TechTalk

Here is the TechTalk show on Nightline with Magnus Nystedt.

http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/01/23/what-if-smartphones-were-as-popular-in-china-as-they-are-in-the-usa/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/youtube-cracks-4-billion-daily-video-views/article2311587/

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/012412-apple-has-become-biggest-buyer-255233.html?source=nww_rss


http://checkthis.com/

Robin Good: With no need for registration, no set-up, and no installation requirements Checkthis makes it as easy as it can get, to publish a web page of multimedia content on the web.As soon as you click the Create a Page button, you can start immediately adding a main title, text, and any type of additional content including images, audio, web links, lists, video, maps, tweets and more. The appearance of Read more...

http://searchengineland.com/too-many-ads-above-the-fold-now-penalized-by-googles-page-layout-algo-108613

Do you shove lots of ads at the top of your web pages? Think again. Tired of doing a Google search and landing on these types of pages? Rejoice. Google has announced that it will penalize sites with pages that are top-heavy with ads.

Top Heavy With Ads? Look Out!

The change — called the “page layout algorithm” — takes direct aim at any site with pages where content is buried under tons of ads.
From Google’s post on its Inside Search blog today:

We’ve heard complaints from users that if they click on a result and it’s difficult to find the actual content, they aren’t happy with the experience. Rather than scrolling down the page past a slew of ads, users want to see content right away.

So sites that don’t have much content “above-the-fold” can be affected by this change. If you click on a website and the part of the website you see first either doesn’t have a lot of visible content above-the-fold or dedicates a large fraction of the site’s initial screen real estate to ads, that’s not a very good user experience.

Such sites may not rank as highly going forward.

Google also posted the same information to its Google Webmaster Central blog.
Sites using pop-ups, pop-unders or overlay ads are not impacted by this. It only applies to static ads in fixed positions on pages themselves, Google told me.

How Much Is Too Much?

How can you tell if you’ve got too many ads above-the-fold? When I talked with the head of Google’s web spam team, Matt Cutts, he said that Google wasn’t going to provide any type of official tools similar to how it provides tools to tell if your site is too slow (site speed is another ranking signal).

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/sony-announces-next-generation-image-sensors-smartphones-184745

Sony said Monday it has developed new technology for the tiny imaging chips that power cameras in portable devices, which will allow for clearer photographs while using less space and cutting manufacturing costs.
The company said it has developed a method for building CMOS sensors, widely used in mobile phones and digital cameras, that will reduce their surface area and allow imaging circuitry to be produced separately from the supporting logic. Sony said it will also add new technology to reduce picture distortion in dark scenes and allow videos to capture a wider range of light.

Sample shipments of image sensors that use the new manufacturing method will begin from March, with mass production to start in the fall. The new imaging technologies will be introduced into broad production late this year or early next, the company said.
"Initially we will work to insure that these sensors can be used in all smartphones," said Yasuhiro Ueda, an executive in Sony's image sensor division. "After we have achieved success with phones, we are planning to expand into areas such as audio-visual products, surveillance and manufacturing."
Ueda spoke to reporters at a press conference in Tokyo, where the company showed demonstrations of the clearer images and video it said can be produced with the new chips.
While Sony has an extensive line of digital cameras and smartphones of its own, it is also a major supplier of advanced image sensors for such products. Teardown reports have shown that the company's imaging chips are used in the iPhone 4S, and Apple listed Sony as a supplier in its corporate responsibility report issued earlier this month.
Sony's new manufacturing process layers image sensors on top of supporting logic using separate, stacked chips, as opposed to the current method of arraying both imaging and logic side by side on the same chip. This will create sensors with a smaller area while giving more space to processing logic, and allow for the two components to be produced independently.
Ueda said Sony could outsource the logic portion while focusing more on the image sensors, one of its strengths.
The company also said it would add white-light image sensors to the traditional red, green and blue found on such chips, providing better clarity to photos taken in low lighting. It will also increase the dynamic range of video recordings, allowing light sources of varying brightness to be captured in the same scene.
Sony has rarely held press conferences for its raw technology and components in the past, focusing instead on complete consumer products. But it is making an effort to maintain its reputation as a cutting-edge tech company as it gives up market share to massive rivals like Samsung and innovators like Apple.






Nokia Lumia 800

• Nokia's first Windows phone
• I've had it since last Friday
• Great design (same as N9)
• One piece solid polycarbonate, solid color throughout
• Great camera, dedicated physical camera button
• 1.4 GHz processor (single core), 512 MB RAM
• 16 GB storage (no expansion), you get 25GB SkyDrive cloud storage
• 8 megapixel camera, f2.2 lens, Carl Zeiss lens, 720p HD video
• Windows Phone 7.5
• Fast, like the tile interface
• IE 9 is fast, but doesn't render all sites correctly (Mobile Safari for iOS is better)
• Apps is an issue (50,000 but not all that I need)
• I can imagine how nice the 900 would be, with bigger screen, front-facing camera and LTE

DURABILITY	5, no concerns, the polycarbonate body makes it feel hi-class
PORTABILITY	4, no problems, battery life increased with software update
EASE OF USE	4, if you come from Android or iOS, there's a but of learning to do
Design and Form Factor	4, like the N9 - very good

Turtle Beach EarForce PX21
http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/ps3-gaming-headsets/ear-force-px21.aspx

• About $80
• Long and thick cable
• Remote control too close to the headset
• Soft earcups
• Very flexible mic boom
• Great sound for voice chat
• Decent for music

DURABILITY	4 Some concerns, like the padding comes off easily
PORTABILITY	3 Very bulky, but not really meant to be carried around
EASE OF USE	5 Great, no problems
Design and Form Factor	4 Only that cord is very thick and inflexible

16/20