Mark Lyndersay

Mark Lyndersay has taken time out of his very hectic schedule to answer a few questions for us here at TechTing.net. Mr. Lyndersay has been writing about technology on an almost constant basis since 1995 (I’ve been reading him since about that time), being published in the Trinidad Guardian and Trinidad Express newspapers. His musings, as well as much of his photographic work can be found at his website. Read on for a peak into the mind of Mark Lyndersay.

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If you’re an IT professional or have more than a passing interest in tech, you know that you have to be constantly updating your skill set or risk becoming irrelevant. One of the new technologies which has risen to prominence in recent years is Virtualization. Virtualization has been driven by a need for enterprises to scale their IT infrastructure effectively and affordability as well as the explosion of cloud services. Making this feasible of course, is the speed at which processor performance has increased as well as provisions for hardware accelerated virtualization in those same processors.

Virtualization, though dating back to the 1960′s, has come quite a long way in the last decade. My first exposure to virtualization was with Virtual PC on the Mac. At the time, while this solution allowed you to use some of your Windows apps, they ran quite slowly – you just cared that it worked.

Today, virtualization is driving the adoption of a new type of thin-client desktop computing solution for corporations. By centralizing computing power in the data center and pushing a full, familiar desktop environment to end-users, cost saving in terms of hardware purchasing and retraining are realized. What’s old is new again.

There are many players in the Virtualzation space. Some of the products include VMware, Microsoft Virtual PC and Hyper-V, Oracle VirtualBox, Parallels, and so on. While each has it’s pros and cons, what it comes down to is what works and what makes sense in your environment.

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RIM has announced that it’s BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet, to be released on April 19th, will have support for Android and BlackBerry Java apps in addition to it’s native BlackBerry Tablet OS apps. This will be available when RIM launches two “app players” that provide an application run-time environment for BlackBerry Java apps and Android v2.3 apps. The “app players” will run in a sandboxed environment on the PlayBook. App developers will be able to publish their apps in the BlackBerry App World they  will also need to “repackage, code sign and submit their BlackBerry Java and Android apps to BlackBerry App World.” The app players themselves will also be available for download from App World.

RIM also announced that the Native C/C++ will be added to the PlayBook SDK allowing developers to take advantage of the platform hardware themselves.

With potential access to 200,000 Android apps, does this new addition to the PlayBook feature set make it more attractive to you?

Relevant Links:

• RIM Press Release announcing Andorid and BlackBerry Java Support

Amazon has launched it’s own application marketplace for the Android platform. This will compete directly with Google’s Android Market. The appstore has been launched with exclusive access to Angry Birds Rio, which will be available free of charge for a limited time. In addition, Amazon will feature a new paid app available for free every 24 hours. This sounds like a pretty good way to encourage users to try the store out.

In order to use the Amazon appstore, users will need to download it to their mobile device. To do so, you can visit the appstore’s website and enter an email address or phone number to which you will be sent a download link. Alternatively, you can find direct download links if you search hard enough. As the appstore is not available in Android Market, users will be not be able install it unless they allow the installation of non-Market application by selecting the “Unknown sources” option in the device’s application settings. Amazon makes light of this requirement, which will likely scare some users, in an introductory video by saying, “Remember, it’s just Amazon”. Not sleazy-like at all…

Amazon Likes Geography

Currently, the appstore is only working in the Unites States, but they will eventually roll it out to more countries. In countries which are unsupported (TT included), users are unable to even download free apps. This is in contrast to the native Market which provides access to free apps, provided that you meet the geographical requirements set by the app developer. Utilizing HotSpot Shield to “pretend” that we were in the US proved to be an exercise in futility, so don’t even bother.

Relevant Links:

• Amazon appstore
• Amazon appstore introductory video

Yes yes, I know… More browser news.  Google Chrome 11 has just hit beta and with it comes a number of additional features. Chief among these is support for HTML5 Speech Input API. Support for the API allows web developers to trivially add support for voice input and commands; apps using the API will be able to transcribe speech to text. If you’ve used Google Voice Search on a mobile phone, you know what we’re talking about. With native support in the browser, this will all be accomplished without the need for plugins like Flash. Applause.

The other major new feature is new support for hardware (GPU) accelerated 3D CSS which could open up a new outlet of creativity for web designers. On the other hand, there is almost certainly going to be some abuse of this, but we’ll just not click “Like”.

Lastly, with the new beta comes the official reveal of Chrome’s new logo. What was a heavily stylized Ask Simon looking thing is now, well, flat. Google states that the design development process was a iterative and a group effort. In other words, design by committee, and it shows.Simple is what they wanted and simple is what they got.

If you’d like to try out the Chrome beta, you’ll need to switch to Chrome’s beta channel. Head on over there and try it out.

Relevant Links:

• Google Chrome Blog
• Google Chrome  (BETA) download
• HTML5 Speech Input Demo

Samsung is offering proof positive the competition is indeed a GOOD thing with the formal announcement of their new Android 3.0 Honeycomb based tablets. Initially unveiled on Feb 13th 2011, the Tab 10.1 featured a thickness of 10.9mm. However, Apple’s iPad 2 put the first, unreleased, iteration of the Tab 10.1 to shame and Samsung has responded with a redesign which brings the thickness down to an iPad 2 beating 8.6mm. The Tab 8.9 shares the 8.6mm specification. In addition to the thinness of the devices, there’s also the matter of weight. The Tab 10.1 comes in at 595g and the Tab 8.9 at 470g, figures which compare quite well to Apple’s 601g weight (in WiFi only configuration).

In case you couldn’t figure it out, the Tab 10.1 and 8.9 sport 10.1″ and 8.9″ LCD displays, respectively. The tablets will be powered by 1GHz dual core processors, which will likely be a mix of NVIDIA Tegra 2 and Samsung Exynos SoCs.

Pricing for the devices has been set for WiFi-only configurations so far :

• Tab 10.1 16 GB – US$499
• Tab 10.1 32 GB – US$599
• Tab 8.9 16 GB – US$469
• Tab 8.9 32 GB – US$569

Without a doubt, the iPad 2 has forced tablet makers to rethink their positions and I suspect that we will be hearing something soon from first out-the-gate Motorola and their Xoom tablet’s positioning and pricing.

Images and details of the previous Tab 10.1 can be found here.

More pictures and detail specs after the jump… (more…)

Firefox 4, after an incredibly long gestation period, has been released to the public. We’ve covered the major new features before, but here’s a recap:

• Thoroughly redesigned user interface and presentation. Firefox 4 takes a few pages from the Chrome playbook (and others) by streamlining the user interface and menus.
• Firefox Sync to allow you to access your Firefox history, bookmarks, tabs and passwords across your devices.
• Significantly improved JavaScript performance.
• HTML5 and CSS3 support.
• Hardware (GPU) acceleration.

Benchmarks and user impressions after the jump…  (more…)

BlackBerry Protect is RIM’s remote phone backup, locking and phone locating service. It’s akin to Apple’s MobileMe Find My iPhone functionality. In addition to the location service, Protect remotely backs up your Contacts, SMS messages, Calendars, Tasks, Memos, and Browser Bookmarks. It does not backup emails, however. This isn’t too large a negative as your mail is almost certainly backed up in the cloud with your Hotmail, Gmail, or similar accounts. At the moment, Protect is still in the beta testing phase but it available for a wide range of BlackBerry devices in App World under the Test Center category. Only devices with system software of 4.6 or higher are compatible. This means that users of older phones like the 83×0 series are out of luck. Protect uses your BlackBerry ID account. This account is the same one used to log in to BlackBerry AppWorld. The app is fairly configurable in that you can select exactly which bits of information you want backed up and how often (daily, weekly or monthly).

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Much hype had been generated for the newest release of the Marvel vs Capcom title. From the many preview videos available on Youtube, it’s pretty much given that the game would be visually impressive. After spending some time with it though, here’s the rest of the skinny for you guys.

Characters and Capabilities

This iteration of the dual universe mashup offers thirty six characters in the standard version (four unlockable), plus two as downloadable add-ons… or included in the Collector’s version… namely Jill Valentine and Shuma Gorath. In my opinion, these two do not encourage the spending of extra dollars to collect them. Jill is another human commando (like her partner in fiction Chris Redfield) and Shuma Gorath, while powerful in Marvel comics, looks like little more than an oceanographic oddity. Any number of characters could be more impressive; perhaps Emma Frost and Nero may have been better suited as revenue generators.

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Here’s some nostalgia for ya. This video shows the upgrade process from Dos 5.0 through Windows 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, 98 SE, 2000, Vista and finally to 7. I’ve used every version shown here as my daily driver at one point or another.

Where did your desktop computing experience start? Or were you an Apple whore evangelist user from the start?

Credit/Original Source: http://bit.ly/gC6t43

We are in browser upgrade season, with the three majors having already released, or will soon be shipping in final form. Google’s Chrome is now at version 10, Firefox 4′s release is imminent having just achieved Release Candidate (RC) status, and Microsoft has confirmed that Internet Explorer 9 will be officially released on Monday 14th March.

Chrome 10

Another month, another version of Chrome. Version 10 is where it’s at now and there are some worthwhile upgrades, including:

• Chrome’s already speedy JavaScript engine, dubbed V8, is now up to 66% faster than the version present in Chrome 9.
• Browser tab process isolation, which benefits browser stability and security, has been extended to plugins (fear not the Flash crash).
• Chrome syncing has been extended to include passwords.
• Browser preferences have been revamped -  preferences are now presented as a browser tab, complete with their own URLs.
• Partial GPU acceleration implemented.

If you regularly use Chrome, you’ve probably already been upgraded. If you haven’t tried Chrome.. what are you waiting for?

More on Firefox 4 and IE9 after the jump (more…)

TechTing.net has recently had the opportunity of sitting down to chat with Ms. Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU). This was my first time meeting her, so there was a bit of apprehension at the prospect of conducting an interview with her. It turned out that my fears were unfounded as she happened to be a very welcoming and accommodating host and was the master of her domain. An interview full of fluff and low on substance this is not. The following is  a summary of what was discussed.

The CTU was established in 1989 by heads of Caribbean governments to be the policy institution for telecommunications development in the region. It is an organ of CARICOM. At the time, governments in the region realized that telecommunications would have a significant role to play in the development of the individual nations and of the region as a whole. Some of the primary activities of the CTU were:

1. To assist in policy formulation for the telecom sector
2. To help in the mitigation of interference challenges within the region between countries on the use of radio frequency spectrum
3. To educate and to help build capacity in telecommunications within the region.

Ms. Bernadette Lewis - Secretary General

Because of the intergovernmental nature and their work in policy generation, the CTU has not had much exposure to the man on the street. This would explain why myself and just about every other professional that I know had not been aware of the CTU until recently. The CTU does recognize that the whole telecommunications industry has changed since the inception of the CTU in 1989. The world has changed fundamentally and radically in a fairly short time due to the convergence of information technologies and communication technologies into what we now know as ICT (Information and Communication Technology). The CTU is funded  by it’s member states as well as through donor funding from it’s strategic partners.

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Apple sparked the tablet revolution in 2010 when they announced the original iPad about 13 months ago. Surprising few, the iPad became an instant hit, selling millions of units in a device category that had been written off by most every other manufacture and technology enthusiast alike. Between now and then, the iPad has often been imitated, but never duplicated. All of the major tech players have entered the market with updated devices and operating systems – HP with WebOS, Google and partners with Honeycomb and RIM with it’s Playbook. Today, Apple answers the challenge being presented by the up and comers.

Here are the details:

• 1GHz A5 Processor, same power draw as A4, 2X fast
• Dual-Core
• 9X faster graphics
• Rear (HD, 720p) and Front (VGA) facing cameras – Both supported by FaceTime
• Built in gyroscope
• 33% thinner, 8.8mm (was 13.4mm)
• Same 9.7″ 1024×768 IPS LCD
• Weight: 1.3lbs
• Two colours – Black and White
• GSM and CDMA versions (AT&T and Verizon support)
• 10 Hour battery life, same as original iPad
• HDMI mirrored video out – 1080p
• Pricing starts at US$499 – All prices same as original iPad
• Shipping NEXT WEEK – March 11 2011, March 25 internationally

New accessories:

• HDMI mirrored video out adapter cable with 1080p support (US$39)
• New folding cover/case. Uses magnets to keep itself attached to iPad 2. Available in plastic (US$39)or leather ($US$69).

Video and pics after the jump! (more…)

Facebook Email Address

It seems that Facebook has begun to roll out their upgraded unified inbox Messaging feature. This hasn’t appeared to go live for everyone yet so it’s probably rolling out in the usual Facebook way. Expect that it will hit your account in the next few hours to a couple days.

In addition to the email setup, I was prompted to set up text messaging. In the drop down to select carrier, Digicel Trinidad was listed but bMobile was nowhere to be seen.

Also new in messaging is the integration of chat in your inbox as seen in the pic below.

Chat Integration - Click for full size

Will you be using your Facebook email address or will you stick with Hotmail, Yahoo!, or Gmail? Personally, this address is going to be used exclusively for Facebook messages, at least for now.

New looks for Profiles, Pages and now Likes. Facebook is no stranger to change and almost every user-visible update has been met by angry protests from a large cross-section of it’s users. Facebook may be at danger of alienating many of those who helped it rise to success.

Let’s take the example of the poorly handled changes to fan Pages over the last few months. First, there was the malfunctioning  of the “Suggest to friends” feature on Pages. It disappeared for non-admin Page visitors. Facebook initially said that it was removed due to a bug. Then, the functionality was restored for Page admins, but it was now officially unavailable for regular Page visitors. This wasn’t too bad in itself, considering that it probably should be the Page admin’s responsibility to market their own pages. The thing is that while the functionality appeared to be present, invitations are not actually sent. This bad behaviour persists even with the release of the new Pages layout. Trawling the internet tells me that man other persons are having the same problem. However, Facebook has clearly assigned a low priority to this issue. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Why fix it when you can force Page admins to purchase Facebook Ads to promote their properties?

Then there’s the actual layout of the new Pages layout. From a Page admin’s point of view, there are two large changes which must be causing some consternation. The first is the expansion of the right column to make way for larger ads. This does of course make the middle column (the one where the actual content, info and feeds live) narrower. Secondly, Static FBML is about to die (March 11, 2011). The big deal about this is that while FBML is quite limited in it’s capabilities on Pages, it is also quite simple to use. It made the creation of custom and default landing tabs a fairly simple affair. With this gone, Page admins will have to learn how to utilize IFRAMEs. Simple enough, perhaps, except that this means that admins will have to be verse in the arts of HTML and configuring web servers. While this will not slow me down, it essentially removes access to the casual do-it-yourself types. There may be technical and financial merits to these changes but consider that non-profit organizations and charities that have used Facebook for marketing may now have to pay up for Facebook ads and for Page customization services.

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