Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, November 12, 2010

Apple contributing to OpenJDK project, ensures continued Java availability on OS X

As of just a few weeks ago, Java's legacy of write once, debug everywhere was looking in doubt. Apple's flavor of the Java 6 runtime was deprecated and all those .class and .jar files on Macs were looking like they'd swirl to a lingering death in the great coffee pot in the sky. That all changes today with an announcement from both Apple and Oracle that Cupertino developers will "contribute most of the key components" for OpenJDK Java SE 7 implementations on 32- and 64-bit flavors of OS X, with runtime virtual machines set to cover both Snow Leopard and the upcoming Lion release. Additionally, Apple will continue to make the SE 6 version of Java available, while Oracle will take over responsibility for ownership and distribution of version 7 and those to come. Makes sense -- Apple might be pulling away from the enterprise and server markets, but there are lots of Java devs using Mac OS X out there, and it's only natural for Oracle to pick up support for them.

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Apple contributing to OpenJDK project, ensures continued Java availability on OS X originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung 'prints' 19-inch OLED TV, teases our display daydreams yet again

Considering Seiko Epson was touting its inkjet OLED technology over a year ago and researchers have supposedly been developing OLEDs as cheap as newspapers for some time now, at this point we're really more interested in seeing electronics manufacturers do more walking and less talking. Thankfully Samsung has acknowledged our tech impatience by sharing a prototype 19-inch OLED that's capable of displaying 58ppi -- or about a quarter of full HD's resolution -- and 16.77 million colors with a limited 8-bit color scale at a brightness of 200 nits. No, it may not look or sound as sexy as the 0.5mm thick flapping panel or 40-inch 1080p OLED sets Samsung shared back in 2008, but unlike those dinosaurs, this latest prototype was made via the old OLED "inkjet method." Sadly the Korean tech giant dashed our hopes of heading over to Kinkos anytime we needed a fresh OLED big screen by stating "the technology is still under development." Now if we had a nickel for every time we've heard that before, we'd probably be staring at an OLED printer on our desk right now.

Samsung 'prints' 19-inch OLED TV, teases our display daydreams yet again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile's $15 tethering option, tiered data available this Sunday

The $14.99 monthly unlimited tethering / mobile WiFi hotspot add-on for your phone that T-Mobile promised in time for the holidays will be getting real this weekend, hitting on Sunday, November 14th. Of course, owners of myTouch 4Gs, G2s with the latest firmware update, and a couple other models in the T-Mobile stable have already been enjoying the option, gratis, for a couple weeks -- so it'll be interesting to see how many subscribers they convert for the $15 upcharge. Certainly makes those roots seem a little more appealing, doesn't it? Available at the same time will be the new 200MB data option for $10, though it won't be available (smartly) in combination with tethering.

On a related note, Big Magenta will be rolling out two promotional Even More plans on the same date: a 1,500 anytime minute individual package for $79.99 and a 3,000 minute family plan for $149.99, both including unlimited text and web. Both require re-upping your contract and will be available "for a limited time," though the carrier isn't saying just how long that "limited time" may be. Follow the break for the release.

Continue reading T-Mobile's $15 tethering option, tiered data available this Sunday

T-Mobile's $15 tethering option, tiered data available this Sunday originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iTunes 10.1 is out, brings video AirPlay and iOS 4.2 compatibility

We've already got the Mac OS X update, and here's iTunes 10.1. Next stop? iOS 4.2. If your copy of iTunes isn't pushing the update, you can head to Apple's page where it'll be there, waiting for you. In addition to paving way for the new iOS, iTunes 10.1 adds the much anticipated video AirPlay feature (it launched as audio only), so fire up that Apple TV and push yourself some vids!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iTunes 10.1 is out, brings video AirPlay and iOS 4.2 compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verbatim's diminutive MediaShare Mini NAS: memory not included

Verbatim, whose business is memory (and whose name means "to reproduce word for word," by the way) has done a Rick Moranis job on its MediaShare NAS, resulting in the MediaShare Mini. One third the size of its predecessor, this guy retains its slight stature by going the Iomega iConnect route of eschewing on-board storage altogether for four USB ports (so it looks like you'll have to factor the four thumb drives into the purchase price). And like the full-size MediaShare NAS server, this bad boy supports remote access via HTTP, support for a number of handhelds (including the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm Pre), Facebook integration, DLNA-compliant media streaming, and more. Look for it now for an MSRP of $90.

Verbatim's diminutive MediaShare Mini NAS: memory not included originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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