Bigmouthmedia Search Engine News: /desktop-search/

Computer referees to hear gamer swearing

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 03:25:00 GMT

Gamers will have to mind their language when playing Fifa 13 as Xbox Kinect will allow in-game referees to hear their every word.

Players using the life-like game will receive bookings for using foul or abusive language and could result in referees discriminating against them.

The hugely popular football game, which is to be released in September, has also introduced a range of other enhancements to help improve gameplay and user involvement. Voice interaction will allow players to modify formations in real-time as well as speak to teammates in the career mode. Superior 'attacking intelligence' will also result in a more advanced and flowing style of play for users when in possession.

Fifa 13 is the first in a range of games intending to offer these high levels of direct player communication and build on Xbox users existing ability to control online functions by vocal command.

The decision to penalise swearing by users mirrors developments in professional football, with a Respect campaign running throughout the Premiership last season.

Gaming bloggers have mixed feelings about user swearing being punished. Gavin Mannion of Lazygamer has stated, "The problem with this type of immersion is that it's bad immersion. It's like a game where you die from one bullet to the head and can't heal instantly with a health pack. Yes it's realistic but it's boring as all hell and no one wants that."

However Nick Channon, Line Producer of Fifa 13, has sought to reassure fans over possible punishments, telling IGN, "Ultimately we do listen to what people are saying within the game, especially around decisions, but it's more an influence within career mode, where it'll develop storylines and we'll actually get feedback within the game."

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Apple release OS X Mountain Lion

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 03:36:00 GMT

Apple has released its new OS in a significant upgrade that allows the Mac operating system to integrate with the tech giant's mobile products.

Mountain Lion - also known at OS X 10.8 - has the capability of syncing with the iPad and iPhone operating system, allowing users to automatically see notes, messages and reminders across multiple devices.

The Mac upgrade - boasting more than 200 new features according to CEO Tim Cook - allows for faster and easier social interaction, with Twitter, Flickr and other social media platforms available in every page and window.

The renovation of Mac's previous operating system, 'Lion', is also reminiscent of iOS, Apple's mobile operating system, in terms of its notifications centre and use of iCloud integration.

The integration of features between the two Apple operating systems, along with the lack of the usual precursory Mac in front of the new OS number, further fuels speculation that Apple may merge both platforms in the future.

The release of Mountain Lion has also resulted in unavoidable comparisonsbeing drawn between it and Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 release, including the difference in price between the two products.

Mac users who currently run a previous operating system will have to upgrade to Snow Leopard before buying Mountain Lion.

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Google TV lands on UK shores

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 04:25:00 GMT

Google has set its sights on the next screen and announced it will launch its latest rendering of Google TV on UK shores later this summer.

The specially designed set-top box has been made in partnership with Sony, and will allow users to browse the net from the comfort of their living rooms, as well as access a number of custom apps.

"Entertainment content is available through so many channels and sites, and Google TV helps consumers easily find what they want to watch, listen to or play with the freedom of the internet and using the familiar Chrome search engine technology," Sony's European head of marketing, Gildas Pelleit, said in a statement.

Like Apple, Google's TV box can be controlled through a smartphone, or a dual-sided remote complete with QWERTY keyboard.

"We think there's going to be huge benefits from bringing the internet to TV," head of global TV distribution for Google, Suveer Kothari, said.

"Google TV attempts to address the problem that there's not really a great experience to access the internet on your TV screen, which is a similar problem we saw in the smartphone market five years ago."

While Google already faces stiff competition from its rival Apple, the advantage of the search giant's efforts is that it can already bring the entire online world - emails, Wikipedia, news websites, YouTube - to users.

However, at nearly twice the price of Apple's TV box, price may be a sticking point for consumers.

"It's a very difficult challenge to explain to a consumer what they're buying when it's in a stand-alone set-top box, and at £200 this is an expensive product," director of devices and platforms at CSS insight, Geoff Blaber, told the Guardian.

"I think the fact it's taken so long for Google to move out beyond the US market is indicative of the challenges they have had with Google TV to date."

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Aussie company 'taxes' use of Internet Explorer 7

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 01:25:00 GMT

Australian online retailer Kogan.com has put in place a 'tax' on the use of Microsoft's Internet Explorer when purchasing goods from their website. Anyone using Internet Explorer 7 to order products on their site will incur an extra surcharge.

The idea for the surcharge came about when the company started working on a site re-launch. The IT team found themselves pre-occupied with making the site display properly in IE7, despite only 3 per cent of customers using the old browser.

IE7 users attempting to order from the Kogan site, will see this warning: "It appears that you or your system administrator has been in a coma for over 5 years and you are still using IE7. To help make the internet a better place, you will be charged a 6.8 per cent tax on your purchase from Kogan.com."

"This is necessary due to the amount of time required to make web pages appear correctly in IE7."

In an interview with the BBC, chief executive Ruslan Kogan said that he wanted to recover the time and money required in "rendering the website into an antique browser".

"I was constantly on the line to my web team," he said.

"The amount of work and effort involved in making our website look normal on IE7 equalled the combined time of designing for Chrome, Safari and Firefox."

Kogan said he does not think that anyone will actually pay the charge, but it might get people upgrade their browser. The IE7 'tax' is set at 6.8 per cent with each 0.1 per cent representing every month since the launch of the browser.

Internet Explorer 7 was launched by Microsoft back in 2006 and has since then released two major new versions of the browser. Internet Explorer 10 is due to be launched in the autumn.

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Apple overtakes HP as biggest PC-maker

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:01:00 GMT

The late great Steve Jobs may have declared it the "post-PC era," but Apple just became the biggest maker of personal computers in the world.

Apple pulled ahead of Hewlett Packard in the fourth quarter of last year to become the largest vendor of personal computers, due in large part to the extraordinary demand for its iPad.

According to a report by market research firm Canalys, Apple shipped more than 15 million iPads and 5 million Mac computers in the quarter ending 31 December 2011 - representing 17 per cent of the total 120 million client PCs shipped globally in Q4.

The client PC market - including desktops, netbooks, notebooks and pads - grew 16 per cent year-on-year; however, take away pads from the equation and the PC market declined by 0.4 per cent.

Of the other top five PC vendors, only Lenovo managed to increase its market share - growing by just two points in comparison to Apple's six-point gain. Acer, Dell and HP all lost market share.

Now the second largest PC vendor, HP was the hardest hit as the company struggles to keep up with competitors following the end of its Touchpad.

"Currently, HP is pursuing a Windows strategy for its pad portfolio, producing enterprise-focused products, such as the recently launched Slate 2, until the launch of Windows 8," said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling in the company's official press release.

"However, questions remain over Microsoft's entry into the consumer pad space. While early demonstrations of the Windows 8 operating system seem promising, Microsoft must focus its efforts on creating an intuitive user experience that is far less resource intensive."

This is all continuing good Q4 news for the Cupertino-based company, after smashing Wall Street projections and announcing its highest quarterly profit on record.

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Mozilla's (intentional) enterprise slow-down

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:49:00 GMT

Mozilla has announced that its proposed Extended Support Release (ESR) version of Firefox is a go.

The open source outfit will be launching an ESR version of Firefox which will update less frequently for use by enterprises, public institutions and other organisations that centrally manage their Firefox deployments.

The release comes in direct response to the criticism Mozilla received over Firefox's rapid-release development cycle.

Corporations and other users had cited concerns that the release schedule didn't allow enough time for them to certify new releases of the products, as well as concerns that the end-of life policy exposes them to considerable security risk if they remain on older Firefox versions.

However, the ESR is an about-face from Mozilla's position six months ago, when its product director Asa Dotzler said, "Enterprise has never been (and I'll argue, shouldn't be) a focus of ours."

But, it now looks like Firefox will, indeed, be making enterprise a focus.

Jay Sullivan, Mozilla's vice president of products, wrote on the company's blog yesterday: "Release of the ESR will occur once a year, providing these organisations with a version of Firefox that receives security updates but does not make changes to the Web or Firefox Add-ons platform.

"We have worked with many organisations to ensure that the ESR balances their need for the latest security updates with the desire to have a lighter application certification burden."

The ESR release will go through a 12-week testing cycle, which Mozilla says will give businesses enough time to test early builds before deploying.

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Justin Timberlake brings MySpace back

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:01:00 GMT

Justin Timberlake is bringing MySpace back.

In the final moments of Panasonic's press conference at the CES conference in Las Vegas, actor-musician Timberlake took to the stage to announce a revamp of the fallen social network and a new partnership with Panasonic.

"The TV, long before the internet, was our supplier of true word of mouth, our originator of water cooler talk, and now with this exciting partnership of MySpace and Panasonic, we're ready to take television and entertainment to the next step - by upgrading it to the social networking experience," Timberlake said.

By partnering with MySpace, Panasonic is hoping to provide an integrated experience where users can watch TV and interact on the social platform simultaneously through a new app it calls 'MySpace TV'.

"We're giving you the opportunity to connect your friends to your moments as they are actually happening," Timberlake said.

"This is the evolution of one of our greatest inventions - the television - and no we no longer have to crowd around the same one to experience it together."

MySpace TV will give users the opportunity to see what their MySpace friends are watching and will allow users to post comment through the television with the use of smartphone and tablet devices.

Even with the announcement, details on the service remain vague - Panasonic gave no indication of timing or pricing beyond saying the service would be available in "early 2012".

"Historically, social has been about what you have done, possibly what you're doing right now - the future of MySpace is about what you're going to do, about who you're going to become. MySpace TV is the first foray into that future," Timberlake said.

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Tobii interface lets users eyeball Windows 8

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:24:00 GMT

Technology firm Tobii has unveiled its eye control system for Microsoft Windows 8 PC.

The Swedish technology company will introduce and demonstrate its Tobii Gaze interface for Windows 8 at the 2012 International Consumers Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Microsoft Windows 8 was formally introduced and detailed at Microsoft's BUILD Conference for Windows developers in September 2011, and has been hailed for its touchscreen capabilities.

Tobii has taken the forthcoming operating system and made it operable with eye movement.

The company said in an official press release: "With its large tiles, Windows 8 Metro has been praised as a great interface for handheld touch devices.

"However, using your hands on a touch screen-enabled laptop or desktop computer is not an ideal ergonomic solution, and your hands would also interfere with the objects you would like to click on, drag, rotate or zoom."

Tobii's technology uses a sensor to track tiny eye movements to control a mouse pointer to around a quarter of an inch accuracy. Users can scroll, point and 'click' by blinking.

"Pointing at something by looking at it is intuitive, natural and immediate. Using a mouse to do the same thing is less so, as it involves and intermediate step of moving a mouse-pointer around," says Henrik Eskilsson, CEO and co-founder of Tobii Technology.

"Gaze is as natural and intuitive as touch, as precise as the mouse and more ergonomic and effortless than both. Once you have experienced Gaze, a laptop without it feels just as ancient as a laptop without a touch pad."

Tobii previously unveiled the first eye-controlled asteroids shooter arcade game, as well as the first eye-controlled laptop in partnership with Lenovo. All three systems - the arcade game, prototype laptop and Windows 8 interface - will be on display at CES later this month.

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Google home page gets a makeover

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:48:00 GMT

A new year, a new look for Google's home page.

In a bid to simplify the page and improve user experience, the titans of search are rolling out one of the biggest home page changes to date.

The revamp takes away the black bar that currently runs horizontally across the top of the Google home page and replaces it with a grey logo.

When a user clicks or highlights the new logo, a drop-down menu appears offering seven alternative services to the site's search page, such as Gmail and YouTube.

Experts are speculating the change was designed to promote more of Google's businesses while still maintaining its preferred uncluttered and plain minimalist front page.

A spokesperson for Google said that the roll-out was also designed to improve user-experience.

"Constant revision and improvement is part of our overarching philosophy," he said. "If you compare the original Google home page to today's version, you will see that the makeover every so often can certainly be refreshing."

Additionally, analysts have noted that the home page change now requires two clicks to enter services, such as Images and News, which only previously required one. Though, this may be to the site's financial advantage.

According to Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group, "For years we've all be extolling the virtues of minimising the number of clicks and it would appear to be a retrograde step.

"But for the sake of clarity it's better having the extra click. What it also means is that, for most people, their first route into the Google universe will be back through the search bar again, which helps the firm expose more people to advertising."

As such, Google is also facing scrutiny for the way its services appear in its search results.

Last month, two U.S. Senators called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Google was using its market power to steer users towards its own products. And, the European Trade Commission has examined claims that Google deliberately downgrades rival websites.

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Google and Mozilla remain friends - and competitors

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Recent research said Firefox users have higher IQs, so it appears that Google has made a smart decision to renew its search engine deal with Mozilla.

The Mozilla Corporation recently announced it "negotiated a significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement" with Google for the next three years.

As a non-profit foundation, Mozilla relies heavily on the income generated by search partnerships.

"Under this multi-year agreement, Google Search will continue to be the default search provider for hundreds of millions of Firefox users around the world," said Gary Kovacs, Mozilla's chief executive.

Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president of search, commented: "Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years and we look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come."

The previous deal between Google and Mozilla, which was set to expire in November, had been signed before Google's Chrome browser gained a presence in the so-called 'browser war.'

Analysts heavily speculated Google would back out of the deal, as Chrome's launch and subsequent growth put it in direct competition with Firefox, all while Google remained financially responsible for Mozilla's survival.

However, Whit Andrews, an analyst for Gartner, said Google's decisions shouldn't be all that surprising.

"What Google really wants is more advertising on the internet. It's very simple. If it drives more ads on the internet, they're into it," he said.

"Google want[s] the shelf space. There's a shelf sitting there and they've got a product. The fact that the shelf is with a competitor, they don't really care. The alternative is that another competitor gets the shelf."

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