Google has unveiled today its first Chrome-based notebooks from Acer and Samsung at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. They will be available for order online from June 15.
The Samsung Chromebook will cost $429 for the Wi-Fi only version and $499 for the 3G version, while Acer’s Wi-Fi only Chromebook will cost $349.
Samsung Series 5 Chromebook
The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is a netbook running Google’s Chrome OS. It has a 12.1 inch display, 1.66 GHz dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor, 16 GB SSD drive and 2 GB RAM, with 8.5 hours battery life.
Looking similar to the CR-48 prototype, the Series 5 is available either in white or “Titan Silver”.
Chromebooks will be available online June 15 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain. More countries will follow in the coming months. In the U.S., Chromebooks will be available from Amazon and Best Buy and internationally from leading retailers.
Here are the main specifications:
A 12.1-inch (1280×800) SuperBright display at 300 nits, with a 16:10 aspect
1.66 GHz dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor
2GB RAM
16GB SSD drive
8.5 hours battery life
Stereo speakers
Two USB 2.0 ports
SD/SDHC/MMC/SDXC card slot
Mini-VGA port
11.6 x 8.6 x 0.79 inches
3.26 lbs / 1.48 kg
A full-size keyboard
Multitouch touch pad
Built-in dual-band Wi-Fi and World-mode 3G (optional)
HD Webcam with noise cancelling microphone
Instant-on from standby, and an 8-second boot time
Google will reveal its first Chrome-based notebooks from Acer and Samsung at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. They will be available for order online from June 15.
It’ll be interesting whether consumers will bite, considering that you can buy a decent Netbook or an iPad the $499 price-tag for the 3G Samsung Chromebook.
Acer Chromebook
Chromebooks will be available online June 15 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain. More countries will follow in the coming months. In the U.S., Chromebooks will be available from Amazon and Best Buy and internationally from leading retailers.
Equipped with dual-core processors from Intel, the Chromebooks boast all-day battery life, and instant-on ability and built-in Net connectivity. Chromebooks will get updates and patches automatically every few weeks, like its browser cousin Chrome.
A special pricing is available for schools – Google will charge $20 a month for each Chromebook. The price will include hardware, administrative support, hardware upgrades, and warranty.
With this long awaited foray, Chromebooks will be taking on the tablet market dominated by Apple’s iPads, and the PC market dominated by both Microsoft and Apple.
Samsung Chromebook
The Chromebooks will run a new new bare-bones operating system that is basically a web browser that allows users to access applications like email, wordprocessors and spreadsheets directly on the web, instead of installing software such as Outlook or Office directly on the computer’s harddisks.
Users can also store their music and documents in the cloud for access from other computers as long as there is an Internet connection. Naturally, that means that a lot of the functionality may likely be unavailable or crippled offline.
Google has been touting Chrome as an alternative to Microsoft Windows for some two years now, but it has encountered delays producing computers designed to use the software.
Nubox will open its 10th store in Singapore at Junction 8 Shopping Centre on Friday May 13, 2011. The Apple Premium Reseller will open the 1447 sq ft store at 12 noon and celebrate the occasion with a number of in-store promotions over the weekend from May 13 to 15.
Customers who purchase a Macbook will receive a Speck case, a sleeve, a palm rest protector and a keyboard protector worth $143.00. The first 30 customers who purchase a Macbook will also receive a Microsoft Arc Mouse worth $89.00.
A Dexim silicon case for the iPod nano and iPod touch that comes with a screen protector, cleaning cloth, earphones and an AC adapter, will go to customers who purchase an iPod. Nubox is also offering up to 70% discount on selected accessories during this period.
Together with Nubox@nex at Serangoon which opened in November 2010, the new store, Nubox@Junction 8 is targeted at shoppers in the northern part of Singapore. Junction 8 Shopping Centre is located right beside Bishan MRT station.
The results of the General Election 2011 are out – PAP has been returned to power with 81 out of 87 parliamentart seats. Workers’ Party has done extremely well by not only retaining their Hougang SMC, but have managed to capture the Aljunied GRC as well.
What will the next Parliament look like? It will comprise 81 elected MPs from PAP, 6 elected MPs from the Workers’ Party, 2 NCMPs from the Workers’ Party, 1 NCMP from the SPP, and 9 NMPs, assuming both the Workers’ Party and SPP accept the NCMP seats.
Like many other Singaporeans, I stayed till past 3 am this morning to hear the charismatic Returning Officer announce the results of each and every contested constituency in the General Election.
Reams of post-election analysis and opinions have already been churned out and more will follow, so I’ll just share just 5 statements which I feel characterise the outcome of this election.
Perhaps a year from now when the dust has settled, and you’re looking for a concise summary of what General Election 2011 was like, the five statements will paint a quick characterisation of what transpired.
Feel free to let me know if you think some other statement should be included in lieu of any of the following list:
People's Action Party (PAP)
1. It is an election that the ruling PAP would rather forget
The PAP brought in 60.1% of the overall vote – the lowest since independence in 1965. It is also 6.5% lower than the previous 66.6% in 2006.
2. This is the first time the Opposition has managed to capture a GRC
Workers' Party (WP)
Many see the GRC system as a scheme that makes it difficult for the Opposition to win because of their previous inability to produce enough nominees of adequate quality and racial composition.
Many also believe it allowed strong anchor PAP ministers to parachute in new PAP candidates, and to some extent, assure any senior but unpopular PAP ministers of reelection.
3. The electorate prefer a more compassionate approach rather than an arrogant attitude.
National Solidarity Party (NSP)
Passionate, heartful campaigning epitomised by the youngest candidate Nicole Seah from the NSP overshadows the traditional intellectual, above-it-all, know-it-all, we-know-what’s-best-for-you attitude of the ruling party. This made Seah the media darling and champion of the underprivileged who fell-through-the-cracks.
It also forced the ruling party to switch from a be-careful-of-your-property-and-asset-value stance at the beginning of the campaign to a so-sorry-we-did-make-some-mistakes-and-we’ll-try-better positioning for the second half of the hustings.
4. All-or-nothing gambit failed for veteran Chiam See Tong
Singapore People's Party (SPP)
While Workers’ Party Low Thia Khiang pulled off his gamble of venturing out from his Hougang SMC and vying for the Aljunied GRC, the same gamble by well-loved SPP Chiam See Tong to move out of Potong Pasir and move for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC failed.
Workers’ Party emerged as the strongest Opposition party whose overall campaign results and party discipline has greatly strengthened the party’s brand name to be an asset to its members in future elections.
Reform Party (RP)
5. Coming of age for social media and a new generation of young voters
The proliferation of social media, coupled with the political awareness of a new generation of young voters has fueled an increased assertiveness of the electorate.
The Internet provided extensive coverage of Opposition campaigning and served as an avenue for opposition supporters to express and share their political views and opinions.
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)
Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA)
It is a much sought after alternative for traditional local mainstream media which is perceived by many to be biased against the Opposition in their coverage.
The final installment of the 14-part Intermediate GIMP series will be run next weekend.
After more than a week of following the Singapore General Election 2011 and staying up past 3 am to watch the results, I’m afraid I’ve had to postpone the final installment of the Intermediate GIMP series till next weekend.
It will be on using the advanced Curves command to correct/enhance the brightness and contrast of a photo.
Today is polling day for the General Election in Singapore. Citizens vote today for the Members of Parliament who will manage their constituencies and estates, and represent them in Parliament.
The political party with the majority will also form the government for the next five or so years until the next election.
Polling stations across the island nation opened at 8 am local time to voters selecting their representatives in Parliament. The polling stations will remain open for voting until 8 pm tonight.
The neighbourhood school across the road from where I live has been designated as the polling station where residents around my neighbourhood will cast our votes.
As I walked towards the school with the Poll Card in my hands, I couldn’t help but muse that I was holding in my hands about the only tangible manifestation of what being a Singaporean Citizen entails – the right to vote.
Gripped in my hands was my voice. With it, I get to say who I want to represent me in the government. The most wonderful thing about it all is that everybody – whether you’re rich or poor, whether you’re from the establishment or whether you’re disenfranchised – gets exactly one vote. Nobody’s voice is louder than that of another.
The slogan “One man, one vote” has never sunk in so vividly until you walk with this IC-sized slip of paper towards a ballot box, especially since in this election, it can really make a difference as to who gets elected.
A poll card to exchange for a voting slip at the polling station
For this election, 2,350,873 citizens will decide who the 87 MPs representing 27 constituencies are. 12 of the constituencies are SMCs (Single Member Constituency) while 15 are GRCs (Group Representation Constituency where the constituency is represented by a team of candidates rather than a single person).
Unlike past elections, where many constituencies are unchallenged by opposition parties and enjoy walkovers even before the polling day, in this election – only one constituency has enjoyed a win without a fight.
The 5-member team headed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in Tanjong Pagar GRC was returned into office on Nomination Day when their would-be opponents from the opposition failed to submit their paperwork in time. They were deemed to be 35 seconds late and the 139,771 electors in the constituency – some 6 percent of the overall electorate – will not have the chance to vote in this election.
Nevertheless, there are still 82 parliamentary seats up for grabs and the hustings this election has proven to be more intense than ever before, with the opposition presenting many credible and eminently qualified candidates who were able to enunciate why the voters should support them and what they can do for the nation.
Unsettling for the incumbent party, the voting public – at least based on any casual browsing of social websites on the Internet and overwhelming attendance at opposition rallies – seemed to resonate with opposition candidates.
Spanking new notebooks were auctioned off on last evening with proceeds going to the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (SPMF).
Another 13 notebooks will be auctioned off tonight at the Funan DigitaLife Mall. These are part of a two-week campaign by the consumer electronics retailer, Newstead Technologies, and its partners.
FM91.3 DJ Jeremy Ratnam as one of two host auctioneers.
Day 1 of the “Bid to Give” charity auction was held on Thursday evening. With starting bids of only S$199, all 14 notebooks were snapped up within the hour by warm-hearted contributors who attended the charity drive at the Main Atrium of Funan DigitaLife Mall.
Partners of Newstead Technologies who sponsored the notebooks include Microsoft Singapore, Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, AMD, Blackberry, Brightpoint, ECS, HTC, Huawei, Ingram Micro and Jos Distribution.
There will be another 13 notebooks up for auction tonight at 6pm at the same venue so you can still show up and contribute your share for charity.
Tay Hong Kuan with his Panasonic notebook with the night's highest bid of S$1,349.
The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund is an annual community project that provides pocket money to children from low-income families to help them through school. The children can use this money to buy a meal during recess, pay for their bus fares or use it to meet their other schooling needs.
In addition to Bid to Give, Newstead Technologies will also be donating $10 for every notebook sold and another $5 for every Microsoft Office 2010 purchased at its roadshow from May 5 to May 8 and at Newstead Technologies’ outlets at IMM #02-06, City Square Mall #04-20, Suntec City (e-life) #02-002/A and nex Mall #04-55 from May 9 to May 15. Newstead Technologies hopes to raise a total of $17,000 from the charity auction and sale of notebooks during this period.
Asian cities have the fastest connection speeds in the world, with HK clocking the highest peak connection speed, and Japan having the highest level of broadband adoption. Russia generated the most attack traffic.
Basically, the Internet has become a faster and more dangerous place.
The State of the Internet report for Q4 2010
Akamai has released its Q4 State of the Internet report for 2010. It is a leading provider of cloud optimisation services. Based on data gathered from the Akamai Internet Platform, the report provides insight into key global Internet statistics such as the world’s fastest and slowest regions for connection speed, the most frequent origins of attack traffic, and the highest-performing geographies for mobile connectivity, as well as resulting trends over time.
Looking at the two main areas of speed and security, the State Of The Internet (SOTI) report paints the following picture:
Speed
Cities in Asia have the fastest connection speeds in the World.
(top 40 cities are either in Japan or South Korea)
Hong Kong has the highest peak connection speed.
Japan has the highest level of broadband adoption.
Average peak connection speeds on mobile devices rose to 21.2Mbps globally.
Security
Russia is the number one country in terms of generating attack traffic, followed by Taiwan (2nd), China (4th), US (5th), Malaysia (25th), HK (47th), and Singapore (48th). 10% of all attack traffic originates from Russia.
The Akamai network saw more DDoS attacks in Q42010 than the previous three quarters combined.
In terms of mobile-generated attack traffic, the top ten countries are:
Italy
Chile
UK
Poland
Malaysia
China
Russia
US
Hungary
Lithuania
Akamai’s globally distributed network of servers allows it to gather massive amounts of information on many metrics, including connection speeds, attack traffic, and network connectivity/availability/latency problems, as well as traffic patterns on leading Web sites.
Each quarter, Akamai publishes a “State of the Internet” report. The 2010 Q4 report included data about attack traffic, broadband adoption, and mobile connectivity, as well as trends seen in this data over time.
BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones on BlackBerry 7 operating system, new Facebook and Video Chat apps for the PlayBook tablet — these are some of the initiatives unveiled by RIM just prior to the BlackBerry World 2011 conference.
A range of enterprise solutions for unified communications, device management and mobile security for smartphones and tablets were also announced.
The annual BlackBerry World is now ongoing at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Florida from 3 – 5 May. Typically, new devices, solutions and initiatives are announced during this period. This year, there is much anticipation on what devices will be unveiled, given the large number of leaks about Research In Motion’s (RIM) lineup of smartphones for 2011.
Here is a roundup of releases just prior to BlackBerry World. Some are for RIM’s consumer devices while others are from their traditional stronghold of mobile IT solutions.
New BlackBerry Bold Smartphones on BlackBerry 7 OS
The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones will be the thinnest and most powerful BlackBerry devices yet. The easy-to-use BlackBerry keyboard is integrated with a brilliant, high resolution, capacitive touch screen. These smartphones are built on a new platform powered by the BlackBerry 7 operating system and designed to deliver high performance in communications, multimedia and productivity for users around the world.
Sporting a 1.2 GHz CPU, a 2.8 inch 640×480 pixels VGA display at 287 dpi resolution, the smartphones support 4G and NFC (Near Field Communications).
The two Bold models are expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning this summer.
New Facebook and Video Chat apps for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet
Following the release of the Facebook for BlackBerry® smartphones app, RIM has announced the Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook app. This new app delivers popular features of Facebook, optimized for the 7″ high resolution, multi-touch LCD display of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook offers users a highly engaging experience by integrating popular features such as viewing and adding friends, seamless photo and video viewing, connecting with friends by using Facebook chat, and viewing and interacting with the News Feed.
The app be available on BlackBerry App World later this month.
RIM has also announced the availability of the BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat app – an easy and fun way for friends and family to place and receive video calls between BlackBerry PlayBook tablets over an internet connected Wi-Fi network. Key features of the PlayBook Video Chat application include: one-click video and voice over Wi-Fi calls, incoming call notifications, powerful in-call functions and a friends list.
The app will be distributed to existing BlackBerry PlayBook customers through an over-the-air software update and is available on BlackBerry App World.
BlackBerry Balance for Work-Life Balance on BlackBerry
RIM is advancing work-life balance on BlackBerry smartphones with BlackBerry Balance. This new technology allows the convenience of using a single BlackBerry smartphone for both work and personal purposes without compromising company security or personal privacy. RIM is introducing this technology in response to the growing trend by businesses to allow employees to use personal BlackBerry smartphones for work, or company-owned smartphones for personal, and the need for businesses to secure, manage and control confidential company or client information.
Multi-Platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution for Smartphones and Tablets
RIM has announced plans for a multi-platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution for managing and securing mobile devices for enterprises and government organizations.
The solution will make available the market-leading management, security and controls of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express for BlackBerry devices. In addition, through RIM’s pending acquisition of ubitexx (creator of the ubi-Suite device management solution), the solution is expected to incorporate secure device management for Android and iOS based devices and tablets, all managed from a single web-based console.
The multi-platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is planned for general availability later this year.
BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 with Voice Over Wi-Fi Calling for Avaya and Legacy Nortel Communications Systems
To help more businesses bring together the desk phone and smartphone. RIM announced plans to make BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 (BlackBerry MVS 5) available to more corporate phone systems and unified communications applications. BlackBerry MVS 5 with voice over Wi-Fi calling will soon be available for Avaya Aura 6.1, Avaya CS1000 Communication Server, as well as legacy phone systems such as Avaya Communications Manager and Nortel Communication Server. BlackBerry MVS 5 has also been re-architected to be more extensible with third party applications and phone systems.
Starting at S$1,648, the iMac has been updated with next generation quad-core processors, powerful graphics, Thunderbolt I/O Technology and a new FaceTime HD camera.
Apple claims that, compared to the previous generation, the new iMac is 70 percent faster and new graphics deliver up to three times the performance of the previous generation.
Apple’s desktop line of computers features quad-core Intel Core i5 processors with an option for customers to choose Core i7 processors up to 3.4 GHz. These next generation processors feature an integrated memory controller for a responsive experience and a powerful new media engine for high-performance video encoding and decoding. The new AMD Radeon HD graphics processors give the new iMac an extremely powerful graphics capability.
Thunderbolt
iMac is the first desktop computer on the market to include groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology. Apple had launched its updated MacBook Pro line of notebooks on February 25 earlier this year with the new Thunderbolt I/O technology. It was the first computer on the market to implement the new technology Apple had developed in collaboration with Intel.
The 21.5-inch iMac has a single Thunderbolt port while the 27-inch model features two ports for even greater expansion. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire and USB consumer devices, and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters.
Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O.
FaceTime
The iMac includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera and Apple’s innovative FaceTime software for crisp, widescreen video calling the whole family can enjoy. The new camera supports high definition video calls between all FaceTime HD-enabled Macs and standard resolution calls with iPad 2, iPhone 4, the current generation iPod touch and other Intel-based Macs.
Software
The iMac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife – Apple’s innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing photos, movies and music.
Snow Leopard includes the Mac App Store for finding new apps for the iMac.
iLife ’11 features iPhoto with full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.
The iMac continues to feature its signature aluminium and glass design, brilliant IPS LED-backlit high resolution display, SD card slot and comes with Apple’s innovative Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.
On the Green front, the iMac meets stringent Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold rating. iMac features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iMac uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants, uses highly recyclable materials and features material-efficient system and packaging designs.
Pricing & Availability
The new iMac is available through the online Apple Store and Apple Authorised Resellers.
21.5-inch iMac
S$1,648
2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
AMD Radeon HD 6750M
500GB hard drive
S$2,048
2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
AMD Radeon HD 6770M
1TB hard drive
27-inch iMac
S$2,348
2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
AMD Radeon HD 6770M
1TB hard drive
S$2,748
3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
AMD Radeon HD 6970M
1TB hard drive
Configure-to-order options include faster Intel Core i7 processors up to 3.4 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 2TB, a 256GB solid state drive, additional DDR3 memory and AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online.