Virtual Desktops Brings Work Close to Home

Windows 7, open-source competition hold Chrome OS back

(NEWSER) - Microsoft needn’t stress about Google’s planned operating system, writes Joseph Tartakoff for paidContent. Five reasons why:

• Windows 7 will put Microsoft on firmer ground, having won great reviews so far—and it will have been out 9 months by the time Chrome OS appears.
• Google’s not the only behemoth that knows users are running apps inside their browsers more often: Microsoft is developing a new "browser-based OS" with that in mind.

Despite layoffs, companies are better prepared

(NEWSER) - The tech industry is going through tough times, including widespread layoffs, but it's not going to be another dot-com bust, predicts the Economist, laying out the differences between 2001 and 2009. In 2000, technology companies grew nearly 16%, only to contract by 6% a year later. “The IT industry simply imploded,” says one vet. “It felt like the sector’s reason for being had disappeared.” But the industry is now global, and demand will continue to grow in the likes of China and India. More»

'T-rays' provide speeds 20 times faster

(NEWSER) - Japanese scientists have set a whopping record for wireless data speeds—20 times faster than typical WiFi—by using an unconventional part of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the "T-ray" band. The researchers were able to transmit data at 3 gigabytes per second. "T-ray" technology could eventually lighten the load on lower WiFi frequencies that have become jam-packed by data-hungry consumers, reports BBC . More»

Company offers a peek at Project Glass

(NEWSER) - That report in the New York Times several weeks ago was right on the money: Google is working on a pair of "eyeglasses" that functions as a computer of sorts. The company today unveiled Project Glass with a post on Google Plus , notes PCMag.com . A person straps on the glasses, and texts, emails, weather, you name it, shows up in the field of vision. And look out, Siri, it's voice-activated. They're not for sale yet, but the company is starting to test the glasses in public, adds the Times , which says the concept can theoretically work on contact lenses, too. More»

Our keyboards need that tweak and a few others

(NEWSER) - The computer keyboard may be an essential tool of daily life, but everybody is driven nuts by at least one aspect of it, writes Matthew J.X. Malady at Slate . He offers some suggested tweaks: More»