6 ways to make mobile networks perform better
To achieve higher download and upload speeds, vendors and operators are planning to use a number of different technologies over the coming years in both HSPA and LTE networks.
At their core, many of these technologies are related to better coordination among base stations, and the introduction of smaller base stations to help networks keep up with an increasing volume of data.
However, many of these technologies will put even more strain on smartphone and tablet batteries. Another area where some smart thinking will be needed to ensure devices keep up with networks is antenna design.
"We have to trust that the technology will be improved" in these areas as well said Jan Färjh, vice president and head of research at Ericsson. Read more...
Android ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ arrives Oct. 19 in Hong Kong
The big Google-Samsung event to launch Ice Cream Sandwich -- postponed at CTIA earlier this week -- will take place next Wednesday in Hong Kong, according to an invitation sent by the two companies.
It will be held Oct. 19 in Hong Kong at 10 a.m. local time, which translates to 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday in the U.S.
While Android 4.0 was always rumored to be the subject of the event, it now seems certain, since the invitation shows off an Ice Cream Sandwich in the shape of the familiar Android creature.
Also, recent reports pegged Verizon Wireless as the exclusive carrier for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which would run on 4G LTE and Android 4.0. (The Galaxy nexus is also known as the Nexus Prime.) Read more...
Mozy ships hard drives to cloud backup customers
In an attempt to spur adoption of its MozyProcloud backup service, Mozy today shipped external hard drives to many of its small- to medium-sized business customers to speed initial system backups.
The new service, called Mozy Data Shuttle, is not dissimilar to what many enterprises do when creating offsite backups: the initial full backup is made to local hard drives, and then those drives are shipped to a disaster recovery site where the data is ingested by a storage array or tape library.
Mozy's Data Shuttle consists of a bright green 2TB Iomega hard drive with both USB 2.0 and eSATA connectivity.
After a customer orders the service, Mozy ships the customer a hard drive. As soon as the hard drive is connected to a system, it prompts the MozyPro customer to perform an encrypted full backup of the system. The customer can then use a pre-printed shipping label to ship the drive back to Mozy where the data is downloaded onto its servers. Read more...
Ruby on Rails 3.1 will make the apps run faster
Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson has released version 3.1 of his open-source Web application development framework, adding new features that should speed the rendering of Web pages for users.
Ruby on Rails 3.1 uses a new technology called Sprockets to speed JavaScript execution. Sprockets compiles all the functions that a Web application uses into a single file, which simplifies work for the developer and quickens the response time of the application.
Ruby on Rails also streamlines performance through another new feature, called HTTP Streaming. In short, HTTP Streaming allows the browser to start downloading a Web page's stylesheets and JavaScript even while the server is still generating other parts of the page. Read more...