A new chapter for PCs; Tech Heads.Byline: Steve Lawson THIS week Amazon released a free beta version A pre-shipping release of hardware or software that has gone through alpha test. A beta version of software is supposed to be very close to the final product, but, in practice, it is more a way of getting users to test the software in the first place under real conditions. of Kindle A portable e-book device from Amazon.com that provides wireless connectivity to Amazon for e-book downloads as well as Wikipedia and search engines. Using Sprint's EV-DO cellphone network, dubbed WhisperNet, wireless access is free. It also includes a built-in dictionary. for PC - software which allows Microsoft Windows users to read purchased ebooks on their computers. You might wonder 'why now?', given that the Kindle isn't yet on sale in the UK. Well, the Kindle has been a huge hit in the US and we're repeatedly told by Amazon it will be here soon. So, think of this beta software as a way of getting a little head start. When news of the Kindle for PC release first broke on the web, I saw several reports suggesting it might not work in many countries outside the US. But I can confirm it works fine on my PC here, although you do have to buy your ebooks from Amazon.com - and pay in dollars. The idea behind the software is that you will be able to start reading on your PC then pick up exactly where you left off on your Kindle, thanks to the Kindle's ability to synchronise wirelessly with your PC using Whispersync. I can't test this facility yet, but I can report that the process of installing the software then using it to buy an ebook is extremely simple. There's a link in the software that takes you straight to the Amazon ebook page. You select the book you want, enter your Amazon account and payment details and the book - Nelson DeMille's Gold Coast - downloads in seconds to your PC. You then use the software to read it, with the option of using either your mouse or keyboard direction keys to flip through the pages. I'm using the reader on a bright, 19inch LCD screen so the text is clear, but if you need to, you can alter the text size. The software is compatible with Windows XP SP2 and above, Windows Vista or Windows 7 - a Mac version is "coming soon"), and you can get it from: http://tiny.cc/amI7m MY favourite technology story of the week comes from those wacky guys at Cern, who are trying to turn the galaxy inside out by firing sub-atomic particles at each other in the Large Hadron Collider This article or section contains information about an expected future scientific facility. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the facility approaches completion. . Apparently a birdie dropped a piece of baguette on an electrical installation at the research site near Geneva Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland Geneva (jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. , causing a short-circuit which zapped the power from the 27km particle accelerator! SAMSUNG plan to launch their own Linux-based smartphone operating system, dubbed "Bada" early next year. That will bring them into competition with Google's Android An open platform for cellphones from the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). Based on Linux, Android includes a library of Java classes for building mobile applications. Android and GPhone operating system. "Bada" is derived from the Korean word for 'ocean' which is disappointing because I was hoping to work in a "bada-bing, badaboom" joke somewhere. Bada will be an open platform and will signal an end to Samsung's use of both Symbian and Windows Mobile. |
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