Nokia Creating Win 8 Tablet, 3D Phone?

A patent application filed by Nokia shows a dual-screen device capable of
rendering 3D objects.

Nokia may be working on several additional products for Microsoft outside
Windows Phone 7, one being a dual-screen device capable of rendering 3D
images and a Windows 8 tablet. Both devices are unconfirmed, but the
dual-screen device has actually shown up in a patent application called
"Autostereoscopic Rendering and Display Apparatus" published on April 21.

According to the filing, the apparatus comprises of a sensor configured to
detect the position and orientation of a user viewpoint with respect to an
auto-stereoscopic display. There's also a processor configured to determine
a surface viewable from the user viewpoint of at least one 3D object, and an
image generator configured to create a left and right eye image "for display
on the auto-stereoscopic display dependent on the surface viewable from the
user viewpoint."

Based on the image, it appears that one screen will render the 3D image and
the other screen will render 2D imagery like shadows and reflections which
changes as the eye level changes. There's no indication that the user will
need special glasses for this holographic effect to work-- we're betting
Nokia is planning to use the same tech found on Nintendo's new 3DS platform
(or a better version).

As for the Windows 8 tablet, that should be expected given Nokia's recent
marriage with Microsoft. The news arrives as a mere rumor from Eldar
Murtazin who claims that Nokia is churning out at least one Windows 8 tablet
slated for 2012 or 2013 at the latest. There's also talk that Nokia will
still release Symbian-based devices in 2012 while creating Windows Phone 7
phones for Microsoft, possibly between five to seven mid-to-high end
devices. Maemo 6 is a "dead horse," with only 92000 units produced.

Nokia is reportedly aiming for 21-percent of the smartphone market share
worldwide in 2011, and 27-percent of the mobile phone market overall.

Apple plans to move laptops from Intel to ARM processors

A new rumor claims that Apple plans to ditch Intel processors to instead
adopt the ARM architecture currently found in devices like the iPhone and
iPad.

Apple's alleged move to ARM processors is expected to take place "as soon as
possible," likely when 64-bit variations are available at the end of 2012 or
by early 2013,according to SemiAccurate (via MacRumors. The site is run by
Charlie Demerjian, previous editor of U.K. tabloid The Inquirer.

Though SemiAccurate is not a frequent source of Apple rumors, the site did
report in July 2009 that Apple was moving away from Nvidia chipsets at a
gradual pace. Currently, Apple's new MacBook Pros and iMacs exclusively
feature AMD Radeon graphics, or Intel's integrated option.

In addition to laptops, the report said that Apple would "presumably" be
looking to move its desktop Macs to ARM architecture as well. It
characterized the transition to Apple-made chips for its line of computers
as a "done deal."

"Now you realize why Apple is desperately searching for fab capacity from
Samsung, Global Foundries, and TSMC," the report said. "Intel doesn't know
about this particular change of heart yet, which is why they are dropping
all the hints about wanting Apple as a foundry customer. Once they realize
Apple will be fabbing ARM chips at the expense of x86 parts, they may not be
so eager to provide them wafers on advanced processes."

The rumor comes just days after a report indicated that Intel could be
interested in building mobile chips for Apple, like the A5 processor found
in the iPad 2. Intel currently makes the CPUs powering Apple's notebooks and
desktops, but Apple has turned to ARM processors for a range of devices,
including its iPods, Airport base stations, and iOS devices, including the
new Apple TV.
Apple even entered the chip designing business starting with the A4
processor that powers the iPhone 4 and first-generation iPad. Apple gained
the ability to design its own systems-on-a-chip through the acquisition of
PA Semi for $278 million in 2008.

Even Microsoft has plans for the ARM architecture in the future, as mobile
devices offer longer battery life with the low-power chips. The Redmond,
Wash., software giant revealed at this year's Consumer Electronics Show that
the next version of its desktop operating system, Windows 8, will run on the
ARM's architecture.

U.S. Economy Adds Jobs, but Unemployment Rate Rises

companies added more jobs than expected in April, but the unemployment rate
rose for the first time in five months and the economy's recent slowdown is
likely to keep a lid on gains.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 244,000 last month as the private sector posted the
strongest employment gain in five years, the Labor Department said Friday in
its survey of employers. The March data were revised upward to show an
increase of 221,000 jobs, from a previous estimated gain of 216,000.

However, the unemployment rate—which is obtained from a separate household
survey—rose to 9.0% last month from 8.8% in March. It was the first increase
in the jobless rate since November, when it hit 9.8%.

The mixed data weren't what analysts expected. Economists surveyed by Dow
Jones Newswires had forecast payrolls would rise by 185,000 and that the
jobless rate would remain unchanged at 8.8%.

Even though the economy started growing almost two years ago, the pace has
been too slow to make up for ground lost during the recession of 2008 and
the first half of 2009. The economy has added some 1.5 million jobs over the
past year, but there are still seven million fewer jobs than the U.S. had
before the downturn. A slowdown in growth in the first quarter is expected
to keep companies from ramping up hiring in future months.

Friday's report showed private-sector employers, which account for about 70%
of the work force, added 268,000 jobs in April, the biggest rise since
February 2006. In March, employment in the private sector rose by 231,000.

The jobs breakdown from the employers survey showed continued gains in
manufacturing, mining and the service sector. Manufacturing added 29,000
jobs after a gain of 22,000 in March. In the services sector, the biggest
increases were in retail trade and professional and business services, as
well as education and health. Employment in the battered construction sector
posted another meager gain, and the housing sector remains a drag on the
economy.

Government employment fell by 24,000, mainly because of declines in state
and local governments, which are struggling to close their budget gaps.

Since the first-quarter slowdown, brought about by higher oil prices that
hurt consumer spending and raised business costs, there have been more signs
over the past month that the economy may be losing steam. The number of
Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose sharply, hitting the
highest level since last summer in the last week of April. The services
sector saw a steep decline in activity and a similar slowing in jobs growth.

The Federal Reserve last week kept its credit tap wide open to boost the
economy and jobs, a policy that has been criticized for stoking inflation.
Chairman Ben Bernanke believes the rise in commodity prices is likely to
prove temporary and said the Fed will be looking "very closely" at the labor
market to decide when to raise interest rates from close to zero.

A broader measure of the unemployment rate, which includes people who
stopped looking for work and those settling for part-time jobs, rose to
15.9% in April from 15.7% the previous month.

In another sign of the challenges still faced by the labor market, the
report showed 43.4% of unemployed Americans, or nearly six million people,
were out of work for more than six months in April. The longer someone is
without a job, the harder it is to find work.

Americans' incomes, which are crucial to fuel the spending needed to boost
the economy, remained subdued. Average hourly earnings of all employees rose
just $0.03 to $22.95. Over the past year, earnings have increased by only
1.9%. Higher prices for gasoline and groceries are squeezing consumer
spending.

Meanwhile, the average workweek for all employees on private payrolls was
unchanged at 34.3 hours in April.

Hacker Claims To Have The PS3’s Front Door Keys

 Luke Plunkett — Famed hacker George "GeoHot" Hotz, who among other things helped crack the iPhone, reckons he's found what are essentially the keys to the PlayStation 3. And has posted them online for the world to see.

While a group claimed last week that they'd done much the same thing, and were in the process of releasing tools to allow people to install Linux on their system, GeoHot has gone a step further and simply published the PS3's "root key".

The root key is a signature of sorts, that lets the PS3 know that the program that's about to run on the console is a legitimate piece of software. If it's now out there, then once people start messing around with it, they'll be able to whip up anything - be that custom software or pirated games - and trick the console into thinking it's OK to load.

Crucially, because this key lies at the very heart of the PS3 hardware itself, it appears that if it has been cracked, it will be almost impossible to repair (even via firmware updates), as altering the existing key would run the risk of rendering all existing PS3 software inoperable.

Meanwhile, the team from last week's news - fail0verflow - have as promised released some "PS3 development tools" for hackers to mess around with. If the homebrew scene is your scene, and you'd like to take a look at what the PS3 can do without Sony calling the shots, you can find those here.

We've contacted Sony for comment and clarification, and will update if we hear back.