HP Comes Up With New Touchscreen Desktop PC’s To The Market

Hewlett Packard, the world’s largest producer of personal computers has announced they will be releasing three models of touchscreen based personal computers dubbed “TouchSmart” ranging from $600 to $900 this month.

Two of the three models being released are set to debut early this month, with the $850 model of the “TouchSmart Elite” hitting the market on Sept. 21st aimed at smaller businesses. The news of these releases comes in lieu ofHP’s plans to spin-off its Personal Systems Group that generated $40.7 Billion last year.

Along with news of their new product line, they also plan on expanding WebOS in anyway possible, through a software only means due to the company recently discontinuing its hardware line of WebOS devices, although wildly popular due to the recent frenzy of purchases of their TouchPad series.

It has yet to be seen how their plans will fan out, although many admirers of the innovative WebOS system may feel betrayed at the new focus of HP after its failed attempts at keeping the Palm line of products alive. Maybe a “Touchscreen” desktop with the use of a refined WebOS client catered to these systems would be a nice way to continue the WebOS innovations.

Google Music beta Service now available on iOS Devices via safari web browser

Now you don’t have to be using an Android device to get your Google Music on the go. Google’s music streaming service can now be used on iOS devices directly through the safari browser, no App needed. As of right now Google says they have no plans to make an official iOS app.

The interface through the browser apps just like an app in that you can swipe between songs and music will continue to play even when you close the browser. You can browse your songs and search through your library of music straight through the browser.

There has not been much news about Google Music since it was first announced at Google I/0 in May. The service allows you to upload your music collection to the cloud and stream it to other computers, or portable devices. As of right now Google has not been able to make any deals with record labels so the service will only work with music you currently own.

With Apple’s iCloud service coming out soon, and Spofity taking America by storm streaming music services are becoming a dime a dozen. With several streaming services already on the market Google needs to make some moves in order to generate some interest in its service.

If you are already part of Google’s Music beta program and own an iOS device you can open up safari and load up music.google.com. If you aren’t in the beta program we have a small number of invites we can offer up. Try out the iOS experience and let us know how you like it.

Google Plans to End Google Maps Loophole

Google says it's working to keep the virtual lights on for businesses that are being incorrectly labeled as "closed" on Google Maps. The issue was raised in a New York Times article that profiled a handful of businesses that had been temporarily labeled closed on Google Maps, apparently due to what Google product manager Ethan Russell calls "malicious or incorrect labeling."

"About two weeks ago, news in the blogosphere made us aware that abuse -- such as ‘place closed’ spam labels -- was occurring. And since then, we've been working on improvements to the system," Russell wrote on the company’s Lat Long Blog.The problem appears to be that it's pretty easy to report that a place is closed on Google Maps. Anyone can do it with just a few clicks, and according to the Times, it only takes a few reports of a place being closed to change its status on Google Maps.

I decided to put the Times’ theory to the test by reporting a coffee shop near my home as “closed.” The shop, “The Bean,” closed its doors this year, but the store and its second location, which closed long ago, were both listed as open for business as places on Google Maps.By simply clicking on "Report a Problem" and reporting the store as closed, the deed was done. Almost instantly a "Reported to be closed" label began appearing under the Bean's name. I closed both of the now-defunct Beans and saw the same result -- instant virtual closure.

It should be noted that the label is followed by the words "Not True?" which links to a dialog to send more feedback to Google and contest the closed label, but it could be a while before Google actually reads it. When I reported both Beans to be closed, I checked the option to be notified when Google reviews my closure report. It's been about an hour and there's nothing but radio and e-mail silence from Mountain View, Calif.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior Now on iOS

The original Sniper: Ghost Warrior games on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 enjoyed a reasonable degree of commercial success, particularly in Europe, even despite a somewhat lukewarm critical reception, to put it politely. This success has inspired Polish developer Vivid Games to bring the franchise to Apple's iPhone and iPad early next year.

  
The iOS version of Sniper: Ghost Warrior will make use of Unreal Engine 3, already proven to work well in other portable titles such as Infinity Blade and Dungeon Defenders. The game has been developed from the ground up for iOS devices, so will make full use of the platform's control capabilities, including the touchscreen, accelerometers and gyroscope.

"We're proud and excited about this project, and we will use our best effort and knowledge to deliver the very best elite military experience in the mobile market to date," said Remigiusz Koscielny, president of developer Vivid Games.Watch out for the portable version of the game in the first quarter of next year, releasing alongside the official sequel to the original PC and console games.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has been fired from her job

Carol Bartz has been fired from her job as Yahoo CEO and replaced on an interim basis by the company's chief financial officer, Tim Morse, according to news reports Tuesday.Yahoo has confirmed that Bartz is no longer CEO but no further details were immediately available, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal's All Things D blog.Bartz sent a brief e-mail to employees saying that she'd been fired by Yahoo's chairman, according to the TechCrunch website. 

"I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward," Bartz wrote to employees, according to TechCrunch.The struggling search company has created an "executive leadership council" to help Morse run the company and to conduct a "comprehensive strategic review" aimed at getting Yahoo back on a growth track. The council
includes Yahoo co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo.

Quad-Core Android Tablets Are Expected to come in December This Year

They're a bit late, but Android tablets with quad-core processors are coming this year, according to Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia's chief executive. The chipmaker expects Android tablets supercharged with quad-core chips to hit shelves in time for Christmas, according to a Wall Street Journal report, but smartphones powered by these chips are unlikely to show up until next year.

Nvidia's quad-core chips, first announced in February, are meant to be twice as fast the company's Tegra 2 processor, currently found on about two-thirds of Android tablets from Motorola, LG, and Toshiba. The new breed of tablets was supposed to arrive this summer, but Nvidia's chief executive said manufacturers are taking their time "getting the industrial design as wonderful as possible, and some of it is related to tuning and performance."

However, there is another reason why quad-core Android tablets are late to the game. Most Android tablets manufactures are faced with meager sales compared to Apple's iPad. They are already struggling to match the iPad's pricing and battery life while incorporating current dual-core chips; using a more powerful (and probably more expensive and more power-hungry) processor would make achieving their goal even more difficult. Manufacturers have yet to announce any quad-core products.

In the smartphone market, where Android models dominate the iPhone, quad-core processors were supposed to arrive by Christmas of this year, but Huang didn't say whether Nvidia is still on track with that schedule. Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, which make competing chips for smartphones and tablets, expect their quad-core chips to be featured in devices hitting shelves early next year.
Huang also revealed that Nvidia's chips would power some Windows 8 tablets and PCs later next year. Microsoft is set to showcase Windows 8 next week, and--according to Huang--the new OS will be able to run applications developed for its Windows Phone 7 OS as well.

How to Fix iTunes Error 3194 on iOS 4.3.3, 4.3.4, 4.3.5

Mostly iphone users have few issues while restoring their device to iOS 4.3.3, 4.3.4 and 4.3.5 as they had when iOS 4.3.2 was initially released. The error is that you would not be able to restore/ update to iOS 4.3.3 and if you have changed your system’s host file to Cydia’s SHSH caching server. An Error 3194 pops up:

This error can be fixed by removing Cydia’s SHSH caching server from your host file or using the latest version of TinyUmbrella steps for which are as follows:  

Step 1: Download TinyUmbrella for Mac and Window.

Step 2: Select “Advanced” tab and then uncheck the “Set Hosts to Cydia on the Exit” box.
 
Step 3: Click on ” Apply Changes” and lastly, restart your PC or Mac.