Services and applications

Spoiler alert: this is a blog post about world peace.

I've been spinning some cycles lately looking for free data. Why? Here's my thesis: As our use of the cloud evolves, we will come to understand that, to do powerful computational things, we not only don't need to own massive amounts of IT infrastructure, we don't even have to own the data. The cloud will offer us both. Think of it as big free data.

At the dawn of modern computing history, one needed millions of dollars to buy big iron to do serious computational things. … Read more

When the late Steve Jobs introduced iOS 5 during his last keynote address in June, he touted iCloud as something that "just works" and that users would have nothing to learn. As it turns out, he was right, but only on his first point.

Not only is there a lot to learn about iCloud, but users have little control over it once they start. So before you jump in, it's important to know a few things about it.… Read more

With the introduction of 3G, and especially 4G, mobile Internet access is no longer considered inferior to home broadband. In fact, in certain locations, it can actually be much faster than many residential DSL plans.

That said, as you roam around, even within one city like the case of the iPhone 4S, you'll experience changes in connection speed and coverage. That's just the nature of any cellular data connection.

Generally, it's best to use a 4G connection. However, since, for now, none of the wireless providers can guarantee the availability of 4G coverage throughout the U.S., … Read more

A nonprofit research database system called QResearch--which already screens for heart disease, kidney disease, and serious blood cots--is now introducing what look to be highly accurate lung and gastroesophageal cancer screenings as well.

The University of Nottingham and ClinRisk researchers behind the computer-based tool say that their findings, published this week in the British Journal of General Practice, indicate that 10 percent of the patients predicted to be most at risk of developing one of the cancers accounted for 77 percent of actual cancer diagnoses over the following two years.

Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners Dr. … Read more

The T-Mobile Sonic 4G Mobile HotSpot, though fast enough for most Internet applications, wasn't the fastest mobile router in terms of data speed I've seen. In fact, in my testing around San Francisco, on average, it was actually slightly slower than the previous model, the T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot ZTE MF61, which came out a while ago. Still, overall, it makes a very good investment.

First of all, it comes with a very strong battery that lasted up to 8 hours in our testing, which is about 2 hours more than what T-Mobile claims. A mobile router's battery life depends a lot on how much you use it on the go. The good thing about the Sonic 4G is the fact that it can go in and out of standby mode very quickly without any user interaction. While other mobile routers need to be "waken" by a press on the power button, the Sonic seems to wake when there are data requests. And the router can stay in standby mode for days on a full charge.… Read more

Cool as she is, the iPhone 4S' new personal assistant Siri hasn't been able to tell me in a meaningful way which iPhone 4S offers the fastest data speeds. In the end, I resorted to the usual do-it-yourself approach: a real-world test. And the results were interesting.

Prior to the testing, I expected some big differences between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S (both GSM versions), since the iPhone 4S supports AT&T's faster HSDPA 14.4 network, which is capable of reaching an upload speed of 14.4Mbps and download speed of 5.8Mbps, theoretically twice the speeds of the iPhone 4.

This wasn't always the case, however, and sometimes it was quite the opposite. But first let's talk about how the testing was done.

How we test It's generally hard to figure out the way to get the best picture of how fast a mobile cellular Internet device's data rate is. The truth is that the speed of a cellular Internet connection varies a great deal from one location to another. It also depends on the server on which the app's data resides and sometimes even on the time of day.

For the testing, I used the Speedtest.net mobile app, which is the most popular app for the purpose. The app automatically connects to a nearby server to download and upload data. How busy the server is during the test affects the scores, but the app still offers a good representation of data speeds in a local area.

I gathered iPhone 4Ses from AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, and tested the three smartphones against an iPhone 4 at a few well-known places in San Francisco: CNET's lobby, Union Square, and the Fisherman's Wharf area of Pier 39. I picked the first location for an obvious reason: it's the lobby of the building where I work, which is near the Financial District. The others are two of the most popular spots in the city, with lots of people using their phones. Also, I tested three 4G hot spots from various carriers for a comparison.

Keep in mind that these tests only evaluate data speeds for these phones in San Francisco and are not designed to be representative of data speeds you'll find in your area. However, they at least should show how the data speeds compare between each carrier version of the iPhone 4S, as well as the difference between AT&T's iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4.… Read more

Of all the features introduced in the iPhone 4S, Siri is the one that has people really talking. Literally.

The concept of using a smartphone as a personal assistant is certainly appealing, but it's not necessarily new. Take for instance Voice Actions, a Google feature introduced for 2.2 devices, that lets users call contacts, send messages, complete common tasks, and more.

There are also many applications already in the market that let users ask questions or use commands, although none is quite as well-rounded as Siri. However, a new app recently landed on the scene that looks to … Read more

SAN DIEGO--Cadillac has introduced a new central instrument panel that features touch-screen technology popularized by smartphones and tablets. The fully capacitive faceplate has an 8-inch touch screen that utilizes multitouch gestures to interact with it. Cadillac says this sets it apart from other car in-dash units that have an overabundance of buttons and controls.

The instrument panel is called CUE and it stands for Cadillac User Experience. In addition to a touch screen that lets you tap, swipe, and pinch in and out, it also has a proximity sensor so that when your hand approaches the screen, certain shortcut icons will appear. You can also enable haptic feedback, so that the screen pulses when you select something. Aside from the touch screen, the overall interface features fewer buttons, large icons, and natural voice recognition. You can pair up to 10 Bluetooth devices to it, and it's also compatible with USB keys, SD cards, and, of course, the iPod or iPhone. The entire faceplate opens up to reveal a 1.8L storage area as well. … Read more

What do you get when you combine an Android smartphone, cell phone image sensor, Lego building blocks, and a handful of Caltech engineers and biologists? The ePetri, which isn't Petri Dish 2.0, but a full reworking of a technology that dates back to the late 1800s.

Traditionally, the Petri dish (named after German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri) has been used in the medical field to identify bacterial infections by studying samples via microscope as the cultured cells grow in an incubator.

The Caltech researchers have a few choice words for such an approach in 2011, including "expensive," "labor-intensive," and "suboptimal." So they set out to improve not just the dish, but the entire process.… Read more