TECHnology

By Cornelius A. Fortune

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

S

Changing graphics, animating words

ome might have called it inevitable but the emergence of e-books and digital comics has been a slow grind of “Are you serious?” and “Real readers want to feel an actual book (or comic) in their hand.”

This is increasingly not the case. Though there are many purists out

there, the truth is by giving e-readers and the recently launched iPad’s li- brary more verisimilitude, we are finally staring at a possible future; the apotheosis of the digital reading age.

When Marvel comics first launched its

digital comics line on www.marvel.com I tried it for a few weeks but ultimately the reading experience (on my laptop), just wasn’t the same. The concept was sound – taking entire cata- logues of popular characters and making them

EXAMPLES OF Marvel Comics’ new App for the iPad.

available at a significant re- duction in price – but still, the comfort level was low. And despite some of the zoom and interactive fea- tures, it didn’t feel at all like a comic book.

Now Marvel has released an App spe-

cifically for the iPad as well as the iBook App, which in theory should give Sony and Amazon (the leading e- book companies) not only a run for its money, but if Apple has its way, a decline in sales.

From what I’ve seen with both Apps, it’s a vast

improvement over reading comics on the PC, and the iPad’s iBook App has the general “feel” of turning a page.

Still, whether backlit or mimicking a book,

there simply is no substitute for printed books and comics. There is, however, an- other way of looking at this: Why must one supplant or be at odds with the other?

Having a catalogue of 300 books at my

See MARVEL page B-2

Safari

iPad is the best way to experience the Web. View whole pages in portrait or landscape on the large Multi-Touch screen. And let your fingers do the surfing. Learn more

Mail

There’s nothing like the Mail app on iPad. With a split-screen view and expansive onscreen keyboard, it lets you see and touch your email in ways you never could before. Learn more

Photos

A vivid LED-backlit IPS display makes viewing photos on

iPad extraordinary. Open albums with a tap. Flip through your pictures one by one. Or play a slideshow and share your photos. Learn more

Videos

The 9.7-inch high-resolution screen makes iPad perfect for watching HD movies, TV shows, podcasts, music videos, and more. Learn more

YouTube

With the YouTube app designed spe- cifically for iPad,

See IPAD page B-2

SECTION

April 7-13, 2010

B

Apple releases iPad

The iPad will possibly emerge as one of the biggest products to hit 2010. The following are some descriptions from Apple.

All of the built-in apps on iPad were designed from the ground up to take advantage of the large Multi-Touch screen and ad- vanced capabilities of iPad. And they work in any orientation. So you can do things with these apps that you can’t do on any other device.

Blu-ray vs. DVD

Will Blu-ray replace DVDs?

Yes, that’s the expectation. The Blu-ray format has received broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to to- day’s DVD format. In fact, seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) have released titles in the Blu-ray format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month. For more information about Blu- ray movies, check out our Blu-ray movies section which offers information about new and upcoming Blu-ray releases, as well as what movies are currently available in the Blu-ray format. How- ever, the two formats (Blu-ray and DVD) will most likely co-exist for quite some time until HDTVs become more widespread.

Will Blu-ray be backwards compatible with DVD?

Doug Doggett

Keeping your identity safe online

By Doug Doggett

We are living in the age of technology

where information is just a click away. We can easily get access to journals, be in touch with our friends who are miles away, and shop in the comfort of our homes. However, this easy access to information has some disadvantages as well. This has led to security breaches and an increase in online identity theft. The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reported that 8 million Ameri- cans were affected by breaches in the first quarter of 2008 and about 54 mil- lion people were affected in 2007.

If you are not cautious enough, you

can easily become a victim of online identity theft. It is booming because

hackers are at a much lesser risk of getting caught. It’s difficult to trace hackers in that they can access your confidential information while being thousands of miles away.

When you sign up for an e-mail ac-

count you provide essential informa- tion such as name, address and e-mail addresses. For online banking, you need to provide Social Security num- bers to make your financial transac- tions. Thus, your system ends up stor- ing confidential information such as your name, telephone number, home address, bank account number, routing numbers, Social Security number and history on every website you visit.

This information is stored in your computer’s browser cache, browser

history, hidden system files, system registry, user directories, program di- rectories, root directory and recycle bin. An identity thief can easily access this personal information and misuse your identity, causing severe financial loss. It can also hamper your social image and personal relationships.

To ensure your privacy, always erase

your Internet data such as websites vis- ited, cookies, history, and confidential information including passwords, ID’s, banking and credit card information. Choose strong passwords while surf- ing the Net and always keep your pass- words secret.

While downloading files from the In-

See ONLINE SAFETY page B-2

Yes, several leading consumer electronics companies (including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Pioneer, Sharp and LG) have already demonstrated products that can read/write CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs using a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical head, so you don’t have to worry about your existing DVD collection be- coming obsolete. In fact, most of the Blu-ray players coming out will support upscaling of DVDs to 1080p/1080i, so your existing DVD collection will look even better than before. While it’s up to each manufacturer to decide if they want to make their products backwards compatible with DVD, the format is far too popular to not be supported. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc device to be backward compatible with DVDs.

Why should I upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray?

The simple answer is HDTV. If you’ve ever seen high-definition (HD) video on an HDTV, then you know just how incredibly sharp the picture is and how vivid the colors are. In fact, HD offers five times the amount of detail compared to standard-definition

See BLU-RAY vs. DVD page B-2 Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32