What’s Going On?

As the very few of you who actually check up on this site may have noticed, Your Average Tech Blog has been a lot less than average. All of us sort of dropped off the grid. Kim made a few posts, and then stopped. The last post I wrote was two months ago. Hopefully, that will change. Well, for me, at least. I’m out of school for the summer, so I may have some time to post a few updates daily now. I say ‘may’ because I also have other responsibilities and…a social life. So, let’s get you caught up on what’s going on with me before I can start sharing tech news with you.

Currently, I’m volunteering for two webOS related projects. The first one is being an Editor and Vice Lead Marketer for webOS onTap, the  homebrew version of Pivot. So, I may be a tad busy with that, but once the ball gets rolling, I’ll know.

The second project is working with many others across the globe for Phoenix International Communications, Inc. Since Open webOS is coming out in August, some webOS faithful thought, “Why not?” We’re going to attempt to use our resources and time to get webOS back on the map, and we feel that it’s feasible. So, I’ll try to keep you updated as much as my NDA will allow.

In addition to these two projects, I also set a goal for myself to release an app by this Christmas, so I’m in the process of learning a few different coding languages. That in itself is pretty time-consuming.

And of course, college starts at the end of next month, so that’ll be a hassle. Double majoring in Computer Science and Business sounds like a blast, doesn’t it?

In addition to everything, I’m still a teenager. There are still friends and movies and sports that are calling my name.

So, I’m truly sorry for not updating this blog. But, I will try my best to update this, considering I may be the only author for a while, unless any of you would like to join me.

CISPA Passes in the House

Today, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act passed through the House of Representatives, 248 to 168. President Obama has already threatened to veto the bill, his administration stating that it “fails to provide authorities to ensure that the nation’s core critical infrastructure is protected while repealing important provisions” of privacy law. Is there anything to worry about? It appears that the House is strongly supporting this legislation, as it has in the past with SOPA and PIPA. However, with Obama threatening to veto the bill anyhow, and with the very slim chance that Senate will pass it, will Congress continue to draft similar acts?

You can read the full text of the bill here.

It’s a fish! It’s a whale! No, wait, it’s a phone ?

Today, Panasonic announced a new android-based smartphone. At about 103 grams, the device totes a 960*540 qHD screen, and it’s most important feature is the airplay-like capability of streaming audio and video to HDTVs of the same brand.

However,upon first setting eyes upon the photos, I was surprised: it bears a very striking ressemblance to Samsung’s Omnia 7.

Oh, and it’s called the Eluga. Not to be confused with the Beluga. Bet you won’t be forgetting that one, eh ?

“It’s a window … Not a flag”

Along with the evolution of Microsoft’s Windows OS, the logo has had it’s share of changes. Recently, and in accordance with the revamped user interface, the new logo was announced.
And so, here it is.

webOS and MRI

Does a metal tablet make it the best tablet? It depends on what you want to use it for. In the case of using the tablet in an MRI environment, no. In comes the HP Touchpad: a mostly plastic device. As Mr. Kneeland says in his blog post on the webOS Development Blog, “Andrew B. Holbrook, a Research Associate working with Professor Kim Butts Pauly of the Lucas Center in theDepartment of Radiology at Stanford University, has been developing a promising solution built around connected HP webOS devices that can help take Interventional MRI to the next level.” After Holbrook removed some more metallic pieces from the Touchpad, it was ready ready to be used for interventional MRI.

Why did he choose webOS? Here’s what Mr. Holbrook said:

“From a hardware and software perspective, I started with webOS devices for a few reasons. First, I perceived the TouchPad to be easily modifiable, given its mainly plastic frame, absence of glue, and non-reliance on magnets (ie for charging). Second, the webOS interface seemed the most advanced. The card browsing for example, allows for very easy and intuitive control of the various systems of an interventional procedure. Finally, developing is in JavaScript and C++. Those are languages in which I already had some experience. From a developer perspective, [HP] webOS has been extremely helpful both officially and unofficially, from answering questions related to the SDK, questions related to the hardware, and finding other webOS contacts, like with the Preware community for solving issues, beyond those that HP could officially help with.”

An app was created and, thanks to webOS’ card-style multitasking, it was efficient to use this OS and tablet. In fact, they were also able to compile the app to run on 2.x and 1.4.x webOS devices.

It appears that there’s plenty to do with webOS. You listening, HP?

Head on over to the original post for more information: MRI and the Touchpad

Photo courtesy of the University of Oulu.

Windows phone marketplace slowly creeps over the 40,000 apps mark!

Today, just over three months from reaching 30,000, the Windows Phone Marketplace reached a new milestone of 40,000 available applications. Even though they’re still far from iOS’s Appstore 500,000+ apps,  and Android’s 370,000+ applications, the Marketplace is gaining momentum, with an estimated 187 apps being added every day.

Who knows, they might even reach 50,000 by Christmas!

Hello

On behalf of the whole team, I’d like to say sorry for the lack of regular posts. We’re working very hard to address this issue, and new stuff will be up very soon.

Thanks for sticking with us,

Kim.