Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Opera Unite: Your Browser Is Now a Full-Featured Server [Browsers]

On top of the server-side compression and new interface we saw last week, Opera has done something pretty wild with the next version of their software: they've turned it into a zero-config server for files, music, photos and websites.

The concept is somewhere between a personal web server and a filesharing application, technologically and conceptually. The interface is straighforward, divided into panels for each service that you choose to "host." All of them behave in the same stupid-simple way: you start a service, whether it be photo sharing, music streaming, web hosting, or straight file sharing, select a shared directory, set your privacy preferences and go. There are also hosted chat services, and "Fridge," which is a—you guessed it—hosted quasi-Facebook wall, for other Opera users to drop notes on.

Even at this early stage you can find a lot of hosted content to explore, including plenty of publicly streamable music, which will almost certainly cause Opera problems even though, strictly speaking, they're not actually doing the streaming. There's no video service for now, but Unite is extensible, meaning that anyone can design a plugin to add to the program's default file-serving capabilities.

Opera is proud of the fact that Unite runs against the tide of most new web services, opting for client-side content hosting over cloud-based solutions—so proud, in fact, that th! ey're ab le to repeatedly, straight-facedly describe Unite as a "Web 5.0" product, which is a bit rich considering it is just a collection of services that have been available for years, albeit never in such a simple or consolidated way. As a convenient tool for sharing large amounts of content, I get it. As a game-changer? I'm not so sure.

Of course, you might, so just try it out: a technical preview of Opera Unite is available for download here. [Opera]

Pear'd

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDieline/~3/YzWeYXvIPkI/peard.html

New work by Chicago based designer Susie Grace, a recent grad of Columbia College:

"This drink was conceptualised because of my frustration wit the lack of pear drink products. So, I decided to create the packaging that would resemble a pear shape, as well as a clean simple label to show the contents of the drink to be just pear, wanting to emphasis clean and sparkling."

Share you thoughts on Susie's design below.

Opera Unite: a cloud-based promise to 'reinvent the web,' again

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/16/opera-unite-a-cloud-based-promise-to-reinvent-the-web-again/

Opera has a little surprise in store for you this morning with its Opera Unite service. A web-based application built into the Opera browser that the Norwegian-based company says will "reinvent the Web" as it makes your computer, data, and media available via any web browser through the Unite cloud. A bold claim, sure, but just look at the breadth of the cloud-based services available to Mac, PC, or Linux/Unix users:

File sharing -- securely share files direct from your computer
Web server -- turns your home computer into a web server via Opera Unite URL
Media player -- direct link to your music collection from any web browser
Photo sharing -- shares your image library over the web without requiring a photo service
Lounge -- self-contained chat service running on your computer
Fridge -- a place where friends and family can post notes

We're taking the service / software for a spin right now and at first blush, we're duly impressed by the ease of setup and control. Hit the links below to try it for yourself. Video introduction after the break.

Read -- Download
Read -- Opera Unite press release

Continue reading Opera Unite: a cloud-based promise to 'reinvent the web,' again

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Opera Unite: a cloud-based promise to 'reinvent the web,' again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ARM promises dual-core Cortex A9-based smartphones next year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/16/arm-promises-dual-core-cortex-a9-based-smartphones-next-year/

The world's two most visually engaging smartphones -- the iPhone and the Pre -- share very similar cores based on ARM's Cortex A8 architecture, and with the newer, more advanced Cortex A9 in the pipeline, you can't help but let your mind wander a bit as you envision what twice as much computational power could bring to a handset. The A9 employs more advanced instruction pipelining than its predecessor, but the biggest news has to be the fact that it can pack two or more cores -- and ARM fully expects dual-core A9-based phones to hit in 2010. Of course, power consumption is the biggest constraint when it comes to this category of device, and while the company says that peak drain will exceed that on today's crop of devices, average consumption will actually drop thanks largely to a move from 65nm to 45nm manufacturing processes. Add in 1080p video promised by TI's next-gen OMAP4 silicon wrapped around an A9 core, and you've basically got a home theater in your pocket that's ready to rock for a few hours on a charge. That and Snoop Dogg, of course.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds