Google is open-sourcing a new general purpose data compression library called Zopfli that can be used to speed up Web downloads. The Zopfli Compression Algorithm, which got its name from a Swiss bread recipe, is an implementation of the Deflate compression algorithm that creates a smaller output size compared to previous techniques, Lode Vandevenne, a software engineer with Google's Compression Team, on the Google Open Source Blog last week. "The smaller compressed size allows for better space utilization, faster data transmission, and lower Web page load latencies. Furthermore, the smaller compressed size has additional benefits in mobile use, such as lower data transfer fees and reduced battery use," Vandevenne wrote. The more exhaustive compression techniques used achieve higher data density but also make the compression a lot slower. This does not affect the decompression speed, though, Vandenne wrote.
A panel discussion at MIT this week hailed major advances in networking technology, but warned that the challenges facing the world's information infrastructure are severe. Most of the challenges stem from the rapid multiplication of demand, both in terms of user devices and data, according to IDC analyst Rohit Mehra, who moderated the MIT Forum discussion on "Can the networks deliver?" at the Tang Center for Management Education. Mehra was joined on the panel by Boston University professor Mark Crovella, Akamai chief strategist Kristofer Alexander, and Veniam Works principal Roy Russell. "We're now starting to talk about not millions any more, when we talk about user devices that are in play, but billions," said Mehra. "Of late, in the industry, we've started talking about how many devices versus how many human beings on the planet."
smartphone will launch in six different models. . has reported that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will launch in black and white colour options and three different storage capacities - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Although large storage options will be available, the Galaxy S4 will supposedly have a microSD card slot for adding more.
Dropbox CEO Drew Houston has warned against buying into cloud services offered by mobile device manufacturers and network operators, claiming that consumers and businesses can easily become locked in. Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Houston said there is a common pattern of thinking, whereby companies that build phones or networks believe that they can also build a cloud service and bolt it on to their existing offerings. "The question is not so much can you do that as is it worth the effort? We save more than one billion files a day and connect half a billion devices, so if you think of the air traffic control of that, the margin for error here is pretty low," said Houston. "You talk about a billion files - that's more than there are tweets on Twitter. And it's not 140-character snippets, this is your wedding photos and your tax returns and your work stuff; it's the most important information that you have. Doing that at scale, doing it reliably, doing it securely is really challenging."
Instagram fans who want more instant gratification from the photo sharing service and social network are getting some help from Polaroid. In the , you’ll be able to buy a Polaroid-branded instant digital camera that will let you shoot photos, apply Instagram filters, share them on Facebook and Instagram, and print your snapshot on Polaroid-style paper. The idea makes sense considering that both Polaroid and Instagram appeal to people because of their hipster vibes. It can’t be denied—tons of people get a kick out of Instagram. In fact, the service says every month. Unless you’re a photography purist, Instagram is fun to use if you’re creatively-inclined, and transforms ordinary photos into retro-style artistic creations that you can share with friends and followers in just a few clicks on your mobile device.
Yahoo is beefing up technology offerings and streamlining its media products in another sign it wants to improve its game against industry titans like Google, Apple and Facebook. It is putting the axe to more than a half dozen of its less popular products as CEO Marissa Mayer, a former Google engineer who worked her way up to a vice president post, remakes the company known as a hip Web portal into a more competitive player across the spectrum. The company said Friday most of the products it is dumping will either shut down April 1 or not be supported after that date. that affected products include Yahoo Avatars, Yahoo app for BlackBerry, Yahoo Clues (beta), Yahoo App Search, Yahoo Sports IQ, Yahoo Message Boards website, and Yahoo Updates API.
installed, you can start using Wunderlist less than a minute after deciding you want to. If you're a Wunderlist user, the Pokki version of the app will look very familiar, with every feature you've come to expect from other versions of Wunderlist. After logging into your account, you can start adding scheduled tasks and to-do items, with or without a date, placing them in your own custom lists. Wunderlist for Pokki comes with several useful keyboard shortcuts for easy browsing which you can easily learn by pressing "H." In fact, not only can you access your slick to-do list with one mouse click, you can easily access most of its features without having to click that mouse again. to get things done. The Download button on the Product Information page will download the software to your system.
If you run a one-man shop and you're looking to sell a product or service, you have a few options. You can build an e-commerce site from scratch, which requires time and expertise, or you can go with a turnkey marketplace like Etsy, which might not be a good fit for your product (unless it's a tea cozy). : a quick and simple way to create an e-commerce site for hawking your wares. Designed for "the smallest of small businesses," Soho Storefront officially launches next Tuesday as part of the company's Soho VIP package, which includes business amenities like professional designed group emails, secure cloud storage, various documents and templates, and so on. All you do is sign into your Planet Soho account, click through to your storefront, then start adding products and services. If you have just one or two, it literally takes a matter of minutes to start selling.
Microsoft may upgrade Office 2013 as often as four times a year, the company's top Office executive said this week, a massive change from decades of more measured development. introduced this year. In January, Kurt DelBene, who heads the Windows group, cited frequent updates when he introduced Office 365 Home Premium. "This is a major leap forward," said DelBene of his plan to transform the company's traditional three-year release cycle. But while it has trumpeted the faster pace of changes in Office-by-subscription, Microsoft has been mum about the details, including the frequency of those updates and upgrades, and what they will contain.
Western Digital capacity on hard disk drives (HDD). The discovery was made by HGST Labs, a company owned by Western Digital (WD), using a technique called nanolithography, which is used to imprint patterns on the thin film of hard drive platters where data is to be stored. The process overcomes the challenges associated with photolithography, a semiconductor technology used for making successively smaller circuit features in shorter wavelengths of light, among other things. The discovery allows for twice the bit density of today's disk drives. Nanolithography was used to make dense patterns of "magnetic islands" that appear as small dots in about 100,000 circular tracks required for disk drives.
