Today in tech news, we have an insight into phone launches, a lick of paint for Internet Explorer, how web access is a right for a Peeping Tom and another use for Twitter data.
Nexus 4 a UK sellout
Google’s Nexus 4 phone sold out within 30 minutes of going on sale, in a scramble that suggests either the company didn’t anticipate such high demand or deliberately restricted handset availability to ensure “sold out” headlines. The Register reports that the Google Play site has changed the option on the phone from “Buy now” to “Notify me”. It’s not quite the same as people queuing along Regent Street, is it though?
Microsoft releases IE 10 Preview for Windows 7
Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 10 Preview for Windows 7, after the browser was made available for Windows 8. The preview, unlike previous pre-release versions of the software, is actually intended for consumer use and is available from the Microsoft website.
The release comes on the same day as this month’s Patch Tuesday news, and Sophos’ Naked Security blog notes the update includes a patch for Macs, well Excel for Macs, at least.
Judge rules web access is a human right
Michael Jackson was recently convicted of using a smartphone camera hidden inside a rigged shampoo bottle to video a 14-year-old girl in a shower, but should still have the right to use the web, an Appeal Court Judge has ruled. According to The Telegraph, Jackson, 55, had been banned from the web under a previous ruling but the judge found it was “unreasonable nowadays to ban anyone from accessing the internet in their home”. The man will instead have to make his internet browsing history available to the police.
Super computing the Twitter Global Heartbeat
Researchers in the US working on the Twitter Global Heartbeat project have posted a timeline graphic showing tweeting activity in relation to the US election. Gigaom reports that the work was carried out on the SG UV 2000 super computer – a 4,096-core beast with 64TB of cache-coherent shared memory.
According to the report, the researchers likened the process of studying the data to a telescope focused on the “post-demographic world where individuals could be processed directly in the flow of information rather than forcing them into a specific demographic cohort”.
Alternatively, it’s an interesting use of data that ultimately begs the question: “Does anyone in Montana or North Dakota actually use Twitter?”
Google updates Shopping tools
Google has overhauled its Shopping service, with new features such as shared wishlists. The company, which has long penalised “vertical search” sites that are packed with products rather than information, has released a video, spotted by Engadget, explaining the new tools, including a 360-degree view of products you might want to buy. It’s worth a watch for being cheesier than a double portion of Double Gloucester, but the service is let down by the fact that few retailers have so far uploaded content to make the most of the features. It’s absolutely not a price comparison site. Not at all, your honour.
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