terça-feira, 22 de abril de 2014

Divisão de smartphones da Nokia se tornará uma empresa da Microsoft em 25 de abril

 

A Microsoft confirmou que a aquisição da divisão de dispositivos e serviços da Nokia será concluída nesta sexta-feira, 25 de abril. Com o negócio, a Microsoft espera aumentar a adoção de smartphones com Windows Phone e oferecer seus serviços para mais pessoas. A compra foi anunciada em setembro do ano passado em um acordo que, somando a divisão de celulares com as patentes da finlandesa, chegou ao equivalente a 17 bilhões de reais.

Aproximadamente 32 mil funcionários da Nokia se juntarão aos 99 mil empregados da Microsoft. Não apenas a divisão de smartphones da Nokia foi adquirida, mas também o negócio de celulares mais simples, o que inclui a linha Asha. No comunicado, a empresa de Redmond diz que espera “apresentar os serviços da Microsoft para o próximo bilhão de clientes através de celulares da Nokia”.

Em email enviado pela Nokia, a empresa informa que a filial finlandesa da Microsoft, chamada Microsoft Mobile Oy, assumirá a responsabilidade dos dados e contratos dos usuários da divisão de dispositivos e serviços da Nokia. Alguns produtos não entraram no acordo, como o serviço de mapas HERE; as informações geradas por eles continuarão sendo de responsabilidade da Nokia.

Quando a compra foi anunciada, Steve Ballmer ainda estava no comando da Microsoft

Quando a compra foi anunciada, Steve Ballmer ainda estava no comando da Microsoft

Entre o anúncio da aquisição e a finalização do acordo, houve algumas mudanças. O negócio originalmente não envolvia o gerenciamento de recursos online, mas as duas empresas concordaram que a Microsoft é quem será a responsável por gerenciar o domínio nokia.com e os canais da Nokia nas redes sociais por até um ano.

21 funcionários da China, que desenvolvem celulares e continuariam trabalhando na Nokia, serão transferidos para a Microsoft. Além disso, as instalações da fábrica da finlandesa na Coreia do Sul, que se tornariam uma propriedade da Microsoft com a conclusão do negócio, não estão mais no acordo e permanecerão com a Nokia.

Não espere que a marca da Nokia desapareça das lojas de celulares tão cedo. O acordo prevê a transferência das marcas Lumia e Asha para a Microsoft, além do licenciamento da marca Nokia durante os próximos 10 anos — a propriedade da marca Nokia, no entanto, continua sendo dos finlandeses.

EUA estão dispostos a passar o controle da internet a uma administração global _ Tecnoblog - Mozilla Firefox 2014-03-17 16.11.10

LG revela detalhes do G Watch: smartwatch vem em duas cores e resistente a água

 

Faz pouco mais de um mês que ouvimos falar do G Watch, o smartwatch da LG, que foi anunciado junto com o Android Wear, sistema operacional voltado para os dispositivos vestíveis. Hoje, a empresa revelou alguns novos detalhes do relógio em um site-teaser oficial.

No endereço, podemos ver que o gadget estará disponível em duas cores: uma preta e prateada, chamada de “stealth black”, e outra branca com detalhes dourados, chamada “champagne gold”.

enlarge_06

Os relógios também serão resistentes a água e poeira (ou seja, não precisa esconder o pulso da chuva) e será possível dar comandos para eles utilizando a voz: há um microfone na parte inferior que reconhece as palavras. Como mostrado na apresentação do Android Wear, o Google Now é parte importantíssima do smartwatch.

Outra novidade é que o G Watch ficará com a tela sempre ligada. Também nos perguntamos como a bateria irá se comportar, mas a LG já deve ter um truque na manga para conservar sua duração. Uma possibilidade é utilizar o display Mirasol, o mesmo visto no Toq, smartwatch conceito da Qualcomm, que gasta pouquíssima energia. Mas, pelas imagens mostradas no site de divulgação, não parece ser esse o truque.

Não há mais detalhes sobre especificações ou uma data esperada para o lançamento; a LG só garantiu que ele chega no segundo trimestre deste ano.

EUA estão dispostos a passar o controle da internet a uma administração global _ Tecnoblog - Mozilla Firefox 2014-03-17 16.11.10

Emitir boletos de pagamentos pela internet é fácil e rápido: veja como funciona o Fortunus

 

Emitir boletos de pagamentos pela internet é fácil e rápido: veja como funciona o Fortunus

Você se lembra do Fortunus? Há algumas semanas, apresentamos a ferramenta para a emissão de boletos e carnês de pagamento, que deixa o pagamento mais cômodo e seguro tanto para o cliente quanto para o vendedor. Agora, vamos demonstrar como utilizar este serviço.

Para começar a utilizar, é só fazer um cadastro simples, seja pessoa física ou jurídica. Ele pode ser feito no site do Fortunus e, a partir disso, a ferramenta permite que os vendedores emitam boletos ou carnês de cobrança em menos de um minuto. A taxa de emissão é fixa e, atualmente, é a menor encontrada no mercado: R$ 3,79 por boleto. O dinheiro é disponibilizado na conta online do vendedor em apenas 3 dias após o pagamento.

O gráfico abaixo detalha o funcionamento:

como-funciona-fortunus (1)

Outra vantagem do Fortunus é permitir que você acompanhe os gráficos e relatórios de vendas, status das cobranças e a evolução dos recebimentos, mantendo um controle fácil e preciso de como andam seus negócios. Também dá para cadastrar clientes e itens para agilizar a emissão dos boletos futuros. No caso de quem utiliza cobranças recorrentes, como mensalidades de algum serviço, dá para agendar as emissões.

No site oficial do Fortunus, você encontra mais informações sobre o produto e pode se cadastrar gratuitamente para começar a emitir boletos hoje mesmo.

EUA estão dispostos a passar o controle da internet a uma administração global _ Tecnoblog - Mozilla Firefox 2014-03-17 16.11.10

Positivo lança tablet para público feminino por R$ 369

 

A Positivo vai levar às lojas nesta semana o Positivo Edição Especial, um tablet Android com 7 polegadas e conteúdo interno todo voltado para o público feminino, com apps pré-instalados focados em moda, beleza e saúde. Ele ainda contará com uma embalagem personalizada voltada para o Dia das Mães. Com detalhes e acabamentos em branco e prata, seu valor sugerido é de R$ 369.

Prefere um tablet com tela menor? Confira o review completo do Positivo Mini

Positivo Edição Especial (Foto: Divulgação/ Positivo)

Positivo Edição Especial chegará às lojas por R$ 369 (Foto: Divulgação/ Positivo)

Qual é o melhor tablet por menos de R$ 500? Opine no Fórum do TechTudo.

No conjunto de configurações, ele possui 8 GB de memória interna, sensor de movimento, entrada para micro SD e mini HDMI, que possibilita que o aparelho seja ligado à TV, além de rodar Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean".

Já no conjunto de medidas, 11,7 mm de espessura e o peso de 337 g. Para completar suas características, ele conta com conectividade Wi-Fi, câmeras frontal e traseira e teclado customizado para o português.

A partir de maio, Windows 8.1 sem Update estará vulnerável a ataques - Notícias - TechTudo 2014-04-16 08-58-17

Plastic Bag Bans Spreading in the United States

 

plastic bags

CC BY 2.0 greencotton

By Janet Larsen and Savina Venkova

Los Angeles rang in the 2014 New Year with a ban on the distribution of plastic bags at the checkout counter of big retailers, making it the largest of the 132 cities and counties around the United States with anti-plastic bag legislation. And a movement that gained momentum in California is going national. More than 20 million Americans live in communities with plastic bag bans or fees. Currently 100 billion plastic bags pass through the hands of U.S. consumers every year—almost one bag per person each day. Laid end-to-end, they could circle the equator 1,330 times. But this number will soon fall as more communities, including large cities like New York and Chicago, look for ways to reduce the plastic litter that blights landscapes and clogs up sewers and streams.

While now ubiquitous, the plastic bag has a relatively short history. Invented in Sweden in 1962, the single-use plastic shopping bag was first popularized by Mobil Oil in the 1970s in an attempt to increase its market for polyethylene, a fossil-fuel-derived compound. Many American customers disliked the plastic bag when it was introduced in 1976, disgusted by the checkout clerks having to lick their fingers when pulling the bags from the rack and infuriated when a bag full of groceries would break or spill over. But retailers continued to push for plastic because it was cheaper and took up less space than paper, and now a generation of people can hardly conceive of shopping without being offered a plastic bag at the checkout counter.

The popularity of plastic grocery bags stems from their light weight and their perceived low cost, but it is these very qualities that make them unpleasant, difficult, and expensive to manage. Over one third of all plastic production is for packaging, designed for short-term use. Plastic bags are made from natural gas or petroleum that formed over millions of years, yet they are often used for mere minutes before being discarded to make their way to a dump or incinerator—if they don’t blow away and end up as litter first. The amount of energy required to make 12 plastic bags could drive a car for a mile.

In landfills and waterways, plastic is persistent, lasting for hundreds of years, breaking into smaller pieces and leaching out chemical components as it ages, but never fully disappearing. Animals that confuse plastic bags with food can end up entangled, injured, or dead. Recent studies have shown that plastic from discarded bags actually soaks up additional pollutants like pesticides and industrial waste that are in the ocean and delivers them in large doses to sea life. The harmful substances then can move up the food chain to the food people eat. Plastics and the various additives that they contain have been tied to a number of human health concerns, including disruption of the endocrine and reproductive systems, infertility, and a possible link to some cancers.

 

California—with its long coastline and abundant beaches where plastic trash is all too common—has been the epicenter of the U.S. movement against plastic bags. San Francisco was the first American city to regulate their use, starting with a ban on non-compostable plastic bags from large supermarkets and chain pharmacies in 2007. As part of its overall strategy to reach “zero waste” by 2020 (the city now diverts 80 percent of its trash to recyclers or composters instead of landfills), it extended the plastic bag ban to other stores and restaurants in 2012 and 2013. Recipients of recycled paper or compostable bags are charged at least 10ȼ, but—as is common in cities with plastic bag bans—bags for produce or other bulk items are still allowed at no cost. San Francisco also is one of a number of Californian cities banning the use of polystyrene (commonly referred to as Styrofoam) food containers, and it has gone a step further against disposable plastic packaging by banning sales of water in plastic bottles in city property.

All told, plastic bag bans cover one-third of California’s population. Plastic bag purchases by retailers have reportedly fallen from 107 million pounds in 2008 to 62 million pounds in 2012, and bag producers and plastics manufacturers have taken note. Most of the ordinances have faced lawsuits from plastics industry groups like the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Even though the laws have largely held up in the courts, the threat of legal action has deterred additional communities from taking action and delayed the process for others.

Ironically, were it not for the intervention of the plastics industry in the first place, California would likely have far fewer outright plastic bag bans. Instead, more communities might have opted for charging a fee per bag, but this option was prohibited as part of industry-supported state-wide legislation in 2006 requiring Californian grocery stores to institute plastic bag recycling programs. Since a first attempt in 2010, California has come close to introducing a statewide ban on plastic bags, but well-funded industry lobbyists have gotten in the way. A new bill will likely go up for a vote in 2014 with the support of the California Grocers Association as well as state senators who had opposed an earlier iteration.

Seattle’s story is similar. In 2008 the city council passed legislation requiring groceries, convenience stores, and pharmacies to charge 20ȼ for each one-time-use bag handed out at the cash register. A $1.4 million campaign headed by the ACC stopped the measure via a ballot initiative before it went into effect, and voters rejected the ordinance in August 2009. But the city did not give up. In 2012 it banned plastic bags and added a 5ȼ fee for paper bags. Attempts to gather signatures to repeal this have been unsuccessful. Eleven other Washington jurisdictions have also banned plastic bags, including the state capital, Olympia. (See database of U.S. plastic bag initiatives and a timeline history.)

A number of state governments have entertained proposals for anti-plastic bag legislation, but not one has successfully applied a statewide charge or banned the bags. Hawaii has a virtual state prohibition, as its four populated counties have gotten rid of plastic bags at grocery checkouts, with the last one beginning enforcement in July 2015. Florida, another state renowned for its beaches, legally preempts cities from enacting anti-bag legislation. The latest attempt to remove this barrier was scrapped in April 2014, although state lawmakers say they will revisit the proposal later in the year.

Opposition to plastic bags has emerged in Texas, despite the state accounting for 44 percent of the U.S. plastics market and serving as the home to several important bag manufacturers, including Superbag, one of America’s largest. Eight cities and towns in the state have active plastic bag bans, and others, like San Antonio, have considered jumping on the bandwagon. Austin banned plastic bags in 2013, hoping to reduce the more than $2,300 it was spending each day to deal with plastic bag trash and litter. The smaller cities of Fort Stockton and Kermit banned plastic bags in 2011 and 2013, respectively, after ranchers complained that cattle had died from ingesting them. Plastic bags have also been known to contaminate cotton fields, getting caught up in balers and harming the quality of the final product. Plastic pollution in the Trinity River Basin, which provides water to over half of all Texans, was a compelling reason for Dallas to pass a 5ȼ fee on plastic bags that will go into effect in 2015.

Washington, D.C., was the first U.S. city to require food and alcohol retailers to charge customers 5ȼ for each plastic or paper bag. Part of the revenue from this goes to the stores to help them with the costs of implementation, and part is designated for cleanup of the Anacostia River. Most D.C. shoppers now routinely bring their own reusable bags on outings; one survey found that 80 percent of consumers were using fewer bags and that over 90 percent of businesses viewed the law positively or neutrally.

Montgomery County in Maryland followed Washington's example and passed a 5ȼ charge for bags in 2011. A recent study that compared shoppers in this county with those in neighboring Prince George’s County, where anti-bag legislation has not gone through, found that reusable bags were seven times more popular in Montgomery County stores. When bags became a product rather than a freebie, shoppers thought about whether the product was worth the extra nickel and quickly got into the habit of bringing their own bags.

One strategy of the plastics industry—concerned about declining demand for its products—is an attempt to change public perception of plastic bags by promoting recycling. Recycling, however, is also not a good long-term solution. The vast majority of plastic bags—97 percent or more in some locales—never make it that far. Even when users have good intentions, bags blow out of outdoor collection bins at grocery stores or off of recycling trucks. The bags that reach recycling facilities are the bane of the programs: when mixed in with other recyclables they jam and damage sorting machines, which are very costly to repair. In San Jose, California, where fewer than 4 percent of plastic bags are recycled, repairs to bag-jammed equipment cost the city about $1 million a year before the plastic bag ban went into effect in 2012.

Proposed plastic bag restrictions have been shelved in a number of jurisdictions, including New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago, in favor of bag recycling programs. New York City may, however, move ahead with a bill proposed in March 2014 to place a city-wide 10ȼ fee on single-use bags. Chicago is weighing a plastic bag ban.

In their less than 60 years of existence, plastic bags have had far-reaching effects. Enforcing legislation to limit their use challenges the throwaway consumerism that has become pervasive in a world of artificially cheap energy. As U.S. natural gas production has surged and prices have fallen, the plastics industry is looking to ramp up domestic production. Yet using this fossil fuel endowment to make something so short-lived, which can blow away at the slightest breeze and pollutes indefinitely, is illogical—particularly when there is a ready alternative: the reusable bag.

A subsequent Earth Policy Institute release will cover international action on plastic bags. Additional information, including a timeline and table on selected plastic bag regulations in the United States, is available at www.earth-policy.org.

Beautiful New Brammo Empulse Electric Motorcycle Finally Unveiled! _ TreeHugger - Mozilla Firefox 2014-03-03 13.40.46

Make your own solar backpack

 

solar backpack

credit: Kajnjaps

Solar backpacks are a great thing to have whether you hit the trails every weekend or run around the city all week. The exterior solar panels generate electricity for charging your gadgets with clean energy, while the backpack totes all your stuff. There are plenty of these on the market, a few we've covered here, but if you already have a favorite backpack or messenger bag, why go DIY and make it into a solar backpack?

Instructables user Kajnjaps gave us permission to share this project with you. He says, "In this instructable I'll show you how to build a detachable solar panel and battery charger for your backpack. This can power or charge all your gadgets (cell phone, mp3 player...) while on the road. HAMs can use it to power small QRP transmitters and receivers on a field day etc."

 

 

Beautiful New Brammo Empulse Electric Motorcycle Finally Unveiled! _ TreeHugger - Mozilla Firefox 2014-03-03 13.40.46

Portable "electronic nose" smells your meat for you and identifies food poisoning risk

 

PERESdevice.jpg.662x0_q100_crop-scale

Most of us are used to putting food to the sniff test, and for the most part, our senses will let us know if food is unsafe to eat. However, some of the potentially poisonous compounds found in spoiled meat aren't detectable by the human nose, because they're odorless (at least to us), so it's possible for something to pass the sniff test and still give us food poisoning. And while food poisoning may be just an uncomfortable inconvenience for some people, for others it could be a matter of life and death.

But a new portable gadget may make identifying potentially hazardous foods much easier, as it will sniff the food for you and determine if there's a food poisoning risk, so you don't have to be the guinea pig. And it could not only protect us from food-related illnesses, it could also help to cut down on food waste by verifying if an item is still OK to eat, so we don't toss it out.

The PERES device, which works in conjunction with a smartphone and tablet app (iOS and Android), uses four different types of sensors to scan the food item in question (without having to actually come in contact with it) and measures the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) near the item. The device then takes the temperature and humidity of the food into consideration and adjust the readings for accuracy using that data.

 

"PERES is the world’s first portable "electronic nose" – a unique and innovative device and mobile application which enables users to determine the quality and freshness of pork, beef, chicken and fish:

It is designed to detect:

  • whether a product is fresh
  • whether it is hazardous to health
  • whether there is a risk of food poisoning
  • whether it has been left unrefrigerated for some time

Here's a little bit of the science behind the device:

PERES is currently in a crowdfunding phase with a campaign on Indiegogo, where early bird backers at the $120 level will receive one of the devices for their contribution (estimated retail price after launch is $150), or for those contributing $220 will get two devices, plus a donation to the charity Action Against Hunger and a "legendary" PERES chef's hat and apron set (so you can represent while sniffing with your new electronic nose, I guess).

 

Beautiful New Brammo Empulse Electric Motorcycle Finally Unveiled! _ TreeHugger - Mozilla Firefox 2014-03-03 13.40.46