worlds

Ito: Think twice about immortality and the singularity

Ray Kurzweil's vision of the "singularity" -- when nanobots make humans immortal and computer progress is so fast that the future becomes profoundly unknowable -- is a bad idea.

That's the perhaps surprisingly contrary opinion of Joichi Ito, who as a high-tech investor and director of the MIT Media Lab might be expected to be a natural ally. The lab, after all, aims to be at the center of today's technology revolution.

Ito, speaking today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he believes the singularity vision puts the wrong priorities first.

"… Read more

Web founder Berners-Lee: Share info, improve the world

He stopped well short of saying information wants to be free, but Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the World Wide Web, said today the world would be better with some judicious liberation.

Speaking at the 2013 World Economic Forum today in Davos, Switzerland, Berners-Lee called on social-networking sites, academics, musicians, and governments to share more information online.

In earlier days of computing, people had full control over their own information because it was all stored on their own computer in front of them. Now, people store data with online services that deprive them of that control.

"They put their … Read more

At Davos, the self-important get a leaderboard

For most of us, it's just Tuesday. But over in Davos, Switzerland, the elite of the elite are gathered at the annual World Economic Forum for several days of important talks, unbelievable networking, and presumably, a fair amount of social drinking.

Not surprisingly, Twitter seems to be the organizing principle at the event, and in a bid -- perhaps unintentional -- to pit the attendees (who after all didn't make it to the top of the heap by being wallflowers) against each other, the folks running Davos are keeping track of who's tweeting the most.

The result? … Read more

Opera to sing WebKit's tune on mobile -- report

The Opera Browser will be rebuilding its mobile browsers using WebKit and a new interface that nearly entirely ditches the traditional browser buttons called Opera Ice, according to a leaked video acquired by Pocket-Lint.com.

Ice is not Opera's first dalliance with WebKit, as its current iOS offerings are also built with the WebKit engine. However, the current iOS Opera runs its server-side compression with Opera's Presto engine. It's not clear that that will continue with Ice, which apparently will debut at Mobile World Congress in February.

The video shows off Opera Ice, a browser that looks … Read more

The CST-01: The world's thinnest watch makes its debut

LAS VEGAS--The fight to build the thinnest watch has finally been won, folks. At least for now. Central Standard Timing has partnered with E Ink to create the CST-01; purportedly the world's thinnest watch.

At 0.80mm the watch is thinner than a credit card. I briefly got a chance to hold the extremely light watch and it is indeed the thinnest I've ever seen.

According to Central Standard Timing, the patent-pending CST-01 is assembled by laminating thin, flexible components into a 0.5mm pocket etched into a single piece of flexible stainless steel. This is different from … Read more

BlackBerry App World said to hawk pirated Android apps

Sure, pirated apps can be found across the Web on sites like appbucket.net and snappzmarket.com, but you wouldn't expect to find them in legitimate app stores, such as BlackBerry App World. But, indeed, this is reportedly the case.

And, to make matters worse, the purportedly stolen apps found in the store and packaged as BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 apps are actually Android apps, according to a developer who posted his woes on Reddit today.

I recently had two users email me about certain compatibility problems. They did mention that they were using Playbooks, but I figured … Read more

Apple's App Store gets top grade from research firm

Apple's App Store gets the nod as the best mobile app store, at least in the eyes of research firm ABI.

Ranking app stores for both innovation and implementation, ABI dubbed Apple the overall winner, with Google in second place and Microsoft's Windows Phone app store in third.

Apple soared ahead of the pack in terms of implementation, outshining Google Play and RIM's BlackBerry App World. The App Store was cited for its "effective approach to monetization, large market share over the app industry, and the ability to achieve a large inventory of titles while maintaining … Read more

Wireless trade group CTIA to drop one conference

Wireless trade group CTIA said today that it will go from two shows a year to a single conference in the fall starting in 2014.

The group, which is primarily focused on the U.S. wireless industry and includes carriers, handset manufacturers, and other related companies, has traditionally held two shows each year: a larger main show in the spring and a smaller, more business-focused event in the fall called MobileCon. The group will continue to hold both events this year.

Pressured by competing trade shows and its own members, CTIA will merge the conferences into a single "super … Read more

Play cricket with T20 ICC World Cup 2012

Looking to bat your way through a sticky wicket? Then you might have found the right app. Though you'd expect a top-notch experience since it's officially tied to the ICC World Cup, this game delivers mediocre graphics. However, for a simple game, T20 ICC World Cup 2012 is enough to fill your cricket fix on the cheap.

This paid version of T20 ICC World Cup 2012 includes all 12 teams involved in the 2012 tournament. The names have changed, but your favorite club will still play like you expect it to. If you're expecting premier graphics, you … Read more

Play an action-packed game with ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 app

Select from 14 available teams and enjoy all the elements of a real cricket World Cup. ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 perhaps doesn't offer the cutting-edge graphics you might expect, but its gameplay covers for that.

Once installed, this game takes you right into action. ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has a simple setup. The user interface is very straightforward and easy to navigate, and tutorials assist you in learning the movement. A basic knowledge of cricket is required in order to play this game, though. If the user is unfamiliar with cricket, it may be difficult to make … Read more