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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 367 declined, 168 accepted (535 total, 31.40% accepted)

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Android

Submission + - Will Anyone Want Intel's Android Phones? (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "You could be forgiven for feeling like you've heard it before, but Intel plans to jump in to the Android smartphone and tablet chip market, showing off prototype devices and hinting at real selling gadgets at CES. The question is, why should anyone care? Will Intel chips add another variable to an Android landscape already divided by handset maker and wireless carrier? Or will Intel's promised performance improvements make x86 smartphones a hot seller?"
Hardware

Submission + - Hack Your Holiday Decorations With Arduino (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "Tired of your code only executing in digital space? Why not hack your smiling snowman? OK, this crash course only shows you how to make pretty LED lights blink in a sequence of your choosing, but it serves to introduce you to Arduino, an open-source platform that uses C-like code. Really, any project that involves a soldering iron is good fun."
Hardware

Submission + - Kindle Fire and Nook 'Upgrades' Kill Root Access (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "The Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble Nook tablets are similar enough and close enough together in price that they ought to be fighting market share and one-upping each other in terms of features they offer users. But the latest OS upgrades to both gadgets claims to be an 'upgrade' while actually taking functionality away: both remove the ability to root the device."
Advertising

Submission + - Does A Facebook Account Make You Legally Famous? (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "If you use Facebook, you're no doubt familiar with social ads, of the sort that say "[Your friend's name here] Likes Purina Cat Chow." The problem: a California law forbids a person's name of likeness being used for advertising without their consent. This law has given rise to a class action lawsuit against Facebook. Facebook's defense seems, at first glance, bizarre: instead of just inserting language into the inevitably ignored Facebook user agreement giving them permission to use your name in ads, Facebook is making use of the longstanding legal idea that public figures and celebrities have diminshed expectations of privacy. In other words, if you're on Facebook, you're famous, at least to your Facebook friends."
Android

Submission + - Verizon Wireless Hit With Net Neutrality Lawsuit (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "When Verizon announced that it would be launching Samsung Galaxy Nexus without Google Wallet, many were disappointed, but one Stanford law professor decided to actually do something about it. Barbara van Schewick, director of Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, thinks that by blocking Google's wireless payment service, Verizon is violating net neutrality rules it agreed to when it bought wireless spectrum at auction in 2008, and she's filed a lawsuit with the FCC to force Verizon to open the phone."
Government

Submission + - No SOPA Vote Until 2012 (itworld.com) 1

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "A victory, or a just a breather? The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has postponed further debate on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) until after Congress' holiday break. At the urging of some SOPA opponents, Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and committee chairman, said Friday he will consider a hearing or a classified briefing on the bill's impact on cybersecurity."
Android

Submission + - Microsoft Moves Into iOS Ecosystem (But Not Androi (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "With the release of the SkyDrive app for iOS, Microsoft is showing that it isn't going to just focus its service offerings on Windows — particularly in the mobile realm, where Windows has almost zero market share. Getting its cloud services onto iPhones and iPads is a no-brainer — but the real question is, why no Android app yet?"
Democrats

Submission + - Meet The Strange Bedfellows Who Could Stop SOPA (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "In a political environment that's become very strongly defined by partisan lines, the SOPA debate has offered an unexpected ray of hope: the two main Congressional opponents of the bill are Ron Wyden, an Oregon Senator deemed a "hardcore liberal" and Darrell Issa, a California Representative who is one of the Obama Administration's fiercest critics. (There are both Ds and Rs in favor of the bill, too.)"
Cellphones

Submission + - Nokia Exec: Young People Fed Up With iPhone (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "Nokia's Windows Phones haven't hit the U.S., but at least one company executive thinks they'll be a slam dunk, since young people have soured on the iPhone and find Android baffling. Of course, much of the Internet commentariat found his remarks even more baffling. Is he right, is he delusional, or is he just trying to build buzz for his company's products the best he can?"
Microsoft

Submission + - How To Automate Everything In Windows (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "Sysadmins for *nix systems have a number of command line scripting tools available to automate any conceivable task, and tend to view Windows contemptuously as an OS where you need to drag icons around a screen by hand to get anything done. But you can automate just about anything in Windows that you can imagine, whether you're dealing with a high-powered Windows server or just your home PC."
Android

Submission + - Why The Fire Can't Get Reviewed On Its Merits (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "The Kindle Fire is getting some poor reception from its initial wave of buyers. Why, when the device's release was heralded by a wave of tech coverage and reviews, were people surprised when they actually pulled it out of the box? Maybe because reviewers were so eager to weave the Fire into an iPad vs. all comers narrative that they didn't really review the device on its own merits."
AI

Submission + - Single-Purpose Robots And The Future Of AI (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "Robot-builders may not be even close to building an intelligent humanoid like Star Trek's Data, but they're very good at creating, say, robot mice that can solve mazes in mere seconds. The question is: should AI experts be spending energy trying to replicate human-style all-purpose brains, or should they focus on single-task robots like these super-mice? And if we take the latter path, what kind of intelligence can we expect to emerge from that beginning?"
Cellphones

Submission + - Tizen, webOS, & The Future Of Mobile Open Sour (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "When HP announced it would release webOS as open source, it added a competitor to a narrow niche: there's already Tizen, the descendent of MeeGo, which is, like webOS, an open source Linux-based operating system for smartphones. Can they co-exist, or will one come out on top? One built-in advantage for webOS is that already has hardware, in the form of all those $99 TouchPad's being snapped up on eBay."
Windows

Submission + - Why Windows 8 Mobile Needs Windows 8 Desktop (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "Several mobile operating systems have gone up against the iOS and Android juggernauts, only to be undone by a lack of apps and developer support. Windows Phone 7 is arguably among these, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from doubling down with its plans for Windows 8 tablet. By building at least semi-compatible OSes for desktops, tablets, and PCs, Microsoft could grab developer interest where webOS and others failed — but only if they commit to Metro on the desktop."

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