jenniferleclaire.com » 2008

Google Kills SearchMash as SearchWiki Emerges

While there is plenty of buzz around Google’s new SearchWiki, another Google experiment is quietly disappearing: SearchMash. Once located at SearchMash.com, the service was Google’s experimental search interface, a non-branded search engine that Google used to test new technology.SearchMash let users search the Internet in different ways. Specifically, it let searchers reorder results and see the top three image results next to Web results. SearchMash also recognized classes of proper nouns and displayed refinements for them and adjusted for spelling mistakes.

Click here to read the rest of my story on Sci-Tech Today.

November 25th, 2008

Police Probe Roles in Live Online Video of Suicide

A South Florida teen committed suicide last week as a Webcam audience watched in real time. The Pembroke Pines teen died of a lethal drug overdose 12 hours after he shared his intent to kill himself on a blog, according to investigators.A toxic combination of opiates and benzodiazepine, a drug used to treat insomnia and depression, killed Abraham Briggs. The 19-year-old man died Wednesday, the Broward County medical examiner’s office confirmed. Briggs had a prescription for the antidepressant, but authorities are unsure how he obtained the others.

It’s not clear how many people watched the suicide, but police are investigating the Web site moderator’s role in the live video streaming of the suicide on Justin.tv. Investigators are also looking at comments on the discussion board at bodybuilding.com that linked to the streaming video.

Click here to read the rest of my story on CIOToday.

Add comment November 25th, 2008

Microsoft’s Morro Could Challenge Security Giants

McAfee and Symantec could be affected as Microsoft moves to provide free antivirus software. If the software, code-named Morro, successfully protects against viruses, analysts said, it could mean an exodus from well-known security brands.On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a security offering focused on protecting against malware. The software giant is addressing what it sees as a growing need for a security solution that meets the unique needs of emerging markets and smaller PC form factors.

“This could be third-time lucky for Microsoft in regards to an antivirus product,” said Graham Cluley, a senior security consultant at Sophos. “They tried with MSAV in Windows 3.11/MSDOS 6.2, which wasn’t terribly successful — especially when it detected Windows 95 as a virus.”

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

Add comment November 24th, 2008

IBM Extends Lotus Notes to Millions of Nokia Phones

Nokia and IBM on Thursday launched IBM Lotus Notes support for Nokia’s S60-based mobile phones. That means millions of Lotus Notes users will be able to access their e-mail on Nokia devices in December.Lotus Notes has almost 140 million licensed users. The announcement opens the door for more than 80 million Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices to connect to corporate e-mail accounts through Lotus Domino Server software known as Lotus Notes Traveler. The software provides real-time access to e-mail, calendars, address books, journals and to-do lists.

According to Soren Petersen, senior vice president at Nokia, the deal with Big Blue is another affirmation of the company’s business mobility vision: To establish partnerships with the world’s leading enterprise vendors.

“This collaboration means nearly 90 percent of business e-mail can be mobilized with Nokia devices, without needing to purchase additional servers, middleware or licenses,” Petersen said. “With the presence, position and technology that IBM has in the corporate e-mail market, they are an essential partner for us in enterprise.”

Click here to read the rest of my story on Sci-Tech Today.

Add comment November 24th, 2008

Glitches Reported as BlackBerry Storm Nears US Debut

The BlackBerry Storm has been debuting around the world, but rumors are spreading about a possible shortage in the U.S. News reports also indicate Research In Motion discovered a security flaw in the Storm that has left Verizon Wireless scrambling to update the firmware in the final hours before its U.S. release on Friday.Neither RIM nor Verizon were immediately available for comment. The much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm will be available exclusively from Verizon in the U.S.

“The BlackBerry Storm is big deal for Verizon Wireless customers,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. “There’s pent-up demand for a touchscreen BlackBerry and there’s pent-up demand for a touchscreen smartphone at Verizon, especially since AT&T has the corner on the iPhone.”

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

Add comment November 24th, 2008

IBM, Partners Aim To Build Brain-Like Computer Systems

IBM , in collaboration with five universities, announced plans Thursday to create computing systems that simulate and emulate the brain’s abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition while rivaling its low power consumption and compact size. The goal is to solve the problem of information management.IBM and its collaborators — Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell University, Columbia University Medical Center, and University of California-Merced — have been awarded $4.9 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the first phase of DARPA’s Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) initiative.

According to IDC, digital data is growing 60 percent each year, giving businesses access to incredible new streams of information. But without the ability to monitor, analyze and react to this information in real time, most of its value may be lost. Until the data is captured and analyzed, decisions or actions may be delayed.

Cognitive computing offers the promise of systems that can integrate and analyze vast amounts of data from many sources in the blink of an eye, allowing businesses or individuals to make rapid decisions in time to have a significant impact.

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

Add comment November 24th, 2008

Nvidia To Launch Tesla Personal Supercomputer

Nvidia on Tuesday announced a personal supercomputer that delivers the computing power of a cluster at 1/100th of the price and in the form of a standard desktop workstation. It is working with partners to release the GPU-based Tesla Personal Supercomputer.Supercomputers, shared resources that consume hundreds of kilowatts of power and cost millions of dollars to build and maintain, are typically used to carry out scientific research. Nvidia is bringing this power to the desktop.

The Tesla computers are available from a number of vendors, including Dell, Lenovo, Microway, Tycrid, Unitcom, Viglen and Western Scientific.

“We’ve all heard ‘desktop supercomputer’ claims in the past, but this time it’s for real,” said Burton Smith, a Microsoft technical fellow. “Nvidia and its partners will be delivering outstanding performance and broad applicability to the mainstream marketplace. Heterogeneous computing, where GPUs work in tandem with CPUs, is what makes such a breakthrough possible.”

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

November 19th, 2008

Archive for November, 2008

Google Kills SearchMash as SearchWiki Emerges

Police Probe Roles in Live Online Video of Suicide

Microsoft’s Morro Could Challenge Security Giants

IBM Extends Lotus Notes to Millions of Nokia Phones

Glitches Reported as BlackBerry Storm Nears US Debut

IBM, Partners Aim To Build Brain-Like Computer Systems

Nvidia To Launch Tesla Personal Supercomputer