Dead Sea Scrolls come to life on the Web

Discovered in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been available for viewing only in a museum in Israel...until now.

Thanks to some expert digital photography and a project set up by Google, high-resolution photos of five of the seven original Dead Sea Scrolls can now be seen online. The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Web site offers a peek into the distant past, allowing people to view and examine the scrolls in fine detail.

Photographed by digital photographer Ardon Bar-Hama, the images contain as many as 1,200 megapixels, according to Google, so that people can zoom in to get a detailed view of the historic manuscripts.

Opening the page for one of the scrolls, such as The Great Isaiah Scroll, greets you with a description of the scroll, its history, and its meaning. Clicking on the photo of the scroll itself zooms in so that you can not only read the words but also feel the texture and age of the parchments themselves. Zooming it far enough even reveals some of the cracks, tears, and holes that have invaded the paper over the past 24 centuries.

You can easily scroll from one page to another or to a specific page. Hovering your mouse over any section of the parchment displays the specific verse you're reading. Clicking on that verse then provides an English translation of the ancient Hebrew text.
The scrolls are supposed to be searchable through Google's standard search engine, according to the company. Googling Dead Sea Scrolls followed by a specific verse should bring you to that verse's location in the photograph of the scroll. But when I tried this, I received just a series of standard search results with no link to the scroll.

The prospect of bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls to digital life came about last year when Google was asked to photograph the manuscripts for a project with The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, home to the actual scrolls.

Concerns were naturally raised about the vulnerability of the scrolls to photography after having been exposed to light and air for so long. Using his own unique method for capturing sensitive documents, photographer Ardon Bar-Hama was able to take pictures of the scrolls in a quick one-shot process, thereby protecting them from long exposure to the elements.

Written sometime from the third century to the first century BCE (Before the Common Era), the seven scrolls were uncovered in a series of caves near the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1956. The scrolls themselves "offer critical insights into life and religion in ancient Jerusalem," according to Google, "including the birth of Christianity."

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Amazon's press event, Wed. 7 a.m. PT (live blog)

After months of rumors, Amazon's big reveal is finally upon us. The Internet retailing giant has scheduled a Wednesday morning press conference in New York--but it has provided no additional information.

Odds are that we'll see the long-rumored Amazon tablet (which may or may not be called the Kindle Fire); possibly a refresh of the e-ink Kindle; and maybe some additional software and services to bolster those presumed new hardware devices (a streaming-video application would be a natural fit for the tablet, especially now that Amazon keeps bolstering available content to compete with Netflix).

CNET will be covering the press conference live. David Carnoy will be live-blogging from the event in Manhattan, and Buzz Out Loud will doing a special live simulcast from San Francisco with Molly Wood, Brian Tong, Stephen Beacham, and Bridget Carey. Join us right here on Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET for our complete coverage.

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A translation of Apple's iPhone event invite

Despite its usual brevity, Apple's event invite this morning leaves a lot to chew on.It goes without saying that the tag line "Let's talk iPhone" spells out that we'll be seeing the new phone from the company. The question is if there will be two new phones, something Apple's never done.

Also unclear is whether Apple plans to skip an update to its iPod line ahead of the holiday season, and if the "let's talk iPhone" tag line might also be talking about the much-rumored enhancements to Apple's Voice Control technology.

We'll know all there is to know come a week from today, when Apple's even kicks off at 10 a.m. PT sharp. In the meantime, here are some things to glean from the invite.
One phone, two phone?

On the invite, there's a missed call/voice mail icon, but it's just a number one. That would suggest we'll be getting just one new device, as opposed to two--a rumor that's been kicking around for years, but has picked back up in recent months in the lead up to a new device.
A Deutsche Bank analyst in June said that Apple was working on a two-phone configuration that would include a new, high-end model, along with a slightly improved iPhone 4 model for release this year. Evidence suggesting that might be the case surfaced a few days later, with a screenshot of a white plastic iPhone 4 model on Vietnamese site Tinhte--the same outlet that got ahold of the iPhone 4 ahead of its official unveiling.

More recently, there have been murmurs of two iPhone model offerings as part of deals being worked out with Chinese carriers, which are expected to stock the new iPhone when it's released. Confusing matters, there was also a high-profile report from J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz saying a new iPhone would be joined by a lower cost, souped up iPhone 4 model, and last year's iPhone 4 model, which would be sold alongside one another, giving Apple a three iPhone lineup. And former Vice President Al Gore certainly didn't help things last week, making mention of "new iPhones" arriving next month.

Following the invite send-out, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster weighed in on the matter, stating that the firm did not believe Apple would release two devices, and instead would be launching an iPhone 5, while selling older devices at a discount.
"We do not expect a low-end iPhone," Munster wrote in a note to investors. "Rather, we expect Apple to continue with a lead device (iPhone 5) that carriers sell subsidized for $199/$299 along with a previous generation device (iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S) for $99."
That matches up well with Apple's past iPhone sales strategy, which includes selling the 3G and 3GS alongside newer models of the device.

Whither iPod?
Of special note is the complete lack of mention about the iPod. Over the past several years Apple has held an event in September to take the wraps off a new line of devices, though the star of the iPod line continues to be the iPod Touch, which is effectively an iPhone without the phone.

The truth of the matter is that the iPod took a backseat to the iPhone as soon as it was announced, and the downward sales trend as a percentage of Apple's total revenue hasn't shown any signs of turning back up in the other direction.

Nonetheless people are still buying the media players, with the company selling 7.54 million iPods in its third quarter (the most recently reported quarter, Apple finished up its fourth quarter last week), a 20 decline from the same quarter the year before. That's compared to the 20.34 million iPhones it sold during the same quarter, which was a 142 percent gain year over year.

What more can Apple really do with the iPod though? Its models have gotten whittled away each year with slight tweaks and improvements, however in recent years Apple's been stuck juggling designs. That includes a return to button form with the iPod Shuffle after it's awkward buttonless design, and a complete overhaul of the Nano to move to a touch-screen design, while cutting features like video recording that were once highly-touted.

Apple's also run up against a wall with the iPod Touch, trickling down features from the iPhone as it gets its updates, but not enough to make the device more appealing than the iPhone itself. There's also the issue of having to time those iPod Touch releases with the iPhone's release, something that could be easier if a Touch update is simply rolled into next week's event.

Voice Control 2.0?
The double entendre du jour, the "Let's talk iPhone" tagline can be read beyond the obvious to suggest Apple plans to take the wraps off its long-rumored reboot of Voice Control. That's the voice recognition software that's shipped on the iPhone since the iPhone 3GS, and made its way into iPods as well.

The rumor mill's gone into overdrive about this in recent months, with reports from TechCrunch earlier this year that claimed Apple was working on a partnership with Nuance that would build advanced voice technologies into iOS 5, and presumably some extras for the next iPhone. Yet when iOS 5 debuted in June, the voice features were nowhere to be found.

More recently, reports from 9to5Mac have posted screenshots of a microphone icon sitting in the iOS software keyboard, while suggesting that the feature will let users launch apps, and navigate around the phone with their voice.

The rumor was of special interest given Apple's acquisition of Siri in April of last year, a company that mixes natural language processing, semantic Web search and speech recognition to translate voice queries into Web search based tasks. Before being acquired by Apple, the company created an application that could make use of voice commands and do things like book a taxi, or make restaurant reservations.

The move is highly expected given that Apple's been left in the dust by Google when it comes to advancing the voice-recognition technology on its mobile devices. As part of an update to its Android OS last January, Google added voice-recognition technology into Android's keyboard to let users transcribe voice into messages and Web searches, as well as use specific commands to launch applications. By comparison, Apple's Voice Control has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in 2009.

Stay tuned for details of our live coverage of the event next week. We'll be there and will be bringing you the news as it happens.

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Is Apple's App Store a cellular data hog?

It's no secret to iPhone and iPad users that watching movies and listening to streaming audio consumes the bulk of their wireless data plans, but what may surprise them is how much data they eat up looking for and downloading apps from Apple's iTunes App while on the go.

Onavo compiled a report of the apps that consume the most data on iOS devices.

A recent report from Onavo, which has developed an app for tracking data usage on iOS devices, indicates that simply looking for and downloading apps from Apple's iOS App Store can chew up about 13 percent of all data consumed in a monthly data plan.

The company analyzed 8 terrabytes of data it has gathered anonymously from iPhone and iPad users who have downloaded its app. While it comes as little surprise that the No. 1 data hog on the iPhone and iPad is streaming data and audio, usage of Apple's iOS App Store came in third place right behind Web browsing.

According to the report, the App Store accounts for more than 13 percent of all iPhone data usage in the U.S. each month. Three quarters of that data comes from downloads, while 24 percent is attributed to searches within the App Store.

Watching movies and listening to streaming music services, such as Pandora, accounted for about 35.3 percent of data consumed. And Web surfing ate up about 17.1 percent of usage.
Another surprising tidbit is that Facebook, which many people might assume consumes a good chunk of a monthly data plan, wasn't even in the top five apps that consumed data. After video and audio streaming, Web surfing, and Apple's iOS App Store, Google Maps consumed 8.3 percent of data, while e-mail consumed about 4.0 percent of total data. Facebook ate up only 2.8 percent of the total data for the month.

Other services that also didn't consume a high percentage of data in a monthly plan, according to this report, include voice over IP services and YouTube.
"VoIP sounds data-heavy, but actually most VoIP providers manage their data very effectively," Onavo said in its press release.

And even though streaming movies can eat up a good chunk of a monthly data plan, YouTube does a good job of compressing video for mobile users, making it one of the more efficient streaming services, Onavo said.

Onavo's report is interesting because it sheds some light on how real wireless subscribers are using their data plans. Understanding which applications are used most often and consume the most data is very important for consumers as wireless operators eliminate unlimited plans in lieu of usage-based data plans.

"Most people are blissfully unaware the App Store is hoovering up their data plan," Guy Rosen, co-founder and CEO of Onavo said in a statement. "iPhone users should be much more careful when downloading their Angry Birds--it's something best done at home, within the safety of Wi-Fi."
An Apple spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Onavo's report.
AT&T, which had the exclusive contract to sell the iPhone in the U.S. until February this year, was the first major wireless operator in the U.S. to move to a tiered offering for its smartphone customers. Verizon Wireless, which began selling the iPhone in February, discontinued its unlimited data service for new smartphone subscribers in July.

T-Mobile USA still offers an "unlimited" data plan, but it has begun limiting how much data its subscribers can use by slowing down service after customers hit a monthly usage threshold. AT&T has adopted this same plan for smartphone subscribers grandfathered into its unlimited data plan. And as Sprint is rumored to be getting the iPhone 5 when it's launched next month, there are some who speculate the carrier may ditch its unlimited data plan to ensure it can handle the anticipated traffic load associated with the iPhone.

Wireless operators that have put these data caps in place say that only a small percentage of their users actually exceed the defined limits. And data from companies, such as Validas, which tracks smartphone subscribers' data usage, backs up these assertions. In fact, most wireless subscribers are over-paying for data. And wireless operators say usage-based data plans are necessary to ensure that a small minority of customers don't consume more than their fair share of resources.

But one thing is clear, usage is increasing. Validas issued a report this summer that said Verizon Wireless customers have increased their usage by 150 percent over the past year. AT&T subscribers have increased usage by about 116 percent. What may be unclear and confusing to smartphone wireless subscribers, however, is what applications are actually eating up that data. Onavo executives say that is a key question that they can help consumers answer.

"Data addiction has taken hold across America, with U.S. smartphone users spending $55 billion a year," Rosen said. "Our monthly reports shine a light on where this money is going, so people can make informed choices about their data usage and save money."

Onavo has developed apps for the iOS devices as well as for the Google Android operating system. Primarily, these apps track and record how much data individual users are consuming. And they provide subscribers with the data in easy to read formats. The iPhone app also compresses certain types of data to help wireless subscribers conserve their data plans.

The app is available for iOS and Google Android devices. But the iPhone and iPad apps, which were developed before the Android app, also compress certain data to help subscribers' conserve bandwidth.

Based on the data from its first report, which included only usage from iOS users, Onavo came up with five tips to help consumers cut their mobile data bills.

Tip 1: Don't shop on the go
The App Store is one of the major drivers of mobile data--download your songs and apps at home over Wi-Fi, which is not counted in your monthly data usage plan. And Onavo experts say you save as much as 10 percent of your data.

Tip 2: Switch e-mail to manual
When e-mail is set to "push" your device is constantly checking for new e-mails and downloading them automatically. Change your settings to "manual" and get e-mails only when you want them.

Tip 3: Use mobile Web sites
Many Web sites have a mobile version which use much less data. Instead of www. try typing m. before the address instead.

Tip 4: Compress your data
Download a free app, such as Onavo, which can compress your data. The company claims it can save users as much as 80 percent of your data usage. You could also download and use a different browser, such as Opera Mini browser which automatically compresses Web pages.

Tip 5: Stream and download movies only when in Wi-Fi The biggest data hog is streaming videos. So instead of watching a movie over a 3G or 4G wireless network, make sure you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot.

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T-Mobile unveils Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G

T-Mobile USA today showed off what are likely to be its flagship phones for the rest of the year: Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S II and HTC's Amaze 4G.

Both phones will be available on October 12, with the Amaze 4G selling for $259.99 and the Galaxy S II selling for $229.99, with both prices coming after a $50 rebate and a two-year contract.

The two smartphones are the first to run on T-Mobile's newly upgraded network, which the company says is faster than most consumers' home Internet connection. While T-Mobile lacks the spectrum to build a true 4G LTE network, it has instead put its resources behind an upgraded version of HSPA technology that delivers a higher connection speed.

Because of the faster connection, T-Mobile calls its network 4G, putting it on the same level--marketing-wise--as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel. Cole Brodman, chief marketing officer of T-Mobile, said the phones should be able to average speeds at around 8 megabits per second, and peak speeds of 20 megabits per second--faster than the standard home DSL or cable connection.
T-Mobile has been aggressively cutting prices and putting out a number of affordable handsets in an effort to revitalize customer growth. The carrier is the fourth-largest player in the country and has dealt with several quarters of subscriber losses, partly due to the lack of eye-catching handsets, but also as a result of uncertainty caused by AT&T's planned takeover of the company.
In the second quarter, T-Mobile lost 50,000 net customers, largely due to the loss of 281,000 net contract subscribers, seen in the industry as the most lucrative segment.
Brodman, however, remained upbeat about T-Mobile's prospects.

"There's no better time to be a T-Mobile customer," he said in an interview with CNET today.
He said 75 percent of its device sales are now smartphones, and nearly a third of its base of customers use smartphones now.

T-Mobile's version of the Samsung Galaxy S II.

"We're seeing a rapid shift to the smartphone at T-Mobile," he said.
T-Mobile embarked upon a strategy to go after customers who have yet to move to a smartphone, a segment the company calls "affordable adopters" or "smartphone intenders."
"They want mobile technology, but are concerned by the ongoing costs and confused by the complexity," Brodman said.

That means competing against a broad swath of the industry, contradicting AT&T's argument that it doesn't consider T-Mobile competition. Brodman said his strategy affects all carriers, although he wouldn't outright dispute AT&T's claim.
"We fight against multiple fronts," he said. "We can't afford to compete against just one carrier."

Brodman reiterated that he believed the AT&T,T-Mobile merger would go through.
In the meantime, the company is trying to prop itself back up through a better selection of phones. The Galaxy S II is a variant of the original Galaxy S II that hit overseas markets. Sprint sells its own version, also known as the Epic 4G Touch, and AT&T's will hit the U.S. market next week.

The phone uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core chip, features a 4.52-inch Super Amoled display, and uses the Gingerbread variant of Android. Brodman said the phone is designed to be a media powerhouse, with shows and movies taking advantage of the handset's sharp screen.

The Amaze, meanwhile, will also have a Qualcomm dual-core processor and comes with HTC's Sense user interface. The device will be able to capture full high-definition video with its 1080p HD video recorder, features a 4.3-inch screen, and Gingerbread as well. In addition, the phone will have near-field communications capabilities, allowing it to eventually use a mobile-payment system at retail stores and New York cabs.

Brodman said the phone is intended for people who want to stay connected to their social networks.

In addition, T-Mobile said it plans to sell the Sonic 4G Mobile HotSpot in October.

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Heads up! NASA satellite descends toward fiery doom

NASA's decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, out of gas and out of control, is not descending toward re-entry as rapidly as expected, officials say, likely delaying the satellite's kamikaze plunge to Earth by a few hours, to late Friday or early Saturday.

Experts expect more than two dozen chunks of debris to survive re-entry and hit the ground in a 500-mile-long footprint somewhere along the satellite's orbital track. But given the bus-size 6.3-ton's satellite's trajectory and the vast areas of ocean and sparsely populated areas UARS passes over, experts say it is unlikely any falling debris will result in injuries or significant property damage.
Additional radar tracking is required to pinpoint when--and where--the satellite will make its final descent.

A chart showing the latest predicted entry point for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, based on data from U.S. Strategic Command. Because of uncertainty about the satellite's behavior as it approaches the discernible atmosphere, the timing of the re-entry could change by several hours either way.

"As of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 100 miles by 105 miles (160 km by 170 km)," NASA said in a brief update. "Re-entry is expected late Friday, Sept. 23, or early Saturday, Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite's rate of descent. The satellite's orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent.

A subsequent update from U.S. Strategic Command, which operates a global radar network used to monitor more than 20,000 objects in low-Earth orbit, predicted the satellite would re-enter sometime around 11:34 p.m. EDT Friday as the spacecraft flies over the southern Indian Ocean. But the prediction was uncertain by several hours and at orbital velocities of 5 miles per second, just 10-minutes of uncertainty translates into 3,000 miles of uncertainty in position.

For comparison, some 42.5 tons of wreckage from the shuttle Columbia hit the ground in a footprint stretching from central Texas to Louisiana when the orbiter broke apart during re-entry in 2003. No one on the ground was injured and no significant property damage was reported.
Tracking data is expected to improve as the day wears on, and subsequent updates should be more precise.

The centerpiece of a $750 million mission, the Upper Atmosphere Research satellite was launched from the shuttle Discovery in September 1991. The solar-powered satellite studied a wide variety of atmospheric phenomena, including the depletion of Earth's ozone layer 15 to 30 miles up.

The long-lived satellite was decommissioned in 2005 and one side of its orbit was lowered using the last of its fuel to hasten re-entry and minimize the chances of orbital collisions that could produce even more orbital debris. No more fuel is available for maneuvering and the satellite's re-entry will be "uncontrolled."

Nick Johnson, chief scientist with NASA's Orbital Debris Program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, told reporters last week he expects most of the satellite to burn up as it slams into the dense lower atmosphere at more than 17,000 mph. But computer software used to analyze possible re-entry outcomes predicts 26 pieces of debris will survive to impact the surface in a 500-mile-long down-range footprint.
"We looked at those 26 pieces and how big they are and we've looked at the fact they can hit anywhere in the world between 57 north and 57 south and we looked at what the population density of the world is," he said. "Numerically, it comes out to a chance of 1-in-3,200 that one person anywhere in the world might be struck by a piece of debris. Those are obviously very, very low odds that anybody's going to be impacted by this debris."

For comparison, some 42.5 tons of wreckage from the shuttle Columbia hit the ground in a footprint stretching from central Texas to Louisiana when the orbiter broke apart during re-entry in 2003. No one on the ground was injured and no significant property damage was reported.

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Blockbuster Movie Pass no Netflix killer

Anticipation was high that Dish Network would unveil a streaming video service through Blockbuster that would compete--and even possibly undercut--Netflix, which isn't exactly feeling the love right now. Instead, Dish announces a bundle of streaming videos; DVDs and games by mail; and access to premium movie channels--but only to Dish customers.

So those of you looking to leave Netflix in righteous anger over the way the company has treated you in the recent months might want to pause for a moment, because Blockbuster Movie Pass is no viable alternative. In hindsight, we probably shouldn't have expected too much. I mean, can we really rely on Dish, a company that depends on consumers paying a regular monthly fee for cable channels, to provide an answer to the growing horde of cord cutters?
"More Americans are demanding an easier way to view their video," Dish CEO Joe Clayton said during the company's presentation today.

Clayton is correct, but Blockbuster Movie Pass isn't the answer.
Essentially, it's a souped up Dish package. While I don't debate it's an attractive one, I doubt Dish's press conference would have garnered the media and consumer interest that it did had people known in advance what it was. We were looking for something radically different from Dish, but we got an incremental new service plan instead.

The package, which costs $10 a month for existing Dish subscribers or is free for a year to new Dish subscribers paying $39.99 a month or more, will be a boon to the 14 million existing customers and may attract some new consumers. But it's cold comfort for the vast majority of Americans who aren't Dish customers. That's particularly the case for consumers in major metropolitan areas such as New York, where satellite service isn't a legitimate option.
A Dish executive said during the conference that consumers still prefer to pay for this kind of service as an add-on to traditional pay-TV service. That kind of thinking misses out on the growing market of consumers who no longer feel that way--a segment that has been largely responsible for Netflix's explosion in popularity. Netflix, in comparison, has 25.6 million customers, but expects to lose nearly 2 million customers in the third quarter.
That Netflix is in the most vulnerable position it's been in for years makes this even more of a missed opportunity for Blockbuster and Dish. Dish has been taking advantage of Netflix's tarnished reputation, and said during the conference that it had signed up 500,000 Blockbuster subscriptions over the past 30 days. But it could have pressed the advantage even harder if it launched a legitimate competitor. The service also could have greatly expanded its potential customer base--something Dish badly needs.

The disappointment was apparent in some of the questions and the chatter during the presentation. More than one question involved Dish's plans to launch a service for non-Dish customers.

Dish executives hinted at a Blockbuster streaming service available to everyone. They said such a service was still in the works, and that they would save the details for a later event.
I'm not holding my breath.

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