Livescribe pen adds store and storage
Yet another “App Store” launched this week, but the new Livescribe Application Store is for a smart pen rather than smart phone.
The Livescribe Pulse has changed the way I make a record of interviews since I started using it 18 months ago. It’s a pen that records both my scratchy notes, with a built-in camera in the nib section, and the audio of interviews, with its microphone. Continue reading "Livescribe pen adds store and storage"
Prettier in pink Pogoplug eases file-sharing
The photo and video sharing trend, coupled with the growing use of high-definition video and higher megapixel cameras, means big files and longer upload times for users.
One way to avoid time-consuming transfers is to allow others to view files securely on a local hard-drive at home.
Opera’s Unite, incorporated in its latest browser release last month, turns a home PC into a media server, providing one option. Another is the latest version of San Francisco-based Cloud Engines’ Pogoplug, unveiled today. Continue reading "Prettier in pink Pogoplug eases file-sharing"
Windows 7 (nearly) ate my computer
Like a lot of Windows Vista users, I couldn’t wait to upgrade to Windows 7 on my home PC. Finally, something from Microsoft that promised to make computing faster and easier. Since I was just moving from Vista Home Premium to 7 Home Premium I didn’t even bother backing up my files.
That was nearly a very big mistake.
The upgrade ended up taking more than a week, with multiple phone calls to India and five hours on the phone with Microsoft engineers. And I now have several more hours of work ahead to reinstall all my applications and sort out my personal files. I don’t think I’ve lost any data, but fast and easy it wasn’t. Continue reading "Windows 7 (nearly) ate my computer"
What’s happening? A lot, says Twitter COO
Look out for a “fascinating..completely non-traditional …really cool…awesome” advertising strategy on Twitter early next year, as the microblogging service finally begins to monetise directly its tens of millions of users.
That sounds like sensational advertising, or self-promotion, in itself, from Dick Costolo, Twitter chief operating officer. He used all of those adjectives onstage on Friday in an interview at the Realtime Crunchup conference in San Francisco. Continue reading "What’s happening? A lot, says Twitter COO"
LiMo grabs limelight from Android with Korea win
LiMo could do with a little of the limelight.
The mobile Linux operating system has been almost forgotten as Google-led Android has become the open-source flavour of the year for handset makers and carriers.
But on Thursday, LiMo recorded some progress in its adoption, with SK Telecom and Samsung announcing South Korea’s first LiMo-compliant phone. Continue reading "LiMo grabs limelight from Android with Korea win"
Google Chrome OS - an Android in the making?
Google gave us a good first look at its Chrome operating system today. It has some interesting features, but is far from finished - the first devices using it are still a year away.
Google’s ambitions for Chrome also seem modest at present - it will run on low-specification netbooks. But everyone seemed to have low expectations for Google’s other OS - Android - when it was launched last year, and look at it now. Continue reading "Google Chrome OS - an Android in the making?"
FT techtalk - Polishing up Google Chrome OS
Google is giving the world a first look at its new Chrome operating system today with a briefing for media at its Mountain View campus.
Chrome was announced in July and is due to be available to consumers in the second half of next year, but there has been speculation that the OS could be available in a beta version as early as this month.
FT techtalk this week came live from the Google event, read our transcript below. Continue reading "FT techtalk - Polishing up Google Chrome OS"
Oracle v Brussels
The FT’s editorial page takes issue with the EU Commission’s involvement in the Oracle / Sun deal:
The mere possibility that a $7.4bn technology merger in California might be blocked by regulators nearly half the world away over a fly-speck of a business shows how odd the dispute over Oracle’s proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems has become.
Vitamin D Video sets brain theory in motion
Working from home on Friday, I noted 17 cars, 10 people and a squirrel come and go in our small cul-de-sac.
Not that I spent most of the time looking out of the window - I was just trying out new motion-detecting webcam software from Vitamin D, inspired by the way humans recognise patterns. It has been released in a free public beta from Monday. Continue reading "Vitamin D Video sets brain theory in motion"
Droid - the good, the bad and the ugly
Droid, the most hyped Android phone to date - even Google promoted it on its home page today - is finally available to buy in Verizon Wireless stores.
More than 100 people queued at midnight outside a midtown Manhattan store to be among the first members of the public to get their hands on one.
I’ve been lucky enough to have one on loan for more than a week now, so here’s my assessment after the jump of whether it has been worth the wait and queues. Continue reading "Droid - the good, the bad and the ugly"
David Gelles, Joseph Menn, Chris Nuttall and Richard Waters in the FT's San Francisco bureau upload their views - plus tech insights from writers in New York, London and Tokyo
FT Techblog's comments
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
David Gelles, a California native, has been hanging around and reporting on Silicon Valley for several years. He joined the FT's San Francisco bureau in 2008 and writes about social networking, clean tech and artificial intelligence.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is facinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Joseph Menn writes about tech security and privacy, digital media, and the computer industry from the San Francisco bureau. He spent a decade covering tech for the Los Angeles Times and therefore remembers the days when pre-revenue dot-coms handed out free bottles of champagne at their launch parties.
Robin Harding is the FT's technology correspondent in Tokyo, following the fortunes of Japan's videogame, semiconductor and consumer electronics companies. Before that, he was an FT editorial writer in London, having previously worked for various banks and asset managers.
Robin Kwong is the FT's Taipei correspondent and writes about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent. Based in London, he has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
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The latest gadgets and gizmos, reviewed by Jonathan Margolis in How To Spend It.
Paul Taylor, the FT’s personal technology expert, answers your gadgetry questions