CourseCast of the Week

Episode 116, 08/30/2009

Title/Description: Introducing Snow Leopard and other tech headlines

Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 116, recorded Aug 30th, 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: Introducing Snow Leopard

Apple fans are abuzz with excitement this week. Snow Leopard, the latest version of Apple's Mac OS X was released Friday. The new OS is designed to take better advantage of multicore processors, and graphics processing units, to support faster processing for 32 and 64 bit applications in an OS that is 7 GB smaller than its predecessor. Besides a ramp up of speed, new features include:

• support for Microsoft Exchange and ActiveSync to better support Microsoft-based mobile devices
• an improved Dock that includes document previews
• automatic location detection
• new more robust previews of documents
• movie and screencast recording
• Malware detection
• and robust support for accessibility

An upgrade to the new OS X coasts only $29.

• The 7 best features in Mac OS X Snow Leopard [Computerworld]
• 11 major new Snow Leopard features [Computerworld]

News Briefs

• Troubled economy? Not at Facebook! The company plans to increase its workforce by fifty percent this year.
  Facebook to boost staff by 50% in 2009: report [Reuters]
• Jessica Biel, star of the TV show "7th Heaven" has overtaken Brad Pitt as the riskiest search in cyberspace. One in five search results for Jessica Biel lead to a Web site set up to infect your PC or steal your personal information.
  Jessica Biel tops list as most risky star in cyberspace [Reuters]
• Nokia, the worlds largest handset manufacturer, has selected Linux as the operating system for its new line of smart phones. It's new Linux based phones will compete head to head against the iPhone, Palm Pre, and Google Android phones.
  Nokia bets on Linux in iPhone battle: sources [Reuters]
• Been holding out on purchasing an xBox due to its high price? Well, get out your credit card, the xBox price has been reduced by 25 percent to $299.
  Microsoft cuts Xbox price by 25 percent [Reuters]
• Under pressure from the Canadian government, Facebook has beefed up its privacy policies, providing more transparency regarding how it shares member information, and reigning in third party apps.
  Facebook Moves to Improve Privacy and Transparency [New York Times]
• The iPhone will soon be available in China. This is a big win for Apple due to the size of the Chinese market, It is expected that Apple will sell five to seven million iPhones in China, making up as much as 20 percent of global iPhone sales.
  China will account for 15-20% of all iPhone sales in 2010, says analyst [Computerworld]
  China Unicom to sell iPhone next quarter [Computerworld]
• The Pirate Bay's largest service provider yanked its plug last week to avoid the $70,000 per day fine posed by the Stockholm district court. The sale of The Pirate Bay to Global Gaming Factory X has been approved. The new owner plans to turn The Pirate Bay into a fee-based legitimate media download service.
  Pirate Bay down after ISP cuts its connection [Computerworld]
  Pirate Bay sale approved; legal version coming soon [Ars Technica]
• A report by RBC analyst Mike Abramsky estimates that smartphone sales will surpass PC sales by the end of 2011.
  Analyst: More smartphones than PCs by 2011 [Computerworld]
• The controversy over cancer-causing cell phones has ramped up once again. A new study found a 400 percent increase in the risk of cancer in individuals who begin using cell phones in their teens.
  Study revives debate over cancer from cell phone use [Computerworld]
• Computer scientist in Japan claim to have developed a method of cracking WPA encryption. WPA is the most popular form of encryption used in Wi-Fi networks. A successful hack would compromise the security of most wireless Internet connections.
  New attack cracks common Wi-Fi encryption in a minute [Computerworld]
• The first US clinic for treating Internet Addiction Disorder has opened in Washington State. The 45-day treatment program costs $14,500.
  Addicted to the Internet? $14,500, please, at first US rehab [Ars Technica]
• Sony has announced a revolutionary capability for its eBook Reader. You will soon be able to us the Sony Reader to download "borrowed" eBooks from local libraries, with a 21-day expiration date.
  Sony to link Readers with libraries, allow e-book borrowing [Ars Technica]
• The UK government has joined the French in support of a 3-strikes approach to music and media piracy. Illegally download three songs and get your Internet access cut off.
  UK caves to Big Content, backs 'Net cutoffs for P2P use [Ars Technica]
• Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academics of Science, claims that individuals who are habitual multitaskers are less able to perform tasks that require working memory and focus.
  Multitaskers beware: your divided attention comes at a price [Ars Technica]

That's it for this week's CourseCasts. This week's shout out goes to Mary Walsh and her students at Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School in Spring Hill Florida - thanks for making CourseCasts a part of your studies! 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!