Apple has released the iOS 4.3 OS update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices, adding AirPlay support for third-party applications and a new personal Wi-Fi hotspot feature.

Among the updates is a new Nitro JavaScript engine for the Safari browser which promises much faster performance for web applications. Sunspider benchmarks have since appeared showing a greater than two fold speed boost.

iOS 4.3 gives the iPhone 4 the ability to act as a personal Wi-Fi access point for tethering other Wi-Fi capable devices. The feature counts as tethering so it’s subject to the feature being available per operator and is generally a chargable service.

Other features include AirPlay enabling the transmission of videos from the camera of iPhones and iPhone Touches to Apple TV devices. The enhanced AirPlay support also adds the ability of third party applications to stream content to Apple TV, a feature expected to be greeted with widespread support in iOS media apps.

The update also enables iOS devices to share iTunes collections, with streaming over Wi-Fi from a host PC or Mac negating the need to copy songs to the device.

Owners of older generation iPods and iPhones will sadly lose out with iOS 4.3 being limited to third-generation iPhone Touches and later as well as the iPhone 3GS and later.

The update is now available on iTunes for Apple device owners. Apple has more on the iOS site.

Major notebook manufacturers may delay the launch of tablet devices based on the competetive $499 price of the Apple iPad 2, claims a report.

Apple’s aggressive pricing has apparently left PC notebook vendors with “no room for survival” faced with the prospect of launching higher priced devices, according to a DigiTimes report.

Citing sources within the “notebook players”, the DigiTimes said that expected “tablet PC war” due in April may result in the faster, thinner and lighter iPad 2 having the market to itself.

Apple’s move to discount the first generation iPad to $399 has proved to be particularly problematic with the notebook manufacturers not yet having a product on the drawing board tht can meet the specifications at the same price.

Manufacturers headed back to the drawing board to redesign products, alter specifications and reduce manufacturing costs would result in a delay of up to two months before tablet PCs arrive.

Previously announced models may fail to arrive at all and the delays may mean that the entire non-Apple market struggles to reach 20 per cent market share, according to the report.

Apple is preparing to unveil a second generation iPad at an event next week according to multiple online reports.

The 2nd of March event was initially reported on by AllThingsDigital, claiming ‘several sources’ for the San Francisco unveiling of the iPad 2.

The sequel to Apple’s 15 million selling tablet is widely tipped to be lighter, based on a more powerful system-on-chip, sport a front facing camera and boast some form of improved display, although not as high resolution as initial rumours.

Speculation has mounted on whether Apple CEO Steve Jobs will appear.

Jobs is currently on medical leave while the US tabloid media published photos purporting to show a skeletal Jobs emerging from a Californian cancer treatment center, leading to ghoulish speculation that the Apple chief has just weeks to live.

Following a £30m investment, almost 90 per cent of broadband users in Northern Ireland are set to obtain super fast broadband by next year.

Speeds up to 40mb/s will be available as the firm invests in more than 2,400 fibre broadband cabinets, creating up to 60 jobs in the process the telco said.

The roll out will mean that Northern Ireland will be one of the ‘best connected places in the world’, BT said. 88 per cent of lines to homes and businesses will be linked to the new fibre broadband cabinets.

“This is a great moment in Northern Ireland’s broadband story,” said BT Northern Ireland boss Graham Sutherland.

“High-speed fibre broadband is transformational, it changes how we live, how we educate, how our businesses send their products and ideas around the world.”

The network will be available for any ISP to resell and BT said that thirteen had already signed up to offer access to the fibre network.

A new mystery data connection, rumoured to be included on the iPad 2 and an unannounced new  MacBook Pro, will be capable of ultra fast transfers exceeding 10Gbps.

Named ‘Light Peak’ and developed in co-operatively between Apple and Intel, the new tech will transfer data at twice the speed of the fledgling USB3 connection, which tops out at 4.8Gbps

Although the touted speeds seem excessive, it would reduce the lengthy time required to sync iPods and iPhones with home computers. With syncing a key element in Apple’s mobile devices strategy, such a high-speed port would be a worthwhile investment.

A new MacBook Pro carrying Light Peak is rumoured to be shipping this week. Apple have halted all current orders for the laptop until new models arrive this Thursday, Geek.com reports.

Apple has made no announcement regarding either Light Peak or potential new products.

As with previous Windows SBS products, SBS 2011 Standard is a bundling of the Windows Server operating system with Exchange and SharePoint. There’s also an integrated console to simplify management in companies with limited technical expertise, plus remote access facilities to support mobile users.

All of these come in for attention in the 2011 release starting with the operating system, which gets upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2. Likewise you now get Exchange Server 2010 SP1 complete with Outlook Web App for browser-based email access, and SharePoint 2010 Foundation Services with its Office-like ribbon interface, plus proper support for browsers other than Internet Explorer.

The management console also comes in for a revamp, as does remote access. The Remote Web Workplace option becomes a SharePoint application with a new name, Remote Web Access. Extra functionality has also been added in the form of SkyDrive-like connectivity to remote files from a browser.

Unfortunately you always have to install from scratch, as there’s no option to upgrade an existing server to the new release. Instead, anyone looking to upgrade is expected to migrate settings and data to a totally new server with, in this release, the option of doing so during the setup process.

Admittedly this is a welcome addition, neatly skirting the upgrade issue and allowing customers to migrate from Essentials to Standard if needed. But it calls for extra work (and technical know-how) to build a suitable answer file and a second server.

All of the collaboration features of Exchange Server are available, including the ability to share calendars, organise meetings and so on. Users can also connect to a ready-made company web site using SharePoint to support more structured document sharing, team calendars, discussions and so on.

Of course, before any of this was possible we had to create accounts for our users and configure their computers to connect to the new server. Fortunately that was all done from the revamped management console.

This, usefully, opens with a list of tasks needed to finish off the installation, complete with links to wizards to step us through those tasks, and do so without having to delve into the workings of Windows Server, Exchange or SharePoint applications.

We found the console and its wizards very easy to use. We did encounter one glitch with 64-bit Windows, however, where the client setup refused to run, leaving us to manually configure the settings. Still, it wasn’t difficult and otherwise all went very smoothly.

Other console wizards allowed us to configure and organise our shared folders, manage web sites and take backups, albeit only of data held on the server itself. There’s no bare metal recovery option, which was a little disappointing.

Likewise it’s possible to manage security on the server and client PCs but, other than the usual Windows firewall, security software itself isn’t included in the SBS bundle.

Server monitoring and reporting tools are built in, and the SBS console is all you need for most day-to-day tasks. There were times, though, when we had to go back to Windows to get things done.

Because it’s based on Windows Server 2008 R2, the SBS 2011 server can also host other Windows applications, such as SQL Server. However, customers wanting this functionality are encouraged to opt for the new Premium Add-on which includes the latest SQL Server release and a full copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 on which to host it.

With previous versions of SBS you had to buy a special Premium edition to get this functionality, with no upgrade available. The Add-on, by comparison, can be deployed alongside the Standard and upcoming Essentials product and, as well as SQL Server, allows buyers to take advantage of other Windows Server features such as the Hyper-V hypervisor and Remote Desktop Services.

It all makes a lot of sense and, with a full implementation of Exchange Server, SharePoint Foundation Services and a lot more besides, it’s hard not to be impressed by SBS 2011 Standard.

Moreover, compared to buying each of the products separately, it’s good value, better even than starting with Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation available pre-installed from most server vendors.

Specifications

Industry-standard server with minimum 2GHz 64-bit quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM or more (10GB recommended, maximum supported 32GB), 120GB of free disk space, Ethernet interface, DVD drive or remote virtual media support for installation, clients require Windows XP Professional SP2 or later

Texan local media reported that two Dell employees had been arrested in a ‘marketing stunt gone wrong’ at the firm’s Round Rock headquarters.

Austin news kxan.com reported that a SWAT team was dispatched following a 911 call as a “person dressed as a biker in all black with a black mask” was spotted carrying “metallic objects”.

As the heavily armed police force stormed Dell’s building 1 sales floor, one man refused to comply with officers which elevated matters to what Round Rock police reportedly described as an “extreme risk scenario.”

Officers then discovered that the activity was an internal marketing event meant to launch the new Dell Streak tablet. No one else had been notified.

The responding offers arrested the costumed 48 year old Bryan Chester and his boss  36 year old Daniel Rawson.

Both men face charges of “Interfering with Public Duties” and “Deadly Conduct.”

A poll undertaken by UK broadband advice site ISPreview has revealed that broadband can add value to house prices.

The survey, which polled 733 respondents throughout January and February, found that almost two thirds of UK internet users would be discouraged from buying a home if it lacked a high speed broadband connection.

The survey also found that half of the respondents would pay more for a house with faster connectivity than was available at their present home. ISPreview concluded from the findings that broadband “can add real value to house prices.”

The site also concluded that the results meant there was a “strong appetite for faster connectivity” although it is worth noting that as a poll of a broadband ISP comparison site it will be somewhat selective of a group which considers broadband important.

Interestingly the survey also found that 37.2 per cent of respondents would be willing to pay more for a holiday or hotel with broadband access.

In a move which widely tipped before the event, the world’s largest mobile phone maker has essentially jettisoned its own efforts to develop an operating system to compete with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, instead choosing to adopt Microsoft’s newly launched Windows Phone 7.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services, applications and customer support that make a great experience,” said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop at a joint news conference in London.

“Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

Elop’s statement signals that the Nokia Microsoft alliance plans to go head to head with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android ecosystems.

Nokia will contribute expertise on hardware design and language support, and tellingly the firm’s announced that Nokia is to assist in bringing “Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.”

Currently Windows Phone 7 devices are all of almost identical specification and pitched at the high end smartphone market. Nokia has a great many models right down into the so-called ‘feature phone’ low end range.

The declaration points towards a strategy of bringing Nokia Windows Phone devices to a more main stream market and comes the same day rumours appeared suggesting Apple plans for smaller and cheaper iPhones.

“I am excited about this partnership with Nokia,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the event.

“Ecosystems thrive when fueled by speed, innovation and scale.The partnership announced today provides incredible scale, vast expertise in hardware and software innovation and a proven ability to execute.”

A YouTube video of the Elop and Ballmer joint statement can be seen below:

Merger seen as the solution to ailing sales.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has been advised to ditch MeeGo in favour of Windows Phone 7.

In an open letter to Elop, Adnaan Ahmad of investors Berenberg Bank wrote: “Get rid of your own proprietary high-end solution MeeGo – it’s the biggest joke in the tech industry right now and will put you even further behind Apple and Google.”

Nokia has focused on developing their own operating systems, Symbian and MeeGo, whereas competing vendors like Samsung and LG have adopted Google’s Android.

This follows Monday’s news that Android had overtaken Symbian to become the world’s most popular mobile OS in Q4 2010.

The sales difference was relatively slim – Nokia still sold 31 million Symbian handsets, 1.9 million less than Android – but Nokia lacks presence in the West, where Apple and Android handsets are preferred.

WP7 has received glowing reviews but lacks support from vendors, who are opting for Android’s open-source benefits. Analysts fear the new Microsoft platform has too much ground to make up in an already crowded market. The figures support this view – WP7 only accounted for 5 per cent of the handset market last Christmas.

Nokia are still the world’s favourite smartphone manufacturer, taking a market share of 28 per cent last quarter, so a potential deal could be a match made in heaven.

Ahmad seems to believe so: “Two million units shipped in the last quarter is not really much to write home about, given $500 million in marketing programmes, but with Nokia on-side, you get access to a potential 20-25 per cent global share over time – and exclusivity.”

[source: pcr]