360-Days Blog

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government has required that personal computer makers bundle a software that filters Internet content from July 1, according to a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology document seen by Reuters.

The free "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software, developed by Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co, can effectively filter "unhealthy words and images," the document said.

The requirement is "in order to consolidate the achievements of the online campaign against pornography, combine punishment and prevention, protect the healthy growth of young people, and promote the Internet's healthy and orderly development," it said.

China already has a system to block websites deemed objectionable. Internet police monitor sites, blogs and other online venues for pornographic or politically sensitive content.

"Summer vacation is coming up, and many Chinese parents worry about what their children will see on the Internet. That's the purpose of the software," Jinhui founder Bryan Zhang said.

"Even if you wanted to use it for, say, political content, you couldn't, because it's image distinction software that tracks pornographic images," Zhang told Reuters.

PC makers must report the number of computer units sold and software packages installed to the ministry on a monthly basis in 2009, and yearly starting in February 2010, the circular says.

"Using the software is not compulsory. You can shut it down or take it out if you want to. With a password, you can turn it off at any time," Zhang said.

"It's an optional tool to prevent access to pornography, just like anti-pornography software in the United States."

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news on Monday.

CONCERN

Homegrown brands like Lenovo and Founder dominate China's market, though global names such as HP, Dell and Acer have significant market share.

It is one of the world's fastest-growing PC markets, with research firm Gartner forecasting total PC shipments will climb by about 3 percent this year to more than 42 million units.

Acer said it was not aware of the new requirement, while rival Taiwanese maker Asustek said it was but had not yet been officially informed by the Chinese government.

"Along with the rest of the industry ... we are studying it and working with relevant government and other parties to seek clarifications," said Dell spokeswoman Faith Brewitt.

Source
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5570DF20090608?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party merely listens into the call and cannot speak. It is often referred to as an ATC (Audio Tele-Conference).

Conference calls can be designed so that the calling party calls the other participants and adds them to the call. In most cases, the participants are able call into the conference call themselves, by dialing into a special telephone number that connects to a "conference bridge" (a specialized type of equipment that links telephone lines).

Usually, most companies use a specialized service provider who maintains the conference bridge, or who provides the phone numbers and PIN codes that participants dial to access the meeting or conference call.

Three-way calling is available (usually at an extra charge) for most customers on their home or office phone line. To three way call, the first person one wishes to talk to is dialed. Then the Hook flash button is pressed and the other person's phone number is dialed. While it is ringing, flash is pressed again. This will put the three people together. This option allows callers to add a second outgoing call to an already connected call.

Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_calls

Microsoft plans to redefine mini-notebooks that Intel has categorized as netbooks with a new term – low cost small notebook PC, according to Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Division, Microsoft.

Guggenheimer pointed out on June 2 in Taipei during Computex 2009 that since some of the mini-notebooks already feature capabilities more than just purely Internet browsing – which is the main purpose of the netbook – therefore the term netbook should be abandoned.

Some market watchers speculated that the renaming strategy will help Microsoft separate the mini-notebooks with regular notebook capabilities from netbooks, so that it can reduce the number of its low-end Windows shipments.

The new definition will require mid-range to high-end mini-notebooks, which may fall into the netbook category because of their size, to adopt higher-end versions of Windows 7, added the market watchers.

Microsoft declined to comment on the speculation, saying Guggenheimer would provide more details of the strategy while delivering a keynote speech at the company's Computex forum on June 3.

Microsoft has recently decided to lift the restriction on Windows 7 Starter Edition being able to run only three concurrent applications on a PC at a time, and it has also decided to

Source
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090602PD221.html

Just as expected, Sony just announced the PSP Go at E3 just now -- Haz Kirai called it the "worst kept secret at E3." The slider handheld has a 3.8-inch LCD, built-in Bluetooth and 16GB of internal storage, all in a case 50 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the original PSP-1000 -- a weight savings we're guessing is directly attributable to the loss of the UMD drive. That's right, the Go doesn't have a UMD drive -- games will instead load in through the Memory Stick Micro slot or over PlayStation Network. That's not the end of the classic PSP, though -- Sony says it will "live on." New PSP titles will be distributed through both UMD at retail and online simultaneously -- Sony's beefing up the desktop client and renaming it Media Go for easier access and syncing with Playstation Network media, but you'll be able to get PSN content directly from the Go as well. The PSP's music features have also been beefed up with a new auto-playlist feature called Sense Me, which sounds a lot like Pandora or iTunes Genius playlists, and there's a new video delivery service being rolled out.

Don't expect the loss of UMD to lower the price, though: the Go will be $249 when it launches on October 1 in North America and Europe and November 1 in Japan. Sony's showing demo videos with both black and white versions, but that's not confirmed yet -- we'll let you know.

Update: Check the full PR here.

Update 2: Sony has just blasted out the detailed specifications. Here are the highlights:

* Approx. 128 x 16.5 x 69 mm (width x height x depth)
* Weight: 5.6 ounces (including batter)
* CPU: 333MHz
* 64MB memory
* 3.8-inch display (480 x 272 resolution)
* Built-in stereo speakers and microphone
* 802.11b WiFi
* Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
* USB 2.0
* Memory Stick Micro slot
* Analog video out
* 16GB storage


Source
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/02/sony-psp-go-announced-bye-bye-umd/

nnovative ClickPad™ Solution Delivers Improved User Experience, Incorporates Clever Three-Finger Press Gesture

Taipei, Taiwan – June 2, 2009 – Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA), a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications, and entertainment devices, is demonstrating new products and technology enhancements at COMPUTEX 2009. Synaptics will unveil its new ClickPad™ solution, an innovative touchpad for consumer and business users that want larger multi-finger gesture enabled TouchPads in smaller notebook designs, particularly netbooks, which have been the fastest growing product segment in the portable computing market over the past year. ClickPad complements the rich minimalist design trend in the notebook space by eliminating the need for traditional physical buttons and enabling the entire ClickPad to act as the button that can be “clicked” to initiate a user action.

All Synaptics ClickPads and Touchpads incorporate the latest gestures previously announced in the Synaptics Gesture Suite™ (SGS) 9.1: two-finger scrolling, two-finger PinchZoom, two-finger pivot rotate, three-finger flick, and three-finger press. For example, users can start-up their PCs using the three-finger press gesture by placing three fingers on a TouchPad and then releasing them to automatically launch from one to six user-selected applications. Synaptics ClickPads are optimized for all laptops and ideal for space constrained netbooks where real estate is at a premium in the palmrest. ClickPad is available with an innovative mechanical assembly that will provide optimized performance for notebook PC designs, ranging from sleek netbooks to large desktop replacement portables.

Synaptics is also announcing that its entire SGS 9.1-enabled TouchPad family is Microsoft Windows 7 ready. This signifies that Synaptics’ highly regarded software driver, which offers the best pointing performance and gesture functionality in the PC industry, has passed Microsoft’s rigorous Win 7 Logo testing and will be available on time for the release of Windows 7 on leading OEM designs later in the year.

In addition, Synaptics DualMode™ TouchPad is now available to support “under plastic” designs and provides OEMs with excellent consumer appeal and differentiation, enabling OEMs to add custom 0D buttons and 1D scrolling support directly on the TouchPad surface, thereby enhancing TouchPad functionality to enable new features like multimedia controls. Synaptics DualMode TouchPad transforms a traditional Synaptics TouchPad from a navigation device to a launch and control center with the touch of a button. When users tap on the mode switch button in the top right corner of the TouchPad, LEDs illuminate icons on the surface of the TouchPad. Now available under a plastic coating for the most vibrant image, DualMode allows OEMs to customize the feature functionality of the icons to highlight key notebook features.

“Since first introducing the revolutionary TouchPad in a notebook computer 14 years ago, Synaptics has continued to enhance its innovative technology to expand its solution portfolio and bring a more engaging, productive, and entertaining user experience to notebook PC designs,” said Mark Vena, vice president of Synaptics’ PC Business Unit. “With more than 350 million TouchPads shipped since 1995, Synaptics has demonstrated that it knows the notebook PC space like no other technology provider. ClickPad, DualMode and Synaptics’ growing gesture portfolio underscore our on-going commitment to providing easier and more meaningful ways for people to interact with their notebooks.”

These solutions will available to OEMs for integration into notebook PC platforms beginning in 3Q09. Synaptics will be showing these new products during COMPUTEX at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, Suite #1010, by appointment only. To arrange for a demonstration, contact Niamh Conlon at nconlon@synaptics.com.

About Synaptics
Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA) is a leading developer of human interface solutions for the mobile computing, communications, and entertainment industries. The company creates interface solutions for a variety of devices including notebook PCs, PC peripherals, digital music players, and mobile phones. The TouchPad™, Synaptics’ flagship product, is integrated into a majority of today's notebook computers. Consumer electronics and computing manufacturers use Synaptics' solutions to enrich the interaction between humans and intelligent devices through improved usability, functionality, and industrial design. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. www.synaptics.com

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Synaptics, TouchPad, ClickPad, DualMode, Synaptics Gesture Suite (SGS), and the Synaptics logo are trademarks of Synaptics in the United States and/or other countries.

All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Tara Yingst
Edelman for Synaptics
650-762-2942
tara.yingst@edelman.com

Source
http://www.synaptics.com/about/press/press-releases/synaptics-demonstrates-new-touchpad%E2%84%A2-products-and-gesture-technology-comp