CourseCast of the Week

Episode 111, 07/25/2009

Title/Description: Haptics, BN eBooks, Amazon Apologizes, and Other Tech Headlines

Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 111, recorded July 25th, 2009. This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information. This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.cengage.com/coursetechnology for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions.

Visit the CourseCasts Website at coursecasts.course.com where you will find links to the full stories covered in this CourseCast, related discussion questions for use in your technology courses, and the CourseCast Archives. And now the news…

Story 1: Feeling good with Haptics

Both Microsoft and Apple are investing heavily in touchscreen technologies. The soon to be released Windows 7 software has robust support for touchscreen devices, and its a safe bet that we'll see touchscreens in Apple PCs very soon as well. One related technology that is looming large on the horizon is haptics. Haptics provides the ability feel computer output. You've experienced haptics in game controllers that vibrate and shake when game action takes you over a bumpy road. The iPhone and other smart phones include haptic feedback that vibrates the device to communicate various messages, such as when your phone rings.

Haptics is about to move to a new level of sophistication. Immersion Corporation has developed a technology it calls 'high-fidelity' haptics. In a demonstration of the technology, a volunteer was asked to play pinball on a haptic-equipped tablet PC. The volunteer claimed that she was able to feel the ball roll across the hard surface of the virtual pinball machine. She could feel the ball hit bumpers and paddles. She could feel all of the motion of the game, just as if she had her hands on an actual pinball machine. Without the haptics, she found the game to be cold and dead.

Microsoft and Apple are looking to haptics to help users adjust to interacting with a computer through its touch-sensitive display rather than a keyboard and mouse. Through haptics, a displayed keyboard might provide many of the tactile cues that a physical keyboard provides. Far beyond current haptic technologies, high-fidelity haptics will provide thousands of different sensations which will carry important tactile cues and information to bring the virtual reality of computing a little closer to physical reality. An article in this week’s Computerworld declares Haptics to be the "feel-good technology of the year.

• Haptics: The feel-good technology of the year [Computerworld]

Story 2: BN mounts attack on Kindle

Amazon and its Kindle eBook reader are about to get some tough competition. Barnes & Noble has opened, what it claims to be, the world's largest online bookstore. The eBooks portion of barnesandnoble.com offers over 700,000 titles with most priced at $9.99 but many offered for free! The eBooks can be downloaded to PCs, Macs, iPhones, and Blackberries and viewed with Barnes and Noble's free software.

Barnes and Noble has struck a deal with Plastic Logic, a company that plans to release a highly anticipated eBook reader early in 2010. The deal makes Barnes and Noble the exclusive provider of eBooks for the new device. It was revealed this week that AT&T will provide the free high-speed wireless delivery service for the device, much like Sprint provides for Amazon's Kindle. All things considered, it looks like the Barnes & Noble, Plastic Logic, AT&T partnership will offer a stronger product than Amazon's current Kindle. That said, Amazon has a big head start, and another 6 months to prepare.

• Barnes & Noble unveils store for digital books [Reuters]
• Plastic Logic E-Reader Will Use AT&T's 3G Network [NewsFactor]
• Barnes & Noble Challenges Amazon's Kindle [The Wall Street Journal]

Story 3: Amazon Apologizes

Amazon, upon discovery of pirated books being distributed on the Kindle, quickly pulled the books from its service, and deleted them from the Kindle devices of users that had downloaded them. This was met with a backlash of criticism over Amazon's abuse of power, and concern over the ability of Amazon to delete content from Kindle's without the user's approval. Amazon has since profusely apologized for its over-reaction promising not to remove content from user devices again. Ironically, the books that were deleted were George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" two books recognized as landmark publications in the area of civil liberties.

• Pirated Copies of Orwell Books Pulled From Kindle [NewsFactor]
• Opinion: Amazon Removes E-Books From Kindle Store [Computerworld]
• Amazon CEO apologizes for removing digital books [Computerworld]

News Briefs

• When you dial up your friend's cell phone, you'll either get a ring tone, or perhaps music while you wait for your friend to answer. Google has another idea - commercials! Described in a recent patent application "Ringback Advertising" would play audio commercials rather than ringback tones, providing Google Voice users with a way to pay for free phone services and provide the people that phone them with a way to make valuable use of the time they waste waiting for their friend to pick up.
  Google Developing 'Ringback Advertising' For Google Voice [Information Week]
• Computer scientists at the University of Washington have developed a technique to program into computer documents the ability to self-destruct The technology is being viewed as one possible solution to the problem of online data outliving its use and compromising people's privacy.
  New Technology to Make Digital Data Self-Destruct [The New York Times]
• You've heard about Google plan to develop Chrome OS, an operating system for netbooks. This week Google's Engineering Director promised that the new OS would mean the end of malware. He stated that Google is "Completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work."
  Google promises the end of viruses [TechRadar]
• Windows 7 development has been declared completed. The operating system is on its way to manufacturers to prepare for for installation on new PCs. The release date remains October 22 for consumers. One analyst recommends purchasing computers with Solid State Drives with Windows 7 since the new operating system is the first programmed to take advantage of the speed of Solid State Drives.
  Microsoft: Windows 7 is done, on its way to manufacturers [Ars Technica]
  Opinion: Windows 7 Will Scream With New SSD Drives [Computerworld]
• Last week I reported that Apple had updated its iTunes software so that its rival the Palm Pre smartphone was unable to acquire music. This week Palm updated its Pre software so that it can once again access iTunes and the music it manages. I wonder what news next week will bring?
  Palm brings iTunes syncing back to the Pre [Computerworld]
• Users of Macromedia Flash, which is pretty much everyone that browses the Web, are warned to avoid Flash content from questionable Web sites. US-CERT and Adobe warn that attackers are exploiting a bug in Flash to take control of Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. Adobe plans to have a patch available July 30th.
  Adobe Warns Of Critical Flash Vulnerability [Information Week]
• A hacker infiltrated the Twitter corporate network, utilizing an executive's password, and made off with dozens of confidential business documents, which were then provided to techcrunch.com who without hesitation published them for the world to view.
  Breach of Twitter E-mail Spotlights Security Issues [NewsFactor]
  Rifling Through Twitter's Underwear Drawer [Ecommerce Times]
  Amazon CEO apologizes for removing digital books [Computerworld]
• In a rare move, Microsoft will be pushing out an emergency patch for Internet Explorer this Tuesday. It is unknown why the patch is being released outside of the usual monthly updates that occur on the second Tuesday of each month. Some analysts are guessing it has something to do with the Black Hat security conference scheduled to begin Wednesday in Las Vegas. Whatever the reason, it would be wise to apply the patch as soon as it is released.
  Microsoft to rush out emergency IE patch [Computerworld]
• A new GPS being installed in Nissan cars has the ability to warn drivers when they are approaching a sharp curve in the road too fast.
  Nissan car monitors GPS for road dangers ahead [Computerworld]
• Google Earth has extended its capabilities to provide a guided tour of the moon including a history of the Apollo missions and a space walk with Buzz Aldrin.
  You, Too, Can Visit the Moon with a Google Tour [NewsFactor]
• Many analysts predicted that the video game industry would be one of the few industries left unaffected by the recession. This week they were proven wrong! June video game sales plunged 31 percent to a nine-year low.
  'Recession-Proof' Video-Game Industry Drops 31 Percent [NewsFactor]
• Mobile data use grew by 30 percent in the second quarter of this year, with streaming media being credited for the increase.
  Streaming, not P2P, behind mobile broadband data usage surge [Ars Technica]

That's it for this week's CourseCasts. Email me with your comments and suggestions for the show at coursecasts@gmail.com Let me know how you use CourseCasts in your classes and I'll give you and your school a shout out on my next CourseCast. Until next time have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!