Some of the latest mobile phones in Japan come with motion sensors that let users detect motion or play action games like those on the Nintendo Wii console.
The D904i from NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s top mobile carrier, contains a tiny motion sensor that detects shaking and tilting, company spokesman Nobuyuki Hatanaka said.
Instead of punching a keypad, users can move the handset like a tennis racket or fishing pole in easy-to-play games, similar to those on Nintendo Co.’s popular Wii.
In the “Tokyo Highway Battle” ame, users twist the handset like a steering wheel to control driving. In “Skateboard Dash,” the phone can be tilted to control the board’s speed and direction.
Meanwhile, two new phones from Sharp Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial use their built-in cameras to detect motion. Users can control a hip-hop dancer by wagging a finger in front of the camera, for example, or throw punches in the air for a boxing match.
DoCoMo warns users not to go overboard with the handsets, however. “If you swing or swerve too hard, it’ll be hard to keep your eyes on the screen, and you might bother those around you,” Hatanaka said. “We’re talking about somewhat subtler motions.”
Photobucket will abide by MySpace rules:
The Web hosting site Photobucket has resolved a dispute that led to a partial block by the popular online hangout MySpace.
Neither company would provide details on the decision to lift the block, but Photobucket Chief Executive Alex Welch acknowledged in a blog posting that his company needs to abide by MySpace’s terms of service.
Earlier this month, MySpace moved to block video and slideshows on Photobucket, complaining that the hosting service has been encouraging users to incorporate an ad-supported slideshow into their MySpace personal profile pages. News Corp.’s MySpace said the sideshow violated its policies banning unauthorized commercial activities.
According to Photobucket, the ad in question already ran its course, so users wouldn’t be able to create new ones anyway, though old ones could now be viewed on MySpace. In a statement, Photobucket said it would continue to pursue similar advertising deals.
MySpace users often embed third-party photos, video and other material in their profile pages, and sites such as Photobucket and Google Inc.’s YouTube make that easy by providing the programming code to cut and paste into the MySpace pages.
Web navigation made easier:
A provider of Internet addressing services hopes to unify how you navigate the Web when using different browsers and computers.
This week, OpenDNS introduced “shortcuts” – settings you may use to reach certain Web sites when typing in specific alphanumeric combinations in the address bar.
For instance, you can define “nyt” to bring you to the home page of The New York Times or “tech” to bring you to the site’s technology section. You can define “g” to reach Google and type “g sopranos” in a browser’s address bar to do a search on the television show.
Two different users can define “bank” to reach their respective online banks, or “mail” to get their primary Web-based e-mail account. OpenDNS keeps track of who’s defining what.
OpenDNS provides free directory services necessary to translate a Web site’s domain name into its actual numeric Internet address, so browsers can reach the site. Typically computer users get such services through their Internet service provider or corporate network; they must adjust their computer settings to use the OpenDNS service instead.
The Shanghai connection:
Silicon Valley and Shanghai businesses are joining forces to cooperate in high-tech, transport and other strategic industries.
San Francisco’s Bay Area Council and a similar regional business alliance for the Shanghai region signed a pact Wednesday to promote investment and other opportunities between the two regions.
“The two regions are turning over a new page in their friendly relationship,” said Vincent Lo Hong-sui, a real estate tycoon who heads the Shanghai-Hong Kong Council for the Promotion and Development of the Yangtze. “This will build on the strengths of the two regions.”
The groups intend to focus on supporting development of information technology, biotech, transportation and logistics and clean technology – including alternative energy and the environment.
Shanghai, China’s biggest city, traditionally was a bastion of heavy industry. But in recent years city leaders have sought to promote investment in the high-tech and service sectors.
The plan calls for setting up a venture capital fund of $200 million to $250 million to support technology companies, in collaboration with research institutes and universities in both regions. Money would come from both sides of the Pacific, though officials say it was too early to give specific details on companies to be supported.
Ireland sees text messaging’s downside:
Ireland’s youth are becoming increasingly poor spellers and writers, and their love of text messaging on cell phones is a major reason why, according to the government’s Education Department.
In a report published Wednesday, the department’s Examination Commission said cutting-edge communications technology has encouraged poor literacy and a blunt, choppy style at odds with academic rigor.
“Text messaging, with its use of phonetic spelling and little or no punctuation, seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing,” according to the report, based on national test results in English for about 37,000 students aged 15 and 16.
The report branded today’s teens “unduly reliant on short sentences, simple tenses and a limited vocabulary.”
Business domain name prices increase:
Another week, another price increase in Internet addresses. This time, it’s “.biz” whose fees are going up.
In recent weeks, operators of “.com,” “.net,” “.org” and “.info” have announced increases beginning in mid-October in the wholesale prices for domain names – what the operators collect from the companies that sell names on their behalf. Such charges are generally incorporated in the prices companies, groups and individuals pay to register names, and they apply to new registrations, transfers and renewals.
Many of the announced hikes became possible when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the Internet’s key oversight agency, agreed to new contract terms in December, permitting an annual hike of up to 10 percent a year upon six months’ notice.
From Herald news services
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