Tech Today w/ Ken May

Today, Apple released a Mac OS X security update offering protection from the recently surfaced malware known as Mac Defender (and a few other similar names). It protects you by isolating files known to be associate with Mac Defender, but since the malware continues to evolve it may not protect you fully. Nonetheless, be sure to run Software Update on your Mac as soon as you can as this added protection certainly won’t hurt. If you’re looking for additional security, be sure to check out our Non-Alarmist Guide to Mac Malware Protection and ways to avoid Mac Defender altogether . More

Simple webapp Friends to Gmail converts your Facebook friends list into a Gmail-compatible CSV file complete with birthdays, location, bios, work history, and hometown. What’s the point? As the developer points out: More

The “ultimate 3D monitor?” Likely a stretch, but who are we to argue with a stalwart like ViewSonic ? All jesting aside, those looking to finally bite on the 3D value proposition can get ready to do so, as the 24-inch V3D245wm-LED monitor packs a built-in 3D emitter, an HDMI 1.4 input, 1080p resolution, 120Hz scanning rate, two millisecond response time and a brain-melting 20,000,000:1 “maximum contrast ratio.” For those looking for something a bit more bantam, the PLED-W200 is also being (re)introduced here at Computex , claiming to be the planet’s first WXGA pico projector. ‘Course, we got an early peek of this very unit back at CES, but hopefully we’re one step closer to actually seeing this one ship. Sadly, the outfit’s not dishing out pricing or release dates, but hopefully both will be revealed shortly. Continue reading ViewSonic equips 24-inch V3D245wm-LED monitor with built-in 3D emitter ViewSonic equips 24-inch V3D245wm-LED monitor with built-in 3D emitter originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

As part of its keynote at Computex today, Intel unveiled a pair of new sleep-related technologies, though funnily enough, neither of them is particularly boring. Smart Connect checks up periodically on web apps you have open while your computer is in sleep mode — meaning that email clients and in-browser web apps like Twitter and Facebook will update themselves without the need for you to flip the computer on in full. Updates will be ready and waiting for you when you get back. Rapid Start is a new hibernation mode that can resume within 5 to 6 seconds and can remember your computer’s state with zero power. Though, admittedly, the zero-power operation doesn’t look like it can be maintained for too long, the hibernation itself can keep your computer going for up to 30 days. Pretty neat stuff. It’s all coming to Sandy Bridge laptops with Windows 7 soon, with widespread availability promised by the holidays. Intel Smart Connect and Rapid Start technologies unveiled, coming by the holidays originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 02:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

SanDisk has been pumping out press releases all day thanks to Computex-mania , so we shuffled past its stall to see what all the fuss is about. The biggest news is the U100 range of tiny SSDs for ultraportables, which crank data in and out at twice the speed of SanDisk’s previous generation P4 drives . We’re talking 450MB/s reads and 340MB/s writes thanks to the latest SATA III interface, plus a max capacity of 256GB — specs which have already enticed ASUS to use the U100 in its lightweight UX-series notebooks. Mass production is expected in Q3 of this year. Specs table and triple-shot of PR coming up after the break, plus a gallery showing size comparisons of the U100 SSD in its glorious mSATA and Mini mSATA varieties, stacked up against some common objects like a 2.5-inch SSD drive, an HP Veer , and a vaguely goth bracelet. Meanwhile, SanDisk hasn’t forgotten about our desperate need for faster tablets. The company has doubled the speed of its existing iNAND embedded flash modules, and is also releasing a brand new SATA III drive, the i100, specifically for this form factor. The i100 maxes out at 128GB and achieves a significantly slower write speed (160MB/s) than the U100, but it has same impressive read speed (450MB/s) — which should mean nippier tablets in the not-too-distant future. Gallery: SanDisk U100 mSATA SSD hands-on Continue reading SanDisk outs faster U100 and i100 SSDs for ultra-portables and tablets, we go hands-on SanDisk outs faster U100 and i100 SSDs for ultra-portables and tablets, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 09:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Pop over to iCloud.com today and you’ll see a doomed web page. The domain, which redirects to Xcerion’s CloudMe software, is sitting on some prime real estate, namely Apple’s new iCloud service. In a short release, Apple confirmed the existence and name: Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering. We’ve been hearing about the potential cloud services for months now and it seems the stars have finally aligned. The MobileMe service recently received some considerable upgrades to improve performance and stability and there has been oodles of talk about a potential music service in the cloud similar to Rdio or Spotify. That we now know it’s called iCloud, officially, is just icing on the cake. What will iCloud include? It will probably be a considerable revamp of the Me.com services including calendar and email syncing. As TUAW notes, many parts of MobileMe will probably be available for free leaving us to wonder what the rest of the service will include. We’ve also discovered that Apple is signing partners to offer what amounts to a mirrored version of your iTunes database, a service that will be considerably improved over current “locker”models used by Amazon and Google. However, there are currently plenty of those cloud-based sharing services on offer, which suggests Apple may have a trick or two up its sleeve. This would probably also replace the nearly useless iDisk offering currently available with MobileMe. With competitors like Dropbox, the old ways just won’t cut it. We’ll be there live on Monday June 6 but until then get out your prophesying hats and start prophesying in comments!

It’s pretty easy to cool down an overheating desktop computer with an extra fan, but what do you do if there’s no air? That’s the hurdle NASA ‘s engineers are hoping to clear with a new prototype pump that the agency unveiled last week. The pinkie-sized instrument relies upon a technology known as electrohydrodynamic (EHD)-based thermal control, which uses electric fields to inject coolant through small vents on a thermal cold plate, before moving the extra heat to a radiator and spreading it far away from any temperature-sensitive areas. With no moving parts, the lightweight cooler uses only about half a watt of power and can be sized to work with small electric components or lab-on-a-chip devices. The challenge is to make sure that the pump can survive the vibrations of a rocket launch, though NASA will put it to the test during a rocket mission on June 9 and in 2013, when an EHD thermal cold plate will be placed on the International Space Station . Start your countdown clock and blast past the break for a full press release. [Thanks, Kevin] Continue reading NASA’s new cooling pump doesn’t need moving parts, set to chill out in space next month NASA’s new cooling pump doesn’t need moving parts, set to chill out in space next month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink