Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TECH SPACE
Windows 8 phone users tell of glitches
by Staff Writers
Redmond, Wash. (UPI) Nov 19, 2012


Phone screen responds to different touches
Pittsburgh (UPI) Nov 19, 2012 - A U.S. computer scientist says he's developed a prototype smartphone with a touchscreen that can sense touches from different parts of the hand.

Chris Harrison at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh says the screen can distinguish between touches from the knuckle, fingertip and even a fingernail, and initiate different phone action based on the hand part used, NewScientist.com reported.

Harrison's modified Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone senses the acoustic and vibrational differences between the three types of touch.

"A big problem with touchscreens right now is that they are very simplistic, relative to the capability of our hands," Harrison says. "We could do so much more."

For example, he says, a fingertip could select an object, while a knuckle tap could work like the right-click on a computer mouse and open up a sub-menu.

The sensor is a standard piece of electronics that can be added to the main circuit board of any smartphone, he says. What makes it work is his FingerSense software.

"The real magic is in the software, this artificial intelligence that lives in the heart of the phone," said Harrison, who is already in talks with some major phone manufacturers about his system.

Microsoft has confirmed it is investigating reports of Windows Phone 8 devices suffering random reboots and problems syncing email messages.

Windows 8 smartphones from both Nokia and HTC are having issues with random reboots, Slash Gear reported Monday.

While Microsoft told CNET, "We are currently investigating reports of these incidents," it has been unable to offer users any advice or fix yet.

With Windows Phone 8 devices just starting to hit the market, the glitch is not good news for Microsoft, which launched Windows Phone 8 as a mobile operating system intended to take on dominant Android and Apple iOS phones.

No similar problems have been reported on phones running the earlier Windows 7 OS, CNET said.

Airline cabin crew to get tablet computers
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UPI) Nov 19, 2012 - Flight attendants on Emirates Airline are being given Windows 8 tablet computers with a built-in airline-specific business app, airline officials said.

The airline announced the move Monday during the Windows 8 launch event in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, home to the airline, CNET reported.

The HP ElitePad 900 tablets will use a business app called Knowledge Driven In-flight Service, or KIS, which can provide airplane, crew and customer information, officials said.

"To support our crew, we have created an application on Windows 8 that delivers a unique, personalized experience with the necessary information for our cabin crew to better serve the needs of customers," Emirates Cabin Crew Senior Vice President Kevin Griffiths said in a statement.

"The Windows 8 platform running on HP ElitePad 900 devices gave us this option, allowing us to create the KIS app that enables our crew to offer an experience not available on other airlines."

The airline said it would have 100 tablets in its planes by the end of January 2013 and 1,000 by the end of the year.

.


Related Links
Space Technology News - Applications and Research






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TECH SPACE
Samsung hits back at LG in patents row
Seoul (AFP) Nov 19, 2012
South Korea's Samsung has hit back at rival LG in a patents row over next-generation display panels, with both firms accusing the other of stealing technology and senior staff to grab a lead in the market. Samsung Display, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, asked a Seoul patents court last week to annul seven patents related to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel technologies held ... read more


TECH SPACE
China's Chang'e-3 to land on moon next year

Moon crater yields impact clues

Study: Moon basin formed by giant impact

NASA's LADEE Spacecraft Gets Final Science Instrument Installed

TECH SPACE
Martian And Terran History Finding a common denominator

Meteorites reveal warm water existed on Mars

NASA Rover Providing New Weather and Radiation Data About Mars

CU LASP package ready for MAVEN integration bound for Mars

TECH SPACE
NASA Selects Information Technology Flight Operations Support Contract

SciTechTalk: All work and no play?

Get some bed rest - all 21 days of it

Latest China military hardware displayed at airshow

TECH SPACE
Mr Xi in Space

China plans manned space launch in 2013: state media

China to launch manned spacecraft

Tiangong 1 Parked And Waiting As Shenzhou 10 Mission Prep Continues

TECH SPACE
Three ISS crew return to Earth in Russian capsule

Station Crew Off Duty After Undocking

Space station command changes

Russia restores space contact after cable rupture

TECH SPACE
France, Germany seek Ariane compromise at ESA space meet

ILS Launches the EchoStar XVI Satellite

Arianespace's fourth Spaceport mission with Soyuz ready for fueling

Ariane 5's sixth launch of 2012

TECH SPACE
Rare image of Super-Jupiter sheds light on planet formation

Astronomers Directly Image Massive Star's 'Super-Jupiter'

NASA's Kepler Wraps Prime Mission, Begins Extension

Lowell astronomer, collaborators point the way for exoplanet search

TECH SPACE
Bug repellent for supercomputers proves effective

Keeneland Project Deploys New GPU Supercomputing System for the National Science Foundation

Lockheed Martin Expands Range Of Cloud Computing Services for UK Government

Invisibility cloaking to shield floating objects from waves




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement