Technology

Canada's Research in Motion (RIM) finally unveiled its BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system (OS) on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the company's stock value plunged in the hours that followed, indicating that investors don't believe the new OS or a ... fresh range of smartphone devices can save the struggling firm. RIM showed off BlackBerry 10 (BB10) in a highly-publicized event on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. The new mobile OS is specially designed with touchscreen devices in mind and reflects RIM's decision to enter market space previously dominated by Apple's iPhone and a wide range of Android- ... (view more)

European researchers have made it possible to store coded data in the form of DNA, officially creating the most compact form of digital storage ever in existence. UK-based EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) recently announced the ... successful storage of encoded data in DNA format. The files include an MP3 of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, a .jpeg photo, and several other text files. Millions of Data Stored in a Cup of DNA The innovative encoding method makes it possible to store over 100 million hours of high-definition video in just a cup of DNA. Among its ... (view more)

It appears that one of the technology industry's most troubled companies may soon be staging a comeback. BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) has just announced that its newest mobile operating system, BlackBerry 10, will begin to ship to ... consumers by late January, 2013. The news has led to a remarkable spike in RIM's recently languishing stock price. 2012/2013: Years RIM Would Like to Forget The last two years have represented a tough period for Canadian firm Research in Motion, which produces the BlackBerry smartphone. The formerly-innovative firm has struggled to prevent its customers ... (view more)

US-based aerospace and defense firm Boeing is working to improve the WiFi Internet service on its commercial aircraft. Surprisingly, the company is using potatoes as a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem. Recently, Boeing loaded passenger seats ... on a grounded aircraft with 9,000 kilograms (kg) of potatoes in sacks for several days, as technicians meticulously checked WiFi signal strengths. Because of their overall chemistry and high levels of water content, potatoes absorb and reflect radio wave signals much the same as human bodies. This makes standard spuds a suitable substitute for ... (view more)

An entrepreneur says he has a response to the intensifying debate about gun control in the US. He says that by utilizing innovative computer technology, he can ensure that only the rightful owner of a weapon can fire it. The technology requires a ... radio chip in the handle of the gun. The gun's owner would wear a corresponding chip, in the form of a ring or a bracelet. Some observers even suggest the chip could be implanted directly into the gun owner's hand. Robert McNamara, who owns the company TriggerSmart, patented this radio chip technology last spring. Smart Gun Tech Not New Of course, ... (view more)

A US Senate committee has approved the Location Privacy Protection Act. It's a bill that would ban the smartphone tools which allow people to track others without their knowledge. The act, introduced by Senator Al Franken, would force companies ... offering smartphone apps to get a phone user's permission before collecting or passing on data about their location. The new rules would also explicitly ban any application that tracked locations without the phone user's knowledge. (Source: govtrack.us ) According to Franken, such measures are necessary to prevent cases of people secretly installing a ... (view more)

A federal court has ruled that major cellphone carriers must let their smaller rivals use their data networks. This could mean more competitive deals and better coverage for smartphone and tablet owners, as well as those accessing mobile broadband ... on a laptop. The United States Court of Appeals has rejected a challenge by Verizon, thereby upholding an earlier ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The original ruling primarily covered data roaming, the technique by which customers of one cellphone carrier access the data services of another carrier. The FCC had said that ... (view more)

Microsoft is planning to release a number of improved features for its Windows Phone 8 mobile platform. The update could dramatically improve how the system functions. The update carries the codename Apollo Plus. Microsoft promises that it will ... offer fixes and features inspired by consumer feedback. VPNs Add Sense of Security for Windows Phone Users The first new feature in Apollo Plus is the inclusion of support for Virtual Private Networks (VPN). VPNs enable a host computer to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if they were private. Adding this feature to Windows ... (view more)

Verizon says it won't charge customers who live in areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy for service lost during the massive 'superstorm.' On a case-by-case basis, the company will also consider helping people in other locations. The network says the ... fee waiver is part of an ongoing program to help victims and restore cellphone service. Under the program, Verizon will waive fees for customers in ten New York counties and twenty-one New Jersey counties. The deal involves waiving the fees for all domestic calls and texts made by customers in the designated counties between October 29 (when the ... (view more)

Delta and United Airlines are among 100 firms that have been told they are breaking California's privacy laws. The problem: these companies have smartphone and tablet applications that don't give customers adequate information about the way they ... handle personal data. Kamala Harris, California's attorney general, insists companies are breaching the California Online Privacy Protection Act, which says app users must get clear details about the personal data collected and how it will be used. These 100 companies are among many more offenders but happen to own the 100 most popular apps breaching ... (view more)