0 Start Button to Stay Dead in Windows Blue

Beloved icon of Windows history appears to be in the rear view for good
For those upset about the lack of a start button in Windows 8, prepare yourself for another disappointment -- "Windows Blue", an upcoming short-cycle successor to Windows 8, is not expected to bring the feature back.
The source of this supposed leak is CN Beta, a site with close insider ties at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), which gained respect by accurately leaking a number of early Windows 8 details.

Other info from the site includes suggests that Microsoft will further flatten the UI on the desktop (think the Metro/Windows 8 UI style), the taskbar/desktop will get tweaks, the price will be low (or free), and the new kernel version number will be v6.3 (corroborated by other independent reports).  The final remnants of the Aero UI, which was a staple of Windows Vista and Windows 7 is also being bid adieu, like the Start button before it.
The start button went the way of the Dodo with Windows 8. [Image Source: Jason Mick/DailyTech]
Neowin reports that a summer launch of Windows Blue is expected.  And its contacts close to Microsoft hint that the name will be some sort of riff on Windows 8, not Windows 9, as some suspected.
(For the record you can get a Start Menu-like menu by moving your mouse to the lower left corner of the screen and right-clicking.  Voilà, magic!)


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0 AMD to Kill Off VISION APU Branding

Marketing move would simplify brand names, but not everyone is happy
For two generations of accelerated processing units (APUs) -- Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s (AMD) CPU+GPU single die affordability/mobility-focused solution -- the word "VISION" has been tacked on to indicate that the chip is an APU.  The branding first popped up in the Llano/Zacate/Ontario/Desna and continued with the second-gen Trinity/Brazos 2.0/Hondo designs.

SemiAccurate reports, though, that the VISION brand is about to be killed off (for now AMD's VISION brand homepage appears alive, but that could soon change).
The APUs will simply snip the designation -- for example "AMD VISION A10" will become "AMD A10".  The site doesn't appear entirely happy with this change -- Leo Yim complains:
At the end, the move to the new branding doesn’t benefit the customers much, or help to make better purchase decisions. Besides the respective price points for different APU platforms, nothing substantial is achieved with this purely marketing decision.

But he acknowledges that the move does simplify things and doesn't have that big an impact ultimately.

AMD is rumored to be clipping the "VISION" brand name.
AMD recently rolled out its Piledriver-core based FX series chips (code-name: Vishera).  A mid-range Piledriver-based APU dubbed Richland is also expected to be incoming, based on roadmap leaks.
A new 28 nm low-power APU core (for the A6/A4/E2/E1 models) will land in mid-2013. Code-named Kabini, AMD has said that the power-efficient chip will pack a more-powerful DirectX 11.1-compatible GPU core.  AMD is rumored to be relying primarily on ball-grid-array (BGA) designs for Kabini, nixing upgrade routes.



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0 FAA Electronics Ban on Planes Causes More Harm Than Good

Passengers are acting out against the rules and even hurting one another The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worries that electronic device use on planes places passengers in harm's way, but the real issue is that the FAA is spreading fear about an issue that hasn't been proven yet.

The FAA has set rules that make it so passengers cannot use electronic devices like smartphones, tablets and e-readers during takeoff and landing on a flight. However, there is no solid proof that electronics affect the way a plane performs. This has been in question for some time, but the FAA continues to impose these rules on passengers, and it has caused panic and even injuries among those who travel by plane.
For instance, a 68-year-old man punched a 15-year-old on a plane when the teenager refused to turn off his smartphone during a flight. According to the man, he was doing it to save the entire plane from any harmful consequences.

Just a couple of months ago, a passenger was arrested in El Paso when he decided not to turn off his cell phone during landing. Last month, another passenger did the same when landing in New York and a swarm of cop cars were waiting for him once he exited the plane.
Of course, many also remember the incident where Alec Baldwin was kicked off a plane in 2011 for playing Words With Friends.

This goes to show that the FAA is causing more trouble by making people believe that electronics are an issue when they may very well not be.

Back in March, the FAA said it would review the effects of tablet/e-reader use during takeoff and landing.
 Pilots can already use iPads during the entire flight [Image Soure: The AirplaneNut]
The FAA likely put this testing off due to costs and the amount of testing required for these devices to pass. In order for the FAA to approve the use of e-readers and tablets during takeoff and landing, each kind of device needs to be tested. For example, an iPad cannot be tested alone; the iPad 2 and the new iPad must be tested as well. There are already several versions of the Kindle available as well, such as the Kindle Fire tablet, and many other Android-powered tablets on the market. There are now Windows 8 tablets on the market too.

In early December 2011, the FAA raised a few eyebrows when allowing American Airlines pilots to use iPads in the cockpit. The FAA allowed iPads to replace paper manuals and charts, and they could be used during takeoff and landing. The FAA argued that allowing two iPads in the cockpit was a significantly different scenario than several passengers using several devices for longer periods of time.
Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pressured the FAA to allow greater use of electronic devices during takeoff and landing because "they empower people to stay informed and connected with friends and family, and they enable both large and small businesses to be more productive and efficient, helping drive economic growth and boost U.S. competitiveness."


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0 LG To Unveil New Refined Smart TV Lineup at CES 2013

LG is on the verge of unveiling a new line of smart TVs at CES 2013. The company is prepared to unveil its CINEMA 3-D Smart TV line at the show. The TV series will offer easier content access and sharing along with an updated Magic Remote and simplified user interface.

Highlights of the new TV series will include an 84” Ultra HD TV and a 55” OLED TV.

One of the key features of the redesigned user interface from LG are My Interest Cards. These are folders were users can place apps and other content they enjoy to help organize their favorite things. LG has also redesigned and fine-tuned the Magic Remote. The remote has a pointer function, navigation wheel supports gestures, and supports voice-recognition. The Voice Mate software used for voice-recognition has been updated and is able to recognize the natural flow of speech.

The TVs will also support new connectivity options including WiDi and Miracast. The TVs will also support Tag On that immediately connects two devices for fast media sharing. That means users with smartphones supporting the technology will be able to hold the device against the NFC sticker on the Smart TV to transfer content.

“LG always strives to provide the most engaging, most convenient user experience to consumers all over the globe,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of the LG Home Entertainment Company. “We have been singularly uncompromising, both in developing and improving the LG Smart TV platform. As a result, we are confident the UX our 2013 models will shatter all expectations and demonstrate that LG has moved the medium of Smart TV forward.”

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0 Foxconn Getting Its Act Together on Employee Working Conditions

Its starting with more comfortable seating and new classes .It's been a pretty tough road for Foxconn, but it looks like conditions are getting better.
According to a new report from The New York Times
Foxconn is making crucial changes around its factories in China in an effort to improve working conditions for employees.

Changes include offering more comfortable seating arrangements for employees that spend long hours on the line. Before, they were given small, wooden stools because it was believed that comfortable seating would lead to laziness. However, many employees started having issues like back pain.
In addition, Foxconn is now offering recreational courses that employees can take in their spare time, such as knitting.

As for the future of Foxconn, it vowed to make sure no employee works over an average of 49 hours per week by July 2013 to address overtime issues.
Apple, which has its gadgets like the iPad manufactured at Foxconn's plants in China, has also stepped up by employing more safety and corporate responsibility staff to keep an eye on the conditions of workers -- both in the U.S. and abroad.

While these changes haven't resulted in perfection quite yet, it's a great start. By agreeing to random audits by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and others, Foxconn is working on making its factories a safe environment for employees.

There were reports saying that Foxconn wanted to just replace all human employees with robots by 2014. In fact, Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou said in 2011 that he wanted 300,000 robots installed by the end of 2012 and a total of 1 million by 2014. However, in June of this year, it was apparent that those targets weren't going to happen. Instead, he hopes to have "monotonous" tasks eliminated through automation within a few years and fully automated plants in five to 10 years. As it turns out, robots are expensive (anywhere from $2.1 billion to over $10 billion for fully automated plants, depending on the type of robots used).
Now that the robot plan won't exactly pan out anytime soon, Foxconn is making the workplace a bit more relaxed for the human employees it currently has.

Foxconn has been under the microscope since 2009 for various troubles like worker suicides, explosions in the plants due to aluminum dust build-up and other unsafe working conditions, riots, excessive overtime, low pay, etc.

The company came under fire earlier this year when The New York Times
 published a massive article on the working conditions of Foxconn factories. Apple was also targeted because the report mentioned Apple's lack of action when receiving reports on these poor working environments and overtime/pay issues.

Foxconn gave employees a pay boost earlier this year and is cleaning its act up slowly but surely to comply with audits.

While Foxconn's efforts are a huge part of this, The New York Timesalso noted that Apple must be more open with its most recent practices and results when it comes to cleaning up Foxconn's act. This would allow other companies that use Foxconn, like Nike, to do the same.


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0 BlackBerry X10 Smartphone Shown in Higher Resolution Images

Just last week, we got a "blurrycam" shot of the QWERTY-keyboard packin' BlackBerry X10 smartphone from RIM. While the shot wasn’t exactly high resolution, it did give us a glimpse of what to expect when the actual headset -- along with its full touchscreen-equipped sibling -- launches next month.

This weekend, however, we've got some more X10 pictures from a person using something more than a 2MP dumbphone camera. The pictures clearly show the X10's relatively tiny (in today's world of 4" and 5" displays) display and QWERTY keyboard that extends from edge-to-edge.

The back of the display also shows the camera lens and flash. Given that this is likely a prototype unit, we can excuse the rather cheap looking finish of this X10 pictured. Hopefully the production models will have better graining than what's currently shown.

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0 Intel to Unveil Streaming TV Service, Settop Box at CES

Chipmaker Intel is reportedly working on a new virtual television service. A few details on Intel's virtual television plan surfaced last summer from five different sources claiming to be familiar with the project reports Reuters. The settop box (using Intel technology inside, of course) would run a slimmed-down cable TV service.

Intel is betting on facial recognition technology for targeted ads and a team of veteran entertainment dealmakers to help win media partners for the service. The settop box can't identify specific people, but is able to provide general data about gender and whether or not viewer is an adult or a child.

According to a source that spoke with TechCrunch,  “Everyone doing a half-assed Google TV so [Intel is] going to do it themselves and do it right.”

Intel apparently hopes that its TV service could help advertisers by offering reliable metrics on viewers. Most studios in advertisers currently can only use Nielsen ratings to determine if their ads in shows are hitting their target markets. The online TV service will be able to provide much better metrics for content makers.
 

The streaming service promises a cloud DVR feature allowing users to watch any past TV show at any time without the need to record the show. It will also allow viewers to pause live TV and rewind shows in-progress. The settop box also promises access to apps available on Intel's app marketplace.

While Intel had initially hoped to launch its settop box and TV service this year, TechCrunch reports that the device won’t be shown until next week at CES.

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