Technology firms such as LG Electronics are moving toward adopting the Linux-based MeeGo operating

According to Reuters, LG Electronics has joined a working group with ZTE and China Mobile for developing a handset version of the software.

"It's opening opportunities for the others to come in. Discussions are taking place. You'll see things coming out this year, pretty soon," Valtteri Halla, a member of the technical steering group of MeeGo, told a developer conference on Friday. Halla, who worked for years on Nokia's Linux software and swapped to Intel following Nokia's announcement, said Nokia's dominant role in the project had held back other phone makers from adopting the technology.

"Nokia's change of strategy helps MeeGo's prospects, but greater traction is likely to come from tablets, netbooks and embedded devices rather than smartphones," said analyst Geoff Blaber from CCS Insight. "MeeGo has to develop a fantastic platform, a serious alternative to Microsoft and Google, before it can succeed," said John Strand, head of Danish consultancy Strand Consult. "The big question is whether there is space for a third player in that market," he said.
 

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Gigabyte's Wireless Laser Mouse -- ECO600

Laser Mouse 12-month Battery. Energy Saving From Now On!

GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to announce a Long-lasting Wireless Laser Mouse -- ECO600. As the name suggests, ECO600 Long-lasting Wireless Mouse offers a long battery life of up to 12 months. The long-lasting battery life not only helps you saving time and money for batteries replacement, but also a practical environment-friendly way for energy saving! Along with precise laser tracking, 2.4GHz wireless technology, and portable Nano receiver, ECO600 enables 10 meters efficient working distance. It also features ergonomically designed shape with soft rubber grip, and 3-stage blue LED indicator changing along the on-the-fly 1600/1200/ 800 adjustable resolution. There is a blinking indicator light that allows you to know when the battery goes low. Bring GIGABYTE ECO600 Long-lasting Wireless Mouse home with you, and you will be free from worrying about limited battery life!

Product Features

•  2.4GHz laser tracking engine
•  Long-lasting battery life up to 12 months
•  On-the-fly 800/1200/1600 adjustable resolution with 3-stage blue LED indicator
•  Five programmable buttons  
•  Portable Nano receiver

For more details of GIGABYTE ECO600, please visit the website at: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3821#kf

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What is an OLED?

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) is a flat light emitting technology, made by placing a series of organic (carbon based) thin films between two conductors, that emit bright light when electricity is run through them. Because OLEDs do not require a filter to change colors (unlike LCD displays), they are more efficient, simpler to make, and much thinner. OLEDs have a great picture quality - brilliant colors, fast response rate and a wide viewing angle.

OLEDs are organic because they are made from carbon and hydrogen. There's no connection to organic food or farming - although OLEDs are very efficient and do not contain any heavy metals - so it's a real green technology.

Here's Kodak's description of OLEDs -

"OLED displays stack up several thin layers of materials. They operate on the attraction between positively and negatively charged particles. When voltage is applied, one layer becomes negatively charged relative to another transparent layer. As energy passes from the negatively charged (cathode) layer to the other (anode) layer, it stimulates organic material between the two, which emits light visible through an outermost layer of glass."

Where can I find OLED displays today?

Today you can find small (up to 3 or 4 inch) organic displays in many types of devices - mobile phones, A/V players, car audio systems, Digital cameras and PDAs. Lot's of companies are placing OLEDs in their products - Sony, Samsung, Nokia, LG, Microsoft, and others.

The main attraction today is the small size, the low power consumption and the great brightness. Obviously OLEDs carry a price premium over LCDs, but companies are using these displays more and more.

Samsung Galaxy S

AMOLED vs PMOLED

These terms relate to the driving method of the OLED display. Both PMOLED and AMOLED display use a TFT and line-scanning control: you change the pixels one line at at time, sequentially. In Passive Matrix (PMOLED) displays, the rows are turned off most of the time (between changes) and so you need to use more voltage to make the OLED pixels brighter (to compensate. If you have 10 rows, you have to drive them with 10 time the resolution). This is not efficient and limits the resolution (the number of rows). Active-Matrix (AMOLEDs) display use TFT with storage capacitors that retain the pixel information in the row at all times. AMOLED displays are more efficient and can be used to create large displays with high resolutions: but are more expensive to make than PMOLEDs.

So if you're looking for a TV, it'll probably be an AMOLED TV. PMOLEDs are used in mp3 players, secondary displays on cell phones, etc.

Small molecules vs Polymer-based OLEDs

OLED materials can be divided into small- and large- molecules. 'Small Molecules' OLEDs are more common today, with most displays using those kind of materials. Large Molecules (also called Polymer-based OLEDs, or P-OLEDs) are lagging behind in lifetime and efficiency specs. P-OLEDs might be easier to make, though, because they are more easily adapted for printing. Indeed, one can 'ink-jet-print' an OLED, which is a great way to make them. 

Fluorescent vs Phosphorescent OLEDs

OLEDs can also be classified based on another property of the material – whether it is fluorescent or phosphorescent (PHOLEDs). Originally fluorescent OLEDs were used, but PHOLEDs promise to deliver much more efficient displays.

The major company behind PHOLEDs is Universal-Display. They have recently stated that "virtually all" AMOLEDs use their technology - although only their red material is currently used (the other colors are fluorescent).

OLED technology today

Today OLED displays are used mainly in small (2"-4") displays for mobile devices such as phones, cameras and MP3 players. OLED displays carry a price premium over LCDs, but offer brighter pictures and better power efficiency - making it ideal for battery powered gadgets. You can see a list of gadgets with OLEDs here.

Samsung S8300 Ultra Touch

Making larger OLEDs is possible, but difficult and expensive. Sony has announced the XEL-1 11quot; OLED TV back in 2007 - but it was expensive at about $2,500 (they aren't producing it anymore). LG is also offering an OLED TV (the 15" EL9500) which is also expensive and isn't being mass produced. Real OLED TVs are only expected by 2012 or 2013.

OLED lighting panels should start to appear commercially within the next two years or so.

OLEDs can be used to make displays and lighting. Because OLEDs emit light they do not require a backlight and so are thinner and more efficient than LCD displays(which do require a white backlight).

LG Display 31-inch OLED prototype

OLEDs are not just thin and efficient - they can also be made flexible (even rollable) and transparent.

Flexible OLED lighting prototype

OLED vs LCD

OLED displays have the following advantages over LCD displays:

• Lower power consumption
• Faster refresh rate and better contrast
• Greater brightness - The screens are brighter, and have a fuller viewing angle
• Exciting displays - new types of displays, that we do not have today, like ultra-thin, flexible or transparent displays
• Better durability - OLEDs are very durable and can operate in a broader temperature range
• Lighter weight - the screen can be made very thin, and can even be 'printed' on flexible surfaces

The future - flexible and transparent OLED displays

It turns out that because OLEDs are thin and simple - they can be used to create flexible and even transparent displays. This is pretty exciting as it opens up a whole world of possibilities:

• Curved OLED displays, placed on non-flat surfaces
• Wearable OLEDs
• Transparent OLEDs embedded in windows
• OLEDs in car windshields
• New designs for lamps
• And many more we cannot even imagine today...

Several companies are working towards this, and we already got some pretty exciting prototypes. Hopefully these kind of displays will become available within a few years!

OLED disadvantages

OLEDs aren't perfect. First of all, these screens are currently expensive - although this should hopefully change in the future, as OLEDs has a potential to be even cheaper than LCDs because of their simple design.

OLEDs have limited lifetime (like any display, really), that was quite a problem a few years ago. But there has been constant progress, and today this is almost a non-issue.

OLEDs can also be problematic in direct sunlight, because of their emmissive nature. But companies are working to make it better. Samsung is producing in-cell touch panel displays (branded Super AMOLED andSuper AMOLED Plus) and Nokia has inlcuded a polarized filter in their Clear Black Displays.

Can OLEDs produce white lighting?

One of the more exciting attributes of organic displays is the low power consumption, and the ability to operate as a light source. OLEDs can produce white light, and can provide the bulb of the future - low power and thin designs (and no heavy metals). As OLEDs will also be flexible and transparent, this technology can truly be the light of the future.

Transparent white OLEDs by Philips

A lot of companies (Philips, OSRAM, GE, Lumiotec,Samsung, LG, UDC and others) are working towards OLED Lighting. OSRAM, Philips and Lumiotec already offer sample panels, but these are very expensive 'samples' and not real commercial products yet. Real products shold arrive by 2012, hopefully.

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Sim-Lei: Japan's latest electric car reaches 333 km in a single charge.

Japan's auto venture SIM-DRIVE's prototype model of the electric vehicle SIM-LEI, which is expecting to go on sale in 2013, is unveiled in Tokyo. The SIM-LEI, equipped with high-performance in-wheel motors, achieved 333km of driving distance, twice as long as the current electric vehicles with normal capacity Li-ion batteries. (AFP)

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Google Docs learning to work Offline

SAN FRANCISCO

Google is addressing a significant weaknesses of Google Docs and Google Apps: the inability to use the services while not connected to the Net.

"We will make them [Google Docs offline apps] available this summer," said Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, in an interview last week at at the Google I/O conference. 

"We've all been using it internally. It's imminent. We want to make sure they're good."

It's not clear just how high the demand for the feature is. Although I find offline Google Docs' absence a critical weakness, Google cited low interest in the idea as one justification for why it had removed an earlier attempt at the technology in 2008.

One thing is very different from three years ago, though: Chrome OS, which in June will move from prototype to product with Chromebook models from Acer and Samsung.

With Chrome OS, Google is betting that the world is ready for a browser-based operating system. For office workers using a Chrome OS machine to enter customer data into a Web form, offline access is no big deal, but for Chromebooks to reach their full potential, they have to be able to handle a bit more of what even the lowest-end PC can do. That includes being useful when you're on a subway, on an airplane, or heaven forbid, in some primitive backwater that's not saturated with reliable 3G.

Google reassures people that offline Web apps are now possible to program thanks to a number of interfaces such as AppCache and IndexedDB arriving in browsers. But actually taking advantage of those interfaces isn't necessarily easy.

Google Docs was supposed to get offline abilities in early 2011, for example.

Offline Docs hasn't been easy, in part because of years of shifts in the plumbing used to let browsers look for data on a local computer rather than a remote server on the other side of the Internet.

Initially, Google Docs had some incomplete offline support through a Google technology called Gears. Google removed that support when it discontinued Gears in favor of open Web standards that accomplished similar goals. The technology in Gears for offline storage was a SQL database interface that was closely related to the Web SQL Database standard for browsers. However, Mozilla and Microsoft didn't like its approach, and Web SQL's standardization was derailed.

A final challenge for Google might be its own vision. The company is betting heavily on a future in which the Internet is built into the fabric of our lives. Indeed, with lobbying and investments in networking technology, it's trying to hasten the arrival of that future.

Google has perhaps a better idea of what that future looks like. Its campuses are bathed in Wi-Fi and peppered with Ethernet ports. Employees have home broadband, Net-connected shuttle buses, and for those moments in between, wireless data modems.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Pichai said he must consciously remember to unplug from the Net if he wants to try offline features of Google Docs.

But for those of us not in the Google bubble, with spotty 3G and capped data for our smartphone and home broadband, offline support is essential.

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