Live Science has the best list yet of the negatives of the new iPad. I’ve always felt that the iPad is a bit over-hyped, and this list shows why. The negatives of the iPad (no multi-tasking, awkward to carry, screen glare, no SD Card reader or USB reader) seem to me to make the iPad impractical and little more than a fad.
Some of the most nefarious security problems on the internet are delivered to your browser via JavaScript. Likewise for some of the biggest annoyances, like pop-up ads. But JavaScript is the heart of many recent Web innovations as well. So what is a safe surfer to do? You can’t turn JavaScript off entirely, but maybe it can be controlled a bit better.
Using today’s web browsers, there is really just one big switch controlling JavaScript: it’s either on, or it’s disabled for your entire web experience. Pop-ups are usually blocked, but otherwise, that’s a pretty blunt control. I may not want some random site to potentially exploit some issue via JavaScript, but I can’t check my webmail without it. Disabling JavaScript completely isn’t a good option.
White-listing to the rescue! By explicitly saying which websites can run JavaScript in your browser, you can reduce your risk quite a bit. Unfortunately, in researching this post, I could only find one tool for this job: the NoScript add-on for Mozilla Firefox. I use it, but I expected to find similar offerings for the other web browsers.
So, here’s a new twist here at HTH. We’d like to know what our readers use for JavaScript control, if anything. Lots of folks also just block pop-ups (which is the default behavior in most recent browsers), or Flash, or plugins in general.
What do you use for JavaScript control, if anything?
Forget the iPad, this tablet by Freesource can run Linux, Chromium OS, or the Android OS. It has a 7″ screen, can run HTML5 video, and retails for $199, roughly $300 cheaper than its Apple counterpart. The look is pretty cool, and the open architectures of Linux/Chromium/Android make the possibilities for development far greater than for that of the Apple iPad. It is still a prototype, but it looks pretty cool. A video of the workings of prototype in action is below the break.
Microsoft has recently announced that it is phasing out some versions of Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista as of July 13, 2010. Specifically, if you have any edition of Windows 2000, Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or the original release of Windows Vista without any service packs (Release to Manufacturing or RTM) then support is dropping for your operating system.
Texting while driving is a big no-no. It is impossible for a driver to keep their eyes on the road while simultaneously reading and typing a text message. Researchers hope to change that, by introducing voice recognition which converts the text to speech, and speech back to text. This would allow a driver to hear the text message through their headset or speakers, and then respond by simply speaking.
Having done some work in the voice field, I can attest to the fact that voice recognition is quite challenging. It is hard to get all aspects of the unique qualities, accents, and cadences of individual voices into a software program that can then transcribe the speech into text. Still, the research is interesting.
Ars Technica posted a quick write-up about an Internet Explorer add-on aimed at helping children be safer while online. It sounds like it’s mostly just a custom search engine and some IE Web Accelerators, but something is better than nothing.
The most important note, in my opinion, is that parents must be aware of what their children are doing online. No software package can be a fool-proof child safety-net. This could be a useful tool, but it doesn’t allow a parent to be uninvolved.
Cool gadget? Apple’s first dud (recently)? There’s been a lot of buzz about the announcement last week of Apple’s new gadget.
In my own opinion, I think this is a disappointing release. I think it does everything that an iPhone or another smart phone does, but now it’s not big enough to put in your pocket. Also, the iPad might have been a great video chat device, but a camera was left out.
To carry it around, you’d need a bag for it, anyway So why not spend hundreds of dollars less, carry a couple of pounds more, and just use netbook or laptop? It’s definitely got the cool factor, but it just doesn’t seem usable enough to me to be of interest to anyone beyond the usual Apple enthusiasts.
For my money, I’d rather just use a smart phone. With today’s bright beautiful touchscreens, even reading for long periods is a pleasure on a smaller, more practical device.
Sensing the tone of this write-up, Mike’s wife found an interesting slideshow of prior Apple mis-steps.
Anyone who grew up in the 1980s knew The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo’s breakout game series that revolutionized home video games. The series has been prolific at pushing video game innovation through every system that Nintendo produced, with the N64′s Ocarina of Time being rated in many places as one of the top video games (if not the top) of all time. Now, for all Zelda fans (myself included), a new game is on the horizon for the Wii. Unlike the last console Zelda offering, Twilight Princess, the new Zelda game will be made exclusively for the Wii (Twilight Princess was essentially a GameCube game ported to the Wii with a new control scheme). The new game is planned for release this year, is going to utilize the Wii Motion Plus for sword control, and the game will be showed off at this year’s E3. For Zelda fans, it can’t come soon enough.
Google announced this week that it is going to be phasing out support for Internet Explorer version 6 from its Google Docs and Google Sites applications as of March 1. If you are a user of IE version 6, now may be the time to consider an upgrade or a new browser. To see what version you have, click on the “Help” menu, and then click on “About.” This will give you a version number, something like 6.0.1234 or something similar. It’s the first number that you care about. If it is version 7 or version 8, you’re OK. If you are version 6 or lower, you should really consider using another browser, as Internet Explorer 6 is becoming increasingly obsolete.
It is important to note that if you are using FireFox, this doesn’t apply as Google is only dropping support for FireFox versions 3.0 or lower. Since Firefox prompts the user to upgrade, most Firefox users are up-to-date. Google is also planning to stop support forr Chrome 4.0 or lower and Safari 3.0 or lower. For more information on the different web browsers and where to download newer versions, see our primer on web browsers.
Anyone who has been to the movies in the last year has noticed the latest trends of releasing movies in 3D. Movies ranging from films such as Pixar’s Up to James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar have made heavy use of 3D technology in a way that hasn’t been tried since the failed 3D movie craze of the 1960s. The conversion from analog to digital has made 3D much more workable and less gimmicky, so motion picture studios are scheduling even more 3D films.
The emergence of 3D is also set to impact homes. With HD becoming far more mainstream, the latest trend among TV manufacturers is the 3D television experience. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this month, home-3D was the largest new innovation, with all of the major TV manufacturers unveiling HD 3D offerings. While pricey at the moment, technology prices typically fall as demand increases, so look for affordable 3D-HD TVs in a few years time.
Besides movies and TV shows, video games are the next logical step. As the big three (Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) fight over the next round of video game and console wars, will 3D enter the picture? Some say yes, especially for the hard-core gamers.
3D also has its detractors. There are many who say that the glasses are uncomfortable, and that the forced perspective that 3D creates can take away from appreciating a film and cinematography in general. 3D also can cause eye strain, nausea, and motion sickness. So while 3D is an interesting new technology, and is all the rave this year, it remains to be seen if it is simply a fad or is here to stay. The emergence of digital certainly improves the 3D experience, but as the failed experiments of the 1960s and 1980s show, just because the content creators want to make it, it doesn’t mean that people will want to buy it. We shall see.
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