While attractive, capable new smartphones emerge regularly from competitors, a new iPhone deserves special attention for two reasons. First, the device lies at the center of a huge ecosystem of 225,000 apps, plus popular related gadgets like Apple’s iPod Touch connected media player and iPad tablet, which collectively are approaching 100 million units sold. Second, the iPhone’s multitouch, gesture-based interface; elegant Web browser; sophisticated music and video playback; and other features have been emulated on many competing devices, so what Apple does affects the whole industry.

I’ve been testing the iPhone 4 for more than a week. In both hardware and software, it is a major leap over its already-excellent predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.

It has some downsides and limitations—most important, the overwhelmed AT&T network in the U.S., which, in my tests, the new phone handled sometimes better and, unfortunately, sometimes worse than its predecessor. I’ll get into that below. But, overall, Apple (AAPL) has delivered a big, well-designed update that, in my view, keeps it in the lead in the smartphone wars.

The iPhone 4 is a dramatic redesign. It manages to pack a radically sharper screen; a second, front-facing camera; a larger battery; a better rear camera with flash; and a faster processor into a body that is 24% thinner, a bit narrower, and retains the same length and weight as its predecessor’s. In fact, Apple claims that the iPhone 4 is the world’s thinnest smartphone and sports the world’s highest-resolution smartphone screen.

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The blog cites an anonymous tipster who claims the next Apple TV has been described as "an iPhone without a screen," containing only two ports — the power socket and the video-out — and the same internal architecture as an iPhone (A4 CPU).

The next Apple TV is also rumored to feature 16GB of Flash storage and support for 1080P HD.

The device will cost only $100, according to the tipster — significantly lower than the current $230 system. Engadget did not provide a time frame of when to expect the device.

Most interestingly, Engadget claims the device will have a strong focus on cloud-based media, meaning most video you view will be streamed from the internet.

That’s plausible, given that Apple is building a gigantic data center and the company recently acquired streaming-music service Lala. Some sources have also said that Apple is planning to reboot iTunes into a streaming media center.

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Now let’s say it’s 2012 and you’re trying to decide whether to buy an Apple iPhone 4GS or a Google Nexus Three. You might be able to make a better choice this time.

That’s because the International Imaging Industry Association, a consortium involving more than 30 companies, is working on a test that will use a five-star rating and a basic accompanying chart to judge image quality.

It may seem like a simple idea, but it’s pretty important. That’s because the nature of mobile-phone photography is changing dramatically.

Once upon a time, mobile-phone cameras didn’t see much use beyond teenagers mugging for the camera and maybe sending each other the photos for viewing on another mobile phone.

But now mobile-phone cameras are getting good enough to store precious memories, too. That means viewing them on bigger screens, printing them, and saving them for more than a fleeting moment.

"As [mobile-phone photography] gets to older people, it will get more important," said Nicholas Touchard, vice president of marketing for image quality evaluation at the French company DxO Labs, after a speech at the Image Sensor Europe conference here. Touchard represents DxO in the consortium.

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The eminent nuclear scientist said, "Education is a route to enlightenment and a tool for empowerment. If carried out effectively education can transform our youths into a huge human capital and make India one of the most powerful nations in the world."
Stressing on the need for making orientation of students India-centric, he said, it is necessary that the orientation of students should remain India-focused and not focused to the west.

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The engineers behind the latest in ambient occlusion, digital intermediate processing, sub-pixel offsets and micro-positioning platforms were celebrated at a Saturday night gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and hosted by a very unscientific Elizabeth Banks.

The 36-year-old actress joked that she would "read — yet not fully understand — our journey through the scientific and technical awards."

Wearing a sparkling white gown and standing in front of four giant Oscar statues, Banks presented 15 plaques and certificates to scientists from Germany, Sweden, Austria, England, New Zealand, Hungary, Denmark, Japan and the United States.

The men were honored for developing systems to improve color on film, advancing performance-capture technology, creating new means to light actors in computer-generated scenes and building high-tech scanners used in modern filmmaking. You may have seen the results of their work in films such as "King Kong," "The Lord of the Rings," "Spider-Man 2" and "Iron Man."

While the March 7 Academy Awards ceremony will be all A-list glitz and televised glam, the Sci-Tech Awards are an off-camera, low-key event, with one humble scientist after another taking the stage and nervously thanking his family and colleagues.

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But there is also a new distance, a new curiosity about what she will do, given that she is no longer just Ursula.

She is Ursula M. Burns, the C.E.O. And even though she became chief executive in July, taking the baton from Anne M. Mulcahy, she has been keeping a low profile, spending months working on the details of a huge Xerox bet, the $6.4 billion acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, an outsourcing company.

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Visitors to technology blog Gizmodo are being warned that they could have picked up more than tips about the latest must-have gadget.

According to security firm Sophos, the website was delivering advertisements "laced with malware" last week.

A statement on the Gizmodo website admits that it was tricked into running Suzuki adverts which were in fact from hackers.

It follows a similar problem on the New York Times website.

Last month the New York Times’ website was targeted by a gang of hackers who purchased ad space on the site by posing as internet telephone company, Vonage.

In both cases the adverts served up fake anti-virus software – known as scareware.

Scareware attempts to convince users that their computer is infected with viruses and trojans, and tricks them into downloading "remedies" which are harmful and can be used by criminals to get at information such as credit card details.

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A group of the world’s largest internet companies has written a letter of support to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The letter is the latest in an ongoing debate about "network neutrality" – or how data is distributed on the web.

Some internet providers have called for a tiered system, in which bandwidth-heavy data like videos travel slower.

The FCC is opposed to this and wants to preserve an open internet in which all data is treated equally.

The letter, signed by the chief executives of Google, Ebay, Skype, Facebook, Amazon and Sony Electronics among others, says that maintaining data neutrality helps businesses to compete on the basis of content alone.

"An open internet fuels a competitive and efficient marketplace, where consumers make the ultimate choices about which products succeed and which fail," the letter read.

It’s the first foray into charging for books for the Californian company, which began its Google Books program in 2004.

Tom Turvey, head of Google Book Search’s publisher partnership program, said the price per book would be set by their publishers and would start with between 400,000 to 600,000 books next year.

"It will be a browser-based access," Turvey said Thursday at the 61st Frankfurt Book Fair. "The way the e-book market will evolve is by accessing the book from anywhere, from an access point of view and also from a geographical point of view."

Google will collect 55 percent of the profits, Turvey said, giving a "vast majority" of that to retailers, and the rest will go to the publisher.

"Google Editions allows retail partners to sell their books, especially those who haven’t invested in a digital platform," he said. "We expect the majority (of customers) will go to retail partners not to Google. We are a wholesaler, a book distributor."

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