PhotoForge: Slightly Less Than a Full-On Editing Power Tool

Perhaps appreciating an app like PhotoForge means making sure your expectations are in line. No, this isn't going to be a full-scale Photoshop-like experience, because the iPad isn't a desktop. What you'll get with PhotoForge is a collection of interesting effects, a set of basic and rather sophisticated image adjustment options, and an altogether agreeable middleweight photo editing program.

Photo editing programs can be real memory hogs on the desktop, so you might think that creating one for the iPad may be a little more than the jaunty tablet could handle. Surprisingly, the folks at Ghostbird Software have done an excellent job of delivering an app, PhotoForge, with an excellent of array of tools for massaging images.

Although the app's performance isn't as snappy as other kinds of programs on the iPad, it's more than acceptable when you take into account the demands graphics software places on a processor.

PhotoForge has a set of menus along the bottom of its main screen. There's a file menu for creating new images or opening photos from the iPad albums.

Beside the file menu are pop-ups for choosing brush shapes and sizes, as well as a color chooser. Brushes are used for drawing with the program and applying effects to photos. The color chooser defines a brush's color.

Drawing with the program has all the precision of finger painting. Using a gadget called the "Pogo stylus" -- something I picked up for poking the small icons on my iPod touch -- improves precision, but the tools for drawing are incomplete at best. For example, you can't fill areas of an image with the fill tool, only the whole screen. That's fine for tinting photographs, but a bit crude for drawing. 

Sophisticated Adjustments

There's also a menu for cropping photos. From it, you can rotate an image in 90- or one-degree increments, as well as flip it horizontally or vertically.

Cropping is pegged to particular aspect ratios -- 1:1 (square), 4:3, 3:4 (vertical), 16:9 (wide) and 2:3. The crop box can be resized by dragging its corners with a finger. However you resize the box, though, the result will always be in the aspect ratio you've chosen for it.

The filter menu can be used to make adjustments and add effects to images. Adjustments range from sophisticated to basic.

In the sophisticated department, there's a curves filter for controlling the brightness and contrast of an image within tonal spectrums and in color spaces like RGB, CYMAK and CIE LAB.

There's a levels filter for custom configuring a black and white point in the image or in a color channel. It also lets you experiment with the gamma value in a photo, as well as control when highlights and shadows start clipping to give you better control of the contrast in an image.

It even permits you to simulate high dynamic range (HDR) processing in a photo. HDR is a method for improving the detail in an image by manipulating its shadows and highlights.

On the basic level, there are typical tools for sharpening images, as well as controlling their brightness, contrast, exposure, vibrance, saturation and hue. If you don't want to fiddle with sliders and such, you can have the program analyze your image and make all the adjustments it thinks should be made to perfect the photo. Similar auto enhancements can be done just for the white balance or exposure of an image.

Splendid Filter Set

For shutterbugs who want to get creative with their photos, PhotoForge has a splendid set of effects filters. There are some old favorites -- Dreamy, which places a glow around an image's edges; Vignette (Nasdaq: VIGN); Emboss; and Negative -- and some new tech ones, like Heat Map and Night Vision.

In addition, there's a set of art filters -- water color, oil paint and pencil -- as well as black and white and sepia ones. There's even a lomo filter to give an image's colors an over-saturated lomography look.

At the top of PhotoForge's screen is a toolbar for drawing and manually touching up photos. It's where you turn on the brush feature, for example, or activate the fill tool.

A pan/zoom feature is located on the bar. It lets you enlarge or shrink an image with a pinch or spread and move the image by dragging it around the screen.

There are also tools for cloning pixels from one area of a photo to another, smudging pixels and picking colors directly from the image.

A very powerful tool is the eraser. Not only does it remove brush strokes, but it will nix effects and adjustments, too. That allows you to do things like turn a color photo into a black and white image, then erase areas in it that you'd like to emphasize with color.

PhotoForge is an agreeable middleweight photo editing program that will do the basics for you, as well as let you release your creative juices when you hear your muse calling.

Dell's 'Love Letter' to Linux: Now You See It, Now You Don't?

Dell gave Ubuntu Linux a wet, sloppy kiss on its Web site recently, asserting that the distro is just plain safer than Microsoft Windows. It was item No. 6 on Dell's list of things people should know about Ubuntu, and Linux lovers were pleasantly surprised by the candor. Within days, though, the mention of Windows had been removed. "To be honest, I'm surprised that Dell had that up as long as they did," said one blogger.

Well, it's been an emotional rollercoaster ride here in the Linux blogosphere in recent days, thanks to Dell's (Nasdaq: DELL) proclamation -- and then apparent retraction -- of its love for Linux.

"Ubuntu is safer than Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows" read item No. 6 on Dell's "Top 10 list of things you should know about Ubuntu" as recently the middle of this month. "The vast majority of viruses and spyware written by hackers are not designed to target and attack Linux," it added.

"Hoorah!" one might say. "At long last!"

Dell's uplifting words of endearment caused considerable joy and jubilation among Linux aficionados far and wide, including The VAR Guy, Network WorldDigg, among many others. and the rowdy crowd over at

Too bad it didn't last. 

'Ubuntu Is Secure'

Sometime between the June 16 and 21, apparently, Dell thought better of its little public display of affection and carefully reworded that particular item.

The new wording: "Ubuntu is secure," item No. 6 now reads. "According to industry reports, Ubuntu is unaffected by the vast majority of viruses and spyware."

Foul!

Bloggers everywhere could be heard expressing sentiments to that effect when the news broke, and Linux Girl was no exception.

"Boo!" was the word choice of Computerworld's Steven Vaughan Nichols, for example.

Redmond at Work?

"Comical" was Foogazi blogger Adam Kane's reaction.

Many others, not surprisingly, were unsuitable for publication.

It wasn't long, however, before all eyes -- and suspicions -- turned to Redmond.

To wit: "Did Microsoft Make Dell Take Back Love Letter to Linux?" was the question asked by The Consumerist, and that thought was echoed on countless other forums.

Linux Girl hastily picked herself up off the floor down at the blogosphere's seedy Broken Windows Lounge, where she had fallen off her bar stool upon hearing the news. Before long, a riot threatened to break out.

'I Doubt We'll Ever Know'

"I definitely think Dell's statement was retracted to protect their partnership with Microsoft," Foogazi's Kane opined.

"What I don't know, and would love to find out, is if Dell changed their tune due to pressure directly from Microsoft, or if one of the bigwigs at Dell noticed that it probably wasn't a good idea to make such a bold, albeit true, statement," he said.

"I doubt we'll ever know, though," Kane added.

'An Extraordinarily Bad Idea'

"To be honest, I'm surprised that Dell had that up as long as they did," Slashdot blogger Mhall119 told Linux Girl. "It's not that Microsoft would take objection to their saying nice things about Linux -- Dell is still saying nice things about Linux, after all -- it's that they were undermining the promotion of a competing product that they also sell."

The original wording, in fact, "was an extraordinarily bad idea from a business perspective, and somebody at Dell dropped the copy-editing ball by allowing it to be posted," he asserted.

'Dell Couldn't Survive Without Windows'

"Imagine if Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) ran an ad campaign for a sale on Pepsi products that listed one of the advantages as 'Pepsi tastes better than Coca-Cola!'" he pointed out. "I'm sure Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) would be pretty upset too."

In short, "as a business, you don't ever bad-mouth or undermine your suppliers or their products," Mhall119 concluded. "Especially when that supplier and those products are essential to the existence of your business.

"Wal-Mart could survive losing the right to sell Coke, but Dell couldn't survive without selling Windows," he asserted.

'There's a Certain Amount of Fear'

"My mid-level source inside Dell's sales division -- high up in a part of it that handles a form of Linux -- says that Microsoft gives them so much money that selling machines with Ubuntu isn't really worth the hassle," Slashdot blogger Daengbo offered. "He also says there's a certain amount of fear of 'upsetting the apple cart' and 'waking the sleeping giant.'"

Indeed, "M$ has sworn all its partners never to compare anything to their OS just as they forbid benchmarks in their EULA," blogger Robert Pogson agreed. "Thus, the page had to omit reference to that other OS.

"I think Dell should drop all references to that other OS, starting where they recommend it," Pogson added.

'Not Sure Why This Is a Big Deal'

On the other hand, "I'm really not sure why this is a big deal," Montreal consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack told Linux Girl. "Secure is such a nebulous word these days, and Microsoft could probably find some way their OS is more secure."

For Dell, "changing the statement means not having to face a lawsuit or price hike from Microsoft," Mack added.

"There is also the simple fact that if they advertise something as 'secure,' people will turn their brains off when using it and just assume they can run anything they download without obvious malware consequences," he added. "It may be much harder to write a Linux virus, but writing malware is still only as hard as getting someone to install it."

'It Was FUD'

To Slashdot blogger hairyfeet, Dell's original proclamation "wasn't a love letter, it was FUD," he told Linux Girl.

Ubuntu may be safer, "but you have to have a CS degree to run it," he explained. "If I lock a Windows box in concrete and bury it, the box will be pretty safe too, but not very usable. Same here."

Not everyone agreed, however.

"Linux is easier to secure and easier to use securely," Slashdot blogger David Masover asserted. "It's also cheaper to secure -- no antivirus, and upgrades are free forever, while Microsoft does eventually phase out support for old OSes.

"As long as Dell isn't saying something like, 'Windows is more secure than Linux' or 'Linux is not secure,' and as long as they're actually providing models they certify for Ubuntu, I'll definitely check dell.com/ubuntu before purchasing a computer," Masover added.

The Truth, on Video

Slashdot blogger Barbara Hudson, who goes by "Tom" on the site, took a similarly optimistic view.

In fact, she noted that in the embedded "Linux 101" video on Dell's Ubuntu page, at around the two-minute mark, Dell actually continues to assert Ubuntu's superior safety.

"There's a lot of reasons consumers like Linux," the video asserts. "No. 1: it's a powerful operating system. It can do lots of things very fast.

"It's extremely stable," the speaker adds. "It's very rare for the system to lock up or freeze -- there's no Blue Screens."

'Targeted to Attack Microsoft Windows'

Even more to the point: "It's safe and secure. Over 95 percent of viruses, spyware and other types of malware are designed and targeted to attack Microsoft Windows," the video asserts. "So, by definition, if you're not running Microsoft Windows and if you're running Linux, you just don't have to worry about malware and viruses and spyware."

Those are hardly the words of "a 'Dear John' breakup letter from Dell," Hudson pointed out. "Maybe someone decided to tweak the text on the Web page a bit so that the video doesn't sound like it's just regurgitating the ad copy, or vice versa?"

That may or may not be the story behind the change, but if nothing else, the fact that the video is still up should come as at least some comfort to friends of FOSS, Linux Girl would suggest. Dell's heart may no longer be right out there on its proverbial sleeve, but its love for Linux does appear to continue to burn bright.

Processor Claims Ratchet Up Tension Between Intel, Nvidia

The already chilly air between CPU maker Intel and GPU manufacturer Nvidia got a little colder recently when Intel engineers published a paper arguing that the GPU speed advantage has been greatly overstated. Nvidia claims Intel used old equipment and hasn't been transparent with the code it used; Intel says it used the most modern chips available at the time. Meanwhile, the pair's legal battle inches onward.

Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) are locked in a war of words over processor speed. The battle appears to have been triggered by a paper Intel engineers presented last week at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture in France.

That paper, entitled "Debunking the 100x GPU vs CPU Myth: An Evaluation of Throughput Computing on CPU and GPU," asserts that graphics processing units, or GPUs are, in essence, only 2.5 to 14 times faster than central processing units, or CPUs. Nvidia makes GPUs; Intel's focus is CPUs.

That kicked off a blog post by Andy Keane, Nvidia's general manager of GPU computing, claiming Intel's example uses old equipment and was unclear about what sort of code was used in the test.

Nyah, Nyah, GPUs Aren't That Fast

Many of today's throughput computing kernels have "an ample amount of parallelism," and that makes them suitable for today's multi-core CPUs and GPUs, the Intel paper states. In recent years, reports have claimed that GPUs work 10 to 1,000 times faster than CPUs on these kernels, the paper's authors said.

However, their performance analysis turned up different results. After applying optimizations appropriate for both CPUs and GPUs, the paper's authors found the performance gap between an Nvidia GTX280 processor and the Intel Core i7 processor narrows to a factor of only 2.5 on average.

In his rebuttal, Keane said the testers used the Nvidia GeForce GTX 280, which is a previous-generation GPU.

"The GeForce GTX 285 was available, so by using the GeForce GTX 280, they still did not use the fastest available Nvidia hardware," Keane told TechNewsWorld.

"Comparisons were made using the best available chips at the time of writing," Intel spokesperson Nick Knupffer told TechNewsWorld. The paper had to be submitted in November 2009, and both Intel and Nvidia have launched new products since then, he pointed out. Further, the code was optimized and the details were presented in the paper, Knupffer said.

"No one knows what code was run or what data was used during the test," Nvidia's Keane added. "Intel didn't release the source codes to either GPU or CPU kernels. The selection of what code and what data are used can be a significant factor."

Picking the Right Frame

"Throughout this paper, Intel is trying to frame this as a CPU versus GPU debate," Keane contended. "In fact, the developer community is moving towards heterogeneous computing, where a GPU is used to accelerate the application as a coprocessor to the CPU."

The CPU runs the operating system, access to the input/output system, and other parts of an application that are sequential and latency-bound, while the GPU accelerates the compute- and data-intensive parts, Keane explained.

"Nvidia strongly believes that both the GPU and CPU are necessary for a high-performance computing system," Keane stated.

"General-purpose processors such as the Intel Core i7 or the Intel Xeon are the best choice for the vast majority of applications," Intel's Knupffer pointed out. "While it's possible to program a graphics processor to compute on non-graphics workloads, optimal performance is typically achieved only with a high amount of hand optimization."

That optimization requires graphics languages similar to DirectX or OpenGL shader programs or non-industry-standard languages, Knuppfer said.

Flailing at Shadows?

In other words, Knupffer and Keane seem to agree that the CPU and GPU perform different tasks. Why, then, are Intel and Nvidia lashing out at each other?

"The fact that the GPU and CPU guys are going at each other just says that they're both looking for new applications for their technology," Carl Howe, director of anywhere research at the Yankee Group, told TechNewsWorld.

"They traditionally don't compete," Howe said. "The fact that the GPU and the CPU guys think they're in a competition for garden-variety software code just says that, maybe, their current markets aren't doing all that well."

Launching a Preemptive Strike?

Perhaps Intel's trying to set the stage in its favor in anticipation of an impending settlement of antitrust charges brought against it by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These focus on Intel's alleged anticompetitive practices against AMD (NYSE: AMD) and Nvidia. The AMD part of the suit has already been settled.

The FTC's charges follow on from Intel's bid in 2009 to exclude its latest chipsets, such as the Nehalem, from a 2004 licensing deal with Nvidia. Under this deal, Nvidia developed chipsets for Intel processors in exchange for Intel's licensing some of its graphics-processing patents.

That new approach hit Nvidia hard because its graphics card business is cyclical, and in 2009, chipsets were the healthiest part of its business. In October of 2009, Nvidia stopped developing chipsets that work with Intel's microprocessors. In March of 2010, Nvidia filed a countersuit against Intel. This seeks to terminate Intel's license to Nvidia's patents for graphics processing and three-dimensional computing technologies.

Earlier this week, Intel and the FTC suspended trial proceedings to work out a settlement. If the lawsuit is settled, Nvidia may win the right to resume making chipsets for Intel's microprocessors. That, perhaps, is what Nvidia is hoping for.

"We don't yet know the details behind the FTC's announcement, so it's premature for us to comment," Nvidia's Keane said. "We remain hopeful that any settlement will recognize Intel's history of impeding competition and innovation at the expense of consumers worldwide."

Google Rumored To Be Taking Another Swing at Social

Between Orkut, Buzz, and arguably a whole lot of other services, Google has its fingers in a lot of social media pots. What's its next social experiment? According to a rumor propagated by Digg Founder Kevin Rose, it's a Facebook competitor called "Google Me" that will launch in the near future. Google hasn't confirmed the information.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is getting ready to launch a brand-new social network called "Google Me," according to a rumor circulated Saturday on Twitter by Digg Founder Kevin Rose.

"Ok, umm, huge rumor," Rose wrote in his tweet. "Google to launch facebook competitor very soon 'Google Me', very credible source."

Google did not respond by press time to TechNewsWorld's requests for confirmation and comment. 

Kevin Has Had the Midas Touch'

"Any time Kevin Rose speaks (tweets), I listen," Lon Safko, social media entrepreneur and coauthor of The Social Media Bible, told TechNewsWorld. "Kevin has had the Midas Touch on many projects and is in the know."

Of course, "the mysterious tweet is still unsubstantiated," Safko noted. "So far all of my Google contacts are not picking up their office or mobile phones.

"I suppose this adds additional circumstantial evidence to Google's charges of trying to knock off another killer social app," he added.

200 Million Users?

However, given Google's existing Orkut and Google Buzz social networking services -- and the less-than-stellar success of the latter, in particular -- there's been widespread speculation as to what form a new contender might take.

One possibility, for instance, would be that Google plans to combine the two in its new offering, as The Next Web's Brad McCarty suggests.

"Knowing that a Google account is required to use Orkut, and a Gmail account is required for Buzz, we can safely assume that we're looking at roughly 200 million users to any service that would combine the two," McCarty wrote. "200 million is already half of the 400 million population of Facebook."

'The Odds Are Stacked Against' Google

Then there's also the possibility that Google Me will be the next step in the evolution of Google Profiles, as noted by The Huffington Post's Bianca Bosker.

Given Google's lackluster success with social networking so far, however, there's also plenty of skepticism about its chances of doing better a third time.

"The odds are overwhelmingly stacked against the search engine company," wrote GigaOm's Mathew Ingram, for example. "Despite its size and market clout, Google hasn't shown that it has any real understanding of how social networking actually works, or any idea what to do with it."

'It Didn't Really Get Social Media'

Google "has increasingly tried to 'socialize' its various sites and properties," Greg Sterling, founder and principal with Sterling Market Intelligence, told TechNewsWorld.

"For quite some time it didn't really 'get' social media," Sterling noted. "Now it's trying to integrate it at every turn, it would seem."

Its most successful social media site is YouTube, he added -- "and we could debate whether that qualifies as 'social media'. After that, its efforts have met with varying degrees of success, with Buzz being something of a miscalculation."

Indeed, Google has already tried to replicate many social applications over the past several years, Safko agreed. "Fortunately for the competition, Google's generic offerings have been as tempting as a can of Kroger's string beans."

'Unlikely to Put a Dent in Facebook'

It's hard to say what form Google Me might take, Sterling said.

"It could be a successor to Orkut or some merging of Buzz and Latitude or something else -- such as an upgrade or enhancement of Google Profiles," he explained. "It's unlikely that whatever appears, however, will be a direct challenger to Facebook.

"Regardless of what Google does," he opined, "it's unlikely to put a dent in Facebook's usage."

'The Next Monster Predator'

In the meantime, "I believe that Google has replaced Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) as the next monster predator," Safko asserted. "Google is the next Great White that smells blood and is circling Facebook's boat to bite off a larger piece of the social media ad rev.

"If I were Mark Zuckerberg, I would take this potential threat seriously," Safko concluded. "Let's see if Google's longstanding policy ['Don't Be Evil'] ... is remembered in this ad rev feeding frenzy."

One Giant Leap for an iPhone

The iPhone 4 is a big step up from the 3GS -- which was really just a small step up from the 3G, which was a small step from the original iPhone. Between the Retina Display, Facetime, the new camera and the speed improvements, there's a lot to like about Cupertino's latest handheld. You might have to mind how you're holding it, but that antenna issue is hopefully something Apple can fix with software.

Sadly it is now impossible to do a review of the iPhone 4 (iP4) without mentioning the antenna and the reported issues when you hold the iP4 -- which is a shame because there is so much more to the iP4 than the antenna.

Apple's iPhone 4

That is not to make light of the potential issue -- I just want to point out there is much, much more to the iP4. To start, there is the Retina Display, which is "clearly" the best screen on any smartphone, period. Then there is the improved 5 MP camera with a flash on the back, and the new front-facing camera. There is the Facetime app, there is a faster processor, double the RAM of the 3GS and better battery life.

But again, it is sadly the Antenna that is getting all of the attention right now.

Signal Issues

Per the antenna issue, let's get this out there up front: For those not in the know, there are many videos showing people touching the lower left side of the iP4. The number of bars on the upper left corner of the screen drops like a rock, and in some cases the phone looses all reception. I need to say this does not appear to be the case with all iP4s. Personally I have not seen this issue with my phone -- and I have a video up at todayinios.com showing me using it with my left hand and not being able to replicate the issue.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has responded and said it is a software issue in iOS 4 and not a hardware issue in the iP4. Clearly this is something Apple will need to address -- strongly and swiftly. Some have even started saying the iP4 has a hex on it -- given the issue of the lost iP4/Gizmodo and now this. The good news is if you have not already purchased an iP4, chances are you will not be able to get one until Apple does address the issue. So for you, the rest of this article is sans reference to the antenna issue and assumes that it is something Apple can address with a software update. 

Sadly it is now impossible to do a review of the iPhone 4 (iP4) without mentioning the antenna and the reported issues when you hold the iP4 -- which is a shame because there is so much more to the iP4 than the antenna.

Apple's iPhone 4

That is not to make light of the potential issue -- I just want to point out there is much, much more to the iP4. To start, there is the Retina Display, which is "clearly" the best screen on any smartphone, period. Then there is the improved 5 MP camera with a flash on the back, and the new front-facing camera. There is the Facetime app, there is a faster processor, double the RAM of the 3GS and better battery life.

But again, it is sadly the Antenna that is getting all of the attention right now.

Signal Issues

Per the antenna issue, let's get this out there up front: For those not in the know, there are many videos showing people touching the lower left side of the iP4. The number of bars on the upper left corner of the screen drops like a rock, and in some cases the phone looses all reception. I need to say this does not appear to be the case with all iP4s. Personally I have not seen this issue with my phone -- and I have a video up at todayinios.com showing me using it with my left hand and not being able to replicate the issue.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has responded and said it is a software issue in iOS 4 and not a hardware issue in the iP4. Clearly this is something Apple will need to address -- strongly and swiftly. Some have even started saying the iP4 has a hex on it -- given the issue of the lost iP4/Gizmodo and now this. The good news is if you have not already purchased an iP4, chances are you will not be able to get one until Apple does address the issue. So for you, the rest of this article is sans reference to the antenna issue and assumes that it is something Apple can address with a software update.

Urban Gardening, Part 2: Greenhouse Technology

Those who aim to grow plants and vegetables in a contained, environmentally controlled greenhouse have a lot of high tech tools at their disposal. Advanced materials, efficient lighting techniques, green energy production and computer software all come together to make indoor gardening take root.

These are not your grandpa's greenhouses.

Anyone familiar with common plastic-enclosed passive solar structures designed simply to hold plants over cold seasons or grow flowers and less-hardy fruits might be surprised about how these humble buildings have transformed into today's dynamic hydroponic "bio-structures."

The modern high-tech greenhouse represents the timely convergence of some of the most sophisticated scientific know-how available from a variety of industries -- agriculture, horticulture (the scientific cultivation of fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and ornamental plants in nurseries and gardens), energy (solar, wind and fuel cells), greenhouse manufacturing, hydroponics (soil-less growing), environmental control software, lighting, heating and ventilation, polymers and many more.

Properly built and operated, these state-of-the-art, computerized food producing machines can enclose valuable unused urban space in glass to produce abundant crops of commercially grown food for local consumption. 

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is a high-tech industry for the production of food crops, flowers, houseplants and medicinals within controlled environment greenhouse structures.

"Once food production is put on a rooftop -- or any confined area -- the need to develop intensive, high-productivity, year-round growing systems demands CEA technologies," said Gene Giacomelli, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Program at the University of Arizona.

CEA combines engineering, plant science and computer-managed greenhouse control technologies used to optimize plant growing systems, plant quality and production efficiency. CEA systems allow stable control of the plant environment, including temperature, light and CO2 (which plants must absorb in combination with water, nutrients and sunlight to produce the sugars vital for their growth). CEA also provides separate control of plant root-zone environments.

Computer-coordinated CEA activities include environment control (encompassing air temperature and movement, humidity, supplemental light and CO2 concentration) and mechanization and automation of operations that were formerly done by hand-mixing, fertilizing and placing root media, seeding and transplanting, nutrition management, hydroponic crop production, "fertigation" and material movement at harvest.

"Systems from many companies have been developed during the past 30 years to monitor and control greenhouses for flower and vegetable production," Giacomelli told TechNewsWorld. "They were developed to improve the capabilities of CEA, the quality of the products, the savings of labor allowed by automation, and the effectiveness of sensors that can at times more accurately determine the environment or climate of the crop, and then immediately make necessary changes."

Green Tech

A "gold standard" already exists for hydroponic greenhouses. The North American Greenhouse/ Hothouse Vegetable Growers (NAGHVG) was founded by leading North American greenhouse growers: Village Farms, Eatontown, N.J.; Windset Farms, Delta, British Columbia; Eurofresh Farms, Willcox, Ariz.; Houweling's Hot House Nurseries, Camarillo, Calif., and Delta, B.C.; and Gipaanda Greenhouses, Ladner, B.C. Based in Bellingham, Wash., the NAGHVG has developed a "Certified Greenhouse" program. Standards include:

• Every aspect of the growing process is monitored and controlled, from irrigation to climate control and growing medium.
• Vegetables can be protected from pollution, wildlife and other potential contaminants, which creates conditions for the safest possible produce-growing methods.
• Eco-friendly integrated pest management (IPM) is used.
• The greenhouses must be able to provide reliable supplies of produce throughout the year.

The NAGHVG's "Certified Greenhouse" program involves ongoing audits to ensure that certified producers continue to meet the standards set by the association. Certification is granted exclusively to greenhouse operations that comply with NAGHVG's definition of a greenhouse:

• Facility includes a fully enclosed permanent aluminum or steel structure clad either in glass or impermeable plastic for the controlled-environment growing of certified greenhouse/hothouse vegetables.
• Facility must use computerized irrigation and climate control systems, including heating and ventilation capabilities.
• Facility must use hydroponic methods and must grow produce in a soilless medium that substitutes for soil.
• Facility must practice IPM.

Greenhouse Hardware/Software

Computers can operate hundreds of devices within a modern greenhouse (vents, heaters, fans, hot water mixing valves, irrigation valves, curtains. lights. etc.) by utilizing dozens of input parameters, such as outside and inside temperatures, humidity, outside wind direction and velocity, CO2 levels and even the time of day or night. A computer can keep track of all relevant information such as temperature, humidity, CO2 and light levels. It dates and time-tags the information and stores it for current or later use. Such a data acquisition system enables a grower to gain a comprehensive understanding of all factors affecting the quality and timeliness of the greenhouse product.

Dozens of software developers have developed CEA-oriented applications. Major players include:

• Priva: automated climate and process control in the horticultural and building intelligence markets;
• Argus Control Systems: automated control systems;
• Hoogendoorn Growth Management: process automation systems;
• Micro Grow Greenhouse Systems: greenhouse environmental control systems;
• Link4 iGrow: intelligent environmental controllers.

Virtual Grower is a decision support tool for greenhouse growers to monitor plant growth and control energy management in greenhouses. It was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Application Technology Research Unit at the University of Toledo (Ohio). Users of the software can build a virtual greenhouse with a variety of materials for roofs and sidewalls, design the greenhouse style, schedule temperature set points throughout the year, and predict heating costs for over 230 sites within the continental U.S. Different heating and scheduling scenarios can be predicted with the input of a few variables, with accurate data based upon historical records collected by USDA monitoring stations across the country.

"Specific software is not important," said UA's Giacomelli. "But including it within a monitoring and control system that is dependable and effective is one of the most important aspects of CEA with emphasis on urban agriculture."

Solar and wind power are the two primary renewable energy forms most commonly used by greenhouses for energy sources that are "off-grid" -- not connected to an electricity distribution system. A third technology is fuel cells.

Solar Energy

Active solar greenhouses use supplemental energy to move solar-heated air or water from storage or collection areas to other regions of the greenhouse.

PVs are arrays of cells containing a solar photovoltaic material that converts solar radiation into direct current electricity. Materials presently used for photovoltaics include silicon, cadmium telluride and copper indium selenide/sulfide.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) are increasingly incorporated into new domestic and industrial buildings as a principal or ancillary source of electrical power, and are among the fastest growing segments of the PV industry. Typically, an array is incorporated into a building's roof or walls, and roof tiles with integrated PV cells can now be purchased. Arrays can also be retrofitted into existing buildings.

Productivity is also improving. Since flat solar panels only get direct sunlight for three to four hours per day, Sunflower Solutions developed a patent-pending manually adjusted solar power tracking system that dramatically increases the amount of sunlight that solar arrays can capture.

In addition to free-standing PV solar arrays, greenhouses can capture solar energy through the use of enclosures made of a special PV glass with integrated solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. The solar cells are embedded between two glass panes and a special resin is filled between the panes, securely wrapping the solar cells on all sides. Each individual cell has two electrical connections, which are linked to other cells in the module to form a system which generates a direct electrical current. This means that the power for a greenhouse can be produced within the roof and facade areas. Manufacturers include SCHOTT and Pythagoras Solar.

The growing demand for renewable energy sources has dramatically advanced the manufacture of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays in recent years. However, due to expenses related to implementation, use of solar electric (photovoltaic or PV) heating systems for greenhouses remains cost-prohibitive for most small businesses unless used to produce high-value crops.

Wind Power

Wind turbines are mechanical rotary devices that extract wind energy and convert it to electricity. In addition to traditional turbines utilizing familiar paddle-shaped blades, a new class of vertical-axis helical turbines from companies like San Diego-based Helix Wind have proven to be superior in producing electricity in the variable winds of urban environments. Using the twisted-ribbon shape of a helix, these generators overcome problems like noise, impact and price. Helical turbines are nearly noiseless because they spin at the same speed as the wind blowing into them.

Small "hybrid" electric systems that combine wind and solar technologies offer several advantages over either single system. Many hybrid systems are standalone units operated off-grid. For times when neither the wind nor the solar systems are producing, most hybrid systems provide power through batteries and/or an engine generator powered by conventional fuels, such as diesel. If the batteries run low, the engine generator can provide power and recharge the batteries.

Adding an engine generator makes the system more complex, but modern electronic controllers can operate these systems automatically. An engine generator can also reduce the size of other components needed for the system. The storage capacity must be large enough to supply electrical needs during non-charging periods.

Fuel Cells

Since traditional renewable energy technologies like solar and wind are often intermittent, greenhouse operators have turned to fuel cells as an energy alternative. Fuel cells convert air and nearly any fuel source like hydrogen, natural gas or a wide range of biogases into electricity via a clean electrochemical process, rather than dirty combustion. Even running on a fossil fuel, the systems are much cleaner than a typical coal-fired power plant.

Fuel cells are devices that produce a continuous electric current directly from the oxidation of a fuel, e.g., that of hydrogen by oxygen. They were invented over a century ago and have been used in practically every NASA mission since the 1960s. But until now, they have not gained widespread adoption because of their inherently high costs.

Legacy fuel cell technologies like proton exchange membranes (PEMs), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs), and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) have all required the use of expensive precious metals, corrosive acids or hard-to-contain molten materials. Combined with performance that has been only marginally better than alternatives, they have not been able to deliver a strong enough economic value proposition to overcome resistance.

Among the newest technologies is the solid-oxide fuel-cell (SOFC), available from companies like Bloom Energy and Technology Management. The technology is gaining wide acceptance due to its use of low-cost ceramic materials and its extremely high electrical efficiencies. In addition to their use as auxiliary power units in vehicles, SOFCs can be used for stationary power generation in greenhouses, with outputs from 100 W to 2 MW.

Developed originally by SOHIO/British Petroleum, the TMI system operates on a range of liquid and gas fuels and is designed for operation and maintenance by end-users without special tools, equipment or access to a trained service workforce.

SOFC is an ideal alternative energy technology of choice for greenhouse applications, according to Tim Madden, president of Akron, Ohio-based hydroponic greenhouse development firm Biodynamicz, which is integrating TMI's fuel cells into its designs.

"We're focused on SOFCs as auxiliary power sources because they're able to convert a wide variety of fuels like hydrogen, methane, butane or even gasoline and diesel, and because they do it with such high efficiency," Madden told TechNewsWorld. "TMI's SOFCs are attractive as energy sources because they're clean, reliable and almost entirely nonpolluting. And because there are no moving parts, the cells are vibration-free and quiet, which eliminates the noise pollution associated with power generation."

Fuel cell technology improvements are continuing to come from places like the automotive industry and so prices will continue to drop as production quantities increase.

Let There Be Light

As for the use of modern light-emitting diode (LED) semiconductor technology in plant grow lights, LEDs present many advantages over traditional lighting technologies like high pressure sodium (HPS) and High Intensity Discharge (HID).

When electric current flows through an LED, electrons travel through an energy "bandgap" in the diode crystal, releasing energy in the form of light. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light is determined by the materials used to make the LED. A single LED grow light directly replaces 600-watt HPS light while consuming 50 percent less energy and is rated for a lifecycle of 50,000 hours. Cool-running LED lights also eliminate the need for ballasts (current regulators in lamps), reflectors, noisy fans or expensive cooling systems.

Even though LED technology is more expensive than traditional HID lighting, the units require less maintenance, bulb replacement costs are eliminated, savings on energy costs start from day one of ownership, and total ROI is generally 12 to 18 months.

A recent IMS Research report stated that while Nichia, Osram Sylvania and Philips (NYSE: PHG) Lumileds remain the leading suppliers of packaged LEDs, they are being challenged by companies in Taiwan and Korea, notably Seoul Semiconductor.

Leading manufacturers of LED grow lights for greenhouses include LumiGrow and Lighting America of Ohio.

"Artificial lighting is too expensive to install and operate to be economical in vegetable production due to the high amount of natural sunlight needed, especially for crops like strawberries and tomatoes," Verti-Gro's Tim Carpenter told TechNewsWorld. "LED light does not offer a full spectrum of light for flowering vegetables and fruits. LED for commercial use is a ways off but is improving rapidly, especially for vertical growing. I believe there will still be a need for a substantial amount of real sunlight in order to produce vegetables and berries profitably."

BioDynamicz' Madden likes LED lighting in greenhouses.

"The light produced from an LED source is better absorbed by plants, and greenhouse growers have been trying for years to eliminate hot HID fixtures because heat can damage crops," he explained. "LEDs solve that problem."

2010: A Space Policy

The President of the United States laid out his administration's plans for the country's space exploration efforts Monday, with an emphasis on international cooperation and the commercial space industry. Reactions were mixed. Supporters agree there's a definite need to pool efforts with other nations around the globe; critics say the U.S. shouldn't relegate itself to a secondary role in space research.

The Obama administration on Monday released a new space policy for the U.S. that emphasizes international cooperation and the advancement of the commercial space industry.

"No longer are we racing against an adversary; in fact, one of our central goals is to promote peaceful cooperation and collaboration in space, which not only will ward off conflict, but will help to expand our capacity to operate in orbit and beyond," President Obama explained. 

Mars and Beyond'

Debris and other hazards associated with satellite technology were another concern mentioned by Obama, who asserted the imperative that the nation keep its work in space "responsible, sustainable, and safe."

Focusing on the "boundless possibilities of the future," meanwhile, Obama reiterated the need to further the commercial space industry "to rapidly increase our capabilities in space while bolstering America's competitive edge in the global economy."

Finally, the administration's policy also seeks to improve study of the earth "to gain new insights into our environment and our planet," to ramp up robotic and human space exploration "with our sights set on Mars and beyond," and to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and engineering, Obama said.

Arms Control a Possibility

The new policy "reaffirms the longstanding and bipartisan U.S. policy that we are open to space-related confidence building and arms control concepts and proposals, provided they meet the rigorous criteria of equitability, effective verifiability, and consistency with our national security interests," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.

The State Department will support the policy by expanding its work in the United Nations and elsewhere to address the growing problem of orbital debris, for example, and by pursuing "pragmatic transparency and confidence-building measures to mitigate the risk of mishaps, misperceptions, and miscalculations," she added.

Outside Washington, reactions to the new policy were mixed.

'Still-Powerful International Distrust'

"These fine words collide with still-powerful international distrust, exemplified by the recent flap over China's role as a potential partner," NBC News space analyst James Oberg wrote in an analysis on Monday, for example.

"Expanding cooperation merely for the sake of cooperating, as a goal in itself rather than a means toward a goal, can become an empty (but potentially costly) gesture," Oberg added.

Similarly, the policy "fundamentally says we will help all others to be successful and relegate the USA to a secondary role of technology work," Paul Czysz, a professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at St. Louis University, told TechNewsWorld.

"What we needed was what is anathema to President Obama: The USA is to be first along with its NATO partners," Czysz added.

'To Explain and to Inspire'

On the other hand, international collaboration "is indeed necessary," Mario Livio, senior astrophysicist with the Space Telescope Science Institute, told TechNewsWorld.

With science as "an important driver," meanwhile, "the goal always was and should remain to explain and to inspire," Livio added.

For Randa Milliron, CEO and cofounder of Trans Lunar Research and Interorbital Systems, "the potential for domestic space sector revitalization is always good news," she told TechNewsWorld.

"This hot new policy stands in stark contrast to that of the previous administration," Milliron added.

Personal Satellite Kits

Interorbital Systems develops and manufactures low-cost, state-of-the-art orbital launch vehicles and satellites for private, commercial, government and military applications. Among its offerings, for example, are an US$8,000 TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit and ultra low-cost Neptune Orbital Launch Services.

With more than 30 global launch partners and an inaugural launch slated for the first quarter of 2011, IOS's commercial space program "will immediately fulfill some of the National Space Policy's mandates," Milliron asserted -- specifically, "more international cooperation and a launch price-point that allows open orbital and interplanetary access to anyone who practices the peaceful use of space," she said.

Leaked Slides Provide Sneak Peek at Windows 8

Facial recognition, improved boot times and a promotion strategy that takes notes from Apple are a handful of things Microsoft will focus on in the next version of Windows, according to a set of leaked PowerPoint slides that appear to belong to the company. Microsoft, however, has not confirmed or denied the authenticity of the material.

A set of PowerPoint slides that appear to contain details about the next version of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows operating system surfaced Monday.

The slides indicate that Microsoft plans to tackle the long-running problem of Windows' slow start-up time, in addition to placing cutting-edge technology such as facial recognition in the new operating system.

Questions remain, however, about the authenticity of the material.

The slides, dated April 2010, first surfaced on the Italian Web site Windosette. They apparently made their American debut on a site called "Microsoft Journal" that appeared to have been removed from the Windows Live platform Monday afternoon.

Microsoft Mum

"The only way we will ever know if these slides are authentic is if Microsoft comes out and says they are -- and that's not likely to happen," said Michael Cherry, vice president of research, operating systems, with the independent analyst firm Directions on Microsoft.

"We're looking into this, but we do not have a comment at this time," Rachel Hass, a member of the Microsoft public relations team, told TechNewsWorld.

Several of the slides remain available for viewing on the Microsoft Kitchen site operated by Stephen Chapman.

"I'm quite confident these are the real deal," Chapman wrote on his site. "I just feel bad for the poor sap who either leaked these or inadvertently shared these with the world."

If the slides are genuine, they reveal that, among other things, Microsoft wants to apply certain strategies that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has used successfully in developing and promoting Windows 8.

A slide titled "How Apple Does it: A virtuous cycle" says Apple has created value that leads to product satisfaction, which in turn leads to brand loyalty. The slide concludes with the words, "This is something people will pay for!"

Seeking Brand Loyalty

This slide is not an indication that Microsoft feels Apple's technology is superior, but rather that Apple has done a better job of getting customers to identify with its products, Chapman said in an interview with TechNewsWorld.

"Apple has cultivated a unique loyalty to its brand," Chapman said. "How many Windows stickers have you ever seen on the back of a car? Now, how about Apple logos? Ultimately, that brand loyalty equals money, and I think Microsoft is just looking to tap into Apple's market."

The leaking of this presentation could hurt Microsoft's chances of building brand loyalty if they mention features that consumers find appealing and those features don't make it into the final version of the operating system, Cherry surmised.

"The problem with dealing with leaked documents is that they don't tell us what stage of development the new operating system is in," Cherry told TechNewsWorld. "It could be a problem if they're in the Blue Sky stage, where almost anything is on the table. There's a danger of building expectations for things that ultimately don't get delivered."

If the leaked documents can be believed, the things Microsoft currently plans to deliver include letting users log into the operating system by looking into a Web camera, faster start-up times and greater support for wireless technology.

A Reliable, Repeatable Process

Faster start-up times "have been in every Microsoft plan since Windows 95," Cherry said, indicating that is something that might not make it to the final version of Windows 8. "Everybody is looking at biometric identification," he added. "With Web cams now widely available, facial recognition makes sense."

Where Microsoft runs the biggest risk -- particularly if it hopes to build brand loyalty -- is if it missed the stated 2012 date for delivering the new operating system, Cherry said.

"Microsoft needs prove that it can deliver operating systems in a reliable and repeatable fashion," he remarked. "They had some trouble getting Windows Vista out on time. They did pretty well in that regard with Windows 7. Now, they have to prove they can do it again with Windows 8, or whatever the next version is going to be called."

MOTOROLA R11 REPLICA MOST LUXORIOUS PHONE IN THE WORLD !!!

Communicate in style and have the sexiest phone in the palm of your hand. Unraveling this stylish unlocked GSM slide mobile phone that comes with dual SIM slots and a bonus 2GB micro SD card.

Exuberant aesthetics merging design and performance into a single cellphone. This slide mobile phone is not to be taken lightly. Built with high grade aluminum and an internal integrated firmware allowing for a completely new style of navigational menu infrastructure. Above all, this diamond in the rough cellphone comes completely unlocked, and works on the global four frequencies 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz. Meaning, world wide GSM connectivity.

With its attractive looks and excellent performance, the front screen menu system is designed for simple accessibility of the cell phones functions to make things easy for the end user. If you are looking for a mobile phone that simply stands out from the rest, but still retains power, performance, style and the overall essential aspects of today�s digital cell phones, then look no further. This is the perfect cell phone for you. This phone comes with a mini SD card slot, hands free Bluetooth communication, and features two SIM card slots, allowing you to use two active phone numbers in one single mobile phone.

Besides its primary functions of enhanced communication, you can also use the cellphones media feature set to listen to FM radio, take photos with the built in camera, and use this mobile phone as an MP3 player to listen to your favorite tunes. In addition, the easy to use intuitive menu interface gives you easy access to all the onboard communication features with dedicated keys for faster accessibility. The user menu icons are distributed around the screen just like numbers on an analog clock. By pressing the right button, the menus around the screen will rotate clockwise and, when you press left, the screen rotates anti-clockwise.

Users can take comfort in the fact that this phone comes with one of the most sought after features in today's cellphones, that is vibration feedback on user input commands, along with caller ring tone, video and picture. When you slide the cellphone screen down, a very attractive image of a classic analog watch appears on the screen with date, time and day, adding to the special look of this cellphone. The feel of this mobile phone in the palm of your hand is extremely comfortable, that you will instantly find yourself mastering the use of the entire menu feature set in no time.   At a Glance...

• Slide Phone
• Backlight key Pad
• Dual SIM, Dual Standby
• Interactive Menu interface
• Quadband, works world wide
• Heavy gauge aluminum casing
• Fully unlocked digital cell phone
• Beautiful design, very fashionable
• Comes with Bonus 2GB Micro SD Card

Features / Specifications

• Primary Function: Quadband Digital Slide Phone
• Color: Dark Silver
• Materials: Aluminum
• Screen: Round LCD Display Screen, 1.5 Inch in diameter
• Touchscreen: No
• Vibration Feedback: Yes
• Dual SIM: Yes
• Key Pad Backlight: Yes
• Style: Classic, Slide Phone
• Battery: Rechargeable 3.7v Lithium 1000mAh Battery
• Charging Method: Wall AC Adapter or USB connection to PC
• WAP Enabled: Yes
• SIM Card Types: 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G
• Mobile Internet: Yes, Via WAP
• Caller Picture: Yes
• Caller Ringtone: Yes
• Caller Video: Yes
• Bluetooth Type: MTK BT DEVICE
• Supported Service Profiles: Handsfree, Headset, OPP, FTP, A2DP, AVRCP
  
• On Board Buttons/Slots
  - Key Pad
  - Speaker
  - MIC
  - Dial Button
  - Hang Up Button
  - Navigate - UP, Down, Left, Right Buttons
  - Camera
  - OK Button
  - Return Button
  - Micro USB Input
  - Camera
  - Micro SD Card Slot (Beneath Battery)
  
• Main Menu Interface: Phone Book, Messages, Multimedia, Time Table, Organizer, Services, Settings, Camera, Call Center,

Multimedia

• Video Player Specifications:
  - Supported Formats - MPEG 4 (AVI), 3GP,
  - Options - Sort By, Storage, Play, Forward, Rename, Delete, Delete All Files
• Audio Player:
  - Supported Formats - AAC, WAV, MP3, MIDI
  - Audio Player - Bluetooth Stereo Output, Background Play, Shuffle, Repeat
• Image Formats:
  - Supported Formats - BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG
• Still Camera:
  - Resolution - 160 x 120, 240 x 320, 640 x 480, 1024 x 768, 240 x 320
• Video Recorder: - Resolution - 176 x 144 
  - Recording Format - Motion JPEG (AVI)
• Voice Recorder: - Format - AMR, WAV, AWB
  - Quality - Low, High
  - Forward, Delete, Delete All Files, Play, Record
• FM Radio
  - Frequency: 87.5MHz to 108MHz (worldwide)
  - Background Play: ON / OFF
  - Loudspeaker: ON / OFF
  - Channel List, Manual Input, Preset Auto Search, Settings
  - Record Function: YES
  - Record Format: AMR, AWB, WAV
  - Record Audio Quality: Low, High
• Playing Time (music) approx: 6-8 hours
• Playing Time (video) approx: 3-4 hours
• Standby Time approx: 48-72 hours (depending on use)
• Battery Charge Time approx: 3 hours
• Languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Deutsch, Greek
• Dimensions: L:105 x W:50 x D:18 (mm) - L:125 (When Open)

Product Notes

• The Star Button (*) Increases the volume, and the Hash Button (#)Decreases the volume
• Intuitive menu navigation
• Excellent design, built and functionality
• Made with hi grade aluminum, not cheap plastic
• Simple user interface, and unique internal menu navigational structure
• Fully unlocked phone! Use with any carrier, network, and SIM card(s)
• Note: Adding a caller video to a contact will disable the ringtone of the caller as the video will also have audio. The caller picture and ringtone work just fine together.

Package Contents.

• Unlocked Quadband Digital Slide Phone
• Earphones
• USB Cable
• x2 - 3.7v Lithium Battery 1000mAh
• Power Adapter - 100-240v
• User Manual - English

Original Motorola Cost is 1.5lacs