10 indispensable Android apps

A year ago, techrepublic put together a list of 10 must-have Android apps. Since then, things have really changed. Not only has the Android platform evolved into a much more stable, reliable, and powerful platform, the apps have also grown.

The original list of essential apps remains unchanged. But other apps have now either improved or come to the surface -- and they certainly deserve a list of their own.

Note: You can read the full post

A successful Git branching model » nvie.com

http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/

Pourquoi Git est Meilleur Que X

http://fr.whygitisbetterthanx.com/#perforce

New Storage Device Is Very Small, at 12 Atoms

New York Times (01/12/12) John Markoff

IBM researchers have devised a method for magnetically storing data on arrays composed of just a few atoms in a breakthrough that could lead to a new class of nanomaterials for more power-efficient devices, and perhaps open up new avenues in quantum computing research.  The researchers stored data on a 12-atom structure, whereas the most advanced magnetic storage systems have up to now required roughly 1 million atoms to store a single bit.  The storage was effected by configuring two rows of six iron atoms on a surface of copper nitride atoms, using a scanning tunneling microscope.  The antiferromagnetic properties of the atomic cluster make such closeness possible.  The array was constructed at a temperature near absolute zero, but the researchers say the same experiment could be performed at room temperature with no more than 150 atoms.  They also note that smaller atom groups start to exhibit quantum mechanical behavior, and could theoretically be arranged into Qbits.  Antiferromagnetic materials are currently used to make recording heads employed in today's hard disk drives and in the new spin-transfer-torque RAM memory chip.  IBM researcher Andreas Heinrich says the design of novel materials using self-assembly techniques is a focus of many research groups.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/science/smaller-magnetic-materials-push-boundaries-of-nanotechnology.html

10 Tech Research Projects to Watch

PC World (01/03/12) Ian Paul

Ten promising research projects that could lead to future consumer products include a solar-powered personal computer (PC), three-dimensional (3D) images that respond to touch, and a robotic dog.  Microsoft researchers are working on HoloDesk, a project that enables users to interact with 3D virtual objects.  Microsoft researchers also are developing PocketTouch, a system that enables users to manipulate a touch device through clothing and other materials.  Another Microsoft Research project, Vermeer, uses two facing parabolic mirrors to create glasses-free 3D images that can be touched.  University of British Columbia researchers are developing programmable friction, a type of haptic feedback for touchscreens that could be used for moving folders around a desktop using touch.  NASA and General Motors are developing Robonaut2 (R2), a humanoid robot designed to help astronauts complete space missions.  R2 can lift up to 20 pounds and its arms have similar mobility to a human's.  Intel is developing Claremont, a PC powered by a solar cell the size of a postage stamp.  The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with Boston Dynamics and the Marine Corps to develop an all-terrain robot dog that can help soldiers carry heavy objects in remote locations.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/247164/10_tech_research_projects_to_watch.html

Carmakers, U.S. Worry About Hacking of Cars

From ACM TechNews:
Carmakers, U.S. Worry About Hacking of Cars
San Jose Mercury News
(12/28/11) Steve Johnson

Recent studies indicate that cars' increasing reliance on computer systems that control everything from airbags to crash-avoidance systems has left them vulnerable to cyberattacks. "I can definitely imagine organized crime or potentially even nation-states leveraging weaknesses in these functions to cause different kinds of havoc," says Intel's Ryan Permeh. Car manufacturers are taking the threat of cyberattacks very seriously. For example, Ford's Rich Strader says the company is "working to ensure that we've developed a product that is as resistant to attack as possible." The threat also is being addressed by the U.S. government. "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is aware of the potential for 'hackers' and is working with automakers to better understand what steps can and are being taken to address the problem," according to an agency statement. University of South Carolina researchers recently hacked a vehicle, causing the tire-pressure warning system to send fake alerts to the vehicle's dashboard. University of California, San Diego professor Stefan Savage says it will be difficult to anticipate all of the schemes that could come about in the future. "I would be quite surprised if there are not additional vulnerabilities," Savage says.

View Full Article
http://www.mercurynews.com/drive/ci_19633869

Italie : Apple lourdement condamnée pour sa garantie limitée

par La rédaction de ZDNet.fr, ZDNet France. Publié le mardi 27 décembre 2011

Tags: Apple, Juridique,

Juridique - Pour avoir imposé une garantie d'un an alors que la loi la fixe à deux, Apple écope de 900 000 euros d'amende.

La justice italienne ne plaisante pas avec la protection des consommateurs. La loi du pays (qui s'applique en fait à tous les pays européens) impose en effet aux fabricants informatiques d'offrir une garantie gratuite pièces et main d'oeuvre de deux ans à leurs clients.

Or, chez Apple, cette garantie n'est que d'un an. Pour profiter de deux années de support, il faut naturellement passer à la caisse via AppleCare. Une spécificité toute pommée qui agace les consommateurs transalpins depuis plus de dix ans.

Informations erronées 

Et après une longue, une très longue enquête, l'Autorité de la concurrence du pays (l'AGCM) vient de condamner Apple à ce sujet : le géant américain écope ainsi d'une amende de 900 000 euros pour ne pas avoir respecté la législation en vigueur. Il devra en outre publier cette décision sur la version italienne de son site.

Pour l'autorité, les points de vente et les sites Internet d'Apple "n'informaient pas de manière adéquate les consommateurs sur leurs droits à une assistance gratuite de deux ans prévue par le code de la consommation".

Par ailleurs, les informations données par Apple "incitaient les consommateurs à souscrire un contrat supplémentaire payant recouvrant en partie la garantie légale gratuite", a encore dénoncé l'autorité. Il s'agit donc d'informations trompeuses.

Apple devra mettre fin à ces "pratiques commerciales incorrectes aux dépens des consommateurs" sous 90 jours et communiquer à l'AGCM les mesures prises pour mettre en oeuvre sa décision.

Reste désormais à savoir si cette sanction pourra être déclinée ailleurs en Europe, notamment en France, où Apple limite également sa garantie à une année...