tuneupthoughts

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Touchscreens Move Into New Product Segments

Touch screens migrate into desktop and notebook computers

According to IMS Research, 230 million touch screen handsets are expected to ship this year -- in 2007, when Apple introduced the iPhone, only 30 million touch screen devices shipped. At Mobile World Congress this year there were a number of new touch-enabled phones introduced.

Today the touchscreen is a common feature in the smartphone market, but touch-enabled screens and navigation are moving from the smartphone realm into other device categories. Among the categories touchscreens are migrating too are the notebook and desktop computer categories.

Adding a touchscreen alone to a smartphone doesn't ensure a hit as many phone makers have found out when their touch-screen devices failed to be popular among consumers. Andrew Hsu from Synaptics said, "The trend that we're seeing is that devices are getting smaller and more powerful. This issue is now how to improve user access to data and applications. We believe that touchscreens are really the most efficient way for providing user input control."

In the post iPhone technology market, it’s common to see touchscreens used on netbooks, notebooks, desktop computers and other devices like digital photo frames. The best use for a touch interface is in smaller devices where touch makes sense as a navigation method.

Touch-enabled screens in the notebook market aren’t new with Microsoft introducing touch control to tablet computers in the early days of Windows XP. The difference between the early touch-enabled systems and those of today is that early machines needed a stylus to operate. Today we have screens that operate by capacitive touch relying on the conductive properties of our skin and resistive screens that rely on pressure. No matter the screen type, the software is the most important aspect of a touch-enabled navigation system.

The best screen using sub-par software won’t find its mark with consumers. Software has to be easy to use and make sense to users, which is one reason the iPhone did so well in the market with its touchscreen and intuitive, easy to use software.

Hsu said, "I think that touch tech is going to become an essential component of a much broader input solution. People are already seeing limitations of current touchscreen tech, but these issues are being addressed. You'll see an evolution of touch hardware. Now that people are beginning to understand what it can really do for the user experience, more and more companies will deploy it. We're seeing a lot of interest from non-traditional vendors based on the success of touchscreens in handsets. Automotive makers, larger form factors and so on. The usage model of touch input is becoming more widespread and will expand to devices other than media payers, handsets, and laptops."

Many analysts and even major computer makers don't believe that touch is the input method of choice on notebook and desktop computers. It makes little sense to scroll through a document on a notebook or desktop using your finger when a mouse can do it faster and easier. Apple's Steve Jobs said that adding touch capability to its laptops hasn’t made a lot of sense this far.

Despite that, several new touch-enabled desktop and notebook computers have made it to market.

With Love,

aishwariya

NASA Finds New Moon in Saturn's G-Ring

Moonlet is third found by Cassini probe

What's hiding in Saturn's G ring? The answer, NASA recently discovered, is a new moonlet. NASA's Cassini probe, currently in orbit around Saturn, snapped pictures of the small Saturnian satellite. Scientists think that debris from the moonlet may be creating Saturn's outer G ring and its ring arc.

The new moonlet is a mere half a kilometer (~0.333 mi) across and was discovered only by comparing images from 600 days of orbit. Saturn's rings starting from the innermost are the D, C, B, A, F, G and E rings. The G ring, the second to outermost, is a rather diffuse ring. However, it contains a bright arc, 250 km (~150 mi) wide. The noticeable arc only extends a sixth of the way around Saturn, or approximately 150,000 km (~90,000 mi).

Cassini has measured plasma and dust in the arc, and scientists believe it is the product of large, icy particles, coming from small moonlets. With the new discovery, they believe that the new moonlet is the primary source of this bright ice.

The new moonlet is small enough that its size is impossible to determine exactly. However, approximates were made using the moon's brightness in comparison to another small Saturnian moon, Pallene. The researchers also discovered that Mimas, a larger moon that shepherds the G ring's arc and keeps it from floating away is disrupting the moonlet's orbit.

Cassini has now found 3 moonlets within Saturn's ring arcs. Scientists believe that numerous bodies from 1 to 100 meters (~3 to 300 ft) exist within Saturn's rings. However, moonlets are still something rather unusual. Both types of satellites are predicted to give rise to the moon.

States Matthew Hedman, "Before Cassini, the G ring was the only dusty ring that was not clearly associated with a known moon, which made it odd. The discovery of this moonlet, together with other Cassini data, should help us make sense of this previously mysterious ring. Meteoroid impacts into, and collisions among, these bodies and the moonlet could liberate dust to form the arc."

Carl Murray, a researcher on the project and professor at the Queen Mary, University of London adds, "The moon's discovery and the disturbance of its trajectory by the neighboring moon Mimas highlight the close association between moons and rings that we see throughout the Saturn system. Hopefully, we will learn in the future more about how such arcs form and interact with their parent bodies."

Saturn has 61 known moons. In addition it has hundreds of moonlets in orbit as well. While some of these moonlets seem inconsequential, some are thought to be very important in the formation and maintenance of Saturn's rings.

Cassini is a joint project between NASA and European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. It's has two onboard cameras, which were designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology, and controlled by the Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO.

It is currently in its Cassini Equinox mission, an extension of its original four year mission. The new mission will end in the fall of 2010. Scientists are still deciding whether at that point to retire the probe or to keep it active. Either way, the probe has been a shining success for NASA

With Love,

aishwariya

Friday, October 2, 2009

Google Doodle: Mahatma Gandhi tribute on 140th birthday

Mahatma Gandhi on today's Google homepage

The face of the Indian independence movement leader replaces the letter "G" in Google 's home page.

He joins an elite band including Michael Jackson, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and Confucius by appearing on the 'Google Doodle'.

The 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing of 1969, and the 50th of James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of the shape of DNA, are among other events recently marked by Google's doodle designer Dennis Hwang.

Last week Google released a special misspelt version of its own name – as "Googlle" – to mark the company's 11th birthday and it recently sparked fevered speculation with a series of UFO themed doodles to mark the anniversary of the birth of the War of the Worlds author, HG Wells.

The images - which included a of light from a flying saucer beam lifting the second O in an apparent abduction, linking to a search page for “unexplained phenomenon”, crop circles and walkers in the Surrey countryside - initially helped fuel internet conspiracy theories.

As well as being celebrated in India as a national holiday known as "Gandhi Jayanti" – October 2 is marked around the world as International day of Non Violence.

Born on October 2 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is celebrated for his ideas on non violent passive resistance.

He is known around the world as the "Mahatma" from the Sanskrit word meaning "Great Soul".

In a tribute to mark the anniversary, Barack Obama praised Gandhi for his influence on modern America through his influence on figures including Martin Luther King the civil rights leader.