Tag archive: Standards

Near-field communications, or NFC, has been a buzzed about 2011 smartphone feature for a few months now. Google and wireless carriers have been fairly vocal about their support for it, but Apple may not join the party this year. The Independent reports that Apple has had meeting with several UK wireless operators and disclosed that it will not include NFC technology in the iPhone 5. “The new iPhone will not have NFC, Apple told the… Read More

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers– the people responsible for top level domains (think .com, .gov, and .ca)– have thrown about the idea of an extension for pornographic websites for the better part of a decade.  More recently, the proposal has been picking up steam again, with staunch proponents as well as firm opposition.  ICANN seeemd to be moving forward with the extension by officially registering .xxx with… Read More

Netflix is already available on Windows Phone 7, yet the app is missing from Android phones. In a blog post Friday, Greg Peters, VP of product development, said that Netflix will be coming to select Android phones in early 2011, but explained why the company can't release its movie streaming app on all Android devices. The problem comes down to DRM. “We are eager to launch on these devices and are disappointed that we haven’t been… Read More

Intel wants to set some standards for the cloud. In a release yesterday, the processor manufacturer announced the “Open Data Center Alliance,” a coalition of 70+ companies that spend more than $50 billion combined in IT investments and cloud research. The goal of the alliance is to establish hardware and software requirements that help “lead to more interoperable cloud and data center solutions.” Intel will lead the… Read More

We use chargers all the time for portable games consoles, to charge up mobile phone, MP3 players – so much of our daily gear needs to be plugged in and recharged regularly. We do it without thought. But in Britain, Trading Standards has issued a warning about cheap Chinese chargers on sale in markets and online that are dangerous and could cause electrocution of fires. Some of the chargers have the code DE62347066, according… Read More

The standard defines color codes for home theater systems with up to 12.2 audio channels as well as digital, composite and component video connections. The previous standard allowed for only 5.1channels. The revised standard is designed to provide installers – whether professional or consumer – with consistent information on home theater set-up. Ensuring home theater systems are even easier to install, the new standard also… Read More