and be active in them than those who don't go online, according to a study released yesterday by Pew Internet.Based on a survey, the &quot;Social Side of the Internet&quot; report found that 80 percent of Internet users participate in voluntary organizations, compared with 56 percent of non-Internet users.Further, those who tap into social networks on the Web are even more likely to be active. Among those polled, 82 percent of the Facebook users and 85 percent of the Twitter users said they're joiners of groups. That compares with 77 percent of non-Facebook users and 79 percent of non-Twitter users who said the same.The survey found that Internet users also participate more heavily in their groups than do non-Internet users by donating more money, volunteering, taking leadership roles, and attending meetings. Church and spiritual groups were among the most popular organizations cited by those involved in a group. Also high on the list were sports and recreational leagues, consumers groups, volunteer organizations, and trade associations.(Credit:Pew Internet)Group joiners touted the Internet as an important tool for running a group. Among those polled, 69 percent said their groups have active Web sites, 77 percent said their groups organize activities and reach out to members via e-mail, and 40 percent host their own online discussion forums.Asked why they're part of a group, 59 percent of the respondents said they see group membership as way to accomplish something that they couldn't on their own. Almost the same number (57 percent) cited keeping up with news and information as another key reason.&quot;One of the striking things in these data is how purposeful people are as they become active with groups,&quot; Kristen Purcell, research director at Pew Internet and co-author of the report, said in a statement. &quot;Many enjoy the social dimensions of involvement, but what they really want is to have impact. Most have felt proud of a group they belong to in the past year and just under half say they accomplished something they couldn't have accomplished on their own.&quot;Pew's study is based on a series of telephone interviews conducted from November 23 to December 21, which reached 2,303 adults, ages 18 and older.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Tesla versus the BBC]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tesla-versus-the-bbc</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tesla-versus-the-bbc</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ziterla1</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tesla-versus-the-bbc</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Tesla driver David Peilow poses in the electric Roadster at Edinburgh Castle.(Credit:Tesla)Feeling that electriccars were getting a bad rap due to a BBC correspondent's four-day journey from London to Edinburgh in a Mini E, a Tesla driver took to the road and made the over 400-mile trip in a day, ultimately getting to Scotland before the BBC.BBC correspondent Brian Milligan set out to drive the electric-powered Mini E from London to Edinburgh, with stops at public charging stations whenever necessary. It took him four days to complete the trip on his 484-mile route, and he reported an average speed--taking charging time into account--of 6 mph. Toward the end of the journey Milligan was shivering from the cold, as using the heater would have lessened the car's range.Pielow&amp;39's route up the M6 involved a dinner stop at Tebay, where he charged the car&amp;39's battery.(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)By the third day of the BBC's Mini E adventure, the limitations of the car were quite apparent to BBC viewers, but electric-car company Tesla found a way to demonstrate that the bad press wasn't accurate for all electric vehicles. That day, David Peilow, described as an electric-vehicle advocate, picked up a Tesla Roadster at the Tesla store in London and drove it to Edinburgh in a single day.Peilow's route up the M6 was shorter, at just a little over 400 miles. Tesla says he charged up at 240-volt outlets along the way, as needed. The only charge stop described in any detail was during dinner at a Motorway service area in Tebay, about 270 miles north of London. With the Roadster's seat heaters, Peilow did not suffer from the cold.On learning of the Tesla challenge during day 3, both Milligan and BBC editor Jeremy Hillman defended their reporting. Milligan pointed out that he was testing a mass-market electric car, and felt the challenge from a high-priced sports car was unfair.Ultimately, Peilow beat Milligan to Edinburgh, then set out for Belfast.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Google answers critics on HTML5 Web video move]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-answers-critics-on-html5-web-video-move</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-answers-critics-on-html5-web-video-move</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>semedian</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-answers-critics-on-html5-web-video-move</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google responded to critics of its decision to drop support for a popular HTML5 video codec by declaring that a royalty-supported standard for Web video will hold the Web hostage. Much has been made this week of Google's decision to end support for the widely used H.264 video codec as it implements a key portion of the collection of technologies known as HTML5 in its Chrome browser. Mike Jazayeri, a product manager for Google, wrote a blog post today responding to some of the more common critiques of its plan to support only the WebM video codec standard within the &amp;60'video&amp;62' tag. &quot;Our choice was to make a decision today and invest in open technology to move the platform forward, or to accept the status quo of a fragmented platform where the pace of innovation may be clouded by the interests of those collecting royalties,&quot; Jazayeri wrote. &quot;Seen in this light, we are choosing to bet on the open web and are confident this decision will spur innovation that benefits users and the industry.&quot; Google's decision to support WebM only splits the browser community roughly in two. Apple and Microsoft support the H.264 codec as the technology to be used in the &amp;60'video&amp;62' tag, while Mozilla, Opera, and now Google have gotten in line behind WebM, which Google turned into an open-source project after acquiring the VP8 technology at the heart of WebM from On2 Technologies last year. The main issue is that the five organizations involved in the HTML5 standards-setting process were simply not going to agree on a standard codec for the &amp;60'video&amp;62' tag, Jazayeri wrote. Apple and Microsoft are members of the patent pool that licenses the H.264 code, known as MPEG-LA. And Mozilla and Opera are smaller organizations opposed to paying the licensing fees for that technology. &quot;To companies like Google, the license fees may not be material, but to the next great video startup and those in emerging markets these fees stifle innovation,&quot; Jazayeri wrote in the post. &quot;We believe the web will suffer if there isn't a truly open, rapidly evolving, community developed alternative and have made significant investments to ensure there is one.&quot;Google's decision has caused consternation among video producers worried about having to support two different video standards, since they have no choice but to support devices that play H.264 video--nearly all modern devices--for years to come. Hardware decoders for the H.264 codec, which are all but essential for mobile devices with constrained battery life, are widespread while hardware decoders for WebM are just now emerging. Critics have also pointed out that the decision might actually cause video sites to rely on plug-ins to display video when the whole point of the &amp;60'video&amp;62' tag was to give Web publishers a way to move beyond the limiting nature of plug-ins. Google, with a huge repository of video in YouTube, understands the concerns about maintaining two different video standards, Jazayeri wrote. However, they were probably going to have to do so anyway if they wanted to serve video toFirefox users, who constitute roughly 22 percent of the market, he wrote. (Opera's market share is around 2 percent.) Jazayeri did not directly address the issue of Google's support for WebM ensuring Flash would live for years, other than to say that Chrome would continue to support that plug-in. The post is likely to do nothing to mollify those who think Google is making a huge mistake, but it does lay out the company's thinking in a much more detailed way than its original post provided. &quot;Bottom line, we are at an impasse in the evolution of HTML video,&quot; Jazayeri wrote. &quot;This is why we're joining others in the community to invest in WebM and encouraging every browser vendor to adopt it for the emerging HTML video platform (the WebM Project team will soon release plugins that enable WebM support inSafari and IE9).&quot; It's fair to say this debate is far from over.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[RIM rejects claims of weak PlayBook battery]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rim-rejects-claims-of-weak-playbook-battery</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rim-rejects-claims-of-weak-playbook-battery</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>limaparx232</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rim-rejects-claims-of-weak-playbook-battery</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RIM&amp;39's BlackBerry PlayBook(Credit:Research In Motion)RIM has rebutted recent claims that its upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is hampered by a short battery life.On Tuesday, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu issued a report in which he cited unnamed sources saying that the PlayBook's battery lasts only a few hours, compared with Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which lasts for six hours, andApple's iPad, which runs for 10 hours on single charge. The analyst pointed to the weak battery life as a reason why Research In Motion has delayed the launch of the device until the company's May 2011 quarter.But in a response issued today, RIM rejected those claims, according to Reuters, and insisted that the development of the battery was on schedule and that its life would be comparable to that of the competing tablets. The BlackBerry maker also offered an explanation of why outside testers may have assumed the battery would be weak.&quot;Any testing or observation of battery life to date by anyone outside of RIM would have been performed using pre-beta units that were built without power management implemented,&quot; the company said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.Even with comparable battery life, the PlayBook faces an uphill battle competing against the likes of the iPad. An analyst from Oppenheimer expects RIM to sell only around 3.3 million units over the course of the year after it launches. In contrast, Apple sold 3 million iPads just in the first three months.See also:BlackBerry PlayBook, first impressionsRIM BlackBerry PlayBook (photos) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Apple TV to hit 1 million unit sales this week]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-tv-to-hit-1-million-unit-sales-this-week</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-tv-to-hit-1-million-unit-sales-this-week</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>maralyn45</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-tv-to-hit-1-million-unit-sales-this-week</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The (successful) Apple TV.(Credit:Apple)Who said the Apple TV was just a hobbyApple announced today that unit sales of its tiny set-top box are expected to reach 1 million by the end of this week.The Apple TV, which launched in September, is one-quarter the size of its predecessor, and allows users to rent and stream television shows and movies from iTunes on their televisions. The set-top box also features access to Netflix, podcasts, and Flickr. Users can stream music content from their computers, and use AirPlay to send multimedia content from their iOS-based devices to the Apple TV. It retails for $99.But that success didn't come overnight. Quite the contrary--Apple TV's trek to get to this point has been one for the ages.The first Apple TV launched in 2007 as a &quot;hobby&quot; for entertainment-seekers. Unlike the latest Apple TV, the first version of the device featured onboard storage, allowing users to store their entire iTunes library content on the device. However, over the next three years, Apple offered few updates to the device, allowing it to languish on store shelves.At a press event in September, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that his company believed consumers didn't want to store content on their set-top boxes, and instead preferred to stream content. The result was the latest Apple TV, which Jobs said, was no longer the &quot;hobby&quot; its predecessor was.With the company expecting to have sold 1 million units of the new Apple TV by the end of the week, it certainly seems that way. It also seems that Apple is throwing down the gauntlet in the living room against the countless competitors it faces.Roku's XDS set-top box, for example, boasts a $100 price tag, and includes a slew of streaming options, including Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Pandora. Others include the recently released Boxee Box and the Logitech Revue, which offers Google TV software.But Apple didn't limit its chest-thumping to the set-top box market. The company also announced today that iTunes customers are &quot;renting and purchasing over 400,000 TV episodes and over 150,000 movies per day.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Monitor buying guide update 2010]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=monitor-buying-guide-update-2010</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=monitor-buying-guide-update-2010</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=monitor-buying-guide-update-2010</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Samsung PX2370 continues to garner huge amounts of interest among consumers seeking new monitor experiences. (Credit:Josh P. Miller/CNET)Christmas is about a week away, but I'm sure there are quite a few of you who've yet to even begin your shopping duties yet. I can safely (and smugly) say that I am completely done with mine. If you've been putting off deciding which monitor to buy your chosen certain someone, today's your lucky day. If you've been wracking your brain over the difference between LCD and LED technologies, you're in even more luck. Today I updated the Monitor Buying Guide to include exhaustive information on LED backlighting and how it relates to LCDs. I've tried my best to clear that whole misunderstanding up. You be the judge as to whether I've succeeded.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[China to become second largest R&D spender]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=china-to-become-second-largest-rd-spender</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=china-to-become-second-largest-rd-spender</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:11:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=china-to-become-second-largest-rd-spender</guid>
<description><![CDATA[China will soon overtake Japan as the world's second heaviest spender on research and development, according to a report from the Battelle Memorial Institute.A nonprofit group that conducts scientific research, Battelle published its findings today as part of an article in its R&amp;amp'D Magazine. The article and its full supplementary report (PDF) looked at global R&amp;amp'D spending in general and across six specific segments--Information Technology, Electronics, Life Sciences, Aerospace/Defense/Security, Energy, and Advanced Materials.(Credit:Battelle)Next year, China is expected to spend $153.7 billion on R&amp;amp'D, a big jump from $141.4 billion this year. That will put it in second place globally ahead of Japan, which is due to spend $144.1 billion in 2011, a slight gain from this year's $142 billion. Though most nations pulled back on spending during the recession, Asian countries increased their R&amp;amp'D budgets, according to Battelle.China in particular kept its pace of 10 percent annual growth in R&amp;amp'D spending even during the economic meltdown of 2008 and 2009, one factor that set it apart from many other countries, said Battelle.The continued expansion of R&amp;amp'D in China is both inspiring in magnitude and worrisome from a U.S. competitive perspective,&quot; Marty Grueber, Battelle Research Leader and co-author of the report, said in a statement. &quot;The Chinese are doing everything in their power to grow and develop through an increasing understanding and emphasis on research and technology. Even most of their highest ranking political leaders are engineers.&quot;The United States will continue to be the world's biggest R&amp;amp'D spender, doling out $405.3 billion next year, compared with $385.8 billion this year. Spending on industrial R&amp;amp'D should recover following a recessionary downturn. But the huge number of dollars spent on defense R&amp;amp'D (more than two-third of the federal total) may make that area one the first under review for possible cuts.Europe will be under the greatest pressure to justify government spending on R&amp;amp'D, according to Battelle. Facing struggling economies in Greece, Spain, and Ireland, the European Union is unlikely to meet its goal to match the U.S.' level of R&amp;amp'D spending (2.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product).Overall, total spending on R&amp;amp'D throughout the world is expected to rise 3.6 percent to almost $1.2 trillion next year.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Yamaha's YSP-2200 brings slim to its sound bars]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yamahas-ysp-2200-brings-slim-to-its-sound-bars</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yamahas-ysp-2200-brings-slim-to-its-sound-bars</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:10:59 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yamahas-ysp-2200-brings-slim-to-its-sound-bars</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Yamaha&amp;39's new YSP-2200(Credit:Yamaha)We've consistently marked Yamaha's Digital Sound Projectors as the best-sounding sound bar home theater systems money can buy, but their high price and bulky designs can be a turn-off to people looking for a more simple home theater solution.Yamaha's newly announced YSP-2200 features a new slimline design that differs drastically from the rest of Yamaha's Sound Projector line. While it's still bigger than many other sound bars, its 3.5-inch height means you can place it in front of your HDTV without blocking the screen. The slim cabinet houses 16 drivers, which reflect sound off nearby walls to create the illusion of surround sound. It's connectivity is highlighted by four HDMI 1.4 inputs--a rarity for sound bars--and each input is 3D compatible. The YSP-2200 also includes a separate 100-watt subwoofer.The YSP-2200's integration of a full Digital Sound Projector system into a slim cabinet is definitely a step in the right direction, but its $1,000 list price is going to be a sticking point for many buyers now that many capable sound bar home theater systems are available for less than $500.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Gmail's Priority Inbox improved for Android]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gmails-priority-inbox-improved-for-android</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gmails-priority-inbox-improved-for-android</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>valentaava</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gmails-priority-inbox-improved-for-android</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Google)Google's Priority Inbox for Gmail has evidently been successful enough on the desktop that it's now moved to the Android smartphone. The new Gmail for Android 2.3.2 (compatible with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and 2.3 (Gingerbread) better supports the &quot;Priority Inbox&quot; e-mail filtering tool by showing off tagged e-mails in a view dedicated to the feature.If you don't currently use it, you can activate and try Priority Inbox in the Gmail.com Settings from your desktop ormobile browser.This version of the Gmail app provides some management options, including marking messages important or unimportant--a menu option lets you toggle between the two. In addition, you can rejigger Gmail's settings to notify you when an &quot;important&quot; message comes in. Google acknowledges that this is a start, but not comparable to the desktop experience. Accordingly, we expect to see more enhancements in the not-too-distant future.In addition to enhanced e-mail support, the updated Gmail app also sees a change to replies. Instead of relying on a series of back buttons to differentiate between replying to one sender or all of them, you can now make use of a drop-down menu at the top of the e-mail to settle replies and forwards. Even better, you can now add in-line comments in a response.In addition, Google is offering a small but useful feature that lets recent Gmail converts from other Web mail clients compose messages using the Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, or other addresses.[via Google]<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Report: Charges dropped in Russian piracy case]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-charges-dropped-in-russian-piracy-case</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-charges-dropped-in-russian-piracy-case</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-charges-dropped-in-russian-piracy-case</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A Russian court has dropped piracy charges against environmental group Baikal Wave due to drastic changes made to Microsoft's licensing program for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) back in October, according to The New York Times.The case, which centered on the legitimacy of Microsoft software the group had been using, resulted partly in the launch of a new, unilateral software licensing program by Microsoft that would give NGOs free and unrestricted access to various Microsoft software. That program was also designed to keep similar investigations from happening in Russia, where software piracy had been used as a means to begin a larger investigation, as well as in other parts of the world.Microsoft's licensing changes, as well as a push by the company for the case to be dropped, helped lead to the end of the case, according to the Times. Though interestingly enough, the group had to contact the police officials in Russian province Irkutsk, which had been responsible for the confiscation of Baikal Wave's dozen computers, in order to find out that the investigation had ceased. In a related post on Microsoft's On the Issues blog, Nancy Anderson, deputy general counsel and corporate VP for Microsoft's worldwide sales group, said that unilateral software licenses for NGOs and media groups are now immediately available in 12 different countries, with more to be added to that list in the future. &quot;We are also making it available in countries where we had already planned to extend the existing program and have been working through the last steps in doing so,&quot; Anderson said. &quot;In preparing this software license we consulted with a number of organizations in multiple markets, including Russian civil society groups, to identify and address any open issues and help ensure smooth and efficient implementation of the licensing program.&quot;Anderson said that Microsoft is &quot;actively communicating the facts of the license to government officials&quot; in the 12 countries, as well as offering legal assistance to the organizations that are using it, and an easy way to provide records of that license. &quot;As part of this program, we will provide direct evidence, whenever it is needed, that NGOs and small, independent media in these 12 countries are covered by this software license,&quot; she said.Microsoft's unilateral license runs through January 1, 2012, after which groups that are taking advantage of it will need to move to Microsoft's standard NGO donation program. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[preGame 34: Epic Mickey]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pregame-34-epic-mickey</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pregame-34-epic-mickey</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>batteryfast</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pregame-34-epic-mickey</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Tim Berners-Lee: The Web is threatened]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tim-berners-lee-the-web-is-threatened</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tim-berners-lee-the-web-is-threatened</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tim-berners-lee-the-web-is-threatened</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Turning 20 next month, the World Wide Web has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. But the freedom and open nature of the Web that we sometimes take for granted are threatened, according to its creator.In a long article published yesterday in Scientific American, Tim Berners-Lee writes that the Web as we know it is affected by elements that have &quot;begun to chip away at its principles.&quot;He points a finger at social-networking sites that he says are &quot;walling off information posted by users from the rest of the Web.&quot; Though he acknowledges that sites like Facebook and LinkedIn offer value, he criticizes their &quot;silo&quot; approach in which the information is self-contained and can't easily be transferred to or used on another site.Images: Berners-Lee and the dawn of the Web View the full galleryTouching on Net neutrality, he cites Internet providers that may decide to slow down traffic to Web sites with which they haven't made special deals. He also alludes to cable TV companies that now sell Internet access and are deciding whether to limit their Web-based offerings to only their own entertainment content.Berners-Lee also takes aim at governments, both democratic and totalitarian, that violate rights and monitor online behavior, sometimes without due process. As one example, he cites the U.K.'s Digital Economy Act, which lets the British government tell an Internet service provider to cut off the Internet account of anyone suspected of copyright infringement.As another example, Berners-Lee mentions the proposed &quot;Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act,&quot; which would have given the U.S. Justice Department the power to shut down Web sites &quot;deemed&quot; to be trafficking in pirated films, software, music, and other protected content. Though the bill failed to pass, its opponents have warned that the Senate will likely try again to pass it.If uncontrolled, these activities could limit people's ability to use the Web as they do today, Berners-Lee writes.&quot;If we, the Web's users, allow these and other trends to proceed unchecked, the Web could be broken into fragmented islands,&quot; he writes. &quot;We could lose the freedom to connect with whichever Web sites we want. The ill effects could extend to smartphones and pads, which are also portals to the extensive information that the Web provides.&quot;To guard against this erosion of the Web's freedom and openness, Berners-Lee outlines principles to protect this tool.He believes the Web must remain universal and that people should be able to publish anything online. The Web should be usable by individuals with disabilities. And it should be accessible from any device. The Web must also stay decentralized, so you don't need the OK from any central authority or organization to add a page or make a link.The basic technology that we use to build the Web must remain free, with no royalties required, according to Berners-Lee. Open standards can better ensure the limitless nature of the Web, with anyone able to create anything--from a major Web site to a simple blog. Keeping the Web layer separate from the overall Internet is also vital since it ensures that the Internet can be improved and enhanced without any changes to the Web itself.Finally, Berners-Lee believes legislation is needed to safeguard Net neutrality. Though he feels the Internet and Web are best served with a minimum of regulation, certain basic values sometimes require laws for their own protection and preservation.If the basic freedom and openness of the Web are allowed to thrive, Berners-Lee sees a future with great potential respect for &quot;basic human values.&quot;&quot;The goal of the Web is to serve humanity,&quot; he wrote.&quot; We build it now so that those who come to it later will be able to create things that we cannot ourselves imagine.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

</channel>
</rss>
