Apple has included an early-warning service in the next version of its Japanese iPhones
Earthquake damage in Japan. Source: news.com.au
No one knows better than the Japanese what a difference a few minutes -- or even seconds -- warning can mean when a major earthquake or tsunami is on its way. That's why they have developed the world's most sophisticated early warning system.
9to5Mac reports that the latest beta of iOS 5 -- the new mobile operating system Apple (AAPL) is scheduled to deliver this fall -- includes a toggle switch on Japanese iPhones that, when flipped on, will alert users whenever it's time to take shelter.
GigaOm's Darrell Etherington points out that Japanese feature phones have been offering access to the same early warning service for several years. But he suggests that its appearance in iOS 5 beta may signal an initiative on Apple's part to provide localized warning services in other parts of the world. Mexico has a similar earthquake warning system, for example, and California is working on one that's expected to come online in 2013. Meanwhile, now that the iPhone's creaky notification system has finally been rewritten, perhaps Apple will start offering different kinds of built-in alerts -- wildfires in the American West, floods in the East, tornadoes in the MidWest, etc.
Apple and its main supplier of memory chips seem headed for "ugly divorce," says expert
Samsung Galaxy
The legal battle began in April when Apple (AAPL) filed a suit in California accusing Samsung of "slavishly" copying its iPhone and iPad designs has gone nuclear.
After trading suits and counter suits in several legal venues, from South Korea to the U.K., Samsung on Thursday took its case to the U.S. International Trade Commission MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jun 30, 2011 6:33 AM ET
Will California's law forcing out-of-state retailers to pay sales taxes help it raise hundreds of millions in revenue? Or will it just force Amazon's affiliates out of state?
FORTUNE - California Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed the so-called "Amazon tax" into law. The measure forces out-of-state retailers (not just Amazon) to pay taxes on sales within the state. Earlier on Wednesday, Amazon (AMZN) sent notices to its affiliates in California, MORE
Dan Mitchell, contributor - Jun 29, 2011 9:30 PM ET
Prices are zooming in the Bay Area as startups hire and new techies flock to town.
FORTUNE -- Whether we're living through another tech bubble remains hotly contested, but there's no denying its impact on one market: rental apartments in San Francisco. With Twitter, Zynga, and numerous other local startups hiring in droves, all those newbies need somewhere to live.
In the trendy SoMa and South Beach neighborhoods, says Paul MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Jun 27, 2011 5:00 AM ET
Inspired by Apple, Kevin Kelly riffs on the "California Style"
Source: The Technium
"We rightly understand," writes Kevin Kelly in his brilliant The Technium blog, "that how we arrange atoms is more important than what atoms we use. Same with information. The arrangement is more important than the ingredients. That's why we crave design."
The author of an enviable library of influential tech books (most recently, What Technology Wants) Kelly takes his MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jun 23, 2011 12:22 PM ET
In a legal tit for tat, Samsung's patent attorneys demand copies of the iPhone 5 and iPad 3
Photo: fudocom.com
What Apple watcher hasn't wished he could do what Samsung's lawyers did Friday night in a California federal court: File expedited discovery papers demanding "samples of Apple's next-generation iPhone and iPad."
It was the latest move in nasty patent fight that Apple (AAPL) started last month when it accused Samsung of "slavishly MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 29, 2011 10:39 AM ET
The company learned they had to accurately account for saving money in order to understand how they profit from green investments. Once they did, the figures were staggering.
Neil Hawkins, Dow Chemical's vice president of sustainability. Credit: Russ Curtis
FORTUNE -- Making chemicals takes energy -- a lot of it -- so the mere fact that Dow Chemical (DOW) can save a lot of money by improving their energy efficiency is MORE
Scott Woolley - Apr 5, 2011 11:25 AM ET
In California, open government collaboration saved $56 million on the state's website redesign project. The lessons learned there could ripple savings across every department -- and every state.
The California State Capitol. Image via Wikipedia
By John F. Moore, contributor
One thing about open government is that there's always more to learn. Carolyn Lawson, Director of eService, Technology Services Governance Division, in California, helped me learn a great deal about how open MORE
Dec 10, 2010 5:23 PM ET
Banker and philanthropist Tom Steyer says the idea of business doing everything perfectly without government involvement is "ridiculous." That's why he's fighting to convince politicians and CEOs that going green isn't a sacrifice, it's an opportunity.
Tom Steyer
Tom Steyer founded Farallon Capital Management and OneCalifornia Bank. He's also an environmentalist and philanthropist. He and his wife funded the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford University, devoted to researching sustainable energy, and the Steyer-Taylor MORE
Shelley DuBois, writer-reporter - Dec 8, 2010 12:07 PM ET
Apps for Californians was a contest to build the best tools to leverage government data for the public good. Besides creating new ways for citizens to understand their world, it also created new job opportunities and blueprint for the nation.
By John F. Moore, contributor
Image via Wikipedia
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was not talking about Open Government data or job creation when he spoke of, "government of MORE
Nov 11, 2010 12:31 PM ETEvery morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines. SUBSCRIBE
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
| Citigroup Inc | 32.36 | -1.00 | -3.00% |
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,938.67 | -27.02 | -0.21% |
| Nasdaq | 2,933.17 | -15.40 | -0.52% |
| S&P 500 | 1,357.66 | -4.55 | -0.33% |
| Treasuries | 2.00 | -0.04 | -1.96% |
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