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Site Posted by Robert K. Foster on Sunday, January 25, 2009
“The Art of Technology: At Ars Technica—the name is Latin-derived for the “art of technology”—we specialize in original news and reviews, analysis of technology trends, and expert advice on topics ranging from the most fundamental aspects of technology to the many ways technology is helping us enjoy our world. We work for the reader who not only needs to keep up on technology, but is passionate about it.“
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Science journo quits writing to fight chiropractic libel suit
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:23:00 -0600
The UK's libel laws, which place the burden of proof onto those who have published inflammatory statements, have had a chilling effect on journalism in that nation, and have led to a closet industry in "libel tourism." As such, there have been repeated efforts to reform the laws, often led by professional organizations of writers and journalists. A 2008 case, however, brought a new community into the fight: science communicators, drawn in when the British Chiropractic Association sued a journalist for calling some of its medical claims "bogus." Although the legal fight has continued, the journalist in question, Simon Singh, has now been forced to quit his job at The Guardian in order to defend himself.
Many of our readers who follow science news carefully are probably already aware of Singh's plight, but we've not covered it at Ars previously, so a recap seems in order. Singh, who was working on a book on alternative medicine, took a look at some of the claims promoted by BCA members, which suggest that chiropractic treatments are effective for diseases for which there is no apparent spinal involvement, like asthma. In an article The Guardian has since removed from its website, Singh wrote:
The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.
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Bed readers rejoice: iPad gains last-minute rotation lock
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:48:00 -0600
When Apple first introduced the iPad in late January, we noted with much disappointment that the device had no way to lock the screen orientation. This is apparently no longer the case, however—according to an updated iPad specs page, there is now a screen-rotation-lock switch on the right-hand side of the device, seemingly replacing the mute switch that was there when the media first played with it.
In January, Ars confirmed the lack of a screen-lock option with an Apple representative at the iPad event. At that time, the Apple rep reminded us that individual apps give users the option to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode (which is already the case on a number of third-party iPhone apps), but that the iPad itself had no universal control like on the Kindle or Nook.
As a serial in-bed Kindle and iPhone user, this was disappointing to me and a number of other readers. There are few things on earth more annoying than trying to type on your iPhone at a strange angle and have the screen rotate four times before you're finished.
Apple apparently heard our cries. 9 to 5 Mac first pointed out the difference in specs this morning, which is now reflected on the official iPad spec page. Yep, that sure does say "screen rotation lock," and that option was definitely not there when Ars played with the iPad on January 27.
For those of you who forgot, today is iPad preorder day as well. You can now reserve one to be picked up in-store on April 3 (WiFi only) or you can preorder either the WiFi or 3G versions to be delivered to you. As usual, you can count on Ars to have a review up not long after the iPad launch!
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Firefox 3.6 sees 100M downloads, now pushing notifications
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:20:00 -0600
Firefox 3.6—the latest version of the popular open source Web browser—was officially released in January, but there are still many users who have not yet updated. In an effort to increase awareness about the availability of version 3.6, Mozilla announced today that it will start rolling out upgrade notifications to its users through the browser's built-in update system.
According to Mozilla's statistics, the new version has already been downloaded over 100 million times since its release in January. That doesn't include the significant number of existing users who have already migrated to 3.6 by using the browser's built-in upgrade system without being prompted to do so.
Firefox is arguably one of the most successful open source software projects. Mozilla celebrated last year when Firefox surpassed 1 billion total downloads. The current number of active daily users is said to be over 350 million.
Getting such a large user base to migrate to the latest version is not an easy task, but Mozilla always manages to get the job done. Studies show that Firefox ranks high in update effectiveness, getting over 85 percent of its users to switch to a new version within 21 days after release. The only browser that has a better upgrade penetration rate is Chrome, due to its highly aggressive background updater.
Firefox 3.6 is a somewhat modest incremental update. It brought several noteworthy new features for users, such as the Personas lightweight theming system. It also offers some compelling new capabilities for Web development, including CSS gradients, client-side filesystem APIs, and the @font-face feature.
For more details about the automated upgrade process, you can refer to the announcement in the Mozilla Developer Center.
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Five insights into the behaviors of social media users
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:42:00 -0600
We do a decent amount of social media coverage here at Ars, but not everything that happens with Facebook, Twitter, and the like is worth its own story. Sometimes, though, we happen across things that make us say "huh, that's interesting." It turns out there are a lot of things we thought we knew about social media users, but not all of them are true. Here are a few tidbits we gathered that may surprise some of you.
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New WMAP data can't erase "dark flow"
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0600
About 18 months ago, we discussed a mysterious "dark flow" that was seen in early releases of the data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data. At that time, we remarked that it was little more than a cosmic curiosity and possibly a statistical blip. New research from the same group, using the more complete five-year data set from the WMAP cosmic microwave background imager and X-ray luminosity data, reveals that the dark flow is still there, and that it runs deeper than previously thought.
In a paper published in the March 20th issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the authors report that they have followed the dark flow—which appears to involve matter streaming either into or out of the constellation Centaurus/Hydra—to a distance of 2.5 billion light years. So far, even with the full five-year data set available, the authors can detect motion, but not whether the matter it coming towards us or moving away from us. But they can tell that it is moving, and in a definite direction.
Relative motion of matter in the Universe is to be expected, but motion in a preferential direction is not. According to our best understanding of how the matter in the Universe was distributed, there's no way of accounting for this flow. The obvious alternate explanation is a little unnerving: something outside of our visible universe is pulling on the matter that we can see.
The researchers are currently adding more galaxies to their catalog in order to track the dark flow to twice its current distance. They hope that improved modeling of the motion of hot gas within galaxy clusters will lead to further refinement of the measured speed and direction of motion. Fortunately, we'll soon have even newer data from the WMAP project, as well as upcoming data from the ESA's Planck mission.
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2010. DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/712/1/L81
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Comcast-NBCU merger: how the regulators will decide
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:17:00 -0600
"Good morning, this hearing will come to order, and we welcome all. I notice that there are a few people in the room," declared Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). "We're here to discuss consumers—they're the good guys, right? The people we try to protect."
The Senator's comment about a "few people in the room" was sarcastic, of course. The hall was filled because the subject was, once again, the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal—this one held on Thursday under the auspices of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
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Hands on with Bit.Trip Runner: don't watch, listen
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:20:00 -0600
The bit.trip series of games combines simple graphics with catchy songs, and then blends both together into an addictive soup. The past games in the series for the Nintendo WiiWare service have all been gold, and at GDC we were able to put our hands on the fourth title: Bit.Trip Runner.
The concept is simple: you are a man who has to run from left to right. You can't stop or slow down, but you can jump over and slide under obstacles while collecting the gold bars. Everything you do makes a note, and the notes mix with the music to give you timing cues. Does it seem like a series of jumps is complicated? Simply time your jumps to the music.
The difficulty is not low, but once we stopped trying to force the gameplay and instead listened to the music and moved to the beat, it became easy. The game was on the show floor, in the corner of Nintendo's booth, but it seemed to captivate everyone who played.
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Beautiful innovation: the first 20 hours of FF XIII
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:20:00 -0600
Final Fantasy games often seem like a mixed bag. One one hand, they tend to take too long to get into; the first ten hours or so always feel like something you have to slog through before things really become exciting. After a while, the battles can start to feel repetitive. They eat up more of our time than we really should allow. But they're also beautiful. And epic. Once the stories get going, they're fascinating. More importantly, they become addictive. Such games are definitely an acquired taste, but they're a delicacy for those of us who have come to enjoy JRPGs.
Final Fantasy XIII is particularly noteworthy in an already extraordinary series, though, because it brings about a number of design changes. While the game retains the amazing production values that the franchise is famous for, its gameplay has been modified to deliver something that feels faster paced than its predecessors and often seems more like an action title than a proper RPG. This might sound worrying to dedicated fans, but rest assured: based on our first twenty hours with the game, the outcome is excellent.
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Family of four gets their genomes sequenced
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:28:00 -0600
Late last year, we described a genome sequencing technique that brought the price of consumables down to under $5,000. That technique, offered by Complete Genomics, has now been put to use: all the genomes have been obtained from a family of four in which both children suffer from two genetic disorders. In addition to identifying likely causative mutations, the full family pedigree has produced new measures of human mutation and recombination.
So far, as each genome has been completed, it's typically been compared to a reference genome that's meant to represent a "typical" human. But the human population is large and diverse, and the differences between a typical person and the reference may have been present in our population for thousands of years. In contrast, by knowing the sequence of a child and both its parents, the changes in DNA that occur as a result of recombinations and mutations in each parent's germ cells can be tracked in exquisite detail.
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SOCOM 4, played with PlayStation Move: our thoughts
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:10:00 -0600
We played with the PlayStation Move at the party last night, but at Sony's more intimate gathering at the W Hotel today it was easier to get a better picture of the peripheral. The main games on the floor were interesting, but the game we wanted to play with the PlayStation Move was SOCOM 4.
This is a game that is aimed at hardcore gamers, and the guys from Zipper told us that they were able to get this build up in a matter of weeks; the tools Sony was providing its developers for Move support were intuitive. This was also the first time we were able to use the secondary, nunchuk-like controller to add analog movement to the Move. We were able to play the game for about 20 minutes.
Aiming the crosshairs with the Move worked well, and I didn't feel any lag. While I was new to the game, the firefights and encounters were a blast; there is something much more satisfying about aiming at the screen with a controller instead of moving an analog stick. The controller is certainly ready for more mainstream use in shooters, and the fact that Sony already has a high-profile release that uses the technology so well is heartening.
The d-pad allows you to give commands to your squad, and you can send two groups of soldiers to different objectives. It almost felt like a real-time strategy game; you can set up some serious cover fire if you're able to think that far ahead in the combat. "We're looking at gestures," we were told when we asked about things like throwing grenades and the like. "[The Move] leads a lot of accessibility to a hardcore game like this."
The team at Zipper spent three months with the controller, and the work has paid off. Will we use the Move when we're playing online and care about our score? Maybe not. But it adds an extra layer of fun to the gameplay of a title that already looks mature. It took a little bit of talking to get behind the velvet rope to play this demo, but it was worth it. We're starting to see the promise.
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Bed readers rejoice: iPad gains last-minute rotation lock
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:48:00 -0600
When Apple first introduced the iPad in late January, we noted with much disappointment that the device had no way to lock the screen orientation. This is apparently no longer the case, however—according to an updated iPad specs page, there is now a screen-rotation-lock switch on the right-hand side of the device, seemingly replacing the mute switch that was there when the media first played with it.
In January, Ars confirmed the lack of a screen-lock option with an Apple representative at the iPad event. At that time, the Apple rep reminded us that individual apps give users the option to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode (which is already the case on a number of third-party iPhone apps), but that the iPad itself had no universal control like on the Kindle or Nook.
As a serial in-bed Kindle and iPhone user, this was disappointing to me and a number of other readers. There are few things on earth more annoying than trying to type on your iPhone at a strange angle and have the screen rotate four times before you're finished.
Apple apparently heard our cries. 9 to 5 Mac first pointed out the difference in specs this morning, which is now reflected on the official iPad spec page. Yep, that sure does say "screen rotation lock," and that option was definitely not there when Ars played with the iPad on January 27.
For those of you who forgot, today is iPad preorder day as well. You can now reserve one to be picked up in-store on April 3 (WiFi only) or you can preorder either the WiFi or 3G versions to be delivered to you. As usual, you can count on Ars to have a review up not long after the iPad launch!
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etc: 5:30am PST is when iPad preorders begin tomorrow, March 12. Early morning chat date, anyone?
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:52:37 -0600
5:30am PST is when iPad preorders begin tomorrow, March 12. Early morning chat date, anyone?
Read More: TidBITS
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iPhone still second-place US smartphone while Android grows
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:27:00 -0600
The latest data from market research firm comScore shows Apple holding on to a quarter of the US smartphone market, which grew roughly 18 percent over the last six months. That makes the iPhone the number two smartphone in the US, though it still lags well behind number one RIM. Android-based devices are still growing rapidly in popularity.
Over the last few months, comScore data shows RIM and Apple holding pretty much steady, with RIM at 43 percent and Apple at 25.1 percent. Unsurprisingly, Palm (which includes webOS and PalmOS) devices and Microsoft-powered devices continued to decline. Android-based devices, however, continued to rise sharply, enough to eclipse Palm to take fourth place in the US market.
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etc: Apple updated Safari to 4.0.5 with performance, stability, and security improvements, which affect Top Sites, third-party plugins, web forms, SVG, and using Safari to configure some Linksys routers.
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:25:45 -0600
Apple updated Safari to 4.0.5 with performance, stability, and security improvements, which affect Top Sites, third-party plugins, web forms, SVG, and using Safari to configure some Linksys routers.
Read More: Safari 4.0.5, Apple Security Updates
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iPhone OS 4.0 may finally bring multitasking nirvana
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:40:00 -0600
One complaint commonly leveled against the iPhone is that it can't run multiple apps at the same time. However, sources for AppleInsider say that Apple is finally planning to incorporate a task manager that will integrate with the established iPhone user interface in the next major revision of iPhone OS, expected to be available this summer.
Like Mac OS X on which it is based, iPhone OS is fully capable of running multiple processes at once. In fact, it does run multiple processes—iPod, Mail, voicemail and phone processes continually run in the background. What it doesn't do is run multiple third-party apps at the same time. Want to listen to Pandora while answering e-mails? Run a GPS tracking app while checking your tweets? Sorry, no can do.
Apple has given a number of reasons for enforcing this limitation. The company claims that multiple apps running simultaneously will run down the battery faster, or could lead to more out-of-memory errors as apps contend for the constrained resources of the iPhone. Also, since non-Apple apps can't run in the background, there's virtually zero chance that malware could run without a user noticing. Finally, limiting the iPhone to one app at a time keeps things simple enough for even the most tech-averse users to understand how it works.
However, the latest rumor says that Apple has a "full-on solution" to the problem coming in iPhone OS 4.0. No specifics were revealed, so there are no details about how Apple has implemented managing multiple running apps. Remember, it took three major versions of iPhone OS before there was system-wide cut-copy-paste functionality, and the interface ended up working extremely well. We expect Apple has likewise put extensive work into making running multiple apps as straightforward as possible while still offering reasonable levels of stability, battery life, security, and ease of use.
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etc: Novothink's new solar-charging iPhone 3G/3GS cases are not too expensive ($80), not too ugly (medium, non-offensive in our opinion), and kinda cool.
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:05:56 -0600
Novothink's new solar-charging iPhone 3G/3GS cases are not too expensive ($80), not too ugly (medium, non-offensive in our opinion), and kinda cool.
Read More: Novothink, Macworld
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Code library gives homebrew iPod remotes chance for awesome
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:33:00 -0600
Not too long ago, David Findlay built a device capable of communicating with just about any model of iPod via the dock connector using an Arduino Nano, PodGizmo breakout board, an old USB iPod connector, and a momentary switch. While it may not sound like a big deal, there is more to it than one might think: namely programming a device (in this case the Arduino Nano) to be able to receive, interpret, and respond to messages sent from an iPod.
This means teaching it to speak Apple Accessory Protocol and, although proprietary in nature, it has been fairly well documented around the Internet. Finland slung some code so that his iPod touch was hooked up to one of the famous Staples Easy buttons in his car. Now he could easily play and pause his iPod touch without having to fiddle with the on-screen controls.
Fast-forward several months and Findlay had all but forgotten about the project when he was asked by the folks that run Make magazine to talk about it. In particular, they wanted him to talk about the library he created for communicating with Apple’s portable audio players. He said yes, and decided to dive back into the project and attempt to add additional functionality to the project.
Finland's first go around only involved tackling the the Simple Remote portion of the Apple Remote Protocol, which handles things like mute, next playlist, skip, and turning the device on and off. With newfound interest, however, he has now tackled the Advanced Remote portion, which opens up a bevy of new functionality, including getting names of songs, albums, artists, and track time; toggling shuffle and repeat mode; and all the other neat functionality that iPods have.
This newly released library of code will surely appeal to the do-it-yourself hackers who love tinkering, soldering, and programming. Someone could theoretically even build his or her own iPod speaker solution with a plethora of different options and feedback. The more daring could hard-wire a solution to a car’s in-wheel audio controls. Personally, I envision some sort of bicycle solution that docks the iPod on the handlebars but allows riders to control the device without taking their hands off the handlebars. An even more enterprising individual could rig something like this up to a sudden motion sensor so that when someone enters a room, the iPod begins to play.
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etc: The fourth beta of iPhone OS 3.2 SDK adds references to triple-tap and "long press" gestures, but removes references to video chatting found in previous betas.
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:48 -0600
The fourth beta of iPhone OS 3.2 SDK adds references to triple-tap and "long press" gestures, but removes references to video chatting found in previous betas.
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Cellcos hoping to cash in on iPad with 3G/4G mobile hotspots
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:55:00 -0600
Though the 3G-equipped version of the iPad will only be able to get data services from AT&T, Verizon apparently sees the introduction of Apple's tablet device as "an opportunity" for the company to sell data services. A supposed internal sales memo published by Engadget reveals Verizon's plan to push its MiFi mobile hotspot for the WiFi-only version of the iPad, which will be available April 3.
The memo points out that the WiFi + 3G iPad won't go on sale for at least a few weeks after the WiFi model, costs $130 more, and can only get service through AT&T, which the memo describes as "an overloaded network with limited coverage." Ouch.
To be fair, the extra $130 includes GPS hardware in addition to the 3G radios, and AT&T continues to make improvements to its network. But, if you don't want to wait, don't want to pay extra, or just don't want to use AT&T service, Verizon has a point—a mobile hotspot like the MiFi (which can connect up to 5 devices at once) can make a good alternative.
A MiFi 2200 from Verizon will run you $50 with current promotions and a two-year contract; without a contract expect to pay about $250. However, Verizon's plans aren't as generous or affordable as the data options AT&T offers for the iPad. Through AT&T, you'll pay $15 per month for up to 250MB of data or $30 per month for unlimited via AT&T, and those plans don't require a contract. With Verizon, you'll pay $40 per month for up to 250MB, or $60 per month with a 5GB cap. Prepaid, non-contract options start at $15 per day with a 75MB limit. Like AT&T, however, your plan also includes free access to Verizon WiFi hotspots.
Sprint offers a branded MiFi 2200 as well, though you can get it free after a $50 mail-in rebate. The company only offers one data plan, though: $60 per month with a 5GB cap (and a 300MB cap on roaming). Sprint also offers the Sierra Wireless Overdrive 4G/3G hotspot for those in an area with WiMAX coverage. Though it costs $100 after rebate, for the same $60 a month you'd get unlimited 4G data and 5GB of 3G data.
For a 4G-only option, you can go directly through Clear to get a 4G USB modem and a Clear Spot WiFi adapter that works with up to eight devices for under $200 total. Data plans start at $40 per month for 4G-only access, though bundles with home service or 3G fall-back are also available.
Other combinations of mobile data modems and/or mobile hotspots are also possible, and it's probably worth it to check with the provider in your area to see what options are available. Despite the extra cost of the WiFi + 3G iPad and the associated data plans, you're not likely to find a cheaper alternative. But going this route means you'll have data access for other devices, such as a laptop, iPod touch, or Nintendo DSi, and can serve data to multiple devices at the same time. The extra flexibility may fit your particular needs and justify the extra cost.
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Street Fighter IV: as good as you can expect on the iPhone
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:30:00 -0600
Street Fighter IV is now available on Apple's App Store; you can pick it up right now for $10 if you'd like to see what Capcom can do with Apple's hardware. Capcom also threw quite the party at GDC, allowing the press and community some hands-on time with the game. After playing for about 15 minutes, the verdict is in: this is about as good as you can expect from a fighting game on the iPhone.
It looks great, but you'll still be fighting the controlsAs a tech demo it's amazing. The characters are large and detailed, and they move fluidly with grace. Many people enjoyed simply watching others play the game; this is one of the prettiest portable fighting games out there. The problem is simple: the iPhone doesn't have any actual buttons. Many gamers are snobs about the input for their Street Fighter experience, playing with only arcade-quality parts. Going from my home set-up to virtual buttons on the iPhone screen took a while to get used to.
I was able to pull off the dragon punches and fireballs after a while, but the game never felt good to me. It never felt like a game I could sit down and play for hours. The iPhone just isn't set up for this kind of game, and Street Fighter IV felt like someone trying to prove that it could be done. The question they should have asked was should it be done. A good iPhone game takes advantage of what the hardware can do well and works around what it does poorly. Street Fighter IV is simply a graphical curiosity.
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©2009 Robert K. Foster
Posted on Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 5:17 PM ( Updated Jan 25, 2009 )
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