Eco-conscious clothing is becoming more popular, but Pennsylvania’s Michael Masterson of House of Reboot takes the eco title to another level.
Michael was one of the exhibitors in BUST magazine’s”craftacular” section of Maker Faire New York. Not only does he source his wool, denim and other materials from surplus bolts of fabric that date as far back as the early 1960s, he hand sews all the garments himself on heavy duty, retooled sewing machines, some of which are from the early 1900s. So you get reclaimed, re-purposed materials made on reclaimed and recommissioned machines.
Many of the old machines were destined to be melted down into boat anchors before Michael gave them a new life. Michael, a former music producer who also designs all the clothing, taught himself how to take apart, repair and modify his machines. Because of their built-to-last construction and slow-sewing movement, he says the machines are far superior to modern, plastic-housed sewing machines on the market.
His designs are meant to last, too, since they’re made from heavy duty fabric culled from American and European textile mills. While other clothing lines seek to capture the classic, utilitarian looks of American work clothes, House of Reboot doesn’t have to try to look classic because it is.
House of Reboot is about to launch a line of denim shirts that came from fabric made in 1962 for Folsom Prison inmates. I suggested he name the line “Folsom Prison Blues.”(With acknowledgements to Johnny Cash).
Faux surround sound is nothing new. Soundbars and other smaller audio solutions typically have some type of technology that can provide the “illusion” of surround sound, without a 5.1 (or larger) speaker setup. GenAudio is hoping to be the next great surround sound solution, with AstoundSound for CE.
This newly launched technology promises to deliver surround sound without all of the speakers. Designed to work with headphones and two speaker devices, GenAudio says that the tech can deliver a realistic 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound experience.
AstoundSound for CE is software-based, which is what allows it to reproduce those 5.1 and 7.1 sounds. The company says that this has an advantage over competing spatial audio technology, because AstoundSound for CE has no tone colorization and remains in-phase.
The company also says that the tech will work in everything from digital TVs and set-top boxes to phones and gaming consoles, and much more.
“The introduction of our software based audio IP tech on small, low-cost processors coupled with our intuitive audio tuning tools provides manufacturers a way to quickly integrate spatialized audio playback capabilities into any new product where audio fidelity to the consumer is a critical component,” says Jerry Mahabub, founder and CEO of GenAudio. “Implementing AstoundSound in consumer devices will offer device manufacturers the opportunity to differentiate their multimedia products in a crowded consumer market!”
GenAudio is already incorporating AstoundSound audio IP software into devices, including the Analog Devices ADAU1761/1701 Sigma Studio DSP system-on-chip (SoC) audio processors as well as ADI’s SHARC processors and various other chip manufacturers. GenAudio says that the first products packing AstoundSound for CE launch will debut early this year.
After a long day pounding the show floor pavement at the Consumer Electronic Show, it feels oh so nice to get back to the hotel room—even more so when that room is automated. I use the term “automated” loosely, as the only part of my two-night stay at the Aria that was truly automated was the first minute or so. As I entered the room for the first time, the drapes and sheers opened, music started playing the lights gradually brightened. Was I impressed? Yes. More than that, though, the welcome scenario made that smallish space seem a lot friendlier, and well, welcoming.
In typical Control4 style, wall-mounted keypads let me set groups of lights for reading, sleeping and waking up by just tapping a button. My favorite was the keypad by the door. Here, I could press a button to request that my room be serviced or that I not be disturbed. The appropriate icon by my door in the hallway illuminated to alert the Aria staff—kind of like hanging out a modern-day, electronic “Do Not Disturb” sign.
No Control4 system is complete without a touchpanel, and my room had one, as well as a hard-buttoned handheld remote. The touchpanel—the far sexier of the controls—happened to be on the nightstand by my side of the bed. Nice. My hubby got the remote. Both eager to test drive the controls, we started pushing buttons—in my case, icons. We toyed around with the window treatments, parting the shades half-way, leaving the drape open, closing both—any arrangement we could think of. The controls worked flawlessly. We played around with the lights, again, success. At times, the system got confused and devices failed to respond—we chalked it up to too many commands being thrown at it at the same time. Obviously, we needed to take turns.
If you need a little instruction in the use of the control system, Aria provides an online .PDF so you can study up before you arrive.
A nice feature of the Control4 system that came in particularly handy for my remote-wielding husband was the on-screen display. Using the buttons of the remote he could navigate the same interface that I could on the touchpanel. The only difference was that his interface showed up on the screen of the room’s ample-size flat-panel TV.
The main menu of this interface presented icons for controlling the motorized draperies, the lights, the thermostat, the audio and the video. The A/V should have been fun, but it ended up being quite frustrating. There were an awful lot of choices; scrolling through them was quite a chore, considering the “slow” response time of the Control4 system. I’d press a button; when I didn’t hear or see anything I’d naturally press the button again, which brought up a song I really didn’t want to hear or a show I really didn’t want to watch. Eventually, I learned to be patient—to let the system catch up with my commands. The same punch-and-wait exercise had to be applied when setting up a wakeup routine, which was one of the coolest high-tech features of my room. Using the touchpanel, I told the Control4 system to wake me up at 6 by opening the sheers and drapes, gradually bringing up the lights and playing music from a soft-rock station. It’s a much better way to wake up than to the sound of a blaring alarm.
All said and done—my stay was a hit. The automation system enhanced the luxurious design and atmosphere of the room. Once I was in that room, I never wanted to leave.
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Every iPod and/or iPhone needs a resting place. We’re not talking about the kitchen table or an underwear drawer. There are a lot of docking stations out there, which not only gives you a spot to put your portable, but can charge it for later use.
Adorama is currently selling Sony’s NAC-SV10I Wi-Fi Speaker Dock for $109. This price is 53 percent off the list price, and also includes free shipping.
It’s a nice price for a nice product. Besides the charging, this docking station can also expand the use of that device—and a variety of other music. Plug your iPod or iPhone into the NAC-SV10i, and you blast music all over the house. For times when you don’t want to dock, the NAC-SV10i can wirelessly stream music from that device, as well as networked computers or the web. Sony also offers a free app that can transform that smartphone into a wireless remote.
Perfect for the kitchen, bedroom, office, or any other room in the house, the NAC-SV10i has DLNA support, BRAVIA Internet Music features, and PartyStream so you can sync with other compatible Sony products.
To get this discount on Adorama, log in and add the product into your shopping cart. That’s when you’ll see the discounted price.
Shares of technology companies finished up for the third quarter Friday, but face economic uncertainty for the rest of the year.
The Nasdaq Computer Index closed Friday at 1,675.51 compared to 1,580.13 at the end of June. However, they were down by 16.53 points for the day, amid reports of European protests over austerity measures and concerns about the impending "fiscal cliff" in the U.S. -- a series of drastic government cuts set to be enacted starting next year if Republicans and Democrats cannot reach a budget compromise.
Tech share losses outweighed gains Friday. For example Apple, which last week hit a record closing price of $702.10 over euphoria about the just-released iPhone 5, slipped by US$14.22 Friday to close at $667.10. Though iPhone sales of 5 million units broke records, analysts said that they missed forecasts, and worried that problems in the iOS 6 mapping function could be a sign that Apple's vaunted quality control is slipping a year after Steve Jobs' death.
Tech companies reporting quarterly financials this week offered mixed results.
Enterprise Linux vendor Red Hat Monday reported that sales for the quarter ended Aug. 31 rose 15 percent year-over-year to $322.6 million, as subscription revenue increased 17 percent. Enterprise software has been a bright spot this year as consumer PC sales have slumped. However, Red Hat's net income dropped year over year by $5 million to $35 million.
Company officials ascribed the income drop in part due to an increase in investments in the company's storage business as well as small technology acquisitions, but otherwise were upbeat.
"Our business model and offerings continue to appeal to customers despite the global economic malaise," said company CFO Charlie Peters.
Memory maker Micron Technology on Thursday said that for the quarter ending in August, its loss narrowed compared to the same quarter a year ago. The quarterly loss was $243 million compared to $320 million a year earlier.
Analysts stressed the positive. Micron "reported a better than feared AugQ in line with consensus," noted SterneAgee analyst Vijay Rakesh.
Though DRAM pricing has been weak recently, Micron has reported that memory inventories are much lower, suggesting that there will be some upward pressure on prices later this quarter, Rakesh noted.
Meanwhile demand for DRAM may surge. The average amount of DRAM in each smartphone shipped worldwide is expected to jump by nearly 50 percent this year, as they gain greater functionality, according to an IHS iSuppli report this week.
"As smartphones become more sophisticated, memory usage in the devices continues to rise -- not only to satisfy user wants and needs but also to accommodate demands made by ever-more powerful processors and increasingly refined LCD screens," said Clifford Leimbach, analyst for memory demand forecasting at IHS, in a report.
The company's sales, however, edged out the consensus estimate of analyst polled by Thomson Reuters, of $2.5 billion. RIM's loss of $235 million was better than the $518 million loss in the prior quarter.
Though market analysts have cut forecasts for global IT spending this year, they still expect overall increases. Forrester earlier this month estimated that 2012 IT spending growth would be 3.6 percent, lower than its January prediction of 5.3 percent.
IDC said that it forecasts worldwide IT spending to increase 6 percent this year in constant currency, just under last year's 7 percent rise. (The difference between the figures from different research companies lies mainly in how they define various categories of IT, notably software, services and communications.)
The overall jump in tech shares in the third quarter, however, likely has more to do with moves on the part of central bankers in the U.S. and Europe to spur their respective economies, than it does with the performance of any particular tech vendor. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, representing large companies, and the broad-based S&P 500 all closed Friday up for the quarter.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement earlier this month that it would launch the so-called "QE3," a third round of "quantitative easing," was widely perceived as fueling a general run up in stocks. The Fed said it would buy bonds and possibly other assets until the unemployment rate eases.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has promised to buy the bonds of debt-ridden nations in return for budget-cutting austerity measures.
But protests over European austerity measures in recent days in Spain and Greece raise questions about whether politicians will be able to push through budget cuts, raising uncertainty about the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, a slump in the markets this week was widely ascribed to actions of investors cashing in shares to take profits before the U.S. economy hits the fiscal cliff. The S&P 500 index, for example, has declined eight of the last nine days, dropping by 6.48 to close at 1,440.67 Friday.
U.S. government economic reports have been mixed. Orders for durable goods dropped 13.2 percent in August while a new report showed that the U.S. economic output grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent between April and June, down from the previously reported 1.7 percent gain.
If you were to judge the Micro Express AL5100 by its elegantly plain, silver-and-black shell, you might not guess what a powerhouse system it is. But the state-of-the-art components hidden beneath its modest facade offers impressive performance.
Screen elements pop onto the screen swiftly, the unit boots like lightning, and 1080p video is smooth as silk. The system costs $1200, but if you have a need for stealthy speed, this laptop will repay your investment.
Probably the most striking feature of the AL5100 is its display: You don't see many 15.6-inch displays with 1920 by 1080 resolution. In fact, that resolution can make menu and icon text a bit difficult to read. But if you change the settings in Control Panel/Appearance and Personalization/Display to 125%, it'll be fine even for older eyes.
Performance
Though the AL5100's GPU garnered a nice score, it fizzled slightly at 1920 by 1080 resolution and high or ultra-high detail. But all of the games in our test suite played just fine at resolutions up to 1366 by 768.
The AL5100 gaming performance.
Turning to more general performance, the AL5100 recorded a dazzling score of 202 on our WorldBench 7 test suite.
The AL5100's WorldBench 7 score.
The core components that helped deliver that excellent WorldBench 7 score are an Intel Core i7-3840QM CPU, 16GB of DDR3 1600 RAM, an Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics card, and a very fast 240GB Intel solid-state drive. The only component that lags behind the curve is the DVD-RW burner. Blu-ray would be a perfect match for the 1080 display, and its absence here is a bit of a puzzle, setting aside the impulse to achieve a slightly lower price or a slightly higher profit margin. To see movies on this unit, you'll have to rip them to the internal drive or use an external drive. If you really crave Blu-ray, you can swap in a 2X Blu-ray combo drive for $75 extra. The laptop's gaming performance was quite good; our test model posted an overall gaming score of 97.
Storage performance impressed us, too, no doubt due in part to the Intel 240GB SSD. It's a measure of how far SSD prices have come down that we now see SSDs of reasonably large capacity in general-purpose laptops priced at under $1200.
The AL5100's storage performance.
Usability
The keyboard on the AL5100 has a very nice feel. Its layout is spacious, though I would have preferred to have the keypad separated a bit more from the main keys. The touchpad's rough texture is all that distinguishes it from the rest of the keyboard deck. You may like this style decision; I prefer smooth and recessed. The buttons respond audibly and smoothly, and a biometric fingerprint reader sits between them.
Ports and connectivity are top-notch on the AL5100. You get two USB 3.0 ports on the left side) and two USB 2.0 ports on the right side, along with legacy VGA, HDMI video output, and headphone and microphone jacks. A separate mic next to the webcam lets you forgo use of a headset for audio/video chat. Situated lower than usual on the bottom front of the unit is an SD Card reader that you can easily overlook on first inspection. Other features include gigabit ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0.
The AL5100: right side view.
Battery life
Despite carrying a decent-size, 7800mAh battery, the AL5100 ran for only about 4 hours, 41 minutes—considerably less time than some admittedly less-powerful rivals managed. Still, given the high-resolution screen, the quad-core processor, and the overall speed of the laptop's components, delivering almost coast-to-coast battery life is acceptable. The back-mounted battery extends significantly below the bottom of the laptop to give the AL5100 a nice forward rake that facilitates comfortable typing.
The AL5100's battery life.
Micro Express provisioned the AL5100 with 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium, but little in the way of third-party software. The only applications on hand are those in the CyberLink Media Suite, which leverages the DVD drive. The absence of a restore partition is understandable on a 240GB SSD, though having the option would have been nice.
On a different tack, audio through the speakers sounds clear enough, though there's no subwoofer to provide bass and response is heavily skewed to the midrange. The 2 megapixel CMOS webcam provides a very clear, and surprisingly smooth picture.
The AL5100 features a Trusted Platform Module, though it was disabled in the BIOS on our test unit. Corporate shops will appreciate that, the aforementioned biometrics, and the two-year warranty with a $99 option for a third year.
Bottom line
The AL5100 is extremely fast, has a great display with 1080p resolution, and is state-of-the-art (aside from lacking Blu-ray). The sub-5 hour battery life may be a concern for some prospective buyers; but given the performance level, it's understandable. The weight of 5.5 pounds isn't too burdensome for a 15.6-inch laptop, either, though it will certainly seem a bit hefty compared to an Ultrabook. If you need to be up and computing in a hurry, and you don't want to waste time while you're at the keyboard, this is a a must-shop laptop.
Adobe announced plans to revoke one of its code-signing certificates after it was compromised and used to make malicious attacks appear to be legitimate Adobe tools. The question businesses and consumers need to ask themselves is what impact this might have on them, or what needs to be done to avoid attacks using the compromised certificate.
Adobe announced plans to revoke the effected code-signing certificate effective next Thursday—October 4, 2012. In a blog post explaining the action, Adobe stated that customers should not notice any adverse consequences as a result of the revocation process.
Adobe claims that the impact so far seems to be limited to the discovery of two malicious utilities signed using the compromised Adobe certificate. The blog post states that Adobe is not aware of widespread malware attacks using the certificate. Adobe also states that its investigation so far shows no evidence of any other sensitive information—like customer data, financial information, or Adobe source code—has been compromised.
What does this mean for the Adobe software you have installed on your PC or mobile device? The answer is nothing. The compromised code-signing certificate is being used to make some malicious tools look like legitimate Adobe software, but it has no impact on genuine Adobe software you have bought or downloaded.
According to Adobe, the certificate revocation affects only a small portion of the total Adobe portfolio and customers. The revoked certificate affects the Windows platform, and three Adobe AIR applications that run on both Windows and Mac OS X.
Adobe will issue updates signed using a new, uncompromised digital certificate for the affected products. It is also working closely with security vendors to make sure security software is equipped to detect and block malware using the revoked certificate.
This is another example of attackers targeting the low-hanging fruit. Microsoft has greatly improved the overall security of Windows, and other operating system platforms are as secure or better. Attackers go after smaller, third-party tools like Java, or the many ubiquitous tools from Adobe instead. Or—as in this case—mount an attack based on the brand recognition and trust businesses and consumers have for Adobe tools by compromising a digital certificate and signing malicious code to appear as if its legitimate Adobe software.
As is generally the case, having a reliable cross-device security tool in place is probably your best first line of defense. When new vulnerabilities are discovered, or new threats are detected, operating system and software developers take time to evaluate the issue and develop an appropriate response. The process can take days, weeks, or sometimes months. But, security tools are usually updated within hours with the information necessary to detect, identify, and avoid the threat in the meantime.
At this year’s Open Hardware Summit (9/27) in NYC, the MAKE video team asked some key participants (from MakerBot, SparkFun, Evil Mad Scienrist, OpenROV and others) what they thought about MakerBot closing off some of its source files. Here’s some of what they had to say.
The 3rd annual Open Hardware Summit is underway at Eyebeam in New York City. Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson kicked off the sold-out, standing room only event. The roster of speakers is stellar and includes our own Dale Dougherty and many folks from the pages of MAKE. Speakers come from all sectors of the open source hardware community, nonprofit groups, medical researchers, open source hardware companies, and academics. And of course the debate over MakerBot’s steps toward closed sourcing some of its tech is swirling in the air. Watch for MAKE’s coverage of the event and some of the issues it raises over the next few days.
A good reminder, from the OHS front page, to keep things reasoned and friendly.
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Concerned about a slow PC, Davis13 asked the Laptops forum about all the processes that Windows runs.
Processes are programs or pieces of programs running within Windows. It's normal to have a great many of them. As I write this, I have only seven running applications, but 120 processes. And Windows is running just fine.
To examine your processes, right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager (Start Task Manager in Windows 7), then click the Processes tab.
It's easier to study the long list if you sort them. To do so by name, click the Image Name column header.
You may want to sort by other columns. Click the CPU heading to see what's hogging most of the processor's attention. You'll notice that most of the processes aren't hogging anything (or at least not enough to register). That's why you can have so many of these running and still get good performance.
If you're using XP, you may notice an outrageous hog named System Idle Process, taking up almost 100 percent of your CPU cycles. Don't worry. System Idle Process isn't actually using anything. It's just a placeholder for unused cycles. Vista and Windows 7 don't have this misleading process.
You can also sort by Memory to identify a different kind of hog.
Want to know why a particular process is up? The Image Name and Description columns should help. To make the Description column readable, expand the Task Manager window by dragging the right side of it further to the right. Then expand the Description column by dragging the edge of its header to the right, as well.
If the Description still doesn't help, visit ProcessLibrary.com and search there.
Before you kill a process, make sure that everything you're currently working on is saved to the hard drive. Then select the process and click the End Process button. After you've read the scary warning, click the other End Process button.
Be warned: This may crash a program. But it probably won't.
If you want to keep a process from loading in the future, you'll have to identify what program loads the process, and remove that program.
If you come from the world of microcontroller development boards like the Arduino, you’re used to serial processing, where instructions are processed one at time, following the procedure that you write in code. For some applications, such as with video or sound processing, it’s hard for a microcontroller to process data fast enough. Enter the FPGA, short for field-programmable gate array. An FPGA can process data and take action on it, with multiple operations happening in parrallel.
If you’re interested in learning more about what an FPGA can do, you can visit Michael Jones in the Maker Pavilion this weekend at World Maker Faire New York. He’ll be showing off the FPGA MARK-1, which he designed with Eli Hughes. FPGA MARK-1 is a “development platform designed with students, makers, hobbyists and mad scientists in mind.” In addition, he’ll be demoing an expansion board suited for educational use which allows you to connect a PS/2 mouse, keyboard, VGA video, audio, and Nintendo game controllers to the board. While he’s never been to a Maker Faire before, he says he’s “looking forward to being part of an event that brings so much creativity, talent, ambition from worldwide locations localized into one spot.”
Hello! I would like to participate in the World Maker Faire this fall by demonstrating (and selling) the world's 1st FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) prototyping platform specifically engineered for the Maker community. The MARK-1 is an electronics platform that allows Makers, hobbyists, and mad scientists to have access to advanced digital logic design at a low cost. It allows Makers to "Drag and Drop" their logic circuit into the MARK-1 for instant results. The MARK-1 allows makers a new level of tinkering without the steep learning curve of traditional tools. Whether it be a fancy new microprocessor design, advanced Read more →
Every iPod and/or iPhone needs a resting place. We’re not talking about the kitchen table or an underwear drawer. There are a lot of docking stations out there, which not only gives you a spot to put your portable, but can charge it for later use.
Adorama is currently selling Sony’s NAC-SV10I Wi-Fi Speaker Dock for $109. This price is 53 percent off the list price, and also includes free shipping.
It’s a nice price for a nice product. Besides the charging, this docking station can also expand the use of that device—and a variety of other music. Plug your iPod or iPhone into the NAC-SV10i, and you blast music all over the house. For times when you don’t want to dock, the NAC-SV10i can wirelessly stream music from that device, as well as networked computers or the web. Sony also offers a free app that can transform that smartphone into a wireless remote.
Perfect for the kitchen, bedroom, office, or any other room in the house, the NAC-SV10i has DLNA support, BRAVIA Internet Music features, and PartyStream so you can sync with other compatible Sony products.
To get this discount on Adorama, log in and add the product into your shopping cart. That’s when you’ll see the discounted price.
If you come from the world of microcontroller development boards like the Arduino, you’re used to serial processing, where instructions are processed one at time, following the procedure that you write in code. For some applications, such as with video or sound processing, it’s hard for a microcontroller to process data fast enough. Enter the FPGA, short for field-programmable gate array. An FPGA can process data and take action on it, with multiple operations happening in parrallel.
If you’re interested in learning more about what an FPGA can do, you can visit Michael Jones in the Maker Pavilion this weekend at World Maker Faire New York. He’ll be showing off the FPGA MARK-1, which he designed with Eli Hughes. FPGA MARK-1 is a “development platform designed with students, makers, hobbyists and mad scientists in mind.” In addition, he’ll be demoing an expansion board suited for educational use which allows you to connect a PS/2 mouse, keyboard, VGA video, audio, and Nintendo game controllers to the board. While he’s never been to a Maker Faire before, he says he’s “looking forward to being part of an event that brings so much creativity, talent, ambition from worldwide locations localized into one spot.”
Hello! I would like to participate in the World Maker Faire this fall by demonstrating (and selling) the world's 1st FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) prototyping platform specifically engineered for the Maker community. The MARK-1 is an electronics platform that allows Makers, hobbyists, and mad scientists to have access to advanced digital logic design at a low cost. It allows Makers to "Drag and Drop" their logic circuit into the MARK-1 for instant results. The MARK-1 allows makers a new level of tinkering without the steep learning curve of traditional tools. Whether it be a fancy new microprocessor design, advanced Read more →
If you come from the world of microcontroller development boards like the Arduino, you’re used to serial processing, where instructions are processed one at time, following the procedure that you write in code. For some applications, such as with video or sound processing, it’s hard for a microcontroller to process data fast enough. Enter the FPGA, short for field-programmable gate array. An FPGA can process data and take action on it, with multiple operations happening in parrallel.
If you’re interested in learning more about what an FPGA can do, you can visit Michael Jones in the Maker Pavilion this weekend at World Maker Faire New York. He’ll be showing off the FPGA MARK-1, which he designed with Eli Hughes. FPGA MARK-1 is a “development platform designed with students, makers, hobbyists and mad scientists in mind.” In addition, he’ll be demoing an expansion board suited for educational use which allows you to connect a PS/2 mouse, keyboard, VGA video, audio, and Nintendo game controllers to the board. While he’s never been to a Maker Faire before, he says he’s “looking forward to being part of an event that brings so much creativity, talent, ambition from worldwide locations localized into one spot.”
Hello! I would like to participate in the World Maker Faire this fall by demonstrating (and selling) the world's 1st FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) prototyping platform specifically engineered for the Maker community. The MARK-1 is an electronics platform that allows Makers, hobbyists, and mad scientists to have access to advanced digital logic design at a low cost. It allows Makers to "Drag and Drop" their logic circuit into the MARK-1 for instant results. The MARK-1 allows makers a new level of tinkering without the steep learning curve of traditional tools. Whether it be a fancy new microprocessor design, advanced Read more →
Yahoo will replace CFO Tim Morse this fall in what may be the latest move by recently appointed CEO Marissa Mayer to put her own mark on the company’s leadership.
Tim Morse
Morse will be replaced by Ken Goldman, who has more than 25 years of experience as CFO for multiple computer industry companies, including Fortinet, Siebel Systems, Excite@Home and Sybase. He will join Yahoo in late October.
Goldman will report to Mayer, who was appointed as CEO in July after a sterling career with Google.
Morse joined Yahoo in 2009 when Carol Bartz was the CEO. He served as interim CEO after Bartz was fired in September of last year, until her replacement, Scott Thompson, came on board in January of this year.
Thompson’s tenure was brief, however, lasting less than six months following a controversy about his college education credentials. Specifically, he didn’t have a computer science degree, contradicting his public professional biography. Reports later emerged that his resignation was due instead to a cancer diagnosis.
In between Thompson’s departure and Mayer’s appointment, Yahoo was led by interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, a Yahoo executive vice president and head of Global Media. He left shortly after Mayer’s arrival.
A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment on the reasons for Morse’s replacement. In a statement, Mayer called him “a trusted leader” at Yahoo who has “expertly guided” the company through some key periods and deals.
“I’ve personally relied on Tim’s knowledge and leadership in my first few months at Yahoo. I know I speak for everyone in wishing him the best,” Mayer said.
Yahoo has been on a years-long financial and technology slump, going through several executive shake-ups and rounds of layoffs.
Mayer’s appointment has been generally viewed with optimism. Also on Tuesday, multiple news outlets reported that Mayer addressed Yahoo’s staff and gave them details about her turnaround plan for the company. The Yahoo spokeswoman also declined to comment on those reports.
After a long day pounding the show floor pavement at the Consumer Electronic Show, it feels oh so nice to get back to the hotel room—even more so when that room is automated. I use the term “automated” loosely, as the only part of my two-night stay at the Aria that was truly automated was the first minute or so. As I entered the room for the first time, the drapes and sheers opened, music started playing the lights gradually brightened. Was I impressed? Yes. More than that, though, the welcome scenario made that smallish space seem a lot friendlier, and well, welcoming.
In typical Control4 style, wall-mounted keypads let me set groups of lights for reading, sleeping and waking up by just tapping a button. My favorite was the keypad by the door. Here, I could press a button to request that my room be serviced or that I not be disturbed. The appropriate icon by my door in the hallway illuminated to alert the Aria staff—kind of like hanging out a modern-day, electronic “Do Not Disturb” sign.
No Control4 system is complete without a touchpanel, and my room had one, as well as a hard-buttoned handheld remote. The touchpanel—the far sexier of the controls—happened to be on the nightstand by my side of the bed. Nice. My hubby got the remote. Both eager to test drive the controls, we started pushing buttons—in my case, icons. We toyed around with the window treatments, parting the shades half-way, leaving the drape open, closing both—any arrangement we could think of. The controls worked flawlessly. We played around with the lights, again, success. At times, the system got confused and devices failed to respond—we chalked it up to too many commands being thrown at it at the same time. Obviously, we needed to take turns.
If you need a little instruction in the use of the control system, Aria provides an online .PDF so you can study up before you arrive.
A nice feature of the Control4 system that came in particularly handy for my remote-wielding husband was the on-screen display. Using the buttons of the remote he could navigate the same interface that I could on the touchpanel. The only difference was that his interface showed up on the screen of the room’s ample-size flat-panel TV.
The main menu of this interface presented icons for controlling the motorized draperies, the lights, the thermostat, the audio and the video. The A/V should have been fun, but it ended up being quite frustrating. There were an awful lot of choices; scrolling through them was quite a chore, considering the “slow” response time of the Control4 system. I’d press a button; when I didn’t hear or see anything I’d naturally press the button again, which brought up a song I really didn’t want to hear or a show I really didn’t want to watch. Eventually, I learned to be patient—to let the system catch up with my commands. The same punch-and-wait exercise had to be applied when setting up a wakeup routine, which was one of the coolest high-tech features of my room. Using the touchpanel, I told the Control4 system to wake me up at 6 by opening the sheers and drapes, gradually bringing up the lights and playing music from a soft-rock station. It’s a much better way to wake up than to the sound of a blaring alarm.
All said and done—my stay was a hit. The automation system enhanced the luxurious design and atmosphere of the room. Once I was in that room, I never wanted to leave.
Today Ladyada and I visited the new MakerBot store in NYC. Video above, (photos here). Great location, and it was packed in waves, even on a Sunday. MakerBot has MakerBot-made designs for sale in the store, as well as community-made models. All the designers were contacted and compensated for their participation. If you’re keeping score on retail 3D printer shops: MakerBot was the only retail store in the USA devoted to 3D printing, but that did not last long. Today I saw that California now has a 3D printer retail store that is selling a $600 3D printer. Ladyada and I are considering making a 3D printing kit, still doing research.
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After a long day pounding the show floor pavement at the Consumer Electronic Show, it feels oh so nice to get back to the hotel room—even more so when that room is automated. I use the term “automated” loosely, as the only part of my two-night stay at the Aria that was truly automated was the first minute or so. As I entered the room for the first time, the drapes and sheers opened, music started playing the lights gradually brightened. Was I impressed? Yes. More than that, though, the welcome scenario made that smallish space seem a lot friendlier, and well, welcoming.
In typical Control4 style, wall-mounted keypads let me set groups of lights for reading, sleeping and waking up by just tapping a button. My favorite was the keypad by the door. Here, I could press a button to request that my room be serviced or that I not be disturbed. The appropriate icon by my door in the hallway illuminated to alert the Aria staff—kind of like hanging out a modern-day, electronic “Do Not Disturb” sign.
No Control4 system is complete without a touchpanel, and my room had one, as well as a hard-buttoned handheld remote. The touchpanel—the far sexier of the controls—happened to be on the nightstand by my side of the bed. Nice. My hubby got the remote. Both eager to test drive the controls, we started pushing buttons—in my case, icons. We toyed around with the window treatments, parting the shades half-way, leaving the drape open, closing both—any arrangement we could think of. The controls worked flawlessly. We played around with the lights, again, success. At times, the system got confused and devices failed to respond—we chalked it up to too many commands being thrown at it at the same time. Obviously, we needed to take turns.
If you need a little instruction in the use of the control system, Aria provides an online .PDF so you can study up before you arrive.
A nice feature of the Control4 system that came in particularly handy for my remote-wielding husband was the on-screen display. Using the buttons of the remote he could navigate the same interface that I could on the touchpanel. The only difference was that his interface showed up on the screen of the room’s ample-size flat-panel TV.
The main menu of this interface presented icons for controlling the motorized draperies, the lights, the thermostat, the audio and the video. The A/V should have been fun, but it ended up being quite frustrating. There were an awful lot of choices; scrolling through them was quite a chore, considering the “slow” response time of the Control4 system. I’d press a button; when I didn’t hear or see anything I’d naturally press the button again, which brought up a song I really didn’t want to hear or a show I really didn’t want to watch. Eventually, I learned to be patient—to let the system catch up with my commands. The same punch-and-wait exercise had to be applied when setting up a wakeup routine, which was one of the coolest high-tech features of my room. Using the touchpanel, I told the Control4 system to wake me up at 6 by opening the sheers and drapes, gradually bringing up the lights and playing music from a soft-rock station. It’s a much better way to wake up than to the sound of a blaring alarm.
All said and done—my stay was a hit. The automation system enhanced the luxurious design and atmosphere of the room. Once I was in that room, I never wanted to leave.
Faux surround sound is nothing new. Soundbars and other smaller audio solutions typically have some type of technology that can provide the “illusion” of surround sound, without a 5.1 (or larger) speaker setup. GenAudio is hoping to be the next great surround sound solution, with AstoundSound for CE.
This newly launched technology promises to deliver surround sound without all of the speakers. Designed to work with headphones and two speaker devices, GenAudio says that the tech can deliver a realistic 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound experience.
AstoundSound for CE is software-based, which is what allows it to reproduce those 5.1 and 7.1 sounds. The company says that this has an advantage over competing spatial audio technology, because AstoundSound for CE has no tone colorization and remains in-phase.
The company also says that the tech will work in everything from digital TVs and set-top boxes to phones and gaming consoles, and much more.
“The introduction of our software based audio IP tech on small, low-cost processors coupled with our intuitive audio tuning tools provides manufacturers a way to quickly integrate spatialized audio playback capabilities into any new product where audio fidelity to the consumer is a critical component,” says Jerry Mahabub, founder and CEO of GenAudio. “Implementing AstoundSound in consumer devices will offer device manufacturers the opportunity to differentiate their multimedia products in a crowded consumer market!”
GenAudio is already incorporating AstoundSound audio IP software into devices, including the Analog Devices ADAU1761/1701 Sigma Studio DSP system-on-chip (SoC) audio processors as well as ADI’s SHARC processors and various other chip manufacturers. GenAudio says that the first products packing AstoundSound for CE launch will debut early this year.
Faux surround sound is nothing new. Soundbars and other smaller audio solutions typically have some type of technology that can provide the “illusion” of surround sound, without a 5.1 (or larger) speaker setup. GenAudio is hoping to be the next great surround sound solution, with AstoundSound for CE.
This newly launched technology promises to deliver surround sound without all of the speakers. Designed to work with headphones and two speaker devices, GenAudio says that the tech can deliver a realistic 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound experience.
AstoundSound for CE is software-based, which is what allows it to reproduce those 5.1 and 7.1 sounds. The company says that this has an advantage over competing spatial audio technology, because AstoundSound for CE has no tone colorization and remains in-phase.
The company also says that the tech will work in everything from digital TVs and set-top boxes to phones and gaming consoles, and much more.
“The introduction of our software based audio IP tech on small, low-cost processors coupled with our intuitive audio tuning tools provides manufacturers a way to quickly integrate spatialized audio playback capabilities into any new product where audio fidelity to the consumer is a critical component,” says Jerry Mahabub, founder and CEO of GenAudio. “Implementing AstoundSound in consumer devices will offer device manufacturers the opportunity to differentiate their multimedia products in a crowded consumer market!”
GenAudio is already incorporating AstoundSound audio IP software into devices, including the Analog Devices ADAU1761/1701 Sigma Studio DSP system-on-chip (SoC) audio processors as well as ADI’s SHARC processors and various other chip manufacturers. GenAudio says that the first products packing AstoundSound for CE launch will debut early this year.
Facebook posting can lead to big trouble with the law. And despite all the publicity surrounding the issue, there are real-world examples every day.
On Friday, a Pittsburgh businessman was held hostage by a guy with a knife who made posts on Facebook during the five-hour ordeal. While you'd think focusing on his hostage and negotiations with police would have been paramount, instead the 22-year-old used a computer to post to Facebook comments such as “i cant take it no more im done bro,” and “this life im livin rite now i dnt want anymore,” reports The Associated Press .
Police monitored the kidnapper's Facebook page but later asked Facebook to shut it down so the man, a guy named Klein Michael Thaxton, could focus on talks with police.
Before Facebook complied, 700 comments from the man's family and friends showed up in response to his posts. While most were benign, apparently some encouraged Thaxton to behave violently.
Police Chief Nathan Harper said any Facebook users who urged Thaxton to harm his victim or himself could face charges, too, although one has to wonder what kinds of charges those might be.
After Facebook shut down Thaxton’s Facebook page, police arranged to have him speak on the phone with an ex-girlfriend who apparently convinced him to surrender peacefully. This morning Thaxton was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault and making terroristic threats. His bail is set at $1 million.
Idiotic people who use Facebook while committing crimes are rather common, actually.
As the AP points out, last month a woman who posed as a nurse and kidnapped a newborn at a Pittsburgh hospital was tracked down thanks to posts she made on Facebook regarding a faked pregnancy.
Facebook posting can lead to big trouble with the law. And despite all the publicity surrounding the issue, there are real-world examples every day.
On Friday, a Pittsburgh businessman was held hostage by a guy with a knife who made posts on Facebook during the five-hour ordeal. While you'd think focusing on his hostage and negotiations with police would have been paramount, instead the 22-year-old used a computer to post to Facebook comments such as “i cant take it no more im done bro,” and “this life im livin rite now i dnt want anymore,” reports The Associated Press .
Police monitored the kidnapper's Facebook page but later asked Facebook to shut it down so the man, a guy named Klein Michael Thaxton, could focus on talks with police.
Before Facebook complied, 700 comments from the man's family and friends showed up in response to his posts. While most were benign, apparently some encouraged Thaxton to behave violently.
Police Chief Nathan Harper said any Facebook users who urged Thaxton to harm his victim or himself could face charges, too, although one has to wonder what kinds of charges those might be.
After Facebook shut down Thaxton’s Facebook page, police arranged to have him speak on the phone with an ex-girlfriend who apparently convinced him to surrender peacefully. This morning Thaxton was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault and making terroristic threats. His bail is set at $1 million.
Idiotic people who use Facebook while committing crimes are rather common, actually.
As the AP points out, last month a woman who posed as a nurse and kidnapped a newborn at a Pittsburgh hospital was tracked down thanks to posts she made on Facebook regarding a faked pregnancy.
A good reminder, from the OHS front page, to keep things reasoned and friendly. 
