This year, the first smartphones will be shown with Ubuntu OS, το λειτουργικό σύστημα ανοικτού κώδικα που έχει αναπτύξει η βρετανική Canonical. Όπως ανακοίνωσε η εταιρεία, τα αρχικά μοντέλα θα κατασκευασθούν από την κινεζική Meizu και την ισπανική bq, ενώ θα ενσωματώνουν hardware που θα τα κατατάσσει στη μεσαία κατηγορία από την άποψη των τεχνικών χαρακτηριστικών και της τιμής, κοστίζοντας 200-400 δολάρια. Παρόλο που η δημιουργός του Ubuntu OS has secured the support of several providers around the world (such as Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone), the devices will be available online via the British company and the two manufacturers online. An element that will differentiate mobiles with Ubuntu OS from the rest of the smartphone is that they can also be used as conventional PCs when combined with a screen, a keyboard and a mouse.
GARTNER RESEARCH
New reduction in PC sales
The "plunge" in computer sales will continue this year, which will decrease by -6,6% until the end of the current year, research firm Gartner points out in a study. According to the study, the reason is that many buyers will choose to get a new tablet over a PC, a consumer trend that has been around for at least five years. Thus, the market of tablets will show an increase of 38,6% in 2014, with sales reaching 270 million devices. However, Gartner estimates that this year will be the last year of a mass shift to tablets, since from 2015 many consumers and businesses will prefer a conventional or hybrid computer, weighing their needs differently. The company also predicts an increase for this year in smartphone sales, which, however, will be much smaller, since it will not exceed 4,9%.
FUJITSU
Identification from the palm
A different biometric technology will be used in the new professional laptops that will soon be released by the Japanese Fujitsu, as the laptops will identify their owner by the veins in his palm. For this purpose, the user should hold his hand at a height of a few centimeters above the PC, so that a special sensor "scans" the palm with infrared radiation and "reads" the complex shape created by the veins. The branching of the vessels is unique to each person, while the technology to read it has been developed for five years by Fujitsu, which has already used it in ATM machines in Japan. Its pristine appearance on a laptop is due to the fact that the Japanese company has meanwhile managed to reduce the dimensions of the required components. In fact, he plans to shrink their size even further so that they can even be integrated into smartphones.
