Nigeria: Blackberry Z10 Debuts in Nigeria

ALLAFRICA.COM

VANGUARD [08/03/13]

BlackBerry has launched the new Z10 smart phone which is the smartphone company's fastest and most advanced mobile smart device yet powered by BlackBerry® 10 in Nigeria.

The Z10 based on the the re-designed, re-engineered, and re-invented BlackBerry 10 platform, offers to give customers a powerful and unique mobile computing experience.

Waldi Wepener, Regional Director for West, East and Central Africa said: "We are excited to build on our success as the leading smartphone provider in Nigeria, with the launch of the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. BlackBerry 10 is not only providing a whole new experience for our Nigerian customers, but also more choice alongside our existing BlackBerry 7 devices.

Closing arguments begin in NY 'cannibal cop' case

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Google Maps grasses up man cheating on fiance

ANORAK (UK) [07/03/13]

THE internet has done wonders for people’s sex lives, enabling them to flirt more confidently and meet other people without having to brave a bar filled with stouty burps first. However, with every silver lining is a dirty great raincloud, as one Russian lothario soon discovered.

While browsing Google Maps, a Russian lady found that her other-half was having it away with someone else. Marina Voinova, from Perm (where everyone looks like the Liverpool FC squad in the early ’80s), was looking for an address online and, when switching to the Street View feature, she saw an image of her fiance cuddling up to another woman.

Augmented reality car windscreens to display phone calls and GPS information

THE TELEGRAPH (UK) [09/03/13]

Technology firm Harman is previewing its interative car windscreens at the Geneva motor show, which it claims will 'transform the car into a mobile office - safely'.

Harman's head up display system (HUD) shows the driver things like speed and distance to the car in front, incoming phone calls with the picture of the caller, weather conditions, arrows for navigation, directions and warnings of looming collisions. 

This is a large amount of information being delivered into the driver's line of sight but Hans Roth, Harman's Director Technology Marketing, believes the information is delivered seamlessly enough that it won't be distracting nor dangerous. 

Microsoft confirms it will now let consumers transfer Office 2013 to a different PC

THE NEXT WEB [06/03/13]

Paul Sawers

[source: http://thenextweb.com]

Microsoft caused a minor controversy a few weeks back when it revealed that its new Office 2013 product wouldn’t be transferable between computers – unless a consumer’s PC failed under warranty.

The 5 Best Computer Monitors

ECOUSTICS [05/03/13]

By PC MAGAZINE

Let’s face it, most people who buy a PC don’t necessarily give much thought to the the monitor it comes with; or they stick with the monitor they already have. You know, when 1,024 by 786 was considered high-res. We’re here to tell you that it’s time to upgrade your view. After all, a large part of your day is spent staring at your display. But what you should get depends on what you need. Are you on a tight budget? Do you need to see several windows open side by side on your screen? Planning on using the monitor for work and play? We at PCMag dissect the mass of monitors on the market today to give you the best monitors you can buy. 

Google Glass: Our Lives Are Not Reality TV

READWRITE CLOUD [04/03/13] 

By Brian Proffitt

SOURCE: readwrite.com

Even as many in the geek-o-sphere drool in anticipation for the onset of Google Glass, some technologists are starting to question the very real privacy issues entangled with the use of these wearable computers and cameras.

Predictably, the first concerns raised about Google Glass were about the user's privacy: If I am transmitting all of this data to Google, it is going to know even more about me than ever! Or so the reasoning goes. I have to admit that this has been bugging me, but since I carry around an Android phone already, I'm pretty sure Google pretty much knows whatever it wants to know about me.

Google Wants to Install a Computer on Your Face

MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW [04/03/13]

By Tom Simonite

The search company is developing a computer in a pair of glasses. But why would anyone wear them? 

Google Glass  [SOURCE: http://www.technologyreview.com]

Google Glass, a compact computer fitted onto a pair of slim metal eyeglass frames, is an impressive technical achievement. But can it be a business?

Glass is the pet project of Google’s cofounder Sergey Brin. The compact frames have a boom on one side that hides a camera, a battery, motion sensors, a wireless connection to reach the Internet, and other electronics. That boom also contains a small display, the light from which is directed into a person’s eye by a thumb-size prism positioned just under his or her right eyebrow.

Types of Offshore Oil and Gas Structures

[01/03/13]

This illustration shows several types of offshore oil and gas structures. Various designs can be used for drilling, production management, crude storage and offloading:

Magnolia Tension Leg Oil Platform - Is It the World's Tallest Structure?

GEOLOGY.COM

Although only a few hundred feet of the Magnolia Platform is visible above water level its total height from the bed of the seafloor to the top of the platform is 4,698 feet (1,432 meters). Some people consider it the world's tallest structure. Others define "tallest structure" differently. Image by NOAA Ocean Explorer [1].  [SOURCE: http://geology.com]

The World's Tallest Structure?

When the term "World's Tallest Structure" is mentioned most people immediately think of a "skyscraper" or a very tall building. The Burj Khalifa (formerly the Burj Dubai), a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, holds the title of the world's tallest building with an amazing height of 2717 feet (828 meters).

'MiniDuke' malware takes aim at Euro governments via Adobe

CNET [27/02/13]

By Don Reisinger

According to security researcher Kaspersky Lab, the malware made its way onto infected computers through PDFs.

Make sure you update your Adobe Reader.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET) [SOURCE: http://news.cnet.com]

A new attack is targeting European governments through flaws exploited in Adobe's Reader software, according to security researchers.

Kaspersky Lab and CrySys Lab today detailed a new malicious program in the wild, called "MiniDuke," that has been attacking government entities and institutions across Europe. Government entities in the Ukraine, Portugal, Romania, and others have been targeted, according to the security researcher.

Microsoft Fighting with South Korea’s Military over Unlicensed Software [WSJ]

SOFTPEDIA [28/02/13]

By Bogdan Popa

The South Korean authorities claim that Microsoft's software was acquired through third-party retailers
Image credits: seomarketingspecialists.com    [SOURCE: http://news.softpedia.com]

Redmond-based technology giant Microsoft is now fighting with the South Korean Ministry of National Defense over an annual fee for its products, as approximately 230,000 computers are allegedly using unlicensed software.

Lecturer broacasts porn across campus

ORANGE NEWS (UK) [28/02/13]

[SOURCE: http://web.orange.co.uk]

A lecturer has been banned by a Dutch university after he accidentally ­broadcast a porn movie across campus.

The visiting professor forgot to unplug his laptop from the projector - unaware cameras recording his lecture were left on, reports The Mirror.

US entrepreneur wants couple in their fifties for Mars mission

DIGITAL SPY [28/02/13]

By Kate Goodacre

Dennis Tito - dubbed the world's first 'space tourist' after he paid a reported $20 million to board the International Space Station - has announced plans for a manned mission to Mars.

The 72-year-old engineer and entrepreneur has revealed that his non-profit organisation the Inspiration Mars Foundation hopes to launch a manned mission which will last for 16 months, taking its passengers within 100 miles of the Red Planet's surface.

(© AP / NASA) Mars as seen from the Hubble Space Telescope

Canonical unwraps Ubuntu Linux for tablets

PC WORLD [19/02/13] 

By Katherine Noyes

It's been just a few weeks since Canonical announced Ubuntu for phones, but on Tuesday the company followed up by taking the wraps off the software's tablet counterpart.

Among the most notable features offered by Ubuntu for tablets are a new capability Canonical calls “side stage” multitasking along with full disk encryption, multiple secure user accounts, and convergence across phone, tablet, TV, and PC form factors.
 
“Multitasking productivity meets elegance and rigorous security in our tablet experience,“ said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and Canonical. “Our family of interfaces now scales across all screens, so your phone can provide tablet, PC and TV experiences when you dock it. That's unique to Ubuntu and it's the future of personal computing.”

Big Brother? US linked to new wave of censorship, surveillance on web

FOX NEWS [27/02/13]

By John R. Quain

Sept. 24, 2012: A report from Freedom House details Internet access and censorship, from Argentina to Zimbabwe. (Freedom House)

Even the most open, democratic governments have sought laws and new forms of surveillance that many see as a new wave of censorship -- and that includes the United States.

The U.S. government asked Google for data on its users more than 31,000 times in 2012 alone, for example. And the government rarely obtained a search warrant first, Google recently revealed; in nearly all cases, the company ended up turning over at least some data.

'Ubuntu Touch Port-a-Thon': 25 devices and counting

PC WORLD [26/02/13]

By Katherine Noyes 

[SOURCE: http://www.pcworld.com]

Just two days after Canonical's launch of Ubuntu Linux for tablets, the company released the developer's preview image it had promised for both tablets and phones.

Control Your Computer With The Electricity In Your Arm

OH GIZMO [27/02/13]

By David Ponce

[SOURCE: http://www.ohgizmo.com]

The MYO Armband is yet another entrant in the gesture control field. Crowded by the likes of Microsoft’s Kinect, or the vastly more promising Leap Motion Controller, the MYO uses innovative new technology to interface with you. It’s kind of interesting and could actually give it an advantage over the other ones. Instead of using image recognition, the MYO has a sensor to detect the electrical impulses in the muscles of your forearm. This, alongside a motion detector, allows the armband to resolve your hand and arm movements with extreme precision, down to the individual fingers. It may even seem at times that your finger twitch is detected even before you’ve actually done so: this is because the muscles are activated slightly before your fingers actually start moving, and the MYO picks the signal up first.

FG to partner Omatek on Made-in-Nigeria PCs

VANGUARD [27/02/13]

By Emeka Aginam

After a facility tour of its plant last Monday in Lagos, Minister of Trade and Investments, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, while commending state-of-art factory of one the nation’s leading indigenous computer manufacturers, Omatek, disclosed that the Federal Government would work with the company to make available made-in-Nigeria computers to educational institutions across the nation.

According to the minister, the the partnership was in line with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan and the Local Patronage Initiative of the Ministry of Trade and Investment.

Partnership

Omatek, according to the Minister has taken the lead in innovation and quality. “We will like to partner with you as long as it does not break the law. We will be able to achieve the much-needed linkage between our abundant natural resources and the application of appropriate technology and production processes through the application of ICT in our schools and industries.

Adobe Photoshop Touch Goes Mobile

UBERGIZMO [26/02/13]

By Edwin Kee

[SOURCE: www.ubergizmo.com]

Adobe Photoshop, the graphics editing software of choice for many a professional as well as casual computer user, has now ventured into territory where no serious graphics editing software has gone before, being a pioneer on the mobile device front. Adobe has officially announced the availability of Photoshop Touch for iPhone and Android smartphones,