Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Russians Plan Space Hotels for Tourists
Two Russian companies unite for a capitalist venture.
A couple of aerospace companies based in Russia, Orbital Technologies and RSC Energia, are working on making space travel more accessible—to the very rich at least.
The plan is to launch a “commercial space station” (CSS) designed to accommodate tourists, scientific missions, and researchers conducting medical studies. The orbiting facility will features amenities for seven people, ferried to and from the station by Russia’ Soyuz spacecraft. Automated Progress freighters will be used to transport supplies. The CSS will also maintain a close proximity with the International Space Station, to facilitate transfers of personnel and objects between the two.
Backing both companies are decades of claimed experience with former Soviet Union’s space program. RSC has been designing and building space stations for over 40 years. Orbital on the other hand boasts engineers, scientists, and “space industry veterans” who have good ideas about making space travel a more private enterprise.
From a price or timetable standpoint, details remain sparse. Both Orbital and RSC are pushing for a 2016 launch at latest, while the cost for a ride to the CSS will depend “on launch vehicle, duration and purpose of missions.
sumber : www.tomsguide.com
A couple of aerospace companies based in Russia, Orbital Technologies and RSC Energia, are working on making space travel more accessible—to the very rich at least.
Backing both companies are decades of claimed experience with former Soviet Union’s space program. RSC has been designing and building space stations for over 40 years. Orbital on the other hand boasts engineers, scientists, and “space industry veterans” who have good ideas about making space travel a more private enterprise.
From a price or timetable standpoint, details remain sparse. Both Orbital and RSC are pushing for a 2016 launch at latest, while the cost for a ride to the CSS will depend “on launch vehicle, duration and purpose of missions.
sumber : www.tomsguide.com
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Mozilla: No Firefox Browser for iPhone... Really
Mozilla stated again that Firefox is not heading to Apple's iPhone.
Tuesday Mozilla confirmed that Firefox will not arrive on Apple's iPhone. Instead, users must fall back on Firefox Home, a free cloud-based application (browser companion) for accessing Firefox desktop history, bookmarks and tabs. Mozilla added that iPhone owners won't even receive anything resembling a full-blown browser within the Firefox Home app.
Why? Mozilla blames certain restrictions that prevented the team from bringing the full browser to Apple's device.
"People have asked about adding more browser-like features to Firefox Home, but there are technical and logistical restrictions that make it difficult, if not impossible, to build the full Firefox browser for the iPhone," Mozilla said in a blog. "We are focused on building Firefox Home as a rich, cloud-based application and making it a valuable product that people will continue to love and use."
Tuesday Mozilla confirmed that Firefox will not arrive on Apple's iPhone. Instead, users must fall back on Firefox Home, a free cloud-based application (browser companion) for accessing Firefox desktop history, bookmarks and tabs. Mozilla added that iPhone owners won't even receive anything resembling a full-blown browser within the Firefox Home app.
Why? Mozilla blames certain restrictions that prevented the team from bringing the full browser to Apple's device.
"People have asked about adding more browser-like features to Firefox Home, but there are technical and logistical restrictions that make it difficult, if not impossible, to build the full Firefox browser for the iPhone," Mozilla said in a blog. "We are focused on building Firefox Home as a rich, cloud-based application and making it a valuable product that people will continue to love and use."
Mozilla also said that it's working to bring Firefox Home to Blackberry and Symbian, indicating that the company may be shifting away from mobile browser development altogether. There's also an indication that Mozilla may bring Firefox Home to Apple's iPad, however the team said that the option will require further investigation.
Firefox for Mobile--aka Fennec--is currently available for the Nokia Maemo, Nokia N900, and the Nokia N810 and N800 internet tablets. An alpha version is available for Android handsets, however the version for Windows Mobile was put on hold after the announcement of Windows Phone 7.
Last year Mozilla ruled out development for the iPhone, blaming Apple policies. "The issue is more with Apple than with us because they control the App Store and because they refuse applications which compete with something that is already on the phone," said Mozilla's European president, Tristan Nitot. "It’s unlikely that we’ll see a version of Firefox running on the iPhone."
sumber : www.tomsguide.com
sumber : www.tomsguide.com
Microsoft Suing Motorola Over Android Features
Microsoft claims that Motorola's Android smartphones infringes upon nine patents.
Friday Microsoft filed suit against Motorola, claiming that the manufacturer’s Android smartphones infringes upon nine Microsoft patents. The action was filed in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
According to Microsoft’s Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing, the patents at issue include synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power--features that are included on Android smartphones.
"We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market," Gutierrez said in a press statement. "Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones."
Gutierrez goes into further detail on TechNet Blogs, saying that Microsoft’s Exchange Services is a proprietary technology that offers continuous and seamless synchronization with client email services. However the key argument seems to be that smartphones aren’t just for making calls or calculating tips anymore--they have become handheld computers that can play music, watch videos, create documents, play games, and install programs (apps). Sound familiar?
"That Microsoft has important patents in this area should not surprise anyone--we’ve spent over 30 years developing cutting-edge computer software," he said. "Our action today merely seeks to ensure respect for our intellectual property rights infringed by Android devices; and judging by the recent actions by Apple and Oracle, we are not alone in this respect."
As of this writing, Motorola hasn’t received a copy of the complaint. "Motorola has a leading intellectual property portfolio, one of the strongest in the industry," Motorola said in a statement. "The company will vigorously defend itself in this matter."
sumber : www.tomsguide.com
Friday Microsoft filed suit against Motorola, claiming that the manufacturer’s Android smartphones infringes upon nine Microsoft patents. The action was filed in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
According to Microsoft’s Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing, the patents at issue include synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power--features that are included on Android smartphones.
"We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market," Gutierrez said in a press statement. "Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones."
Gutierrez goes into further detail on TechNet Blogs, saying that Microsoft’s Exchange Services is a proprietary technology that offers continuous and seamless synchronization with client email services. However the key argument seems to be that smartphones aren’t just for making calls or calculating tips anymore--they have become handheld computers that can play music, watch videos, create documents, play games, and install programs (apps). Sound familiar?
"That Microsoft has important patents in this area should not surprise anyone--we’ve spent over 30 years developing cutting-edge computer software," he said. "Our action today merely seeks to ensure respect for our intellectual property rights infringed by Android devices; and judging by the recent actions by Apple and Oracle, we are not alone in this respect."
As of this writing, Motorola hasn’t received a copy of the complaint. "Motorola has a leading intellectual property portfolio, one of the strongest in the industry," Motorola said in a statement. "The company will vigorously defend itself in this matter."
sumber : www.tomsguide.com
Finally! Skype Announces Android Application
If you're rocking an Android device and have been insanely jealous of iPhone-owning friends (or friends with Android phones on Verizon) running Skype on their phones, then your prayers have finally been answered: Skype has announced the availability of an official Skype for Android application.
Starting today, users with Android 2.1 or Android 2.2 can avail of free Skype-to-Skype calls, and send and receive IMs for free, one-to-one or with a group. 3G Skype calls will be available for users outside the U.S. but disappointingly, users in the United States are restricted to calling over WiFi.
Skype says the app has been tested on the HTC Desire, HTC Legend, Nexus One, Motorola Milestone XT720, and Motorola Milestone but should work on other devices too. The company mentioned that there have been some issues with Samsung's Galaxy S but assured users it's working to iron these out.
Check out the demo video below for more on Skype for Android.
sumber : www.tomsguide.com
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