Technology

Business users may love their BlackBerry smartphones, but governments in the Middle East are not so keen. Three countries have issued different degrees of bans on the devices' functions. The biggest conflict comes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ... where officials there accuse the device of breaching local laws on data security. The problem is that messages sent on a BlackBerry are encrypted and immediately sent to servers in Canada for processing and storage. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The UAE frowns upon such activity because it demands the ... (view more)

When software is developed, it goes through a number of stages before it is officially released to the public. This document briefly explains this process. Software Release Development Life Cycles Pre-Alpha (Development) Pre-alpha refers to all ... activities performed during the software project prior to testing. These activities can include requirements analysis, software design, software development and unit testing. Pre-alpha software is rarely ever released to the public. Alpha (Developer Testing) The alpha phase of the release life cycle is the first phase to begin Software testing. In this ... (view more)

In computer security, "sandboxing" is a security term used to describe the separation of running programs on an operating system. A sandbox, as it is also referred to, is often used to execute untested computer programs to ensure that they do not ... overstep their boundaries and cause harm to the system. The sandbox typically provides a tightly-controlled set of resources for guest programs to run in, such as scratch space on disk and memory. Network access and the ability to inspect the host system or read from input devices are usually disallowed or heavily restricted. In this sense, sandboxes ... (view more)

In mathematics and computer science, an 'algorithm' is an effective method for solving a problem expressed as a finite sequence of instructions. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and many other fields. Each algorithm is a list of ... well-defined instructions for completing a task. Starting from an initial state, the instructions describe a computation that proceeds through a well-defined series of successive states, eventually terminating in a final ending state. Expressing algorithms Algorithms can be expressed in many kinds of notation, including natural languages, ... (view more)

In computer terminology, a honeypot is a trap set to detect, deflect, or in some manner counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems. Generally it consists of a computer, data, or a network site that appears to be part of a ... network, but is actually isolated, (un)protected, and monitored, and which seems to contain information or a resource of value to attackers. Honeypot Function A honeypot is valuable as a surveillance and early-warning tool. While it is often a computer, a honeypot can take other forms, such as files or data records, or even unused IP address space. ... (view more)

A new invention threatens to completely redefine the modern traffic commute. Terrafugia, the Massachusetts producer of the flying car, says it has plans to launch its contraption -- dubbed the 'Transition' -- by the end of 2011. A recent thumbs-up ... from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) means the idea of an air commute might not be so sci-fi after all. The Next 'Wow' Vehicle "It's the next 'wow' vehicle," said Richard Gersh, Terrafugia's vice president. "Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don't fly." (Source: google.com) The Transition works by activating wings that ... (view more)

On the same day Apple released its much-anticipated iPhone 4G, Canadian tech firm Research in Motion (RIM) has announced an impressive 20 per cent increase in its fiscal first quarter net income. Given the hype surrounding the new iPhone, it may be ... the last good news for RIM for a while. Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion produces the popular BlackBerry smartphone, a rather ubiquitous device within most modern business environments. For some time analysts have predicted that the BlackBerry could face a serious threat from the iPhone -- which is seen more as a pleasure than business- ... (view more)

Network neutrality (also known as "Net neutrality") is a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet Service Providers and governments on content, sites, platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and no restrictions on the ... modes of communication allowed. The principle states that if a given user pays for a certain level of Internet access, and another user pays for the same level of access, that the two users should be able to connect to each other at the subscribed level of access. Net Neutrality and Service Providers Neutrality proponents claim that telecom ... (view more)

After multiple delays , the first handsets running the next Windows mobile operating system are said to emerge next month. But they won't be on sale: instead, they'll go to software developers to make it easier for them to produce high-quality apps. ... App Developers to get Real Deal So far developers have had to rely on emulators to try out their new apps for Windows Phone 7. That does the job, but doesn't really recreate how an app looks and feels when it is on a phone in your hand. It is theoretically possible for developers to run beta editions of Windows Phone 7 on existing handsets through ... (view more)

Centralized computing is computing done at a central location, using terminals that are attached to a central computer. The computer itself may control all the peripherals directly (if they are physically connected to the central computer), or they ... may be attached via a terminal server. Alternatively, if the terminals have the capability, they may be able to connect to the central computer over the network. The terminals may be text terminals or thin clients, for example. A modern day form of centralized computing is the cloud computing model . Centralized computing offers greater security ... (view more)